Turkey Tacos in a lettuce wrap-Mexican yum

Hola! Eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant yesterday got me inspired to write this next blog. If you are like our family, we have Mexican at least once a week.  But, mostly at our home d/t the cost, calories and extremely high sodium content.

Typical Mexican foods and the calories:
20 tortilla chips at the restaurant equal approx 200 calories
9 inch plate of Nachos = 900 calories ( you would need to walk for 240 min.s to burn this off)
1 beef and bean burrito = 500 calories
1 side of mexican rice + 280 calories

check out Calorie King for more: http://www.calorieking.com/calories-in-mexican.html
Calorie King is a great tool to look up calories, fat and carbs.  I have an app on my phone that is extremely helpful.

 This post is one of the healthier ways to eat Mexican rather than fast food, or your favorite Mexican restaurant.
1 serving of this Lettuce Taco (with 3 oz. of meat mixture) will be approx. 120-200 calories!!!

What you will need:

1 lb. lean ground turkey (I also love ground chicken and it is sometimes less $) $3-5
1/2 onion (diced or sliced into strips)  $.50
2-3 peppers, or slice some smaller peppers up (I enjoy all the colors)  $3.00
1Tbsp Ground Cumin (I never measure, but sprinkle to taste)
1Tbsp Garlic Powder
Leaves of Romaine Lettuce

I add the seasoning to the meat while I fry it up.  Then drain-no oil needed

slice up peppers and onion-I like cutting them in slices

Add peppers and onion to skillet and cover for approx. 15 min. on Med-low heat.  stir frequently.    I like to sprinkle a little more of the seasonings with a little pepper.

Mix the meat with the vegetables and serve on your lettuce leaf.

Adding some salsa to this can add more taste and only little calories!  I sometimes add this meat mixture to organic corn chips that I have found at Aldi and Ruler grocery stores.  Sprinkle a little mozzarella on top and devour your Mexican meal for half the calories.  This meal has healthy lean protein, vitamins from the vegetables, salsa, lettuce, and should keep you full for a couple hours.  Instead of having the highly processed tortillas,add healthy carbohydrates like an 8oz. glass of milk, fruit salsa, or corn and black bean salsa on the side?

Enjoy your Mexican meal at home, which will save you $ and calories!

Snow Day Supper for my Little Italians

After a crazy snow day running a kido to the pediatrician, dog to the vet, completing my class assignment and a bit of a nap, I had no idea what to make for supper.  As I open the refrigerator like most evenings, I found some:

- cooked noodles from a few evenings ago

-  frozen chicken breasts

-  bag of frozen spinach

-  jar of spaghetti sauce (organic from Aldi's-see below for all the cool items I bought)

- bag of mozzarella cheese

Placed the chicken in a skillet and poured a 1/4 of the jar of sauce over the top of the chicken. Covered for 10 min. on med. heat.  Placed noodles in casserole dish, poured remaining sauce over noodles and 1/2 bag of the frozen spinach (thawed a little in the microwave).

Once the chicken was cooked thoroughly, diced and added to casserole. Place in 350 degree oven for 15 min.  Removed an topped with 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese.  10 more mins and it was complete.

Below is one of the kidos portions.  Approx. 1 cup casserole and 1 cup spring salad mix.  My husband has Italian genes and grew up eating spaghetti almost weekly.  While watching carbohydrates, noodles are difficult to have without going over.  So I try to incorporated lots of veggies and add some healthier meats when eating our Italian meals.  

The kids didn't even notice the spinach in the casserole, and barely tasted it.  Mixing it with this sauce was a perfect combination for those that are a little hesitant about this amazing vegetable.  Spinach has wonderful vitamins and minerals, check out this article on this powerful veggie: 

 http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutritional-food-value-of-spinach.html#b

I visited a local Aldi Grocery market this past week and came home with a ton of Organic and Minimally processed foods.  Thanks to a co-worker for reminding me of this supermarket and all these wonderful finds.  From organic soup, fruits, milk, granola, sauce, dressing, broth, nuts, no nitrate lunch meat, maple syrup! Some of the items are even hidden.  My total price was about $80.  Not too bad, I thought.  I would have spent over $150 at my other local store.

Visit your local Aldi's for amazing healthy foods.  Beware of all the other items that may tease you though.  Look at the ingredients on the labels and choose foods with minimal ingredients.  More on label reading in another blog post.

Hope you all are staying warm in this heck of a winter!

Popcorn-Snack....The Old Fashion Way

When you want something a little salty and crunchy.  This is a perfect solution.......Popcorn!  It is a whole grain and has some fiber!  As I try to move away from processed foods as much as possible, it is still hard not to revert back to the convenience of the prepackaged microwavable kind.  I have not purchased any microwavable popcorn since I read a scary article about it.

 http://foodbabe.com/2013/11/12/microwave-popcorn/.

  I have purchased 2 different kinds, one from down the street from an  local farm store, which is non-GMO for $4 (will discuss this in a future blog), and a bag from Ruler's grocery for $1.99.
You will want to try to look for either certified organic popcorn (which is automatically non-GMO) or you’ll want to look for the non-GMO label on the popcorn product.  (see pic)

To make popcorn the old fashioned way, you’ll only need a few things:

• 1-2 Tbsp. Oil (I prefer coconut oil)-May use canola, olive, palm
• ½ cup of non-GMO popcorn kernels
• sea salt
• a pan/pot with a lid

Place 3 kernels in the oil on Med-high heat.  When those 3 kernels start to pop, place the 1/2 cup in the pan or pot and cover.  Shake over stove top till all kernels have popped.  May remove from heat halfway through to prevent burning.

Add a bit of sea salt or some other low sodium flavorings like the one below for added flavor.  We like plain old salt and pepper, and then you don't add a bunch of calories and preservatives from the shaker types of flavorings. 

Typically, 3 cups of popcorn is a serving with 15 grams of carbohydrates. The  perfect snack for an evening.  If you live alone, you will have plenty of left-overs.  Just store in a reusable or zip lock bag!  Take it to work, or sneak it into the movies (I never said this, if you get caught, though) ;)

Happy snacking.

Happy New Year from Educator Eats--New Year and a new Blog....Prevention based medicine: Prevention and Quality : Defining the Terms

Good Jan. 2nd to you!!!!    Hope your New Year has started off as good as mine.  I am another year older and would like to think that I am smarter and wiser, too!  I have been on a break from blogging and I hope to get back in the swing of things soon.  However, as my work duties have increased and I am now starting an online course to prepare me for the CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator Exam), I may be a bit consumed. After I pass this exam, I will then have an RN, BSN, CDE behind my name.  I should have done this a long time ago, since I practice Diabetes Education every day that I work, but, now seems like the right time.  I am going for it!

 This past year has been wonderful and busy for me, in my career, as well as home life.  I have started an Employee Wellness Program from the ground up at my place of employment for 106 employees,  have increased my hours to see more patients, and have also been placed on a committee to better help serve our patients.

With the increase of work hours, my family life has been busier, too.  I have found that the older my kidos get, the less we are at home.  With 2 kids in travel soccer, oldest in piano, cheer and school soccer, middle son in basketball, golf, baseball, and the youngest boy trying all new sports. We are in the van a lot!  It is really hard to eat healthy and prepare nutritious food on the run, so that will be my focus this year!

   In the meantime.....I wanted to share with all of you a new Blog.  Below is the link to the provider I work with's Blog.  He is one of the smartest, most caring, amazing physician's I have worked with and I have been in Healthcare for over 15 years.  Please follow his Blog...I know you will learn lots!  Be on the lookout for some quick smoothie recipes that I have recently tried for myself and my family.
 Happy New Year....May this be the best year yet!

    Prevention based medicine: Prevention and Quality : Defining the Terms: I believe prevention is the weakest link in American health care. But what exactly is prevention? Mirriam Webster defines prevention as “Th...