0 Back to School Time is Perfect for a Fresh Start with Better Nutrition

Good nutrition makes Back to School a big success!

This month gives all of us an opportunity for a fresh start with better nutrition as neighborhood kids, teens and college students head back to school. August feels a lot like January, in fact, as a jumping-off point for improvements to breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. And, the best part is that hopping on the good nutrition train now will take you where you want to go before the New Year is here. 

Tips for Better Nutrition at Breakfast

• Choose a nutrition-rich cereal like oats, whole grain wheat, or a low-sugar granola
• Make a breakfast sandwich like goat cheese, spinach, and walnuts on whole wheat wrap
• Enjoy a soft or hardboiled egg with a side of cottage cheese and berries
• Savor a bowl of vegetable soup with whole grain crackers
• Try a Mediterranean choice like a big green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and hummus

Here are healthier Breakfast recipes to try.

5 Tips for Better Nutrition at Lunch

• Make an omelet with chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes
• Order a pizza that’s light-on-the-cheese
• Split a restaurant meal of spaghetti and meatballs with a friend
• Top off your big leafy salad with a seasoned pouch of tuna or salmon
• Layer Greek yogurt with cut-up melon or berries and chia seeds into a fun parfait

Here are Sandwich Ideas and some other simple recipes to try at lunch.

5 Tips for Better Nutrition at Dinner

• Make a crockpot of chili with extra-lean beef, kidney beans, onions, and seasonings
• Order out from a Chinese restaurant and choose a steamed meal
• Grill chicken alongside foil packets of cut-up sweet potatoes, sweet peppers and onions
• Broil fish or shrimp with lemon juice, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil
• Invite friends over to make-your-own pizza with chopped veggies, herbs, and Feta cheese

Here’s a healthier Macaroni and Cheese recipe to try at dinner.

5 Tips for Better Nutrition at Snack Time

• Make and enjoy half of a ripe, frozen banana
• Create a healthy trail mix with raisins, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• Enjoy apple slices with peanut butter
• Whirl a smoothie with nonfat plain yogurt, a banana, and a teaspoon of cocoa powder
• Dip pretzels into unsweetened applesauce or vanilla yogurt

Here are 5 Less Sugary Snacks and recipes to try.

5 Tips for Better Nutrition in Your Back to School Backpack

• Cheese stick & tiny box of raisins
• Single-serving pouch of peanuts or almonds
• Dried figs or Dried fig bar
• Baby carrots and single-serving cup of hummus
• Dried apple slices & Greek style yogurt

Planning for a Fresh Start with Better Nutrition

A plan helps all of us get organized – about something. For flavors that lift your spirits and nutrition that fuels your busy days, planning is super smart. Here are a couple of examples using the tips above:

• Plan #1: Breakfast sandwich with goat cheese, spinach, walnuts + Big lunch salad with tuna pouch + Steamed Chinese takeout dinner
• Plan #2: Breakfast boiled egg & cottage cheese/berries + Layered lunch parfait with Greek yogurt & fruit & chia seeds + Chili in the crockpot dinner
• Plan #3: Breakfast oatmeal with fruit & nuts + Homemade omelet lunch + Grilled chicken with foil veggie packets dinner

What will be your first step to better nutrition at back to school time? 

0 Picnic Month is a Perfect Time for Favorite Foods and Good Nutrition

Picnics and nature go together so well in the summer!

Everyone loves a picnic – right? When I think back to being a kid, picnic memories include my family, fun foods, the mountains, the pool, the park, and my own backyard. We had a big, wooden picnic table and when the weather cooperated, Mom would spread out the plastic tablecloth and get a picnic dinner going. Back then, grilling wasn’t such a big deal like it is today but that was not a problem. Here are some of the foods that my sister, brother, and I loved at our picnic: crispy chicken drumsticks, deviled eggs, watermelon, potato salad, pickles, and lemonade. Continue reading

0 How to Keep Your Food Fresher Longer

Sushi and all fresh fish is best to eat the day you buy it.

Every time I hear anybody talk about food, the word ‘fresh’ comes up. It could be fruits, vegetables, or herbs, or it could be fish, chicken, or bread. No matter what, everyone is intensely interested in their food being fresh. Can you blame them?
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0 Local Farmers Markets Bring Good Times and Healthy Nutrition to Your Table

Relaxing with friends is fun at a local farm or Farmer’s Market.

Did you grow up on a big farm or were your grandparents farmers? If you answered yes, then chances are you already have a deep appreciation for what it takes to grow food on a large scale. If you answered no, then maybe your parents or grandparents had a small vegetable garden out in the back yard and you remember helping with it as a kid. Or, maybe you grew up in a more urban area and any kind of gardening or farming experience was miles and miles away. We all ‘know’ farming in a different way.
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0 About Sandwiches and How to Make a Healthy One

Here’s an open-face whole grain sandwich with avocado, veggies and an egg on top.

Way back in the 1760’s, a guy named John Montagu sat at a card game gambling table as he liked to do. Not wanting to interrupt his gaming that day, he asked the house cook to bring him something that he could eat easily from where he sat. It may seem a little weird, but history books tell us that this is how the modern day sandwich was born and then grew in popularity in England.
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0 When to Teach Your Kids About Nutrition

Kids are like little sponges ready to soak up good nutrition.

Kids are like little sponges soaking up all kinds of experiences that in time turn into behaviors that in time turn into habits. This is definitely true when nutrition is the theme and as the saying goes — the younger, the better. In other words, the younger kids are when they begin learning about healthy foods and enjoying them, the more they will benefit throughout their lives.
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0 What is Mediterranean Nutrition All About?

These Mediterranean foods are super tasty!

There are many directions to go with regard to nutrition. With a ton of information coming at us day-by-day, it’s never been more confusing to make sense out of which path to follow. The annual rankings for best overall diets from US News & World Report, a credible source, recently announced a tie for first place in 2018 between the Mediterranean Diet and DASH Diet.
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0 Soup to Start the New Year

Making soup at home is fun and rewarding!

If it were up to me, soup would be the #1 food trend for every New Year. With so many trendy foods in the media headlines these days, my choice circles back around to soup and here are a few reasons why:
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0 7 Steps to Re-Set Your Career Path to Nutrition Science

The more input, the better for a career path re-set to nutrition science.

Taking a new turn in your career path is usually hard. It’s hard because what you’re doing now is routine and comfortable. It’s hard because there’s no guarantee that you’ll succeed. It’s hard because you might have trouble quieting down that little voice deep inside that doubts your motivation, focus, or energy to kick-start something new. And, that’s a little scary.
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0 Celebrating Healthier Holiday Meals!

Make a healthy meal at holiday time!

Adding a nutritious twist to your holiday meal is truly the spirit of taking good care of yourself. Over the years, I’ve had a ton of fun in my kitchen with recipe re-do’s and a ton of fun at my meal table watching the reaction of my family and guests. One year at Thanksgiving, I totally changed up my sweet potatoes and everyone raved. Another year, I inserted some new veggies, and they got everyone talking. Even when we celebrate at my mother-in-law’s house, I make a lighter version of a favorite holiday recipe and, guess what?
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