I found this recipe online and made a few adjustments. It was originally made with red sauce but Jason likes green sauce better so I switched that. I like corn tortillas better than flour so used that. I had a lot of filling left over after filling all the tortillas so I put it in the freezer to make again another day. It was amazing and super easy. ENJOY!!!


Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green enchilada sauce
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch-dice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup water
• 12-13 corn tortillas
• 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese
• 1-2 chopped green onions, for garnish
• reduced-fat sour cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:
  
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add onions, garlic, and cook 2-3 minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add cubed butternut, diced tomatoes, black beans, water,  cilantro, cumin and red pepper powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.


Place about a 1/4 cup filling in the center of each tortilla and roll, place on the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese and bake, until hot and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Top with scallions and eat with sour cream if desired.

I realize I haven't posted in almost a year. Can you blame me? I've been a little busy.

I was asked to write 3 recipes for work so I thought I'd post one of them. It's an alteration on a recipe I found. I really like cooking spaghetti squash, but hate having to bake it in the oven, so I was thrilled to find out you can cook it in the crock pot. Hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash (in the crock pot)

If you’ve never tried spaghetti squash, have no fear, your entire family (including picky eaters) will love this easy recipe.

1 Large Spaghetti Squash

24-26 oz  jar of spaghetti sauce 

3 vegetables finely chopped or shredded             

 (Try any of the following 3: Carrots, red bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms)

2 cloves of garlic minced  (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

Meatballs (optional)

1 cup lowfat shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup shredded parmesan

Instructions:

Prep the spaghetti squash: rinse the spaghetti squash, cut in half cross wise (leaving two rounded ends). Scoop out and discard seed like a pumpkin.

Mix the spaghetti sauce with the chopped vegetables, garlic, and meatballs in the bottom of the crock pot.

Place two halves of spaghetti squash cut side down in the sauce.

Place lid on crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.

Remove spaghetti squash halves and scrape the inside with a fork. Inside should shred into noodle looking strands.

Mix with sauce.

Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Written by: Janae Richey, RD

Does boiling/baking vegetables destroy their vitamins?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/ask-well-does-boiling-or-baking-vegetables-destroy-their-vitamins/?smid=pl-share

Carrot salad with Greek yogurt

Much to my roommate's dismay I spent last night shredding carrots by hand on my small cheese grater. Apparently (according to my roommate) it makes an awful noise and because it's small and because I have to do each carrot by hand, it takes about 20 minutes to grate enough carrots to make salad. Little does she know, I only did half the bag of carrots as I prepared the main ingredient for my latest and greatest carrot salad.
I've made carrot salad many times before and have experimented with several alternatives to mayonnaise. This recipe by far, exceeds all previous carrot salads and is worthy of posting on my blog. I hope you enjoy making this and if you're lucky you have an automatic shredder and don't have to go through the pain of grating by hand (I have battle wounds from the encounter between my thumb and the grater). The extra effort is definitely worth it for this recipe!!!!

Carrot Salad with Greek Yogurt

4-5 cups Finely shredded carrots 

             (thick pre-shredded carrots aren’t a good substitute because they are dry and bland)

             (fresh, finely shredded carrots taste sweeter)

1/2 mango cubed

6 oz Greek Yogurt (pineapple flavor)

½ can of pineapple (tidbits, crushed or chunks) (with juice)

½ cup shredded coconut

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup raisin

Mix together in a large bowl. You can eat it immediately, but it tastes better after sitting overnight in the fridge.  

Terrific Tomatoes

One of my favorite parts of summer is picking fresh tomatoes from the garden. Considering that I now live in an apartment, and didn't plan ahead for a potted garden on the patio, I don't have the luxury of homegrown tomatoes this summer. While bemoaning my tomato dilemma at the grocery store I spotted some amazing looking tomatoes that resembled ones from my past garden days. They were organic "tomatoes on the vine." Despite the higher price I was determined to find out if they even compared. I'm happy to report that organic tomatoes on the vine are the closest I've ever come to tasting homegrown tomatoes from the grocery store. So if you're like me and didn't get around to planting tomatoes this year, all is not lost...I think it's definitely worth the extra money for a delicious juicy tomato. 

Taco Salad

Ingredients:

Red leaf lettuce

Corn

Salsa

Cilantro

Avocado

Ground turkey with taco seasoning 

Tomato

Beans

Chopped zucchini

(You don't need dressing, just use salsa and save yourself lots of calories)

Common Tomatoes and Their Uses

Tomatoes on the Vine:

 

 

Roma or Plum Tomatoes:

Sweet and acidic, known for their chewy flesh and low water content. Which makes them perfect for tomato sauce or for quick saute dishes or in fresh salads where you don't want excess moisture. They have a longer shelf life than moister tomatoes.

 

Cherry (and other mini) Tomatoes: 

Small and often sweet tomatoes generally eaten whole in salads

 

Beef Steak Tomatoes: 

Often used for sandwiches and similar applications. Their kidney-bean shape, thinner skin, and shorter shelf life makes commercial use impractical.

 

Heirloom Tomatoes:

They aren't as common but are becoming more popular. I haven't tried these yet, but I'll let you know when I get around to trying them. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of different ones and have a taste test.

Almond Coconut Bar Recipe

All of my posts have been about fruits and vegetables so far. Yet, there are other healthy things that fit "in the season thereof."  So I wanted to share with you my new favorite almond coconut bar.  I made some substitutions and put them in parenthesis. The recipe is fool proof, super easy and extremely delicious. Let me know what you think.

Recipe Ingredients for Almond Coconut Bar

1/2 cup whole almonds (or chopped almonds)
1/2 cup almond slivers
1 cup krisp rice cereal
1/4 cup dried fruit (I added dried pineapple, next time I'll try cranberries)
2/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp oat flour (stick oatmeal in the blender for 30 seconds)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup coconut shreds (I used sweetened coconut b/c I didn't have coconut shreds, next time I'll used shreds because the recipe turned out a little sweeter than I wanted. Or just use 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut)

Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1. Mix coconut, honey, and oat flour together in a medium bowl. Stir in almonds, dried fruit and krisp rice cereal. Mix until blended well.
2. Spray a 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread mixture, pressing firmly (the more you smash it the better, your kids will enjoy this part but make sure you put oil on their hands first) to the bottom of the pan. Cook 25-30 minutes, until surface is browned.
3. Let pan cool to room temperature. Transfer pan to freezer and allow to harden (I didn't need to put in the freezer) . Once firmed up, transfer the 8 x 8 contents to a cutting board. Cut into 8 even portions. Wrap in wax paper to preserve.

Meal time = Chaos???

Having difficulty feeding your kids? Ellyn Satter is a highly respected Registered Dietitian that specializes in feeding behaviors. Read this article and check out her website ellynsatterinstitute.org for tons of information regarding common feeding issues that parents struggle with.

ELLYN SATTER’S DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY IN FEEDING
Children develop eating competence step-by-step throughout the growing-up years when they are fed according to a stage-appropriate division of responsibility. At every stage, parents take leadership with feeding and let the child be self-directed with eating.

The division of responsibility for infants:
 The parent is responsible for what.
 The child is responsible for how much (and everything else). Parents choose breast- or formula-feeding, help the infant be calm and organized, then feed smoothly, paying attention to information coming from the baby about timing, tempo, frequency, and amounts.
The division of responsibility for older babies making the transition to family food
 The parent is still responsible for what, and is becoming responsible for when and where the child is fed.
 The child is still and always responsible for how much and whether to eat the foods offered by the parent. Based on what the child can do, not on how old s/he is, parents guide the child’s transition from breast/bottle feeding through semi-solids, then thick-and-lumpy food, to finger food at family meals.
The division of responsibility for toddlers through adolescents
 The parent is responsible for what, when, where.
 The child is responsible for how much and whether. Fundamental to parents’ jobs is trusting children to decide how much and whether to eat. If parents do their jobs with feeding, children do their jobs with eating:

Parents’ feeding jobs:
 Choose and prepare the food
 Provide regular meals and snacks
 Make eating times pleasant
 Show children what they have to learn about food and mealtime behavior
 Be considerate of children’s food inexperience without catering to likes and dislikes
 Not let children have food or beverages (except for water) between meal and snack times
 Let children grow up to get bodies that are right for them
Children’s eating jobs:
 Children will eat
 They will eat the amount they need
 They will learn to eat the food their parents eat
 They will grow predictably
 They will learn to behave well at mealtime