Guest post by: Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD & Liz Weiss, MS, RD
Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen (http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/)
As dietitians and moms, we understand how hard it can be to get nutritious and delicious meals on the table that everyone will happily eat. We have four kids between us, and trust us, when mealtime rolls around they can be picky.
Over the years, we’ve created helpful mealtime tools for busy families including our cookbook, The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers, our weekly Cooking with the Moms radio podcast, and our blog. The recipes we share are all family friendly and familiar -- spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, macaroni & cheese, quiche, mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies – but they’ve all been “made over” to be a whole lot healthier.
Giving your family a healthy meal makeover doesn’t mean your food will be bland or boring or that you have to give up your favorite foods (even chewy, gooey cookies are okay as long as you bake with some whole wheat flour, good-for-you oils such as canola, and heart-healthy EB eggs). To give your recipes a makeover, try some of the following cooking strategies:
· Add vegetables such as shredded carrots or finely diced red bell pepper to main dishes to increase the amount of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (plant nutrients), and fiber.
· Use ground flaxseed and whole grains -- whole wheat flour, wheat germ, oats – in baked goods to increase the nutrients and fiber.
· Cook with Eggland’s Best eggs to lower the saturated fat, increase the vitamin E and omega-3 fats for heart health, and up the lutein for eye health.
· Add chopped nuts to baked goods to increase the nutrients and good-for-you fats.
· Switch to lowfat dairy and lean meats to lower the saturated fat and calories.
· Chose convenience foods wisely to provide desperately needed shortcuts in the kitchen without the addition of trans fats or too much sodium.
· Replace butter, margarine, and shortening with healthier oils such as canola oil and olive oil to reduce the saturated fat and trans fats.
· Kept a watchful eye on portion sizes to keep the calories in check.
For our nutritious, kid-friendly quiche makeover, we use whole grain bread, Eggland’s Best eggs, and frozen winter squash. Check out the Cutie Quiche Cakes recipe by clicking here