Tips from the Kitchen Tuesday

 Keep a notepad and pencil out on the fridge or counter to quickly jot things down to buy on your next grocery store trip. As soon as you notice something is low, write it down. This will save you trips to the store. 

We need your help! Do you have any tips for the kitchen? Send them to lookwhatscookingtoday@gmail.com and we'll post them!

Making Healthy Choices Monday

When buying canned fruit purchase the fruit in water, or light syrup, never heavy syrup. No-sugar added is another great option.

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

"I found this recipe on the Mission tortilla website and really like it."

10 flour tortillas, 10-inch

2 or 3 chicken breasts, depending on their size

1 packet Fajita seasoning

1 tablespoon oil

1 green bell pepper diced

1 red bell pepper diced

1 yellow onion diced

about 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

about 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Cut chicken into small pieces. Combine with the fajita seasoning and mix throughly.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, approximately 5 minutes.

3. Stir in green and red bell peppers, and onion. Slowly cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

4. Layer half of each tortilla with Cheddar cheese and chicken mixture. Top with Monterey Jack cheese. Fold each tortilla in half to create a "half moon" and press lightly.

5. Coat a skillet or griddle with cooking spray and warm to medium heat. Lightly brown each quesadilla for 2-3 minutes per side until cheese is melted.

6. Cut each quesadilla into 3 wedges and serve.

Serves 5 (two each). Ready in 20 minutes.

Making Healthy Choices Monday

Steam your vegetables rather than boil, when possible. Boiling cooks out some of the vitamins from the vegetables. Cooking them in the microwave with a little bit of water is a good way to cook them too.

LOOK WHAT'S COOKING FOR BREAKFAST!

Do you constantly find yourself being asked, "What's for breakfast?" Here is fun and easy way to solve your morning time menu worries. Not only will it help you get out of the cold cereal or doughnut rut, but it's fun for kids too!

MONDAY MUFFINS (serve with yogurt or fruit)
TUESDAY TACOS (a.k.a. breakfast burritos) or TUESDAY TOAST (toast, eggs, & fruit)
WEDNESDAY WAFFLES
THURSDAY THIRSTY (yogurt smoothie/fruit smoothie with eggs & toast)
FRIDAY FREE DAY or FRENCH TOAST
SATURDAY OATMEAL
SUNDAY....

You can fill in the weekend with your favorite family traditional breakfasts or use other breakfasts for the weekdays. The idea is to be creative so you and your kids will remember what's cooking that day! In addition to solving the "what's for breakfast" dilemma, you will be able to plan ahead and serve healthier meals to get your family energized for the day. I've never met a kid or mom who doesn't love this idea. Let us know what other great breakfast ideas you come up with so we can post them.

Making Healthy Choices Monday

Buy only 100% fruit juice. There are many options for 100% fruit juice. Have you ever looked at the ingredients of the other types of juice? On a lot the first few ingredients is high fructose corn syrup or water! That means your mostly paying for water and sugar.

Drinking 100% juice ensures you will be getting a serving of fruit in every 1/2 cup! But beware, you can’t get your full daily amount of fruit servings from juice. One-third of the fruit you eat can be from juice, the other two-thirds must be from the whole fruit. 

There are many brands that make 100% juice, so I'm not promoting one brand over the other.

Drink up!

Making Healthy Choices Monday

Make sure you’re eating enough vegetables when you are eating them. These are all one serving of vegetables:

1 cup of leafy greens (salad) 

1/2 cup raw or cooked vegetables

1/2 cup cooked legumes (beans)

If you eat a salad which consists of 1 cup of lettuce and 1/2 a cup of other vegetables, that’s two servings!