YOUR healthiest meals!

[mommy212]

I think most people have those meals they just smile to see their family eating... whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks, or your goal is superfoods, omega-3s, nutrient-dense, high protein, all traditional or natural or whatever! Let's share our favorite healthy meals 

High-protein breakfast cereal- I shared this on a different thread, but it is my best breakfast recipe. Cook 1 cup steel-cut oats in 3 cups water over medium-low for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile, bring one cup of water to boil, then add 1/2 cup quinoa. Cover and cook over low 12 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Add 1 cup milk of choice (or water) to oats and cook another 5-10 minutes, or until done. In coffee grinder, grind 2-4 tbls each sesame seeds, flax seeds and nut of choice. Mix quinoa, oats and nuts-seed mixture together and serve with fruit and milk- yummy and tons of protein!

tuscan beans and greens- saute 1/2 an onion (diced) in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or skillet until soft. Add in a large, minced clove of garlic and saute until fragrant. Add in 1 can white beans, one can stewed or diced fresh tomatoes, and 1/4 cup stock or water. Let simmer as long or as short as desired. When almost ready to serve, add in once bunch chopped kale and cook until bright green and just soft. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and finely chopped fresh sage. Serve with whole-grain bread and olive oil

[mzpuff]

This thread is a great idea! One of my favorite things to make, which is also the easiest and cheapest.. is quiche. Eggs, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms.. and or just about any other vegetable you can think of.. along with pie crust of course. So delicious and an easy way to pack in lots of fresh veggies! 

Wishing more people would post, I would love to get more recipe ideas.

mommy212... the tuscan beans sound delish, I will definitely have to try that.

[erika08]

Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna try that recipe, and I would like to share also my favorite healthy meals that the kids will surely love it..Whenever I cooked this for the kids, they really have a big appetite and it really nice to know that they love and enjoy it. Here's the recipe :)

Almond Crusted Chicken Finger

Ingredients:

Canola oil cooking spray

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 large egg whites

1 pound chicken tenders, (Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries,chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken fingers.” )

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.
3. Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.
4. Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

I hope you enjoy :)

Christmas Dinner Singapore

Edited by erika08 - 8/8/11 at 7:23pm

[Chicky2]

My family is not picky and say they'd rather eat at Mom's than anywhere else, lol.  My meals always get rave reviews around here, but for some reason they just went nuts over last night's meal.  All I did was make a hash out of cooked rabbit, new potatoes, onions, bell peppers, cactus, carrots, celery, and it was cooked in freshly rendered lard.  I added in some Old Bay and fresh garlic and plenty of sea salt.  Served it w/a side of grilled zucchini, some cantaloupe, and honey sesame balls for dessert.  Maybe they enjoy it so much because they harvested the cactus, butchered the rabbit, they dug the potatoes out of my mom's garden, the honey was from our own bees, and they rolled the sesame balls themselves, oh, and they helped scrape the fat from the pig for rendering.

[puffingirl]

In the summer we go to the farmers' market on the weekend and the favorite weekend dinner from that is:

Grilled buffalo steak

Local corn on the cob

Salad made with all local ingredients

Simple but summer perfection on a plate for us.

[Dazedstella]

I love to make whole grain pancakes and I grate zucchini into them and add blueberries/strawberries/bananas/peaches or other yummy fruit. The zucchini makes them stay moist and fluffy and adds a little veggie into our morning pancakes plus gets a little fruit into my picky breakfast child.

I also love to make brown rice and bean burritos with a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and some seasoning and some spinach thrown in, in a whole wheat tortilla (which I am about to start making my own so will be even healthier) with a little cheese and a lot of avocado. YUM YUM and good for you.

These are kind of my easiest healthy meals but I haven't had coffee yet so that's as far as I can get.

[cat13]

Erika, I made your Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers the other night and they were a hit! Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)

[rhianna813]

Roast chopped beets, carrots and sweet potatoes; tossed with olive oil, salt and peper – roast on 450 until tender and carmelized. Serve with black beans and quinoa or brown rice. Topped with sour cream.

Ground beef with your favorite jar spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash “noodles” or sauteed zucchini or grilled eggplant – depending on what is in season.

Steamed cauliflower, chopped and added to the bottom of a casserole dish. Then add precooked chopped chicken. Pour a typical roux sauce over that - mix together and add plenty of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake or broil til cheese is bubbly. No pasta Mac n Cheese. Can you use broccoli instead of cauliflower or a combo. Sliced fresh tomatoes and optional breadcrumbs on top are also good.

Enjoy!

Rhianna

[Lisoula]

Originally Posted by erika08 

Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna try that recipe, and I would like to share also my favorite healthy meals that the kids will surely love it..Whenever I cooked this for the kids, they really have a big appetite and it really nice to know that they love and enjoy it. Here's the recipe :)

Almond Crusted Chicken Finger

Ingredients:

Canola oil cooking spray

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 large egg whites

1 pound chicken tenders, (Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries,chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken fingers.” )

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.
3. Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.
4. Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

I hope you enjoy :)

Christmas Dinner Singapore

Erika - do you turn the tenders half-way through baking them?  I am totally going to make these for my kids...thanks for the recipe!

[Lisoula]

My kids are notoriously picky eaters, and run from healthy foods, despite my best intentions.  I've learned to "sneak" healthy things in here and there, but usually am happy if they eat a few servings of fruits and veggies each day.  The main problem I have is getting protein into them.

Anyway - one way I sneak something good into them is I add ground flax seed to my pizza dough, and use turkey-pepperoni.  Pizza is one thing they will ALWAYS eat.  If I make my own sauce, I add plenty of pureed veggies, too, that they don't know about.  It's not really a recipe, but thought I would share.

[gypsymama2008]

Fijian Creamy Lentil Soup.  It's fairly easy and so good (I sometimes substitute canned tomatoes for fresh and ground ginger), it's also ridiculously cheap.  With bread and a salad it's a filling meal.

[Stay-at-om-mom]

I keep a batch of kale, walnut pesto in my fridge.  I can put it on pasta, on toast with an egg for breakfast, or a spread for sandwiches.  It sneaks in some good greens and my 2 year old actually eats it (as does my husband!)

1/2 bunch of kale, stems discarded

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1 clove garlic (or more!) chopped

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 tbs lemon juice

salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add kale to pot of boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes, transfer to colander and run under cool water.  Squeeze kale to remove excess water and add to food processor with walnuts, garlic and parmesan and process until almost smooth.  Season with salt and pepper and lemon.  With machine running, add olive oil and mix until smooth.  When I store it, I always put a little of the olive oil on top before putting it into the fridge.

[jenniet]

Soups!  With two little ones making a healthy dinner is something I often get overwhelmed by but with soups I can chop everything and put it all together when my toddler is napping.  When dinner time comes all I do is often serve it with some crusty bread.  My kids are fairly picky but they will eat broccoli and cheddar soup, chicken noodle soup and tomato soup.  

We are lucky to have a great family farm with amazing yogurt near us so for breakfast we often have yogurt with homemade granola and fresh fruit on top.  Or in the winter I make smoothies with yogurt, frozen fruit and a few handfuls of raw spinach thrown in.  My kids love them and would never touch spinach otherwise! 

I also make pizza with a whole wheat crust, local cheese and pineapple for toppings.  I am going to try making extra dough and freezing it to make the process faster.  

[meemee]

i have been volunteering as a cook at our local farm and i tell you it has changed our life COMPLETELY. 

i now get a box of veggies from them. we eat locally (except grains and oils). we dont eat stuff if they are not local.

what that means is we spend the whole summer eatings lots and lots adn LOTS of tomatoes and cucumbers... and not eating them at all when they are out of season. in fact i can no longer stand store bought carrots or tomatoes mainly. 

i try to incorporate raw and cooked. i dont go by recipe. i try to have a balanced meal. i dont buy into the you need to eat eggs, or meat or grains like quinoa for protein. i dont buy into the protein bandwagon at all.

and i stopped being a recipe cook. voluteering at the farm i have gotten used to experimenting. i have done a lot of raw salads by first soaking them in vinegar. beats, carrots we never ever really eat cooked. 

one of dd's fav. is quinoa with black beans, corn, butter nut squash. she loves millet, quinoa, couscous, amaranth but hasnt taken to buckwheat yet. we make rice flour pancakes and i add kale to it. 

dd loves japanese foods. she has issues with typical bfast foods so i am exploring vietnamese cooking as we have an asian market near by. dd loves simple broths with veggies thrown in even for bfast. 

in the last year our eating has completely changed. we almost do no sugar except for icecream and hardly any white flour. 

one of dd's favourite is kale chips - either toasted with oil and salt at 200 for an hour or dehydrated with nutritional yeast and cashews. 

[newyorkmommy]

The meal that makes me happiest to see my kids eating is simple: wild Alaskan salmon and sweet potatoes with butter. :)