Eat your COLORS!

Have you ever noticed the wonderful array of colors found in fruits and vegetables? Yellow peppers, orange carrots, red tomatoes, blue blueberries, black blackberries, purple eggplants?

When I was younger I heard that having a plate of colors for dinner is healthy. I never really knew what that meant or considered it when eating, but after doing a bit of reading, I found that having colors on your plate isn’t just pretty to look at: it’s hugely beneficial to your body.

The colors in the fruits and vegetables come from chemicals called antioxidants. Fruits and vegetables go through a complex process to receive their energy from the sun. The health of these plants can sometimes be threatened by many electrons whizzing around in the plant. If the electrons were to not follow the correct process, they would create free floating radicals that would severely damage the plant. Luckily, the plants are full of antioxidants that intercept the free floating radicals. As humans, we produce free radicals and are exposed to free radicals throughout our lifetime. However, we do not produce antioxidants so it’s important for us to eat many plants to get the antioxidant benefits.

So next time you’re in the store, go to the produce section and see how many colors you can get!

Here are some of my favorites:
Raspberries
Eggplants
Blackberries
Plums
Cherries
Grapes

Friday's Fun Recipe: Oatmeal Burger & Grilled Vegetables

Recipe provided by Alicia Lacovara

Ingredients:
Chile Vinaigrette Grilled Vegetables:
1 tbsp chopped Serrano chile
· ¾ tsp salt
· 6 garlic cloves, crushed
· 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
· 2 tbsp water
· 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
· 1 ½ tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
· 1 ½ tbsp anchovy paste
· 1 small eggplant
· 1 yellow summer squash
· 1 Zucchini
· 2 small red onions
· 2 bell peppers (red & green)
Burger Patties:
1 lb of ground turkey or lean beef (or combine half and half)
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats (oatmeal)
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
ground pepper
1 tbsp worshire sauce

Burger Toppings:
Whole wheat burger buns
Low-fat cheddar cheese
Lettuce, Tomato, onion, etc.

Directions:
1. Mix all vinaigrette ingredients in bowl. Dice eggplant, squash, zucchini and
peppers. Quarter the red onions. Toss vinaigrette and vegetables into large
ziplock bag and shake around. Let marinate for 1-hour minimum.
2. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix burger patty ingredients. Portion off desired amount, and form burger patties.
3. Pre-heat grill. Place burger patties on grill. Cook until no longer pink, but
without charring the outside of the patty. Using vegetable screen, cook vegetables until soft and tender, slightly blackened.
4. Dress burgers with desired toppings. Serve with grilled vegetables.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
4 servings total; each includes 1 pattie, 1 roll, 1 slice of cheese
Calories: 362
Protein: 30g
Total Fat: 14g
Total Carbohydrates: 30g

Wednesday Wellness Tip

“Everybody likes something sweet from time to time. The problem is that sweet tooth satisfaction can cause us more harm than good. As a way to have a healthier sweet fix, eat a spoonful of peanut butter. It's full of protein and fiber as well as minerals like potassium and magnesium.”

The many sources of protein

In today’s society, when we think of meat, we think of strength and power! To get those muscles you need to pump iron at the gym and eat beef or chicken because it’s packed with protein. GRRRR…. Meat = protein and protein = power! Every since the 1800s we have associated meat with protein, so much so that when we hear "protein" more often than not a burger comes to mind. It seems we’ve forgotten about the famous cartoon character Popeye the sailor main with super strong muscles. Last time I checked he was holding a can of spinach, not meat.
Newsflash!


There are MANY other forms of food that will provide you with more than enough protein for your daily requirement. Men aged 19 and up should consume around 56 grams of protein a day. Women aged 19 and up should consume around 46 grams a day. We often eat more than necessary throughout the day.
Here are a few examples of non-meat foods with significant amounts of protein.
Tempeh(a hearty meat substitute). 1 cup = 30g
Quinoa. 1 cup = 24g
Whole wheat pasta. 1 cup = 15g
White beans. 1 cup = 15g
Greek yogurt. 1 serving = 14g
Almonds. 24 almonds = 6g
Whole Wheat English Muffin – 1 muffin = 6g
Brown rice. 1 cup = 5g
Soy products. Depending on the type of product, soymilk, soybeans, tofu, the amount of protein can range from 14-40g.

Eating healthy on a budget

The best way to eat healthfully and frugally (i.e. on a budget) is to cook at home!

- Cooking at home lets you cut out excess salt, oil, butter, and sugar.
- It also allows you to take advantage of deals on food items.

The next best way to eat healthy on a budget is to take some time to plan your shopping venture.
- Look at the weekly ads for your local grocer.
- Make a list of what you want/need.
- Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and not the middle aisles. The middle aisles usually have unhealthy items like processed foods, chips and ice cream.

-Take advantage of store savings and coupons. Using coupons while items are on sale will double your savings (I once bought a 4 pack of nonfat yogurt for $.40! The yogurt was on sale for $1.50 and there happened to be a manufactures coupon attached for $.55 cents off and the particular grocery store double the value of the manufactures coupons giving me $1.10 off of the $1.50 sale price! )

Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. These go on sale more often making them more affordable.
- Organic does not necessarily equal healthy. You don’t have to buy organic products to have a healthy diet. Nonorganic fruits and vegetables contain all the same nutritional values.

Friday's Fun Recipe: Bread Soup w/ Bread Croutons

Recipe provided by Alicia Lacovara

Ingredients:
Olive oil for cooking
½ white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, chopped into ½ inch pieces
2 medium celery stalks, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 ½ quarts chicken broth (low sodium)
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans (drained, rinsed)
4 cans of canned whole tomatoes, quartered, with some juice
2 cups chopped swiss chard (or another leafy green, like kale, spinach or collards)
3 cups day-old Italian bread (not sandwich bread), ripped into 1 ½ inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder (not garlic salt)
2 tbsp of each:
* chopped fresh basil
* chopped fresh cilantro
* parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and cook until transparent (about 5 minutes). Add carrots and celery, and cook stirring often (5 more minutes). Stir in chicken broth and beans, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add quartered tomatoes and swiss chard, and simmer for another 15 minutes, covered.
2. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350o. Spread bread pieces out on a baking sheet, and drizzle with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper, and a bit of salt. Toast for about 10
2.minutes and then set aside.
3. Just before serving, add basil and cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide soup among serving bowls and top each with a few warm croutons. Grate parmesan
4.directly over soup if you like!

Nutrition Information per serving:
Serving Size is 1-cup
Calories: 212
Fat: 9 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Protein: 10 g

Wednesday Wellness Tip

Eating too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Reducing how much salt you use while cooking is a good place to start, but there are a lot of processed foods that are loaded with sodium as well. Eating more fresh foods and using reduced-sodium foods and condiments are good ways to avoid excessive sodium intake.