recipe for you

I made this the other night when my mom was here.  It was very good.  The kids said "Yuck.  I don't like squash.  I don't like zucchini.  I don't like herbs on my chicken.  Yuck."  But I told them tough beans and to shut their traps and eat it.  Ok, not really.  I don't talk to my kids like that.  I might say tough beans, though, I guess.  Anyway.  I told them they had to each try one bite of the zucchini and a half of a chicken tender.  They ended up eating all the chicken and several pieces of squash.  I didn't even bother trying to get them to taste the eggplant.  The eggplant was a bit disappointing, but the rest was good.

Because I can't have tomatoes or peppers, I left those out.  I doubled the recipe and marinated some chicken tenders in that.

Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables

(I used regular sized veggies and sliced them)

Marinade

1/4 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small eggplant sliced into 2-inch-thick rounds

3 baby summer squash

3 baby zucchini

3 baby pattypan squash

1/2 medium red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, left whole

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 2-inch-wide slices

1/2 red bell pepper, cut the same

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over vegetables.  Marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Grill them until tender, 5-10 minutes per side.

five a day

Ok, I am doing pretty well staying off the sugar.  So my new focus is going to be exercise and getting my fruits and veggies.

I found a site that is helpful.  A serving really isn't very big so it shouldn't be too hard.  According to this site I should be getting five servings a day.  I can do that.

Like you, my problem is cleaning and cutting and storing the veggies.  I tend to forget about them and let them spoil.  But frozen veggies count and so maybe I won't make it more difficult by trying to use fresh all the time.  

The site also describes the health benefits of different color groups of veggies and lists some, so that we can have ideas of different things to eat.  Variety is important.  During the summer I could easily eat five servings of watermelon per day, but I don't think that's the way its suppose to be done.

I'll have to remember that potato chips probably don't count.

I don't really care if I smother my veggies in butter or sauce.  My point isn't to eat less calories, but to eat more nutrients.  A little bit of fat, LITTLE BIT, like olive oil or butter actually releases the fat soluble nutrients from the veggies, anyway.  So even if you are trying to cut back on calories, you should add just a tad of fat to your veggies.

I bought a book on how to select and prepare produce.  Several grocery stores have the book available in the produce section for you to refer to while shopping.  Look for it or ask the produce manager about it.  If they don't have one, then ask the produce people about fruits and veggies you aren't familiar with so you can try new things.  Ask them to help you choose the best and know how to tell if they are ripe.  They can usually give you preparation tips, too.

Here is the FDA site on five a day.  It's not as pretty, but has a lot of information.

A site with tips for incorporating fruits and veggies.