2.28.2010

Sloppy Joes with a Side of Color

We love sloppy joes in this house! I super love them and my husband makes a mean sloppy joe, so we have them pretty frequently here. A few steps we've taken to make them healthier:

1. No white buns
We either use whole wheat buns or skip the bun and do whole wheat toast
2. There must be color on the side
I like raw green peppers for a nice added crunch on my sloppy joes, but this
time we did something even different- a whole side of peppers and mushrooms and
it was great!


Look at all of that color!

2.25.2010

Vegetarian Night

It's hard for me to sell a vegetarian night here, but tonight I think we successfully did it. We had mini burritos with black beans, rice, cheese and salsa, and they were so tasty! I look forward to another one tomorrow! Also, I made one of our favorite dips, and I want to share it with you. This is by no means an original recipe- it's out there, but I love it and it's SO easy!

7 Layer Dip


Ingredients:

Refried beans
Guacamole
Light Sour Cream
Taco Seasoning
Black Olives, sliced
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Low-fat Cheese

The How To:

1. Refried beans- spread them along the bottom of a 9x13 dish


As you can see in the picture, the refried beans do not have any fat in them. They are high in sodium but have lots of fiber! We love fiber!


2. Wholly Guacamole! Spread the guacamole layer on top of the refried beans.


This was my first time buying this guacamole. It was a splurge, but it is very good!

3. Mix the sour cream & taco seasoning. Put one carton of sour cream in a bowl and add in taco seasoning. I usually use half a package but do it to your test. If you like a little more spice keep on adding it! Also, I bought the Target brand taco seasoning today- I like it because it does not have MSG, which we try to avoid in this house because it gives the husband headaches.




4. Add sour cream/taco seasoning mix as the next layer.




5. Sprinkle on black olives on top of the sour cream cream layer. I buy slice olives because it is easier but this is completely preference.

6. Sprinkle on lettuce.

7. Sprinkle on tomatoes- I love to use fresh, well as fresh as you get in February.




8. The final step: add the cheese!











I am so satisfied with vegetarian night #1 here. It was cheap, fresh, and healthy!

2.24.2010

The MLB Takes On Nutrition


*Photo from: stlcardinals.com, The St. Louis Cardinals


The St. Louis Cardinals published an article on their website today explaining the actions they have taken to improve nutrition within their club. Soft drinks in the clubhouse and media room have been replaced by all diet sodas. Donuts and cereal for breakfast have been replaced by oatmeal and egg whites. The staff is making the point from all levels that this is important! What a great example this sets for Americans when these athletes and the club as a whole are choosing to make better decisions for their health. Please take the time to read this article and see what this team is doing!

2.23.2010

Food Allergies: Lessons Learned

Today I want to send you over to the International Food Information Council Foundation's blog for a guest post I was able to write for them back in December. While the blog topic is centered around the Holidays, the topic applies year-round! Personally, I have several food allergies, so this is a topic that I will probably talk about pretty regularly. IFIC has some great information on their blog, so check it out, and check out my blog while you're there! Click here to get to my guest post for IFIC's blog.

2.18.2010

What the Blizzard Did To Me

We are happy to report that snow is melting and life is back to normal here. While I really have no excuse for my long absence from blogging, I sort of do. After getting 4 snows in 2 weeks, two of which were official blizzards, I got a little off my game and overwhelmed. The first blizzard was ok- we got 33 inches at our house- which was a lot but we dug out and hadn't been able to get out onto the street yet, but were doing ok. The second storm is what really got us. In the second storm we lost power. 36 hours later it was back, we came home, and things were good again. I lost all kinds of organization and order and feel like it has taken me awhile to get it back. But, I think I'm about there now.

Tonight's thought:

We had tri-colored pepper chili tonight, and it was delicious! Actually, it was Petro Night at this home! We love Petro night- it's so fun! Since we don't have a Petro's up here, it's as close as we can get. If you don't know what Petro's is- check it out! Fantastic. My husband LOVES their orange tea so much!

So I didn't have any beans at home but did have 3 peppers (red, orange, and yellow) that needed to be used, so I still did ground beef but replaced the beans with the peppers. The chili had such good flavor! It was wonderful, and we did Frito chips on the bottom, chili, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and lettuce on top. It doesn't get any better than that! Well, I have leftovers, so that makes it yummy.

I have a couple of small, tiny little projects we did here to share soon. We are in the design phase of our closet to mudroom transformation! We are so excited! But still planning...


Happy Thursday! And Happy Winter Olympics to all!

2.09.2010

Not Worse Is Not Better

This really grabbed my attention today! I get daily emails from Nutrition.gov with a RSS feed of the latest nutrition news. It's a great way to stay informed, and I highly recommend it. "Not Worse Is Not Better" was a title of one new article today, and I had to read it. Now that the obesity rates have leveled off an attitude of "oh, we're in the clear" is developing. This article was a good reminder to me that we are not. We still have just as much to work towards! We need to reverse these rates and makes people healthier! Check out the article. It's short- I promise!

2.06.2010

What Have I Done During The Blizzard?

Well, not much. I've done much laying around, watching tv. I have also done laundry, a little cleaning, keeping up with the dog, a little playing outside with her, and a lot of staring out the window in awe of how much snow keeps falling. Blizzard 2010 has been very intense!

I have also done a couple of easy projects. These pictures came from my Mamaw's house. They always creeped me out as a child, but I think the frames are really beautiful.




So I knocked out the pictures and hung the frames on my freshly painted wall. I think it looks good like this but maybe some day I will put pictures inside of it.







The next task that is daunting me is decorating this beautiful bookcase. When we moved into this house this bookcase was left behind downstairs in the basement. At first we had planned to get rid of it but then I saw the potential. We hauled it upstairs, the husband sanded it all- it's huge as you can see! Then we painted it with the leftover paint from our kitchen table. The husband got the great idea to tack on some crown molding at the top. I was skeptical at first, but he was so excited about it so I went with it. I could not be happier with how it turned out!! It is beautiful! And this gorgeous, HUGE bookcase is now in our dining room and cost us a grand total of $12 (only for the molding)!

Now I'm stuck on how to decorate it... I just have a few random ideas on there now. I'm working on it.



2.05.2010

Winter Storm... Again

I have always said that I wanted to live somewhere that got snow! I do love winter, and I do love snow! I hate to say I'm getting tired of the snow, but it is certainly a challenge to get used to all of it. I'm sure I will have more pictures, but this is just the start.





It is beautiful. So peaceful.

2.04.2010

On My Mind

While I so much want to share a nice healthy recipe, this is on my mind...

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies



http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=3264&page=1&per=25

This is without a doubt my new favorite cookie! I of course leave the nuts out of mine (because I am allergic). But sooo good!

2.03.2010

Nothing Like It on a Snowy Day

Soup that is! My all time favorite soup has got to be potato- I have finally found a recipe that makes my heart, stomach, and everyone else smile! But I didn't have the right ingredients, and as I was heading out of work yesterday with the threat of incoming snow, I thought I need some warm soup. So my second favorite- vegetable soup! I love vegetable soup- I love that I get all of my veggie servings in just by enjoying my delicious meal! I love how it's warm and I love getting an intense dose of tomatoes in the winter. I am in need of a grocery store trip, so I didn't have a whole lot to add. Some green beans, black beans, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth and a few minutes and I was loving it!



For some grains I added noodles. These are fantastic! Seven different whole grains- I could feel the fiber.




My dog is eating again! As you can see here she's clearly got her appetite back.

2.01.2010

Sweet Potato Fries

Nothing better! I love sweet potato fries! All the fun of eating fries but the sweet taste and nutritional benefits of the sweet potato. Check out this recipe and try some at home...




Lightly Spicy Sweet Potato Fries




Also, I will be back posting consistently soon! We've had some doggy illness that has been quite chaotic!

Have a Happy Week!