Make Healthy Meals

I love this option compared to the usual beef burger and bun. Its also a lot lower in fat and more fun to eat!

For the Burgers:

1 pound of ground turkey (try to find a good quality organic, free-range turkey if possible)
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
teaspoon smoked paprika
Handful of fresh, finely chopped cilantro (also known as coriander)

Mix this all together in a bowl and shape into small patties. You should get about 8 small patties. Set aside.

For the Salsa:

4 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped and juice reserved
1 small red onion, finely sliced
can blackeye peas, drained and rinsed
can corn, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (add more if you like it hot!)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Note: If you cant find blackeye peas, replace with kidney beans or black beans (canned and already cooked).

To Serve:

4 flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Low-fat plain yogurt

Instructions:

Mix all salsa ingredients in a bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.

Now preheat the grill or grill pan and cook the burgers for approximately 5 minutes on each side.

Heat the flour tortillas, either in a hot pan with no oil or a quick minute in the oven.

To serve, open one tortilla and add two small patties. Top with shredded lettuce, salsa and a dollop of low-fat plain yogurt. Roll into a wrap and serve!

Cheese and pear always goes nicely together but weve given it a twist by placing it in a wrap! Great for picnics of lunch boxes.

4 soft flour tortillas
1 ball light mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 ounces of grated parmesan cheese
2 medium pears, cored and diced
4 sun-dried tomatoes, finely sliced
2 ounces chopped walnuts

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and gently mix together. Divide the mixture between four tortillas and fill. Roll up the wraps tightly. If necessary hold closed with a toothpick or wrap in plastic film until ready to eat. Store in a cool place.

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1-2 diced tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the couscous and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Combine the olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar and cumin in a bowl large enough for all the other ingredients to eventually be added.

Drain, then rinse the black beans thoroughly.

Add the black beans, tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers, cilantro and garlic to the oil mixture. Stir with a spoon until all ingredients are coated.

Fluff the couscous with a fork, then add to the other bowl. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This dish can be served immediately or sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.

Editor’s Note:

If you want to add meat to this, chicken goes very well, but it’s quite excellent as a vegetarian dish. Washing the black beans ensures that they don’t turn the entire dish gray, which many find unappealing. Feta cheese crumbled over this is also a good addition.

You can also switch which beans you use, depending on what you have on hand.

Technorati Tags: couscous, black beans

This year I’ve faced the challenge of making lunch for my daughter to take to school. I just don’t see the point in buying school lunches when I can make something that may well be healthier at home. And if I plan it right it really doesn’t take much extra time in the morning.

The right lunch box really helps matters. I suggest the Laptop Lunches box available from ReusableBags.com. I am extremely fond of lunch boxes that give you compartments to work with. It allows for delightful flexibility and means you don’t have to waste plastic or paper with every single lunch. But you do have to trust your kids to bring it back home and not lose it.

A thermos is another good idea, so that your child can have a warm lunch on those cold days during the winter. I also like having reusable cups of one sort or another rather than pack juice boxes. It’s more cost effective over time and allows you to think more about what goes into the lunch, rather than just throwing a juice box in the bag.

One of the tricks of the trade is to prepare things in advance. My daughter loves the Sand and Shells recipe available elsewhere on this site. She thinks she wants it every day, but I make sure to vary her lunch.

Pasta salad is very easy. To vary this one I cook up a batch of pasta and keep it in the fridge. In the morning I can decide how to mix it up. Salad dressing or pasta sauce, cheese, cooked or fresh vegetables, and you can make a different pasta salad each day in very little time. Use whole grain pasta if you want this to be especially healthy.

If you keep presliced fruits and/or vegetables in your refrigerator you will have an easier time including these in lunches. Some fruits you won’t particularly need to slice, such as apples or pears, but oranges are far easier for kids to eat if you slice them first.

If you have one of the Laptop Lunches bags or other ways to separate the various parts of the lunch it can be easier to think of what you need to pack. Think of one for the main dish, one for vegetables, one for fruits, etc.

A lunch for my daughter may look like this:

Sand and Shells
chopped cauliflower
kiwi
string cheese
apple juice

Sometimes I will include an apple or pear as well, if I see that she has been finishing everything. Right now she is tending to finish her lunch at home, just a few leftover bites and often the string cheese makes it home. I add extra at those times I see she has been hungry enough to eat it all. Kids and growth spurts, after all.

As you try to make a habit of packing healthy school lunches, figure out what has made it too difficult in the past. Packing it the night before is not a bad thing for many foods, and makes life very much easier when you’re dealing with the morning rush.

Technorati Tags: healthy school lunches, healthy food, lunchbox, lunch box, bag lunch, school lunch, kids

1 – 7 ounce package cheese tortellini
1 cup broccoli florets
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 – 6 ounce jar marinated artichokes, drained
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup Italian salad dressing
2 ½ tsp. chopped fresh basil or cilantro
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
6 cherry tomatoes, halved Read the rest of this entry »

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 cups cooked chicken — chopped
1/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup Thompson seedless grapes — halved
1/4 cup almond slivers Read the rest of this entry »

1 head Romaine lettuce — chopped
2 cups arugula
3 navel oranges
1 Vidalia onion
fresh parsley — chopped

— Dressing: —–
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
black pepper
1 avocado — sliced Read the rest of this entry »

1 can tuna packed in water – drained
3 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
1 spoonful pickle relish Read the rest of this entry »

Pizza is one of those foods that can be pretty bad for you or really rather healthy. It all depends on the toppings.

I love to make pizza at home, but I don’t like to make crusts or buy the ones in the store, so I have my own shortcuts. My kids love these, by the way. Quantities are hard to determine, as this is very much a by the seat of my pants kind of recipe.

round tortillas
spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese, grated
toppings – bell peppers, olives, artichoke hearts, pineapple, deli sliced ham, diced chicken breast, pine nuts… you decide what will taste great while keeping it healthy.

On a cookie sheet (more than one if necessary), lay each tortilla flat. Stab lightly with fork to discourage bubbles from developing while cooking. Spread 1-2 spponfuls spaghetti sauce over it. Cover with mozzarella cheese. Add toppings.

To encourage toppings to stay in one place, I sometimes add a bit more mozzarella to the top. Since tortillas are so much thinner than regular pizza crusts, a bit of help that way is good idea.

1 1/2 cups Chicken breast — skinless, boneless
1/4 cup Peas
1 tablespoon Golden raisins
1/4 cup Carrots — shredded
1 cup Red cabbage — shredded
1/4 cup Apples — diced
1/4 cup Scallions — sliced
1/4 cup Celery — diced Read the rest of this entry »