Can you improve your diet? What makes one food better than another? Could you shop at the grocery store only buying items located on the perimeter and nothing from the isles? Can you have a positive influence on those in your house or your friends? Scientists say being healthy is contagious! Cook a heart healthy meal for your family. Discuss what you made, why it is healthier than what you normally eat, and what your family thought of your culinary skills!
I cooked a heart healthy and delicious meal for my family. My family loves meat, but because I dislike hamburgers, we don't eat them often. I decided to make some heart healthy turkey burgers last night. I grilled them on the grill along side some vegetables. I grilled some asparagus and some yellow peppers. I also cleaned and cut up some apples and strawberries. We had some ice water with the meal as well. This meal was so good, no one left a bite behind. This meal is full of protein, fiber, and sugars that are great for your body! I encourage everyone to try to eat at least one piece of fruit and one vegetable a day.
ReplyDeleteSunday mornings usually consist of father-daughter bonding time. My dad and I make breakfast and eat together before church, while my mom is cleaning the house and what not, getting ready for the day. Recently I've been really into eating healthier. On Sunday I made for my dad gluten free pancakes because he has to eat all gluten free, and I made myself pancakes using a Heart Healthy Bisquick instead of just the original. We used Egg Beaters all natural egg white substitute instead of actual eggs. We also used skim milk as opposed to any percent of milk. Along with our pancakes we used lite syrup instead of the normal, heavy syrup. We also made turkey bacon as a little side dish, instead of plain old fatty bacon.
ReplyDeleteI cooked a healthy breakfast for my family. I decided to make some fat free turkey bacon, with lean ham and eggs. With a glass of milk and orange juice. I also made some toast with peanut butter and some honey on the toast. Breakfast is a important meal of the day so I recommend everyone to eat something for breakfast, but try to eat healthy.
ReplyDeleteI cooked a heart healthy and tasty meal for my boyfriend. I decided to make grilled chicken, angel hair pasta, with broccoli and olive oil. I grilled the chicken on the grill and boiled fresh broccoli. We drank water. This delicious meal is full of protein, fiber, and sugars that are great for your body. He enjoyed every bite and didn't leave any leftovers.
ReplyDeleteI decided to go for the easy-but-fun route and grilled some chicken for the first time. When I was done, I added it into a salad along with some sun dried tomatoes, some parmesan cheese, and with a side of some strawberries and blueberries and some asparagus. My parents were really surprised that I could actually MAKE something, moreso when they actually liked it. They even went for seconds!
ReplyDeleteIt was so much healthier because usually my mom is too busy to really settle down and to get a proper meal started... so we usually do quick-microwave meals or heat up meals we cooked the other night (which while it isn't UNHEALTHY, it is a little bit nasty). I really hope they let me cook more, because it was a real treat for them and me.
For my heart healthy meal that I cooked for my family I made a mediterranean pasta with spinach. The pasta had olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, green olives and garlic. This meal was a lot healthier than what we normally eat because when we have pasta, we eat it with Alfredo sauce or a lot of cheese. Although this meal wasn't as tasty as the fatty pastas we usually eat, it was still very delicious! My family actually enjoyed my cooking skills and we plan on using the recipe again!
ReplyDeleteI made Mahi-Mahi for dinner last night. My mom usually bakes the Mahi-Mahi in the oven, so that's what I chose to do. I seasoned the fish with olive oil, garlic, cut up red peppers, and lemon. Along with the fish, I chose salad and asparagus as sides. I served the salad with a Light Parmesan Asiago dressing. I grilled the asparagus after drizzling it with olive oil and sea salt. This meal was healthier than what my family usually eats because we usually have red meats such as burgers and steaks, so fish was healthier because it is so lean. With my mom's help with the recipes and recommendations for cooking it, I was able to make the delicious meal. My parents loved the meal and were surprised that I could cook, even though they helped with instructions. I enjoyed cooking the meal, and look forward to cooking for my family again soon!
ReplyDeleteI cooked a heart healthy and delicious meal for my family. My family’s in love with seafood so I made a dish with lots of salmon. This dish originally has only a couple of ingredients like lettuce, fried egg, salmon, and rice but I spiced it up with many vegetables like lettuce, avocados, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms as well as the original ingredients of rice and salmon. I didn’t put in the extra olive oil in it this time but gave him avocados instead. My parents were surprised with my skills with the knife and how organized the presentation was with the large amount of ingredients. None of the vegetables or salmon had to be grilled or cooked so the nutrients that the dish had were overflowing. The dish was particularly my mom’s favorite because her favorite fish is salmon!
ReplyDeleteLast night I cooked a heart healthy meal for my family. It included pasta that was 51% whole wheat with marinara sauce. The label on the sauce said "heart smart" so I know it was healthy! I also made salads and a fruit salad that had strawberries, grapes and apples in it for my parents. We made the decision to skip dessert as well. I was slightly skeptical of the whole wheat pasta at first, but it tasted exactly the same as the pasta we normally eat. The meal overall was a successful. My parents and I loved it. Pasta with marinara sauce is one of my favorite meals, so I'm very glad that we found a healthier version. Normally we eat regular pasta and a different brand of sauce. I will definitely be using this recipe again!
ReplyDeleteUsually every Sunday morning my family and I eat a huge breakfast together. It consists of bacon, sausage, cheesy eggs, biscuits, no fruit, and either coffee or soda. This past Sunday I decided to change this. For the main corse I made whole grain oatmeal with strawberries, whole wheat toast with honey, turkey bacon, a banana to make up for the absence of fruit, and 2% reduced fat milk. Although my brothers and I had to add sugar (which actually wasn't real sugar it was Splenda) to the oatmeal to make it enjoyable, my whole family liked the meal I had prepared for them! It will be a meal that we will definitely repeat.
ReplyDeleteI made a very delicious heart healthy meal for me and my parents. To begin the meal, I put together a really, really simple salad that I found online. It consisted of diced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, with just a little bit of lime juice. This already was improving the diet of my family's dinner because we dont usually eat salads before our meal! We all really enjoyed the salad because it was super fresh and satisfying. For the main course I made grilled chicken breast (with the help of my dad) which is something that we usually eat with white rice. However, I made brown rice instead. I cooked it with olive oil so that it was still tasty yet not so unhealthy! Suprisingly the brown rice actually tasted a whole lot better than the white rice. My parents, specifically my mom, really enjoyed the change in rice. She claimed that after finishing her rice, she didnt feel sick and bloated like she did after eating white rice. To go along with the chicken and rice, I added a few vegetables. They consisted of tomatoes, zucinni, and green peas. It was honestly kind of weird mixing all those foods together, but separatly all of the vegetables tasted great! This made our meal really healthy because the most common vegetables that are present in our daily dinners are corn and potaotes and maybe the occasional carrot, so getting this variety of veggies was really exciting. This meal for sure had less calories and more protein than our usual dinners do, so that was a major plus! If my family continues to eat like this, then we can surley improve our diets! :)
ReplyDeleteI made Penne and Chicken Tenderloins with Spiced Tomato Sauce. This is a penne pasta topped with sliced, season chicken with a spiced diced tomato sauce. The recipe has all sorts of healthy ingredients, like olive oil, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and white wine. The recipe came from my mom's Cooking Light Cookbook, so I knew it was healthy. The whole dish has only 356 calories and it is SO GOOD. Most of the fat in it is good fat (mono/polyunsaturated fat) so I feel good about eating it. I like to cook sometimes and so does my mother so I'm really glad that we were able to share a healthy meal tonight! :)
ReplyDeleteOver the weekend I made my whole family a very delicious, healthy meal! I chose to make a pasta dish using whole wheat penne pasta, spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers. For this dish I used a tomato based sauce, instead of something creamy. On the side I made steamed broccoli and a salad with tomatoes, basil, a little bit of cheese, and balsamic vinegar dressing. Instead of drinking soda, everyone had water or sparkling water. This dish was healthier than a pasta dish we would typically have, because when my brother comes home he always asks my mom to make a creamy, white sauce for the pasta. Obviously getting rid of the crème was an easy way to make the meal healthier! Also instead of making some unhealthy dish on the side, I chose to make the side dishes incorporate more vegetables, instead of more carbohydrates. Also the use of vegetables mixed with the actual sauce was another way I snuck in even more healthy veggies! Surprisingly everyone really liked my dish! After eating it no one felt overly full, like they did with cream sauce, and they knew the simple changes were an easy way to eat and be a little healthier.
ReplyDeleteFor my family, I made a meal that I kind of made up as I went along. I used half whole grain pasta and half regular just so the taste wasn't complete foreign. Then I put some olive oil in a skillet and added diced tomatoes, spinach, a little bit of garlic for flavor and mushrooms. Then I added grilled chicken I had made earlier and tossed the pasta with the vegetables. I then made a fruit salad of peaches, strawberries, pears and apples that were all fresh and not from a can. This meals was a lot of fun to make and it felt a lot healthier than what we usually eat.It had a lot less calories substituting things like grilled chicken instead of fried and olive oil instead of butter! It was easy and it should be more of what we eat every day!
ReplyDeleteMy family and I are trying to have more family dinners together and so I thought that family dinner would be perfect to try out a new recipe. We always eat fish once a week, so I decided to get Salmon for our fish night. I baked it in the oven with lemon, butter and Tony Chachere seasoning. I made brown rice and steamed broccoli for the 2 sides. It was something simple but full of vitamins and minerals and was very tasty. We had a good family dinner and my family enjoyed my cooking! My family and I like to eat healthy and my mom prepares great, balanced meals but they thought mine was just fabulous that I might have to start cooking a few nights a week from now on!
ReplyDeleteThe hearth healthy meal I decided to make was Pasta with grilled chicken. I got the recipe from the Mayo Clinic which is a weight loss clinic.
ReplyDeleteTo make the pasta, the ingredients are:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each 4 ounces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup white beans, cooked
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
12 ounces uncooked rotelle pasta
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper, to taste
With this recipe I went to Kroger and purchased everything I needed. told my mom on Saturday morning that I would make dinner tonight and she told me that there was no way I would be able to make anything. On Saturday night, I made the pasta and hoped that my pasta recipe would succeed. So on Saturday night I got everything ready to begin my journey in to culinary world. I was able to boil the pasta and add all the sauce, but the hard part was trying to grill the chicken. I was supposed to grill the chicken for 5 minutes on each side and then use it. The first try I undercooked and on the second trial I overcooked it, but on my third try I was triumphant in my quest. After grilling the Chicken, everything was easy and I was able to combine everything else. I set up the table and my family ate and enjoyed the meal. This pasta recipe is a good alternative because it only had 460 calories and only 7 grams of fat. This would actually be a good alternative to Olive Garden because in my opinion, this pasta tasted much better.
It is very easy to improve someone’s diet because most of the people in the United States have horrible eating habits and eat unhealthy all the time. Improving your diet doesn’t have to be something that you do cold turkey, you can start small by maybe eating carrots for one of your snacks instead of cookies. This will make a huge difference in the end! A food that’s considered good has minimal amounts of sugar and fat and high amounts of protein or vitamins. Shopping on the outside of a grocery store is actually a good way to stay healthy. Most, if not all, healthy items are on the outside of every grocery store. Everything on the inside tends to be processed and bad for you. I decided to cook a nice chicken dinner; this included a chicken breast of about 6 ounces along with brown rice and fresh green beans. It’s healthier than what I usually eat because the chicken is full of protein, the brown rice is healthier than any other rice, and the green beans help you with obtaining your daily servings of vegetables. My family thought my meal was great and were very pleased with how everything turned out!
ReplyDeleteMondays usually consist of whatever we want in my family, but this past Monday I decided to surprise my mom with a healthy meal that I cooked for her. I made Italian vegetable hoagies, which contain artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil, oregano and onion rings with a baguette topping. This whole meal only has 264 calories, which is not bad for having for dinner. This is so much healthier than what we usually eat. My whole family is constantly busy with work, cheer, or any other activities. So my mom tells me to pick up something on my way home or just find something in the house, which is usually junk food for me. So by doing this heart healthy diet my mom has realized that we should not eat out so much and that we both should take time and make healthy meals for now on.
ReplyDeleteMy family usually tries to eat in healthy portions, but many times, the side dishes that go along with the main food item turn our meals into a not so healthy dinner. My family loves to eat seafood and fish. For my healthy meal, I chose to grill tilapia. I seasoned it with lemon juice and light seasoning for flavor, instead of dousing it in pre-made seasoning. I cooked brown rice instead of my family’s usual white rice because it is more healthy. Also, instead of the packaged vegetables that have pre-seasoning and you cook, I steamed fresh broccoli and carrots. I also served a fresh spinach salad with a light vinaigrette, instead of ice berg lettuce and ranch dressing.
ReplyDeleteThe feedback I got from my 11 year old brother was that it tasted better overall than a meal similar to what my mom makes, which is surprising since usually when people think “healthy” they assume not as tasty. My mom and dad felt that after eating this meal, not only were they satisfied with the portions, but they felt better about themselves knowing that such healthy choices aren’t even that drastic of a change. It has inspired my mom to rethink meals and serve healthier choices to our family.
For my heart healthy meal I decided to make salmon topped with a honey mustard dressing and crushed pecans alongside wild rice and grilled asparagus.
ReplyDeleteI once had this meal when my cousin made it for me in New York and I decided to ask her for the recipe so I could make it for myself at home! I first took my salmon and added a bit of pepper. Then I mixed a bit of honey mustard and actual honey together to make the dressing, and finally added the crushed pecans for a bit of crunch. Then I wrapped the salmon in foil and placed it in the oven. I feel like the nuts gave it a twist because nuts are healthy, and added texture variety to the dish.
While the salmon was cooking, I decided to make some whole grain wild rice and grilled asparagus. I tried limiting the use of salt I usually use to give the asparagus some flavor, but pepper worked fine as well!
Overall, my family really enjoyed the dish because the foods we eat are usually fried, spiced, or use alot of oil.This meal tasted fresh, and made us all feel good about our health choices! Plus, the salmon has many health benefits pertaining to healthy brain function, and metabolism. This is definitely a tasty meal that I plan on making for my family again!
For my heart healthy meal I decided to make a healthier pasta dish called, Farfalle with mushrooms and spinach. Unlike our normal foods this one has some green in it that we normally don't eat so I had to go shopping for the fresh ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThis dish was very simple to make and also very quick to make. After cooking the pasta i used olive oil to cook my onions garlic and mushrooms. The olive oil is a good substitution to butter and gave it a lighter feel to the meal. Garlic and onions both are effective to reduce cholesterol. The final green was spinach quickly cooked and then put in with the cooked pasta.
My family enjoyed this recipe for the most part and the good news was that each portion contained 219 calories. Even better we were still allowed to have our pasta while eating healthy.
Usually on sundays my family prefers eat out, but when I told them that I would make something for them, they were surprised and instantly agreed to stay home to eat. For my heart healthy meal I decided to make them something that they would like but at the same time the healthiest I could think of. So I came to a conclusion to make something out of chicken because my family dislikes fish and always eats meat. Being a guy that usually doesn't have to cook, I wasn't sure what to make out of chicken, so I decided to make chicken sandwich, salad, and soup.
ReplyDeleteSo basically I started off by getting some boneless chicken breast, then I put it on the grill. While the chicken was cooking, I put some chicken in a pot of boiling water. After those cooked for a bit, I took out the chicken from the grill and let it cool a bit, and put some curly noodles in the soup. As soon as the chicken cooled, I put it on some whole wheat bread then put some sliced tomatoes and lettus in it, and put some honey mustard in on the chicken. I put a little bit of spices in the soup, but I tried to stay away from putting too much unhealthy things in it. The salad was the easy part, I just put some lettus, tomatoes, and sliced grilled chicken pieces in it, and just used the honey mustard for dressing. The sandwich and the salad tasted kind of the same, but they said it was okay haha, and the soup tasted pretty good for not having much spices. It was pretty easy to make, but I would prefer my family cooking for me next time !
My mom and I have Sunday dinner together and this past Sunday I decided to treat my mom and cook her a healthy meal. We enjoy pasta so instead of buying regular pasta I went to get the Barilla Plus which is the regular pasta but has the nutrients from wheat pasta such as flax. I also made a pesto sauce made of basil and Parmesan cheese instead of having the fettuccine thick, white sauce. I also made some broccoli and cauliflower with garlic to go a long with it. It was really good surprisingly and we enjoyed a healthy, family dinner. My mom wants to cook with me every Sunday night now!
ReplyDeleteMy dad has been dieting quite a bit recently due to his type II diabetes, so anything I have to cook has to be able to adjust to that diet. Last night, I decided to cook spaghetti with grilled chicken for my meal. Instead of using normal spaghetti, I used whole wheat pasta so that it would be healthier seeing that it is better for those who are diabetic. In the sauce, I included marinara, one fourth of an onion, one half of a bell pepper, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of garlic. The challenges behind preparing this is to make sure the pasta and the sauce finish around the same time and making sure the chicken, a good source of protein, which was mixed in with the vegetables were well cooked. In my opinion, it all worked out pretty well with very few hitches, and my dad certainly thought so. His critique of it was that the whole wheat spaghetti had a different texture, but other than that he said it tasted great. We have been eating meals that are for my dad's dieting, so being able to cook something to go with that diet was a satisfying experience for me, and I would like to do this again sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteFor my heart healthy meal I decided to make tilapia with a side of spinach ravioli. I combined these ingredients in a bowl to season the tilapia so it could have great taste to it.
ReplyDelete1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash garlic powder
In the spinach ravioli I put parmesan cheese and spinach with a little chicken in the noodle. To top it off I put garlic power and a little olive oil on the top of the noodle.This is a very healthy meal compared to other healthy meals because one fillet of tilapia has only 193 calories, 7 g fat and has 32 g protein. The spinach ravioli with only 1 cup serving is only 200 calories, 8 g fat, and has 15 g protein.
I cooked egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast. This meal is heart healthy due to the low fat content, and the oatmeal lowers cholesterol. The meal is quite blah, so i sweeten the oats with some honey to make sure everyone in my family liked it. I cooked for my family every now and then, so they were not surprised by how good it tasted. This was nice because our breakfasts usually consist of cereal or eggo waffles. My family wants me to make breakfast for them at least once a week now.
ReplyDeleteThis past weekend I, for the first time, cooked dinner for my family. Usually my family isn't very good at all eating together because of personal schedules and because my brother (Reece) and I are very picky eaters. My mother is a vegetarian, Reece and I usually eat unhealthy snacks throughout the day, and my dad and other brother (Hunter) overindulge, therefore cooking for my family usually poses a bit of a challenge. I decided for out heart healthy meal to start off with a small salad with vinaigrette then cook some chicken along with some steamed broccoli. Honestly this was the only meal I could really cook that my family would all eat. They all liked the healthy meal and had little complaints! Hunter and my dad finished everything and my mom enjoyed the salad. Overall they liked the idea of trying to have more healthy family dinners.
ReplyDeleteIn my house we are usually pretty busy, usually it is pizza, burgers, fish sticks, and more. So I decided to cook my family a stir fry, with brown rice and cooked vegetables (broccoli, onion, carrots, celery, and bell peppers) with grilled chicken breasts. Along with the main dish I made a fruit salad with blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. My family really enjoyed my cooking, but we tend to cook in my family so we are use to it. One last change I made that night was no dessert my little brother will normally put cookies in the oven right after dinner, but that night everyone was willing to sacrifice for at least one night. This was a recipe that will defiantly be repeated.
ReplyDeleteBreakfast is usually a forgotten meal in my family, so I decided to create a heart healthy breakfast. We usually eat biscuits, pancakes, or simply a Pop-Tart for breakfast. These choices are not healthy, so I wanted to create a yummy, healthy option for us. After searching for healthy options, I found a recipe for Oat Bran muffins with almond and banana. I made these and served blueberries and blackberries with them as a side. Water and 1% milk were our options for drinks. The drinks and fruit was a hit, but the recipe was not too good. I think it was such a change to completely healthy food that it was too much. After the meal, I found another breakfast recipe for lemon raspberry muffins. This recipe sounds better than what I tried, and I am excited about experimenting with healthy foods for my family.
ReplyDeleteFor my heart healthy meal I decided to make my family an oven baked chicken foil wrap. I put the chicken in a piece of foil and then put bell pepper, carrot, and broccoli on top. Then I wrapped up the foil and put it in the oven for a while. On the side I made some brown rice to go along with it. Recently my mom has been buying white rice, but knowing that brown rice is healthier I went to the store and bought it for this dish. It was really good and both my parents liked it and want me to make it again.
ReplyDeleteInstead of going out to eat at a restaurant or a fast food restaurant you can change by eating at home and growing your own fruits and veggies or going to sprouts or a healthy grocery store. For my Lunch meal, I grilled salmon with some olive oil and a little orange juice(all bought at sprouts) with just some cooked rice. On the side for some vegetables, some cabbage and lettuce with a vinegarette dressing. It actually turned out good with me cooking it, and my family liked it. It didn't take long either and was fun and I looked at the ingredients on some of the fast food and restaurants we eat at, and cooking at home for a meal is defiantly 100 times better and tastes fresh!
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