Healthy with regular ingredients

amother

Coral

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 7:31 am

Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm all for people using new and unusual ingredients in their cooking, but I have found I really can't afford all the fancy stuff. I really want to make my house more healthy, though.

I'm looking for good, wholesome recipies using regular ingredients found in my local grocery. (no quinoa, please!). Just using basic fruits and veges, whole wheat is fine. Anyone up for the challenge?

Teomima

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 7:41 am

Do exactly like you said, then. Basic fruits and veggies and whole grains. No need for fancy recipes. Oven roast veggies, season with whatever you like (for example, cinnamon sprinkled on halved, roasted butternut squash) or no seasoning (whole oven roasted beets are so sweet and delicious just add is). Cook legumes, again as simply as possible (for example, cook up some chickpeas, even from a can, with some salt and cumin. Delicious.) Cook up a pot of wheat berries and eat them as is, or add them to other dishes. Personally I love plain cooked barley, cooled and mixed with chopped dried apricots and almonds.

Really, just be as simple and basic as you can, and you get maximum flavor, minimum effort, and about as healthy as food can get.

saralem

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 8:14 am

Think of it like Pesach (if you use minimal processed foods). Olive oil and lemon juice for dressings. Fresh vegetables roasted or steamed with just seasoning. No sauces or dressings. Juice instead of soda. Fruit for snacks and dessert. Think simple and it will be so much healthier. Hatzlacha!

amother

Slateblue

Mon, Nov 06 2017, 8:45 pm

I make for myself salad or meal "bowls", ie rice, then add some walnuts or almonds slices maybe, maybe some canned salmon, some oil & salt or a dressing, maybe some sliced heart of Palm & cooked zuchini.

For my family, things like
- baked potatoes
- frozen roasted brocolli
- cooked red lentils, can add to thicken up regular left over chicken soup
- Cooked frozen peas, again just plain with salt
- I'll make bread wraps, lettuce, canned salmon or egg salad, sliced onion & dressing, maybe pieces of a ready made veggie burger for extra flavor, tomatoe, avocado
- Scrambled eggs with onion & tomatoes (garlic & onion powder, & salt & pepper added for sure, almost undercooked gives a nice cheesy taste)
- Big pot of split pea soup, beis Yaakov recipe just fabulous & relatively easy. Will make for Shabbos & have leftovers
- Fancier, maybe stuffed zuchini or stuffed mushrooms

The most sustainable way I've been able to help me & my family eat healthy fairly consistently, is by adding a little less healthy to the healthy, ie soup croutons in soup; vegetables & brown rice/grilled chicken, but served with leftover potato kugel; Cauliflower & a baked potatoe, but I'll serve it with chicken nuggets.
That's the best we've been able to do, but it works - were getting fiber, healthy fats & veggies, but not feeling too deprived.

The healthier things listed above are delicious once I understood how to cook/season them properly, mainly through trial & error over time.
I also buy a lot of instant rice & instant soy noodles to have on hand for time savers.
Good luck! Smile

Mommyg8

Mon, Nov 06 2017, 8:47 pm

Teomima wrote:

Can you tell me how you roast butternut squash and beets? And what are wheat berries?

Thanks.

tichellady

Mon, Nov 06 2017, 10:04 pm

Do you live near a Trader Joe’s? They have affordable spice mixes there that are great for roasting veggies and chicken

I roast squash at 350 for almost an hour, stirring about every 20 minutes. I use olive oil, salt and pepper and crushed garlic. I love the onion salt from Trader Joe’s on roasted squash or you can add some chopped onion for the last 20 minutes of roasting. I add some herbs towards the end but you can leave them out.

Teomima

Tue, Nov 07 2017, 9:12 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Can you tell me how you roast butternut squash and beets? And what are wheat berries?

Thanks.

I just cut the squash in half, lengthwise, scoop out the seeds (which I usually them mix with a little garlic salt and toast just trip they start browning and popping, for a delicious quick snack), pave cut-side up on a baking sheet. It can take a while to cook (I don't usually time how long I bake things, sorry), just keep an eye on it till it's fork-tender. Maybe 45-60 minutes?

Also I'll sometimes slice it lengthwise and roast the slices till partially done, and add them to lasagna as "noodle" layers.

Or peel and cube or, mix with a little olive oil, and roast till browned and caramelized (30-40 minutes-ish).

Or slice into french fries and bake for about 30 minutes for sweet squash fries (best eaten fresh, they soften otherwise).

Beets I'll sometimes peel and quarter then bake (works well when baked with sweet potatoes chunks for "beets and sweets"), but I prefer to rinse, leave peeled, wrap in tinfoil, bake till tender (maybe 45 minutes, more or less depending on their size or what temp the oven is on - I tend to just throw them in while I'm cooking something else), then unwrap while hot and the peel will just slide off. Eat as is or roughly chop and add a little lemon juice and apple cider vinegar for a savory salad.

Wheat berries are actual pieces of wheat (before they're ground into flour).