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.
Weight Loss the Easy Way…Take a Weekly Shot but…Just Some Food for Thought
Its no big secret how obesity has tripled in 60 years. How did we get here: poor diet with lots ultra processed foods, fast food eating, and sedentary lifestyles. Ultra processed foods make up about half of all the calories consumed. The Food Industry has created lots of high sugar, high salt, junk food with enticing ads.
Magnesium Keeps Your Body Running Smoothly
Recently a family member told me his health professional recommended he take a magnesium supplement daily. She told him to look for a magnesium supplement that contain at least 200 milligrams (mg). He’s 75 years old and is also on blood pressure medicine. He asked me about what foods were high in magnesium which prompted me to write this column about magnesium. As a nutritionist, I always recommend foods over supplements unless my client doesn’t eat the foods high in the nutrient needed, they have a medical condition where they don’t absorb the nutrient well may cause a magnesium deficiency. In fact, when I was working as a performance nutritionist, when an athlete suffered from muscle cramps, besides discussing hydration, potassium status, calcium status, I also talked about magnesium. Many of energy & muscle system reactions are magnesium dependent to work effectively.
Keeping a Daily Food Diary Can Help You Lose Weight
In today’s world there are calorie counting apps you can add to your I-phone, I-pad or Android which makes keeping track of your foods and beverages easier. Some of the calorie counting apps are really good but many now are charging a monthly or yearly fee.
Peloton® App is a Great Christmas Present
I have been doing spin classes for over 25+ years…ever since Spinning became a fitness craze. In fact, I used to love to go to the Spin Classes. I have had a professional spin bike for 15+ years but always preferred going to in-person classes. But during Covid-19, I needed to find an alternative.
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.
Easy-to-Make Homemade Fruit Sorbets
I am always looking for ways to increase my intake of fruits and vegetables every day. When I am grandparenting, I like to make snacks for my grandchildren to eat that are full of nutrients and they love to eat. One of my grandchildren’s favorite treats are homemade fresh fruit sorbets. The difference between a sorbet and sherbet is a sorbet contains no dairy but sherbet contains some milk. The fruits I choose for them are the fruits they like to eat or what’s in season. For example, most of them love strawberries and peaches. Only a couple of grandchildren like blueberries which is my favorite fruit. These recipes are all gluten-free.
Suggestions on Healthy Halloween Strategies
Since Halloween is just around the corner and most kids will be eating lots of the candy they have collected, here’s some helpful information to help you to control the amount of candy your children consume.
