Healthy Every Week: Eat More Whole Grains

Whole grains are my default for basic things such as bread, pasta, and rice. I also enjoy whole wheat couscous and quinoa from time to time. This week I just utilized some of my favorite recipes incorporating whole grains. I planned to try new recipes and grains, but it has been a busy week (events including my birthday, football, and an exciting FSU basketball upset over UNC!) so I kept with the challenge by preparing foods I knew how to make.

I love using brown rice, mostly because I love the ease of my rice cooker. If you buy in bulk like I do, I use a 1.5 water to 1 part rice ratio. One of my favorite recipes is my Mexican in a Bowl recipe. This week I omitted the sour cream and added some leftover minced chipotle in adobo to amp up the spice.

Oatmeal is such an easy and yummy way to get whole grains into your day even before lunch! Last week’s post outlined the various ways I like my oatmeal, and I ate oatmeal almost every morning this week. On the other mornings I ate cottage cheese on whole grain water crackers. I also did some basic pastas, such as my Easy Peasy Pasta, and homemade pizza with whole wheat crust.

One thing I wish I would have had time to try this past week is brown rice risotto. It still fits in with the new week’s challenge, so I hope to blog my recipe soon!

This week’s challenge: cook at home. I prepared by planning out meals and grocery shopping for the week. The week has started out well and I look forward to sharing more recipes with you!

Healthy Every Week: Breakfast Every Day

I. love. breakfast. But when your morning goes unexpectedly awry and you have, say, zero seconds to get out the door, you will just have to skip breakfast, right? Wrong! This week’s challenge for me was to have fruit and healthy food on hand and ready to grab for those hectic mornings. As it was the first week if the year, there were many of these days.

A list if quick breakfasts that saved me this week:

• Fruit: apples, bananas, etc naturally come in single serving packages that you can grab and eat on your way to work
• Cottage cheese on whole grain crackers: This is a filling, easy start to the day
• Good ‘ol cereal. Low sugar cereal with lowfat milk and some fresh fruit mixed in? Yes.
• Oatmeal. I start with basic rolled oats and add in whatever I have on hand (See below). In addition, I keep some oatmeal at work for a working-late snack or rushed mornings.

A normal morning for me consists of waking up, starting the coffee, and putting the oatmeal in the microwave before getting ready. I use rolled oats, it is extremely economical to purchase a large canister of these, not single serve instant packets. Rolled oats are done in the microwave in 5 minutes at 50% power. I mix in whatever I have available with 1/3 c oatmeal and 2/3 c water before microwaving. I think cooking the add-ins with the oatmeal infuses the meal with more flavor. I add in nuts and honey at the end if desired. Some of my favorite mixins:

• pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
• dried fruits: raisins, apricots,  cranberries, etc.
• banana: this makes a creamy, flavorful oatmeal!
• walnuts or pecans
• honey, if necessary

I have already given my Ode to Eggs, which no one has to pull my leg to cook up on the weekends. Tell me, how often do you eat breakfast?

This week’s challenge is to eat more whole grains. I love them, and am excited to try new ways of using them.

Take a look at the other participants’ week one of the Healthy Every Week Challenge!

A Weekend Egg Breakfast

If you keep a low-cholesterol diet (check!) eggs are a delicious source of nutrition, including choline and lutein, see Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease – Harvard Health Publications.

And what a relief, because I love eggs. One thing to note is that eggs make their way into many foods such as pasta and desserts, so keep that in mind when you decide how often you cook eggs. I save mine for the weekends and load them with veggies!

Do you have a favorite way to eat your eggs? I may actually have a love affair with eggs cooked over easy. No matter how you enjoy your eggs, you can add even more nutritious goodness with some veggies! Tell me, how do you enjoy your eggs?

The added veggies also allow you to get by with eating only one egg while satisfying that egg craving. The following is for one person.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 c assorted veggies, finely chopped (my favs: mushrooms, onion, bell peppers, zucchini)
• 1 egg
• 1 slice whole wheat/whole grain toast (I also use whole wheat bagel thins)
• 2 tsp olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Add veggies, cook until done, about 3 min.
2. Toast the bread, add butter or preferred topping while warm.
3. Add egg (in with the veggies) and cook how you like it. I cook mine over easy, flipping once.
4. Move everything onto a plate and dig in!