Cold and Flu

Having to combat the common cold and the flu this year more than usual? OR does this season always seem to hit your house harder than others? Check out this article I just came across...it has some interesting information on some habits we don't normally associate with cold and flu season!

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/healthcare/photos/surprising-signs-weak-immune-system#0

Tips for Weight Maintenance

Do Not Skip Breakfast

Skipping meals to eliminate calories? It seems like a simple concept; however, the repercussions of skipping a meal far out weigh the advantages of eliminating those calories. Skipping breakfast leads to intense hunger, making it difficult to make wise food choices. The result? Bad habits develop, such as eating convenient high-calorie snacks and meals.

Eating breakfast jump starts your metabolism; so, you start burning calories earlier in the day. If you skip breakfast (or any meal), you are denying your body the calories it needs to function properly. The body is thrown into a "survival mode," which slows the metabolism, resulting in the storage of remaining energy as fat. Research also shows that skipping breakfast lowers mental performance in both youth and adults.

Eat Throughout The Day

Eating 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day, rather than 3 large meals, will prevent your metabolism from shutting down. The longer you go between meals the more your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy.

Drink Water

Water is the body's most important nutrient. If the body is lacking in water, the metabolic rate will be slowed. The liver will begin to retain water rather than burn fat.

Replace Fat With Muscle

Muscle burns more calories than fat. We are able to maintain our weight more easily if we replace fat with muscle. Exercise using light weights to tone and firm muscle.

Aerobic Exercise

Whether you walk, skip, jog, or dance, aerobic exercise burns calories. Although cleaning your house and walking the aisles of the grocery store counts, sustained activity that raises your heart rate will burn the most calories.

Progressive Exercise

An exercise program must be progressive in order to be productive. Providing a challenge for your body is what forces your body to make changes and improvements. For example, if you use a treadmill for 30 minutes/3 days a week, it is beneficial to challenge your body by increasing the time, resistance, and/or frequency that you use the treadmill.

Age And Metabolism

It is a fact: As we age our metabolic rate slows down, and our muscle transforms into fat more readily than when we were younger. To manage your weight as you age, you must either adjust your calorie intake or increase your physical activity level to burn more calories. Physical activity will also keep muscles toned and will slow the process of muscle turning to "flab."

Match Eating To Activity Level

The amount of calories you consume on any given day should coincide with how active you are on that same day. Lower your intake of calories if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Before you try to burn off existing fat, you must first stop storing new fat.

Information from:

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1350/metabolism-and-weight-management.asp

Chicken Waldorf Salad Sandwich

Chicken Waldorf Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:
Chicken (1 can chunk chicken or 1-2 cups roughly chopped chicken left overs)
1 gala apple diced small
1 celery stock diced small
1-2 cups sliced red seedless grapes
Optional 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Bread/Crusty Roll/Croissant

Dressing Ingredients: (these are guesstimates as I just added each to the bowl free handed)
1/4 cup mayo (what ever kind you like - lite/fat free/olive oil base/regular/miracle whip)
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup honey
palm full of poppy seeds
S&P to taste

Make dressing in a large bowl first. Whisk together all ingredients and set aside to marinade while getting the other ingred ready.
Chop chicken, apples, celery and grapes and toss in dressing. Check seasoning and adjust here if needed. Add walnuts directly before serving. This is great as a sandwich but it's also great as a regular salad.

Canned vs. Martha Stewart

There was a comment left on my post about apple pie that amused me no end.  The Anonymous commenter had very obviously not read the recipe post, and furthermore, made the point of this blog more apparent to me.  The comment was: "pie filling from a can. way to go martha stewart. "  While I get that there are always people on the Internet that troll for the opportunity to be contrary and really should be ignored, I thought this was a great opportunity to explain why I began this blog.   

There is always room for easy cooking AND a little "Martha Stewart" or Emeril.

From every angle of our lives as women, homemakers, working women and moms, aunts, grandmothers, etc.  There are high expectations that either push us to frustration or make us just give up.  This is even more true when it comes to the kitchen.  This is so sad.  We are hard enough on our selves with out having to endure more fuel to our kitchen woes fire.  Food is what brings families together. In some families, it is all they do together.  If your choice for feeding your family is a bowl of cereal for dinner or eating out, every single night.... well, you're either trying so hard you can't live up to your expectations so you quit, or just not trying at all.  Yet you also don't need to spend hours cooking and creating, make a gorgeous center piece out of what once was belly button lint to add to an $80 meal your kids won't eat.



When I became a wife and mom, I knew how to make very few things.  Sure, I had enough basics to follow a recipe and I knew a few basic recipes by heart.  It wasn't until I began gaining the collective kitchen knowledge of the family my hubby and I had and our more artsy-foodie friends, that I began to realize how much variety and availability each household and situation has.  Not to mention the camaraderie in cooking with other women.  Some of my best friends have shared a kitchen and their table with me and I have been honored to have them at mine.  We can all learn from each other is we put aside those crazy expectations of perfection and just be one of the girls who knows her way around a kitchen.

Some nights you are on the run; some mornings you just don't feel like making a big fuss.  There are those days when you are so sick of coming up with lunch ideas that you want to scream and call the pizza guy.  Then you look at how much you've already called the pizza guy and how much you could have spent eating real food.  Here is a place you can grab an idea and whip something up that enriches your family, your health and your confidence as a homemaker.  Now, if you have time to make it look amazing, then more power to you.

A woman who loves to feed her family is a woman who thinks about other people and what is best for them.  The secret is she doesn't have to break her neck or the bank to do it.

So YEP!  Canned is great if that's what you've got.  Because, be it pie filling or veggies or cream of something casserole, it sure beats Del Taco for the umpteenth time this month, is more nutritious and your family will think you care about them... particularly if you make it look nice.  Think about it.  If you take your kids to a fancy restaurant, tell them to order cheap or split a meal so you can eat nice, it isn't the same as making that same meal in the all you can eat form for 8 people at the cost of one plate at the restaurant.  That makes your kids and hubby happy and you have more money left to do an activity with your family.

I have a load of recipes that make my family feel loved and special and it only takes a little elbow grease, 30 minutes and 10-15 dollars to do it.  And they all agree a place setting is so much more personal than the gift bag full of greasy, who knows what's really in it, here just eat, "food."

Happy Cooking, Ladies!  Oh, and to Anonymous:  Eating good food makes you less grumpy.  You should try one of our recipes.  ;)

Pinterest

Who else is in love with Pinterest?!? It is my new online recipe book. A few of us (that I know of) are on Pinterest so you should come follow us! You can find me as TBeautyBox I have lots of food boards. (Ladies of this blog if you want to throw your Pinterests on here ;-) feel free) I was so excited to find a certain recipe last night. It is a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Weight Watchers. I love the recipe and was devastated, but then I never really took the time to track it down again ha! So I was thrilled to come across it on Pinterest last night. The cookies are very low in calories and fat and are delicious. I have yet to make them but I wanted to share the recipe on here with you.

And just a little shameless promotion for myself. I also have a website that is centered around beauty Tristan's Beauty Box  I do video makeup and hair tutorials and other fun videos. I post product reviews and such. It is a lot of fun! You can also add my website to your Google Readers by copying and pasting the address into your subscriptions. Thanks!! www.tristansbeautybox.com 

WW Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp light butter, softened
 - 2 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, dark-variety
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine.
In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout.
Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 servings.
Serving size is 2 cookies
Each serving = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Chicken, Avacado, and Wild Rice Salad

1  4.3 oz. package mixed white and wild rice
2 ripe avacados, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken cut into bite sized pieces
4 scallions, chopped
1 cup italian dressing
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds
1 cup cherry tomatoes


1. prepare rice according to package directions
2. stir in chicken and scallions; add the dressing and toss well.
3. Pour into a serving dish (and if you want a cold salad, chill up to an hour)
4. Toss avacados with lemon juice.
5. garnish salad with avacados, nuts and tomatoes

Carrabbas Chicken Bryan!

I believe angels looked down from above and guided me to this recipe online.  LOL I stumbled upon it and can now feed this fantastic dish to my whole family for half the price of one plate at the restaurant.  It was SO easy and the whole family ate it.  The kids didn't even complain that I fed them goat cheese!

Here is my picture of tonight's meal.  I am so happy with the way it turned out.

The recipe came from Food.com  You can get their recipe HERE.

I differed from their recipe by using 1/2 the amount of basil and I used dried

I also sweeted some white cooking wine instead of dry white wine.

I broiled the chicken as I cannot seem to work the grill.

Sorry Carrabbas.  I need you no more.

Memorial Day Grilling: Marinated Grilled Salmon

They say a man's place kitchen wise is at the grill.  I don't know about every man, but for sure my husband has a gift with the grill. For Memorial Day, he made Grilled Salmon fillets, Asparagus, Cressant Rolls, and Fruit and Cream for dessert.

I'm a bit behind on my posting.  I'll get the marinade recipe from Richard and post it soon.  Don't you love it when you don't have to cook every meal?  I love cooking, but a break is always welcome. 

Chicken Breast with Salsa

6 boneless skinless chickien breasts
3 lemons squeezed (just use the juice)
3/4 C olive oil
2 Tbsp crushed Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Salsa

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper in a dish large enought to marinate your chicken in.  Marinate for 15 minutes on each side, then grill.  Top with Salsa.

Tonight I got lazy and actually baked the chicken IN the marinade on 350 till the juices ran clear and it was SUPER moist.  I also cut up the chicken breasts into halves or fourths.  They aren't as pretty, but they cook faster.

We served it with Cous cous and green beans.

My New Favorite Secret Ingredient...

I have been in a food rut. We seem to make the same 10 dishes over and over again and I admit that I have kind of come to dread dinnertime, because nothing really sounds exciting. Then a miracle happened. I went to the grocery store. ALONE. As in I didn't let any of my 4 children join me.
I was amazed at the produce section. I am always in such a rush that I hurry in and grab my staples; lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Then I zip through to the next aisle, because I don't want to be stuck in the store in case my kids decide to start misbehaving. I never really stopped to look at all the variety of stuff in there. Food shopping had become a chore to be rushed through. (But I digress...)
The point is that when I was able to go alone I decided that I would try one new thing that I had never tried before. There in the produce aisle I found it. It was beautiful and completely foreign to me. EGGPLANT. So I  bought it, having no idea how to cook it or what it tasted like. After a little bit of research I found out that it can be pureed and added to sauces. It is AMAZING! It is so easy to do that I have been secretly sneaking eggplant into common every day meals, and my kids are none the wiser. It makes spaghetti sauces richer and soups are thicker, and heartier.
I decided to share my secret with you... Here's my eggplant technique- sneak it in a few dishes and see how you like it.
PS Don't tell my kids- they still don't know what they're eating! :)

 1. Cut your eggplant in 1/2, drizzle with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them.

 2.Place your eggplant flesh side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 25- 35 minutes. Flesh may be darkened a little, and that's okay.

 3. This is what it looks like when you pull it out of the oven.

 4. Carefully lift you eggplant half  and scrape the contents out of the "shell" into a bowl. It should scrape right out without any difficulty.

 5. It will look like this. The little tiny seeds are completely edible and get pureed so don't worry about them.

 6. Use a hand mixer to puree eggplant.

7. When you are done, it will have the consistency and color of pureed bananas.

8. Your eggplant is now ready to sneak into your favorite sauce or soup.

Other than baking times, the whole process from start to finish takes me about 5 minutes to complete.







FOR YOUR INFO:
Eggplant is supposed to be really good for you and is a low calorie food! Go to
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=22
for more information about the health benefits of eggplant.

Healthy Pumpkin-Apple Harvest Cake

Hi everyone! My name is Lauren. Carrie and I went to high school together and now I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my husband, Jeremy and son, Jackson. Jackson turned 1 last week. I spent a while looking for a healthy cake recipe for him to have on his special day. This recipe, from a "green" parenting blog turned out wonderfully! It calls for several organic ingredients, but if you aren't into that thing, you can just use "regular" ones and it is still just as good...and way less expensive! This is also a great breakfast food...without frosting, of course!



Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 large beaten eggs
• 3/4 cup organic sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose, unbleached flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped apple (I recommend dicing)
  

Directions

• Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour an 8" round pan. You can also use cupcake papers if you want to make individual cakes. This yields 8-9 standard sized cupcakes.
• Combine pumpkin, eggs, and sugar.
• Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, and salt to the pumpkin mixture. Stir to combine.
• Add apples, stir again, and pour into pan (or cupcake papers...mostly full).
• Smooth batter out and bake for 20-25 minutes (cupcakes too).
• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto the rack, remove pan, and cool completely. For cupcakes, pop out of pan and let cool on a wire rack.
  

• Note: Smoothing out the batter ensures a "nice" looking cake. Pumpkin bakes in whatever shape the batter is in when you bake it!
• When cooled, dust with powdered sugar or a frosting! Deeeelicious!

Balsamic Chicken and Pears

With PB&J at the ready I braved this new cuisine all in the name of low cholesterol. It sounded weird, and my kids don't like weird. The first thing I noticed was the amazing smell. Then the flavor. O. My. Gosh. Very good. Its a hit with the kids too not weird. In fact I'd go as far as to say its like comfort food. I was surprised that the pears taste the same... just better. And the best part? I already had the Balsamic Vinegar and the rest was under $10. It took about 20 min to make.

Easy+Cheap+totally tasty= New regular Teasdale Menu item.

The recipe: Here

 

The Mayo Clinic

Another wonderful and trusted site for healthy living and healthy eating is The Mayo Clinic. The recipe posted below is from their recipe spot which has a ton of wonderful recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert and entertaining. AND all the recipes are healthy and approved by the health care staff at the Mayo Clinic.

Check it out at...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-sodium-recipes/RE00101

Mayo Clinic Balsamic Roast Chicken

Balsamic Roast Chicken
By Mayo Clinic Staff
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00366

Dietitian's tip: Balsamic vinegar has a dark color and rich flavor. Combined with a hint of brown sugar, this vinegar makes a sauce that's much healthier than traditional high-fat gravy.

Serves 6
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold running water. Pat it dry with paper towels.
In a small bowl, mince together the rosemary and garlic. Loosen the chicken skin from the flesh, and rub the flesh with olive oil and then the herb mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper. Put 2 rosemary sprigs into the cavity of the chicken. Truss the chicken.
Place the chicken into a roasting pan and roast for 20 to 25 minutes per pound, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Whole chicken should cook to an internal temperature of 180 F. Baste frequently with pan juices. When browned and juices run clear, transfer the chicken to a serving platter.
In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Heat until warmed but don't boil.
Carve the chicken and remove the skin. Top the pieces with the vinegar mixture. Garnish with the remaining rosemary sprigs and serve immediately.

Dietary Content
Calories 290
Cholesterol 127 mg
Protein 44 g
Sodium 108 mg
Carbohydrate 4 g
Fiber 0 g
Total fat 11 g
Potassium 625 mg
Saturated fat 3 g
Calcium 80 mg
Monounsaturated fat 5 g

AHA -Salmon with Tomato-Basil Salsa

Salmon with Tomato-Basil Salsa

The fresh tomato-basil salsa will have you “hooked” on this delicious salmon dish. Rich in omega-3 fats, salmon is good for your heart as well as your taste buds.

Serves 4; 3 ounces salmon and 1/4 cup salsa per serving

Start to Finish: 25 to 30 minutes

Salmon
Cooking spray
4 salmon fillets (about 4 ounces each), rinsed and patted dry
3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salsa
6 ounces grape tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 to 1 1/4 ounces sweet onion
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Lightly spray a shallow baking pan with cooking spray. Place the fish in the pan.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining salmon ingredients. Lightly spread on each fillet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes, basil, and onion. Put in a small bowl. Add the vinegar, stirring gently to combine. Spoon over or beside the cooked fish.

Cook’s Tip: Some produce areas indicate “sweet onions” and others specify certain types, such as Vidalia, OsoSweet, Maui, Walla Walla, or Texas 1015. As the term indicates, these onions are less pungent than most other onions.

NUTRITION ANALYSIS (per serving)
Calories 200
Total Fat 8.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Cholesterol 68 mg
Sodium 175 mg
Carbohydrates 5 g
Fiber 1 g
Sugars 2 g
Protein 26 g

Dietary Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 vegetable

This recipe is brought to you by the American Heart Association’s Patient Education program. Recipe copyright © 2008 by the American Heart Association. Look for other delicious recipes in American Heart Association cookbooks, available from booksellers everywhere, and at heart.org/recipes.

AHA Smart Substitutions

Okay guys I couldn't get this one to transfer from the AHA website without being weird and illegible so I quickly digi-scrapped it. It is a couple of really great regular cooking ingredient substitutions for those of you trying to reduce fats, cholesterol's, etc. Please click on this one and take a look.

AHA Top 10 Healthy Cooking Tips

I know many of us are trying to eat healthier for various reasons so I logged onto the American Heart Association website (one we really trust in nursing) and am posting a few of their postings here so we can all access them quickly and easily.

AHA Top 10 Healthy Cooking Tips

1. Preserve the nutrients and colors in veggies. Cook them quickly by steaming or stir-frying.
2. Use herbs, vinegar, tomatoes, onions and/or fat-free or low-fat sauces or salad dressings for better health, especially if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
3. Use your time and your freezer wisely. When you cook once, make it last longer by preparing enough for several other meals. Freeze it and have a ready-made healthy treat for the next time you are simply too tired to bother.
4. A smoothie can cover a multitude of needs. Throw a banana (you can keep them in the freezer for weeks) into your blender along with frozen berries, kiwi or whatever fruit is around, some orange or other juice, some fat-free or low-fat yogurt and protein powder. You can get 4–5 servings of fruit in one glass of yummy shake. Try getting your loved one to sip on a smoothie. It’s easy, cool, refreshing and healthy.
5. Prepared seasonings can have high salt content and increase your risk for high blood pressure. Replace salt with herbs and spices or some of the salt-free seasoning mixes. Use lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chilies to add flavor.
6. Canned, processed and preserved vegetables often have very high sodium content. Look for “low-sodium” veggies or try the frozen varieties. Compare the sodium content on the Nutrition Facts label of similar products (for example, different brands of tomato sauce) and choose the products with less sodium.
7. Prepare muffins and quick breads with less saturated fat and fewer calories. Use three ripe, very well-mashed bananas, instead of 1/2 cup butter, lard, shortening or oil or substitute one cup of applesauce per one cup of these fats.
8. Choose whole grain for part of your ingredients instead of highly refined products. Use whole-wheat flour, oatmeal and whole cornmeal. Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of all-purpose flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, try 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour.
9. In baking, use plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt or fat-free or low-fat sour cream.
10. Another way to decrease the amount of fat and calories in your recipes is to use fat-free milk or 1% milk instead of whole or reduced-fat (2%) milk. For extra richness, try fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk.

Chicken Apple Burgers!

This heart healthy meal is really tasty (in my opinion) and went over well with half of our family. Richard, myself and Katie all really liked it. Emma and Grandpa were not big fans.
If you leave off the apples, it tastes a lot like thanksgiving leftovers on a bun--with out the fat and calories. SO GOOD! FYI, Grandpa and Emma don't like "sweet meat."

The recipe was from Good Housekeeping's Website. Next to the recipe are the nutrition facts. They used a regular buns, I used light, whole wheat buns with half the sodium.

I spent about $10 probably less. It would have been more, but Macey's didn't have ground chicken. Instead I took frozen chicken breasts to the cheese grater. Saved a bundle and it worked just fine.

In the future, I'll use thinner apple slices and maybe just the patties and cranberry sauce.

Crepes!

The crepes themselves were store bought.

The inside: yogurt (I used peach), bananas, kiwi, and grapes

The kids' favorite. instead of yogurt I used chocolate syrup
and on the inside was only bananas.

Fish Tacos

So I tried my hand at Fish tacos. I think it would have helped had I had them before.... Richard liked them though.

Tillapia is actually quite affordable when you realize that a lb of it is too much. I got small fillets each for .90 at Maceys grocery store. One fillet made 2 tacos. I cooked them in a skillet in canola oil and lemon juice.

I then diced tomatoes, green onion and cilantro with lemon juice (I forgot the limes and substituted) to make a peco type salsa.

So corn tortillas, lettuce, tillapia, peco, and topped with some cheddar cheese.

I'm going to try this way next time... Costa Vida fish tacos

By the way, my hubby did this video. :)