Make Healthy Meals

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green or sweet red pepper, chopped
6 lg. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/3 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp. dried sage
1 lb. dry linguine, cooked and drained
2 to 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best ways to improve your diet is to stop eating out when you’re at work or school. This can be applied to your entire family. While some may complain at first about the changes in the food, over time they may come to appreciate the flavors that healthy foods offer.

The most important part is to choose nutritious foods to go into the brown bag or lunch box. In other words, no chips, no cupcakes, no candy, no soda. With a bit of work, you can find foods that everyone will enjoy so that the kids are less likely to trade away their healthy lunches.

Here are some of the basics to a good brown bag lunch. Choose three or more, and remember that some may need to be kept in a refrigerator or have an ice pack included to keep things cold until lunch: Read the rest of this entry »

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. water
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. oil
4 slices (4 oz.) Mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese Read the rest of this entry »

A childhood favorite that’s really easy! The kids can even help.

Peanut butter
Celery
Raisins

Chop off the ends of the celery. Fill celery with peanut butter. Put raisins on top of peanut butter.

Enjoy

It’s easy to fall into bad eating habits. Unhealthy foods often taste great. However, a little self control goes a long way.

There is one time that is most important for breaking bad eating habits. That’s the time you spend in the grocery store. If you can keep from giving in to the temptation to buy junk foods and sodas while you’re grocery shopping, you’ve taken the first step to not eating them.

The other important time is when you’re at work. It’s so easy to add a soda or other unhealthy items when you go out to buy lunch, head to the break room and get something from the vending machine, and so forth. Since this temptation is available to most of us for much of the day, it is much harder to choose not to buy. Read the rest of this entry »

You know that fruits and vegetables are great for you, but sometimes it’s hard to fit enough of them in. With a little effort, you might reduce your struggle in this area.

One of my favorite ideas is to simply prepare fruits and vegetables before you need them. You have to know which varieties will tolerate being cut up days in advance, of course. Carrots, bell peppers and cucumber come to mind in the vegetable category. Fruits are more challenging, but many do well if you put lemon or lime juice over the cut areas to keep them from browning. Read the rest of this entry »

2 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
3/4 c. defatted chicken stock
1/2 c. skim milk
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 whole chicken breasts, boned, skinned, split, about 1 1/2 lbs. total
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced, about 3 cups
1 c. each, dry white wine, water
1/2 c. 2% milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves, crushed
Dash garlic powder
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. each, chopped green onions, fresh parsley Read the rest of this entry »

This is my personal favorite salad, and it’s pretty popular within my family. It gets requested at family gatherings regularly.

1 lb spinach leaves or lettuce
tomatoes, chopped or use grape tomatoes
1 cucumber, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (any color, have fun!)
1-2 carrots, chopped or shredded (I use less carrot if it is shredded)
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 can baby corn, chopped
green olives to taste
garbanzo or kidney beans to taste Read the rest of this entry »

The grocery store is one of the most hazardous places when you’re trying to stick with a healthy diet. It offers both the healthy foods you need and the opportunity to buy all kinds of unhealthy foods.

Today’s post will go over some of the basic rules for shopping for healthy foods. You probably know some of them, but this can be a reminder that you need to follow the rules in order for them to work.

Never shop on an empty stomach. This is the best way to ensure that you will buy things you don’t need. It is much easier to give in to temptation if you’re hungry.

Read the labels on canned goods. For example, you want to be sure to buy canned fruits that are packed in juice or lite syrup when juice is not available, not heavy syrup. You want tuna packed in water. Read the rest of this entry »

1 pound Beef round steak — boneless
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Garlic clove — minced
8 ounces Mushrooms, fresh — sliced
1 Cucumber — chopped
1 Green pepper cut into strips
1 Onion — sliced and separated into rings
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper Read the rest of this entry »