Eating Colorful, Healthy Foods

Colorful foods help you want to eat healthy.

It's been said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  I say that the way to feed my loving husband is through providing visually appealing foods.  Adding rich tomato sauce--a red color--into rice is good for a man's prostate.  It appears delightful even though I add real garlic (helpful for the immune system) and other good spices.  My husband gobbles up the food with his eyes before he even puts a spoonful of it into his mouth.

Today, I want to discuss the importance of a balanced meal.  What is a balanced meal?  Well, you need to have your carbohydrates (or starches), protein, and veggies.  Here, I have chicken soft tacos with beans and rice.  I'm not going into detail about how to throw it together.  

I just want you to look at the colors.  Isn't it beautiful?  If you are a visual person, then you are enjoying looking at that plate full of colors.  I learned a while back that to get someone to eat your food, you should use different colors to have a good food presentation.  Here, you can see the yellow, orange, brown, green, and red calling to you to eat it.  

I bet you're drooling!

You can also see that the plate is colorful.  I thought it added a nice touch to the dinner that was on it.  Notice that the plate is not big, either.  I did that on purpose.  We need to eat smaller portions, and a small plate helps you do that.  

Did you know that you should only eat the amount of meat or cooked grain that fits in the meaty part of your hand? Yes, your palm.  That means that your meat slice should be lean, not thick, and be the size of your hand, minus your fingers.  If your dinner time calls for only one or two meat portions, check it against your palm.  That will give you a good indication of how much protein or starches you should eat in one meal.  

Of course, if you are eating small meals throughout the day, as some doctors and fitness books recommend, then you would probably only eat one portion of protein.  Just make sure to  match up a protein with a good carbohydrate, especially if you are diabetic.  In this case, I matched each meat to a corn tortilla, which is better than the white flour tortillas.

Beans have both carbohydrates and proteins so it can really stand alone, but I'm a Mexican American and used to eating a meat entree with some kind of pasta (like rice, shells, elbows, or vermicelli) and beans on the side. 

Adding the roughage of spinach helps the food push through your body, and the tomatoes are good for you, too.  Tomatoes are good for your eyes.  My eye-sight began to improve when we grew tomatoes in our garden and ate them.  The avocados provide the fat that is good for your body.  I even sprinkled a little lemon (which has vitamin C) juice on the avocado.

I've come a long way from my earlier days of cooking.  That was about 15 years ago.  I am not perfect, but I have striven to provide delicious, wonderful-looking meals.  I have tried to balance them out with a good drink and a fruit on the side.  I don't always get to make my meals totally healthy, but I am hopeful to get  there some day.  For now, adding good veggies, like spinach and tomatoes, is a step in the right direction.

How about you, my readers?  Do you prepare your foods for all of the senses?  Do you try to make it taste and smell delicious?  I encourage you to include the different colors of the palette.  It just might make it more fun to eat a healthy meal.

God bless you with His peace, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads.  I went link-crazy, but I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints that I discussed here are just my opinions.  Please consult your physician before altering anything relating to your health.  I am only suggesting here to take charge of your health.  Don't just leave your health in the hands of your doctors; become your own advocate.  You know best how your body is doing.

Making the Most of Leftovers

At least 6 containers of frozen leftovers--for one week.

With being a mom full of responsibilities, it is sometimes tough finding the time and energy to cook up the best meal.  That's why it is a good idea to stretch that meal that you do take the time to create.  Stretching it for another mealtime is very important.  Let's take, for example, that hearty soup that hubby can't take to work.  Well, why not freeze the leftovers for another dinnertime?

It is important to keep in mind the containers you will be using.  Some of the containers I bought were for frozen veggies.  I think that, even though they are a little more expensive, they are worth it if they can keep your food from getting freezer burn.

Taco meat labeled and dated

Another thing to consider is the dry erase markers.  You need to label the contents and the date for the food you will be storing.  It is worth the extra time you take to label those items.  You don't want to wonder months later what mysterious food lurks in your freezer.  I have several of those markers (within reach) hanging on my refrigerator and/or in the utensils drawer.

I hope this helps you out when thinking about stretching the food budget.  I know that many of us are watching as food and gas prices go up.  We can't do anything about that, but we can find strategies to stretch our dollars by not letting our food go to waste.  It is worth the extra time and effort to put away some leftovers so that we can use them later.  It will help you resist the temptation to get takeout, which we can't really afford.

How about you, my readers?  What do you do to stretch your budget?  Do you freeze leftovers?  I hope you will consider it?  You just might save $100 from your grocery bill.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.

Our Favorite Dinnertime Meals

My favorite meals involves beans and rice.

What does my family love to eat?

It is difficult at times to make a meal that all of the family will enjoy.  One person may want something different from the others.  I often have to make a meal that has different components to it.  Then, one person can leave out or add any ingredient if they like. A mother and/or her helpers often have to tweak the meals to accommodate everyone.

For example, when I make spaghetti, I leave out the sauce from the ground meat.  My younger son and I love the sauce on our pasta, but the others sometimes do and sometimes don't.  I don't bother to make meatballs, either; they're too time-consuming to make.  Then, we made some toast, adding butter.  For mine, I add a sprinkling of garlic.

My children also like to eat tacos of various kinds.  I like that they are versatile.  The kids can add any ingredients they like.  One daughter likes lettuce.  The other daughter likes tomatoes.  My youngest son likes a cheese taco, while the older one likes ground meat with the shredded mild cheddar in it.  My husband and I like to add avocado, to which I add a few drops of lemon.

Some of them like cheeseburgers.  Two of my children--the oldest ones--like cheeseburgers.  All of them seem to like chicken nuggets.  Some of us like the nuggets with or without barbeque sauce.  Of course, we need our fries, and again, some like ketchup and some don't.

What about you, my readers?  What do your children like?  What does your significant other love to eat?  Can you see the value of making your meals with choices?  I just love the challenge of having everyone eat a meal together, one that everyone can enjoy.

Peace to you, my beloveds.

Five Reasons to Eat Dinner As a Family

Hubby and daughter eating dinner together.

There are many reasons a family should eat dinner together.  When we first started our little family, I made it a priority to eat together.  There have been many benefits to this wonderful family practice.  Here are a few:

1. You get to share stories with each other.

When my husband gets home after work, he gets to hear about how our home schooling day went.  He gets to tell us how his work day went, too.  There are often hilarious things to talk about.  The children like to explain about what they learned.  My husband likes to talk about the lunchtime antics of his co-workers.

2. You get to socialize with each other.

The children are able to hang out with the adults.  It is important for the children to know how to communicate with adults.  We parents get to visit with our children.  I believe that we parents need to spend time with them to show them that we care and love them.  How else can we show the children about how much we appreciate them than to spend time with them.

3. You get to have family meetings.

There are times when some major issue comes up like Christmas or the illness of a family member.  We need to have a special time when we come together to discuss those situations that arise.  Taking the time to actually hash out the problems is necessary to have a successful family life.  Finding solutions to those problems is essential for the household to run smoothly.  This is the perfect time to talk about financial circumstances and/or the balancing of the chores.

4. You get to show gratitude for each other.

Sometimes for Thanksgiving and/or birthdays, I like for each one of us to show our gratitude.  It can be a few words.  These positive words that show how we appreciate one another goes a long way to building our children's self-esteem.  It also shows each child that they are valuable to the family.  Each member pulls his share of the responsibilities.

5. You get to see your family grow together.

I love that we can come together and learn something new from one another.  The children often have something new to share from their learning.  It could be something that they read in their history studies.  It could be about how fascinated they are about the latest gadget from the technological world.  This is the perfect opportunity to laugh at the funny things that happen throughout the day, too.

Thanks for reading this blog entry.  I hope you have enjoyed my short list of reasons why families should eat together.  Of course these are not the only benefits to eating together, but I have found, through experience, that the family is much stronger.  If you don't already do it, please consider making it a priority to eat a meal together at the same time.  It would be a great blessing for all family members involved.

My peace I send to you, my beloveds.