Tasty Bites: Grilled Vegetables with Sausage and Penne

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

I’ve never been much of a sausage fan. Too many parts. Unknown parts. Ground up. Suspiciously. But on a wander through the grocery store I ran across this chicken sausage with basil and sundried tomatoes that intrigued me, mostly because the ingredient list was very simple and there was very little processing. I decided to live on the edge, despite the “natural pork casing.” And that edge was surprisingly delicious.

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Works For Me Wednesday: Getting Healthy

By MAD21

Most people who read my blog or have hung around me on Twitter for very long know that I used to be terribly over weight.  At my heaviest, I was 240 pounds, and miserable, to say the least. After my second daughter was born, I made a concerted effort to not just lose the weight, but to get healthy. I know several skinny people who aren't very healthy, so it had to be about more than just losing the weight.

I did a ton of research over the 18 months it took me to get to a healthy body. I did not want to "diet." I did not want to just follow the latest fads regarding weight loss, most of them make you cut certain foods out of your diet, and I didn't want to do that. I like food too much. Plus, I personally don't think it's healthy to cut anything completely out of your diet. Our bodies need everything in moderation.

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Tasty Bites: Mighty Marinara

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

When my kids were growing up, “homemade spaghetti sauce” was a jar of purchased spaghetti sauce, a can of mushrooms (yes, the rubber ones), and a pound of browned ground beef. Wow, has my cooking changed! For a dozen years I’ve made marinara sauce from scratch, and it’s not difficult at all. It does take time, but if you cook ahead, you can have some on hand in the freezer for a quick meal.

Tomatoes are the star ingredient. If you have an abundance of fresh ones, they make the sauce even better. It’s a great way to use up the harvest that brings you three dozen tomatoes on the same day. Typically I’ll buy several cans at a time when they’re on sale, or buy a big quantity when I go to the bulk stores. It takes about the same amount of time to make four servings as it does forty, and it freezes well.

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Tasty Bites: Leftovers and Breakfast For Dinner - Frittata!

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

Have you ever had a little of this and a little of that in your fridge and didn’t know what to do with it? There’s not enough to actually serve at a meal, yet you just don’t want to throw smidgens of food away. Here’s your solution: a frittata! It’s one of my favorite meals to make quickly from whatever leftovers you have.

Eggs are inexpensive and we usually have them on hand. When you use only half the yolk, it makes the dish lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. Eggs are a good source of riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and phosphorus, and a very good source of protein and selenium.

Here are some substitutions I’ve used in frittatas, so don’t limit yourself to the ingredients in the recipe below!

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Tasty Bites: Cajun Shrimp with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

Hot and spicy foods are the best! I love to make my own Cajun spice mix because I like the flavors of leaf herbs rather than the ground ones you frequently find in the Cajun spice mix at the store. I love Emeril’s recipe and always keep it in a jar by the stove. You can use it on chicken, fish, seafood, and tofu for a real spicy kick.

This recipe is fresh, light, and a perfect quick dinner. Shrimp is high in cholesterol but low in saturated fat. It is also a good source of niacin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of protein, vitamin D and selenium. I usually buy it in bulk at the “stores with cement floors” as it’s much less expensive than in a regular grocery store.

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