Meat Mix

Here is a "mix" that I put together to use whenever I make anything with ground meat. We use ground turkey in our home but this can be made with ground beef as well (although I higly suggest making a switch to ground turkey :-) This recipe is great because for one, it tastes great, but I can also use it in MANY different types of meals. You can use this to make BURGERS, MEATBALLS, in TACOS, BURRITOS, TACO SOUP, TACO SALAD, SAUCES, CHILI, etc... it's wondeful! The other really great part is that since you are adding veggies and grains to the meat, you can get TWO MEALS out of this 1lb of meat!!!! One night I make burgers with it (8 burgers) and then when I am finished making the burgers I form the rest of the meat into mini meatballs, cook and freeze for another meal at a later time. Or I cook the rest of the meat to use in a sauce or soup (also freeze once cooked and cooled). So many benefits in one little recipe! I love this recipe and hope you do too!!

Meat Mix
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 cup finely chopped spinach
1 large carrot or zucchini finely chopped
½ small onion chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup oat bran
¼ cup flax seed – ground (can be done in a blender)

One more bite please!

I'm guessing we are all familier with the phrase "one more bite please" or "just one more bite", as we have probably heard it come out of our mouths more times than we can count, all in an effort to get our children to eat "one more bite" of something healthy. It can be difficult sometimes to get our children (or our spouses and even ourselves at times - just sayin ;-) to eat all the things that are good for us - or enough of them. A side of broccoli, a bowl of oatmeal, or a helping of beans may not be appealing to all children (or, lets be honest here, to US), but if it was integrated INTO their foods, they may never even know it was there to begin with! The way I cook helps us in two ways; one, it helps with the picky eaters in your family ("hide" things that are healthy in your meals), and two, it helps find creative and additional ways to get grains, veggies and beans into your meals - without compromising the taste!. I hope to be able to turn the table and start to hear children ask if they can have "one more bite please".

Weekly Recipe

I will be posting a new recipe each week. These recipes will usually be something that I come up with as I make dinner, but in some cases, may be something that I find that I just LOVE and have to share! The recipe for this week is APPLESAUCE. You may be thinking, "applesauce, that's odd." Let me tell you why (long story short, I will spare you the details... you're welcome)... my 2 1/2 year old daughter ate something that she found outside that should NOT have been eaten and well let's just say she has suffered the consequences for doing so. Actually we ALL have :-( All is well now - thankgoodness!! During this week she couldn't eat much so I made her some applesauce that would be nutritious and easy on her tummy (ok I ate some too :-)

Ingredients:

2 medium apples (any kind) - cored (I keep the peel on for extra nutrition) and cut into chunks

2 tablespoons oat bran

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (if desired)

Directions:

Steam apples for approx. 10 mins or until tender

Place apples in blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until desired consistency.

*note- you may need to add a little water to reach your desired consistency

Makes approx 1 1/2 cups applesauce

Ideas:

*serve warm or cold

*if you like your applesauce sweeter, add some honey or organic sugar

*for an extra boost of nutrition, add 1/4 cup of pureed veggie like zucchini or carrot (you wont taste it- yum!)

How to get started - Nothing Fancy!

Start filling up your cupboard! Here is what I do (basically)... I bought storage containers ( Walmart and Target have inexpensive ones. I also re-use containers from other items when finished with them), filled them with the grains that I use (purchased from stores that sell bulk grain items - like Winco, Sunflower Market, and Whole Foods), and labeled them. Ta-da!!

The grains I usually use and have in stock are:

Oat Bran

Wheat Bran

Oatmeal

Flax seeds (whole and ground)

Barly

Brown Rice

Wheat

Quinoa (Keen-wah)

Vegetable Protein

There are many more grains out there, but these are the ones I use for now.