A Message from The Moms:
Nalgene Water Bottle Giveaway!
This month we have an eco-friendly giveaway! Five lucky winners will each receive four re-usable Nalgene water bottles in a variety of fun colors (a $40.00 value). They are all BPA free and safe for the whole family. To enter to win, all you have to do is forward this newsletter to a friend by clicking the Forward to a Friend button located just below our photo. If your friends then subcribe to our newsletter, we’ll enter them too! It’s that easy. We’ll announce the winners in our December Update.
We hope by now you’ve had a chance to visit our newly designed website featuring over 100 family-friendly recipes, a weekly radio podcast called Cooking with the Moms, a new-and-improved Supermarket Shopping List, and lots more. We update the site weekly so visit us often.
As for other Meal Makeover Mom news, we traveled to
Chicago
last month for the annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association. We attended interesting lectures – did you know that choline, a nutrient found in eggs, chicken, milk, and broccoli, is good for brain health but that most Americans don’t get enough of it? – and sampled new family-friendly food products which we’ll be talking about on our blog this month.
On a final note, we would love to hear from you. If you have a question, a recipe you’d like to share, or a mealtime strategy that’s helped you get more veggies on the family table, post a comment to our blog. That way we can all learn from each other!
Makeover Recipe
Skillet Pasta & Beef Dinner
Makes 5 Servings
If you're looking for a one-pot supper to satisfy your entire family, this is the recipe for you. It's hearty, healthy and filled with kid-friendly flavors. Another bonus: It won't break your food budget. Each servings costs less than $2.50.
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 pound lean ground beef (90% or higher)
One 26-ounce jar pasta sauce (we like Light Ragu Tomato & Basil)
2 cups water
8 ounces dried whole wheat blend rotini (we like Barilla Plus)
1 cup preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes Add the meat and cook, breaking up the large pieces, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat. Stir in the pasta sauce and water, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Cover and let stand until the cheese melts, 5 minutes. Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese as desired.
Nutrition Information per Serving: 410 calories, 10g fat (4g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 620mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 34g protein, 35% vitamin A, 70% vitamin C, 25% calcium, 15% iron
Naturally Nora:
With flavors like Surprising Stars, Cheerful Chocolate, and Alot’a Dots, these all-natural cake and frosting mixes are a guaranteed hit with kids (and adults) who love dessert. A huge “thank you” to Nora for leaving out the artificial colors and flavors! NaturallyNora.com
The Science of Good Food:
Science meets cooking in this info-packed book written by David Joachim and Andrew Schloss. With 100 recipes, 175 fascinating food facts, and the food scoop on everything from eggs to legumes, it’s the ultimate reference on how cooking works. It just might make the perfect holiday gift for the foodies in your life.
Food Should Taste Good:
We're in chip heaven! Food Should Taste Good offers a healthy lineup of sensational snack chips with varieties like Sweet Potato, Multigrain and even Chocolate. Our favorite, Sweet Potato chips, has 20% vitamin A and 3 grams of fiber, and they taste great. FoodShouldTasteGood.com
Join the conversation on our blog as we share healthy recipes and helpful ideas for feeding your family. Some recent posts include our craziest recipe ever, a pork tenderloin dish your kids will want to eat, and a new recipe for Cocoa Raisin Muffins. Let us know what you think!
Tune in to Cooking with the Moms, our weekly radio podcast show available every Wednesday on our website and on iTunes. This week’s show, Healthy Eating on a Budget, features tips and recipes that keep food prices down but good nutrition at the top of your shopping list. Next week, we'll cook up a Light Thanksgiving Feast!
Do your favorite recipes need a healthy makeover? We're here to help. All you have to do is send us an email with the recipe, the number of suggested servings, why you and your family like it, and why you think it needs a makeover. Keep those recipes coming!
This newsletter is published by The Meal Makeover Moms, 40 Glen St., Melrose, MA 02176.
