Recipes For You

In our effort to eat healthier I have been scouring the Internet and recipe books for some new ideas. We have come up with some gems. My daughter, Emily, has been a big help and most of these recipes originated from her.

**If you posted a recipe on your blog, please leave me a comment so I can add your link to this post.

Sue--Very Berry Muffins
Alasandra--Pumpkin Cookies

Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
2 TB. Olive Oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 TB. chopped fresh parsley leaves
salt and pepper

Lightly steam the green beans until just tender. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the green beans, tomatoes, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are hot and the flavors are well combined. Serve hot.

White Chicken Chili
1 pound dried great northern beans
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 TB. oil
1/2 TB. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 qts. chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1 4 oz. can green chilies (I use fresh)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Soak beans overnight and drain. Combine seasonings with the onions and garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add the drained beans and the chicken broth. Simmer for 2 hours, covered. Add the chicken and the chilies and simmer for 2 more hours. Remove the lid during the last hour of cooking. This makes 10 servings.

Bagels
A few weeks ago Emily made bagels from this recipe for the first time and they have been making a frequent appearance on our table ever since. (The picture on the website doesn't look all that appealing, but believe me when I say that these taste great!) She makes the dough-sponge using unbleached flour and then adds whole wheat flour for the rest. The dough is very stiff and a little hard to handle, but the effort is well worth it! She also adds about 1/2 cup less flour than the recipe calls for and cooks the bagels for an extra 5 minutes. Here are some variations:
--Cranberry-Orange (shown in the picture): Use orange juice for the liquid and add 1/2 cup dried cranberries during the last 2 minutes of kneading time.

--Apple-Cinnamon: Use apple juice for the liquid and add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.

--Sun-Dried Tomato Basil: During the last 2 minutes of kneading time add 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes and 1/2 tsp. basil.

--Cinnamon-Raisin: Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup raisins during the last 2 minutes of kneading time.

Enjoy!

Adding More Good Stuff...

I posted last week about healthy eating and a number of people asked for specifics. Mainly I try to keep the food as normal as possible while adding some healthier ingredients so no one notices what I am doing! Here are some tips for you:

***Tomorrow I am going to post a couple of our new, healthy recipes. If you would like to post one (or two) on your blog please leave me a comment on tomorrow's post and I will link your blog from my post. Think of it as a bloggy-recipe exchange! If I am lucky I may be able to figure out how to do a Mr. Linky! ;)

--Be more creative when you make salads. Use green, leafy lettuces and spinach, and add shredded cabbage, sweet peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, etc., etc. Don't allow your kids to pick things out, just tell them to "scoop and eat".

--When making bread, pizza dough, or muffins substitute at least one cup of whole wheat flour for the white flour. No one will notice. You can gradually increase the amount until you are using at least half whole-wheat flour in your recipes.

--Instead of using packets of sugary oatmeal, make oatmeal from scratch using old-fashioned oats or a 7-grain mix. Add brown sugar, milk and a little butter for taste.

--Make fruit salad with your kids.

--Make smoothies using 100% orange juice and a variety of frozen fruits. Ripe bananas sweeten these up.

--In a stir-fry or casserole add half the amount of meat and double the amount of vegetables. Believe it or not, my hubby has never noticed that I do this!

--Did you know that you can make your own popcorn in the microwave? Just toss two handfuls of popcorn kernels into a paper lunch sack and fold down the top. Cook on high for 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until the popping slows down. Be careful because it scorches fairly quick. Pour into a bowl and add butter and salt as desired. This is much healthier and cheaper than regular microwave popcorn.

--Try a new vegetable each week. Letting the kids pick a recipe is a good way to get them involved.

--Add extra chopped vegetable to spaghetti sauce. Mushrooms, grated carrots, zucchini, peppers, and eggplant all taste great. Be creative!

--Make an attempt to eat the recommended 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This is harder than you might imagine.

How do you add good things to your recipes?

Gradual Changes

In an effort of achieve a healthier lifestyle, we often make drastic changes in our diets and we resort to using only whole wheat, stamping out all sugar, or going completely organic. In a sense, all of these changes can be good, but I find that gradual change that leads to healthier living works the best, in large part because it is not as noticeable as quick, drastic change.

Over the last few months I have done my research and I am convinced that eating organic is the best way to stay healthy and to keep harmful pesticides and hormones out of my family's food. But in reality the cost of purchasing only organic food for my family of seven is a financial strain--and a big one at that! For example, organic chicken costs $6.99 per pound as compared to Safeway's sale price of $1.49 per pound, a price that allows me to buy in bulk.

My compromise in moving towards healthier living has been to increase our fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and to decrease processed foods and sugars, all while buying organic when it is possible. Not only have I avoided complaints about overly healthy foods, but my family is actually complimenting many of the new, vegetable-heavy foods on our table. All of this is added to the benefit of staying within my grocery budget.

Healthy eating and living are always worthwhile goals, but a person can be too enthusiastic and make drastic changes which lead to burn-out and a return to old eating habits. Learning about diet and exercise, and gradually implementing affordable, time-wise ideas into your life can lead to gradual but long-lasting improvement in your family's health.