12 Tips for Restaurant Eating!!

Healthy diet planning can be made when going out to eat.  Here are my top 12 tips for restaurant eating!!

 #1: Order a side salad as an appetizer, or skip it all together. Appetizers at places like the Cheesecake Factory (quesadillas, spinach and cheese dip, nachos, buffalo wings, thai lettuce wraps) have 1,000 to 1,600 calories. They're as bad or worse as an entre you are going to order.  

             

#2: Pack up half your meal. Every portion of food is 2-3 times a normal and healthy serving. Each restaurant is trying to outdo the next by serving larger and larger portions. Before your food even comes, ask your waiter to box up half of it! What an easy solution and you have lunch for the next day!    

   

#3: No bread or chips, thanks. Do you REALLY need an unlimited bread basket or chips at your table? Didn't think so!  What about asking for it WITH your meal? I bet it will cut down on the amount of refills you ask for!   

 

#4: At Asian restaurants, order mixed vegetables with sauteed (not deep-fried or breaded) chicken, tofu, shrimp or scallops. Skip the noodles. 

         

#5:  Pizza: thin, not thick crust. When you go for that occasional pizza, order half the cheese, thin crust (whole grain if possible) and veggies instead or with your meat toppings. We like to make our own pizzas at home! Great recipes for yummy alternatives to "traditional pizza" at www.getthehealthyedge.com! Try the 14 day trial and check them out.  Be sure to try the vegetable Pizza located in the Vegetable Dishes section!

#6: When eating Mexican food, order 1 or 2 tacos and anything else a la carte (such as a green salad and black or pinto beans).

                

#7: Choose a leaner cut of meat such as sirloin or filet mignon when eating out. Fattier cuts are ribeye, Porterhouse, New York strip, T-bone or Prime Rib. Grilled chicken and fish are also great selections. We also ask where they get their meat and that is always an interesting conversation that leads us to make a decision!

#8: Choosing a main dish salad instead of a sandwich is a great choice. Choose restaurants that offer tons of chicken, nuts, beans and other toppings that will fill you up!  Oh, and dressing on the side! I like to request salsa or hummus if available (or squeezed lemon). 

  

#9: Double the veggies. Instead of potatoes, rice or pasta, ask for two sides of vegetables or an extra salad. For variety, check out the veggies that come with other entrees on the menu.     

    

#10: Think petite. Look for appetizers, sandwiches, desserts, or other items restaurants call "small", "mini", "demi", or "treat" size. Think of them as normal size and everything else as supersized.     

 

#11: Get salad dressing on the side. This is something I had adopted for a long time. Dip your fork into the salad dressing first, and then go for the salad. I always ask what their homemade dressings are and vinaigrettes. If all the ingredients are "real", that is a good sign! Fat free or low-fat versions usually means: additives, sugars and chemicals.   

#12: No cheese, please. Restaurants squeeze cheese in or on nearly every salad, sandwich, pasta, taco and burger.  I like to ask for no cheese or request a small side dish of cheese so you control where it goes and how much goes on it!               

Quick and Easy Snacks for Kids!

Summer is approaching fast and soon our precious little angels will be home all day everyday and hungrier than ever!   We need to be prepared with quick and healthy snacks that will allow our kids to feel satified in the heat and make us moms happy!  Think homemade popsicles.  Note the ingredients in a typical popcicle that is purchased at the store… 

Ingredients:

Orange Pop: water, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, orange juice (from concentrate), contains 1 percent or less of each of the following: malic acid, citric acid, guar gum, natural flavor, locust bean gum, annatto (for color). 

Cherry Pop: water, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, contains 1 percent or less of each of the following: cherry juice (from concentrate), malic acid, citric acid, guar gum, vegetable juice (for color), natural flavor, locust bean gum, red 40. 

Grape Pop: water, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup,grape juice (from concentrate), sugar, contains 1 percent or less of each of the following: malic acid, citric acid, guar gum, locust bean gum, natural flavor. 

I know as a child I ate many popsicle and if my mom had only known how not nutritious they were I would not have been allowed to eat so many!  Lets face it all the kids want is something really cold and sweet to suck on because it is fun.  If you can make a variety of yogurt pops, chocolate pops and plain fruit pops at home you will be getting in the nutrients while making the kids happy.  The main ingreident in store bought popscicles is SUGAR in different forms.  Take a look at one of my many recipes.

Strawberry Dreamcicle

1 (healthy) vanilla yogurt (use So delicous coconut yogurt if dairy intolerant)

1 cup strawberries washed and tops trimmed

½ cup water

Directions: Blend all together and place in molds.  Put in freezer until frozen.

Trick: When getting out of molds run hot water on the bottom of the popscicle mold or place in a glass of hot water for a few seconds to easily get the popscicle out..  Takes a little practice using the molds but it is well worth it.

Bunch of Berries

2 cups of berries of choices: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries… combination of all

1 cup Vanilla Coconut Milk

Directions: Blend all together and place in molds.  Put in freezer until frozen.

****You may need to adjust amounts depending on the size of your popsicle molds.  I know how many cups my molds will hold and I add ingredients and then water to get it where I need to be.  It is hard to mess up a popscicle!  J  It is so easy to come up with some fun flavors by getting the kids involved.  Let them put together a bunch of ingredients and make popsicles!  Everything tastes great when it is frozen on a stick!  I add vegetables to mine as well…  the trick is to have a POWERFUL blender that can eliminate any chunks left from vegetables.  Have fun!

WhoNu Cookies

While relaxing the other night after a long day with my darling children, I saw a commercial that caught my interest.  It looked like an Oreo cookie and the commentator was claiming that feeding your kids these “nutritional” cookies gives them:

•       As much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal 
•       As much calcium and vitamin D as an 8 oz glass of milk
•      As much vitamin C as a cup of blueberries

The website goes on to include:

•     As much Iron as a cup of Spinach
•     As much Vitamin E as two cups of carrot juice
•     As much Vitamin B12 as a cup of cottage cheese and fruit
•     As much Vitamin A as an 8oz glass of tomato juice

Now this sounded way too good to be true.  And I don’t like to be one to judge without knowing the facts so I did a little research based on The Healthy Edge guidelines for reading food labels. 

When looking at the ingredients, whatever is listed first is the ingredient that particular product contains the MOST of. Guess what the first ingredient in this so-called nutritious cookie is? SUGAR!  At this point I am turned off, but I continue to read: the second ingredient is wheat flour, then vegetable oils (canola, palm, palm kernel oil, soybean oil and partially hydrogenated cottonseed and coconut oil), cocoa, dextrose, polydextrose, yellow corn flour, corn syrup (more sugar), baking soda, soy lecithin, salt, natural and artificial flavor, monoglycerides, vanilla extract.  Ok, so far nothing that sounds nutritional to me.

Partially hydrogenated oils are TRANS FATS! The worse kinds of fats you can ingest because they not only increase your BAD cholesterol they decrease your GOOD cholesterol and young children have a lot of years of living and in my opinion should NOT be exposed to trans fats this early in life…or ever!

Then comes the best part, a list of vitamins and minerals that give them ammunition to talk about how nutritious the cookie is. I LOVE how they put this underneath the ingredient list instead of in the list so you cannot tell how much, or how little of each ingredient is actually in the cookie.  

So here we go for the vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, vitamin c (ascorbic acid), iron orthophosphate, zinc oxide, copper oxide, manganese gluconate, iodine, chromium chloride, vitamin e (tocopherol acetate), vitamin a (palmitate), biotin, vitamin b3 (niacin), vitamin b5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin d3, vitamin k (phytonadione), vitamin b1 (thiamine mononitrate), vitamin b6, vitamin b2, folic acid. Contains wheat, soy, milk.

So as your kids are bouncing off the walls from the sugar high, ingesting trans fats that is affecting their cholesterol and eating the wheat flour that is high glycemic and leads to more sugar highs and cravings think about if you REALLY think that a cookie can provide the nutrition your kids need to grow big and strong.  Do you want your kids to formulate a belief system that cookies are healthy? Is that going to serve them later in life?

The Superfood Sisters would like to introduce you to something we call WHOLE FOODS treats.  A great company is LaraBars that have minimal ingredients that are real and whole foods.  An example is a Coconut Cream Pie that contains: Dates, Unsweetened Coconut, Almonds, Cashews and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

Another example is the Peanut Butter Bar which contains: Dates, Peanuts and Sea Salt. That’s it! WOW!  These can easily be advertised as “cookies” to your kids and you can feel great giving them this treat daily.

Another great suggestion is to prepare your own “treats” for your kids using recipes that use whole food ingredients. The Healthy Edge is a great resource for tons of recipes that are whole food based and kid friendly.  Check out The Healthy EdgeCookbook for 120+ recipes (including gluten-free) that are simple and quick or The Healthy Edge subscription program that provides over 250 recipes and a new recipe each week that you can trust to make for your family.

Together we can become educated consumers and change the health reality for our children’s future.

References:

http://whonucookies.com/Chocolate.aspx

http://blog.fooducate.com/2011/07/07/whonu-cookies-oreo-copycat-nutrition-impostor/

http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/08/who-knew-whonu-cookies-could-fool-health-conscious-consumers/

Fun Snack Foods for the Kids!

What parent doesn't like easy healthy foods that your kids will love?  I have learned with my children that a sure way to at least get them to try foods, is to make it fun in some way.  And what is more fun than food on a stick??  It is simple and your kids will love the chance to "play" with their food!

Carrots are a food that most kids already love.  So why not shake things up a little and try this sweet tip to make your kids enjoy eating them!  Simply steam, saute and stick!  Fast and healthy and what's that thing again...FUN!  We use agave nectar but you can also try honey, maple syrup or a savory sauce of some type.  They are perfect for a party appetizer or great to have in the fridge for a quick snack.

Three Easy Steps!!

Step 1: Steam until softened. (Or soften in some way)

Step 2: Saute with Agave Nectar or a savory sauce of your choice.

 

Step 3:  Slice and Stick!!

That's it!!  Easy snack that your kids will have fun helping with!!  How do you like to make food fun for your little ones??

Pork Chop Adobo

Puzzle piece scramble!

As a mother, there is nothing more important than putting a delicious and healthy meal on the table for my wonderful family!!  No wait, a SIMPLE, delicious and healthy meal!  Working from home with a 5 year old and a 2 year old running around means I need to make as many things as I can as easy as I can!  (Who knows what they are going to surprise me with next!)  I am sure many of you know what I am talking about.  Like laundry for example.  A task that will usually take me ten minutes turns into a half hour.  I learn quick though.  When they see me go for the clothes in the dryer it is instant "we want to fold them".  So, I grab them and throw them on the living room floor and say OK fold them for mommy.  This gives me at least 15 minutes to go get something else on my list done.  When I see that they have lost interest in the pile of clothes, it is my turn to quickly get it done and since they are bored with it by now, I don't have to worry about playing the refolding game 5 times over.

I have my days where I don't mind playing the refolding game over and over, I am spending special time with my little ones who pretty soon I will have to bribe with an allowance to get any help out of them.  Same goes with dinner.  Some days I don't mind if dinner takes a while to put together.  I love to cook.  But other days, I know there is just not going to be enough time and if I try to do some fancy meal, I will just end up stressing myself out. Pork Chop Adobe is a quick and healthy dinner, with delicious flavors that leave them thinking you put a lot more effort into it then you did.  Hope you like it!!

Pork Chop Adobo

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, organic pork chops
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium Tamari soy sauce (gluten free option)...

OR Bragg Liquid Aminos sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
1 bay leaf

Step 1: Add olive oil to a medium frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken thighs and cook until lightly browned on both sides.  Remove chicken from pan and transfer to a plate and set aside.
 

Step 2: In same frying pan, add garlic and saute until soft over low heat.  Add apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, black peppercorns, and bay leaf. Stir well before adding chicken back to pan and cook, covered for 20 minutes.
 

 

Step 3: Uncover pan, increase heat to medium-low and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, occasionally spooning sauce over chicken, until sauce begins to thicken and chicken is tender and glazed with sauce.  Remove bay leaf and serve.

This is also AMAZING with boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs!! Yummy!!

Broccoli and Chicken Casserole: Healthy Option for a Pre-Made Meal

My angel helping mommy!

Does anyone else have a hectic day?  You know, the one day during the week that you dread the most!  For me it is Wednesdays!  This is the day that I have to have my daughter to preschool by 8:30, pick her up at 11:00, then straight to the library for story and craft time until 12:30.  After that is a quick lunch, lay my 2 year old down for a nap and hope he wakes up by 3:15 in a good mood because...my daughter has gymnastics at 4:00 followed by her very first soccer game, which I volunteered to help coach which means first one there and last one to leave. For days like these I like to have a simple game plan for dinner.   That is why I just make it on Tuesday night, my one of two nights during the week where I have no running around to do.  

This casserole is a tiny bit time consuming (but honestly, what dinner isn't) but overall very easy and my kids LOVED it which is a big bonus for me! I made it the night before and while I was being Soccer Coach for my daughter's team, my husband was walking into the house to a very BIG note explaining in GREAT detail, how to get dinner in the oven. And when we got home...dinner was ready and waiting for us!

And, I must admit that as I am sitting here typing this out, I am eating the leftovers of this casserole!  Yummy, even better the next day!!

Broccoli and Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
 1 1/2 lbs organic skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa
3 cups fresh broccoli florets (see below)
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 cups organic Greek style plain yogurt
1 tsp

curry powder
2 tsp prepared white mustard
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp fresh basil leaves, chopped (1 tsp dried)
1 cup organic shredded cheddar blend cheese (cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack)

• Step 1: Place the broccoli in a steamer or shallow saucepan with water for a few minutes to slightly cook.  Remove from heat; allow to cool before cutting broccoli into small pieces.

• Step 2: Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook on one side for approximately 5 minutes.  Flip chicken over; add the onions and saute along with chicken for another 5 minutes.  Turn off heat. Remove chicken from skillet and place on a cutting board to cool.  When cooled, cut chicken into 1 inch cubes.

• Step 3: Combine the yogurt, curry powder, mustard, lemon juice and basil leaves in a medium bowl and mix well.

• Step 4: Add one cup quinoa to the bottom of a lightly oiled 9x13 inch baking dish.  Layer 1/3 of broccoli, onions, chicken and yogurt mixture.  Repeat this procedure in the same order two additional times.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over top of mixture.
 

• Step 5: Cover with foil and either store in refrigerator for a easy next night meal or and bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes.

 Growing up, if my mom was making a casserole, it more than likely had a cream of something soup in it.  I want to provide my kids with casseroles that are made with more whole foods that I can feel good about putting into their growing bodies rather than ones that plop out of a can in the same shape as the can. What is your favorite way to dodge the cream of... in your favorite casseroles?

Growing Healthy Kids

As a parent, I am always looking for quick and healthy ways to get veggies into my kid’s diet.  My Bowen loves eggs!  I am so thankful for that!  So lately I have been throwing his veggies right into his eggs!   This is a wonderful way to introduce new foods to your children’s diets.  Take a food they already love and add foods that you love to see them eat! Today I picked his favorite so far.  This is a very simple dish full of nutrients and best of all super quick!  

It has been so important with both of my children to constantly have them try new foods and more importantly new textures.  It is very easy to just serve foods we as parents are familiar with but in doing so we are creating little clones of ourselves and our beliefs. 

Use your child's favorite fruits in their salads!

Growing up I always heard, “the kids won’t eat that” or, “the kids don’t like salads”.  Salads were considered "grown up food", not food you would give a child.  I carried around this belief my whole life and didn’t start enjoying salads until I was older.  When Arleena was about 5 she saw me eating a salad and asked for a bite… it was a salad with avocado, tomatoes, tuna and spinach and she loved it… That broke through my belief about salads not being for kids and I started incorporating creative salads for lunch and dinner.  I use a chopper to give Bowen a finely shredded salad.  Also, when I was growing up a salad consisted of iceberg lettuce with a little cheddar cheese and ranch dressing.  Today, salads at my house are healthy and full of things my kids already love, just combined together.  This may seem like a little thing, but what foods do you not feed your kids because you don’t like them or you believe your kids will not like them?  I challenge you to try more flavors in your family so you can grow up kids that are comfortable with healthy!!!

Same thing with eggs… how often do we just add the cheese because it is what we have always done?  Look in your fridge and start shredding some veggies and trying new things with your eggs.  Your kids just might find a new favorite omelet!  And you may find yourself a new favorite way to make healthy eating easy!

Ingredients:

1 cup spinach

4 Cherry Tomatoes

2 eggs

Olive Oil

Vegan Cheddar Cheese

Step #1: Use a chopper or knife to finely chop 1 cup of spinach and four cherry tomatoes

Step #2: Wisk up 2 eggs and add spinach and tomatoes and mix up.

Step #3: Preheat a small pan on medium high heat and spray with Olive Oil

Step #4: Add egg mixture and cover.  Once it starts bubbling on top flip over and sprinkle cheese on top and shut off heat.  Cover until cheese melts.