Eating plan fruits and veggies can often get slightly boring! Here are a few ways to Jazz up regular fruits and veggies.

Sauté pepper, onion, and mushroom with some olive oil, salt, and pepper
This is great on whole wheat pizza, with some egg whites, or whole wheat pasta. You can even add some chicken to any of these dishes for a little extra protein.

carrots- Good with low fat ranch dip
Not much to say besides the fact that veggies are a great snack.

Apple or banana- with peanut butter or honey
This is great if you want something sweet.

Red grapes-with cheese

Tomato- with fresh mozzarella and fat free balsamic vinaigrette

Pepper- with hummus

I believe most of these things can be found at you local grocery store. Whole food does have fresh mozzarella if you can find it anywhere else aswell as freshly ground peanut butter.

Hope you found this helpful. What are your favorite ways to spice up fruits and veggies?

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During the work or school week it can often be hard to find a quick and easy breakfasts. Here a just a few ideas!

Whole Wheat toast, egg whites, fruit- Whole wheat is always a better option then white because of the nutrients. White is never good! I like egg whites better because you get just the same amount of protein but almost no fat. Fruit is always good just to give you a bit of sugar.

Oatmeal-simple delicious and yummy

Chobaini Greek yogurt with granola- Greek yogurt has less sugar and more protein then regular yogurt. It is also all natural and contains no high fructose corn syrup. If you not a not fan of Greek yogurt Stonyfields is also good! I avoid the brands which are full of artificial sweeteners which are not good for you.

Vans whole grain waffles-These contain so many different grains including flax seed. I like them plan or even with peanut butter and jelly.

Three sisters cereal- Sugary cereal is not the best but this one is organic and not over sweet. With a little skim milk it is great for those mornings when you really want something sweet but don’t want all the artificial sweeteners in something like lucky charms. (Note – we buy this brand at our local Whole Foods)

Most of these ideas can be found at your local grocery store or whole foods.

Hope you found this helpful! What are your favorite breakfast foods?

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3/4 cup clam juice or fish stock
2 envelopes gelatin
2 (7oz) cans sock-eye salmon (or 1 15oz can)
6 flat anchovy fillets
2 tbl capers
2 green onions chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbl chopped dill
8 drops Tabasco
1-3/4 cups sour cream
parsley or dill for garnish

Warm clam juice with gelatin, put remaining ingredients except sour cream in food processor, add gelatin mixture.
Process till smooth, add sour cream and blend until mixed. Chill overnight.

Serve with crackers. A mousse of this kind is really hit or miss depending on the crowd you’re serving.  You can also serve this as part of a brunch buffet, with bagels, sliced tomato, and onions, along with a side of lox, if you’d like. (A classic New York brunch)  You’ll note the title is Salmon Mousse I, yes, there’s a II that we’ll make in next few weeks, in case you’d like a variation on this theme.

written by admin \\ tags: appetizer, mousse, salmon, salmon-mousse

We often find ourselves short on time, and standing at the refrigerator at 6 PM hoping there’s something to eat. Unless you are great with preparing meals in advance or planning your cooking for eat night, this probably sounds familiar to you. One thing that may help ease this issue is a well stocked pantry. Let’s look at the top items to consider no matter how small a space your pantry may be:

• Spices – Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Oregano, Basil – you may add others if your ethnic cooking has spices I missed here.
• Oils – Olive, Peanut, and Vegetable – all three are useful and not easily interchangeable.
• Sugar, both white and brown. Flour – make sure there’s butter in the fridge and you have the makings for cookies and brownies.
• Canned Tomatoes / Tomato Paste/ Jarred Sauce – You can go from can or jar to a decent meal on the table in 30 minutes or less starting with tomatoes of one sort or another.
• Stock/Broth – I prefer to make my own, nothing like a good chicken broth, even if made in advance and frozen, but in a pinch that package from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods will save the day.
• Rice, Pasta, canned Beans – these will all last nearly indefinitely, so stock up when on sale.

This list isn’t comprehensive, just my top 10 or so items. What do you have in your pantry? Has it helped you create a fast meal?

written by admin \\ tags: cooking, food, pantry