Budget-Friendly Hamburger Lentil Vegetable Soup

This is a delicious & simple & very inexpensive recipe that you can make as your main dish chocked full of fiber and nutrients!  I'll be surprised if you pay over $10.00 for all of these ingredients. When I was interning at the health department before I became a Registered Dietitian, one of the coolest things I saw was a recipe sheet for people who received WIC benefits but didn't know what to do with the food they were getting.  With this recipe, Mom's were able to put together a nutritious meal using the dried lentils, carrots, and tomato juice they were receiving.  I put this together in a pot for some of the WIC clients to sample and it was a huge hit.  One of my favorite days of my internship.  I still make it often because it FREEZES so well (I always double the recipe because of this) and I vary between adding hamburger and eating it without any meat.

 I hope you enjoy! Makes 6 Servings

Gluten-Free Party Mix with Glutino Salted Caramel Covered Pretzels

This is such a busy time of year for me between school & getting the kids to soccer games that it is always good to have a quick snack on hand that is always tasty.  This is so incredibly easy to make and once you try the Glutino Salted Covered Pretzels, I imagine it will be hard for you to put any other sweet into the mix because it is one of the best GF pretzels and GF sweet snacks I have ever had.
 In fact, the reason why the bag looks a bit wrinkled in the picture is because I couldn't keep my kiddos away from these.  The sweet & salty of the salted caramel with the savory party mix is a wonderful combination.  Put this mix in a couple of snack size ziplock bags and if hanger hits in your family, you'll be well prepared.

THD's Stuffed Eggplant Recipe

:NOM:NOM:NOM:  I really didn't think I liked eggplant, but then we got a farm share box from our local Lowes Foods and I thought I would give it a shot because the eggplants looked really good.  Then, I noticed an unopened package of Johnsonville New Orleans Spicy Smoked Sausage Links and thought...maybe this could work?  I was SOOOOOO right!

Glutino Gluten-Free Goods- Love! Love! Love!

What is that saying...you always want what you can't have?  That is how I felt when I first tried eliminating gluten with the Fodmap diet to help identifying the foods that were causing abdominal distention/bloating in my diet.  I had tried a few "bread" products and really was not optimistic.  Then, one day, I took a leap of faith and found Glutino's Gluten-Free Bagels in the freezer section of the Food Lion by my house.  And my husband and I were so happy because they are really, really good!  I wanted to see what other GF products the Glutino company carried.  Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to answer my prayers and make a GF English muffin.  Prayers answers.  See here.  I am in love with the original premium english muffins that Glutino makes.  I am a huge fan of making my own breakfast sandwiches and generally prefer the english muffin over bread when it comes to sandwiches (especially the peanut butter and banana combo).

Green's Gluten-Free Beer- YES! YES! YES!

Growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan I have had the opportunity to be exposed to some of the finer things in life including great live music, good coffee, and the best microbreweries in the country.  I appreciate my diverse taste in beer, knowing that there are times, tastes, and places for all of the different varieties.  I have been skeptical of divulging in the Gluten-Free Beer genre because honestly, all of the ones I have tried have been "meh".  However, my thoughts, feelings, and preferences have all changed after being exposed to Green's Gluten Free Beers.  Green's GF Beers are Belgian brews that are made with millet, sorghum, buckwheat (soba), and rice.  There are no sulfites (no headaches!) and are appropriate for vegans & vegetarians.  Since I have a preference for dark and ominous brews, I was especially excited to try the Endeavor Dubbel Ale.  It is dark.

The FODMAP Diet for IBS, etc.

There are lots of people out there who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome with either diarrhea, constipation, or a combination of both.  There are some medications that can alleviate symptoms, however, there are no medications that can specifically treat the painful bloating that some people experience.  I know many, many people who can bloat out to the size of a 5-6 month pregnant female after meals and even through allergy testing, upper endoscopies, colonoscopies, various medications and digestive enzymes, nothing seems to help discover the root cause to the discomfort.

I've been watching the progression of interest in the FODMAP diet in the USA for some time now.  Dr. Sue Shepard and Dr. Peter Gibson created the FODMAP Diet in the 2000's and for many people, it has brought much comfort.

So what is a FODMAP?
FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols.  The idea is to limit foods that have been proven to be poorly absorbed by some people.  The foods that are limited include foods with:

Excess Fructose:  apples, pears, honey, high fructose corn syrup
Lactose:  cow milk, ice cream, cottage cheese
Fructans:  garlic, onion, brussels sprouts, watermelon
Galactans: beans, lentils, chickpeas
Polyols:  Sugar alcohols such as xylitol, maltitol, avocados, prunes

My NOLA Top 10 & a few extra tips

New Orleans is incredible.  I have been twice now- one for business and a bit of pleasure and another time for my Honeymoon.  The first trip was in the heat of the summer- late July & it was so hot and humid that my husband had to go to the French Market to buy quite a few extra shirts because we had to change our clothes a couple times a day because of the sweat.  That might not sound appealing to you, but we could not resist walking the streets of NOLA, dipping in to the different places to shop and eat to cool off and explore.  We also had the opportunity to catch the Satchmo Festival where the music and the people were so fun.

2014 Favorites Part Two

Best Cookbook- Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones.  I am not a vegan, however the recipes in this book are outstanding.  I was attracted originally to the budget-friendly approach to eating healthy, and although it can be quite an investment for ingredients up front, the book does a great job breaking down the general cost per serving for the recipes.  The recipes are fantastic.  My favorites are the recipes for tabouli, tempeh-broccoli sauté, hummus, potato pancakes, and my absolute favorite---Coconut "Ice Cream" made with frozen bananas.  Here's a link to more info about this book which would make a great gift for those people you know who love food:  Eat Vegan on $4 a Day

2014 Favorites Part One

Part One of my favorites from 2014:

1.  My Garden- Last summer so was incredibly wet that I had a sad growing season.  This summer was just wonderful, however.  I did not intend on any of my watermelon actually making it but I had 3 and they were great (once I figured out how to tell if they were ripe or not).  I also grew my first round of peppers and eggplant.  I was very hesitant on even growing the eggplant because I always thought I didn't like it but I was wrong!  We made a lot of baba ghannouj and ratatouille with it.  I also had an abundance of bruschetta and pesto with all of the sweet basil I have growing year-round.  Looking to grow some amazing food?  Look no further than the best seeds available:Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

2.  Olympic Weightlifting- Okay, I'll admit it.  I knew nothing about this sport until I met my husband (who just happens to be a great coach who really loves the sport).  But it is really, really fun.  I love feeling like I am getting better every workout.  And most importantly, learning a new sport when you are older feels different than when you're younger and just want to be really good and fast.  I just want to be strong and healthy and learn how to do lifts correctly, so I don't get hurt.  And it is such a great outlet for all of that energy from a hard day at work...hard day at school...hard day at home.  So, if you're reading this- thanks Love for the introduction
to "your weightlifting thing" because it is awesome.

3.  New Orleans, LA- I've been to NOLA two years in a row and just cannot get over how amazing it is.  I've made a Top 10 List of my favorite NOLA happenings, which I will share soon, but it is really difficulty to list only 10 things about that city to love because there are hundreds of things that come to mind.  The food, the music, the buildings, the streetcars, the festivals...I just can't get enough.  So, my goal is to get back for a third year in a row.  I dare say...it might be my favorite city in the entire USA.  Boston, MA is a close second.

Tasty Crabmeat Dip Recipe

Here is a delicious crabmeat recipe that can be used on crackers, toasted bagel halves, or in wraps.  I created this when trying to use some of the ingredients hanging out in my fridge before the New Year and my-oh-my has it been a real hit in the home!  The Italian blend seasoning and banana peppers were just hanging out in the house, but really tied it all together nicely.

The Honest Dietitian's Tasty Crabmeat Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of lump crabmeat (or imitation if you are looking for a good way to use it up!)
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped finely
• 5 banana pepper rings, chopped (this really gave my recipe the pop I was looking for)
• 1 teaspoon of Italian blend seasoning
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I was using up the last of my Duke's mayo so the 1/3 cup worked great)
• 1 teaspoon of honey mustard (if I had dijon, I would have considered this)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Mix the mayonnaise and honey mustard together.
• Toss the crabmeat, celery, and banana peppers in the mayo/honey mustard mixture.
• Sprinkle in the Italian blend seasoning and give the crabmeat mix a couple of stirs.
• Salt and Pepper can be used to your taste!  I gave a quick shake of both to my dip.

Most Importantly...Enjoy!