Eating the Alphabet: The Letter S

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment


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Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve done an Eating the Alphabet post! I’m hoping to wrap up the alphabet so we can start again this summer.

This week we’re on the letter S. Immediately I had two options pop into my mind–spinach and strawberries–both favorites with my family. My kids LOVE spinach–strange maybe, but I’ll take it! They like it fresh best (like in a salad) but also will eat it cooked if it’s in a dip or cheesy pasta dish.

Strawberries are in season here in Texas and will be soon in other parts of the country–just in time to enjoy some yummy summer dishes. How about combining our two favorites into a delicious strawberry spinach salad? Yummy! Another new favorite is the delicious casserole I sampled at a recent activity I went to–Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake has spinach and so many other ingredients I love (artichokes too!)

Other S fruits and veggies include squash, sweet potatoes or star fruit. Around here, we especially love Sweet Potato Fries dipped in ranch dressing (or when I don’t want to make them from scratch we get the Alexia All-Natural Sweet Potato Fries at Costco).

Ok, I’m getting hungry now! What about you? Enjoy!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, letter, snack ideas, snack recipes, vegetables

A Little Magic in Your Water {Kitchen Quick Tip}

February 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Recently I was reading on another blog, The Skinny Fight, how important it is to drink water daily. And lots of it.  I’m sure we’ve all heard it but Adrienne brought up something that I hear a lot too.  Lots of people don’t like the taste of water.  What?  Hmm…I thought water didn’t have a taste.  My husband says he doesn’t like the taste of plain water either–I’ve always wondered why! 

If you feel that way too I wanted to share a little tip with you on a natural way to flavor your water.  Put cut up fruits and veggies in it.  Yup, that’s right.  One time I went to a local spa (yes, rare but it has happened) and in one of their “relaxation rooms” they had a pitcher of water with sliced cucumbers floating in it.  “That’s kinda weird” I thought.  But being that I was thirsty at the time I decided to try it. It was delicious!  So refreshing and how simple is that?  Another time I went they had sliced strawberries and yet another time sliced melon.  Talk about yummy and the bonus?  You’re not adding anything artificial to your water but you still get some flavor.  You can use just about any fruit and many vegetables.  How about pineapple or sliced apples? 

If you want to give it a try, slice up one of your favorite fruits or vegetable (firm fruits and veggies work best-bananas or tomatoes probably not so much), fill up a pitcher with water and add some ice cubes.  You can pour yourself a cup whenever you feel like it.  Or keep a pitcher ready to go each day in your fridge and pour a glass regularly.  Experiment and try it out!  If you do, let me know what you think!

Filed Under: beverages, fruits, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letters Q & R

February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s time again to pick back up with our Eating the Alphabet adventures!  Since I got stuck at P for pomegranate I kind of came to screeching halt with Q.  What do do with Q?  Ok, the only thing I could come up with is Quince, a fruit similar to a pear but seasonally available only during fall and early winter.  Ooops, I missed my window. That and they are probably pretty hard to find….I’d need to find a Middle Eastern or Hispanic market if I wanted one and even then it might be a long shot. 

So, we’re moving on to R.  Radicchio, Radish, Rutabaga and Rhubarb–all fine choices but either aren’t in season or would require an extra trip to the store.  How about Raspberries or Raisins?  Yes!  I have both of those on hand!

Since I’ve already done my shopping for the week (great planning, huh?) I’m going to go with Raspberries since I have those in the freezer already and they’ll fit nicely in with my Pantry and Freezer Challenge to use things up!  I found the yummy sounding recipe for Raspberry Struesel Muffins that will work just great–especially since my kids have been begging for some new muffin recipes.  This one also looks good! Raspberries are usually available for picking in the summer months so that’s why I like to pick them and freeze them to have all year round.  You can also buy frozen raspberries at your local grocery store or wholesale club.

Raisins…that’s another good one that I already have on hand so will pull those out for the kids to have as a snack.  They like to eat them plan or sometimes I mix them with a little granola or peanuts for them to munch on after school–easy peasy!  They’re also a great snack for on the go!

I hope you join us in our adventure and enjoy the yummy fruits and vegetables along the way!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, kid-friendly, vegetables

A Pyramid On My Plate!

February 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

So, I’ve told you before that I LOVE tacos!  They are so easy to throw together and my family loves them!  But what I especially love about them is that they are like a food pyramid on my plate.  Start with a tortilla or flatbread (or taco shell for crunchy tacos), add your meat or other protein (tofu, falafel, beans, etc.), then some veggies and finally some dairy with sour cream, plain yogurt and/or cheese.  Yummy!

The bonus?  My family is getting a daily serving of ALL the food groups in just one meal.  How cool is that?  And they don’t even think about it.  Sure, there’s the occasional picking out of the veggies like onions or bell peppers but a lot of them go unnoticed and get gobbled up and they’re even asking for seconds.

Since tacos are one of my favorite weeknight meals, I’m sharing with you the “recipe” for this week’s taco.  I’ll be sharing other versions here and there as I get to them…Greek Tacos, Asian Tacos, Mexican Tacos, you name it and it can become a taco!

Here’s how to make the pork taco shown above (not super scientific but easy!):

BRENDA’S PORK TACO
2 C cooked Pork Tenderloin, cubed or shredded (mine was leftover from a recipe similar to this one)
1 C sliced onions
1 C sliced green bell pepper
1-2 ripe avocados, sliced
1 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 C sour cream
6-8 Flour tortillas

Saute onions and green bell pepper in 1 T canola oil until tender.  Layer pork, peppers and onions and remaining ingredients evenly between tortillas, adding ingredients as desired to customize to your taste preference.  Roll up and enjoy!

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Filed Under: easy cooking, easy dinner recipes, food pyramid, greek tacos, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, picky eaters, tacos, vegetables

Supermarket Vegan {Cookbook Review}

January 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Last month I was contacted by the publisher of Supermarket Vegan to do a review (how exciting!) How timely it came because my family and I had just been talking about trying to incorporate more vegetarian options into our diet and even having at least one vegetarian meal a week. I even made it one of my New Year’s Resolutions. Now this of course says vegan which, honestly, has always seemed even more intimidating to me than just vegetarianism. What? Eat only vegetables AND no dairy or eggs? That would be hard. Afterall, we do use a lot of dairy products in our home (lots of organic though!) I would have to look for all sorts of funky substitutions found at specialty or health food stores. Or so I thought. Enter this book.

The title says it all because every recipe in this book uses ingredients that are easy to find at most any grocery store making meal planning and prep just as easy and convenient as any other cooking I might be used to. With over 225 original recipes for every course, you’ll have tons of variety to keep your tastebuds asking for more. Start off with an appetizer like Greek-Style Spinach Puffs then move on to a salad like Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Tahini. Then move on to the main dish with Tuscan-Style White Bean Quesadillas with Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes or Crimson Slaw with Cranberries. How about Blueberry-Oatmeal Bars or Cherry-Berry Crisp for dessert?

What I also like about this book is that each recipe has the nutrition facts And as an extra bonus, the author Donna Klein has included with each recipe a little fact or tip about the ingredients in the recipes. So, if you’ve been thinking of ways that you can incorporate more vegetarian or vegan options into your diet, Klein’s book is a great start and soon you may find it is eaier than you thought!

Filed Under: Cookbook Reviews, fruits, meal planning, meal plans, supermarket vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian/Vegan

Menu Plan Monday

January 18, 2010 By 4 Comments

We’re back from vacation and my oven is finally working now (woohoo!) so it’s time for me to start cooking again!  And the menu this week includes lots of veggies that my kids will be likely to eat because I’m including them in some tasty recipes with things I know they already like.  Here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Monday: frozen pizzas (back from vacation today–too tired to cook!)
Tuesday: Slowcooker Simple Turkey Soup, whole grain bread slices
Wednesday: Garlic Herb Pork Roast (grilled), Rosemary roasted potatoes (my daughter’s favorite!), garden salad or steamed veggies
Thursday: Paella with seafood combo & shrimp (this is my vegetarian meal for the week–week one of my Meal Planning New Year’s Resolution)
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Baked Chinese Egg Rolls (I have some puff pastry to use up–these look easy, fun & tasty!), garden salad

What’s cookin’ at your house this week?  Happy cooking!

Filed Under: make ahead meals, menu plan monday, slowcookers, vegetables, Vegetarian/Vegan, whole grains

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter P

January 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We’re back on our Eating the Alphabet and this week we come to the letter P.  The kids have been asking and asking for me to get some Pomegranates.   I really learned to love these healthy, sweet fruits about a year ago when my mother-in-law had at her house for the holidays.  They’re nearing the end of their season but you can often find them at your local grocery store on sale.  We slice them open, scoop out the seeds and eat them with a spoon (yes, seeds and pulp and all!) and just have them for a tasty snack.  Best of all pomegranates are full of antioxidants and vitamins like vitamin C and potassium and is a good source of fiber as well as being low in calories.  You can also sprinkle them on salads.

The letter P yields many other tasty fruits and vegetables like peaches, plums, papaya, pineapple, peas, peppers, potatoes and pumpkin.  Wow!  We may have to spend an extra week on the letter P for our adventures of Eating the Alphabet!  A close second runner-up for us this week was Potato.  My daughter was asking me to make one of her favorite side dishes, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.  They are SO easy, I thought I could easily add them to our weekly menu.  Gotta love a healthy recipe like that when the kids love it too!

What are your favorite fruits and veggies with the letter “P”?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, snack ideas, vegetables

Menu Plan Monday

December 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I’m still loving my Freezer Cooking session this week…it’s so great to be able to pulll things out of the freezer and not have to spend more money on fast food or take-out! I’d rather save those dollars for holiday fun instead!
Here’s what’s on our menu this week:
Monday: Spaghetti & Meatsauce; garden salad
Tuesday: Make-Your-Own Fish Tacos with a hodgepodge of fixings to choose from (avocado, tomato, shredded carrots, cucumbers)–I’m cleaning out the refrigerator!
Wednesday: Marinated Tuna Steak (from the freezer–I got it on clearance last week–30% off!), steamed rice, garden salad
Thursday: Slowcooker Stuffed Flank Steak, steamed veggies, mashed potatoes
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: holiday get-together–no cooking for me! (ok, I am probably bringing a dessert and was thinking about trying these fun Gingerbread Blondie S’mores Paninis)
Sunday: Leftovers

What’s on your menu this week? Happy cooking!
If you liked this post, you might want to check out:
Filed Under: easy dinner recipes, fish, fish tacos, Freezer Meals, healthy food ideas, healthy meals, kid-friendly, make ahead meals, slow cooker, slowcookers, tacos, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter D

February 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

This week was a bit of a challenge to come up with a fruit or vegetable that starts with the letter D….but this week for us it is Dates! We will try them dried and as a snack just out of the bag but also maybe sprinkled on some oatmeal or in some homemade granola. I also thought of Daikon which is a Japanese radish. But I’m not really sure how to prepare it so need a little more time to look for some recipes. Oh, I might also add some Dill to plain yogurt or sour cream for dipping our veggies in–just thought of that! A friend of mine also suggested Dried Fruits which opens a whole other world and sounds like a great option too.

Last week was the letter C which was a lot of fun and I had much more success with it than the previous week. My kids especially liked the cantaloupe and carrots but also the cucumbers. They had fun reminding me that we “couldn’t” eat an apple (or whatever) because it didn’t start with the letter C! Of course, I reminded them that any previous letters were fair game for serving anytime.

Are you eating the alphabet with us? If so, share how it’s going in the comments below!

Hungry for more?
Check out these other posts about Eating the Alphabet!

Filed Under: fruits, picky eaters, vegetables
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