Healthy Ideas for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is around the corner, and you know what that means: candy, chocolate, more candy, flowers, more chocolate, etc. With all those treats on sale, making healthy choices can be difficult, right?

For me, Valentine's Day is a nice way to set aside some time for my husband and I. Now that we have a bigger family, spending quality time together is even more important. So here are some healthy ways to show that special someone you care.

1. If you're going with chocolate, buy dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa). It has phytochemicals and when eaten in moderation, may help prevent heart disease. Hint: make sure cocoa is the first on the ingredient list.
2.  Go for a walk with your love.
3. Make a healthy meal together and enjoy by candlelight.
4. If you do go out to eat, share an entree. It will cut costs and control portions!
5. Celebrate Valentines Day with your kids with healthy treats like mini-boxes of raisins or pretzels, pencils or stickers.
6. Be creative: make a Valentines Day craft! Here are some cute ideas from Martha Stewart.
7. Fore more fun tips, visit the American Heart Association.

What are you doing to celebrate Valentine's Day this year?

Balsamic Marinara Sauce and Life with Two Kids

 

If your garden is like my garden, you have a ton of tomatoes. Our tomato harvest came just in time for the delivery of our second son, James. In the midst of cuddling and loving on my new little guy, I realized my tomatoes were desperate to be picked and eaten.

 

 

With family in town to greet James and help out, I had a few extra hands to help me make marinara sauce with the tomatoes from the garden. Boy, did it turn out good. Plus, you can basically throw all the ingredients into a pot and let them simmer away. I got the recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Budget Bytes. I love it because all of the recipes are affordable to make and delicious. Score! So, here we go.

 

 

Credits to mother-in-law, Bev for helping me out with the prep-work.

 

I followed the basic recipe, but also added zucchini, ground cooked turkey and fresh tomatoes instead of canned. And for time sake, I didn't peel the tomatoes beforehand. I just cut em up and threw em in the pot. Easy. The recipe is for a slow-cooker, but since I was home and tending to the kids anyway, I just simmered it on the stove for about 2 hours and it turned out fabulous.

 

We started by shredding the zucchini.

 

Chop chop the tomatoes.

 

In with the basil.

 

Balsamic Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 28 oz Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
• 1 Med Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Basil
• 1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey

Preparation:

 

Chop onions and mince garlic. Add olive oil to simmer pot on medium heat. Sweat the onions and garlic a bit, then add tomatoes. Stir to combine, then add spices. Mix well, cover and set to low heat so that the mixture simmers. Cook for approximately 1-2 hours, or until desired consistency is reached. In a separate pan, cook ground turkey until done and add to sauce.

 

 

This was a great meal to enjoy with family. With two kids, I now appreciate more than ever healthy food that is easily prepared. My family enjoyed the taste and I felt good knowing that my ingredients were fresh and nutritous. That said, not everyone has a garden, so it's nice to know that even conventional produce at the grocery store offers health benefits. Simply feeding your family more fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve overall health.



Coconut-Cranberry Lara Bars

Two words: Lara Bars! I kind of love them but always feel guilty spending two bucks on an energy bar. Thankfully, these healthy treats require very few ingredients and even less skill to make. Plus, one homemade bar will run you about 0.25 cents. Triple score! All you need is a food processor and about four ingredients. Let's get started, shall we?

There are a ton of yummy looking Lara Bar recipes online: "snickers", peanut butter and jam, blueberry muffin. I really like this basic recipe that explains how to make a Lara Bar using ingredients of your choice. 

So today, my choices were almonds, dried cranberries and shredded coconut because that's what Pregnant Belly told me to make. Sometimes, you just have to follow your instinct.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Almonds
1 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is achieved (kind of sticky and holds together). Once done mixing, wrap individually in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Or you can spread the mixture in a baking dish and cut into individual servings. After, place in refrigerator to cool.

My toddler assistant, Will, helped me make these. Once the prep work was done, he was kind enough to lick the spoon completely clean. That's always a good sign. 

Let me know what yummy creations YOU come up with!

Spruce up your salads

Spring is here and that means it's time for gardening. Okay, well at least at my house. I absolutely love spending time outdoors and seeing my little plants grow. Thanks to apartment living, I've always used small potted gardens (with variable success). But now I'm in a house....and this house, oh man, a garden it has! The planters hadn't seen much TLC in the last few years, so I gave them a little face lift and bingo, a garden is reborn.

My planters currently sport spinach, bell peppers, cilantro, basil, strawberries and tomatoes. From having grown spinach and tomatoes before, I'm confident I won't kill those (sorta).The others, well that's a gamble. I'm crossing my fingers that the odds will be ever in my favor (love hunger games!).

When I'm making recipes with fresh-from-the-garden produce, I want to make sure the other ingredients are super-fresh too. I like to make raw salads because it allows you to really taste the freshness of the veggies. Homemade salad dressings are not only easy, but they really compliment the ingredients nicely and don't have that artificial taste because....they're not!

So here are a few of my favorite salads and their homemade dressings:

Asian Salad Dressing from The Pioneer Woman

Lemony Vinaigrette Dressing from me!

Apple Cider Vinaigrette from Food Plus Words

Simple Greek Salad Dressing from Shutterbean

I always make extra dressing to keep on hand. It just makes life easier so that when I pick some spinach from the garden...

It becomes a yummy salad in no time...

Do you have a garden? What are you planting?

How I Plan Healthy Menus

I'm back in the land of the living; a land with internet and the comforts of modern life. We've been settling into the new house and enjoying life as homeowners. Trees were climbed, flowers were smelled and more prego pics were taken.

Even with the stress of moving, I tried to stick to my usual meal prep/menu schedule. I won't deny there may have been a cosco pizza run and a possible in-and-out stop, but apart from that we made food at home. I like to make sure my family eats well, and it all starts with a healthy menu. My first priority in planning a menu is to make it balanced and healthy. My second priority is cost.

It surprises a lot of people when I say that eating healthy can be affordable so long as a few simple rules are followed. The first rule is to plan a menu (yes, this can save money). The second rule is to shop smart. Here's how I do it:

1. Think about your health goals. Do you want to see your family eating more fruits and vegetables? Or maybe trying more whole grains? Create a few goals for yourself and your family and then write them down. This will help determine what types of foods you buy at the grocery store (i.e. reaching for whole grain pasta instead of white).
2. Take inventory (i.e. check out your pantry and fridge). I try to choose recipes that allow me to use up whatever is left from last weeks shopping trip. That way, there is less waste and more money saved.
3. Select your recipes for the week. Typically, for me this means choosing about 5 dinner recipes, leaving the other 2 for our standard weekend fare: veggie pizza on Saturdays and soup and popcorn on Sundays. I try to serve fish 1-2 times per week, limit red meat to once per week, have at least one "meatless" meal and include poultry a couple times per week.
4. Write it down. Once I've got the recipes selected, I write them down on my menu board. I used this idea to create a menu that I hang in my kitchen. It's just fun.
5. Organize recipe favorites. I'm absolutely addicted to organizing my recipes on Pinterest. If you haven't tried it, seriously what are you waiting for? You'll find a ton of healthy recipe ideas that are absolutely delicious.
6. Create a list of ingredients. Write down only what you need and put the list in your purse or wallet a.s.a.p. so you don't forget it. Can you tell I've done that a few times?
7. Shop sales. I know - trust me - I'm a mom of a toddler and I certainly don't have time to drive around creation looking for the best deal on pot roast and green beans. But it doesn't have to be that bad. Just browse your local grocery store adds and go to the store that offers the majority of your ingredient list on sale. I usually shop between two grocery stores and save money that way. 
8. Know your price points. If you want the best price, you've got to know the average price. This is particularly useful for higher priced items like meats, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, etc. 

There is so much more to say on this topic, but I think I should stop at 8 points. Seriously, that's enough!  

I'm interested to know what YOU have to say. What tricks do you use to plan a healthy, affordable menu?

Party Time + Tips on Avoiding Food Waste

This week I got the chance to really "test" my advice, shall we say. My husband, son and I went to 2 holiday parties this weekend. A ton of fun was had by all and we certainly enjoyed some holiday goodies too! Thankfully, my son is more interested in bouncing off the walls than he is in eating a cookie, but I'm sure that will change. For now, I'll enjoy it.

For the adults though, things are a bit different. I'm majorly tempted by all things chocolate and anything that includes the words "cup" or "cake". Bonus if they're the SAME word!

So did the dietitian actually do what she recommended? I'd like to think so. Only one treat was eaten by said dietitian and I'm thinking the rest of the night may count as exercise as I was literally chasing my son everywhere, attempting to prevent him from injuring himself or someone else. As the mother of a toddler, I've learned that they can hurt themselves anytime, anywhere. It's just life.

On to menu planning...

Since we're traveling for the holidays, this week is THE week to clear out our fridge and pantry. Wasted food = wasted money and I am a fan of neither. According the the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), food waste is the largest portion of waste by weight in the US. Apparently, it comes to about 34 million tons per year. Pretty crazy. So, let's brainstorm creative ways to prevent food waste, especially if you plan on vacationing this holiday, leaving your pantry and fridge all by their lonesome.

Tips on Avoiding Food Waste:

1. Take inventory. Before grocery shopping, make a list and write down all that you want to use. Since some items are more perishable than others, aim to use those first. In the hospital kitchen, we call this technique "FIFO" - first in, first out. Meaning, use the items you first received, first! 
2. Label and date. By labeling and dating food items, it will allow you to keep better track of what needs to be used when and therefore reduce food waste. 
3. Create a menu. Buy foods pertaining to your menu and avoid other items that may just end up in the trash or spoiled.
4. Use leftovers in other recipes. I like using leftovers as lunch the next day. But you can certainly google just about any ingredient and find a decent recipe to try. High five for recipe ratings!

Happy holidays friends!

A Potted Garden and Arugula Pesto

Gardening is about trial and error. Right? Please say yes, because for me it's mostly error.

This Fall, I had high hopes for my potted garden which includes broccoli, sprouts and arugula. These beauties were supposed to provide delicious, healthy side dishes at a fraction of the cost. Well, turns out broccoli and sprouts take FOREVER to mature. Small oversight.

Thankfully, arugula grows pretty quickly. It gives me the immediate gratification I need to have patience for the rest of the slowpokes to grow.

Although my arugula is coming along nicely, it isn't quite ready to be sampled. Watching it grow each day beckoned me to make what I consider to be the yummiest spread around.....arugula pesto. It's green. It's fresh. It's garlicky. It's the perfect compliment to chicken...or fish...or bread....or whatever the heck you want to put it on! It's a party for your taste buds. True story.

It starts with some delicious, spicy, fresh Arugula. Put a few handfuls in the food processor.

  Smash some garlic.

Add garlic, parmesan cheese, walnuts (or pine nuts), salt and pepper. Start to blend and drizzle olive oil while blending.

Blend blend blend until you reach a smooth consistency.

As I mentioned, this pesto can go on just about anything, but last night, I opted to pair it with fresh baked salmon.

Once salmon is done, spread a dallop of pesto on top. I sereved this main dish with rice and steamed broccoli. Lots of green = Lots of good.

The toddler and the husband enjoyed this recipe. No leftovers. Once my arugula plant makes its debut, I plan on making this recipe again. Any pesto you don't use, you can freeze which saves you time and money! Hooray!

Here is the recipe (Adapted from Arugula Pesto)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups packed fresh arugula
• 2 garlic cloves
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3-1/2 cup pure olive oil
• 2 tablespoon walnuts
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Add all ingredients to food processor, excpet olive oil. Beging blending on low speed and drizzle olive oil in slowly until desired consistency is reached (about 15-20 seconds).

Date Nights and Grocery Budgets

Yay for date night!

My husband and I had a great date night this weekend. Great food and great conversation reminded me again why I married my sweetie. With a toddler at home, date nights don't happen too often around here so we certainly enjoy them when they come around. Here we are on our last date night at a Thai restaurant, don't we look happy?

This time, we ate at a delicious steakhouse with the. most. amazing. onion rings on the planet. Yes, I ate onion rings. It's date night, people! We also had other yummy things like new york strip steak, hamburger "slider" (really the size of a normal burger, but called a slider), and warm spinach salad with goat cheese. Amazing.

Eating out at a fancy steakhouse also reminded me why we usually eat at home....it's not cheap!
As much as I love food, I have to admit it can get expensive. Even eating at home is costly if not well planned. I am always looking for ways to stay within our grocery budget and thankfully another dietitian has dedicated an entire blog to the topic. The Budget Dietitian shares her simple tricks for slashing your grocery budget. Seriously, she feeds her family for about $75/week. She has my attention!

On a less-then-ideal note, that wonderful date night dinner ended up giving me food poisoning. Naturally, this would happen as we rarely eat out! What?! Anyway, this unfortunate event reminded me how important food safety is and that I clearly need another blog post on that topic! More on that next time :)

Have a wonderful week!

Eat Healthy Affordably - Topic #3: Frozen Fruits and Veggies

My freezer is always stocked with frozen fruits and veggies. Why? Because they're convenient, cost-effective and best of all....nutritious! Including frozen produce in your diet is a great way to increase your overall fruit and veggie intake - something everyone can use a bit more of!

Sadly, it seems like frozen fruits and vegetables have developed something of a bad rap. Many are convinced that frozen produce is less healthy than fresh, but the reality is that - in most cases - it is equal in nutrition to cooked fresh produce. Once harvested, fruits and veggies are frozen to preserve quality and nutrients. Contrary to popular belief, there are no preservatives in frozen produce since the process of freezing preserves the food naturally. While it's still advisable to eat fresh whenever possible, frozen produce allows you to enjoy a variety of fruits and veggies year round at a fraction of the cost. And they store in the freezer for up to 6 months!

Veggies currently in my freezer

I have a few tips when it comes to picking and preparing the healthiest frozen options. First, always buy varieties with no added syrups or sauces to keep added fat, sugar and salt to a minimum. For example, if you're buying frozen asparagus, the ingredients should read "asparagus" only. Secondly, to preserve nutrients, cook in minimal liquid to prevent vitamins from leaching into the water (unless of course you will be consuming this water, for example in a soup).

Frozen vegetables frequently find their way into many of our family meals including pizzas, lasagna, soups, stews, casseroles, etc. With so many varieties of frozen produce available, the only problem will be deciding which recipe to use!


Here is one that my family really enjoys and happened to be our dinner tonight:

Homemade Spinach Pizza

For the dough, see this recipe
(I usually substitute 1 cup of white flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour. It gives the dough a heartier taste and is slightly healthier).

For the Topping:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1 Cup Frozen Spinach
1-2 Cups Reduced-Fat Mozzerella Cheese, Shredded
1/4 Cup pizza sauce (Frankly, I just mix together tomato paste with a little water. Use whatever you prefer.)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I like it spicy!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Pro-tip: make the pizza dough in advance, divide and wrap into portions, and store in your freezer to preserve for up to 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remove one portion of dough from freezer and defrost in refrigerator for 24 hrs.  

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Saute chopped garlic in olive oil. Once you smell the garlic, add frozen spinach and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat to defrost and remove some of the water. While that's cooking, grate the cheese. Next, flatten and stretch the pizza dough into a large round disk and lay onto pizza pan. I use nonstick cooking spray on the pan to prevent pizza from sticking. Spread pizza sauce onto dough, then top with the the garlic-spinach mixture. Finish by sprinkling cheese, herbs, salt and pepper on top. Confession: I also added a few slices of seared salami that I chopped into pieces. Anyhoo, bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Something tells me your family won't mind eating their veggies this way......

For more info on the nutrition in frozen produce, click here.

Eat Healthy Affordably. Topic #2: PLAN ON IT!

Let me share with you one of the most important factors influencing both your budget and your waistline – planning. Over the years, I’ve talked to (at least) hundreds of clients and patients about how to achieve a healthy weight. Without a doubt, their ability to plan was always one of the top reasons they did (or did not) reach their goal.

Let’s be honest, in our society healthy eating doesn’t just happen. It takes effort to feed your family well. I am reminded of this every time I drive around town and am constantly bombarded with temptations: fast food, sweets, donuts (ahhhh, wish they weren't so good!!), dollar menus and the list goes on. It’s almost impossible to resist, unless you have a plan.

Here are my favorite planning tips that help me save money and eat healthy:

• THINK AHEAD. Be real - even though you just ate breakfast, in a few hours you’ll be hungry again. We all are. So, bring a snack. Bring a healthy snack and don’t go through that drive thru…don’t do it! Likewise, pack a lunch if you’re going to be away from home for a while. Pack one for your husband to take to work too.

• MAKE A LIST. Create a menu that will feed your family for the whole week. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. Write all ingredients down on a list and don’t forget it when you go to the grocery store (as I’ve done more times than I care to admit).

• STICK TO THE LIST. Yes, I know the Twix bars are 50% off at checkout and potato chips are buy one, get one free. Don’t do it! Stick to your list! You’ll save money....promise. While we’re on the topic, don’t put candy OR potato chips on your list.

• SHOP ONCE. Shopping only once per week for groceries can be challenging, but will definitely save money in the long run.

• BUY SEASONAL. Whether you chose to buy organic or conventional produce, buy seasonally so you can save money and get the most nutrients from your food. 

Here is our weekly dinner menu. Planning this not only helps save money, but allows me serve healthy meals without the last-minute worry about what we’re going to eat.

Do you have any good planning tips? Share the love - post a comment! 

Eating Healthy Affordably. Topic #1: Probiotics

I have a confession: I know I'm a dietitian and food is my business, but I don't like to spend a lot of money on it. Eating is expensive these days and unfortunately, it's often assumed that buying healthy food means spending more money. But take it from a gal who knows food and pinches pennies -- it doesn't have to cost more to eat healthy!

While there are money saving tips for all types of foods, today I want to focus on yogurt. Why? Well, recently I was asked about probiotics -- live microorganisms that help your digestive system and immune health -- and whether they are safe for kids to take. The short answer is YES! Probiotics are great for both kids and adults and the best natural source is yogurt. Assuming no lactose intolerance, children and adults can benefit from consuming one serving of yogurt per day for a healthy dose of probiotics.    

Not to complicate matters, but it has to be said: not all yogurts are created equal. Different yogurt brands offer different probiotics. For simplicity, always buy yogurt that has "live and active cultures" written on the label. That means you're getting at least some probiotics. However, if you want specific health benefits like improved immunity, try DanActive. If you want improved digestive health, try Activia. The probiotics found in these brands have been tested in scientific studies and found to have these health effects.

 Thanks to a local farm, today I had fresh picked 

strawberries and blackberries to eat with my yogurt.

Individually packaged servings of yogurt can be pricey, so buy the large container. I like to purchase the 32 oz size, which feeds my family (2 adults, 1 child) for the whole week to the tune of about 2 dollars. Pretty sweet. Whenever I want a quick, healthy on-the-go snack, I package the yogurt into single servings myself.

So enjoy the benefits of probiotics -- and possibly improved digestion and immunity -- without breaking your budget! For more detailed information on probiotics, click here