All posts in category Nutrition

Chocolate Nut Bars (No Bake!)

I made these yummy bars this morning, and my kids and mother-in-law ate them up after our lunch of homemade pizza, Caesar salad , and seared chicken. A small handful of ingredients, a food processor, and a wax paper-lined pan is all you need!

Chocolate Nut Bars

-1 cup of nuts (I used almonds and cashews)
-2 cups of dates
-1/2 cup organic Cocoa powder
-1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place nuts into a jar. Add just enough water to cover nuts. Allow them to soak for at least 30 min. Line an 8×8 pan with waxed paper, allowing paper to hang over edges. Place nuts (and soaking water) into a food processor. Process until thoroughly chopped and paste like. Remove into the lined pan. Place dates into processor and process until dates are also thoroughly chopped. Add in cocoa, vanilla, and nut mixture. Once again, process until mixed. Add in chocolate chips and pulse until evenly distributed. Press mixture into lined pan until smooth on top. Place in fridge for about 30 min. Slice into desired size bars and serve. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

1 Comment

by M. Terry on November 25, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Family, Food, Nutrition, Recipes

Tagged healthy nut chocolate bars no sugar added

Posted by M. Terry on November 25, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/11/25/chocolate-nut-bars-no-bake/

Grilled Smoky Spanish Salad – “A Salad For Each Week” #47

On cool days, a warm meal is a welcomed treat that keeps Jack Frost from nipping at your nose. While salads are often associated with a way to cool down, there are ways to keep your favorite greens going strong in your diet even when the days grow cold. Taking hearty leaves, like romaine, and grilling them still gives you that traditional crispiness of a salad while adding that warmth your body craves. I opted for a Spanish flavor for this salad, and their dishes often feature peppers and olives. To add to the grilled taste and in keeping with the Spanish flair, I also added a bit of smoky paprika. Rich carbs, healthy fats, and nutrients from every ingredient keep your immune system in full gear during the flu and cold season!

Grilled Smoky Spanish Salad

1 head romaine, outer leaves removed
1/2 cup roasted peppers, sliced*
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
1/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1-2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Generously spray or rub romaine (all sides) with the olive oil. Season with a touch of salt and pepper. Place on grill and grill for about 3-4 minutes a side, allowing grill marks to appear on leaves and for the head to heat through. In a small bowl, mix together peppers, olives, garlic, and paprika. Stir. Place romaine head onto dish, top with olive and pepper mixture, and then add on chopped almonds (marcona almonds are a Spanish variety, but raw almonds work too). Drizzle with a touch of olive oil if desired.

*Roast your own! Lightly coat with olive oil and place on foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for about 20-30 depending on size of peppers.

Other recipes you will enjoy:

“A Salad For Each Week” Recipes:

2 Comments

by M. Terry on November 20, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Recipes, Salads

Tagged clean eating simple salad, clean-eating-healthy-spanish olive and pepper salad, healthy clean grab and go salad

Posted by M. Terry on November 20, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/11/20/grilled-smoky-spanish-salad-a-salad-for-each-week-47/

Butternut Squash and Green Bean Succotash – “A Salad For Each Week” #46

Last Saturday, I was at Whole Foods with a friend, and we grabbed an early lunch after a race to benefit Give Kids the World. As I was strolling along the salad bar, I came across their autumn version of succotash. I piled a heap on my plate, and when I sat down and tried a bite, I knew I had to recreate it! Butternut squash is high in vitamins A and C boosting eye health, anti-inflammatory benefits, and immune support, so eat away! 🙂

Butternut Squash and Green Bean Succotash

1 butternut squash, cooked and cubed
3 cups fresh green beans, cut in half
1 cup lima beans (frozen or home cooked)
1 cup organic corn (fresh off cob or frozen)
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Fresh parsley
Pepper to taste

Place all vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and pepper, drizzle with vinegar, and add in fresh parsley. Carefully stir to combine and coat thoroughly. Allow to chill at least 2 hours, preferably longer, if possible, for the flavors to marry. Makes about 8 – 10 servings. Serve alone or on top of your favorite greens.

*Slice in half, lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Place flesh side down onto an oiled cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until slightly soft when squeezed. Cool and then cube.

Other recipes you will enjoy:

“A Salad For Each Week” Recipes:

8 Comments

by M. Terry on November 15, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Recipes, Salads

Tagged clean eating simple salad, clean-eating-healthy-butternut squash succotash salad, healthy clean grab and go salad

Posted by M. Terry on November 15, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/11/15/butternut-squash-and-green-bean-succotash-a-salad-for-each-week-46/

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Pumpkin and granola…need I say more???

2 1/2 cups whole oats
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil, in liquid form
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of natural sugar
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup raisins, dried cherries, or cranberries

Place oats, coconut, seeds, sugar, and pie spice into a large baking dish (bigger than 9×13). Stir together. In a bowl, pour in syrup, applesauce, oil, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with hands until all the dry ingredients are coated. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 min. stirring at the halfway point. Add in the dried fruit of your choice, stir, and bake an additional 15 min. Pull out of oven and allow to cool completely.

Anna’s “Summer Meets Fall” Dessert

Today, on the way home from school, Anna said she had been thinking and wanted to make a dessert for us. Since Central Florida is sopping wet, football practices and games have been canceled for week #2, so we had the whole evening at home together as a family! After backyard playing, showers, and dinner, Anna joined me in the kitchen to make this “Summer (Cherries) Meets Fall (Apples)” Dessert.

2 cups organic whipped cream (about 1 cup organic cream and 1 Tablespoon honey whipped together until soft peaks form)
1 organic apple, chopped
Cherry sauce (We had this leftover already in the fridge – click here for the recipe – just substitute the cherries for the berries)
Mini Chocolate chips

Place a dollop of whipped cream on the bottom of a bowl. Add a large spoonful of cherry sauce, followed by chopped apples, more whipped cream and then the chocolate chips. This made 3 kid-sized servings and 1 adult serving.

Thanksgiving Salad – “A Salad For Each Week” #40

Today is Saturday. Saturdays in the fall means Nutcracker practice. Today’s lunch for the girls is one of my all-time favorites…my Thanksgiving Salad. I had roasted a turkey the other day and used the leftovers to fuel my ballerinas. Packed with veggies, lean protein, and complex carbs, it’s the best combo for their post-jumping, high-energetic dancing.

Thanksgiving Salad

Your favorite greens (2 servings worth)
1/2 cup roasted turkey
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1/4 cup apples, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup cornbread croutons
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
Salt and pepper to taste

Place celery, carrots, apples, cranberries, almonds, and sage in a bowl and stir to combine. Divide greens into two bowls. Top each serving with half of the veggie/fruit mix. Add turkey and croutons to each salad. Dress with creamy balsamic dressing. Toss to coat salad.

Other recipes you will enjoy:

“A Salad For Each Week” Recipes:

12 Comments

by M. Terry on September 27, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Recipes, Salads

Tagged clean eating simple salad, healthy clean grab and go salad, leftover turkey and cranberries, Thanksgiving salad

Posted by M. Terry on September 27, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/09/27/thanksgiving-salad-a-salad-for-each-week-40/

French Onion Green Beans – “A Salad For Each Week” #38

Before I left for my ballet class the other day, I sliced up some onions and began to cook them down in my cast iron skillet. I had the idea of french onion soup in my mind, but it was hovering around 90 outside so I stuck with traditional flavors and decided that the fresh green beans in my fridge would be the perfct vessel for my onions. As I headed out the door, I turned off the burner and covered them. When I walked back in after class, the house was filled with that wonderful smell of sauteed onions! I basically had forgotten about them and the aroma was a pleasant reminder that part of my well-earned lunch was already complete. I placed the sweet and soft onions over some fresh green beans, grabbed a fork and knife and enjoyed an easy and fresh side to my lunch!

French Onion Green Beans

2 handfuls of fresh green beans
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3-4 fresh sprigs of thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 garlic glove, minced
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Add onions and garlic. After about 5 minutes, turn heat to low. Add in vinegar and mustard and stir until coated. Toss in fresh sprigs of thyme. Stir occasionally, cooking for another 30 minutes or so. (Or turn off stove, cover, and go to ballet class 🙂 ) Add salt and pepper before removing from stove. Place warm onions over fresh green beans. You can sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs to give it an even more “French Onion Soup” feel. Makes 2 servings.

Other recipes you will enjoy:

“A Salad For Each Week” Recipes:

2 Comments

by M. Terry on September 4, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Recipes, Salads

Tagged clean eating simple salad, eating clean french onion soup green bean salad, healthy clean grab and go salad, simple-summer salad

Posted by M. Terry on September 4, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/09/04/french-onion-green-beans-a-salad-for-each-week-38/

Curried Cauliflower Sauté – “A Salad For Each Week” #37

After a morning of cleaning the other day, I surveyed my fridge and decided that Indian fare was what I wanted for lunch. With the already chopped cauliflower I had on hand, I quickly cut the other veggies and heated up my cast iron skillet for this warm and savory dish. You can also serve this chilled over a bed of spinach or baby greens which soak up the juices and spices. Warm or cold – I love the flavors in this!

2 cups cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Indian spice mix (recipe below)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon water
Hot sauce, optional
Fresh cilantro

Heat coconut oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add cauliflower, tomatoes, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in water, Indian spice mix, and hot sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve warm and garnished with cilantro. Makes 2-4 servings.

Indian Spice Mix
4 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons curry

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together and save remainder for future use.

Other recipes you will enjoy:

“A Salad For Each Week” Recipes:

4 Comments

by M. Terry on August 30, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Food, Nutrition, Recipes, Salads

Tagged clean eating simple salad, healthy clean grab and go salad, healthy indian curry salad, simple-summer salad

Posted by M. Terry on August 30, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/08/30/curried-cauliflower-saute-a-salad-for-each-week-37/

Mex Chex Mix with Cilantro Cream

For Joel’s birthday dinner, I wanted to do something other than chips and salsa and ended up just gathering things from the pantry and fridge to create this winning combination. I had several bags of chips opened up (who doesn’t?!), so I used the leftovers in all 4 bags which included tortilla chips, sweet potato chips, pretzels, and seed chips. These were to be our dipping vessels. I then went to the fridge and grabbed a handful of items to be mixed together to become the dip itself. And what we ended up with, when all was said and done, was a basket of Mexican seasoned chips and a bowl of cilantro cream. The chips were perfectly zesty and the cilantro cream was so delicious that we ended up using the leftovers on our tacos the next night, and I even caught Joel licking it off his plate. And on Monday, we had all the traditional Chex Mix ingredients, so we turned one of our batches into a Mex Chex Mix.

Cilantro Cream

1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain
1/4 cup mayo (I use Whole Food’s 365 Light Mayo)
1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup fresh cilantro (loosely packed)
3 roasted garlic cloves
3 tablespoons roughly chopped onion
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Serve with chips, veggies, on tacos, or even tossed in a salad.

Mex Chex Mix

4 cups chips (tortilla style)
1 Tablespoon Mexican seasoning
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Place oil and seasoning into a small bowl and stir. Pour about half the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Place chips onto cookie sheet and begin to toss chips gently with hands, making sure the seasoning mixture is begin to coat them. Drizzle the remaining seasoning mixture over the top of chips and toss again. Place in a preheated 350 degree over. Bake 10 min., stir, and bake an additional 10 min. Pull out of oven and allow to cool.

School Snacks – An All-Morning Activity

Tomorrow, my girls head back to school. Today, my girls and boy headed into the kitchen. We made 5 different types of snacks for the upcoming few weeks. Between ballet twice a week (soon to be 3x), football twice a week (also soon to be 3x), homework, ministry, and Scott and Joel heading back to school on Monday, this was our last chance to spend a chuck of time together creating and enjoying the fruits of our labor. The Chex Mixes stay fresh in an air-tight container for a couple of weeks. The muffins are individually wrapped and frozen. The bars are precut and also frozen in a container with wax paper separating the layers so they do not freeze together. With all these in place, I can be assured my kids have healthy snacks on hand when we are rushed. With that said, here is what we made today:

Homemade Chex Mix
Mex Chex Mix (recipe to be posted this week)
White Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Chip Spaghetti Squash Muffins
Cereal Bars (also to be posted later this week)

1 Comment

by M. Terry on August 11, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Family, Food, Nutrition, Recipes

Tagged back to school breakfast snacks healthy, eating clean cheerio bars, eating clean chex mix, Eating clean peanut butter & co. bars, eating clean spaghetti squash muffins

Posted by M. Terry on August 11, 2014

https://wholetothecore.com/2014/08/11/school-snacks-an-all-morning-activity/

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All posts in category Nutrition

I made these yummy bars this morning, and my kids and mother-in-law ate them up after our lunch of homemade pizza, Caesar salad , and seared chicken. A small handful of ingredients, a food processor, and a wax paper-lined pan is all you need!