Tag: healthy eating

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COLORFUL HEALTHY ASPARAGUS SALAD

One  good thing about all this rain we’ve had.  Flowers long dormant are blooming again,  and asparagus is plump and plentiful.  This is one of those rare treats that arrive to welcome spring.  It’s been a long winter, and by now you’re probably tired of tossed salads and fruited jello.  Now is the time to brighten your table  with colorful healthy asparagus salad.  Best of all, it only takes minutes to prepare:

Looking for an alternative to tossed salad? Try asparagus pimento salad.
COLORFUL, HEALTHY ASPARAGUS SALAD only takes minutes to maKe

 

ASPARAGUS SALAD FOR TWO

INGREDIENTS:

2 lettuce leaves

10 asparagus spears

2 teaspoons diced pimento

1 sliced, hard boiled egg

Bottled thousand island dressing

DIRECTIONS:

Wash the asparagus, then trim off tough ends..  Don’t bother steaming or boiling; just place the asparagus in a shallow plastic storage container and cover with  water.  Cook in microwave for about six  minutes or when asparagus is crisp/tender. Run under cold water. Pat until dry..

On two salad plates, arrange asparagus on lettuce leaves.

Sprinkle about one teaspoon of diced red pimento over each serving.

Top with egg slices.

Drizzle with thousand island dressing

 

Asparagus is packed with nutrients, but low in fat and calories.  Better yet, it’s high in fiber

According to Web MD,

One half-cup serving (about 4 spears) of asparagus contains:

Asparagus is a good source of dietary fiber, which plays an important role in digestion. Insoluble dietary fiber acts as a prebiotic, feeding important gut bacteria, while soluble dietary fiber helps wash “bad” cholesterol out of your system.

Asparagus is also a good source of:

There are lots of ways to serve asparagus.  Cook in in the microwave with butter, and serve as a side dish.  Or, use it instead of broccoli in your favorite quiche recipe.

You can’t go wrong with asparagus!

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WOULD YOU LIKE SOME ZUCCHINI?

Zucchini squash  this year are big as footballs, thanks to so much rainfall in Indiana.    If you’re an apartment dweller in a metropolitan area, you’re not going to have a problem.  But for those of us who live near farming communities, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone is going to proudly offer you a free zucchini, fresh from their garden. You have a choice.  You can either reject the bounty, or gracefully accept it.  Would you like some zucchini?  Not really, but it’s hard to resist such a kindly offering.

I don’t especially  like zucchini.  It’s bland, watery and has very little nutritional value. Maybe some vitamin C which you can get from a zillion sources. But now I’m stuck with it.  Brought it home from the office, church, senior center, or wherever they give this stuff away. So I’m going to make the best of it.

I like it  raw, sliced up in a salad to give it some crunchiness.  It also makes a fairly decent substitute for potato chips with dip.  No, not as tasty,  but you can feel good, knowing that instead of 100 calories in 10 potato chips, you’re consuming almost nothing with  zucchini slices.

If you’d like to serve it as a side vegetable, you can jazz it up with fresh corn.  Just scrape two or three ears of corn, combine  with zucchini slices, cover  with water, and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Drain, add salt, pepper and butter as desired.   It easy, fresh, and summery.

Would You Like Some Zucchini? It's plentiful this year..
Would you like some zucchini? It can be served in various ways.

Let’s say you  want to use it  for a family meal..  Just to make sure they will enjoy it, you can prepare a cheesy zucchini casserole.  (Cheese makes everything better).  Serve it as a main dish for vegans, or as a side dish.   If the zucchini is a normal size, you can simply slice it.  But if it’s very large, you’ll want to cut it into one or two inch pieces.

Cheesy Zucchini Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups sliced zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick.

½ cup chopped onion

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 eggs

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½  cups shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a  9 inch baking dish.

Add sliced zucchini to baking dish’; sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, and  nutmeg.

Layer 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the zucchini. Pour the cream sauce over the zucchini.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly and browned. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy your garden fresh zucchini!

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WARNING! FRIES MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH

Exercise classes are back in business.  Everyone’s trying to lose that post pandemic weight.  Yes, we social distance, but people can still carry on conversations which can be heard by others in the locker room or gymnasium. One thing I’ve noticed is that many  people enjoy talking about food and exchanging recipes.  From there, the subject matter may turn to favorite restaurants.  Last week, I heard two weight watchers comparing the merits of French fries served in different places around town.  To me, this was like hearing smokers compare the nicotine content of different cigarette  brands. Warning! Fries may be hazardous to health.

If  someone is  investing the time, and making the effort to participate in an exercise class, why concentrate on food at all?  Much less admit to eating French fries on a regular basis?

Hopefully, I won’t be getting a text from McDonald’s or Wendy’s corporate headquarters. Although, it wouldn’t surprise me,  considering the ease with which strangers are able to find my cell phone number.  If so,  they might hasten to assure me that potatoes are good source of nutrients.  This is true.  Plain old potatoes are pretty good for you.  The problem occurs  when we doctor them up with butter , sour cream and cheese.  And worst of all, deep fry them in fat.

As an example, one small baked potato (100 grams) contains 93 calories and 0 grams of fat, while the same amount (100 grams) of French fries contain 319 calories and 17 grams of fat.

Warning! Fries May Be Hazardous to your health and sabotage your diet.
Warning! Fries may be hazardous to your health. French fried potatoes are loaded with salt and saturated fat.

If you’re scarfing down a bag of fries that have been heavily fried in oil, they are  dripping in saturated fats. Taking in too much saturated fat can raise your “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and can potentially lead to heart disease and stroke.

If you long for the taste of fries, you can make roast potatoes in the oven at home.  Just cut the potatoes in cubes, sprinkle them with spices like chili powder, thyme or paprika.  Then lightly roll them in olive oil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Roasted potatoes contain  less than half the calories of  French fries, and they don’t have any saturated fat.

Do I ever eat French Fries?  Yes, every once in awhile.  But there’s one thing I can never forget: Warning! Fries may be hazardous to your health.

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9 THINGS TO DO IF HOME ALONE

With winter coming on, a recent retiree asked my husband, “what do you do all day?” He felt exasperated because he’s an outdoor person.  The Covid-19 lockdown didn’t bother him much until now, because he could hike, play golf, and easily find things to do while socially distancing.   But now, he’s wondering  how to make it through the next few months while stuck inside.   Here are 9 things to do if you’re  home alone during the pandemic.

1. Make Your Bed.  Why bother, if no one but you can see it?  Because making your bed gives you a sense of accomplishment and normalcy.  Anyway , who wants to climb back into a tangled mess at night.

2. Exercise.  Maybe you have some home equipment, like an exercise bike.  But you really don’t need it. There are tons of stretching exercises you can do, plus ones using weights.  Make it a habit,  fifteen minutes, first thing in the morning.

3. Jigsaw puzzles are good for your  brain because they exercise both side of your brain.    If you have a computer, you can do them online at places like jigzone.com.  and listen to  the pieces fall into place. It’s fun, and free!

9 things to do when home alone. Do a puzzle at jigsaw.com
9 things to do if home alone. Try a jigsaw puzzle at jigzone.com. It’s free!

4. Prepare nourishing foods.  It’s tempting to live on cheese and crackers or cereal.  But that’s boring and unhealthy. Make fresh fruit smoothies. Try a new recipe–something fancy and unusual.  Dream about the day when you can have a  dinner party with a dazzling new dish.

5. Do something creative. Learn woodworking online or with a book from Menards..  Paint pictures, knit, sew, crochet. Write your memoirs, start a scrapbook, make a collage with favorite photos—the list is endless

6. Get out of the house.  Unless its pouring down rain, sleet, or snow, bundle up and get a breath a fresh air. Fill your lungs with oxygen and take a short walk. The change of scene will lift your spirits.

7. Read books. If you’re bored with “formula” novels and Chicklit, go back and read the classics.  How could anyone tire of Tolstoy?

8. Start an indoor garden.  I began one last year with pots of amaryllis.  They don’t start growing until you water them, so they can be staggered to bloom all winter.  I had gorgeous fresh flowers  from December through March.   Spider plants, ivy, and philodendron  provide fresh greenery on dull winter days–and they’re good for the air.

9. Redecorate.  Paint your bedroom pink.  Order some new curtains on Amazon or buy them at Walmart.  Refinish some furniture.

One of these days, we’ll have a vaccine, and new medicines to fight the virus.  In the meantime, there are nine good things to do if you’re home alone this winter