Thank you, Food Babe: Vani Hari

Thank you, Food Babe: Vani Hari By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D. As a registered dietitian since 1973, I have always kept up with nutrition and wellness for my whole career. But when I started following the Food Babe, Vani Hari, I asked myself, why didn’t the American Dietetic Association now called the Academy of Nutrition and […]

Make Some Bones About…Healthy Bone Broth!

Make Some Bones About…Healthy Bone Broth! By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D. What is Bone Broth? Bone broth is the liquid made from boiling animal bones & connective tissue. Bone broth would be a healthy alternative to using broth or bouillon in recipes. You can also drink bone broth. Bone broth contains protein and many nutrients as […]

The ABCs of Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine because of a sensitivity to gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. This hereditary disorder interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.
When persons with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Cornbread Pie

This recipe combines two of my favorite foods: sweet potato and black beans. It’s easy to make and great warmed up. I like to serve it with a spinach salad. I typically use Martha White® Gluten Free Yellow Gluten Free Cornbread mix since my husband, my son and my granddaughter have adult celiac disease.

Vegetable Beef Stew

This one-pot meal is a family favorite. It has lots of vegetables and is gluten-free. You can add salt and pepper to taste. One of my granddaughters like to add brown rice to her bowl of Vegetable Beef Stew. She has to be gluten-free so the extra calories are warranted. It seems like she is always training for a ½ marathon somewhere.

Sweet Potato-Spinach-Black Bean Quesadillas

This quesadilla recipe combines many of my favorite foods which are high nutrients: sweet potatoes, spinach, red pepper and black beans. It’s no secret, I love Mexican foods and so does my family. You can easily make this gluten-free if you substitute the whole wheat tortillas for corn tortillas. I like to top my quesadillas with a little salsa, some yummy guacamole, a dab of lite sour cream, and I make a side salad with diced tomatoes and chopped romaine lettuce.

Mexican Cheeseburger

This is a very quick and easy grandkid-loving recipe my grandkids love to eat especially the college grandkids who are doing their own cooking. Included is an excellent homemade sauce recipe but full disclosure, my college grandkids, just use their own store purchased toppings like thick salsa, mayonnaise and ketchup instead of making their own sauce. If you want to lower the calories, you can use reduced fat cheese and use thick salsa instead of the sauce. You can also stack the Mexican Cheeseburgers to make a double.

Easy-to-Fix Meatloaf Cupcakes

This is a very easy recipe to make. These cupcakes are easy quick meal for family. Meatloaf cupcakes are great to take for school or work lunches. You can add a microwave baked sweet potato and salad with blueberries or sliced strawberries to round out the meal. My grandkids like ketchup so they always add ketchup.

The Gift of Health Bean Soup with a Kick

By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D.
For a special Christmas present this year, you can mix dry beans together and give the festive bags with the attached recipe as a gift of health. Beans are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can help to lower your cholesterol and insoluble fiber helps to prevent and treat constipation. Beans are low fat and high in protein, folate, magnesium, potassium and iron.

Salsa Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole

My husband and my grandkids absolutely love this recipe! My husband says it tastes like Mexican Bowl he gets at Chipotle, plus it’s homemade and much cheaper. He likes to put the casserole in a bowl with mashed up corn tortilla chips or on a corn tortilla. Adding more salsa, fresh leafy greens, guacamole and low-fat sour cream adds taste and an array of additional nutrients. Plus, it’s a gluten-free recipe.