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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry ( Forum Locked)
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Topic: delicious healthy appealing meals at home

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Angie Mc
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 1:51pm \| IP Logged

What are your favorite ideas, plans, online resources, preparations, gadgets, appliances, ingredients, products, and recipes for delicious healthy and appealing meals? Let's define...

healthy as mainly whole food, seasonal, fresh, colorful, and lean.

Delicious can mean flavorful, ethnic, varied, seasoned, textured, contrasting, creative, or unusual.

Appealing can mean attractive, beautiful, eye-catching, extra details, or TLC in presentation.

For fun, let's presume that cost and time aren't factors

. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is served!

Love,

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Angie Mc
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JodieLyn
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 2:11pm \| IP Logged

breakfast.. not only does it meet a good many critera you listed but it's easy and travels really well. I take these for swim meets or camping or make it for mornings we're short on time because if you make the oatmeal bars ahead it's a grab and eat at need type of meal.

oatmeal bars
yogurt
fruit juice

Quote:

I usually double these and make them thicker in a slightly bigger pan.. and cool longer. Poking with your finger to see if it bounces back usually works. My favorite is the second variation.

Oatmeal Bars
1/2 c oil
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking pwd
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. oats
1 c raisins (optional)

mix together and spread in a greased 9x11 cake pan. bake at 350 for 20 min.

or

1/2 c oil
1/2 c apple sauce
1/2 c honey
1 t vanilla
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking pwd
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. oats
1 c raisins (optional)

mix together and spread in a greased 9x11 cake pan. bake at 350 for 20 min

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Jodie, wife to Dave
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*Lindsey*
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 3:10pm \| IP Logged

I just want to say that we love Jodie's oatmeal bars here!

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Lindsey
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JodieLyn
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 3:36pm \| IP Logged

dinner

now whether this fits the criterea for healthy or not depends on the toppings available and the individuals

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

we bake up a bunch of potates and then serve them with various toppings.. usually sour cream, shredded cheese, broccoli, chopped onions of some sort (chives are classic), some sort of meat.. that can be about anything you'd like.. we usually use leftovers like taco meat or chopped up roast or chopped grilled chicken etc.

These are fun because everyone gets to top their own how they like it.

my favorite is broccoli and cheese sometimes with meat.

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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott

lapazfarm
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 3:38pm \| IP Logged

Our favorite thing is to buy fresh catch straight from the docks. Oh my, does it ever beat frozen!
Pair it with fresh seasonal produce from the farmer's market and you have a gourmet meal bursting with flavor--and so healthy, too!
I also love that availability varies with the seasons, providing something new each time. Our latest was Black Cod tips and fresh local Brussels sprouts. Talk about melt in your mouth good!

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Theresa
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CrunchyMom
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 4:47pm \| IP Logged

One of our favorite meals in the summer (when the farm is delivering fresh chickens) is a simple roast chicken, brown rice, and steamed vegetables with butter.

I usually put a halved lemon in the cavity and stuff with fresh thyme and salt and pepper the cavity and under the skin, stuffing herbs under the skin as well. I do love the color of steamed veggies!

Then, the next day, for a nice lunch, we love quesadillas. We make corn tortillas from scratch and add cheese, scallions, diced tomato, and maybe peppers and black beans.

If you save some scallions and tomato, it makes a nice garnish to go with a dollop of sour cream at the end for presentation.

Blueberry whole wheat pancakes are a favorite for breakfast.

Soups are nice. We will often serve tomato with grilled cheese (sometimes with scallion and tomato inside) on a platter cut into quartered triangles. Triangles are always "cute" imo.

We also like "dragon" soup which is really just a good chicken stock with sauteed onion, garlic, and some "green" like kale, peas, broccoli, zuccini, or asparagus cooked. Then, puree. We love it with lots of chunky, homemade, garlicky croutons. Its a pretty green (hence its name), and it is a great way to get my boys to devour leafy greens.

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Lindsay
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SuzanneG
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 7:36pm \| IP Logged

We love a good salad made with......

-thinly sliced cabbage (green or red)
-leftover pieces of roasted or grilled chicken

....and then any other thing you want to put in there! Olives, feta, tomatoes, broccoli, peas, peppers, scallions, sliced kale, sunflower seeds, chickpeas....anything raw and yummy!

-good dressing

Serve with a big chunk of fresh, buttered bread.

It's so colorful, so healthy, fresh and delicious!

My husband needs more protein, so he just gets an extra piece of chicken or two next to it.

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Suzanne in ID
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JodieLyn
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 8:52pm \| IP Logged

Suzanne don't forget nuts and dried fruits as well..

I've made a lovely salad with pecans (raw like you use in baking) dried cranberries, cheese and then other salad stuff.

lapazfarm
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 8:57pm \| IP Logged

JodieLyn wrote:

Suzanne don't forget nuts and dried fruits as well..

I've made a lovely salad with pecans (raw like you use in baking) dried cranberries, cheese and then other salad stuff.

You can also add a boiled egg or two for extra protein.My kids love that.

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Theresa
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guitarnan
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 9:07pm \| IP Logged

I just learned how to make Greek salad dressing (the yogurt kind) from scratch. Greek salads are so yummy...salad greens, a bit of sliced whatever is in your veggie drawer (green pepper, tomato, red onion, carrots...), crumbled feta cheese and kalamata olives...

My daughter just discovered dried cherries, which are not bargain-priced, but make a nice portable snack that doesn't have chocolate in it. (She has braces, so her healthy snacking is limited.)

I learned to cook seasonally in Italy and so our meals really vary from month to month. We love soup...but not right now. I'm trying to find some creative ways to use cherry tomatoes, which I have in abundance but which my husband does not like to eat raw.

In the summer, we like:

Bagels and cream cheese for breakfast (kids) and/or Chobani Greek-style yogurt (dh and me);

Open-faced sandwiches with melted cheese (via our toaster oven) or a nice fresh salad for lunch (okay, dd likes macaroni and cheese, too!);

Grilled anything for dinner - sausages of all kinds, grilled squash, bison burgers, asparagus, potatoes in foil pouches...the colorful veggies look so pretty on our plates!

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SuzanneG
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 9:12pm \| IP Logged

JodieLyn wrote:

Suzanne don't forget nuts and dried fruits as well..

I've made a lovely salad with pecans (raw like you use in baking) dried cranberries, cheese and then other salad stuff.

Oh my gosh! How could I forget??? My favorite things!!!! Cut up dried-figs, cranberries and walnuts just went in my salad tonight!!!!

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Suzanne in ID
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Nique
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Posted: Aug 07 2010 at 9:47pm \| IP Logged

Ooo! Adding this topic to my "favourites"

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Angie Mc
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 1:11pm \| IP Logged

Yummy! Thanks, all and keep you ideas coming, please

.

Since posting, we have enjoyed...

Cold Shrimp or Crab Salad (seafood + chopped veggies + dressing) served on lettuce greens, with a side of french fried sweet potatoes (frozen at Costco) and cucumber salad

Homemade Granola with milk and a frozen mixed berry medley

Chicken Salad on Sandwich Thins with lettuce and tomato, side of veggie sticks (carrot and celery)

Cottage Cheeses Salad = 1/2 C cottage chesse per serving + a handful of chopped veggie per serving - for 5 servings we added cucumber, tomato, green pepper, carrot, and green onion + seasoning and poppy seed, Cantaloupe Soup = in the vitamix we blended very ripe melon, lemon, lime, and a splash of Grand Marnier.

******

On a side note, what food items are you willing to splurge on because they help to make meals more healthy, delicious, and appealing?

real maple syrup
avocado
seafood
pine nuts
fancy olives
feta, chevre, and blue cheese

More later...

Love,

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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Mackfam
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 1:29pm \| IP Logged

Angie Mc wrote:

Cold Shrimp or Crab Salad (seafood + chopped veggies + dressing) served on lettuce greens, with a side of french fried sweet potatoes (frozen at Costco) and cucumber salad

You hit on two of my favorite cool summer salads!!!

I make cold shrimp salad on a bed of lettuce with slices of avocado - lemon juice, salt and pepper...and (not everyone would like this, but...) hot sauce! That is my all-time-favorite cold salad!!! I actually make it with a variety of dressings - cucumber/dill/ranch is one of my family's favorites!

Another favorite salad is pasta tossed with bruschetta. So refreshing! It's great with shells or rotini pasta shells!

I splurge on:

** Avocado
** Fresh dill (if ours isn't growing)
** REALLY good olive oil - I know that's a taste/pref thing...but for cooking I use a nice EVOO, but for salads/bruschetta I use a really fruity premium olive oil that we love. I don't mind splurging to use this on yummy salads.

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Jen Mackintosh
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, ds 16

, ds 11

, dd 8

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 1:52pm \| IP Logged

oh that reminds me I got cucumbers to make that cucumber salad with.. I need to figure out dinner tonight so I'll keep that in mind

I get olives (the kids love them) for the occational use.

The better quality salad dressings

The rest of those you listed I don't get regularly..

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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott

zookeeper9
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 2:23pm \| IP Logged

If you are into traditional, whole food type foods. I can recommend a site that has a menu mailer that is very kid friendly and has some awesome, great tasting foods. It even can be made GF/CF.

If you head to Cooking Traditional Foods you can check it out.

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Donna
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JaysFamily
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 2:58pm \| IP Logged

I made the creamy cucumber soup that is featured in this month's Southern Living. We'll see how it tastes tonight.

One of our favorite resources for recipes is Southern Living magazine. I can almost always pair up the fresh produce that's on sale with some recipes in the magazine to make gourmet and simple inexpensive seasonal dishes. Southern Living always has seasonal recipes, some are healthy, other are not, but they're all delicious! They post them online.

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Mackfam
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 3:52pm \| IP Logged

Angie Mc wrote:

On a side note, what food items are you willing to splurge on because they help to make meals more healthy, delicious, and appealing?

More on this...

Red wine vinegar
White wine vinegar

...and I'd love to...JUST ONCE...find truffle butter to make Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter or Truffled Filet of Beef Sandwiches. I can see me making either of these dishes for an in-house date night dinner, but I've never splurged on the truffle butter to try them. I understand it really isn't that expensive - $4 - $7...I'd just have to go to a specialty market...and you can imagine how often that happens. Still...maybe I should do that one afternoon when I'm out shopping with just my older daughter. Anyone ever splurged on truffle butter?

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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19

, ds 16

, ds 11

, dd 8

, and dd 3

Wildflowers and Marbles

Angie Mc
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 8:21pm \| IP Logged

Mackfam wrote:

I actually make it with a variety of dressings - cucumber/dill/ranch is one of my family's favorites!

I splurge on:

** REALLY good olive oil - for salads/bruschetta I use a really fruity premium olive oil that we love. I don't mind splurging to use this on yummy salads.

I use different dressing with my seafood, too. I especially like to season it with Old Bay.

What brand do you recommend for eating/dipping olive oil, Jen?

Love,

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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Mackfam
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Posted: Aug 09 2010 at 8:47pm \| IP Logged

Angie Mc wrote:

Mackfam wrote:

I use different dressing with my seafood, too. I especially like to season it with Old Bay.

One of my favorite dry seasonings on seafood (but I use it on everything - roasts, steaks, pasta, seafood) is Tony Chacheres (say SA-shur-ees). If you enjoy a little heat (just a little) and spice, this is a great seasoning!

Angie Mc wrote:

What brand do you recommend for eating/dipping olive oil, Jen?

Understanding that everyone has different preferences and tastes...our favorite olive oil is Dellalo Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - rich, fruity, wonderful!!!! At its simplest we enjoy olive oil with crushed red or black pepper and fresh bread or drizzled over pasta and shrimp. I add it to every other salad dressing combo in between. YUM!!!

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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19

, ds 16

, ds 11

, dd 8

, and dd 3

Wildflowers and Marbles

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