Tips and Recipes

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Pizza Meat Loaf

Looking for recipes that will help you prepare balanced meals for your family on a tight budget? Check out the cookbook. It’s a great guide created specifically to help those of us on a budget plan and prepare healthy, thrifty meals for our families. Whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, this cookbook is a winner! To get started, try this simple recipe!

pan of food
Pizza Meat Loaf
Servings: 4 servings about 1/4 loaf each
Ingredients:

  • 1 lb.  Ground turkey
  • ¾ cup Spaghetti sauce
  • ¼ cup Mozzarella cheese, part-skim
  • ½ cup Green peppers, chopped
  • ¼ cup Onion, minced

PREPARATION TIME: 15 MINUTES
CONVENTIONAL COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES
MICROWAVE COOKING TIME: 8 MINUTES

  1. Lightly grease 9-inch pie plate with vegetable oil. Pat turkey into pie plate.

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

  1. Place turkey in 350˚ F oven; bake until turkey no longer remains pink, about 17 to 20 minutes.

MICROWAVE METHOD

  1. Cover turkey with waxed paper.
  2. Cook on high; rotate plate 1/4 turn after 3 minutes.
  3. Cook until turkey no longer remains pink, about 5 more minutes. Drain.

TO COMPLETE COOKING

  1. Top baked turkey with spaghetti sauce, cheese, and vegetables.
  2. Return turkey to either the conventional oven or the microwave oven and heat until cheese is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes.

PER SERVING:
Calories 255 Total fat 14 g Saturated fat 4 g Cholesterol  88 mg  Sodium 376 mg
Source: http://www.marketmakeovers.org/sites/default/files/FoodPlansRecipeBook.pdf


Fruity Frozen Treats

strawberry
Fruity Frozen Treats
Makes 8 ‐1 freeze servings
Ingredients:

  • 1 8‐ounce container nonfat lemon yogurt
  • 2 cups cubed, seedless watermelon
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries, tops removed
  • 1 medium banana, peeled and sliced

Supplies: 12 muffin‐tin with paper baking cups
Preparation:

  1. Place yogurt and fruit in a blender. Cover tightly.
  2. Blend until smooth. Pour into muffin tin.
  3. Freeze until frozen solid, at least 2‐3 hours.

To serve, remove from freezer and let sit about 10 minutes. Peel paper cup off each treat and eat.
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus 3 hours freezing time
Source: USDA


Take the challenge and walk!

Walking is an excellent way to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. You don’t need any special equipment or clothing other than a comfortable pair of tennis shoes. We are all guilty of sitting too long at the computer or watching too much television. Today, I would like to extend a challenge to myself and to each of you to decrease the time we spend sitting by getting up and walking at least 30 minutes each day.
Don’t feel that you have to do the entire 30 minutes at one time. If you plan three 10-minute walks each day, this will help you reach your goal easier. Be sure to walk at a brisk pace for maximum benefit. Challenge a friend and track your progress.

Parents walking with their children on the road
 

Walking lowers your risk for many diseases such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It is also a great way to prevent weight gain and promote bone health.
So, will you accept the challenge? Today is a great day to start walking!
Lorelei


Fruit Smoothies

Children need 2 -3 cups of milk each day for good health and growth. Offering children milk instead of soft drinks or other sugary beverages also helps them maintain a health weight. Smoothies are a great milk treat with lots of flavor.

smoothies

Check out the Fruit Smoothies recipes from Cooking with EFNEP cookbook:

Makes 2 servings | Serving Size: 1 cup

Choose 1/2 cup of a fruit

• Bananas • Strawberries

• Peaches • Blueberries

Choose 1 cup of a base

  • Low-fat plain yogurt
  • Low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt
  • Frozen juice concentrate, such as apple or orange

Choose 1/2 cup of a liquid

• Low-fat or fat-free milk

• 100% fruit juice

• Calcium-fortified soy milk

• Low-fat vanilla yogurt

• Frozen fruit

• Ice cubes

Example 1

• 1/2 cup strawberries

• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

• 1/2 cup fat-free milk

Example 2

• 1/2 cup banana

• 1 cup frozen orange juice

• 1/2 cup low-fat milk

Example 3

• 1/2 cup blueberries

• 1 cup low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt

• 1/2 cup orange juice

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Serve immediately. This will give you enough for two people. If there are more than two of you, you can make twice as much.

Nutrition Information Per Serving

110 Calories, Total Fat 1.5g, Saturated Fat 1g, Protein 8g, Total Carbohydrate 14g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Sodium 115mg. Excellent source of calcium and vitamin C.

Recipe analyzed according to Example 1. Nutritional value will vary with choices made.


Canned Fruits and Vegetables

The majority of the fruits and vegetables I purchase are canned. There are always good sales on these items and I have more dry storage space than refrigerated storage. I always read the label to be sure I’m buying vegetables that are low to no sodium and that canned fruit are packed in juice. If I can’t find these, I simply pour the canned item into a colander and rinse off the extra sugar or salt.
canned fruits and veg
(Image courtesy of xedos4 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Some of my favorite ways to use canned fruits and vegetables are to microwave canned apples (drained and rinsed) and sprinkle it with cinnamon. I also love to add mandarin orange slices to salads, canned beans to sloppy Joes, and canned mixed vegetables to many of my casserole recipes. Adding canned fruits and vegetables to recipes are a quick and inexpensive way to make meals more nutritious!
Read here for 10 ways to enjoy canned vegetables.
-Judy

© 2024 North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

North Carolina State University
Agricultural and Human Sciences Department

Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES)

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