Leprechaun Juice Recipe – St Patrick’s Day Fun For Kids

  By Jennifer | February 26, 2013 - 9:14 am | Healthy Recipes
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leprechaun juice recipe

Looking for a healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipe to serve your kids on March 17th?   Give this Leprechaun Juice recipe a try!  It’s a fun accompaniment to breakfast, but it’s also a great alternative to green punch or Kool-aid for St. Patrick’s Day dinner.  With just the right balance of sweet vs. tart, Leprechaun Juice was a hit with my kids. Leprechaun Juice is really just a green smoothie in disguise.   It’s amazing what you can get get your kids to eat when you give it a silly name!  Most of my kids love green smoothies now, but when we started drinking them, I had to get a little creative.  You may find that a fun name or presentation might be just the ticket to get your kids to try healthy foods. Leprechaun Juice Recipe Ingredients: 2 cups pineapple juice 2 1/2 oz raw baby spinach (half of the standard 5 oz plastic tub) 1 banana 1 cup green grapes 2 kiwi fruit, peeled Put all ingredients in your blender and process until smooth.  Serve immediately Makes approx. 4 1/2 cups Per 1 cup serving: 123 calories 0.3 grams fat 2.4 grams fiber If you don’t have a Vitamix or … Continue reading →

Nostalgia Pretzel Maker

  By Jennifer | January 22, 2013 - 6:54 pm | Kitchen Tools
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nostalgia pretzel maker

Do you love soft pretzels? The Nostalgia Pretzel Maker is a great kitchen appliance to have for making healthier soft pretzels. Overall Rating (based on customer reviews): 3.4 out of 5 stars My kids love those boxes of frozen soft pretzels that you can buy in the store, but I am not fond of the white flour and unhealthy additives and preservatives in them. So I prefer to make my own at home – especial with this sourdough soft pretzel recipe. However, it can be time-consuming. So I don’t make them very often. However, I received a Nostalgia Pretzel Maker as a gift for Christmas. Since then my kids have been enjoying how often I have been making soft pretzels for their snack time. I love the Nostalgia Pretzel Maker because I can use whole wheat flour and healthier ingredient choices to make a healthy snack that my kids love. The specs of ‘Nostalgia Electrics SPF200 Soft Pretzel Maker’ are: Manufacturer: Emgee Product Dimensions: 11.5×10.8×5.7 inches Shipping Weight: 5.5 pounds Here are some REAL customer reviews: “Very easy & fast to make nice pretzels” I bought this machine worrying that it’d be hard to make pretzels, especially for me, who … Continue reading →

5 Great Reasons to Consider Purchasing an Electric Grain Mill

  By Jennifer | November 9, 2012 - 9:56 pm | Kitchen Tools
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Have you ever thought about purchasing an electric grain mill to grind your own flour?  I bought the L’Equip Nutrimill Grain Mill 4 years ago.  Thousands of loaves of bread and mountains of baked goods later, I am still happy with my purchase. If you are considering buying your own electric grain mill, here are 5 great reasons why you should. Freshly-ground flour produces tastier baked goods, especially home baked bread. Yum! A grain mill will save you money in the long run.  Organic whole grain bread costs me around $4 a loaf at the grocery store.  I can make my own with fresh-ground flour for $1 a loaf or less. Fresh-ground flour is more nutritious.  Whole wheat flour that has set around at room temperature at the grocery store loses nutrients, in particular the B vitamins. Whole wheat flour should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to prevent the oil from the wheat germ from becoming rancid.  I don’t know about your grocery store, but mine stores bags of whole wheat flour at room temperature. With your own electric grain mill, you can make your own specialty flours that are hard to find or expensive at regular supermarkets. … Continue reading →

Free Nutrition eBooks and Healthy Cookbooks – November 7, 2012

  By Jennifer | November 7, 2012 - 2:50 pm | Free Healthy eBooks
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I am starting a new weekly feature here at Healthy Kitchen Guide to let you know about all the great free nutrition ebooks and healthy cookbooks available.  Since I spend a good amount of my spare time looking for free Kindle books, I thought I would share some of my findings with all of you. Here are my top ten picks this week for free nutrition ebooks and healthy cookbooks: The Sensible Holiday Eating Guide: How To Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Without Gaining Weight Healthy Dinner Recipes For Kids: Quick & Easy Meals For Healthy Children, Parenting Has Never Been More Easy. (Healthy Recipes For Kids) Get Skinny Stay Skinny (Eat Better Feel Better) 52 Delicious & Healthy SUPERFOOD Breakfasts Under 300 Calories – Simple, Quick & No-Bake! Kale Shakes Benefits, a Brief History, and Recipes Quick and Light: Healthy Recipes You’ll Fall in Love With The Casual Homemaker’s Wheat-Free Cookbook Hypothyroidism Diet: Recipes for Hypothyroidism and Losing Weight Fast Simple Healthy Dessert Recipes Weight Watcher Guru Slow and Simple Slow Cooker Points Plus Recipes (Weight Watcher Guru Series) If you don’t have a Kindle, you can still take advantage of these free ebooks by downloading the free Kindle for PC … Continue reading →

Healthy Weekly Meal Plan – November 4, 2012

  By Jennifer | November 5, 2012 - 8:56 am | Healthy Weekly Meal Plan
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healthy weekly meal plan

Cold weather is here finally!  Time for some of my favorite soups and stews on the menu this week. What are your favorite foods to serve as the weather gets colder? Here’s my healthy weekly meal plan for this week: Sunday:  Meal Out – State Marching Band Finals! Monday: 3 Bean Vegetarian Chili, Cornbread, Steamed Brocolli Tuesday:  Healthy but still Sloppy Joes, Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts Wednesday:   Crockpot Roasted Chicken, Brown Rice Pilaf, Honey Roasted Carrots Thursday:  Chicken Burritos, Lime Cilantro Rice, Raw Veggie Sticks Friday:  Homemade Chicken Pesto Pizza,  Strawberry and Spinach Salad Saturday:  Faux-Fried Chicken Nuggets, Homemade French Fries, Green Beans (Both the chicken nuggets and fries recipes are from Devin Alexander’s book Fast Food Fix.  I highly recommend that book if you are trying to eat healthy and still craving fast food.) Are you new to meal planning?  Check out my easy Fridge Meal Planning System.  For more recipe ideas, check out our past healthy weekly meal plans.  For even more ideas, be sure to visit Organizing Junkie and Susie QT Pie’s Scraps of Life for their weekly meal plans link parties. So tell me… What healthy foods are on your meal plan this week?  If you posted a healthy weekly meal plan … Continue reading →

Green Giant Seasoned Steamers ~ Review and Giveaway

  By Jennifer | November 1, 2012 - 2:43 pm | Reviews and Giveaways
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My kids usually balk at eating their vegetables.  I think a lot of times, the fault is mine as I don’t bother jazzing them up a bit.  Even I have to admit that vegetables aren’t my favorite part of the meal.  Green Giant has a new line out though that is aiming to change your opinion about vegetables – Green Giant Seasoned Steamers.  With chef inspired seasonings, these veggies are anything but boring. Green Giant Seasoned Steamers come in six exciting varieties: Mediterranean Blend Tuscan Seasoned Broccoli Brussel Sprouts with Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Honey Roasted Sweet Corn Honey Dijon Carrots Backyard Grilled Potatoes We tried the Tuscan Seasoned Broccoli and were pleased with how flavorful it was.  My kids didn’t ask for seconds, but I consider it a success that they ate the broccoli without complaint. I love that Green Giant Seasoned Steamers are not seasoned with fatty sauces, but instead are flavored with wonderful combinations of herbs and spices. It lets the taste of the vegetables really shine through. Want to try Green Giant Seasoned Steamers for yourself? Click here to download a printable coupon good for $1.00 off the purchase of one package of Green Giant Seasoned … Continue reading →

10 Creative Ways to Get Rid of Leftover Halloween Candy

  By Jennifer | November 1, 2012 - 12:18 pm | Nutrition Tips
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My kids love to go trick-or-treating just like other kids. However, the mountain of Halloween candy my children bring home is a dietitian’s worst nightmare. Since my kids eat a healthy diet 90% of the time, I certainly don’t mind them indulging a bit.  They absolutely do not need to eat every last piece of candy they bring home though. So over the years I have come up with a few creative ways to get rid of leftover Halloween candy. Before I get to that though, I should mention that I let the kids pick out about 20 pieces of their favorite candy to keep. They are allowed 2 pieces a day until it’s gone, provided they eat the healthy dinner I made. That way I don’t have to deal with sugar overload, but they don’t feel deprived and curse the fact that their mom is a dietitian. I know that right about now many parents are facing candy overload.  So here are a few ideas on how to deal with leftover Halloween candy. Allow your children the option of trading in their candy for small toys or stickers from the dollar store.  Set a “price” for each item in … Continue reading →

Nutrition News – September 28, 2012

  By Jennifer | September 28, 2012 - 10:05 am | Nutrition News
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It’s Friday and that means it’s time for me to share with you the latest in nutrition news, yummy recipes, and healthy eating blog posts. I even share a few giveaways for healthy foods and kitchen gadgets as well as healthy savings. Nutrition News I know I shared this last week, but wanted to mention this again to help spread the word.  Kroger is reporting a recall of spinach due to possible Listeria contamination.  It affects grocery stores in 15 states.  The recall is for Kroger Fresh Selections Tender Spinach, sold in 10-ounze bags.  The affected product had a “best if used by” date of Sept. 16 and a UPC of 011110916495.  Recalled product can be returned to the store for a refund or replacement. Looking for ways to increase your whole grain consumption?  Be sure to check out this Mayo clinic article full of tips for adding more whole grains to your day. A new study in International Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that taking cinnamon supplements daily can be effective in the prevention or treatment of type diabetes.  You can get the same effect with regular cinnamon – no need for supplements. Healthy Recipes and Tips From Around the … Continue reading →

Nutrition Tip – Use Fruit as a Sweetener

  By Jennifer | September 26, 2012 - 6:00 am | Nutrition Tips
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This week’s nutrition tip: Use fruit and 100% fruit juice to sweeten recipes naturally. Often times you can greatly reduce the amount of refined sugar a recipe uses by substituting pureed fruit or fruit juice. Bananas and medjool dates are a great way to sweeten smoothies. Pineapple juice is a great way to sweeten muffins and baked goods.   You can also use jars of baby food fruit.  Don’t be afraid to experiment! If you have any questions about this week’s nutrition tip or anything about nutrition in general, feel free to leave a comment.

Spooky Smoothies – Healthy Halloween Recipe

  By Jennifer | September 24, 2012 - 6:00 am | Healthy Recipes
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Spooky Smoothie Healthy #Halloween #Recipe via HealthyKitchenGuide.com

This time of year is always so much fun, but the one downside is that it seems to give kids a sugar overload.  So I am always trying to come up with fun healthy Halloween recipes that don’t have any added sugar, but still satisfy my kids and taste great. This recipe for Spooky Smoothies was a hit with my family.  It takes just 3 simple ingredients and is a whole lot better than sugar -laden, artificially-colored, nutritionally-bankrupt drink mixes.  It tastes mainly of oranges with a little bit of a kick from the apple cider.  You can feel good about serving this at your next Halloween party. I won’t tell them it’s healthy if you don’t! I am not a big fan of artificial food coloring and always try to find ways to color foods naturally.  This recipe uses carrots to achieve the bright orange color and you can’t even taste them in the drink! Spooky Smoothies – Healthy Halloween Recipe Ingredients: 1 cup Apple Cider 1 cup Orange Juice (fresh squeezed preferable) 2 Carrots, peeled Blend together until smooth. Serve cold. If you aren’t using a high speed blender like a Vitamix, you may need to strain the … Continue reading →