BLT and Omelet

A great Turkey Bacon

A great 100% Whole Grain Bread.

I absolutely love Cherub tomatoes although they can be pricey. They are always perfectly ripe and a great on the go snack for you and the kiddos.

I used spinach as my L lettus which tastes just as good!

When making the BLT, fry up your turkey bacon and cut up your tomatoes. Toast your bread and put it all together. You can always add cheese if that is an essential for you.
Try Nayonaise by Nasoya as a mayo alternative if you are a fan of mayo.

Finished BLT for the kiddos with veggie and fruit.

The next day I took my left over turkey bacon and made an egg white omelet for us for breakfast. Spray pan well then add your 100% egg whites. Sprinkle a little cheese, add spinach, cherub tomatoes and turkey bacon and let it cook on low until the egg whites are not runny.

Fold it over in the pan and sprinkle a little more cheese on the top and there you have it!

Scramble up for kiddos.

Vegetable Lasagna

I love making vegetable lasagna! It's work but worth it in the end. You can be in charge of what vegetables you want in your lasagna. In this version, I used

1 Red Pepper

2 Zucchini

2 Yellow Squash

1 Leek

1 container of mushrooms

1 Sweet Potato

Spinach

Broccoli steamed

1-2 Cans of diced tomatoes drained or you can use fresh cut in small pieces.

Chop up all vegetables and fry them in a pan until cooked. I usually will fry up my squash, zucchini, red pepper together, put it in a big bowl, fry up my leeks and mushrooms, add them to the bowl, and then fry up my sweet potato until soft. You can use olive oil or I tend not to use anything. I add water to my sweet potato to help it fry up faster. When all your veggies are cooked toss them all together in a bowl.

You can be boiling your water and noodles at this time also and making your cheese mixture.

I try to buy the dry cottage cheese curds in a bag, most grocery stores will carry them. King Soopers does here in Fort Collins. I take the entire bag, and mix in some shredded mozzarella. If it's too dry I like to add regular cottage cheese. Other options for your cheese mixture, are ricotta, and I know some even add egg.

This is a lasagna that seriously is up to your creativity and your likes. I have yet to make a similar tasting veggie lasagna. Every time I make it, it's completely different.

When everything is cooked start making your lasagna.

I put spaghetti sauce on the bottom, just enough to cover the lasagna pan.

Noodles

Cheese Mixture

Veggies

Spinach (I just use fresh spinach and sprinkle it on top of the veggies)

Tomatoes (Canned or fresh)

Noodles

Cheese Mixture

Veggies

Spinach

Tomatoes

Top it off with one last set of noodles

Cover with Cheese and put foil on it and cook for 30 minutes on 350. Because you are using lots of water carrying foods, you may find your lasagna looking a bit soupy. Try to get as much liquid out of everything before you put it together. You can try to drain some of the juice out very carefully when it is done cooking. It is usually fine and after you let it sit for 15-20 minutes, it tends to all soak up and not be soupy. I find too, that it always tastes better the next day.

Be creative with spices if you tend to like them. It's really a lasagna you can form to your own tastes. You can always add a layer of ground turkey and tomato sauce if you want meat.

Good luck. Would love to hear if you try it out!

I prepped all my veggies the day before so it would not take as long during the process.

One thing that has helped me as a mom, is when I get home from the grocery store I prep all my veggies for my meals and then they are ready to go when I need to use them.

SUPER FOOD QUESADILLA

Start out by buying a good whole wheat tortilla. These are one of my favorites and my boys love them with peanut butter and jelly in them. A great on the go snack for the kids or an easy picnic lunch for at the park.
The finished look:)

Spray your pan and place the tortilla in the pan. I cooked my spinach before hand to get more on the tortilla. Spinach cooks down to nothing so if you put it on raw you won't get much. (I fill my fry pan up with spinach and spray a little olive oil on it and add sea salt and pepper). Add turkey and tomatoes (I used salsa on this one because I was out of tomatoes) Then add just a tiny bit of cheese...you don't need much to give it the flavor you like. Put the other tortilla on top and cook on low/medium heat and flip carefully:)
Enjoy.

You can cut up your spinach in tiny pieces for the kiddos and they will usually not be able to tell if they are picky eaters. Some kids think anything green is bad but give it a try. You can even try to make a quesadilla pizza with cheese and spinach and spaghetti sauce to get your tomatoes in. Kids usually love tomato paste and it's very good for you!

I'M BACK!

Thanks to all of you who have been patiently waiting for a new post! The last couple of months we have moved twice and said goodbye to my mother in law so I am finally feeling settled for now:)

I will do a quick review of the superfoods I have posted already and then give you the rest. I challenge you to just try and incorporate a few at a time until you get comfortable trying to find ways to include most each day.

So here are the 14 Super Foods in the Super Foods Rx book. Keep in mind, there are many more. These are the ones I will touch on for now.

Beans

*Try to eat: at least four 1/2 cup servings per week

*Includes: pinto, navy, Great Northern, lima, garbanzo, lentils, green beans, sugar snap peas, and green peas

Blueberries

*Try to eat: 1 to 2 cups daily

*Includes: purple grapes, cranberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, blackberries, cherries, and all other varieties of fresh, frozen, or dried berries

Broccoli

*Try to eat: 1/2 to 1 cup daily

*Includes: brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, collards, bok choy, mustard greens, swiss chard

Oats

*Try to eat 5 to 7 servings a day

*Includes: wheat germ and ground flaxseed, brown rice, barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye, millet, bulgur wheat, amaranth, quinoa, triticale, kamut, yellow corn, wild rice, spelt, cous cous

Oranges

*Try to eat 1 serving daily

*Includes: lemons, white and pink grapefruit, kumquats, tangerines, limes

Pumpkin

*Try to eat 1/2 cup most days

*Includes: carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers

Wild Salmon

*Try to eat 2-4 times per week

*Includes: Alaskan halibut, canned albacore tuna, sardines, herring, trout, sea bass, oysters, and clams

Soy

***I suggest reading on this one as people seem to have opinions about it***

From what I have read, it seems like the benefits outweigh the risks as long as you are following the recommended amount.

*Try to eat: at least 15 grams of soy protein (30 to 50 isoflavones: not from isoflavone-fortified products) per day and divide total daily soy intake into two separate meals or snacks

*Includes: tofu, soymilk, soy nuts, edamame, tempeh, miso

Spinach

*Try to eat: 1 cup steamed or 2 cups raw most days

*Includes: kale, collards, Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, romaine lettuce, orange bell pepper

Tea

*Try to drink one or more cups daily

*green or black

*amazing benefits

Tomatoes

*Try to eat one serving of processed tomatoes or others listed below per day and multiple servings per week of fresh tomatoes

Includes: red watermelon, pink grapefruit, Japanese persimmons, red fleshed papaya, strawberry guava

Turkey

*Skinless Breast*

Try to eat: 3 to 4 servings per week of 3 to 4 oz (maximum 4 oz per serving)

Includes: skinless chicken breast

Walnuts

*Try to eat: 1 oz, five times a week

*Includes: almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews

Yogurt

*Try to eat 2 cups daily

*Includes: kefir

Note that the main Superfood has the most benefit. The foods after "Includes" are other options that share the same benefits as the main superfood. This gives you options for variety and creativity in trying to includes these foods in your daily diet.

Good luck!

PUMPKIN

SIDEKICKS:

carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers

TRY TO EAT:

1/2 cup most days

WHY PUMPKIN?

Most nutritionally valuable foods. Inexpensive, easy to put in recipes, high in fiber and low in calories

Packs an abundance of disease fighting nutrients, most important is the synergistic combination of carotenoids. A 1/2 cups serving of pumpkin gives you more than two times recommended daily dietary intake of alpha carotene and 100 percent recommended daily dietary goal of beta carotene.

QUICK CAROTENOID BOOSTS

Sliced orange, red bell pepper, peeled baby carrots, fresh or dried apricots or prunes, a slice of cantaloupe or watermelon, slice of mango, or persimmon. FUN: Haagen Dazs mango sorbet (Very good, I've tried it!)

ALPHA CAROTENE ALL STARS

Pumpkin (cooked 1 cup) 11.7 mg

Carrots (cooked 1 cup) 6.6 mg

Butternut Squash (cooked 1 cup) 2.3 mg

Orange bell pepper (1 cup) .3 mg

Collards (cooked 1 cup) .2 mg

BETA CAROTENE ALL STARS

(All below are 1 cup cooked servings)

Sweet Potato 23 mg

Pumpkin 17 mg

Carrots 13 mg

Spinach 11.3 mg

Butternut Squash 9.4 mg

WHEN BUYING PUMPKIN

Since pumpkin is only fresh in the fall, you can buy it in the can all year long. Canned pumpkin is actually more nutritious (except for the seeds)

Make sure you buy canned pumpkin puree, not pie pumpkin

**At only 83 calories a cup, it offers more than 400 percent recommended alpha carotene and close to 300 percent beta carotene recommendation as well as almost half of the iron requirement for adult men and postmenopausal women.

Other winter squash is full of beneficial carotenes. Butternut squash is full of flavor and great for soups

Look for winter squash that is HARD, STEM ON, DULL SKIN, DEEP RICH COLOR

IDEAS

Cooked carrots are easy to make and kids usually will love the sweet flavor. (cooked have more nutritional benefit)

Pumpkin seeds are a great plant based source of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. I will add them to my blueberries and yogurt everyday with my walnuts...yummy.

Sweet potatoes are always good. Microwave them for a quick meal addition (5 minutes)

Slice them to make sweet potato fries, spray them with olive oil and back for 20 minutes at 400 degrees

WILL POST SOME GOOD RECIPES SOON!

ORANGES

HOW MUCH?

Try to eat 1 a day

HOW TO GET YOUR 350 MILLIGRAMS A DAY

1 large yellow bell pepper 341 mg

1 large red bell pepper 312 mg

1 large orange bell pepper 238 mg

1 Large green bell pepper 132 mg

1 cup raw chopped broccoli 79 mg

1 cup fresh strawberries slice 97mg

1 cup papaya cubes 87 mg

1 navel orange 83 mg

1 medium kiwi 70 mg

1 cup cubed cantaloupe 59 mg

1 cup Odwalla C Monster 350mg

1 cup fresh orange juice 124 mg

1 cup orange juice from concentrate 97 mg

Citrus flavonoids are found in the whole fruit of the orange (tissue, juice, skin, pulp etc)

The power of citrus flavonoids are amazing. They have the ability to prevent cells from mutating and initiating one of the first steps in the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. They have been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, strengthen capillaries, act as anti inflammatories, and they are antiallergenic and antimicrobial.

They promote cardiovascular health.

Major cancer agent when eaten in the whole form

Reduce the risk of stroke by 25%

Known to elevate HDL cholesterol (good) and lower LDL (bad)

Pectin found in the white lining of citrus fruit is good fiber and helps to reduce cholesterol and is also helpful in stabilizing blood sugar

***Eating a whole orange hold many more benefits than juice will provide***

Eat the pulp and buy high pulp juice

The peel of the orange and other citrus fruits contain lots of nutritional power. If you are to use the peel in cooking, wash with warm water and a little soap or buy organic citrus.

SUPPLEMENTS

It's always better to get it from the source but if you take a Vitamin supplement it is best to take a 250 mg supplement in the morning and 250mg in the evening instead of 500 at a time. Keep your daily supplement intake below the Food and Nutrition Board's tolerable upper limit of 2000 mg a day. 1000mg a day is more than enough.

HOW TO PICK YOUR ORANGES

They do not ripen after they have been picked.

Heavier and smaller with thinner skin have more juice

More juice if you let it go to room temp and roll it on the counter before juicing it.

GET SOME!

Eat an orange, tangerine, or clementine daily

Add mandarin orange segments to a spinach salad

Sprinkle grapefruit halves with brown sugar and broil for a great desert

Add orange juice to a fruit smoothie

Keep orange and lemon zest in your fridge or freezer and add to cakes, cookies, muffins, yogurt, fruit salad, and hot tea.

IDEAS FOR KIDS

Have orange wedges for snacks or after playing/exercising

Kids always love smoothies!

BLUEBERRIES

A mess worth cleaning:)
Don't forget your blueberries every day!