Blog – Page 42 of 66 – Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes

Fennel Recipe: What is Fennel and how do I use it?

November 26, 2018July 16, 2021 by Corinne Goudreault

Fennel is a white, bulb-shaped root vegetable that grows with lovely fronds (the fronds look similar to dill). Maybe you haven’t ever heard of it, or maybe you’ve heard that it tastes like licorice and were scared away from trying it (try roasting it!). But fennel is an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber; provides wonderful antioxidants, and is even thought to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Fennel is a wonderful vegetable because the bulb, stalk, and fronds are all edible and delicious! I often buy mine at Trader Joe’s, which sells it simply in a package with two bulbs.

Recently, I tried a new roasted vegetable recipe for the winter. It was so delicious that I think it would make anyone love fennel – and was super easy to put together! Remember – roasting is not an exact science, so it’s even easier than other recipes. I switched out the red onion for a yellow one because it’s what I had on hand, and I only had a 1lb bag of carrots, so I used that instead of the full amount called for. Enjoy!

roasted carrot and fennel

Roasted Carrots and Fennel

Ingredients:

2 lbs medium carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise, then in half again
1 large fennel bulb, cut into ½ inch wedges
1 large onion, cut into ½ inch wedges (I use white or yellow but red will be good too, whatever you have on hand)
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large bowl, combine carrots, fennel, onion, and lemon.
Mix oil, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper; drizzle over carrot mixture and toss to coat.
Transfer to foil-lined large baking sheets.
Roast for around 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender, tossing occasionally.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 139 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 262mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate (9g sugars, 6g fiber), 2g protein.

Be Healthy, Positive, and Thankful!

November 22, 2018November 19, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

What are you thankful for today? What have you accomplished, overcome or experienced this year that has really put a smile on your face?

Thanksgiving Day is always a fun time for me to hang out with my family, eat a delicious meal and on occasion, prepare my shopping list for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday!

As your day settles down, spend about 5 minutes writing down some positive thoughts about yourself, family and friends – You can even make this a group activity!

Enjoy your day, take a relaxing walk with family after your meal and remember to be healthy, positive and thankful.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

November 21, 2018November 19, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable – It can be steamed, sautéed, mashed, riced or roasted as seen in this simple and delicious Roasted Cauliflower recipe! With only six ingredients (which are already stocked in most pantries), this dish can be easily prepared and serves as a great addition to any workplace potluck or holiday dinner.

Roasted Cauliflower

Serves: 4

Serving Size: 1 cup

Ingredients:

4 cups cauliflower (1 small head)

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Wash cauliflower under running water. Cut into florets.
Mix cauliflower and oil in a medium bowl.
Sprinkle bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder on the cauliflower. Stir until combined.
Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay cauliflower out in a single layer.
Bake for 15 minutes, stir and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes more or until tender.

Tips:

Chop the whole head of cauliflower at one time. Pack extra cauliflower florets in snack sized containers for lunches.
To make your own bread crumbs, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put two slices of bread on a cookie sheet. Bake the bread until it crumbles easily (about 15-20 minutes). Seal the bread slices in a plastic bag and crush the bread. Store the leftover breadcrumbs in an airtight container in the freezer.

Simple Swaps for Healthier Cooking

November 20, 2018November 19, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

Preparing healthier versions of classic dishes during the holidays may sound daunting, but it can certainly be done with minimal effort! Simply plan to opt for one or two lighter ingredients before you go grocery shopping – most likely, your guests won’t notice the difference.

Try these simple swaps when preparing your holiday favorites.

Reduce the amount of added fat

Low-fat cheese instead of full-fat versions of cheese
Low-fat or nonfat plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or mayo
Cooking spray or nonstick pans instead of butter, shortening or oil

Use less sugar

Vanilla, nutmeg, or cinnamon to enhance sweetness instead of the full amount of sugar

Also:

Quinoa instead of rice
Extra vegetables instead of extra meat, cheese or other breads in casseroles or soups
Herb seasonings (garlic powder, celery seed, fresh herbs) instead of seasoning salt (garlic salt, or onion salt)

Tips for Having a Stress-Free Travel Experience

November 19, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

One can expect to encounter busy roads, airports and train stations when traveling during the holidays. In fact, the Thanksgiving holiday is the busiest travel time of the year. I don’t like to travel much during the holiday season, but here are some of my best tips for having a healthy trip no matter the time of year or your method of travel.

Have healthy snacks

Plan, plan, plan! Don’t depend on the convenience stores along the highway, or the fast food restaurants to fuel your body when taking a long trip. For the road, pack a cooler bag with energizing snacks that will control your hunger. At the airport or train station, choose wisely by avoiding fried foods, snacks that are high in sodium, sugar and fat, and sugary beverages.

Try packs of nuts (almonds, walnuts, and peanuts), low-sugar cereal bars, air-popped popcorn, low-fat cheese sticks, baby carrots, dried fruits, oranges, and PLENTY of water.

Have fun activities

Kids and adults want to be entertained when waiting for long periods of time or taking a lengthy trip, but have some alternatives to excessive screen time. Bring along some cards games, books, coloring books (for adults as well!), or come up with your own fun family games (I like the ABC sign game for the road!)

Have a plan for being active

Although a full exercise routine may not be possible during a trip, a few stretch breaks along the way are very beneficial. If you can, get up every 30 minutes and walk around, march in place, do arm circles, forwards bends, or anything that keeps your body feeling loose.

5 Healthy Snacks Ideas to Get You Through the Workday

November 19, 2018July 16, 2021 by Kristie Hicks

There is nothing wrong with a midday snack, but if you need one, choose wisely. Your snack should be filling, low in sugar, and keep you energized.

Consider the following snack ideas, which are items that can be easily stored in your lunchbox, desk drawer at work or in your car for the ride home:

Individual packs of assorted nuts or seeds that are not heavily salted or flavored (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds).
Whole grain cereal (plain bran cereal, plain Cheerios, etc.) and a piece of fruit (banana, apple orange, single serve no sugar added applesauce, etc.)
Individual packs of air-popped popcorn
Small servings sizes of dried fruit (dried apricots, raisins, prunes, dried mango)
Low-fat string cheese and lightly salted whole grain crackers

A great idea is to be the snack time hero for your coworkers by creating a healthy snack station for the office!

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

November 16, 2018November 14, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

banana oatmeal pancakes

Have you ever considered making pancakes with some of those ripe bananas at home? This Banana Oatmeal Pancakes recipe is a simple and tasty alternative to traditional pancakes and comes from the Med Instead of Meds website. Try this amazing breakfast dish with your favorite fruit, peanut butter or chopped nuts on top!

Serves 2
Serving Size: 3 pancakes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
2 bananas, mashed
½ cup of old-fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon olive oil
½ cup fresh or frozen fruit of your choice (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, bananas, rolled oats, baking powder, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. The batter should be cohesive and without lumps.
Heat olive oil in medium skillet on medium-low heat. Once heated, spoon ¼ cup portions of the batter onto skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides (about 4 minutes on each side).
Heat fruit in a small skillet until warm, stirring occasionally. Serve over pancakes. You can also serve pancakes with chopped nuts or peanut butter on top.

Nutrition Information per Serving:
(Based on ½ cup frozen mixed fruit)

Serving Size: 3 pancakes
Vegetables: 0 cups
Fruits: 1¼ cups
Calories: 302 calories
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Protein: 11 grams
Fat: 9 grams
Sodium: 198 mg

5 Healthy Snack Ideas to Get You Through the Workday

November 15, 2018November 14, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

Healthy Snacks

There is nothing wrong with a midday snack, but if you need one, choose wisely. Your snack should be filling, low in sugar, and keep you energized.

Consider the following snack ideas, which are items that can be easily stored in your lunchbox, desk drawer at work or in your car for the ride home:

Individual packs of assorted nuts or seeds that are not heavily salted or flavored (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds).
Whole grain cereal (plain bran cereal, plain Cheerios, etc.) and a piece of fruit (banana, apple orange, single serve no sugar added applesauce, etc.)
Individual packs of air-popped popcorn
Small servings sizes of dried fruit (dried apricots, raisins, prunes, dried mango)
Low-fat string cheese and lightly salted whole grain crackers

A great idea is to be the snack time hero for your coworkers by creating a healthy snack station for the office!

Roasted Vegetable Tacos

November 7, 2018 by Carolyn Dunn, PhD, RD, LDN

roasted vegetable tacos

I am always looking for interesting taco fillings. I experimented recently with roasted vegetables. The key is to cut the vegetables small (1/4-inch cubes) and roast them well with taco seasoning. I don’t like to use premade taco seasoning because of the high salt. It is super easy to make your own using this recipe. I use corn tortillas and a topping of just shredded cabbage mixed with lime.

Roasted Vegetable Tacos

1 medium onion

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

3 large carrots

8 ounce container of white mushrooms or baby bellas

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons taco seasoning

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut the vegetables into a ¼ inch dice. This takes a few minutes but your work will be well worth it in the end. It is a good time to practice your knife skills!
Toss the cut vegetables with the olive oil, taco seasoning, and salt. You can do this in a large bowl or plastic bag.
Place the vegetable mixture on a sheet pan lined with foil. This makes clean up easy.
Cook the vegetable mixture 45 min to 1 hour stirring half the way through.
Assemble the tacos on warmed tortillas.

Makes 6 Tacos

Serving Size: 1/6^th of recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Nutrition Information per Serving (for taco filling only – add about 50 calories if using a corn tortilla):

Serving Size: 1 taco

Vegetables: 1/3 cup

Fruits: 0 cups

Calories: 92 calories

Carbohydrates: 7 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

Protein: 2 grams

Fat: 7 grams

Sodium: 219 mg

Creative Ways to Stay Hydrated

November 5, 2018 by Kristie Hicks

drink water

Sometimes I struggle to consume enough water each day, even though I know there are many health benefits of staying hydrated. If you need some creative ways to stay hydrated this fall, try these tips!

Make water your preferred your beverage throughout the day and make other beverages (soda, fruit drinks, etc.) something you have on occasion.
Keep a reusable water bottle with you at all times. There are many portable cups and water bottles on the market that keep your water cold for hours.
Drink a glass of water before you start eating your meal to start filling you up a bit.
Try sparkling water if you need an alternative to soda, like the extra fizz, or want a bit of flavor.
Get creative with fruit-infused water to add flavor without the added sugar. I like a combination of pineapple chunks, sliced strawberries and blueberries with ice in my reusable water bottle.
If you have a long commute to work each day or any other activity, create a challenge to finish your water bottle before you make it to your destination.

How do you stay hydrated and drink enough water? Share your tips and tricks below.