Better Meal For Health & Wealth & Stay Fit For Long Life

Since the beginning of time one aspect of human social experience has stood out as the place to be for communication and family bonding: the meal. In contemporary human life the evening dinner is often the only place and time that a family all sits down together. In tribal times (of course there are still tribes today) the cooking of a slaughtered animal or cultivated vegetables brought the group together to share ideas and feelings. Think about it these days; when you want to take someone out for a meal, meet business colleagues, get together with old friends and acquaintances, we go out for a bite to eat. What is it about sharing some food that puts us in such a relaxed and communicable state? Could it simply be science, and the fact that if you are tense when you eat, the food doesnt digest as well? Or, could it have some psychological basis having to do with the idea that you are sharing some life-giving sustenance with your fellow species instead of warring over it? Subconsciously do we recognize the facts that we will be able to live another day as well as sew healthy seeds for future generations?

Its easy to eat right during the summer months with an abundance of fresh produce available from a wide variety of sources. But as winter rolls around, those juicy ears of corn is just a memory. That doesnt mean, however, that you drop your healthy eating habits with the dropping temperatures.

You still need to get your five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. Make an effort to include fruits and vegetables at every meal. Since your options are more limited during the winter months, nows the time to get creative by trying new recipes as well as sampling produce you havent eaten before.

Winter brings a bumper crop of root vegetables like turnips, rutabagas and parsnips; squash; Brussels sprouts; and more. Apples and pumpkins are the foundation of a variety of comforting, homey desserts. Here are some tips to help you chase away the winter chill by adding the flavors and healthy benefits of winter produce.

For additional help in selecting produce, especially items you havent tried before, visit www.100cookingtips.com. This easy-to-use Web site features an A to Z guide to produce that includes useful information on the peak season for any given item, nutrition information and selection tips. Best of all, the site includes hundreds of recipes that show you how to put the produce to work on the break fast, lunch & dinner table.

Here are two delicious recipes sure to warm you up this winter:

Pesto Minestrone

This full-flavored soup is also full of healthy vegetables.

2 cups cauliflower (2 small heads), coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups zucchini (1-2 medium), chopped

3 cans (14.5 ounces) chicken broth, reduced sodium

1 16-ounce can tomatoes, diced, drained

1 cup elbow macaroni or small pasta shells

3 cups kidney beans or black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (1 cup dry makes 3 cups cooked) or 2 cans (15 ounces each)

1 cup carrot (1 medium), sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil (for pesto)

2 garlic cloves (for pesto)

1 cup basil leaves, fresh, loosely packed OR (for pesto)

1 cup Italian parsley plus 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves (for pesto)

1 tablespoon water

Directions

In a 5 to 6 quart saucepan bring to boil 1/2 cup water, tomatoes, cauliflower, onion and carrots; reduce heat and simmer covered 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add zucchini, beans, broth and pasta. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Meanwhile put all pesto ingredients in food processor or blender and process until very finely chopped. Just before serving, remove soup from heat and stir in pesto. Makes 8 servings.

Golden Apple Oatmeal

Start your day off right with a steaming bowl of this hearty (and heart healthy) oatmeal.

1/2 cup Golden Delicious apples, diced

1/3 cup apple juice

1/3 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, uncooked

Directions

Combine apples, apple juice, water and seasoning; bring to a boil. Stir in rolled oats; cook 1 minute. Cover and let stand several minutes before serving. Makes a 1- cup serving.

About the author:
For more recipes, as well as nutrition information for all types of produce, visit
http://www.100cookingtips.com
Khushwant Singh

Do you Know the Benefits of Checking your Credit Report?
Do you know why you should check your credit report?Of course you do, because you have undoubtedly experienced one working in your life!No matter where you roam, your credit report follows you through life, updating all aspects of your life: your employment, where you live, your opened credit accounts, your closed accounts, your payment history, an...

Wealth Management
Wealth management helps you to determine the important things in your life, analyze them and then strategize to realize the most treasured hopes and dreams. It is a comprehensive approach to managing your finances which allows you to create, grow and protect your wealth.The prime factor in prudent wealth management is to understand where you are co...

Ayurvedic Cooking Tips For Healthy Living
All human beings should follow a sattvic or pure life-style that gives peace and clarity of mind. Physical purity includes pure diet, with raw or freshly cooked vegetarian food, pure air and water, proper exercise of a calming nature, as well as physical cleanliness.Here are some ayurvedic Tips for better and health living.1. Ayurveda is Sanskrit f...

Fantastic Easy Tips For A Healthier You
The modern world demands a successful career and a fast paced tech savvy social life. These demands also place such a burden on people in the area of physical appearance. They must look good.These aspects can be so crushing that proper health practices suffer as a result. Not everyone can keep up with the blistering pace set by those at the very to...

Embarking on the Journey to Building True Wealth
Some may not realize however that finding the road to financial wealth involves building true wealth first and foremost in oneself.Have the Right AttitudeBuilding true financial wealth starts with building your inner attitude towards achieving your financial dreams. You need to recognize first of all that you cannot get rich in a blur. You do n...

Healthy Eating Tips for Busy Moms
Moms are constantly on the go. Whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home mother, it is hard to find the time to sit and eat a meal, let alone a healthy one. Here are a few tips to sneak that healthy eating into the busiest of schedules.Exercise is important but eating is the best way to get the nutrition that you need to keep the body healt...

Health Care Call Centers
With the fast paced life and more urbanized living, people are now ought to require health care services. Reason is, the hectic and backbreaking life can never break or change. This is the reason why there is a sudden rise in the number of health care call centers. Health care call center is a service which provides medical consultation services an...