Tag Archives: healthy family recipes

Easy Family Recipes with an Exotic Twist

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You make mac ‘n’ cheese. You make easy chicken recipes. You make spaghetti and meatballs. Yawn, isn’t anyone getting bored? It’s time to bring excitement back into the kitchen by cooking up some exotic meals. Meals from other cultures and countries don’t have to be complicated or hard to make to be delicious and fun. Here, we’ve cited some extremely easy family recipes that incorporate exotic cuisine.

Asian Cuisine:

Asian dishes are usually spicy and typically use rice as a base or side. If you’re wanting to whip up some Asian cuisine we recommend having soy sauce, rice, and Asian chili sauce on hand to add to nearly every Asian dish.

  • Stir fry: Stir fry meals allow you to put all of your leftover veggies to work. While a wok is ideal for stir-fry cooking, you can also use a skillet. Mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and bean sprouts all taste great in stir fries. Just add a protein, like tofu, shrimp, or chicken, and some rice and you’ll have an easy meal that everyone will love.
  • Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup: For anyone who loves coconut, coconut soup is a great way to replenish your nutrients after a long, hard day. You can deviate from the traditional version of Thai soup by adding more sustenance, like chicken and rice. Typical ingredients include Asian fish sauce, lime juice, low sodium chicken broth, lemongrass, ginger, coconut milk, chiles, and cilantro.

Indian Cuisine:

Indian meals often perplex the palate by combining often contradicting tastes, like sweet and salty or creamy and spicy, together flawlessly. Cumin, turmeric, milk, and rice are typical ingredients in Indian cooking.

  • Slow Cooker Indian Stew: If you’re a fan of your slow cooker, try arranging an Indian stew that will be ready for action by dinnertime. Adding curry powder, ground ginger and cayenne pepper to a stew with chicken, onion, garlic, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, lime juice, and spinach make a fantastic dish.
  • Tikka Marsala: Is an Indian favorite.  You can make it with chicken, beef or lamb, in a single pot with various spices including cumin, cayenne and paprika, some tomato puree, a little yoghurt and heavy cream.  Delicious in about an hour.

Greek Cuisine:

Greek cuisine is great for those who have many of the staples already at home. For example, Greek food often uses olive oil, sugar, butter, and salt.

  • Falafel: Chickpea fritters, or falafel, is one of the best things you can make with chickpeas. Put oil in a large saucepan then scoop tablespoons of chickpea batter, made with ground chickpeas, into pan until nicely brown for about 5 minutes. You can serve falafel with lettuce, tzatziki sauce, and pita bread.
  • Chopped Greek Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette: You can easily make a delicious, Greek salad out of Greek staples like feta cheese and black olives. The ingredients combine well with tomatoes, baby greens, endives, cucumber, and shallot vinaigrette to make a refreshing salad that anyone can appreciate.

You don’t have to go out to eat to get some ethnic cuisine. Stay in and have some Indian, Chinese, Thai, or Greek food for a change!

Family Meal Recipes: a Luscious Lean Burger

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Sure, burgers have received a pretty bad rap as of late, with rumors that claim red meat can be the cause of all sorts of ailments. Many nutritionists, however, contend that lean beef can be a great part of any diet. Registered dietician Nancy Anderson, for example, claims that though ground beef shouldn’t be eaten more than 2-3 times a week, it’s a great source of protein and iron. While the whole family enjoys a hearty, fatty burger, you may want to keep an eye on your family’s health by opting for the lean, healthy alternative or other healthy family recipes. However, many people have no clue how to cook a lean burger to make it just as luscious and delicious as its fatty counterparts. Don’t worry — there are plenty of tips that can help you trick your family into thinking they are eating the real deal.

Choosing the meat

All lean burgers start at the meat. Turkey burgers taste great and carry the same consistency as beef burgers. You could also try bison burgers or even veggie burgers if you’re feeling a bit adventurous.

  • Turkey Burgers: Ground turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg whites and garlic can be combined to make a mean turkey burger. Turkey burgers should reach an internal temperature of about 180F.
  • Bison Burgers: If you want to go the bison burger route, look for 80-90% lean meat. Less than 10% fat may result in a dry burger. Cook your burger until it’s at least 160F internally. A continuous heat of about 475-500F will result in a well done bison burger.
  • Veggie Burgers: Black beans, panko breadcrumbs, eggs, scallions, basil, garlic and various spices make a delicious black bean burger and red beets, black beans, and brown rice can be combined to make a burger with a strikingly beef-like consistency.

Cooking Tips for Lean Burgers

You could go with turkey, veggie, or bison burgers, but lean beef reigns supreme when it comes to the “healthy” burger. Lean meat is defined by the USDA as meat that has less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 100-gram. All these factors combined and you have yourself a healthy burger. Keep these tips in mind if you want to cook up a lean burger tonight:

  • Outdoor grilling is ideal for your meat to give it massive amounts of flavor and a juicy interior.
  • Try to handle and shape your burgers as little as possible when making them into patties and never press down on your lean burgers as they cook. This will keep them nice and juicy.
  • Leaner burgers require a lower cooking temperature and could be easier to cook with added ingredients, which help increase moisture. Ingredients that give you a bit of moisture include sauces, toppings, or add-ins. Use veggies like onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and pickles, to give your burger some moisture.
  • It doesn’t stop at the burger. If you pair your lean burger with French fries and a soda pop, you may be defeating the whole purpose of the meal. Instead, bake sweet potato fries and serve your dish with iced tea.

Next time you’re at the grill, try to prepare some family real recipes that aren’t saturated in fats. Make sure your family is taking in great, healthy meals for a healthy and happier lifestyle.

Making Healthy Family Recipes Out of Not-So-Healthy Favorites

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We all love burgers, casseroles, and warm apple pie, but are these the healthiest options to feed your family? Maybe not. Luckily, there are plenty of ways that you can take old recipes from fatty to healthy by simply tweaking a few ingredients. Feed your family the nutrients they want and need by slightly changing your family recipes to make them healthy. You and your family will both look and feel healthy when they’re chowin’ down some wonderfully delicious healthy meal ideas for families.

Healthy Family Recipes

  • Lean Burgers: “Burgers can be part of a heart-healthy diet,” says Penn State University researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD. “The key is portion control — and the use of lean beef.” When you’re making your burger, use lean beef, poultry, or even bison. Lean beef in particular is rich in essential nutrients, including protein, zinc, B-12, selenium, phosphorus, niacin, and iron. Top your lean burger with lettuce, tomato, and a whole grain bun.
  • Not-So-Fried Chicken: Make fried chicken healthy by baking the chicken, rather than slathering in flour, then deep-frying in fatty oil. Instead, use whole grain breadcrumbs and make a breaded chicken. Hold the gravy and accompany your chicken with green beans.
  • Low-Fat Casserole: Add pureed winter squash to your favorite casserole recipe to displace some carbohydrates with a veggie that’s high in fiber, beta-carotene, and B vitamins. Spinach also goes great in plenty of casseroles. Try to substitute creamed soups and cheese with low-fat soups and low fat cheese to minimize the calorie count.
  • Sliming-Down Spaghetti and Meatballs: Making spaghetti and meatballs healthy is a breeze. Use turkey to make meatballs and substitute white spaghetti with whole grain for a brand new take on this classic dish. Skip the garlic bread and serve salad with Italian dressing as an appetizer.
  • Healthy Chili: Make a healthy version of your favorite chili dish using black beans, canned tomatoes, and chili. At only 30 minutes prep time, chili is the perfect dish for the working mom or dad. Additionally, black beans are high in fiber, folate, and antioxidants.

See? Making old recipes healthy isn’t as hard as you thought. If you want to make more of your recipes healthier, just substitute unhealthy ingredients with healthier ingredients or substitute unhealthy side dishes with healthier ones. For example, you can substitute bacon for turkey bacon, white bread for whole grains, and eggs for egg whites. Simply use less of the bad stuff, add some more veggies into your meals, and you’ll be on your way to serving your family healthy family recipes in no time.