Today is Tuesday. Do you like bananas? Do you have some sitting over there on the counter that you are tempted to get rid of? I have a great idea for you. Make some delicious banana bread. It is quick and easy. This really is a great way to use those uneaten bananas and it is tasty as well. Your family will love this.
You can make a loaf or even muffins. All you need are a few ingredients:
All purpose flour 1 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/3 cup
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup dairy free milk (almond milk), if needed
pinch of lite salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mash bananas. Add applesauce, vanilla extract and mix. Then add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Then mix, but don’t over mix. If batter seems a bit thick, add milk (if needed).
Pour in greased loaf pan and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Once done, let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing.
**NOTE** Feel free to add chocolate chips if you like for an additional treat!!
Let’s talk about Hydration. Hydration is the process of replenishing your body’s water supply, which is essential for many functions and benefits. When the weather is hot and temperatures are high, it is important that you get enough to drink.
Why is important to stay hydrated?
Helps your heart: Keeping the body hydrated helps the heart more easily pump blood through the blood vessels to the muscles. And it helps the muscles work efficiently.
Helps with dehydration: Dehydration occurs from an abnormal amount of water from the body. Dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue, dry skin, mood swings, and impaired cognition, among other symptoms and risks.
Waysto stay hydrated:
Drink water. Water is always best. (If you don’t know where to start– drink at least half your body weight in water). For example, if you weight 100lbs, drink at least 50 ounces of water.
Eat those foods that have high water content: Eating fruits and vegetables are great such as watermelon, oranges, strawberries, pineapples, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce and celery
Don’t overexert yourself.
Keep drinking even when you don’t feel well.
Drinking water has great benefits and this is my top drink of choice to be honest. Water helps regulate body temperature, lubricate joints, prevent infections, deliver nutrients, and support organ performance. As you can see, if you are not drinking water, you are missing out!
Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn’t just a cosmetic concern. It’s a medical problem that increases the risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers. Obesity has always been a hot topic even in kids. I remember while working as a Nutritionist, I use to see children who were overweight and/or obese and dealt with health issues.
Medical Management: Lifestyle modification (increased exercise), psychological support, drugs and yes for some surgery
Nutritional Management: Make necessary food changes, get proper nutrition education
This is so key in the battle against obesity. There are plenty of people who will greatly benefit from making simple changes, but consistent. That change can be exercising a few minutes daily to start or set small goals for better eating. Yes, it is WORK!! The weight will not just come off on its own, but I do believe that nutritional management is very important.
Many people give up due to fact that they expect it to come off so quickly. We live in a society where you see people go on fad diets and lose certain amount of weight in 5 days, but they are not how it works! Most of those people will gain in back! DO THE WORK—YOU WILL SEE THE RESULTS!! The important thing is eating in such a way to where it becomes a lifestyle, not a quick fix.
Where do you find yourself today? Are you discouraged? Do you feel as if it doesn’t matter? Do you feel that a healthier lifestyle is not within your reach?
Who doesn’t love a good muffin? Well baking muffins are really a great idea and of course tasty. I decided to get my kids in on this one. It is also very budget friendly because I can make them myself which is definitely less expensive than buying a box from the store that will literally be gone in a day or two. Muffins are a great idea for anyone and does not take long to prepare. We made vegan chocolate chip muffins, and they were delicious.
The kids were excited and ready to bake, but of course kids are kids. Therefore, I had to repeat certain instructions to make sure it was done correctly, but it was still something they got to do. Don’t get intimidated by baking, you have more control over ingredients, and you can be very creative.
When I make muffins, at times I don’t even use sugar!
Sugar does help to(outside of sweetness):
tenderize baked goods
assist with leavening
helps with moisture
aids in browning of baked goods
I can tell a difference, but my kids have no clue, and they eat any muffins I bake up. Yes, sugar has a very important role, but that is just a way for me to cut back on it and it is not going to harm anyone limiting the sugar content.
So, let’s talk about Picke Eaters. What is a picky eating. Picky eating refers to an unwillingness to eat new foods or familiar foods. I am going to start off by talking about my 5-year-old who is definitely considered probably the picky child. If you have a child who is picky, it can be very frustrating at times, but understanding what is really going on is important. My husband and I noticed at about the age of 18months, there were certain foods he stopped eating (spaghetti, rice, etc…) We really didn’t know what was going on, but now that he is 5 years, he still does not eat those foods and I realized that he may have had a bad experience with certain foods and just will not eat it again.
Even now, he will say, “I don’t eat this anymore”. He minds goes back to that experience that he had, and he thinks he will get the same experience again. That may be a bad taste or just something didn’t look right, so yes, it is frustrating at times. Sometimes it can just be he just don’t want to eat it and it is not that he doesn’t like it so getting him to at least taste the food is key. He does eat pretty much any breakfast foods, but mainly his issue is pasta, rice, bone in chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, vegetables and anything new!!!! It is a challenge, but he loves his smoothies (veggies included).
So enough about my 5-year-old. What are some possible solutions that may or may not work? Do you deal with any of these issues?
Child likes to play with food. Possible Solution: Clear table without comment at end of meal and refuse snacks until next meals.
Child leaves food on plate often. Possible Solution: Try to offer smaller serving size. Try not to force child to clean plate.
Child always want something else no matter what you prepare. Possible Solution: Don’t prepare a separate elaborate meal, offer an alternative such as peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If he doesn’t want to eat, wait until next meal.
Child eats only cookies, candy, chips and other sweets. Possible Solution: Offer more healthy alternatives such as oatmeal cookies, raisins, dried fruit/fruit.
Child drinks only juice and no other beverages. Possible Solution: Cut back gradually. Dilute juice with equal water amount.
Child eats only one food, meal after meal. Possible Solution: Try to ignore the food jag and let child eat but offer other foods as well. Hopefully the jag will pass. Try smoothies, soups or yogurt.
Feel free to try any of these possible solutions and see how they work or do like me and offer some tasty smoothies!!!!! Check out more healthy recipes for you and your family from my Tasty Tuesday Tip Recipe Book.
School is out! You know what that means if you have kids… you need lots of SNACKS!!! I have 4 children and 1 on the way so imagine how many times I hear the word snacks in a day. Of course, kids need their snacks, but you can provide healthier options as well. I can buy something from the store and in my mind, I am like, “I can make this” or “this box is gone already”. There are ways in which you can be economical as it relates to snack ideas.
Snack#1
Apple Slices & Peanut Butter: Yes, this is simple, but it does provide fruit and a good protein source. Just having fruit along may not cut it so add some type of nut butter or dip.
Snack#2
Pretzel Sticks & Cheese: Another simple idea. My kids love pretzel sticks and pairing it with cheese offers protein and provides a more filling option.
Snack#3
Popcorn: So yes, you can pop your own popcorn. There is a brand that I like to buy called Skinny Pop, but we have kernels and an air popper on hand to pop at any time. The kids love the see the kernels pop.
Snack#4
Cheese Quesadillas: Now I do these a lot, even with a dinner. All you need is shredded cheese and flour tortillas. So super easy and all my kids enjoy.
Snack#5
Mini Pizzas: We always make our own pizzas, so my kids are use to homemade pizzas, but they can be a easy snack as well. If you don’t want to make your own crust, use English muffins, canned biscuit dough and yes even a slice of bread (try it).
Snack#6
Muffins: I love the make homemade muffins. Don’t intimidated, but it is more cost efficient than buying a box from a store. Great idea and a quick go to for any child.
Snack#7
Smoothies: Smoothies are always a great way to get extra fruit and veggies in. Even my 5-year-old who does not like any veggies, will make a smoothie with green veggies in it and drink it up!
Snack#8
Graham Crackers: These are great to offer between meals and can be paired with peanut butter as well or even melted marshmallows.
Snack#9
Cereal: Most kids love cereal. Dry cereal can be a great idea between meals. You can create mix and even make cereal clusters with melted peanut butter and honey.
Snack#10
Yogurt: I usually get the yogurt that is squeezable because they are very kid friendly and comes in different flavors.
So, what snacks do you already do from this list or what others can you think of. Yes, summertime can be very busy but got to make the most of it and do what you can. At least that what I will do. Try some of these with your kids and see how they like them. Check out my Tasty Tuesday Tip Recipe Book for more meal ideas!
Hey I am back with another simple, easy and delicious idea for pizza night. We usually make plant-based pizza at least once a week. I decided to do something a little different with this one and add some tofu. I had some left from a meal where I made tofu taco (used taco seasoning), and I decided to use the rest of the tofu taco crumble to add to my pizza. It was good! Eating healthier does not have to be hard, but with a little creativity, you can come up with some very tasty ideas.
This simple pizza includes an easy crust (self-rising flour, water and oil), pizza sauce, zucchini, fresh spinach, tofu, and follow your heart cheese. Don’t get intimidated when it comes to making your own pizza, it so doable and guess what? It is a healthier option because you can easily control your ingredients.
What’s your favorite pizza? Find ways to make it healthier. Make it colorful and tasty.
Do you like oats? Are you tired of eating a plan bowl of oatmeal? No need to!!! You can easily make your own oatmeal bars with only a few ingredients that you can grab from your pantry. This bars can be eaten anytime (breakfast or snack). It is good to have something that offers energy especially between mealtimes. I know you have probably purchased bars from the store, but it is nothing like making your own.
Who doesn’t like a quick and easy meal, right? This is sure to please. This plant based meal idea is super delicious and you can definitely be as creative as you want. I always try to make something that is colorful and full of veggies.
All you need is a few ingredients and you will have yourself a meal. Meals that are basically one pot are literally life savers. Be creative with your veggies and flavor!
Yellow, Red & Orange Bell Peppers (Can use any color you like)
Fresh Spinach
Make the rice as directed, but as rice is cooking add tomato sauce (1/2 cup), add turmeric, cumin and lite salt.
In another pan, you can add a little water or oil and add the meatless crumbles and the peppers and let cook. I did add some seasoning to the crumbles as well. Once everything is cooked add the mixture and mix with rice. Lastly add fresh spinach. If needed, can add a little vegetable broth. Plate up and enjoy. This is super easy.
So we are literally in the last month of the year!!! I have done a lot of cooking in my kitchen, but I realize their are a couple of appliances that I have used more than others. I would definitely recommend these two items to you to have in your kitchen. They make eating healthier so much easier.
Over a year ago, I had to upgrade to a larger blender and it has definitely helped. I got the Nutribullet Blender which not only is great for smoothies, but I found myself using it to puree and make cheese sauces and other sauces. Many times it is easy to purchase appliances only to watch them sit up and collect dust, but if you are in need of something that is well worth the money, I will definitely tell you to give this a try or get it for someone special.
In this fast pace time, it seems as if no one has time to cook. Don’t let not having time cause you to feel as if you can not still take steps to a healthier lifestyle. Having an air fryer is another great investment. I think it is time for me to “upgrade”, but until then, I’ll just use this one! It saves time and energy. I think I use my air fryer every single day for something. The air fryer I use I think is great for someone who needs something that is not too big, but not too small. If your family is bigger like mine, “It is 6 of us”, you may want to upgrade. I will do so soon.
BENEFITS:
Healthier Cooking
Easy to Clean
Time Efficient
Easy to use
Fast & Safe
So these are my top 2 kitchen appliances for 2022!!! These have definitely been life savers for me and my family.
Blogging Healthy Tips w/Monica 