by kelsey | Sep 27, 2012 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
A few weeks ago, my mom taught me the art of canning tomatoes and salsa. It certainly makes that can of salsa seem a lot more valuable when you learn how tedious the process of canning is! Tomatoes are one of her favorite vegetables so her garden had plenty of them. There are several varieties of tomatoes, but all are a great source of nutrients for our body. As you have heard me say before, the more color, the better! Incorporating tomatoes into your meals and snacks is a great way to add a great deal of nutrients to your diet.
Tomatoes are especially high in lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant that aids in disease prevention. In addition, they are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin E, and potassium. They are loaded with great vitamins and minerals, but low in calories, making them an excellent part of a healthy diet. You can certainly eat the tomato raw like we do an apple, however you can add them to various dishes and still get these great benefits. Be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market and our local grocery stores, as they are ripe right now, making them be at a great price and quality!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 20, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Food
County Fair Foods provided excellent treats for Tuesday’s STRIVE meeting! The food not only tasted great, it was healthy! Be sure to try these recipes out at home!
Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
1 Egg
3 Egg whites
1 Tbsp water
3 Eggplants thinly sliced
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
6 c spaghetti sauce (divided)
3/4 lb part skim mozzarella cheese shredded (divided)
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1/2 tsp dried basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together egg, egg whites, and water in a shallow bowl. Peel and slice eggplant. Dip eggplant slices into the egg, then bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until fork tender…about 7-10 minutes on each side. Spreadh spaghetti sauce on bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place a layer of eggplant in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese on top. Sprinkle with basil. Bake in oven for 35 minutes until golden brown.
Chicken Stirfry & Brown Rice
Mix brown rice, stirfry vegetables, chicken, and stir fry seasoning together! There really isn’t a wrong way to do this one…adapt to your own liking.
Healthy Holiday Apple Cider
2 bottles of Old Orchard Perfect Balance Apple Juice
1 box Shurfine sugar free cherry gelatin
Mix ingredients together. Heat and serve.
Enjoy!!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 12, 2012 | Food
As many of you may have heard, school lunch in the U.S. is undergoing some positive changes to improve the nutrition content of the foods and in turn improve the health and wellbeing of our kids. The USDA’s Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act is designed to improve 32 million school age children’s nutrition in the US. The main goal of this act is to provide healthy and wholesome meals that mimic the 2012 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It’s important to serve our children healthy and nutritious foods as nutrition is directly related to learning and success in the classroom.
The main changes that are being implemented are increasing fruits and vegetables, decreasing total fat and saturated fat content by incorporating more lean meats and low fat milk products, reducing sodium content by 25-50%, incorporating more whole grains over the white, refined grains, and serving more appropriate portion sizes.
These new recommendations have come under scrutiny, however with all new processes, we need to be patient and give it some time to work! Overall, the improvements are going to improve the nutrition and health of our children which is very important. I have visited with Scott Wahl, Watertown Foodservice Director at our Coordinated School Health meetings and he is working hard to achieve these new recommendations. For those with school aged kids, take some time to examine the menu with your child and discuss the changes and why these improvements are needed!
For more information check out: http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=%206442471598.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 6, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
The Grilled Chicken Breasts with Caesar Salad was a big hit at Tuesday’s meeting thanks to County Fair Foods! South Dakotans rank at the bottom of the list for fruit and vegetable consumption, so increasing our produce intake is something we all need to work on. Be sure to try out this salad to help boost your vegetable intake!
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Grill chicken breasts on outdoor grill
Season with Chef Secret seasoning
Baste with Walden Farms BBQ Sauce
Ceasar Salad
1 bunch of romaine lettuce
1 bottle of fat free Caesar dressing
1 package of fat free croutons
1 c fresh parmesan cheese
Wash lettuce, tear into bite size pieces and toss with dressing in a large bowl.
Top salad with parmesan cheese, chicken, and croutons
Enjoy!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 5, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
One of my favorite parts of the STRIVE 2 Survive lectures is enjoying the tasty and healthy treats County Fair Foods provides for our participants. Last night we had a really great Chicken Ceasar Salad and an excellent Healthy Homemade Salsa. Right now is a great time for salsa as tomotoes are in season. Tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, lycopene, vitamins and minerals, and are low in calories. Be sure to try out this healthy salsa recipe with some whole grain chips or baked chips.
Healthy Homemade Salsa
6 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno finely chopped (take seeds out to make it less hot)
1/2 white onion chopped
Mix all ingredients together and serve with whole grain chips.
Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post for the salad recipe!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Aug 23, 2012 | Food, Heart Health
What is flaxseed?
According to current research, flaxseed is considered a superfood (a nutrient-rich food that is beneficial for health). It is a small seed that comes from flax plant.
What are some of the benefits of flaxseed?
Flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acids, the good fats that are also in supplements like fish oils. Omega-3 is essential for vegetarians or people who do not eat fish. Flaxseed also contains lignans which contain plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. In addition, the high amounts of fiber are beneficial to the digestive system. It is important to drink plenty of water when adding flaxseed to your diet.
What is the best way to eat flaxseed?
- Mix ground flaxseed into oatmeal, smoothies, cottage cheese, or yogurt
- Substitute 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed for every 2 cups or more of flour
- Replace one egg with 1 tsp of milled flaxseed + 3 tsp water in baked goods like muffins, cookies, or bread
Recommended Dosage:
Flaxseed: 1 Tbsp, 2-3x/day
Flaxseed Oil: 15-30 mL/day
**It is recommended to ease into the 2-3 Tbsp/day of flaxseed so start with 1 tsp and gradually increase from there.
*This blog post was written by Megan Bren, SDSU Dietetic Student.
-Kelsey
