National Eat A Vegetable Day June 17!

 

 

 

Is it possible?  Do you eat your vegetables?  Here is a thought, if you put on your science hat, what makes a fruit a fruit and a vegetable a vegetable?  Give up?  Well....anything with a seed is a fruit.  So, all of those things you may say you do not like are indeed not a vegetable at all.  What is it that you do not like about vegetables?  Is it that they have a variety of vitamins and minerals that help maintain a healthy body? 

     June 17 is National Eat Your Vegetables Day.  This actually was a daily theme in my home growing up.  Vegetables have so many good things that help your body and your overall health.  Concentration on varying colors and variety will not only make it more appealing to your eye and to your diet, it will also provide you with a variety of vitamins and minerals.

      Looking at the history of the National Eat Your Vegetable Day, I found that the date selected was strategically the mid date of the summer months.  So, what is your favorite vegetable?  Put it on your menu this week.  Enlist the help of your family to try new vegetables as well as to be creative with family favorites.

    Summer time is a great time for a variety of vegetables.  Our garden has lettuce and arugula ready for harvest.  We enjoy butter crunch lettuce and for an additional spice, arugula adds variety to the salad from the garden.  Add a few radishes and throw in a raspberry or two and you have a gourmet salad.  There are no rules when adding vegetables to your diet, do what it takes.  Salads are such a great addition to the menu, you can add all of the food groups into one dish and there is no cooking required!  For variety, check out your local Farmer's Market, you will be glad you did!

 

 

     Grilling, what is better in the summer than a barbeque?  Why not add vegetables to the menu.  Slicing vegetables and putting them on a kabob skewer, marinating them in your favorite dry rub and a little olive oil, makes me smile thinking about it!  You can also place the vegetables in a foil pouch and this works well.  You will need to watch carefully so that they do not burn. 

 

 

     Do you have picky children or adults in your home who dislike vegetables?  Be creative; let them pick out new vegetables to try.  When all else fails, play scientist and ask your family what makes a fruit a fruit and a vegetable a vegetable.  They may just find the “vegetables” they dislike are truly fruits.  Scientifically, a fruit has seeds, so that cucumber that we deem a vegetable is really a fruit.  This can be pondered all day! 

     Here is a wonderful salad that when you add a slice of whole grain bread, you have all of the food groups in one dish!  If you are like me, summer time is filled with activities and the last thing we want to do is spend time laboring in the kitchen.  Salads are a great solution to the summertime heat.  What new vegetable will you try?

Choose MyPlate Salad

½ bunch dark green leafy lettuce                   ½ C cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tomato, chopped                                          ½ c cooked turkey or cooked ham cubed

1 carrot, chopped or shredded                         Favorite low fat dressing

½ cucumber, chopped

¼ C raisins (or dried cranberries)

1 apple, chopped

 

1. Wash lettuce and tear into bite size pieces.  Place in a large bowl.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
3. Toss with your favorite dressing.

Still not convinced to try adding a vegetable to your day?  Check out this resource from Choose MyPlate.gov,  http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet2AddMoreVegetables.pdf  You will find 10 tips on adding more vegetables to your plate. 

 

It's really not that difficult to eat your veggies!  Just wash and eat!  Steam them, grill them, boil them it is all up to you.  The benefits far out way the trouble it takes to just put them on your plate and eat!  What is your plan for trying a new vegetable today?  Vegetables should be on the calendar everyday all day, the pay off in the end would be less chronic disease, less obesity and living longer, healthier and happier lives.  What are you waiting for?  Go grab a carrot or other lovely veggie and enjoy!

The best benefit is if you begin the habit of feeding your family heart healthy food and incorporate physical activity at an early age, you will thank your mom for saying, eat your veggies!

Happy Eat A Vegetable Day!!!

 

 

 



World Environment Day 2013  THINK.EAT.SAVE

·         ~Happy World Environment Day! This year’s theme is THINK EAT SAVE~ Crazy food lady's breakdown: Think=use Choose MyPlate to guide your decisions EAT=Eat together as a family SAVE=Nothing goes to waste!  Leftovers can safely be eaten for 4 days, then freeze it and take it out for a stress free meal later on!  Catch some outdoor time and get your 30 minutes of exercise for the adults in your home and 60 minutes for your kids.  Eat healthy and love your family!

 

 

 

 

Our community is not unlike any other community, there are opportunities to share food.  If you have a large picnic or gathering this summer and you find yourself with too much food, share with others.  Check your local food pantries and shelters to see if they have a need for leftovers.   In 2011, according to the Feeding America website, 50.1 million Americans live in food insecure households. http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx

 

 It becomes very much a challenge during the summer for families when free and reduced lunches are not readily available for children.  When planning meals, be sure to plan for leftovers.  Often times, leftovers are a wonderful easy lunch for your family.  Cooking from scratch and selecting fruits and vegetables in season as well as being aware of food prices in your local store and using coupons when appropriate are all great ways of eating healthy on a tight budget.

 

Practicing the concepts of THINK EAT and SAVE is a great lesson for families.  If you are a family that is living in a daily situation of food insecurity, not having enough resources for food monthly, check into your communities local food banks and food pantries.  Also, be sure to apply for SNAP benefits.  Here in Nebraska, you need to do this through Access Nebraska http://dhhs.ne.gov/Children_Family_Services/AccessNebraska/Pages/accessnebraska_index.aspx

Remember, if you have a change in income or living situations, it is well worth your time to go through this process to see if your family qualifies.

 

Today is one day of many to come, so the idea of World Environment Day is a great way to be mindful of our planet, but we should be mindful of it everyday!

 

 as a family SAVE=Nothing goes to waste! Leftovers can be used safely for 4 days and then, freeze it! Take it out in a few weeks and you have a wonderful, stress free meal!~ Catch some outdoor time and get your 30 minutes of working out, eat healthy, and love your family~H

Enjoy Your World Environment Day today and Everyday!  Remember, THINK EAT SAVE!!

What is summer?  Wikipedia breaks it into categories, timing, weather, holidays, and activities.  Wait, what about food?  Summer for me is strawberries, raspberries, spinach, lettuce, bing cherries, green beans, peas, watermelon and an old fashioned picnic.  It is many things, timing, weather, holidays and activities but food, oh the food from the garden, traditional things like lemonade on a warm day and a picnic with fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans and don't forget the chips!  Let's take a look at some fast and fun foods for the summer and take a look at food safety so we all stay nice and healthy while enjoying summer festivities. 

Summer is for simple things because the activities are in full swing!  Sandwiches, wraps and keeping it simple is my motto for summer food.  The idea of cooking once and eating twice means half of the prep time and more time to play.

Memorial Day weekend found us in the yard and garden preparing for the upcoming months.  We had a lot on our to do list, but I didn't want to forget about the food, the wonderful, mouth watering and nutritious food.  I found that our local store had Pork Shoulder Roast for $1.88 a pound.  I chose to fix this for Sunday dinner.  I found this lovely rub on-line and cooked it at 300 degrees fahrenheit for about 4 hours.  http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bln0224a.htm  My roast was 10 pounds, I used about 1/2 of the rub on the roast.  Along with summer at our house is the sacred grill, a good meat rub is nice to keep on hand.  I personally like a rub that has a mix of spice and sweet, so I enjoy a good North Carolina Rub.  Sunday dinner found a roast meal with potatoes and gravy, green beans and an apple cobbler for dessert.  Monday, found the roast turned into pulled pork sandwiches, the roast was slow cooked and fell apart, I then covered it with barbecue sauce.  This is a great time of year to stock up on bottles of barbecue sauce.  You can find great home made sauce on line as well.  Check out this sight, http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/tp/10barbecuesauce.htm.  I have a family favorite that we use, it comes from the Better Homes and Garden recipe book that I have had for many years!

Ranae's Barbecue Sauce

In a sauce pan, stir together 1/2 cup catsup, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 tbs. brown sugar, 1 tbls. prepared mustard, 1 tbs. water, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper.  Cook 2 minutes or until onion is tender.  Makes 3/4 cup (6 servings).

Recap: Sunday, roast dinner with potatoes and vegetable, Monday, pulled pork sandwiches, served with potato salad and baked beans. Leftovers, frozen into portions for sandwiches for lunches in a week or so.  Never let anything go to waste!  It is typical for a family to grow tired of leftovers, they can be easily frozen for a quick and easy meal at a later time.

Wraps:  Anything wraps up in a tortilla!  The shredded pork could have been put in a tortilla with peppers, onion, tomatoes and lettuce topped with taco sauce for a twist.  Our family likes to make Quesadillas, we cover the tortilla shell with shredded low fat cheddar jack cheese, place under broiler for just a few minutes, top it with tomatoes, lettuce and salsa, and you have a healthy snack or it can be a main entrée.  For a grab and go breakfast, scramble eggs and add cheese and salsa, great quick breakfast on the go, or a great lunch item.  My favorite snack is a small tortilla, spread 1 tbs. of nuetella, or peanut butter, place a banana in the middle, roll up the tortilla and eat, makes me smile thinking about it!

Tortillas are so very easy to make.  The ingredients are flour, baking powder, salt, oil and water.  They are a bit labor intense, but you will get your physical activity in for the day!  This link is a wonderful recipe, you will notice videos on the right hand side to get you started!  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic-mexican-tortillas/.  We make the tortillas as a family. Typically, we double the batch and freeze some for later.  In the summer, we go through a lot of tortillas because you can have a quick and easy meal or snack.

Picnics in the Summer Time!  Who does not love a good old fashioned picnic?  My motto is still to keep it simple.  Summer always brings hot weather and bacteria just loves a picnic! With a few tips, you can be sure that your summer fun is not ruined by a food borne illness.   http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/UCM239489.pdf  This tip sheet will help you to be sure your food is safe for your summer picnic.  To sum up safe practices, keep the hot food hot and the cold food cold.  As soon as you have completed your picnic lunch, be sure to place food in a cooler if you want to serve the food at a later time.  Always play it safe and when in doubt, throw it out!

Fruit in the summer is just absolutely the best!  What an easy snack, fresh berries, sliced water melon and cantaloupe.  One of my favorite things to put on the table is a fruit salad.  At my house, that means whatever fruit is in the frig, sliced and eaten fresh, yum!  The fruit is endless, grapes, strawberries, bananas, blueberries and the list just goes on!  Vary the colors and you get a variety of vitamins and minerals to improve your health.

Vegetables are at a premium too.  Try something you have not tried before!  One of my favorite things to do is to make pasta salad, I include a variety of vegetables in my salads.  My favorite pasta to use is rainbow pasta with dried spinach and dried tomato.  Slices of fresh cucumber, squash, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, black olives and cherry tomatoes are a spectacular colorful combination as well as a mixture of great tastes!  You could use a variety of dressings for your salad.  I keep on hand our favorite salad dressings, creamy italian, ranch and oil and vinegar.  I am most fond of my home made oil and vinegar, You will find this in my previous post on gardening.  The best part of making a home made oil and vinegar dressing, is that you can decide on the herbs and this alters the taste of the salad.  In the spice section of your grocery store, you will find a blend of spices and it is labeled for salads, this adds a nice flare to your pasta salad.  Once you make your first pasta salad, you will not go back to the box version!

What is summer without a dessert?  Again, fruit is in abundance, so a lot of times, we will call the water melon a dessert.  We also enjoy fruit cobblers.  My favorite cobbler comes from my Aunt.  So simple!

Apple Cobbler

Sliced Apples tossed with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Spread in bottom of 9X13 pan (approximately 4 to 6 cups)
Combine 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. oatmeal, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. butter.  Mix together till crumbly.  Spread evenly over top of apples.  Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit until apples are tender and top is slightly brown.  Approximately 30 minutes.

One thing I have learned about summer, this is a time that I do need to work on planning.  Healthy snacks and easy meals are a must.  Get your kids involved, no time like the present to visit your local farmer's market or super market and check your produce section to see what is in season.  Give your kids the chance to try something new or be creative with a food you have had before.  As your kids get a bit older, it is a good thing to help them learn to cook easy and healthy meals and snacks.  This will help prepare them for good habits when they are grown-up.

Summer is all about timing, weather, holidays and activities.  Don't forget the exercise!  Check out your local parks and exercise trails, you will be glad you did!  Our family enjoys a local hiking trail.  Add a picnic lunch and you will have summertime memories to last a lifetime!

Yanney Park, One of our favorite places to ride bicycles, walk and enjoy the outdoors!  Find your local parks and trails and enjoy!  Make this a part of your summer tradition!

I leave you with this fun video, "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen".   As school comes to a close and summertime begins, be mindful that the habits with regard to food and having a healthy lifestyle will be of great benefit to you, your family and generations to come!   Happy summer!

What About a Garden to Eat Healthy On A Tight Budget?

 

As I think about spring and summer and gardening, I get a bit hysterical because it means less attention to the goings on in my house.  How will I play cook, chief bottle washer, cleaning lady, mom, gardener and all of those things in between?  The key is to keep it simple!  Mainstream your life a bit.  My first action step is to get the family on board.  1.  Pick up after yourself. 2. Enlist help with planting, weeding the garden and with harvest.3. Prioritize, oh this is the toughie!  My mind wonders to a bible verse and a song written for it, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."

Spring and summer for me is a time to clean out the old and bring in the new!  The new being that of my garden.  The thought of fresh salad and fruit from my garden coming to my kitchen and finding its way to the plate is so very exciting!  With a bit of planning, you can have a small garden in just about any circumstance.

 

Your local nursery will have varieties that do well in pots.  This is a great way if you have a lot of time constraints and perhaps issues with space.  In the beginning, it is good to start small and then each year, add to it. 

 

One of my favorite things is my salad garden area.  I plant it in close proximity to my kitchen.  You will find spinach, lettuce, arugula, radishes and onion.  I find that the closer it is to my kitchen, the more I fit it in to my meal plan.  There is nothing more nutritional and easy than a chef's salad on the table in the summer.  A mix of greens, meat if desired, cheese and I even love to add berries to the salad.  Let your creative juices flow when it comes to the salad.  I also can't stress enough how wonderful it is to have herbs as a part of your garden.  I have a new favorite recipe for my oil and vinegar dressing and the best part is that I use my fresh oregano!  It has the best flavor.

Ranae's Favorite Vinaigrette Dressing

 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar (white works too!)

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil (canola oil works too!)

1tbs. sugar

1 tsp. fresh oregano, basil,rosemary or thyme ( my favorite is oregano and thyme)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Mix all ingredients.  Just lovely!  If you use olive oil, keep it at room temperature or you will find it hard to mix and pour.

 

 

my lovely oregano



We are working on establishing more perennial fruits and vegetables in our garden.  Rhubarb is a wonderful plant to establish!  I love to make desserts with Rhubarb and strawberries.  The latest Cook it Quick Newsletter from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a great recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb dessert.  http://food.unl.edu/web/fnh/cook-it-quick-newsletter-may-2013 You will find this website to be of a lot of help when cooking in your kitchen.  Other perennials we are establishing are asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, cherries, and pears.  A lot of the perennials I speak of will take a few years to establish, so don't delay!  This is a great way to have produce for generations to come without replanting every year.

 

Looking ahead to harvesting your garden, there is a lot of help with food preservation at this link http://food.unl.edu/web/preservation/home. 

 

When I began to be extremely interested in gardening, everything from establishing our fruit orchard to old fashioned sustainable living, a neighbor recommended the book, "Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener."  I found it very reasonably priced at Amazon and it has been used for selecting crops, where to plant them, things to be mindful of etc.  It is just an amazing resource.  I also found a website that is interesting and by Rodale http://www.rodale.com/topic/organic-gardening  I also through the years have learned a lot from the publication, Mother Earth News, you can find them at http://www.motherearthnews.com/ 

 

Gardening in recent years is becoming the cool thing to do, especially if you are a foodie!  Such creativity with the emergence of roof top gardens in the cities, to growing yore items in pots on your patio to full fledged gardening operations.  If I have not convinced you to grow your own, visit your local farmer's market!  Buying local food is such a great way to eat healthy and help your local farmer all at the same time!  So what will it be?  A small container garden, old fashioned garden or seeking out your local farmer's market?  I love this time of year.  The food is being planted and there is nothing sweeter than watching your food grow and preparing it into lovely pieces of healthy art for your family to enjoy! I leave you with this fun video of a remix of Julia Child.  She always said that fresh is better and there is nothing more fresh than food from the garden.  Food is a lot like our favorite things in life, it gives us sustainability and feelings of satisfaction.  For me, gardening just adds more of a happy element to the food that I grow, prepare and consume.  Until next time, how does your garden grow, or does it?  That is your assignment, to grow or not to grow.  If the answer is yes, welcome to a whole new world of learning how to eat healthy on a tight budget, it can be done and it can be fun!

 



Breakfast, Still The Most Important Meal of the Day!

I know what you are thinking, I don't have time in the morning for this!  I am the world's worst morning person.  As a teen, I rebelled and refused breakfast.  As I have gotten older, I find that if I do not eat breakfast, I have issues with concentrating, low-blood sugar symptoms and to top it all off, I get really crabby.  So, breakfast is now one of those must haves for me and I am working hard on instilling this value for everyone in our family.  Breakfast does not need to be difficult, make it as simple as you can.  

For many years, I grabbed various cereal boxes off the shelf and brought them home.  Today, you will find those boxes but I add a few other things in-between.  I found that when reading the labels on cereal, I found all kinds of added ingredients that I did not want in my diet.  For instance, I found Raisin Bran to have 360 mg. of sodium in one bowl!  I have to keep my sodium below 1500mg. on a daily basis due to health issues.  So, in my estimation, this is not a good choice.  A good rule of thumb if you dislike reading labels, choose those that have the WIC seal of approval.  You will find those on the unit shelf display.  One example is frosted mini wheats, one of my favorite choices.

One of the keys to a balanced breakfast and a way to be sure you get all the necessary foods into your diet is to include 3 different foods from 3 different food groups.  Now, I know what you are thinking at this point ( I know I did!), seriously?  I do not have time for this!  It is as simple as cereal, milk and a banana!  It just takes a bit of re-framing one's attitude toward this first meal of the day.  A couple of really economical choices for breakfast are oatmeal and cream of wheat.  The quick oats are still considered a whole grain and they do cook up a bit faster than the old fashioned oats.  We find we like the old fashioned ones the best.  I will cook up enough for two days and this is a great way to be ready and you can just warm up the oatmeal in the microwave and presto, breakfast is served.  There are other things you can do in the microwave as well.  Spray lightly a microwave proof bowl, scramble one egg and place in microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Be sure to beat the egg well and do not ever try to do an over easy egg, the yolk will blow up in the microwave and you will have a lovely mess!  While the egg is cooking, toast bread, a bagel or an english muffin.  Lightly spread butter on the toast, when egg is done, place on one side of the toast, add a slice of cheese (your choice), place slice of toast egg and cheese back in microwave for about 20 seconds, place the other toast on top and you have a breakfast sandwich.  Add a banana or a glass of juice, and you have breakfast!  If you need to, a lot of options can be taken on the run.  I find this does not work real well with my kids.  I do what I have to do to stay away from drive throughs that usually have options that are loaded in fat and calories.  I would rather save my money for other things such as a fine dining experience  not on a soggy breakfast burrito or smashed breakfast sandwich with a side of fried potatoes.

Lately, I have seen a lot of recipes for slow cooking.  I found this one for the slow cooker and I plan to try it soon.  It is a lot like a breakfast casserole that I bake in the oven.  

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/stephanie-odeas-slow-cooker-hashbrown-breakfast-casserole-15007561

There are so many things in the media today that really make us think about the problems created by obesity.  Believe it or not, breakfast helps us to maintain healthy weight.  Our metabolism is like a car, energy in and energy out.  You need to keep meals on time, exercise (30 minutes most days of the week for adults and 60 minutes for kids), and include foods from all of the food groups.  An article in Today's Dietician will give you even more reasons for why Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day! http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/090111p44.shtml

Morning I have decided is really not too bad, especially if I begin it with a wonderful breakfast and a window with a great view!  Give breakfast a try and you will feel like a million bucks and will be ready to have a fabulous day!

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite books to read to children is "I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato" by Lauren Child.  Lola is a typical little girl who is picky and through imagination, brother Charlie turns this around and by the end of the story, Lola is eating all kinds of healthy things!  So, the question is,Do You Have Picky Eaters at Your House?  Let's Turn That Around!

 

     Getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables can sometimes be quite a challenge.  The first task is for parents to be good role models themselves in order to achieve healthy eating for our children.  Also, it is helpful to cook items that everyone will enjoy and avoid being a short order cook in your kitchen.  By following a few simple ideas, meal time can be a fun-time instead of a battle field.

     The first order of business is to be a healthy role model for your children.  Rather than do as I say not as I do, eat your fruits and vegetables too!  Many times, it may be an adult in the household who is not a fruit and vegetable eater.  Make this an adventure.  Take a trip to your local farmers market or supermarket and try something new.  Vegetables can take on new meaning if you try them in a different form.   Spinach is a great example.  If you have only had spinach from a can, you are missing out on a wonderful treat.  Raw spinach added to a tossed salad has no resemblance to the spinach from the can.  Also, if you lightly steam spinach and serve it promptly, it also has a flavor that is very different from the can.  When you steam vegetables, steam until just fork tender, this also lends to a more flavorful product.  Experiment with different herbs and spices, try to avoid adding salt.  Fruits are also different when purchased fresh as opposed to canned.  Also, if the fruit is not in season, a great option is frozen.  This holds true for vegetables as well. 

     The family that cooks together enjoys eating their food together and they are a healthier family!  This suggestion is best attempted when your family has the time.  Our family has been doing this on Friday nights.  It is a great way to unwind from the long week and when we cook together, we stay away from fast food alley.  More money to purchase healthy foods and we are controlling the amount of fat, sugar and salt put into our food.  Decide on a menu and divide the tasks up, of course keep the tasks age appropriate.  For an example, if Pizza is on the menu, put someone in charge of the dough, someone in charge of the toppings and then you can put the pizza together as a family.  I can’t think of a better way to encourage healthy eating than cooking together.

     When in doubt, puree up fruits and vegetables and add them to dishes, your family will never know!  Steaming cauliflower and blending it in your mashed potatoes or even adding steamed pureed broccoli to spaghetti sauce can enhance the amount of vegetables your family consumes.  Top oatmeal or dried cereal with a banana to add fruit, or try adding fruit to your tossed salad, the key is to just be creative in adding more fruits and vegetables to your daily diet.

     Finally, make dinner time a special time.  Turn off the TV, the cell phones and other electronic gadgets and eat together and converse together.  Make meal time family time and add those healthy foods and you will create a life -long good positive habit that will be carried on to the next generation.  Don’t forget a plan for physical activity.  The family that is active together and eats healthy together will be a healthy and happy family!

Menu Idea For Cooking Together

Main Entrée:  Chicken Salad Roll-Ups

Salad:            Tossed Salad: Fruits and Vegetables!

Beverage:      Fruit Smoothie 

Snack for Later:     Not Your Average Chips and Dip

 Chicken Salad Roll-Ups

3 (10 ounce)cans Chicken shredded and drained (you could also start with chicken breasts and cook them in place of using a can)

1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

6 lettuce leaves

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, combine canned chicken and salad dressing.

2.  Place tortilla on plate.

3. Place 1/3 cup of chicken mixture on each tortilla

4.  Add 1 lettuce leaf, bell pepper, and celery to tortilla.  Roll like an enchilada.

5.  Cut in half and serve immediately.

*Try adding any other vegetables that you like.

 

Choose MyPlate Salad

1/2 bunch dark green leafy lettuce

1 tomato chopped

1 carrot, chopped or shredded

1/2 cucumber chopped

1/4 c. raisins or dried cranberries

1 apple, cored and chopped

1/2 cup cheese, shredded

1/2 c. cooked ham or turkey, cubed

low-fat salad dressing (optional)

1. Wash lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a large bowl.


2.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

3. Gently mix with your favorite dressing, if desired.

4. Serve with whole grain bread and you have all 5 food groups!

 

Banana-Strawberry Fruit Smoothie

2 small bananas broke into chunks

1 c. frozen strawberries

1 c. low-fat yogurt ( vanilla flavor is good to use if you do not like the taste of regular yogurt)

3/4 c. low-fat milk                              

1/2 c. ice cubes                                         

Directions:

In a blender combine all ingredients, blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

 

*The great thing about fruit smoothies, you can add a variety of different fruits.  Be creative and change things up!

 

Not Your Average Chips and Dip

 When you cook in your kitchen, you are in charge of how much fat, sugar and salt is used!  Chips are a good example.  Have you ever made chips on your own?  So very simple!  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Take 2 large flour tortillas (Corn works as well, may need to increase baking time by a few minutes).  Cut the tortilla shells into 8 pieces.  Spray top of tortillas if you would like them to be brown.  At this point, you may choose to salt if you would like to.  I utilize these chips for a fruit dip as well and will share the recipe, if you use it for something sweet, void the salt.  Bake in preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  Watch carefully, you do not want to over cook them.  For toppings, try a can of chili beans, drain half of the juice and place in a self-sealing bag, then, take turns smooshing up the beans for a bean dip.  Put beans in a bowl and then you can top with beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, salsa and black olives.  Choose items your family will eat.  This is a very healthy snack and is very filling too.  

 

Fruit Salsa:  10 Servings

Ingredients:

2	kiwi, peeled and diced	3	Tbsp. raspberry preserves
2	golden delicious apples,	10	(10 inch) flour tortillas
	peeled, cored, and diced		butter flavored cooking spray
1	pound strawberries	2	cups cinnamon sugar

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwi, apples, strawberries, and raspberry preserves.  Cover and chill in the    refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to 350^○ F.
2. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray.  Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet.  Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar.  Spray again with cooking spray.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges.  Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes.  Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had fun taking a look at some videos about eating healthy for adults.  This one is interesting, it is a BBC TV Series.  Check it out if you have a minute!  Truly, the issues are not unlike what we have here in America.

 

The mom in the video talks about food being high in fat and low in self-esteem.  Nutrition is important in two ways, you need to first know how to eat healthy and you then need to have a mental can-do attitude to go along with it.  Do yourself a favor and your family to, eat healthy, exercise and hey, try cooking together!  Make it a family mission to be healthy.

Delicious
We all enjoy delicious food,
Makes us happy, fixes our mood.
It's all about the juicy taste,
Doesn't matter, where the food is placed.
We should consider, nutritional support,
We shall need it, if we engage in a sport.
Energy; food provides - plenty
Need a bit more, if we're over twenty.
A great dish, we should all savor,
Eat slowly, as we taste the flavor.
Choose our very favorite cuisine,
Is it red? Or is it green?
by AnitaPoems.com

 

Here is to healthier eating in your home!   



 

 

 





What's For Dinner?  TACO PIZZA!

When I am talking to kids about eating healthy, I always hear them say Pizza is junk food.  My next question is, why is it not healthy?  Well....hm.... does it depend on what you put on the pizza?  Just think about this, if you make your own crust and add some whole wheat flour, choose healthy toppings, vegetables, low fat cheese, is it really junk food?  Have you ever had a Hawaiian Pizza?  If the answer is no, you have been missing out!  Ham and pineapple, what a lovely tasty combination!  Now, I give you that the ham is high in sodium, but you could go heavy on the pineapple and reduce the amount of ham and cheese you use.  When you are the cook, you are in control!  

Have you ever wondered about the origin of pizza?  Pizza is Italian and the pizza we have here has been Americanized.  According to http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pizza-history.asp ,  "Pizza in its most basic form as a seasoned flatbread has a long history in the Mediterranean. Several cultures including the Greeks and Phoenicians ate a flatbread made from flour and water. The dough would be cooked by placing on a hot stone and then seasoned with herbs. The Greeks called this early pizza plankuntos and it was basically used as an edible plate when eating stews or thick broth. It was not yet what we would call pizza today but it was very much like modern focaccia. These early pizzas were eaten from Rome to Egypt to Babylon and were praised by the ancient historians Herodotus and Cato the Elder."  I have had pizza prepared by a lovely lady who grew up in Rome Italy, the Pizza crust was very thin, almost like cracker bread and the sauce was spread evenly and lightly on the crust with ingredients that were not poured on but gracefully spread on the crust.  when you further examine Pizza here in America, you find New York style Pizza, which is most like what my friend prepared and Chicago which is more of a thick crust with a lot of sauce and loaded with all of your favorites!  

Grilling season is fast approaching and that truly is my favorite new way to fix Pizza!  So easy and gives a lovely new twist to an old favorite dish.   Simply recipes gives you step by step instructions for making pizza on your grill:   http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_grill_pizza/  Find your favorite way to prepare your own pizza in your own kitchen and get cooking!

My motivation for pizza has been a Taco recipe that has infiltrated my Pinterest and Facebook page.  The recipe that has been most shared is one that you begin by making a crust out of refrigerator crescent rolls.  Pizza crust is a very simple item to make, once you make it, you will find it is delicious and so easy, you will make it a habit!  I plan to try freezing pizza dough into individual balls that I can take out in the morning and have the crust thawed and ready for when I arrive home.  This will be an easy summer time change from traditional barbecue items such has hamburgers and hot dogs.  Rachel Ray has a great recipe for freezing pizza dough, you will find it at this link, http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/bean-bacon-coleslaw/  Honestly though, if it is simpler for you to use a refrigerator pre-made dough, go for it!

So, let's get to the kitchen and put together Taco Pizza.  The first order of business was to make the pizza crust.  When I got to the point of the dough resting, I set about assembling the rest of the ingredients.  I browned hamburger, our family likes to add onion to the hamburger, after the meat was browned, I drained and rinsed the hamburger, I then added my favorite taco seasoning and prepared it according to the directions.  I then took a can of chili beans and drained half of the juice off and put them in my food processor (A blender or a hand mixer would also work for this).  At this point, it was time to work with the dough.  I divided the dough in half and rolled each dough into a rectangular shape and placed into a 9X13 pan, my method to this was to have two pizzas, one for tonight and one for tomorrow night as I will be coming home very late and will have a short time for dinner before running to a family event.  So, the recipe was in fact doubled for this project.  I used my homemade salsa for the sauce (you may use your favorite brand of salsa).  I lightly spread the salsa as I did not want the crust to be too soggy.  I then spread the refried beans over the salsa, spread the taco meat over top and sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese over the top.  Wahla!  Ready for the oven!   While the pizza is baking, you can prepare taco ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, onion, sour cream and olives.  If you are using tomatoes this time of year, you can always find Roma Tomatoes to be in your budget.  I use low- fat or no-fat sour cream and cheddar cheese to keep it healthy.  An easy way to insure that low-fat or no-fat cheese melts and is bubbly is to put it under the broiler in your oven at the very end for just a few minutes, watch carefully as broiling is an intense heat and can burn easily. 

 Below is the recipe and pictures to walk you through.  The first time you make pizza may seem like it is a process, but do it a few times and it becomes easy and fun!  

Pizza Crust

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2 quart bow..  Stir in remaining ingredients, beat vigorously.  Kneed in rest of flour till ball nice and elastic, about 12 to 15 times.   Cover and let rest 10 minutes (or...however long it takes to assemble your ingredients.)  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

Taco Pizza

1 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (reserve 1/2 cup for garnishment)

1 can chili beans or refried beans

1 cup cheddar cheese

shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives and sour cream to your liking for garnishment.

Prepare your pizza crust.  Spread the dough in a greased 9X13 pan. Spread 1 cup of salsa over the crust evenly.  Spread refried beans over the salsa.  Cover with shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, at very end, put under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.  Slice and add the garnishments.  By adding the garnishments to each serving, if you have leftovers, the garnishments will stay nice and crisp.    

Dissolving yeast in water

Dried Ingredients

Ready to Kneed

Resting

Salsa on the crust, ready for beans!

Beans and taco meat

Ready for garnishes

Let's Eat!