Halloween Healthy Eating Treats!

These last few days before Halloween are filled with excitement and opportunities for lots of good fun. We enjoy our after Supper walk even more this time of year! Breathing in the cool, crisp Autumn air. The colorful displays of Halloween decorations adorning our streets is a welcome sight. Ghosts and goblins hanging from trees. Pumpkins and mums grace countless front porches. Front yards turned into make-shift graveyards.

Autumn colors are in full swing across many parts of North America this week. Rich shades of crimson and burnt oranges, Fading greens turning into bright yellows. Trees ablaze with reds of every shade.

Later this week school hallways, shopping malls and streets will be brimming with excited trick-or-treaters. All wearing this year’s spooky costumes! They'll be carrying those colorful plastic jack-o-lanterns to hold all their treats. School teachers and legions of volunteers are busy preparing for Halloween parties!

Haunted Houses, Spooky Mansions, Corn mazes and Pumpkin patches offer Autumn fun for kids of all ages! Fall is such a fun-filled and beautiful time of year.

Autumn is the perfect season to savor the fruits of another plentiful harvest. Healthy eating is fun and easy during this wonderful time of the year. Apples of every variety fill store shelves. Squash, Peppers, tomatoes, and fresh vegetables galore. Pumpkins are very inexpensive this month and quite nutritious too. Try some roasted pumpkin seeds after you carve up that Jack-o-Lantern! Or, try this easy pumpkin bread!

So enjoy this special time of year eating healthy foods! Try your hand at an easy and tasty chili. Or how about a delicious pumpkin recipe? Whatever your favorite Halloween tradition, here's hoping you and your family will have a safe, healthy, and Happy Halloween!

Halloween Chili and Brats

As these last few days before Halloween speed by we may soon get our first frost of the season. Many in the northern states have already waken up to frost or even snow covered yards.

Autumn is a perfect time to enjoy a healthy, warm bowl of chili! Eating healthy is so easy during these cooler Autumn days! Make some extra and enjoy the leftovers all week long! Or whenever you want a quick bowl of great tasting warm chili!

For an easy meal you can prepare in minutes, try this:

In a two or three quart sauce pan, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and turn the burner up to medium.

Swirl the olive oil around the bottom of the pan. ( This keeps the food from sticking and makes clean up a snap! )

Add a couple cloves of pressed or chopped garlic.

Pour in one 16 oz can of chili beans ( Try the Hot ones - they are sure to warm you up! )

Add one little can of Rotel tomatoes. ( diced tomatoes with chopped green peppers )

Add one can of your favorite canned chili. (We use the inexpensive store brand)

Optional - add a hot link.

Cover and heat on a medium or low setting - depending on how soon you want to eat!

Let it cook for at least 10 or 15 minutes. When you start to see bubbles at the top it should be ready to enjoy! ( Or, if you're really in a hurry, toss it in the microwave for 4 minutes. )

Enjoy with cornbread or spoon over grilled brats. YUM!

For a nice Saturday or Sunday meal to enjoy while watch the game try this tasty Three Bean Healthy Chili!

Keep eating healthy and enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Happy Halloween!

Tasty Ham n Beans

Autumn is a great time of year to enjoy a tummy warming bowl of your favorite soup. Around our house we enjoy a simple and easy to make, pot of ham and beans. While pork is not exactly the most nutritious meat around - it can sure help make those. beans taste great!

What you'll need

a (small) bag of navy beans.
a couple ham hocks.
a pound of cubed ham
a small bag of baby carrots
a small bunch of celery
an onion.
1 small can of bean and bacon soup.

Pick through beans to remove bad beans. Rinse beans thoroughly.

Soak the beans overnight

then in the morning:

In a 5-quart pot, mix beans, water, onion, celery and bay leaves. Bring to boil, then reduce heat.

Put the can of bean and bacon soup in a large crock pot. Add the beans, ham hocks, cubed ham, celery, and carrots. Add water. Cook on low for at least four hours.

Add 1/2 cup maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Eating Healthy Super Foods and More Fiber

Just read the average American is not getting nearly enough fiber in their daily diet. Small wonder. It is so easy to stop by a fast food eatery and grab a bunch of fat - neatly disguised as tasty food. And those donuts I so thoroughly enjoyed this morning were hardly what even the most generous nutritionist might call healthy!

Luckily we can easily add healthy fiber to our daily healthy eating habits without too much trouble!

Keep a bowl of apples handy and toss one into your bag before you head out for work or school. Keep some celery ( preferably organic - if you can find some ) in your refrigerator! Add some dried cranberries to your next salad. And a half cup of black beans. The options are nearly endless.

Try this healthy, easy to make salad with your next meal:

what you'll need:
1 bag of washed baby spinach (about 10 cups)
2 medium sliced apples ( we like Jonathon apples in the Fall. )
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 can of dark red kidney beans - or black beans.
3/4 cup vinaigrette dressing

Mix everything in a big salad serving bowl and enjoy!

Try to include a variety of colors in your daily selection of vegetables and fruits. Dark colors - like those found in Concord Grapes, blueberries and cranberries - seem to offer more antioxidants.

Eating healthy superfoods and adding more fiber to your diet will have you feeling better in no time! Health professionals agree - the quickest way to lose weight and keep it off is a daily habit of exercise and eating healthy!

Eating Healthy Fats

A little fat goes a long way! All sources of fat contain 9 calories per gram, making fat the most concentrated source of calories. By comparison, carbohydrates and protein have only 4 calories per gram.

Fat is a major source of energy for the body and aids in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K, and carotenoids. Both animal- and plant-derived food products contain fat, and when eaten in moderation, fat is important for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health.

As a food ingredient, fat provides taste, consistency, and stability and helps you feel full. In addition, parents should be aware that fats are an especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers (up to 2 years of age), who have the highest energy needs per unit of body weight of any age group.

While unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are beneficial when consumed in moderation, saturated and trans fats are not. Saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Dietary cholesterol also raises LDL cholesterol and may contribute to heart disease even without raising LDL. Therefore, it is a good idea to opt for foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.

The good news is - You can still enjoy a healthy diet without all those harmful fats!

Foods rich in omega-3 fats include salmon, sardines, tuna and other cold water fish. Avoid farm raised fish - they are usually exposed to too many chemicals. Walnuts and flaxseeds also have omega 3 fats. Some nutrition experts suggest that Walnuts are good for the brain! Soybeans and winter squash are also good for you.

And, of course - Extra Virgin Olive Oil is simply the best oil to cook with! Avoid peanut, and vegetable oils.

The quickest way to lose weight is so easy. Combine the habit of eating healthy foods with plenty of exercise. Start getting in shape fast and watch your health improve!