Make Healthy Meals

1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. Minute Premium long grain rice
1 lb. chicken breasts, boned and cut into strips
2 tbsp. oil
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
2 tbsp. Dijon style mustard
1/2 c. cheddar or Swiss cheese, grated
1 1/2 c. broccoli, chopped
2 tbsp. pimento, chopped (optional)

Bring water to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover, remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in hot oil until lightly browned. Stir in soup, milk, mustard and cheese, Add broccoli and pimento. Bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Pour over rice. Serves 4.

Playing with the cheeses can really change the flavor. You don’t have to limit yourself to the suggestions here; pick your favorite and give it a try.

3 – 4 lbs. chicken chicken breasts
1/2 c. margarine, melted
1/2 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. prep. mustard
1 tsp. curry

Mix margarine, honey, salt, mustard and curry.

Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours, basting every 15 minutes.

I always like to do this one a little to taste. Not everyone likes that much curry or that little. Taste the mixture before pouring over the chicken if you aren’t sure if it’s right for you.

I never know what to think about the “superfoods” some companies like to promote. I understand that antioxidants are very good for you but I suspect that a lot of claims are more hype than substance. Not having tried focusing on such things myself.

The Amigo Health Juice Amigo Juice Superfood contains Mangosteen, Goji, and Acai, three of the currently popular superfoods. If you’re a fan of these, the mix looks quite promising, as they promise 500 mg of each rather than keeping quantities secret.

Of course, my own preferred source of antioxidants is the frozen berries we buy over at Costco. I’ve never personally worried about extra high doses or anything like that, even though I do know many people prefer to get extra and swear by it.

I just saw this and like the looks of it. It’s a challenge to get preschoolers to eat more healthy foods.

It’s into the second week, and I’m feeling pretty good about what my two kids drink. My kids are 4-1/2 years old and 22 months old. They very, very rarely drink sodas (call it once a month or less), and juice is maybe once a day. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a rather nice gift from my husband. I’d been talking about wanting some because I’m sick of teflon coming off over time… besides, the type we got has these little bumps on the bottom. Supposed to help with cooking or something, but I’m not chef enough to notice, I guess.

What those bumps do so far as I’m concerned is make the pans miserably difficult to clean. Food gets between them something awful. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicken breasts (enough for whoever is eating)
Italian salad dressing (1/2 – 1 tsp per chicken breast)
lemon juice (1 tsp per chicken breast)
snow peas or sugar snap peas (lots!)
lemon pepper to taste
garlic, diced, to taste

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place chicken breasts in foil and add lemon juice, lemon pepper and Italian salad dressing.
3. Cover with foil tightly (to keep juices in) and cook 10-15 minutes.
4. Add peas and sprinkle lots of garlic on top.
5. Cover again and cook about 30 minutes or until both chicken and peas are done (the peas take surprisingly long to cook).

This has always been one of my husband’s favorites! Even if the chicken has been in the freezer a while this helps it come out nice and tender! Best of all, the kids eat it well too.

Many people resolve to lose weight in the new year. It is one of the most common resolutions. And out of this comes Weightloss Wednesday.

This kind of thing would be hard for me to participate in. I have maybe 10-15 pounds I could consider losing, but I don’t own a scale, so it’s hard for me to tell. Frankly I think working on toning things up would work better for me.

However, I can see how this would be helpful to many people. It’s a little bit of support or competition, depending on how you want to look at it. You can see how other people wanting to lose weight are doing by checking out the others who are participating.

Making the decision to eat healthier is a big deal. It’s a lot of work to eat healthy all the time. Fortunately it can still be fun. Healthy eating isn’t all tofu and rice cakes.

Just think about smoothies instead of milk shakes. All that fresh fruit, and if you don’t add sugar you still have a delicious drink. Smoothies can be excellent for you and the entire family can enjoy. Best of all, they’re easy to make at home in the blender so you don’t have to spend a fortune on them. Read the rest of this entry »