Eggplant Componata and Pasta

If you’re not sure what to do with your eggplant, try this relish type eggplant recipe over pasta!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced onions
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cups cubed eggplant
• 1 – 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 – 1/2 cup thinkly sliced zucchini
• 1 large sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup thinkly sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 8 ounces of rigatoni
• 1/2 cup grated sapsago or Paremsan cheese

Procedure:

1. In large saucepan, over medim heat, heat oil and add onions, cooking until soft and stirring often.
2. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute and add eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, parsley, bsil, oregano, sage, thyme, and hot pepper sauce.  Cover and cook over medium low heat until all the vegetables have released their natural juices.  This will take about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until the veggies are soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the rigatoni until tender.  drain and pout pasta onto a serving platter.  Top with the vegetables and sprinkle with cheese.

Super healthy and good for you with less than 25% of your calories from fat.

Marinated Veggie Salad

This salad is wonderful any day of the week, but put it on a Holiday Thanksgiving Meal Buffet, and you’ve got a low calorie diet dish that everyone will dip into!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets, in bite sized pieces
• 2 cups broccoli florets, small pieces
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 cup green beans in about 1 inch pieces
• 2 tblsp frozen apple juice concentrate
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbsp grated onions
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp anise seed
• 2 small yellow squash cut into 1/4 inch slices (2 cups)
• 2 small zucchini cut into slices

Procedure:

1. Combine cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and green beans in steamer basket. 
2. Cook 5 minutes and then drain and rinse.
3. To make dressing, in a 1 qt canning jar, combine apple juice concentrate, vinegar, lemon juice, onions, mustard, garlic, oregano and anise, shake well.
4. In a large bowl, combine steamed veggies with the yellow squash and zucchini.  Pour dressing over vegetables; toss gently.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.  Stir.

Vegetables, Fiber and Good Health

Do you eat 4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables every day?  No?  Where are you getting your fiber?

For best results, experts advise getting 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily, spread out over the day, some each meal. 

Need easy ways to figure out your fiber intake?

• For each serving of whole grain food items, estimate 2 grams of fiber.
• For each serving of refined-grain products, estimate 1 gram of fiber.
• For each serving of For every serving of fruits or vegetables, estimate 2 grams of fiber.
• For each serving of beans, count 5 grams of fiber.

Eat more beans!  You can see they provide large amounts of fiber.  Also, try the new fiber enriched yogurts!

At the end of the day, if you’ve eaten 3 servings of vegetables, 2 of fruit, 3 of whole grain foods, 3 of refined-grain foods, and 1 of beans or legumes, you’ve consumed about 24 grams of fiber.  Add a high-fiber breakfast cereal, such as Total; you’ve eaten your fiber!  It’s not that difficult and what flavor you’ve enjoyed!  

Yes, Fiber-Sure powder, sprinkled on foods,  helps, but learning to eat high-fiber foods is much tastier!  However, if you’ve got problems eating this much fiber, use the Fiber Sure to supplement, but watch the sprinkling! 

Your healthy colon will thank you!

Eat well, be informed.

Vegetables Help Lower High Blood Pressure

As parents struggle with keeping jobs, paying bills, providing fun and education and good health for their children, they might just find that their blood pressure has become a health issue.

Blood pressure is directly affected by stress and diet.  That’s good news because we can control those factors.

For healthy blood pressure eat lots of fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, legumes, and whole-grain cereals to maintain healthy levels of potassium.

Eat less of canned and other processed foods that contain added salt.  Limit fatty foods.

Avoid pickled and other salty foods and excessive alcohol.  While experts don’t always agree on how much salt is too much, they do recommend lowering your sodium.  

Hypertension is aggravated by even just a few pounds of extra body weight, and the good news is that even losing a couple of pounds might be all that is necessary to bring blood pressure levels back to normal. 

Lower the fat in your diet, as well.  Cutting back on butter and margarine, using olive oils and baking or broiling your meats will help tremendously. 

Drink less than moderately!  While some experts believe that one glass of wine is beneficial, more than that can negate any of the benefits. 

There are some foods and nutrients that may protect against high blood pressure: 

• Potassium – This is an electrolyte that helps maintain your body’s normal balance of salt and fluids. 
• Potassium sources are fruits, vegetables, lean meats, potatoes, legumes and whole-grains.
• Get enough calcium!  you need at least 2 or three servings of low-fat milk products every day.  Sources:  Yogurt, low-fat cheese, low-fat cottage cheese and other dairy products; spinach, oranges; baked beans, almonds, black-eyed peas and green peas.
• Garlic – many people feel the benefits are not worth the bad breath and body odor that garlic can cause.  Ifyou  use odorless pills, science does not indicate that the benefit from this source of garlic is the same.  Use in moderation seems to be a good recommendation.

Other methods of lowering blood pressure include mild to moderate exercise, such as a walking program, quiting smoking, and using cold medications with caution.

Chronic and persistent stress has a negative effect on healthy blood pressure, so increase nutrition and exercise during these times.  A long term beneficial effect might include yoga, meditation, biofeedback training and many other relaxation techniques. 

Get a pet!  Caring for a loving pet can be entertaining and studies show it does lower blood pressure in many people.

Families that study nutrition together, will share the knowledge of how to achieve the best health possible by making lifestyle changes, for a lifetime!

Eat Mustard and Fight Alzheimer’s Disease

Got Turmeric?  If you’re fond of yellow mustard, you’re eating the right thing on your sandwiches or in your salad dressings or even on top of meats.  The bright yellow color of mustard comes from the spice turmeric, which is full of compounds known as curcuminoids.  That’s important because studies in animals and of cells have shows these compounds to help prevent and improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, (AD). 

Scientists don’t know yet what causes Alzheimer’s but they are learning that the protein beta-amyloid plays a really big role because they’ve found large amounts called plaques in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s. 

Curcumin could block these plaques from forming, and may even remove the amyloid plaque already there.  So, slather that yellow mustard on your sandwich in large amounts, with no guilt; you might just be helping your brain tomorrow.

Improve Your Memory with Asparagus

Are you forgetting things?  If you’re over 50, you probably say “Oh, I’m just getting old.”  Not so!  Well, you are getting older, but you don’t have to be forgetting things!  Our diet and stress plays an important role in memory.

We don’t have to expect or accept declines in our thinking abilities as we age.  I know that ’s hard to believe, but it’s true!  We are more in control because we know more about how our body works than ever before, and some very easy things a person can do to think young and look their best have been discovered.  Turns out, we are pretty much what we eat.

Not that any of us want to look like an asparagus tip, but eating it has wonderful outcomes.  Research has shown that our brain does not have to slow down and we can help prevent some of the diseases we fear, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

Exercising our mind is necessary, but we dfon’t have to strain and sweat, just read, do a few puzzles every week and invent memory tricks like associating one thing with another, even listening to books on CDs or tapes will all help our minds remember things.

Along with exercising our brain, we need to pay attention to what we’re putting  into our mouths.  The food we eat affects our brain and if our nutrition is poor, the brain does not function as it can with good nutrition.  

Foods such as nuts, cold-water fish will give us lots of omega-3 fatty acides which improves our brains performance.  If we make sure our diets are low in fat and calories, but highin certain vitamins such as C, B6, B12, and E we can go a long way to protecting ourselves from Alzheimer’s disease. 

Include lots of liquids because dehydration is a big factor in memory loss. 

If you are one of millions of Americans who experience memory loss, maybe a few simple changes in our diet can remedy the problem.  Don’t settle for “huh? and “I forgot.”  Eat your asparagus!

The B vitamins thiamin, B6 and B12 and folate are all high ranking players in the brain game.  People who are well nourished with B vintamins perform better on memory tests than those with low ratges of vitamin B.  Eating enough folate is extremely important in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.  Scientists think that a decline in homocystein levels could be a key factor in avoiding Alzheimer’s. 

Several studies have revealed that there are higher levels of the amino acide homocysteine, which is also a factor in heart disease, is present in people with Alzheimer’s. 

Making asparagus a part of your memory increasing diet becomes very important when we realize the benefits of folate.  Just one cup of fresh asparagus gives us 17% of folate for the day.  Asparagus is also a strong provider of B vitamins:  one cup of asparagus equals 69.7 mcg of folate; .2mg of thiamin; .2 mg of Riboflavin, and 1.3 mg of Niacin, finishing the list with .1mg of B6.  All packed into those little green sticks of asparagus.

A key point is to remember not to overcook it, eat asparagus either fresh in salads or quickly steamed to a tender/crunchy stage.  Saving the broth for soups is a good idea!

Enjoy the memory benefits and Alzhemier’s Disease prevention of the Asparagus tip!

Easy Vegetable Recipes

Are you struggling for ways to eat your veggies?  These tasty recipes are ready in a snap!

If you eat these for one week, you will eat your quota of 14 cups of vegetables per week and will be well on your way to good health!  The recipes have loads of other healthy ingredients to enjoy!

Shrimp Salad – 1/4 to 1/3 cup cooked shrimp, bite-sized.  Add 1 tbsp mayo or plain yogurt, 1 tsp lemon juice and generous dash of black pepper.  Stir in 1 cup frozen or fresh chopped artichoke hearts, and serve with 4 grain low sodium crackers or toast.  Adding a small amount of peanut butter to the crackers or toast is great, just go easy on it. Vegetable serving satisfied: 1 cup.

Tuna Salad with Chickpeas - 3 oz chunk light tuna, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 1 tsp sunflower oil, 1 tsp minced garlic from the jar.  Stir in 1 cup rinsed and drained low-sodium chickpeas.  Vegetable serving satisfied:  1 cup

Taco and Bean Salad - Stir together 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp hopped cilantro, 1/2 cup rinsed and drained black beans.  Place on top of 1 cup romaine lettuce torn in bite size pieces.  Add 2 tbsp shredded and reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese and 1/4 cup chopped avocado.  Vegetable serving satisified:  1 1/2 cup

Roast Beef In A Wrap -  Take one whole wheat wrap and spread with 2 tbsp plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp horseradish and 1 tsp chopped chives.  Add 2 oz of lean roast beef to center of wrap and fold in sides, forming a tight roll.  Slice 1 cup of red bell peppers for dipping into 1/4 cup garlic hummus.  Vegetable serving satisfied:  1 cup

Grapefruit, Salmon and Spinach Salad -  To 1 cup of baby spinach,  toss 1 tbsp crumbled blue cheese and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar.  When mixed and coated, add 3 oz of drained canned salmon, 1/2 cup pink grapefruit wedges and 1 tbsp chopped nuts.  Vegetable serving satisfied:  1 cup

Turkey Sandwich – On toasted whole grain English muffin, add 2 oz lean smoked turkey, 1/2 cup sliced apple.  Slice 1/2 cup baby carrots or 1 cup carrot match sticks and serve 1/4 cup garlic hummus for dipping.  Vegetable serving satisfied:  1 to 1 & 1/2 cup

Chicken Salad – Combine 1 cup grape tomatoes with 1/2 cup cooked and chilled pasta, 3 oz chopped grilled or poached chicken breast, 3 chopped basil leaves, and 1 tbsp olive oil.  Vegetable serving satisfied:  1 cup

Bonus:  Dill Potato Salad – Stir 1/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt with 1 tbsp fresh dill and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.  Add 1 chopped hard-boiled egg and 1 cup cooked and chopped red potatoes to 1 cup cauliflower pieces and 1 oz chopped prosciutto.   Vegetable serving satisified:  2 cups

These recipes targeted all five vegetable groups:  Dark Greens, Orange/Red, Beans, Starchy Vegetables, and Other.

Eat Your Veggies!

If you eat the right amount of veggies and a large variety, they can help fight disease and slow down the signs of the aging process in our bodies.

Now, isn’t that reason enough to eat your veggies?

Grandma knew what was right, after all!  The simple rule of eating your veggies is one of the most powerful and important ways to slow down the aging process in our bodies and stay healthy longer.  However, not only do we need to eat enough vegetable portions during the day and week, we need to eat a good variety.

Spending the time to incorporate vegetables into your daily intake of food, sort of creating a vegetable schedule, will ensure that you will consume many different kids of vegetables at every meal.  It’s worth the extra effort and I suspect you and your family will soon fall in love with vegetables!

Not only does eating about 13 – 15 cups of vegetables per week keep your blood level of protective antioxidants high, it also arms your body with the ability to fight and lower the risk of disease.  Antioxidants are known for preserving long-term memory and helping us to continue to be able to learn new things as we age.

Many studies say that a higher veggie consumption will reduce our risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke.  If we eat a wide variety of vegetables, we have a better chance of lowering our risk for serious diseases.

Take a look at the 5 “necessary vegetables” section below and see how easy it’s going to be to add them to your “real meals.”  The sample week of what to eat will help you in reaching a 14 cup ratio of veggies.

Sneak Attack of Veggies

• Eating noodle soup?  Trade it for black bean or lentil!  Puree cauliflower to use as base.
• Made a bed of rice?  Serve your meat dish over corn or wilted greens like baby spinach!  If rice is your choice, choose brown and add green peas.
• Need to dip?   Try salsa or a marinara sauce for all those antioxidants!
• Add mushrooms!  Grating vegetables and their washed peelings to add to meatloaf or casseroles adds flavor and nutrition. 
• Pasta, again?  It’s ok, but cut the portion in half and add more vegetables like peppers, onions, tomatoes, squash, artichokes, zucchini, eggplant, beans.  Think:  “Fiber in the morning, fiber in the evening, fiber at supper time.” 

Variety of Veggies and Recommended Amounts

• Starchy Veggies – Corn, green peas, white potatoes.   Reason:   They provide a good range of antioxidants and nutrients, like cancer-fighting isoflavones in the peas and aiding in lowering blood pressure from the kukoamines in potatoes.  Eat how much?  2 1/2 cups per week
• Beans - edamame, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans.  Reason:  Rates of heart disease go down, lowers blood pressure, reduces risk of breast cancer and colon cancers, as well as type 2 diabetes. Eat how much? 2 1/2 cups per week.
• Dark Greens - Mustard greens, romaine, mesclun, collard, turnip, broccoli, spinach.  Reason:  Improves health of lungs, immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces inflammation, contributes to brain cellular health, builds stronger bones.  Eat how much?  2 cups per week.
• Orange/Red Vegetables – Sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, peppers.  Reason:  Strong and clearer vision, good blood sugar control, high in cancer-fighting carotenoids, provides better lung health.  Eat how much?  1 1/2 cups per week.
• Other Veggie Choices - Green beans, mushrooms, bell pepeprs, onions, tomatoes, wax beans, zucchini, artichokes, asparagus, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplants. Reason:  More nutrients, antioxidants, beta-carotene in the peppers, and quercetin in the onions.  Eat how much? 5 1/2 cups per week

Look at the choices you have!!  If you just eat a cup at lunch and one at dinner, you’ll have your 14 cups without hardly trying. 

What’s on your grocery list?  Don’t stress over mealtime!  Try these 14 recipes for 2 weeks of yummy nutrition!