Fun, Healthy & Easy Meals & Snacks - Dieting Can be Fun
Make food fun, again!
When it comes to food, beginning a hurried morning by spending an hour preparing a tasty breakfast, or standing over a hot stove to cook a healthy nutritious meal after a harried day, all on a tight budget, is often well intentioned but never achieved. As adults, we are busier than ever before, and our children… just want food ! Discovering new, fun, nutritious and, most importantly, easy alternatives to the drive-thru pre-packaged world of food seems impossible, and yet, it is easier than ever! It’s all in how we look at it.
Kids learn to eat with their eyes. Adults, however consciously, choose foods that first and foremost, look appealing. This often points us toward foods that look good - donuts and pastries - and yet are not healthy. Kids also learn to eat what their noses want, another pattern of eating carried into adulthood. It is why we are drawn to those fast food fries. It is also why the restaurants vent those yummy smells outside! In reality, the final component considered when making food choices is…taste.
Knowing the reality of how your particular family eats also will make choosing what to present to eat that much easier. Does your family eat breakfast at the table or do they fly through the kitchen on the way to school, the office or the mall? Do your family members stand with their heads stuck in the newly stocked fridge, unable to find anything to eat? Does the sight of something green on your family’s dinner plate cause expressions of repulsion and grief? Believe it or not, these concepts are easily adaptable, with a little ingenuity.
Quick Snack Ideas
If your family does the breakfast ‘fly by’, and toaster pastries seem the only quick option, why not try some Kiwi, Strawberry Pineapple Sweet Treats as a healthy, quick alternative: Simply peel and slice some kiwi and pineapple. Then, wash and slice some strawberries. Arrange them in the center of a whole wheat mini tortilla, and brush with a little maple syrup. Wrap tortilla and place in the toaster oven, or 350 degree oven until desired crispness. Fast, easy, full of fabulous vitamins, minerals, and energy to begin any hectic day, and so delicious!
Instead of standing with heads in refrigerators, keep snack foods toward the front of the shelves. Crunchy ripple cut carrots, slices of celery and radish will keep several days in airtight containers and provide a healthy snack with a salsa or dip. If you choose to make your dip, it couldn’t be easier! Just substitute a reduced fat sour cream and a reduced sodium onion soup mix. Blend the two and let the flavors meld together in the fridge for at least four hours. Yummy, easy and so satisfying!
Looking for something different? Try some Exotic Eggplant. Slice some eggplant into spears, brush with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and broil until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add a little hummus, or tomato sauce and what a fabulous, satisfying taste treat in just minutes!
Quick Dinner Idea
Dinner. A word that often brings thoughts of dread at the end of the day. You want something fast? How about pie for dinner? All you need is one pie crust, and a bunch of yummy veggies! 1 can low sodium diced tomatoes, 1 sliced zucchini and pepper, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1/2 cup diced onions a pinch of salt, a couple of fresh basil leaves, washed and sliced, and 4-6 egg whites. Fill the pie crust with the vegetables, whisk the egg whites with the salt and basil and pour over the veggies to cover. Sprinkle with some of your favorite cheese and bake until firm in a 450 oven, about 35 minutes. The veggies are often available pre-sliced in the grocery store for even added convenience, or they can be sliced in the morning and placed in a bowl of ice water in the fridge until dinnertime preparation. If you prefer, or have extra time, sauté the veggies in a hint of olive oil before placing into pie crust. Fabulous Veggie/Cheese Dinner Pie is fast, easy, fun to look at, smells fabulous and is so, so good!
Food can be fun again. With a little planning, and a lot of heart, it is only a few minutes away!
This post is part of the series: Yes, Dieting Can Be Fun!
Dieting - a booming industry. From food & pills, to exercise fads, it seems everyone knows the secret to looking ‘Hollywood healthy.’ Are all these fads healthy? This series educates & empowers women with many of the realities of ‘Hollywood healthy’ as well as ways to bring the joy of food back home