Cooking and Recipes

One of the biggest things that we struggle with is what to cook. Cooking is day in and day out and it gets old quickly. I wanted to give you a few pointers for success!
1. It is really important to get rid of old cookbooks that do not include the statistics. Why eat a dish that is 1000 calories when there is a lower version for 300 calories.
2. Some of my favorite cookbooks are ones that are written for Diabetics (they eat the way most of us should), Fresh meals with mostly fresh veggies Cookbooks, Mediterranean cookbooks, and Cookbooks for Low carb meals. Go for the ones with lots of photos so you can see how great the veggies look. Don't be afraid to add extra veggies that you have on hand or make substitutions!
3. Cook a soup meal with a broth base at least once a week. Add your meat and tons of frozen or fresh veggies and maybe some brown rice or pearl barley and fresh cilantro, parsley or cilantro (really any herbs you love). Cook a huge pot of soup and you have your lunches for the rest of the week. If you make a vegetable soup you can serve it as part of your meal for the rest of the week in a small soup bowl that can count as one of your veggies.
4. Cook at least one meal using only beans or lentils. I make white chili, tortilla soup or chili at least once a week. Once again make a huge pot and use the leftovers for lunches.
5. Grab some grated or sliced veggies to use in your meals. I buy grated carrots, cabbage, broccoli slaw, and I always have bags of frozen grated zucchini that I have on hand to use for quick meals. You can find lots of ready made veggies for less money than you think. I put cabbage in all of my soups and we have coleslaw weekly. Also use the broccoli slaw as salads or in soups. I use the zucchini in tacos, soups, and spaghetti sauces. I call it my stealthy healthy. So far no one has realized that our tacos contain zucchini! Hope they are not blog reading or there could be trouble!!!
6. Make your meals simple. Many times I will quarter an orange on each persons plate or chunked fresh pineapple, strawberries or any fruit.
7. Try making salads with no lettuce. Our favorite salad is chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and a few green olives and cilantro with Trader Joe's balsamic vinaigrette. Very quick!
8. I make tons of stir fries. This is my go to meal when I can't think. I just pull out what ever fresh veggies I have on hand and chop them and cook them each separate till they are crisp. Stir fry your meat and then add everything back in and add Yoshida's sauce and your meal is done. I do not even serve rice always and we love it.
Hope this Helps! My chicken/veggie soup is done! Happy cooking!