Healthy Snacks, Tips, and Tricks...

 Stock Your Kitchen Right

       Grains

• Low-fat, whole-grain crackers
• Rice Cakes
• Whole-wheat pita bread
• Baked tortilla chips

       Vegetables   

• Raw vegetables
• Salads
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Vegetable soups  

         
        Fruits

• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit

        Heart-Healthy Protein:

• Nuts and nut butter
• Bean dip, such as hummus
• Bean soup
• Bean salad
• Baked tofu
• Canned tuna or salmon
• White chicken or turkey, skinless
  

      Heart-Healthy Dairy:

• Nonfat yogurt 
• Fortified soy milk and skim milk 
• Smoothies made with skim or soy

www.foodandhealth.com


Easy Snack Ideas

"For healthy snack ideas, think out with the bag- that is out with foods that are sold as snacks in all those cute packages and bags."   Here are some quick snack ideas I have collected from various websites;

• Rabbit bag- Put a few raw veggies and fruits together in a zip lock bag.  Use orange wedges and apple slices, raw cauliflower and raw carrots.  The orange gives everything a nice flavor and helps keep the apple slices from turning brown.   www.foodandhealth.com
• Smoothie- Blend skim milk, fruit, and wheat germ!  www.foodandhealth.com
• Cereal parfait- Place non-fat yogurt, fruit, and whole grain cereal in a plastic cup or container to-go! www.foodandhealth.com
• Quookies-    If you are making cookies anyway, try these chocolate chip cookies with quinoa  flour.  They are a great treat to take on the run and each cookie contains 3.5 grams of protein.

                  Quinoa cookies

• 1/2 Cup Whole wheat flour
• 1/2 Cup Quinoa flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I like mini)

Mix dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix wet ingredients, and combine.  Scoop out 1 TBLS size balls and put on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Makes 16 cookies (1 TBL each)
http://www.superhealthykids.com/healthy-kids-recipes/quookies.php

•  Almond Maple Popcorn    www.superhealthykids.com

• 1/3 cup *popcorn Kernels
• 2 TBL Butter
• 1 TBL Maple syrup
• 3 TBL Almond Butter
• Chopped almond pieces (optional)

We pop our popcorn in the microwave with a brown paper lunch bag for 2 minutes.  Then on the stove top, melt remaining ingredients together.  Pour sauce over popcorn.  Top with extra almond Pieces.  This sauce never really set's up. It's kind of a gooey, messy thing to eat, but still delicious!


Make up a bunch of these snacks when you have a moment.  Take a few when you are running out the door to a soccer game, piano lesson, or a meeting :) This way you can stabilize your blood sugar levels, keep your hunger satisfied to prevent overeating, and you can resist any non-nutrient dense foods that might present themselves at a concession stand, a meeting, or any social gatherings. 

 Another tip when shopping for snacks and meal ingredients...try to shop from the outer isles as much as possible.  If you notice, the inner isles contain processed foods such as chips, high-sodium canned-goods, and other high fat foods,  Fresh produce, dairy, and whole wheat products are generally on the outer edges/isles. 

                      

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew

 Amy Nelson just made this yummy stew and I tried it...oh my heavens, it is delicious!!!  Thanks Amy.  She got the recipe from epicurious.com.  She did alter it a little bit. Instead of the poblano chilies she used canned green chilies, she omitted the ginger, used 1/2 the cumin, and omitted the red bell peppers.  You can play around with the recipe to your liking.  It is a great fall dish!  Enjoy!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew with Chilies and Polenta Triangles

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams; about 2 medium), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 poblano chilies, seeded, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped

• Sour cream (optional)
• Avocado slices (optional)
• Orange wedges (optional)
• Polenta Triangles

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add ginger, chili powder and cumin and stir 2 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, orange juice and garlic and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir beans, poblano chilies and bell pepper into sweet potato mixture. Cover and simmer until chilies are tender, about 15 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat before continuing, stirring occasionally.)

Divide stew among 4 bowls. Top with sour cream, avocado and orange, if desired. Serve with Polenta Triangles.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Sweet-Potato-Stew-with-Chilies-and-Polenta-Triangles-15577#ixzz2Bsz4qweA

Squash in the slow cooker

This is marvelous and quick!  Try it out!

http://www.superhealthykids.com/blog-posts/cooking-squash-in-the-slow-cooker.php

Vegetables

Vegetables can be a challenge to add to meals and cook with if you are not use to it.  And let's be honest, we all get in a rut with cooking from time to time.  Check out these veggie recipes that are organized by the vegetables you have in your fridge! You don't even have to go to the store.  This one is for you Maile! Love this....
http://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes-blog/category/vegetable-recipes.php

A Guide to Healthy Habit Forming

Yeah!  90% of you ate breakfast this week!  Way to go!  Thanks for taking the polls.  It is fun to see everyone hit the polls....hope you all hit the Presidential polls today too!  :)

This week's post is about HOW to create healthy habits....

 I know as a mother it can be difficult to create a love-of-healthy food in your children.   This is a constant challenge, especially with the holidays coming!  My best advice is...

 1. Make it fun!  

Make a dish that lets your children choose which veggies they put on their plate, let you children help cook and brain storm healthy meal ideas.  

2. Educate your family on healthy living. 

Have a family night that focuses on healthy habits. Focus on being healthy, energized, and strong inside, not on their outer appearance.  I will often will ask my five year old when she makes a food choice, "Do you think that is a healthy choice for your body or is there a better one?"  I once made a chart for my young kids that had two columns, one for "anytime food" and one that said "sometimes foods."  Then the kids drew and colored foods that came to mind and we put them in the correct column.   

3. Be an example

This one is huge!  If your children see you eating healthy they too will want to do the same...someday!  (Be patient mothers with teenagers :)  They do see your good example!)  

4. Develop healthy habits in your home

Part of developing healthy living is consistancy.  Trying to rid your grocery list of those food items that will be an unhealthy choice for your little ones.  (I know, this can be challenging) If there are fruits, veggies, nuts, whole wheats breads and crackers, low-sugar cereals, etc, then whatever they choose will have nutritional value. Your children will eventually stop asking for the unhealthy items they once could not do without. 

5. Maintain a balance

I do not believe in "bad foods."  There needs to be a balance of nutrient dense foods and not-so-nutrient-dense foods.  :) Limiting certain foods only causes a desire for that "bad" item and takes away the child's power to choose.

~~~~~                               ~~~~~                           ~~~~~                    ~~~~~

 Now, with all this said, most of you lead very busy lives and have large, beautiful families :) You are trying to teach them a myriad of things, such as spirituality, leadership, kindness, responsibility, dedication, etc.; not only healthy living.  So, not all of these ideas will be realistic for you.  Choose and modify the ideas that will work for your family.  My experiences have also been with little children, so if you have ideas for older children, PLEASE share.  Email me at: cheljrhan07@gmail.com and I will post your name and idea!   

Keep on keeping on!  Good work mothers! Teach, educate, guide, and let your children govern themselves, *age appropriately of course.

Kid Friendly Granola Bars

Below is this week's recipe.  It is a healthy snack!  They are a perfect on-the-go granola bar that my family really enjoys!  I think your families will too!  Look again next week for another recipe and health tip!   Please email me any recipes, ideas, or tips you may have and I will post them to share with everyone...cheljrhan07@gmail.com

  Energy Circles-Original 
2 cups rolled oats 
1/2 cup quinoa, whole wheat or white flour 
2 Tbsp flax seeds, ground fine in a blender 
1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped in a blender 
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 
1/2 cup salt 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter 
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted or light vegetable oil 
1/3 cup agave nectar or honey 
1/2 cup applesauce 
1 tsp. almond extract 
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 sets of muffin tins with paper cup liners. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Combine both wet and dry mixtures and mix well. Scoop out about 2 Tbsp of mix into muffin cups. Using back of spoon flatten mix into cups. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown. 


Energy Circles- Almond flavored
 2 cups rolled oats 
1/2 cup white flour 
I cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped in a blender 
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips 
1/2 cup salt 
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup light vegetable oil 
1/3 cup agave nectar or honey 
1/2 cup applesauce 
1 tsp. almond extract 
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 sets of muffin tins with paper cup liners. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Combine both wet and dry mixtures and mix well. Scoop out about 2 Tbsp of mix into muffin cups. Using back of spoon flatten mix into cups. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown.