Category — General

Many of you are familiar with the ever popular “The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals“.  Here is a fantastic recipe from Missy Chase Lapine that your kids will love!

White Puree

2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets

2 small to medium zucchini, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

3 to4 tablespoons water, if necessary

Steam cauliflower in a vegetable steamer over 2 inches of water, using a tightly covered pot, for about 10 to 12 minutes until very tender.  Alternatively, place cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with water, and microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes until very tender.

While waiting for the cauliflower to finish steaming, start to pulse the raw peeled zucchini with the lemon juice only (no water at this point).  Drain the cooked cauliflower.  Working in batches if necessary, add it to the pulsed zucchini in the bowl of the food processor with 2 tablespoons of water.  Puree on high until smooth.  Stop occasionally and push contents from the top to the bottom.  If necessary, add the rest of the water to make a smooth puree.

Double the recipe if you want to store even more, which can be done in the refrigerator for up to three days, or freeze 1/4-cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.

Add this mixture to mac n’ cheese, soup, stew, pasta sauces, dips (like hummus), tuna salad, even hamburgers!

Summer fruit is like candy (especially when frozen!).  Pick up some raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.  They’re packed with fiber, vitamin C and potassium.  Color!  Color!  Color!

Have you ever wondered how to pick out a terrific melon?  When picking out a cantaloupe, make sure the spot where the stem was is smooth, slightly soft, and yummy smelling.  Watermelon should be round and smooth and make a hollow sound when you tap on it.

A careful “Rainbow on Your Plate” reader has alerted me to a botched link on the July 29 posting, “Let’s all UP our calcium intake!”  An overdue correction has been made, so make sure you revisit the article and take a look at the link – once again.  Thanks for the heads-up!

Come see us at the Whole Foods Market in Swampscott today, July 10 from 4:00-6:00 and at the Whole Foods Market in Newtonville tomorrow, July 11 from 12:00-2:00.

What summer BBQ is complete without Indigo Rabbit cookies???

A diet rich in a wide variety of vegetables has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain forms of cancer.  Here are just a few ways to make sure you’re getting the most benefit from those veggies on your plate.

First, save money by buying what’s in season.  The summer months are a great time to enjoy tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, greens, eggplant, corn, peas and peppers.

Another tip – wait to wash, chop or slice your veggies until you’re ready to use them.  Doing this prep work too far in advance causes loss of nutrients.

As far as preparation – use the least amount of water in cooking as possible.  Steaming your vegetables is a wonderful way to maintain color, lock in the vitamins, enhance flavor and for some vegetables like broccoli and cawliflower, steaming makes the texture more appealing to some.  Also, try sprinkling on some fresh parmesan or asiago cheese for a yummy flavor boost!

If you’re in Connecticut this weekend, come by Whole Foods to enjoy free samples of Indigo Rabbit cookies on Saturday, June 6!

Glastonbury, CT     10-12

Bishop’s Corner, CT     1-3

Be sure to pick up your favorites for all those graduation parties, BBQ’s, picnics, and end-of-school celebrations.  They’re delicious, nutritious, allergy-friendly, and packaged in terrific “grab n’ go pouches”!

We hear all the time that our kids are getting too much sugar.  Sugar in foods provides us with empty calories, calories that are not equipped to serve any healthful function within our bodies.  It can be found on labels in many forms – fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose – basically anything ending in “-ose”. 

I work with kids a lot and have started having fun with a terrific exercise I found in the February 2009 edition of Family Fun magazine entitled “Beat the Sugar Blues”. 

A brilliant young man, 13 years old, did a demonstration of common foods and their corresponding sugar contents by utilizing sugar cubes (2 grams of sugar per cube).  There are no daily reference values for sugar, but a good rule of thumb is 48 grams per day MAX.  That’s 12 teaspoons/12 sugar packets/6 sugar cubes. 

According to the article, a 20oz bottle of soda contains 17 teaspoons of sugar = 17 sugar packets = 34 sugar cubes = 68 GRAMS OF SUGAR!   The pioneer of this Family Fun article built a WALL of sugar cubes to illustrate his point.  A Hi-C Juice Box has 6 teaspoons of sugar/6 sugar packets/> 12 sugar cubes.  That’s ONE item in a kid’s lunch box! 

Get out your calculator and try this out at home.

The longer the ingredient list, the more processed and unhealthy the food is.

A brilliant mom entrepreneur friend of mine has just launched an on-line and email publication for moms.  She calls it “Momicillin” (penicillin for moms).  The writers are extraordinary and every post leaves me laughing out loud at my desk (and not at all embarrassed about it!).

You’ve got to read Lisa’s latest post to meet yourself through her words.  Really – a must read!  And let the laughs be loud.

My name is Sandy.  I’m writing as a mom, as a busy business owner, and as a woman striving for health and balance for the folks who live in my house. This blog will be full of tips on how to be smart about what you eat – and what you feed your children; why it’s important to “eat a rainbow of colors”; and even why it’s OK to eat ice cream sometimes. I will share recipes, tricks, label reading advice and more.