Tag Archives: Healthy Cooking

Vegetable Medley

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

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1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

1-2 zucchini, sliced

1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small pieces

1/4 head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

1 handful green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Stir in onion and saute for 3 minutes.  Mix in remaining vegetables and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.

Serve as a side dish or over whole wheat pasta, or brown rice.  Top with sauce if desired.

How to Simplify Your Weekly Food Preparation

04 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in Healthy Eating

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With a little planning ahead and food preparation, eating healthy meals and snacks is easy! Back when I was 19 years old, and made the choice of changing the way I ate to lower my cholesterol, I figured out how to simplify the process of what I was going to eat by cooking in large quantities and freezing a lot of what I made to eat during the coming days and weeks.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Select a few recipes to prepare. I usually choose one or two different soups, (click for a vegetable soup and a lentil soup) and make a big pot full of each.  Once they are cooled, keep some to eat during the week and freeze the rest in labeled containers.

2. Cook multiple servings of brown rice, quinoa, other whole grains or lentils. These all will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or can be frozen.

3. Precook vegetables by steaming, sauteing, baking or roasting.  They will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or can be frozen. A large batch of steamed broccoli can be warmed up as a side dish or served cold on a salad. Baked yams can be eaten right out of their skin as a side dish, in a salad or even for dessert.

4. Pre-cut raw vegetables for snacking, to put in salads or to take “on-the-go.”

Once you have some vegetables and grains prepared, you can easily combine them to make a quick and easy meal to eat at home or away while at work or school.  These combinations often taste good eaten hot or cold. Add a salad and some fruit to your prepared soup, vegetables and grains and you will easily be eating healthy.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Zucchini, Eggplant, Red Pepper Pasta

22 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Healthy Eating, Recipes

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1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 medium zucchini, cut into medium pieces

1 small eggplant, cut into medium pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into medium strips

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package whole wheat or other whole grain pasta

pasta sauce (optional)

Cook pasta according to instructions. While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook the garlic until it starts to brown.  Add the vegetables and salt.  Cook covered, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if the vegetables do not provide enough water during the cooking.

Serve the vegetables over the pasta and top with pasta sauce if desired.

Vacation Rental Kitchen and Healthy Happy Travel Tips

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Family Fun, Healthy Eating

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Timeshare KitchenWhether you are traveling by car or by plane, heading to a campsite, taking a road trip or off to a hotel or resort destination, I’ve got some healthy eating tips for you.

Some of Some of the best accommodation values are to rent a house, condo or timeshare.  All of these come with sizeable kitchens, making it easy to prepare healthy food while you are away.  I’ve had good experiences with two Timeshare rental sites: www.Redweek.com and www.MyResortNetwork.com. 

If you’re driving to your destination you have the ability to pack an ice chest with fruit, vegetables, and cooked or to be cooked lean meat, chicken, or salmon.  The following pre-cooked foods travel well: corn on the cob, brown rice, quinoa, lentils and baked sweet potatoes.  If you enjoy smoothies or protein shakes, it’s easy to bring a blender or Magic Bullet and the recipe ingredients.  You can also bring canned food, tuna, corn, beans, and dry brown rice or quinoa and bottled water. Consider what to bring based on the type of accommodations you will be staying at, and if you can cook, heat up food, have access to electricity and have refrigeration. (If you are crossing any boarders into another state or country, be aware that they may have restrictions on allowing produce and grains to enter.  The same applies to air travel into different countries.)

If you are staying at a hotel, you may have a small refrigerator and possibly a microwave oven.  Camping would give you more options for cooking, but no electricity and no refrigeration.  Keep in mind that an ice chest may not keep items as cold as a refrigerator.  If you are flying to a destination where you will have a full kitchen, check out the options for grocery shopping by contacting the place where you will be staying or checking online.  See what I bought and have been preparing in Cancun by clicking here.

I recommend that if you are going to be preparing food while away, that you bring a roll of paper towels, a sponge and some dishwashing soap.  Not all places provide these items.  You may also want to bring storage containers or plastic bags to store leftovers in.

Regardless of where your destination is and if you are driving or flying, I recommend making a “Travel Snack Bag” for each person traveling.  Some favorites to pack are pretzels or crackers, a banana, apple or other fruit, cut up carrots, red bell peppers or celery, and trail mix or almonds.  You could also include a sandwich. (Be aware that with the limitation of liquids on flights, this also applies to drinks and some foods, such as yogurt.)  Of course, if you are driving and have cup holders, everyone can have their own water.  Have your family help make up their own bags and write their name on their bag. It gives everyone the ability to eat anything out of their bag along the way without having to ask or say they don’t like any of the choices.  Happy Travels!

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis