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Dinner Strategies

The Health Benefits of Beans

Submitted by Staff on Tue, 2010-08-03 13:25
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Beans contain a wider variety of nutrients than most foods, including calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium, folate, and alpha-linolenic acid. Beans are also a great source of complete proteins which are necessary for the normal functioning of the body.
Beans are a fabulous source of fiber!  In fact, a cup of beans has twice as much fiber as a cup of most vegetables.  Beans provide a major source of soluble fiber, which, when passing through the digestive tract grabs and traps bile that contains cholesterol, removing it from the body before it’s absorbed.  Eating a cup of beans a day will lower cholesterol and decrease risk for heart disease by as much as 22%.  The high fiber also makes you feel full so you eat less throughout the day, helping with weight maintenance.  The soluble fiber in beans also helps to decrease insulin resistance, the starting point for Type 2 Diabetes.  Beans are also a great source of insoluble fiber which increases stool bulk and decreases the risk of constipation and hemorrhoids.
Beans also contain compounds called isoflavins which help prevent normal cells from turning cancerous.  Soybeans contain phytoestrogens which are thought to decrease the risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Shopping and Cooking from the Farmers’ Market, with the Kids

Submitted by Staff on Wed, 2010-06-30 15:25
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“My kids are so picky.”  “My son won’t eat anything green.”  “All she’ll eat is celery”.  The complaints from parents are endless and frustrating.  We all hope to have that kid who eats everything, without complaining, but does he really exist?  Probably not, but there are a few things we can do to expand kids’ horizons a bit.  For starters, shop and cook with your kids.

With farmers’ markets popping up everywhere from Spokane to Tallahassee it’s easy to find out what’s in season in your town.  Cooking with the seasons means the freshest produce at reasonable prices.  Take some time to find your local farmers’ market and schedule a field trip with your kids.  Before you go, tell them that they get to pick out what you’ll make. If they’re old enough you can even give them the money to buy it.  You’ll be amazed at what that little bit of empowerment will do!

8 Ways to Get Kids Involved in the Kitchen

Submitted by Staff on Mon, 2010-05-10 21:14
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Between Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, wonderful nutrition messages about getting our children involved and excited about real, nutritious food are starting to get out there.  Seeing young kids who were unable to identify a potato, eggplant or even tomato was certainly an eye-opener for me!  One of the first steps we can take to get younger generations excited about food is simply to get them involved when we cook.  This way, they will start to understand and enjoy the process of making a hearty and nutritious meal from scratch, and carry these lessons throughout their lives.

1. Teach them where their food comes from. Take them with you to the farmer’s market or start planting your own vegetable garden; help them realize that food doesn’t come from a box!

2. Make decisions together.  Allow them to choose two favorite fruits or vegetables the next time you’re out shopping for food so they can feel like part of the grocery experience.

grocery store3. Educate along the way.  Sneak in some fun facts about fruits and veggies while you’re cooking or shopping, or tell them stories about favorite meals you had growing up.

Tips for Cooking the Turkey & Roasting Times Chart

Submitted by Staff on Tue, 2009-11-10 12:27
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Tips for cooking a Perfect Turkey with Safe handling instructions.

1. Set the oven temperature to 325 °F.

2. Make sure the turkey is completely thawed. Roasting times are based on fresh or completely thawed turkeys.

3. Place turkey breast-side up on a flat wire rack in a shallow roasting pan.  If pan does not have a rack, make a sturdy 2-piece “lifter” from heavy duty reynolds wrap, long enough to safely lift the turkey from the pan once it has cooled.

4. For shorter cooking times,  cook stuffing in a casserole. Mix ingredients just before stuffing a turkey and stuff loosely.

5. For food safety and test for doneness, the internal temperature should be checked with a meat thermometer. Temperature must reach 180 °F in the thigh of a turkey (center of the stuffing should reach 165 °F)

6. Juices should run clear. In the absence of a meat thermometer, pierce an unstuffed turkey with a fork in several places - the juices should be clear with no trace of pink.

7. Let the turkey stand 20 minutes before removing stuffing.  Let stand another 10 minutes before carving.

APPROXIMATE COOKING TIMES

UNSTUFFED

  • 4 to 6 lb breast…..1 1/2 to 2 1/4 hrs
  • 6 to 8 lb breast…2 1/4 to 3 1/4 hrs
  • 8 to 12 lbs…………….2 3/4 to 3 hrs
  • 12 to 14 lbs…………..3 to 3 3/4 hrs
  • 14 to 18 lbs……..3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hrs
  • 18 to 20 lbs……..4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hrs
  • 20 to 24 lbs…………..4 1/2 to 5 hrs

STUFFED

Get Dinner on the Table in Thirty Minutes or Less with the Six o'Clock Scramble Cookbook

Submitted by Staff on Fri, 2010-04-23 09:34
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I dread dinner time. Mostly because I'm never prepared. Dinner time sneaks up on me and I'm left with hungry, cranky children and a blank mind as to what to fix for dinner. Avivia Goldfarb's Six O'clock Scramble to the rescue!

Her book contains easy to prepare recipes organized into weekly menus that can be made in thirty minutes or less. Having a weekly menu plan means you will only have to shop once a week, saving even more of your valuable time. The recipes are designed to please both adults and finicky children. Everything is homemade with a little help from prepared or packaged foods. Recipes include a vegetarian main course option each week, meals that kids can help prepare, complete nutritional information for each recipe plus ideas for fun foods for lunchboxes, after-school snacks and weekend get-togethers.

Imagine how easy this book can make dinner time become! Knowing ahead of time exactly what you will be making for dinner makes a world of difference. No more scrambling at dinner time!

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Ten Strategies to Get Through Dinner Tonight with Kids

Submitted by kpfitch on Sun, 2008-04-20 20:00
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Is dinner time at your house often chaotic and busy? Is it difficult to get a healthy meal together fast and keep your kids entertained? I am a parent with 3 young children, a busy household, work and extracurricular activities, and I know it can be a challenge to get dinner on the table, make it healthy, keep my kids occupied and keep myself sane through dinner preparation, dinner-time and cleaning up. To help our family get through dinner time we use the strategies I will list below. They definitely help our family.

I have 10 dinner-time or meal time strategies that can help your family make it through mealtime with less tantrums, stress and a lot more fun.

The first 5 strategies can be used everyday to help get through dinner time. The last 5 may be ideas you can add once or twice a week to make mealtime more fun, get your kids excited about a special night or for a special evening. Some of the ideas may not be new to you or you may not be using them regularly, but I find having a routine, even at dinner time, does help keep my kids calm and engaged at dinner time.

    1. Involve your kids in Dinner Preparation
    2. Let your kids Help Plan the Meal or Pick a Side.
    3. Give each child a Small Job to do Before and After Dinner
    4. Play a Game during Dinner
    5. Opposite Day or Reverse Day
    6. Shapes and Colors Meal
    7. Give them a New Printable Activity before Dinner
    8. King or Queen for a Meal
    9. Themed Meals
    10. 1 Dish Wonders and No Utensils

Extras:

    Dunk and Dip Fun
    Let them Play with their Food

1. Involve your kids in Dinner Preparation-

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