Try a New Spice Day!

One of my favorite things to do is to try a new spice! Fresh or dried it is always  fun to add a new spice to chicken or veggies just to see what happens.Add a little at a time and taste as you go!!

(Make sure your chicken is cooked first..lol)

One good way to do this is to take a culinary journey done the "ethinic food" isle at your grocery store. There are always great Asian, Spanish, Mediterranean, etc. spices! 

My rule of thumb: The Harder to Pronounce the Spice the Better It Must Be! 

Tip: if you are weary of spicy spices try to smell your new spice before buying, if you can. When in doubt ask or do some quick smart phone research...So you aren't shocked at dinner when flames fly out of your ears! 

Try these spices:

Za'atar: Mediterranean spice, made up of thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and salt

Sumac:Middle East/ African spice, pairs well with meats and fish

Aleppo pepper: Syria/ Turkey, slightly sweet mild pepper

Piment D'Espelette: French spice, often replacing pepper

Enjoy!

 

Spring Has Sprung! Let's Get Cookin'

In light of the BEAUTIFUL weather that is upon us, lets cook up some tasty and healthy spring meals!

I don't think there is anything better than a cool, crisp sandwich to go along with the warm breeze of Spring. So, how about a healthy spin on your favorite sandwiches.

Spring Tips for Healthy Sandwiches:

1. Go Whole Wheat! Whether loaf or wrap, always opt for whole wheat over white and cheesy breads. 

2. Watch out for the dressings!! Many dressings are tasty and can be deceivingly fattening. Go with low or no fat dressings or just do without. Salt/Pepper and a Light Vinaigrette dressing should spice up your sandwich and not leave you with guilt.

3. Veg? Yes, please! Nothing is better than a sandwich loaded with my favorite veggies. I never feel bad about piling them high. Sometimes, nothing else is needed. I love making veggie wraps and feel so refreshed after eating one.

4.One slice is enough for me! Do one slice of cheese, instead of two/three. It will add the flavor but not the fat.

5.Pair me up, Scotty!  Pair your sandwich with a salad or apple, instead of chips or french fries. This will do wonders on the waist line. 

Enjoy!

Life Took Over! Im sorry blog :(

So life took over and I haven't had time to blog. But, here is another great recipe to get us back on track.

 

Meatloaf is a great home-style meal but can be very bad for you! All the fat, calories, cholesterol. Here is a more healthy option for this hearty meal.

Ingredients:

Meat Loaf

-2 lb ground turkey breast

-1.5 cup wheat bread crumbs

-2 egg whites

-1 garlic clove

-1onion

-3/4 cup peas (optional)

Sauce

-1 cup ketchup

-1/2 cup mustard

-1 tbs hot sauce

-1tbs lemon juice

-1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Recipe:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees C. 

2.  Fold together turkey, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, peas, and eggs. Be careful not over mix the turkey.

3. Mix all sauce ingredients and salt/pepper to taste.

4. Make mixture into patties and cover with sauce.

5.Bake on grilling tray or in cupcake tins for 1 hour or until 165 degrees internally.

*I have made this a ton of times and live to serve with steamed veggies or sweet potato fries.

Enjoy!

Healthy Pizza

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. This is the product of being sick and having a sick baby who is also teething! It was worth all the sleepless nights, though, because now my little one has one tooth and another on the way. I'm so proud of him! 

According to a recent Gallop Poll, children 3-11 prefer pizza over over all other foods for lunch and dinner. The average American eats 23 pounds of pizza a year that's 46 slices. That's a whole lot of pizza! With these statistics in mind, lets try to find a healthier option for our tenacious desire for pizza. 

Frozen:

South Beach Diet- Deluxe with Harvest Wheat Crust Pizza

-High in Dietary Fiber 

- A- on Calorie Count

Any Other Wheat Crust Pizza (Veggie Toppings)

-In general Wheat Crust Pizza is going to be better for you than regular white crusts. 

-If you can do without all the extra meat toppings, you can cut out a lot of cholesterol and saturated fats. 

-Load that baby up with veggies (you need 5 servings a day!)

Fresh:

I know you want me to say that some type of delivery pizza is health but that fact is that its really hard to find a super healthy option. But here are some rules to do it healthier when ordering out:

1. Keep it hand-tossed or thin crust

2. Wheat is better that White

3. Red sauce is better that White

4. Get all the veggies you can

5. Limit the meat (it's probably not real meat anyway)

6. No extra cheese (do you really need it)

Homemade:

-Pre-made ball of pizza crust (they sell this at any grocery stores)

    *Recipe for wheat crust: allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/

-Pasta Sauce

-Cheese

-Veggies (all of your favorites)

-Chicken

1. Roll out the dough on a cookie sheet (it doesn't have to be a circle, squares are fun to eat too)

2. Swirl some pasta sauce on the top of the dough

3. Top with all the veggies you want, chicken and cheese (optional)

4. Be creative... add lite BBQ sauce, Balsamic, lite Honey Mustard

5. Bake at 350 degrees until crust in golden brown

* This is also a great activity for kids. They will take pride in making their own pizzas and since its probably their favorite food they will enjoy eating it too.

BABY FOODS!!

Taking a look at what our children eat is probably one the most important things we can do for them. Grocery shopping with a blind-eye for our kids' food only promotes childhood obesity and future serious health problems. Teaching them good eating habits right off the bat is a great way to help them develop into health and happy adults.

For infants, baby foods are the first solid foods they will ever encountered. Why not start them on a diet of pure and organic foods? Sure, everyone would love to do this but the organic jarred baby food is more expensive than the non-organic options. So lets go back to our roots and cook for our babies (like we would others in our family).

Making your own baby food really isn't that hard and is SO MUCH CHEAPER!

Cooking Steps:
1. Buy the frozen version of the food you want to make for the baby (ex: frozen peas, broccoli, etc)
      *You can also do fresh (clean foods good) but some foods are easier frozen (esp. broccoli)
2. Cook the whole bag of frozen (or fresh) until the food falls apart easily.
      *Use a steamer or boil.
3. Take any skins off and place in food processor/grinder
4. Puree food until baby food consistence


Storage Steps:
1. Spoon pureed food into a clean ice-tray
2. Cover ice-tray with plastic rap/foil and freeze
3. Once frozen, pop "food cubes" in a freezer bag and store in freezer
4. Label bag with food and date made
5. To serve, heat a cube (about 1 tablespoon) on stove or in microwave until thawed and warm
       ** Be careful of heating in microwaves because "hot spots" can burn baby.  

Enjoy!

Frigthful Foods Week 2: Chips Ahoy! Cookies and Pizza

This week we will be looking at Chips Ahoy! Cookies and pizza. According to CalorieCount.com Chips Ahoy! cookies got either a D+ or C. We can find a healthier cookie out there or make our own. Also delivery and frozen pizzas got a range of scores from A- to D+. So lets look at the healthier options for our pizza cravings!


Take action and eat healthy today!

Healthy Chef Boyardee

So what's wrong with good o' fashion spaghetti and meatballs? Nothing, if it made with actual food and not chemically processed goo! This Chef Boyardee is very high in sodium (like many processed foods) and is high in fat and bad carbs!

Another thing to always think about when eating meat is where did the meat come from? If you want a good reason to take a second look at where your meat products are coming from, just type in "Meat Recall" into Google/Bing. Remember the 2007 E.Coli meat scare! In my opinion, over the last 3 years the FDA has not completely fixed the problem regarding food regulation, especially in light of the recent egg recall.

But why is E.Coli such a problem? Well, currently most cattle feed on corn mill just like nature intended. You remember learning about how cow's have evolved to pick and shuck their corn in grade school, right? Yeah, I don't remember that either because cows EAT GRASS! Corn is much cheaper, though; so cows just tolerate eating it. These corn-eating-cows are more susceptible to getting disease because they aren't getting the nutrition they need; so a highly contagious disease called E.Coli spreads. In the slaughter houses, the E.Coli can contaminate the meat via feces that get on the meat (amongst other ways)! That's a great mental picture, huh?

So where can we find grass-fed-cows? Eatwild.com is a website I found that will help you find local farms that grass-feed their cows (and don't inject them with steroids). They also have ways to get poultry, pork, and other farm fresh foods! AND there are some that will deliver to you! How easy! Now you can't make excuses. :)

Now that we have an education on beef. 

Let's make a healthier version of the Chef Boyardee.

RECIPE

-Lean ground beef (grass-fed) or turkey ground meat (lower in fats)

-1-2 Eggs

-Bread Crumbs 

       (Take bread and crumble it or use what is at the bottom of the bag. No need to buy over-salted pre-packaged bread crumbs)

-Wheat Noodles

-Low Sodium Tomato Sauce*

       (Many healthy options: Prego, Classico, Del Monte; *skip the ones with cheese flavorings)

-1 Can Tomato Paste

-Parmesan Cheese (Organic Valley Brand is USDA Organic- no pesticides/hormones/etc)

1.Cook noodles as instructed on package

2. Fold eggs and bread crumbs into meat until mixture is sticking together

3.Use ice cream scoop to form small balls of meat

4.Brown meatballs in a pan with a dab of e.v.o.o., season with salt/pepper

       *Sacrifice one meatball to make sure they are done in the middle.

5.Mix tomato sauce and tomato paste in a pan; warm over stove

6.Fold in cooked meatballs and noodles gently

7. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

*You can make this meal in bulk one weekend and store it in the freezer in portioned out containers. This will make it easy to pull one out, warm, and feed the kids.

Enjoy!