6 Tips for Children's Lunches

Kids can be very picky eaters, but if you follow these 6 tips you will know that your children have a healthy nutritious lunch that will devour in no time.

Potato Topper

Turn your potatoes into an elegant dish without adding fat. This simple mixture also doubles as a salad dressing, and the herbs can be varied to accommodate everyone's taste.

Makes 4 servings

(¼ cup each serving)

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

            ½ teaspoon dill weed

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons imitation bacon bits

2 teaspoons dried chives

The Years Teach Us Patience

"It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting."  -Elizabeth Taylor

 

5 Tips for Healthy Family Dinners

Cooking healthy meals for your family can be easy! Follow these 5 tips and your family will be sure to eat all your healthy meals without realizing how good the meal is for them.

Favorite Cinnamon Popcorn

 This is an all-time favorite for my family and I hope yours enjoys it too!   

Popcorn. It’s low-calorie, inexpensive, and simply fun. It’s great to serve at parties, it’s available all year long, and it’s loved by kids and adults the world over. It’s practically synonymous with movie watching, and who doesn’t enjoy snacking on popcorn at the ballpark or county fair?

Popcorn is also high in protein and fiber. Unfortunately, most of the popcorn available in the grocery store (even the type for microwaves) has fat added.

I’d like to share one of my favorite (and definitely kid-friendly) popcorn concoctions: Cinnamon Popcorn. The recipe is easy-to-follow and uses ingredients you probably have in your kitchen already. If you want to make it fun and healthier for the kids simply substitute the sugar for colored Splenda and everyone will enjoy this yummy treat.

The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal

Always have a goal to reach.

"The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." Benjamin E. Mays

3 Ingredient Cookies

Our guest blogger this week is from a thrifty 20 something on a path to weight loss. She is going to share her 3 ingredient cookies.

I was home one night craving sweets and decided to try a recipe that was easy on the calories and affordable. I gathered the 3 ingredients I needed and started "baking". I say "baking", because the recipe was so easy that any one could do it without messing it up. 

1 Lean and Luscious Valentine's Day Dinner

For the past couple weeks I have been posting Valentine's Day themed recipes. Today is the day to take those recipes and prepare a Lean & Luscious meal for your loved ones. 

Menu

Salad

Mixed Greens with Lemon Rosemary Dressing

Main Course

Valentine's Day Pasta Sauce with Whole Grain Pasta

Dessert

Heavenly Chocolate Cake

Valentine's Day Pasta Sauce

You feel the wonderful tang on your lips when you enjoy this tasty sauce. Spoon it over your favorite pasta, and serve it to your loved one and Valentine's Day. They will be sure to feel the love coming from this dish. 

  

Makes 4 servings 

(½ cup each serving) 

                                                            

1            1-pound can salt-free (or regular) tomatoes, chopped and undrained 
1            8-ounce can salt-free (or regular) tomato sauce 
1            tablespoon tomato paste
2            cloves garlic, crushed 
½           teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
½           teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel 
½           teaspoon sugar 
¼           teaspoon dried basil
⅛           teaspoon pepper

              Salt to taste 

Put your future in good hands

Dream Big!

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.”–Mark Victor Hansen

10 Simple Healthy Snacks

Try some of my favorite Healthy Snacks with your family!

Heavenly Chocolate Cake

Replacing part of the sugar with corn syrup adds moistness to this chocolatey cake.  Yes, you can indulge in a heavenly dessert without a lot of fat.  Perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day!

Makes 8 servings

1          cup all-purpose flour

½         cup whole wheat flour

⅓         cup cocoa (unsweetened)

1          teaspoon baking powder

½         teaspoon baking soda

1          cup evaporated skim milk

¼         cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼         cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1          tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil

3          egg whites

1          teaspoon vanilla extract

¼         teaspoon almond extract

2          tablespoons fruit-only raspberry spread (optional)

1          teaspoon confectioners' sugar (optional) 

Success consists of

Take failure as encouragement.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”–Winston Churchill