Do You Like a Good Deal?

I've read two very interesting pieces of information lately about how people often make food-related buying decisions. The first was a summary of a study from Vanderbilt University in Women's Health Magazine that states,

Scoring a bargain feels good - so good that it can trump healthy eating. Study participants, even those who were watching their fat and calorie intake, chose the largest size of movie-theater popcorn because it was the best value. People think of buying food as a business transaction, not a time to improve nutrition, stays study author Kelly Haws, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University. Those who focused on the health benefits of eating well were less tempted to supersize, so think of your wellness, not your wallet, when your order your next meal.

The other article from ScienceDaily.com is along the same lines. The summary states that,

An important factor fueling the obesity epidemic has been identified by a new review: Americans now have the cheapest food available in history. Today, two in three Americans are overweight or obese, with rates climbing steadily over the past several decades. Many factors have been suggested as causes: snack food, automobiles, television, fast food, computer use, vending machines, suburban housing developments, and portion size. But after examining available evidence, the authors say widespread availability of inexpensive food appears to have the strongest link to obesity.

Action Item: Do you find yourself buying food because it is "such a good deal" or "supersizing" because it's an even better deal? If/when you are eating out, order the portion size you want not the one the restaurant is hoping you'll buy to provide them with a bigger profit.

For Further Reading: Inexpensive Food a Key Factor in Rising Obesity and 10 Cheap and Healthy Foods to Buy on a Tight Budget

Too Much Sodium

27% 

That's how much children's risk of elevated blood pressure has increased since 1991, according to a new study in the journal Hypertension. The likely culprits: high-sodium diets and obesity.
-- from  Parents Magazine

If you can't find the willpower to improve your diet, then please do it for your children. There is absolutely no reason for children to start out life with illnesses and diseases that are preventable!

There are times in a rushed day or week when we need to buy a convenience food, grab a store-bought granola bar or a sandwich from the local deli. When you do this, make good decisions and make these purchases the exception. Rely on whole foods to fill you on the go! If you eat well, your family members will learn to eat well too.

Action Item: Ask yourself every time you eat with or cook for your family, "Is this food contributing to healthier children or contributing to obesity and high blood pressure?

For Further Reading: 6 Dangers of Processed Foods for Your Kids

Smoothie Pops

Some kids are out of school for the summer and warmer weather is upon us (in most places), so why not make some SMOOTHIE POPS?

Store bought popsicles are often filled with sugar and artificial colors, but smoothie pops are easy, healthy and refreshing. Just like the name says, make your typical smoothie and freeze it in popsicle molds.

Here's my son's favorite recipe:

• mango
• vanilla yogurt

Blend those two items and freeze. Voila!

The possibilities are endless.

• Use whatever fruit you have in the house (it's a great way to use up any that might go bad)
• Try yogurt or almond milk for different flavors
• Purchase frozen fruit when/if it's on sale.
• It's a good way to introduce new fruits into your diet. Kiwi not your favorite? Blend it with strawberries!
• Blend the fruit completely or leave small chunks of fruit in the popsicle if you like.
• Watermelon is great, put it in a blender then pour it into a popsicle mold. Nothing else needed!
• These healthy pops can be eaten for breakfast too! It's a fun and different way for kids to eat their fruit.

Action Item: Make smoothie pops today (or buy/create popsicle molds first). These popsicles are healthier, taste great and reduce packaging waste!

For Further Reading: Fructose Watch: The Top Nine Healthiest Fruits You Can Eat and The Best Eight Fruits for Better Health

Whole Foods

I actually mean whole foods (foods with only one ingredient) not the store.

If you are trying the mini-pledges listed here (Commit to a Healthier You), then today starts:

Week 5: Try two new whole foods –

Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.

This should be a fun week, because you're not trying to cut anything out of your diet. You're adding in the good stuff! If you haven't started the mini-pledges, take the week 1 plunge today and see if you can eliminate (or reduce) processed foods from your diet. Commit to a healthier you with foods that fuel your body!

I just took a break to eat my breakfast and it reminded me that natural peanut butter is a whole food! If you've never tried real peanut butter, then do that this week. You can buy it in jars (the ingredient list will say PEANUTS), you can make your own or check at your grocery store because some have a peanut or almond grinder in the store. You can even take your own jar (get it weighed first)!


Here's info from the 100 Days of Real Food blog, about whole foods:

Some examples that you’re hopefully familiar with are apples, potatoes, brown rice, whole-wheat flour and spinach. Some other whole foods that are a bit less common are as follows:

• Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”)
• Barley
• Parsnips
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Steel cut oats
• Papaya
• Brussels sprouts
• Black-eyed peas
• Chickpeas
• Bok choy
• Swiss chard
• Radicchio (pronounced “rah-DEE-kee-oh”)
• Spaghetti Squash
• Watercress
• Dates
• Kiwi
• Eggplant
• Pomegranate (and having the juice in a martini does not count!)
• Fava beans
• Lentils
• Spelt
• Pine nuts
• Star fruit

Action Item: On your next visit to the grocery store, pick out two new fruits, vegetables or grains to try. If you have no idea how to cook or eat or peel them, go online for recipes and how-to videos. Or call your Mom! No excuses.

For Further Reading: What Exactly Are Whole Foods? and The Benefits of Healthy Whole Foods

Recipe Recap

Perhaps you've just stumbled across this blog or maybe you visit often but you've missed a few posts, here are some recipes I've posted in the past:

• Whole Wheat Penne with Roasted Cauliflower & Parsley Pesto
• Vegetarian Korma
• Blueberry Scones
• Portobello Mushroom Burgers
• Simple Roasted Chickpeas
• Soaking Oat Mix
• Hummus Salad

I post recipes that my family has already tried; and ones that will help you fuel your body!


Action Item: Promise yourself to try a new recipe within the next five days!

For Further Reading: Type "recipe" in the Blogger search box (top left corner) for more recipes or visit the links to the right for more ideas.

Garlicky Shrimp

If you're trying to cook more meals at home, here's a simple and quick one to try: Garlicky Shrimp & Rice. I ran across it in Parents Magazine and tried it that same night.

Some of you may already make something similar, but for those that need an actual recipe (like me) here it is!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup basmati rice (I had none in the house, so I used brown rice)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic, divided
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted vegetable stock (I used water and a little salt - and the amount needed to cook the rice per directions)
• 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Make it:
1. In a medium saucepan melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Add rice and 1 tsp. garlic; cook and stir one minute. Add stock, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 tsp. salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in peas and lemon zest.

2. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add shrimp and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook until opaque, 5 minutes. Stir in 1 Tbs. lemon juice and 1/2 Tbs. butter. Cook 1 minute more and serve with rice.

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes 4 servings

I made this a day ahead, refrigerated it and reheated with a little water on our camping trip!


Action Item: Add this to your week-night meal planning. It's quick, easy and nutritious.

For Further Reading: Try other recipes from Parents Magazine. We find some of the recipes a little bland, but sometimes we find a keeper!

Skip the Drive Thru

It's week four of the 14 Weeks of Real Food Mini-Pledges, read the entire post here.

Here's the challenge:

No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.

As stated in the original post, the goal (besides a healthier you) is for you to plan ahead and figure out alternatives for eating while away from the house.



If you need reasons to stop eating fast food or frying your own food, here's some more data:

An article from the National Institutes of Health says, " Fast-food consumption has increased in the United States over the past three decades. “It’s extremely difficult to eat in a healthy way at a fast-food restaurant. Despite some of their recent healthful offerings, the menus still tend to include foods high in fat, sugar and calories and low in fiber and nutrients,” said lead author Mark Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. People need to evaluate how often they eat meals at fast-food restaurants and think about cutting back, according to Pereira.

One reason for the weight gain may be that a single meal from one of these restaurants often contains enough calories to satisfy a person’s caloric requirement for an entire day."

This article from the Huffington Post adds that the dangers of fast food or immediate, "Researchers and health professionals have long been aware of the consequences associated with eating fast food, but until now, no one realized how quickly the damage begins. A new study, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, indicates that damage to the arteries occurs almost immediately after just one -- that’s right, one -- junk food-type meal. Based on the science, moderation with junk food doesn’t really exist.

Read the entire article here, Fast Food's Immediate Damage to Your Health.



Action Item: Plan head. Make your lunch. Put healthy snacks in your backpack/purse if you're heading out shopping or going to the park. And always carry water; you might eat because you're thirsty.

For Further Reading: Travel Snacks, Eat Real Food and Statistics of Health Risks from Eating Fast Food

Eat Local

You might be starting week 3 if you are taking the 10-week challenge to cut processed foods from your diet. If you are not a part of this challenge yet, check out this link (Commit to a healthier you - week 3) and get started!

Here's this week's challenge:
Week 3: Meat – All meat consumed this week will be locally raised (within 100-miles of your hometown). Meat consumption will also be limited to 3 – 4 servings this week, and when it is eaten meat will not be presented as the “focal point” of the meal. Instead meat will be treated as a side item or simply used to help flavor a dish.

This could be a more difficult week for some people, depending on where you live and what stores and farmers markets you can access. But my job is to help you on your journey, so check out the links below for ways to find locally-raised meat.

If you have a difficult time finding locally-raised meat, it will be a good week to work on your vegetarian meals! You will find many in my previous blog posts.

Eating meat is a personal choice, but I ask that you try to make decisions that are better for your health, animals and the environment. Always ask questions and read more on the topic. I did a quick search and found this article Meat Consumption and the Environment. There are plenty more out there talking about which meat better for your health, how animals are treated in various situations, and what effects certain types of farming have on our resources.

In my family we don't all agree 100% on meat consumption. I prefer a vegetarian diet now, and this includes fish for me. My husband prefers mostly vegetarian meals, but likes meat included one to two times per week. Our son goes back and forth; he's still working out his opinions for and against, which is great!


Action Item: Just like the challenge states for this week - work on making meals where meet is not the focal point. You can really be creative and try a variety of nutritious vegetables, fruits and beans. If you tend to make the same meals over and over, this challenge is especially for you!

For Further Reading: Eat Wild (let's you search your state for local, grass-fed meat, eggs and dairy) or try Local Harvest, another site to help you find local meat, produce and other local items. Great ways to support your local farmers, and you'll know where your food comes from!

Try this recipe for Summer Squash and Sausage stew. The chef states that it's the perfect summer stew, but it seemed a little better suited for cooler weather for us. That being said, it was still yummy! I used vegetarian sausage and replaced broth with water in our recipe. Vegetarian sausage, in my opinion, is not an ideal food either (very high in sodium), but we make sure to only eat it occasionally.

Hungry or Thirsty?

When you feel a little hungry and lacking energy, do you reach for a bite to eat or a glass of water? Chances are you reach for food when your body might just be telling you it's thirsty.

So your stomach might grumble or you've already eaten and still don't feel satisfied, then it's probably water your body is after. Livestrong.com recommends:

Try not to depend on the noises and feelings your stomach always makes. The next time you feel hunger pangs, drink an 8 oz. glass of water. It might take up to 15 minutes for your hypothalamus to send a signal letting your nervous system know that the body was merely thirsty and that the thirst has been satisfied. If after that time, you still feel hungry, then eat. When you try this method every time you think your stomach feels empty, you will be able to better determine the difference between being hungry and being thirsty.

 

 

Staying hydrated can help you take in less calories. From care2.com:

 

If you avoid dehydration, you can avoid overeating. When you start to hydrate by drinking enough water, then your appetite goes down because you’re actually fulfilling what your body needs—which is water. And that’s also a very powerful way to lose weight, but also, in a sense, the hydration makes everything, including your brain, work a lot better.

On a personal note, since I stopped drinking diet sodas (and added more hydrating drinks) four years ago, maintaining my weight has been the easiest since I started worrying about it in college!


Action Item: Drink real beverages today. Especially water!

For Further Reading: Sugary Drinks

Mother's Advice

This may not be the best way to educate someone, but perhaps
we've all felt this way at one time.
Sometimes it even ends up being true :)

After celebrating Mother's Day yesterday, it got me thinking about my own Mom's advice on eating. It may be similar to your Mother's too. Though I went through the nothing-green phase, the no-fat phase, and I drank diet coke for a while, my Mom tried to teach me how to eat healthier. She would still make or buy me things I enjoyed during those crazy phases, but the message stayed the same.

This list is a compilation of things from my Mom and my husband's Mom:

• Eat your veggies (and especially greens)
• Skip the pancakes and eat foods that "stick to your bones" (we later realized that meant foods with fiber and protein)
• People need to eat some fat (that was during my awful no-fat phase, luckily I was in my 20s and rebounded!)
• Try at least one bite of everything on your plate
• Drink milk (i.e. something good for you... not soda)*
• Fruit is delicious
• Eat home-cooked meals rather than eating out (saves money too!)
• Eat sweets and snacks only occasionally and if made at home
• Drink coffee when you're old enough (coffee... not a coffee-shop specialty drink that barely resembles coffee)
• Buy from local farmers or farmers markets
• Plan meals ahead and freeze them for busy evenings

Is your list similar? Now think about your children or other family members. What are you teaching them with your cooking or food purchasing decisions? Are you giving them the basics like our Moms gave us - some by telling and others just through their actions. People will make their own decisions at times, and many wrong ones, but everyone needs to know the basic principles of healthy eating. Sadly, numerous people today do not because of the ever-present fast and convenience foods and accompanying advertisements that inundate our lives.

*Since some of you might be working on the Week 2 mini-pledge to only drink REAL beverages, I've included some articles below to help.

Today, add berries or lemons to a pitcher of water, place it in the fridge to chill. Voila, tasty fresh healthy water.

 

Action Item: Eat Right. Share that knowledge with your loved ones. When you serve carrots, tell your child why carrots or good or how they grow. Get them interested! Better yet, if you grow a garden with your child, he is more likely to eat the vegetables he has helped grow! If you don't have children, you can still grow a garden and actually it might be easier to talk another adult into helping you than a child :)

For Further Reading: Water is Essential For Health, Six Reasons to Drink Water, Why Coffee is Good For You, and 10 Reasons Why You Should Drink More Water

Fed Up

Have you heard about this documentary that opens today? The synopsis from the Fed Up website states "Everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig, FED UP will change the way you eat forever."

Here's a link to the documentary website and you can watch the trailer there too.

I haven't seen the movie, don't know if I'll agree with it 100%, but from what I read I absolutely agree that added sugar is the reason for the majority of health problems in children and adults. In my opinion, exercise is absolutely important, but what you eat is equally important.

In this fantastic article, Fed Up: Cook or Be Cooked, by Dr. Mark Hyman, he says he was in medical school in the 80s and there was not a case of a child with Type 2 Diabetes. I asked my husband who was in med school in the 90s. Same thing. So basically since around 2000, children have started being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (formerly called Adult Onset Diabetes) because of their diets. How are we setting our children up for a healthy, happy, productive life if we are allowing this to happen?

Why do we eat high-sugar foods?

• Some people know better, but choose to make poor decisions.
• Some people trust food company claims ("healthy", "natural", etc.) It's unfortunate that we can't trust the claims!
• Consumers are bombarded with commercials and advertising and think they must have these exciting new products. 
• Cravings from already consuming too many high-sugar foods.
• Addiction?
• Many, many people unfortunately live in food deserts where healthy fresh produce is not available. What's available are fast food restaurants and convenient stores that sell cheap "food" that looks like a better deal to people trying to stretch their dollar.
• And there are probably many people who buy prepared food just out of convenience.
• Some people never learned how to cook and don't know where to start.
• Added sugar is in almost everything!
• The reasons are numerous, and we should focus on HOW can this be changed?

What can you do? Start with you and your family if you haven't already. First, significantly cut added sugars from your diet. If you are participating in the Real Food Challenge to cut out processed foods, you may be working on that this week with your beverages.

Next, stop buying processed foods with zero nutritional value. It's not just added sugar that makes these foods so unhealthy, but also sodium, preservatives, and artificial colors. You can speak with your money. If companies start to lose money, they'll change their products. It may take time, but it can work.

Also, educate your family members and friends. Set a good example with your healthy eating and healthy lifestyle. If the topic comes up in conversation, explain why you choose to eat fruits and vegetables over sodas and packets of 100-calorie cookies.

Teach your children the importance of healthy food and teach them how to cook or just let them cook with you. This is on top of my to-do list this summer with our son.

Keep in mind that there are people who think they are eating healthy by purchasing some of the products they do, because that's what marketing and advertising has led them to believe. Finds ways to educate others without preaching to them... take real foods to your children's school parties, and soccer games, invite friends to your house for dinner and serve delicious vegetables with a dessert of fruit, ask coworkers to pack a lunch and sit in the park on your lunch break! Be that person that chooses to make a change, slowly others will stand with you, but it may take time. REAL FOOD is awesome. It makes us feel good. It allows us to be who we want and do what we want to do. Be the crazy one out there promoting a healthy life... soon others will join you :)

Action Item(s): Watch the movie trailer. Take the mini-pledge to drink real beverages. Or take the Fed Up Challenge.  If nothing else, PLEDGE to take care of your family members and ESPECIALLY your CHILDREN. Do not let them start their lives with preventable health problems. Teach them healthy eating habits starting today!

For Further Reading: Sugar, Come Out With Your Hands Up, Kids Eat Right, Kids Cook Monday

Are you Committing to a Healthier You?

Today, are you starting the week 2 mini-pledges for cutting processed foods from your diet?

• If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit my page Commit to a Healthier You to find out more.
• If your answer is YES, then today is an exciting day because you are ready to start the 2nd mini-pledge called “Real” beverages – Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day).
• If no, what's stopping you? Perhaps you've already accomplished this goal, then good for you! If you're not sure you can or want to give up your sodas, give it a try. It's just one week! I can almost guarantee that you will see an increase in your energy and a decrease in your cravings. Dropping this bad habit can also save you money and cut way back on the number of plastic bottles that need to be made and recycled.

Keep checking back this week for more tips (or research) on ways to accomplish this goal. And frequently visit the blog where I found this challenge, 100 Days of Real Food; here's the link for tips on this week's pledge, “Real” beverages.

Start today by:

• Adding more water into your diet; put a little fruit in your water for a nice splash of taste!
• Sweetening your coffee with honey rather than table sugar.
• Eating grapes, an orange or other juicy fruit to quench your thirst. This will also help maintain your week 1 commitment of consuming more fruits and vegetables!

I STRONGLY believe for many reasons that unhealthy beverages (high sugar, artificial flavors, artificial colors, unnecessary calories, etc.) should not be consumed, especially on a daily basis. Not by you, not by your children. Here's an excerpt from an article called 10 Ways to Detox from Sugar in 10 Days, by Dr. Mark Hyman.

Don’t drink your calories: Any form of liquid sugar calories is worse than solid food with sugar or flour. Think of it as mainlining sugar directly to your liver. It turns off a fat storage machine in your liver, leading to dreaded belly fat. You don’t feel full, so you eat more all day and you crave more sugar and carbs. It’s also the single biggest source of sugar calories in our diet. That includes sodas, juices other than green vegetable juice, sports drinks, sweetened teas or coffees. One 20-ounce soda has 15 teaspoons of sugar; Gatorade contains 14 teaspoons of the stuff in one bottle. One can of soda a day increases a kid’s chance of being obese by 60 percent and a woman’s chance of type 2 diabetes by 80 percent. Stay away!


Action Item: Take the week 2 mini-pledge today!

For Further Reading: Healthy Beverage Guidelines from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Fruit & Veg Muffins

Talk about a good way to fit fruit, vegetables and healthy fats into your diet, try these hearty breakfast muffins from www.allrecipes.com. I made these today and they are really good, sweet and moist! Ron was hesitant to try them, because he wasn't in the mood for a "veggie muffin," but he was pleasantly surprised when he ate one later in the day. He said "I didn't think they'd be that sweet."

It's not a quick recipe, but it's not difficult either. As the energy bars posted before, I like this recipe because of the changes you can make to suit your own taste. These muffins are not just for breakfast, I think they'll taste good at any time of day.

I recommend checking the reviews via the link above before making yours, and I've explained my substitutions below (in blue).

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1 zucchini, shredded (I used one zucchini and one small mashed sweet potato based on the reviews)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil - coconut oil would be good too)
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour and added a little extra)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (used 1/4 cup of honey instead)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (didn't have so didn't use)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (used chopped walnuts)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries (used chopped dates)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

2.  Mix carrots, banana, zucchini, vegetable oil, yogurt, and eggs together until fully incorporated.

3.  Whisk flour and baking soda in a separate bowl. Mix brown sugar, oats, coconut, pecans, cherries, cinnamon, salt, and ginger into flour mixture until all ingredients are coated in flour. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture until just combined. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups.

4.  Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and edges are slightly brown, 17 to 22 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.


Action Item: Try these. East some now and freeze some for later!

For Further Reading: 10 Tips for Shifting from Processed to Whole Foods

INFOBite

Informative 2-minute video from Consumer Reports about Healthy Foods Gone Bad.

Some of their examples are pretty obvious, like hazelnut peanut butter; a healthy food is not still healthy when you add lots of sugar. Any food that needs a marketing plan or an eye-catching package design to draw your attention is probably not a good choice.

Eat whole foods.

Buy packaged products with limited ingredients.

Read. Labels.

Keep up the good work

If you are committing to a healthier you and following the mini-pledges to cut out processed foods OR if you are always on the lookout for creative and easy ways to add fruits and veggies to your diet, here are some ideas:

The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide offers 13 ways to add fruits and vegetables to your diet. Here are some of them:

• Be sneaky. Adding finely grated carrots or zucchini to pasta sauce, meat loaf, chili, or a stew is one way to get an extra serving of vegetables.
• Try something new. It’s easy to get tired of apples, bananas, and grapes. Try a kiwi, mango, fresh pineapple, or another of the more exotic choices available at your grocery store.
• Blend in. A fruit smoothie is a delicious way to start the day or tide you over until dinner.
• Spread it on. Try mashed avocado as a dip with diced tomatoes and onions, or as a sandwich spread, topped with spinach leaves, tomatoes, and a slice of cheese.
• Start off right. Ditch your morning donut for an omelet with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Or boost your morning cereal or oatmeal with a handful of strawberries, blueberries, or dried fruit.
• Give them the heat treatment. Roasting vegetables is easy and brings out new flavors. Cut up onions, carrots, zucchini, asparagus, turnips and coat with olive oil, add a dash of balsamic vinegar, and roast at 350° until done. Use roasted or grilled veggies as a side dish, put them on sandwiches, or add them to salads.

If you make a smoothie, why not freeze the rest into popsicles? Smoothie Pops, as we call them in our house, are a great warm-weather treat with no artificial colors or added sugar.

• Make a smoothie as you normally would and freeze it in popsicle molds.
• Use fresh or frozen fruits, sometimes frozen may be less expensive. Or buy up lots of blueberries when they are on sale and freeze them!
• Fruits such as watermelon and mango can be pureed and frozen without any added ingredients or by adding a little yogurt to the mango.
• The fruit combinations are endless... keep trying different fruits, yogurt, juice or almond milk.
• Delicious and healthy! My son even eats these with his breakfast some days.

Action Item: If you don't have popsicle molds, you can make popsicles using small paper cups and popsicle sticks or even plastic spoons (if you have any that you want to use up!) If you like to eat fruit this way, then down the road you can invest in re-usable popsicle molds.

For Further Reading:

• From this blog, read In Your Face and Change. 
• Or from allrecipes.com, this looks like a delicious one that I hope to try today, Hearty Breakfast Muffins.
• More good information can be found here, Eat Right When Money's Tight

What's in season?

To help you start the real food mini pledge of eating two fruits and/or vegetable per meals (see yesterday's post), here are some tips!

First, choose fruits and vegetables that are in season if you can. The foods will taste their best this time of year and cost less.  Here's a small list, and this will vary a little (or a lot) depending on where you live:

• Apricot
• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cherries
• Lettuce
• Okra
• Pineapple
• Rhubarb
• Spring peas
• Zucchini

Next, fit these foods and others into your daily routine:

• Add fruit to your cereal or yogurt for breakfast. Use fresh or frozen fruits.
• Make a smoothie, and you can use fruit and veggies (like spinach!)
• Make a big beautiful colorful salad for lunch. If you are packing a lunch for work, pack the lettuce and toppings separately and put it all together at lunch time.
• Cut carrots and dip them in hummus.
• Buy a whole wheat pizza crust and top it with the veggies you already have.
• If you eat meat, make it a small part of your dinner. Make the vegetables the focal point. Try steamed vegetables and enjoy the natural taste.
• At least one day this week, search for a new recipe. Pull out a cookbook that you may not have opened in ages or check out www.allrecipes.com (my favorite).
• And I know this sounds crazy to some of you, but snacking on a apple is truly delicious and filling! Apples are crunchy, sweet and delicious. Try to buy organic if you can and eat the skin too.
• Steam an artichoke and enjoy! (instructional video link below)
• Try dried apricots or other dried fruits (with no added ingredients).

Action Item: Visit a farmer's market and ask what the best fruits and vegetables are in your area this time of year.

For Further Reading: This is the video I watched to learn how to cook and eat artichokes. And from previous posts on this blog, check out Reduce Your Risk of Death, Cherimoya and Fruit Leather