Gretchen Scalpi, RDN

Everywhere we go someone is talking about, preparing or eating avocado toast!  It’s become a thing!  Why is everyone obsessed with avocado toast and how do you make it?  Inquiring minds want to know!

First of all, we’ve talked about avocados in two previous posts:

Summertime Avocado Recipes
Avocados: Any Variety You Use Is Good Bet!

Everyone agrees that an avocado is an excellent addition to your healthy diet.  The nutritional advantages of avocados are numerous including good fats, Vitamins A, C, D, K and E, folate and potassium.

So why the obsession?  No one knows for sure but it probably became popular because of the nutritional  value combined with the fact that it is easy to make.  In order to keep avocado toast on the healthy side it is important to choose a whole-grain bread without  added chemicals, artificial color and flavors  or preservatives.

There are dozens of options for making avocado toast.  Following are a few recipes we thought you might enjoy:

California Avocado Toast Three Ways
My Go-To Avocado Toast
Sweet Mango Avocado Toast
Avocado Toast With Heirloom Tomato and Balsamic Drizzle

Tags: Avocado Toast, avocados

Everyone has heard of Meatless Monday but they may not know that eating less meat may reduce the risk of diseases like cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and obesity. The other benefit to eating less meat is that your food budget will shrink. Meat is usually much more expensive than other foods.

Meatless Monday is a nod to the World War I food rationing and was launched internationally in 2003. The theme focuses on encouraging individuals and families to have one day where recipes will not include meat.

We have compiled a list of meatless recipes that can get you started on your journey to Meatless Mondays.

Sunrise Citrus Salad
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Lots of Kale
Veggie Loaded Pizza
Creamy Polenta Bowl with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes and Zucchini
Wild Rice Bowl with Red Lentil Curry and Spinach
Veggie & Quinoa Quesadilla with Lime Slaw

Tags: Meatless Monday, meatless recipes, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes

Summer has arrived and we thought we would do a roundup of all of our summertime posts.  This gives you all the recipes we have covered in past summertime blog posts.  Enjoy!

Healthy Hot Weather Recipes

Summertime Avocado Recipes

Warm Weather Slow Cooker Recipes

June Is Georgia Blueberry Month

Fruit Salad Recipes

Fruit Salsa For Summer

Tags: summer recipes, warm weather recipes

Our modern, hectic and stressful lives make it very difficult to eat a balanced diet. You know that too much sugar is not good for you but you don’t know how to banish it from your life.  Sugar is added to just about all processed foods and you rely on them too much to feed your family.  We’ve done some research and have come up with some simple changes you can help you get the sugar out of your diet.

• Stop eating so much processed foods and cook more at home.
• Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.
• If you must buy processed food read the labels and choose the version with the least amount of sugar.
• Get rid of sugar, syrup, honey, cereal, cookies, ice cream, candy from your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.
• Get rid of soda and drink more water and unsweetened tea and coffee.
• Experiment with recipes by reducing the amount of sugar you normally use.
• Replace sugar with spices.
• Instead of having sweetened cereal in the morning have plain yogurt or oatmeal with fresh fruit.
• If you like fruit juice use fresh fruit and squeeze your own.
• Make your own sauces and salad dressing.
• Cut back or eliminate alcohol from your diet.

These are our simple tips to reduce or eliminate sugar from your diet.  Let us know your tips and we’ll add them to this list!

Tags: nutrition, reduce sugar, sugar, sweetened

March is National Frozen Food Month and traditionally that means that certain brands will offer new products, coupons and discounts during the month.  Their goal is to increase sales and brand recognition but your goal should be to learn how to use frozen food to supplement your diet of fresh and canned food.

In some areas it is especially hard to get fruits and vegetables during the winter.  Supplementing your diet with frozen vegetables like corn, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc. can stretch your options but check the packages to make sure there are no added chemicals or sugar.

Use frozen fruit like any kind of berries, sliced peaches, whole or sliced strawberries freeze well.  Make sure that nothing has been added before the fruit was frozen.

Another option exists for people who grow their own fruits and vegetables.  Freeze or can them yourself.  There are many excellent tutorials on the internet to teach you how to do this!

Remember that canned and frozen foods are best used to supplement your diet and not become a staple themselves!

Tags: frozen food, frozen fruit, frozen vegetables

February is American Heart Month and it brings with it an awareness that what we put into our body and how much we eat impacts our heart health.  We can talk about low fat food, gluten-free food, low carb diets, etc. but we should consider other health options like mindful eating.

What is mindful eating?  I’m glad you asked.  When you practice mindful eating you focus on the food and the enjoyment that comes from eating it.  You also learn to pay attention to your level of hunger and any triggers that might cause you to overeat.

There are so many excellent resources online where you can learn how to become a mindful eater and we’ve listed a few of our favorites below.

The Center for Mindful Eating
12 Mindful Eating Tips That Will Change Your Relationship With Food
Mindful Eating: 5 Easy Tips To Get Started
6 Ways to Practice Mindful Eating
What is Mindful Eating? – Am I Hungry?
Psychology Today – Mindful Eating
6 Ways to Become a Mindful Eater

Tea is a drink that has been around for thousands of years.  No one knows for sure where tea harvesting originated but it seems that it originated in China as a concoction used for medicinal purposes.  We have to thank the British for making tea a daily popular drink in the 17th century and they used India for tea production in order to compete with the Chinese.

Tea is incredibly popular today and is used in medicine as well as a hot and cold beverage.  You can find tea in many flavors available in loose tea leaves, tea bags, bottled or in cans.  However, the true way to enjoy tea is to make it at home.  Following are some our favorite tea recipes.

Slow Cooker Chai
Elderberry Tea
Pumpkin Spice Tea
Vanilla Green Tea Latte
Lemon Mint Iced Tea
Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte

Tags: hot tea drinks, National Hot Tea Month

August is American Adventures Month. The United States of America is a diverse country with lakes, deserts, plains, mountains, canyons and land yet undeveloped. There is so much to see and appreciate but what happens when you can’t take an adventure right now?

Your entire family can embark on an American Adventure by celebrating our diverse cuisine. Use the healthy recipes below to create an American Adventure feast!

Weight Watchers Yankee Pot Roast Dinner
Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions
Perfectly Roasted New York Strip Recipe
Strawberry Italian Ice Recipe
Tropical Fruit Salad
Chicken Pot Pie
Rice Pudding
Healthy, Easy Guacamole Recipe
Healthy Sweet Potato Pie
Healthier Apple Pie by Grandma Ople
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Tags: American Adventure Month, american cuisine, healthy recipes

Winter felt like it was determined to hang on and on this year and even Southern Californians were still shivering in May.  Now that it’s June it really feels like summer has arrived.  It’s hot, hot, hot!  Cooking can be such a chore in the summer even if you really like to cook.  Following are some of our favorite healthy summer recipes that will beat the heat!

Grilled Mango With Jalapenos
Seared Steak With Chard Salad
Baja-Style Rosemary Chicken Skewers
Linguine with Tomatoes, Baby Zucchini and Herbs
Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
BBQ Chicken with Peach and Feta Slaw
Avocado and Chicken Caprese Salad
Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers
Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Tags: healthy eat, summer cooking, summer recipes

An avocado is a berry with a large pit and grows on a tree also called avocado.  Avocados grow in Mediterranean climates around the world.  The nutritional advantages of avocados are numerous including good fats, Vitamins A, C, D, K and E, folate and potassium. They are incredibly versatile and easy to include in your diet.   Following are some of our favorite avocado recipes!

Avocado and Blueberry Fruit Salad
Avocado and Melon Breakfast Smoothie
Firecracker Guacamole
Avocado Strawberry + Goat Cheese Sandwich
Avocado and Tuna Tapas

Tags: avocados