Go green, go Irish! My St Patrick’s week menu ideas March 10, 2011

With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up, I’m planning on celebrating with all sorts of weird and wonderful green dishes next week. That means I’m going to be buying the big box of fresh spinach from Costco as my “food coloring” since I like to steer clear of the artificial stuff. It’s not every day that you can get away with green food being cool, so I’m taking advantage of it while I can. After all, sometimes it is easy being green.

Green Applesauce: Blend raw or lightly steamed spinach into applesauce in about a 1:3 ratio fresh or 1:5 cooked

Split Pea Soup: I love adding a little cumin to the recipe on the bag

Spinach Soup:  There’s a great recipe in my Gourmet Today cookbook as well as on the dani spies website.  I think the fresh tastes better, but the frozen is pretty good and way cheaper.

Green Smoothie:  sounds weird, looks weird, tastes great!  Seriously.  Blend pineapple, applesauce, frozen oranges, a handful of spinach, and some milk, almond milk, or yogurt.  Add a dash of sugar if you want to sweeten it up a little more.

Kale chips, steamed broccoli, and peas for my little Sweetpea are also on the menu, but they have become pretty standard fare around our house.

And, of course, green cabbage with our corned beef.  Because we have to celebrate St. Patty’s Day with some traditional foods too in honor of my Irish husband

Adding spice to the holiday health plan November 23, 2010

Pumpkin pie spice. It’s just reminiscent of this season, isn’t it? As soon as Starbucks comes out with their pumpkin spice latte I feel like fall is in the air. The combination of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves isn’t just tasty, it’s also great for you! Here’s the rundown on this spice lineup:

cinnamon – this popular spice has been in the scientific news recently for it’s ability to help regulate blood sugar. This is great news in a sugary holiday season, especially for this with diabetes or just high blood sugar. It also has mild antimicrobial properties and warming properties according to traditional medicine – great during cold and flu season.

ginger – best known for it’s benefits in treating gastrointestinal distress, ginger may be just the thing to reach for if you suffer from heartburn or nausea this season. It also may be beneficial as an anti-inflammatory if you have arthritis, or for heading off colds and flu as well. Fresh ginger root tends to have the most health benefits. I keep one in the freezer and just add the zest to stir-fries or tea.

cloves – ever see clove oil in the alternative medicine aisle? It is a mild antiseptic, sometimes used for sore gums due to teething or a throat spray. Cloves also are rich in omega-3 fats and have such a pleasant, warm flavor.

Pumpkin pie spice is often a combination of 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon cloves. I like to add a dash of allspice as well. Besides the obvious pumpkin pies and breads, try using it to flavor your next latte, or as a substitute for the chai flavoring in black tea and milk. Adding a dash to rice krispie treats makes for a festive treat as well.

If you have an extra can of pumpkin, how about a pumpkin pie smoothie? Blend 1/2 can pumpkin, 1 banana, 1 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup powdered skim milk, 1/2 cup ice cubes, 1-2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and sweetener to taste. Happy healthy holidays!

Thanksgiving – a truly healthy holiday November 19, 2010

I love Thanksgiving. To me, it is all about giving thanks to God and celebrating with family, friends, and of course, food. Ahh, the food! I love the smell of cinnamon, mulled cider, and pumpkin pie. Complete that with homemade bread and a roasting turkey, well, we really do have a lot to be thankful for.

Holidays are one time when I believe that you can let go of healthy eating a little bit and celebrate a little bit more. However, going overboard will only lead to a stomachache and a few extra pounds. So, if you have a favorite traditional dish, by all means, enjoy small portions of it and don’t mess it up by trying to make it overly healthy! After all, splurging once a year is not what causes overweight.

However, there are usually a few traditional dishes that aren’t quite as close to the heart, and these can easily be made a little more nutritious or a little lower in calories. Check out the Supermarket Savvy checklist here for some great tips.

Also, is there someone with food allergies or restrictions? Make the festivities more enjoyable for them with the tips listed by Money Saving Mom‘s website.

Lean turkey meat, yams rich in vitamin A, cranberries overflowing with anthocyanins.  This year, make it your point to celebrate the abundant variety of nutritious foods that are available for us to eat, rather than stressing over the calories we would rather avoid.

And remember, you can always burn off a few of  the extra calories with a 5K turkey trot on T-day, or a a day of sprinting for for your fave sale items on black Friday.

Healthy Halloween? October 24, 2010

Halloween, the beginning of the unhealthy holidays. Or does it have to be? I love the fall, and fall recipes can be nutritious.
True, it’s easy to be derailed from your healthy eating program this season with Halloween candy now and Thanksgiving pumpkin pie in a few more weeks, but here’s the skinny on enjoying yourself without adding pounds.

1) Buy candy at the last minute. Unless you don’t like it.  I would love to do a survey on how many people buy candy early, eat it, then have to buy more!
2) Consider candy alternatives. I’ve seen crayons, play-do, and other plastic toy give-aways that can be used for Halloween, or saved for party favors if you over-estimate the trick-or-treaters.
3) Eat  pumpkin!  This vegetable is great source of beta-carotene, which is necessary for a healthy immune system. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of magnesium and zinc, both of which can also give your immune system a boost this flu season. 

4) Before joining the trick-or-treating fun, eat a veggie and protein heavy dinner so you won’t be as tempted to munch on the candy you collect.  I love this recipe for chili in a pumpkin bowl.  It may become part of our family Halloween tradition.

Saint Patrick’s Day and Beyond March 17, 2010

Ahh, corned beef and cabbage.  Potatoes.  Green eggs and ham with green Guinness?  The list of Irish traditional foods as well as fun, not-so-Irish foods is almost endless.  For our family, we have enjoyed corned beef and cabbage (I use 2 tbsps of butter rather than 6) along with boiled red potatoes and soda bread.  This year I decided to try a new mostly-whole wheat soda bread which turned out heavier and chewier than the traditional white bread, but still good.

As for health, it’s hard to beat cabbage this time of year.  A phenomenal cancer-fighting food, it is less than a dollar per pound and incredibly versatile.  If you have leftover cabbage and potatoes, be sure to try this vegetarian chowder.   Cooked down, cabbage is pleasantly mild, and tastes especially good when mixed with tart apples such as granny smith.  Raw cabbage has a bit more bite, but makes a great coleslaw. I’m still looking for the perfect no-mayo coleslaw recipe, so if anyone has one please forward it my way!
If you are looking for a healthier option than corned beef this holiday, roast leg of lamb is one way to go.  We just can’t break the corned beef tradition, so to keep the calories down cut the slices of meat thin, and then plan on having it over several days rather than one large feast on the 17th.  I know we’re planning on sandwiches, colcannon, and possibly even a little soup with the leftovers if  they last that long!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!