So, tonight, we had ratatouille and fish for dinner. My recipe for ratatouille is:
chopped onion, carrot, celery - saute until transparent, SAUTE IN OLIVE OIL
add chopped zuchinni. chopped eggplant
add lots of choppped garlic ( 1 head)
If you like, add mushroom and red peppers
add a piece of a rind of a lemon and lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon
add canned tomato juice, sauce with herbs, cover the vegetables, an add fresh chopped basil. You can also add fresh chopped thyme, savory, parsley.
Let it cook for 2 hours on a low heat. It tastes best served with steamed white rice. We have served it with pasta, but the rice is most popular.
Make a salad, maybe some grilled bread and everyone is very happy.
We also made trout. I put a lot of fresh lemon juice on the trout and added olive oil, fresh chopped garlic and salt and pepper. It was cooked in a pan on the stove, skin side down and do not turn. EVERYONE , FROM 8 YEARS OLD, TO TEENS TO ADULT WERE HAPPY! IT WAS A DELICIOUS MEAL.
Please remember to buy fresh vegies and try not to eat out! Think of the kids, try to train their taste buds.
Many years ago my kids only liked iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional value. It is all water. I mamke only baby leaf salads, which is dark leaves of lettuce. Add walnuts, strawberries, cheese, cranraisins and make a good dressing and they will convert. They still like the iceberg lettuce once in a while, but daily I make the salads of dark green leaves and they really like it.
My salad dressing is as follows and it is killer, everyone loves it:
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
9 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
slowly drizzle 1 cup of olive oil in with the rest of the ingredients
add salt and pepper to test
Until next time!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
It’s Soup Time
Sunday, January 17, 2010 – It's Soup Time!
It does not seem to matter what the weather is, my kids can eat soup year round. Since it is the weekend, I will have time to make one of our favorite soups, Tortilla Chicken Soup. We have left over baked chicken from Friday, so I will use that for my soup. Click on Tyler Florence's recipe here, it is delicious!
Take notice that olive oil is used instead of butter. In order to cut down on fat intake, substitute butter and margarine with vegetable or olive oil when possible. Also, trim the fat from your chicken before cooking and consider cooking it without the skin. The skin has a lot of fat. The above recipe has fried tortilla chips, which themselves are not too healthy, but you are only adding a few slices for that crunchy taste.
Cutting down on fat not only helps control weight, it is healthier for your heart and helps control high blood pressure.
If you have a soup recipe you love, please share it here! Happy and healthy eating to all.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
challah recipe
Challah recipe - The best challah recipe!
In a bowl, mix together in the following order:
1 cup warm water
1/2 c. vegetable oil (do not use olive oil!)
3 eggs (room temperature is best)
1/4 c. plus 1 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
5 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
You can mix this by hand and then kneed it for 10 minutes, let it rise and kneed it again. Separate the dough in half (or into or if you want more than two challahs) then add chocolate chips, raisins, twist it and let it rise again. OR you can start it in a bread machine on the "Dough" cycle. Take it out when the "Dough" cycle is finished, kneed it, let it rise and follow the steps above.
Brush a beaten egg on the challah and add sesame seeds if you like.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 18 minutes. Dough should be medium brown when done.
Not only is this good at the Shabbat table, it is delicious with coffee on Saturday morning!
Healthy eating and exercise are key to living a long healthy life. Happy eating.
In a bowl, mix together in the following order:
1 cup warm water
1/2 c. vegetable oil (do not use olive oil!)
3 eggs (room temperature is best)
1/4 c. plus 1 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
5 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
You can mix this by hand and then kneed it for 10 minutes, let it rise and kneed it again. Separate the dough in half (or into or if you want more than two challahs) then add chocolate chips, raisins, twist it and let it rise again. OR you can start it in a bread machine on the "Dough" cycle. Take it out when the "Dough" cycle is finished, kneed it, let it rise and follow the steps above.
Brush a beaten egg on the challah and add sesame seeds if you like.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 18 minutes. Dough should be medium brown when done.
Not only is this good at the Shabbat table, it is delicious with coffee on Saturday morning!
Healthy eating and exercise are key to living a long healthy life. Happy eating.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Breakfast
What do your kids and you, eat for breakfast?
I am an advocate of always eating a little bit of fruit before I eat cereal, toast or eggs. Your will tend to feel full faster if you do this and then hopefully eat less.
Breakfast truly is a very important meal, especially for children who cannot get up and get something to eat in class, like you can at work or at home. Feeding your children in the morning not only takes care of hunger pains, but gives fuel to their brains.
I suggest whole grain, low fat foods like: cream of rice, oatmeal, cream of wheat (these items can be made in the evening and then heated up in the morning), Grape Nuts, Wheaties, Shredded Wheat, Rice Chex, Cheerios, whole grain toast and eggs, yogurt with granola. Treat yourself to bagels occassionally. They are usually high in fat. these types of food fill the children up for a longer period of time. These foods do not turn into fat, but to energy and they will tend not to feel as lathargic during the day.
A tip about yogurt and anything lowfat! I will almost always advocate eating foods that are not "non-fat" or "lowfat". Read the ingredients. Many times you are trading fat for chemicals. It is easier to burn off fat by eating healthy foods and exercising, but you cannot get rid of chemicals. If you start reading the labels of your bread, cereals, cookies, milk, yogurt, chips, etc., you will find "Partially hydrogenated" in almost everything! This is a cancer causing chemical and if you eat it in every food, every day for years and years, this can possibly be the cause of many different illnesses later in life.
The next time you go to the pantry or to the market, read the ingredients sof the food you are eating. You are what you eat.
Tuesday is fish night. Do you like fish? If so, after you clean the fish, squeeze fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt pepper and fresh chopped garlic (maybe chopped parsley too). Bake or saute it to your liking. It is delicious! Accompany it with steamed rice or pasta, cooked (not too cooked) vegies and a salad. Try dark green lettuce in place of iceberg or romaine, it is has more vitamins and minerals.
I would love your feed back or suggestions or questions. Tomorrow I will give you my delicious challah recipe.
Keep eating healthy and exercising.
I am an advocate of always eating a little bit of fruit before I eat cereal, toast or eggs. Your will tend to feel full faster if you do this and then hopefully eat less.
Breakfast truly is a very important meal, especially for children who cannot get up and get something to eat in class, like you can at work or at home. Feeding your children in the morning not only takes care of hunger pains, but gives fuel to their brains.
I suggest whole grain, low fat foods like: cream of rice, oatmeal, cream of wheat (these items can be made in the evening and then heated up in the morning), Grape Nuts, Wheaties, Shredded Wheat, Rice Chex, Cheerios, whole grain toast and eggs, yogurt with granola. Treat yourself to bagels occassionally. They are usually high in fat. these types of food fill the children up for a longer period of time. These foods do not turn into fat, but to energy and they will tend not to feel as lathargic during the day.
A tip about yogurt and anything lowfat! I will almost always advocate eating foods that are not "non-fat" or "lowfat". Read the ingredients. Many times you are trading fat for chemicals. It is easier to burn off fat by eating healthy foods and exercising, but you cannot get rid of chemicals. If you start reading the labels of your bread, cereals, cookies, milk, yogurt, chips, etc., you will find "Partially hydrogenated" in almost everything! This is a cancer causing chemical and if you eat it in every food, every day for years and years, this can possibly be the cause of many different illnesses later in life.
The next time you go to the pantry or to the market, read the ingredients sof the food you are eating. You are what you eat.
Tuesday is fish night. Do you like fish? If so, after you clean the fish, squeeze fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt pepper and fresh chopped garlic (maybe chopped parsley too). Bake or saute it to your liking. It is delicious! Accompany it with steamed rice or pasta, cooked (not too cooked) vegies and a salad. Try dark green lettuce in place of iceberg or romaine, it is has more vitamins and minerals.
I would love your feed back or suggestions or questions. Tomorrow I will give you my delicious challah recipe.
Keep eating healthy and exercising.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Chicken Marsala - left overs
On Monday after work I am so happy because I normally have left over food from Sunday, for Monday nights' dinner. Tonight we are having left over Chicken Marsala (I used Emeril Lagasse's recipe) which we had last night with steamed white rice, steaded caulifower, green beans, wax beans and a mixed baby lettuce salad with chopped green onions and walnuts.
Every night I prepare (or try to) for dinner, a salad, a vegetable, a carbohydrate and a protein. Many nights there is not enough food left over for everyone, so I have to leave that for snacks and make a whole new meal.
Until tomorrow, eat healthy and exercise!/
Every night I prepare (or try to) for dinner, a salad, a vegetable, a carbohydrate and a protein. Many nights there is not enough food left over for everyone, so I have to leave that for snacks and make a whole new meal.
Until tomorrow, eat healthy and exercise!/
Back to school and packing lunch
Today is the first day back to school for my cihldren. Last night we prepared cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches, (ONLY ON WHOLE GRAIN BREAD) tuna sandwich with green onion and made with plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise. One of the kids wanted peanut butter and jelly. A great choice because you are getting protein with the peanut butter and carbohydrates with the jam and bread. For a fruit they like red grapes and sliced apples. Of course we throw in some cookies or potato chips!
I encourage everyone to pack a lunch at least three days a week. You will probably eat healthier food and you will save money.
I had athought yesterday while I was running that I want to share. The food you eat within 30 minutes after you exercise is the energy that your body will feed off of when you exercise the next time. Eat complex carbohydrates such as an apple, a piece of plain whole grain bread or whole grain cereal. The your body will store these foods which turns into energy which you will need the next time you exercise. If you eat sugar it turns into fat and does not provide your body with the energy it will need.
Have a healthy and fit day! Until tomorrow.
I encourage everyone to pack a lunch at least three days a week. You will probably eat healthier food and you will save money.
I had athought yesterday while I was running that I want to share. The food you eat within 30 minutes after you exercise is the energy that your body will feed off of when you exercise the next time. Eat complex carbohydrates such as an apple, a piece of plain whole grain bread or whole grain cereal. The your body will store these foods which turns into energy which you will need the next time you exercise. If you eat sugar it turns into fat and does not provide your body with the energy it will need.
Have a healthy and fit day! Until tomorrow.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Exercise today
Good morning everyone!
It's time to exercise. If you have not already started your exercise program for the year I am going to give you motivation to begin. If you are currently on a regular routine of exercising, good for you and strive to improve.
I have a lot of personal experience with exercise training. I taught aerobic exercise and strength training for 11 years, I have run 8 marathons and participated in 4 triathlons, I run 8 - 10 miles a day, and taught physical education at a local elementary school. I exercise to stay healthy and that is what I want for you too.
You can start today and this is how:
• Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a 5K (kilometer) race or to lower your blood pressure? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress.
Most adults should aim for at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity — or 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. Adults also need two or more days of strength training a week.
• Plan a logical progression of activity. I recommend you start slow and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or a physical therapist for help designing a fitness program that suits you best.
• Think about how you'll build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, or read while riding a stationary bike.
• Plan to include different activities. Different activities, or cross-training, reduces the chances of overusing a particular muscle group and will help prevent injuries. Cross training also helps you from getting bored of exercising. I suggest what is most convenient and enjoyable to you; such as walking, swimming, running and strength training.
• Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising intensely and do not take time to stretch after. This part of your routine is as important as exercising. Learning how to stretch the muscles you used that day will help prevent injuries and tight muscles later in the day. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover. Visit the following website for information about stretching: http://weboflife.ksc.nasa.gov/exerciseandaging/chapter4_stretching.html
• Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.
My walking group
We can do this together. Join my walking group that I will begin on Sunday, January 17 at 9:30 at Shomrei Torah Synagogue, 7353 Valley Circle Blvd. (meet near the guard booth on the sidewalk). We will power walk for 45 minutes and then stretch for 15. It is only 1 hour of your time! I look forward to seeing you next week.
It's time to exercise. If you have not already started your exercise program for the year I am going to give you motivation to begin. If you are currently on a regular routine of exercising, good for you and strive to improve.
I have a lot of personal experience with exercise training. I taught aerobic exercise and strength training for 11 years, I have run 8 marathons and participated in 4 triathlons, I run 8 - 10 miles a day, and taught physical education at a local elementary school. I exercise to stay healthy and that is what I want for you too.
You can start today and this is how:
• Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a 5K (kilometer) race or to lower your blood pressure? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress.
Most adults should aim for at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity — or 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. Adults also need two or more days of strength training a week.
• Plan a logical progression of activity. I recommend you start slow and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or a physical therapist for help designing a fitness program that suits you best.
• Think about how you'll build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, or read while riding a stationary bike.
• Plan to include different activities. Different activities, or cross-training, reduces the chances of overusing a particular muscle group and will help prevent injuries. Cross training also helps you from getting bored of exercising. I suggest what is most convenient and enjoyable to you; such as walking, swimming, running and strength training.
• Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising intensely and do not take time to stretch after. This part of your routine is as important as exercising. Learning how to stretch the muscles you used that day will help prevent injuries and tight muscles later in the day. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover. Visit the following website for information about stretching: http://weboflife.ksc.nasa.gov/exerciseandaging/chapter4_stretching.html
• Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.
My walking group
We can do this together. Join my walking group that I will begin on Sunday, January 17 at 9:30 at Shomrei Torah Synagogue, 7353 Valley Circle Blvd. (meet near the guard booth on the sidewalk). We will power walk for 45 minutes and then stretch for 15. It is only 1 hour of your time! I look forward to seeing you next week.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Switch to Healthy eating
It’s January 9, 2010 and I am sure a lot of you are following your New Year’s resolutions of eating healthier and exercising! For those of you that have not gotten off to a good start, don’t worry. Every day is a new day and you can start today!
My Culin8 blog is going to focus on healthy food preparation and healthy eating.
Here are some ideas to implement into your daily diet;
• Prepare more food at home and eat out less
I challenge all of you to prepare more food at home, instead of eating out. You will cut down on your intake of sodium and fat (and of course save money).
• Take your lunch to work
For example, I prepare my lunch at home the night before I go to work. If you have a refrigerator and toaster at work, you can take your food and prepare it at work.
• Eat more vegetables and fruit every day
I encourage you to think about eating vegetables or fruit with your meals—and eat them first. By eating vegetables and fruit first, you will fill up on your healthy choices first.
• Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Your metabolism needs to be fed to work, which helps burn calories. Breakfast can be simple so don’t skip it! Even if you only eat a banana, ½ an apple, yogurt, cottage cheese or a bowl of grape nuts you are well on your way to a good day!
Visit my blog tomorrow, for more healthful information about exercising.
My Culin8 blog is going to focus on healthy food preparation and healthy eating.
Here are some ideas to implement into your daily diet;
• Prepare more food at home and eat out less
I challenge all of you to prepare more food at home, instead of eating out. You will cut down on your intake of sodium and fat (and of course save money).
• Take your lunch to work
For example, I prepare my lunch at home the night before I go to work. If you have a refrigerator and toaster at work, you can take your food and prepare it at work.
• Eat more vegetables and fruit every day
I encourage you to think about eating vegetables or fruit with your meals—and eat them first. By eating vegetables and fruit first, you will fill up on your healthy choices first.
• Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Your metabolism needs to be fed to work, which helps burn calories. Breakfast can be simple so don’t skip it! Even if you only eat a banana, ½ an apple, yogurt, cottage cheese or a bowl of grape nuts you are well on your way to a good day!
Visit my blog tomorrow, for more healthful information about exercising.
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