I love good food and I love art, so what better than to share some of my favorite images of food AS art!
this post is brought to you by the letter “O” for organic
The folks who originated these ideas must have never been told to “stop playing with your food” at their dinner table. Thanks to the creative geniuses and Google images for storing all these great images for me to share with you. Please feel free to share your ideas of making food fun.
This was too good not to share. Thanks to Darya Pino at Summer Tomato for creating this fun diagram.
I have always recommended that you shop the perimeter of the grocery store to find the healthiest foods. This flowchart pretty much says the same thing, in a fun lighthearted manner. By sticking to the outside of any grocery store you will be focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and dairy/eggs. Add in your staples of grains (preferably whole grain: rice, pasta, cereal, bread), some dried or canned beans and you have a complete meal plan. All the other interior isles in a grocery store are primarily processed, low-nutrient filler foods and condiments. That’s where a list comes in handy! If you need hot sauce, mustard, canned artichoke hearts, nuts or other fairly healthy canned/jarred foods make one trip down that interior isle for ONLY the foods on your list. And don’t always be tempted by the end of aisle attention grabbers! They aren’t always sale items that are a good deal, sometimes it’s food that the store needs to unload because of overstock.
Next time you are at your favorite grocery store, take a moment to really notice the layout and begin to organize your shopping list according to how you can most efficiently move through the store. This will help cut down the time you spend wandering the isles.
Happy shopping.
Posted in Dietary Guidelines, Food, Meal planning
Tagged food, grocery shopping, healthiest foods, healthy foods
Frittata with garlic, onion, peppers and kale, topped with sliced tomato and cheddar cheese.
Looking for a protein heavy main dish, or have a bunch of eggs you need to use up and don’t feel like baking? That was my situation last week, I didn’t feel like baking with eggs, so I turned them into a dinner dish instead!
This lovely frittata even comes with a “hidden” dose of veggies inside. Make sure you use an oven-proof fry pan because it goes under the broiler at the end!
I began by sautéing minced garlic and chopped onion and bell peppers in a little olive oil. Then added some kale until bright green and wilted.
saute kale, garlic, onion
Then, using my blender, I pureed the sautéed vegetables until well mixed and returned the mixture to the fry pan. Season with italian seasonings if desired (black pepper, thyme, oregano, basil and/or rosemary).
pureed vegetables for frittata
Beat eggs in a measuring cup or bowl and add to the pan of pureed veggies over medium heat. I think I used 6 whole eggs and 2 whites. Stir until just mixed and then leave alone.
add in eggs-frittata
Cook on the stovetop until the edges look cooked through and start to pull away from the pan edges. Top with fresh tomato slices and a sprinkling of sharp cheddar cheese.
frittata topped with tomato and cheese
Place under the broiler until the top is set and cheese melts. You might like it a little browned on top as well.
frittata with kale, tomato and cheese
Serve with a side salad and these yummy oven roasted rosemary potatoes.
Potatoes are sliced into small wedges, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and dried rosemary. Roast at 400 until tender inside and crispy outside, usually about 20 minutes.
baked rosemary potato
I’m taking a break from hosting the Super Bowl party this year, so below you can find my menu from last year and what we decided to do with leftovers. I will try to add the recipes to this site this week, but as some of you have guessed by following my blog and twitter for the past year, I often times don’t use recipes and just post the names for my meal items so you can be flexible in your planning. For the Chili you can use my New England chili recipe and replace the beef with ground turkey. The Boneless Buffalo tenders where just strips of skinless chicken breast soaked in a buttermilk/hot sauce mix, dipped in panko crumbs and baked. My Queso is homemade with REAL cheddar cheese, I never use velveeta or any other processed cheese products, so that will be a recipe I try to add for you. The recipe at Eating Well was the inspiration for my queso, although I use white extra sharp cheddar, and suggest dicing the onion very fine! And the Quesadillas were simply sautéed chicken, onions, peppers and I think spinach was also in there, placed between tortillas with a small amount of cheese and baked until the tortillas are lightly crisped and cheese melts.
Bean Dip from Eating Well
Cheers to your Healthy, Yummy Super Bowl Party!
If you are looking for other ideas and recipes to make your Super Bowl Party foods lighter and healthier, I highly suggest you start here at Eating Well magazine online.
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So, we had a pretty successful Super Bowl party last night (LAST YEAR! 
, so much fun that I forgot to take pictures….not even of all the lovely food!
The quandary now is what to do with all the leftovers! Here is our menu:
Southwest Layered Bean Dip, Baked Boneless Buffalo Tenders, Veggies and Blue Cheese dip, Turkey and Bean Chili, Queso, Cornbread, Guacamole and Salsa and Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas.
The Leftovers: TWO whole pans of uncooked chicken tenders (all marinated and breaded, just not baked yet), 3/4 of the bean dip (the kind covered with lettuce, tomatoes and avocado), chili, LOTS of Queso and Cornbread and the chicken and veggies for quesadillas is all cooked and separated in storage containers.
So, how much can I freeze and what do I have to use up today? I’m pretty sure I can freeze the chicken tenders as they are, the chili can be frozen, as well as the cornbread. But what do I do with the Queso, bean dip and quesadilla fillings? Sounds like we’ll be having chicken and bean enchiladas/quesadillas or tex-mex salads for the next 2-3 meals!
Anyone have any other suggestions? Maybe a chicken tortilla soup?? Please help me use up this yummy food…….
Posted in Meal planning, Recipes
Tagged Dinner, family, food, super bowl party foods, SuperBowl
Sharing my first green smoothie recipe. I have not done this before, nor have I tried juicing, simply because I really like to eat my fruits and vegetables! But seeing how many clients have been asking me for simple recipes that they can make quickly for busy mornings or afternoons on the run I wanted to test some so I can fully recommend them as tasty and easy!
So, today’s test included:
One fresh Texas Grapefruit, peeled and seeded
One fresh Texas orange, peeled and seeded
Roughly one and a half cups of loosely packed fresh baby spinach
small cup of ice
4 chunks of frozen pineapple.
Blend the grapefruit and orange together, making sure no seeds got left behind (remove if you find one)! Add spinach and ice and blend again until thoroughly blended. Add pineapple and blend one last time. Feel free to thin with water or thicken with more ice if needed. Enjoy! Makes at least 16 ounces, so share or split and keep half in a sealed glass container in the fridge until you are ready for more.
This recipe is Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Vegan!
Posted in Drinks, locally grown, Recipes
Tagged dairy-free, food, gluten-free, green smoothie
Flatbread pizza on the grill! This was a really tasty and quick dinner idea that made good use of some leftover vegetables. A whole grain flatbread, topped with tomato sauce and italian seasonings, a little cheddar cheese, red and green peppers and onions that had been sautéed the night before for fajitas and some fresh kale. Simply delicious!
Posted in Meal planning, Recipes
Tagged flatbread pizza, food, Kale, quick dinner ideas
Yesterday was a cold 40 degree day and I was inspired to make a pot of Chili and fresh-baked corn bread to warm me from the inside out. Now, I know my Vermont and Minnesota friends are laughing at me for calling 40 degrees in January COLD, and my Texas friends are laughing that I call this recipe Chili because it contains beans, but I’m posting it just the same! I have also decided to enter our neighborhood chili cook-off next month with 2 different chili recipes, so stay tuned for those recipes to be added after the event.
Notice the little side of Beano?!? Just in case…. 
Andrea’s Hearty New England Chili
This recipe is very adaptable to suit the tasted of your family. You can substitute ground turkey or chicken for the sirloin, any tomatoes will work and you can add diced jalapeños too if your heart, and stomach, desire!
28 ounces Ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilies
27 ounces Pinto beans, rinsed and drained
27 ounces Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb. ground sirloin, lean
1.5 small yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, green, diced
1 bell pepper, red, diced
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Servings/Yield: 12 servings | approx 6 quarts
1. Empty can of RoTel tomatoes into crock pot and turn on high. Rinse and drain both cans of beans and add to crock pot. Cover.
2. Brown meat and onions in fry pan with just a small amount of oil to prevent sticking. Add chili powder and cayenne pepper (if desired) to meat and stir to mix. Add to crock-pot once meat is no longer red.
3. Add peppers and stir all in pot. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour or until bubbly, reduce to low and cook 3-6 hours.
4. Enjoy your piping hot chili! Top with your choice of diced raw onion, fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, scallions, etc.
Nutrition info per serving: 226kcal, Saturated fatty acids: 2.03g, Monounsaturated fatty acids: 2.30g, Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 0.63g, Total fat: 4.96g, Calories from fat: 44, Cholesterol: 33mg, Carbohydrate, by difference: 26.05g, Total dietary fiber: 7.38g, Protein: 18.28g, Total lipid (fat): 5.73g, Total sugars: 4.12g
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Corny Corn Bread
Servings/Yield: 9 servings | 18 squares
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| Nutrition Info per serving: 213kcal, Saturated fatty acids: 0.66g, Monounsaturated fatty acids: 4.77g, Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 1.36g, Total fat: 6.78g, Calories from fat: 61, Cholesterol: 21mg, Carbohydrate, by difference: 32.85g, Total dietary fiber: 1.42g, Protein: 4.85g |
Posted in Meal planning, Recipes
Tagged chili, chili recipes, comfort foods, crock pot, food, slow-cooker
Thought I would share an example of a balanced dinner based on the myplate design (half of the plate contains fruits and vegetables, the other half is split between lean protein and whole grains).
This is a garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette and a fish taco on corn tortilla with salsa and avocado.
Posted in Dietary Guidelines, Meal planning
Tagged corn tortilla, fish taco, food, fruits and vegetables, lean protein, Myplate
http://www.latimes.com/health/ct-x-0622-health-pesticide-20110622,0,6385683.story
Nobody wants to knowingly consume pesticides, but the current risk of pesticides on whole fruits and vegetables is smaller than the risk to your health if you don’t eat fruits and vegetables at all. So how can you eat healthy and reduce your risk from pesticides?
1. Wash all your fruits and vegetables well by rubbing the whole produce under running water. You can use a vegetable scrubber brush on heartier produce such as potatoes and apples.
2. Peel when necessary. The skin of many fruits and vegetables contain a good portion of the fiber and vitamins and minerals, but better to eat only the flesh of a fruit than to not eat it at all if you are concerned with the levels of pesticides on the outside of the fruit.
3. Eat a variety of produce and buy organic when possible–but still practice numbers one and two!
Posted in Dietary Guidelines, food safety, locally grown
Tagged food, healthy foods, pesticides, produce
My kids love April Fool’s day, but I have never been very creative with the practical jokes. I had some free time today, so I thought I’d play with food and see if I could pull one over on them for dinner tonight! Small success, I’ll take it!
Dessert first! I presented this dish and told them they had to eat dessert first before they could have dinner. They were very excited, until they put their noses close and couldn’t smell any cupcake scent! Any creative cooks out there know how to change the smell of food???
Eat dessert first before you get dinner!
“Dessert” consisted of turkey and quinoa meatloaf, topped with mashed potatoes and tomato paste “B’s” (for the Boston Red Sox on opening day, of course!) and a side of orange sherbet (or pureed carrots and sweet potato).
“Dinner” was a plate of nachos. Triangular shortbread cookies topped with a mix of granny smith apple, strawberries and chopped dark chocolate, and a sprinkle of white chocolate shavings as “cheese”.
My husband loved the “dessert”! I don’t think I have made meatloaf for over 10 years. My son was willing to try it once I agreed to let him put barbecue sauce on it, but my daughter was the most resilient. We finally told her that if she put the meatloaf in a hamburger bun and melted a little cheese it would taste just like my turkey burgers, which she loves! That’s where the small success comes in.
And they all loved dinner, of course! Can’t beat fresh fruit and chocolate, no matter what form it’s presented in!
I would post recipes, but I didn’t follow any….so if you like to play around here is the general ingredients:
Turkey and Quinoa meatloaf: One pound of extra lean ground turkey, 1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I had some leftover that had been cooked in chicken stock the day before), one carrot and half vidalia onion (chopped finely in the food processor), fresh parsley, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce and adobo all-purpose seasoning and an egg. Mix all together and divide between 12 foil muffin tins, bake in 350 degree oven until done (about 30 minutes). Top with hot mashed potatoes made extra light and fluffy. Get creative with your toppings to really make it look like a cupcake.
“Orange Sorbet”: cook two peeled carrots and one sweet potato in a little water until soft enough to puree. Add a small amount of butter and maple syrup to taste. Use some of the cooking liquid to achieve desired consistency.
“Nachos”: top triangular shortbread cookies from a package (one shortcut….:( ) with “salsa” made from fresh strawberries and a granny apple, finely chopped, with a splash of lime or lemon juice and a tablespoon of sugar to make some juice. I added in chopped dark chocolate to the salsa because my kids pick on me for loving black bean salsa!. Top nachos with shaved white chocolate and ENJOY!
Have you tried any April Fool’s recipes or meal ideas? Were they successful?
