How To Create A Well-Balanced Dinner Menu
You’re running a tight schedule while trying to eat healthy and lose weight. At the same time, your looking after your spouse and maybe even a teen or two.
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You’re excited about feasting on steamed vegetables with an egg white omelet for dinner tonight. Don’t dare try serving the same to your meat and potato guy or growing, ravenous teen.
Skimping on dinner will not get you too far. You don’t get the proper energy and nutrition and chances are you’ll be heading back to the refrigerator or pantry a short while later.
Contrary to popular belief, eating a well-balanced meal every night will, in fact, lend a hand in losing weight by putting a brake o the endless after-meal snacking habit. An added bonus- you’re setting a great example for others around you by modeling healthy eating habits. All who are present together at the same dinner table should be eating the same healthy menu. ...continue reading
Dinner Menu Planning
Find yourself scrambling for suppers this time of year? Taking 10 minutes a week out of your busy schedule and charting your dinner menu will save you time, not to mention money and stress the rest of the week.
Use a spreadsheet to make three columns: main, grain and vegetable. At this time of year, you should probably add a fourth column for soup. Feel free to add as many columns as you feel necessary.
Jot down all the possible options that you can think of under the proper header. In place of writing potatoes, be specific and list baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, hash browns etc. The greater the variation the better!
Once you’re done listing all the dishes you can think of, organize the list in order of preference. Place the foods that you and your family prefer and that will take the least time to prepare at the top of the list.
Now that we have the list in order, it’s time to plug it in to your chart. Create the chart by placing the days of the week in a column down the left side and placing the soup, main, grain and vegetables in the row across the top.
Things to keep in mind when charting your menu: ...continue reading
Delectable Pepper Steak Medley
Pepper steak is a sure-fire hit, a family favorite. Very tender and flavorful, this recipe is definitely the best pepper steak I have yet to taste.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pepper steak
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon onion soup mix
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon ginger (optional)
1 red pepper, sliced
½ green pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup water ...continue reading
Classic Meatloaf
I used to think of meatloaf as ‘blah’. Not anymore. This classic meatloaf is good, juicy and flavorful. Combining two different types of ground meat lends more depth to the overall flavor. Need a great side dish for meatloaf? String beans and roasted potatoes work wonders.
Ingredients:
1/3-1/2 cup bread crumbs
2-1/2 tablespoons milk or soy, preferably unsweetened
1/2 cup ketchup
1 pound chopped meat
1 pound chopped turkey
1 small onion chopped (sautéed, if desired)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or dijonnaise
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 egg