Take a Page from Popeye's Book....

I'm strong to the finach, cause I eats me spinach....lol....having flashbacks yet?  If you have been following my food porn lately, then you will have noticed that I have posted a great deal of meals that contain spinach. It may not be the favorite vegetable of everyone, but I am here to tell everyone why spinach should be incorporated into everyone's diet.

Spinach, according to WebMD, is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. It ranks third in nutritional value, behind kale and garlic. Spinach has been shown to fight against osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. It is an incredible food that can be eaten steamed, sauteed, fresh, frozen, or a host of other ways.

The World's Healthiest Foods, lists spinach as high in Vitamins K, A, C, B2, calcium, folate, manganese, and iron.

If you are a picky eater, or your child is a picky eater, spinach can be hidden very easily in things like smoothies. This way, the benefits are there, but the stigma of spinach is hidden.

Spinach is also very easy to flavor and cook. Baby spinach, with just a touch of olive oil, sea salt and pepper, has a sweetness to it, that makes it much more palatable than plain spinach. Also, mixing it in with tomato based sauces, hides any bitterness.

The fact is, spinach is really healthy, and an important part in any healthy eater's diet.

Scrambled Eggs and Scone

This was my breakfast this morning. I found some organic cranberry, orange, raisin scones, at the local grocery store.

I scrambled up a couple eggs, heated the scone and brushed it with a little butter over top.

This was delicious, and really, I was satisfied for quite some time.

I know a lot of people are low-carb nowadays, but I am still breastfeeding, and I get seriously hungry. So I eat carbs, but I try and eat healthier ones.

This was quick, easy, and totally delicious!!!

MANGIA MANGIA!!!

Going Green

Today's dinner was a quick throw together. I boiled some gluten-free spinach angel hair pasta. Then, I sauteed one zuccini with olive oil and added one cup of fresh baby spinach. sprinkle with some sea salt, pepper, and a little sprinkle of parmesan, and MANGIA MANGIA!!!

When I sat down to eat, I had to laugh, because I thought, "Hmmm, is it St. Patrick's Day?!?!"  This was a really great meal, had a little sweetness to it, because of the zucchini.  This is a great way to get some really important vitamins from the spinach and zucchini.

Got Kiwi?

 Kiwi are a great little fruit. They are sweet, delicious, and packed full of Vitamin C. One kiwi has more vitamin C than the same amount of orange!

With their vibrant color and sweet, juicy taste, kiwis are a kid favorite! I packed 1 1/2 kiwis each for my kids this morning in their lunches.

Along with vitamin C, kiwi has fiber and potassium benefits as well.

For more on the kiwi, check out this site,

World's Healthiest Foods

A kiwi a day can keep the doctor away!

Banh Mi with Eggplant Chips

Feast your eyes on this deliciousness in a dish! Tonight's dinner was Vietnamese Banh Mi with a side of eggplant chips. 

The recipe I followed was supposed to make one sandwich. I doubled everything except the pickling solution because I did not want to over power the kids with the pickling. I also made the addition of the cheese myself. The original recipe called for jalepenos, but again, I have kids eating this and did not want to over power them with hotness. 

The eggplant chips are just thin slices of eggplant fried in a little olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. 

The recipe for the Banh Mi, is as follows:

1/2 cup rice vinegar                                            1/4 cup white onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup water                                                     garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup water                                                     ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup white sugar                                            1 baguette roll
1/4 cup carrot cut into matchsticks                      1 Tablespoon mayonaise
1/4 cup white radishes matchsticks                      1 Tablespoon cilantro                
1/4 cup cucumber matchsticks                             1 lime wedge

1. Place rice vinegar, water, and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Allow the mixture to cool.
2. Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the carrot, radish, and onion in a bowl, and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes. Drain off the excess vinegar mixture after the vegetables have marinated.
3. Slice the baguette in half the long way, and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling. Place the baguette halves under the broiler to lightly toast, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. To assemble the bahn mi sandwich, spread each half of the toasted baguette with mayonnaise and cheese slice, and fill the cavity of the bottom half of the bread with cucumber slices, pickled carrot, onion, and radish, cilantro leaves. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the filling, and top with the other half of the baguette.

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato

Today's lunch is a scrambled egg sandwich with baby spinach, and sun-dried tomato. I also put one-half a slice of monterey jack cheese, for a little jalepeno kick. On whole wheat bread, it was a great lunch!

Ingredients List:

2 slices whole wheat toast
2 eggs, scrambled
one-half slice pepper jack
one-half cup baby spinach
one tablespoon sun-dried tomato

Veggie Fajitas

Tonight I made veggie fajitas for dinner. They were delicious! I also picked up a Food Network Magazine today which had some great looking stuff, so we may be gettin' fancy here!  Here is the recipe I went with today:

Tortilla (warmed)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper (julienned)
1 green bell pepper (julienned)
1 yellow onion (sliced)
1 cup of broccoli florets (chopped)
1 tablespoon worcestershire
1 avocado
sprinkle of sun dried tomato
sprinkle of cheese


Warm the olive oil in a chef's pan. Add in onion and saute until tender. Add in the peppers, broccoli, and worcestershire sauce. Saute for ten minutes. Place desired avocado, cooked veggies, sun dried tomato, and cheese atop the tortilla. ENJOY!

This is simple enough that my 11 year old could make it on her own....but then again, she wants to be a chef.

I also thought of adding baby spinach, but I already had a lot going on, so we will eat that tomorrow.