January 27th, 2012 at 6:00am Cindy Brison MS RD LMNT
Super bowl parties usually mean high calorie/fat foods and diet derailments. Just because you are noshing doesn’t mean it has to increase the scale the next day. Healthier versions of high fat and high calories snacks are easy to prepare. Using low-fat cream cheese and low-fat sour creams in dips gives you the same product with less calories and fat. Not adding as much cheese, or using lower fat versions helps. Lean meats versus higher fat varieties are also great. All of these items offer a health savings. Baking versus deep fat frying helps too. There are MANY sites that offer great recipes that are healthier snack choices. The Eating Well website has many great makeovers for snacks, like layered bean dip and Buffalo wings. Give some of them a try—and go Giants and Patriots!
For a healthy game plan for your Super Bowl party, check out UNL’s fact sheet!
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January 25th, 2012 at 10:40am Cindy Brison MS RD LMNT
So much has happened since the last post. I can’t believe school starts in 3 weeks. The garden is producing nicely. The near 100 degree heat for the last month has definitely taken its toll, but the new soccer field turf was laid last week, and the new sprinkler system seems to be helping our garden!
The heat has made it necessary to need to water twice a day. This doesn’t work on the weekends. In spite of that—the plants are producing. A good hose is a necessity. Sprinkler day near the garden helps too!
We endured vandalism-twice! The worst part is that the kids were devastated. Explaining that there are people out there that do bad things—and that they shouldn’t helped a little. The vandals pulled all of our tomato and cucumber cages ,and trashed our pepper plants. The cover to the broccoli is gone.
The positive is that thanks to Aunt Jean (yeah Aunt Jean and sister Judy!), we have new established pepper plants—and they are doing well.
In search of new plants at the end of July (they are non-existent). I discovered a local plant rescue club that offers cheap/free plants. The Benson Plant Rescue people are incredibly nice—and have great plants!
We made bird feeders out of donated pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. The secret to not making a huge mess is to add the smeared pinecones to the seed in a Ziploc bag and shake, shake, shake! They can go home in the same bag without leaving a trail of seed. Thanks Miss Tracy for that great idea!
We have eggplant coming out of our ears. To date we have sampled it in spaghetti, egg plant parmesan, ratatouille, and in chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. Yeah—that’s right—cookies. They rock! Replace half the fat in any great tasting cookie recipe with pureed cooked egg plant. It’s terrific!
Critters! Caterpillars eating things in the garden. Bugs totalling our yellow and purple beans. Bunnies displaced from the new soccer field decimating our broccoli. The kids picked off the caterpillars and played with them. I consider this organic pest control!
We made our own caterpillars. We filled old pantyhose (thanks Nancy!) with Omahgro and grass seed. We tied them shut, and the kids twisted segments into them to simulate caterpillar parts. After sun and lots of water—they are the coolest chia pets in the world!
The kids got to taste beets from my garden and crook neck squash someone (thanks Mary Anna!). They are so open to trying these things. They may not always like them—but do seriously give them a try.
It’s been a month. We are gearing up to pull all the dead plants and replant for our fall garden. The soccer field opens in two weeks. That will be a whole new adventure! Until then……
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January 24th, 2012 at 4:56pm Cindy Brison MS RD LMNT
16 Beautiful pineapple!
Today was another wonderful tasting day. The students tried fresh pineapple and whole wheat dinner rolls. Our local grocery store has offered fresh pineapple for $0.99–$1.99 all winter long—so we purchased 16 pineapples. We averaged 10 servings per pineapple. They were VERY well accepted. The plate waste was minimal, and only one student out of 120ish stated they hated pineapple. The whole wheat dinner rolls were less accepted—texture may be an issue. So we will try white whole wheat bread next! I want to try it from scratch for better acceptance. Who doesn’t like homemade bread! Check out what was in the trash—empty milk containers and food from kids who carried their lunch! Another successful tasting!!!!!
Minimal plate waste!
The best anyone in food service could hope for!
It took 1 1/2 hours to cut 16 pineapples
Yummy whole wheat dinner rolls!
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January 21st, 2012 at 6:00am Cindy Brison MS RD LMNT
Pancakes are a true comfort food. They can be served at all meals, and can be plain and simple. They can also be jazzed up, with additional flavorings and ingredients. What kid doesn’t like chocolate chip pancakes?! They can also be a quick, healthy addition to your daily breakfasts. I recently did a class before Christmas on edible gifts. It included a great recipe to make a pancake mix, to give as a gift and use later. It has oatmeal in it with other healthy ingredients. I made it following the recipe, but I had blood orange flavored olive oil. It made the pancakes HEAVENLY!!!!!!!!! I highly recommend this! Thanks to my good friend for the Christmas gift of the flavored olive oil. Give this recipe a try–even my kids like them!
Good Mornin’ Pancake Mix
Recipe by SHARON SUTTON, LINDSEY, OHIO and Taste of Home 20 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup buttermilk blend powder
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon dried orange peel
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS (for each batch):
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Directions
Place the first nine ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until oats are ground. Place 1 cup in each of four resealable plastic bags. In each of four separate resealable plastic bags, place 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup almonds. Store for up to 6 months. Yield: 4 batches (6 cups mix). To prepare pancakes: In a large bowl, combine the contents of one pancake mix bag and one fruit-nut bag. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, water and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Yield: 10 pancakes per batch.
Nutrition Facts: 2 pancakes equals 236 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 46 mg cholesterol, 416 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 8 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat.
Taste of Home 2011
Check out these other great breakfast recipes from the Recipe Redux team!
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