HAPPY THURSDAY POST!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

I stumbled upon a great website and article online that I wanted to share with you. It is located at this link: http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm

Read it all the way through -- it has TONS of great information. I also liked some of the information in the links on the left hand side of the page from that link. The links will absolutely take you HOURS to go through and it has TONS of great recipes through all the different links, so you might want to bookmark this as one of your favorites so that when you are feeling "weak" you can sit down and read more on this website. I LOVE THE RECIPES!

They have some far-out recipes but they also have some really good ones --- try this one -- it is healthier for you than you would first think - I made it last night and it was yummy!

Fettucine with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1/2 lb (250 g ) mushrooms, sliced
1 leek, sliced - I LEFT THIS OUT -- don't even know what it is!
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) all-purpose flour
1 can (385 mL) 2% evaporated milk (SEE NOTE BELOW FOR HOW HEALTHY THIS IS)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried thyme
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
1 pkg (375 g) fettuccine (TRY WHOLE WHEAT FETTUCINE - YUMMY)
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley (try growing your own herbs at home -- lots cheaper)

Preparation Steps:
In saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, leek and garlic; cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms release liquid.
Stir in flour; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Add thyme and pepper; continue to cook, whisking, for 5 minutes or until thickened.
In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente. Drain
Toss pasta with mushroom sauce. Garnish with parsley.
Makes 4 servings Per serving: Calcium 323 mg

The evaporated milk in this sauce is the secret to the heavenly richness. Evaporated milk gives double the calcium while providing the velvety texture of whipping cream but without the fat. For a real treat, use a mixture of white, cremini and portobello mushrooms for an intense mushroom flavour.

Also, don't forget my favorite breakfast food -- especially in the summertime, but my family loves them ALL THE TIME! FRUIT SMOOTHIES! I never put ice cream in them -- I just put yogurt (plain or with fruit) -- low fat of course. Add whatever fruits I have on hand (I like to buy fresh fruit during the summer at the markets and freeze them to add to my smoothies while frozen), some chunked ice and there you go! Durrell prefers that I put his in the freezer and he has it for a mid-day snack -- frozen smoothie! So, it is a good snack when you come home from work too and takes a long time to eat, so it is very satisfying while you are watching tv, etc.

Fruit smoothies are SO easy to make -- two minutes and they are ready to drink/eat, depending upon how thick you like them. They are the perfect on the run breakfast food. When I have a smoothie for breakfast, that is ALL I have -- that is all I need. Very filling.

One more thing -- add other healthy things to your smoothies as well -- flax (very healthy for you, but you would need to grind some up ahead of time in a coffee grinder, not a food processor and have it ready in a ziplock bag in your fridge), wheat grass (that is a topic for another day -- incredibly good for you), and anything else that you can think of that is healthy for you. The neat thing about nutrition is that there are so many things that you can add to your meals that don't alter the flavor or texture, but add a boost of healthy to it. Start looking on the internet -- wheat grass, flax seed, bee pollen, vitamin c, vitamin d, and the list goes on and on and on....

OK, there is enough info to read on the linked website, so I will shut up now.

HAVE A HAPPY DAY -- Raining over here, so it's on its way to you in a day or two.....

Susie