Healthy Lunch Tips to Save You Money

One of the happy side effects of a down economy is creativity. In our efforts to make our dollars stretch these days, many folks are finding fun and healthy alternatives for everyday living. A quick drive to the store has been replaced with a bike ride. Families are spending time together playing in the park or watching movies at home. And now our midday meal is getting a healthy makeover as well. The packed lunch is back and better than ever. Today’s healthy lunches are packed with flavor, color and texture and are easy on our debit cards. Here are some healthy ways to move beyond the sandwich and carrot sticks.

Vary the Veggies

Carrots are great, but switch it up with some jicama sticks. Jicama is a wonderful treat in a lunch bag. Cut into sticks the size of french fries, jicama can be drizzled with a little lime juice and a touch of cayenne. Think about adding some lightly salted edamame to your lunches. If you want a super speedy veggie for your lunch, go for a frozen vegetable medley. Today’s lunch bags have reliable seals and separate compartments, so get creative. Toss together your favorite frozen veggies and some seasonings and you’re done. It’s ready to microwave when you get to work.

Wrap Stars

Sandwiches are great, but not every day. Think about a wrap instead. Tortillas are a wonderful complement to a variety of fillings: cream cheese and jalapenos, leftover beans and rice, or simply lunchmeat and cheese. But don’t limit yourself to tortillas. Try making a wrap with large lettuce leaves or rice paper. Fill a rice paper spring roll with meat, veggies, rice noodles and teriyaki sauce. Then you have a lunch to look forward to!

Souper Savers

Thrifty cooks know that soups are one of the healthiest, low-cost menu items in their repertoire. Leftover meats and veggies find new life in tasty soups and stews. A good, leak-proof thermos will keep your brothy delight warm and wonderful for your midday meal. This is one of the easiest lunch options when paired with a whole-wheat roll.

The Best Lunch Bag

The best lunch can go awry in an unprotected plastic baggie. Look for a quality lunch bag that fits your tastes. If soup and a roll is your favorite, you’ll need a reliable thermos. For variety, sealable compartments are great to have. To make sure you’ll want to keep using your lunch bag, choose one that’s easy to clean. As in most things, the right tool makes the job easier.

Take out lunches are typically expensive, greasy and full of questionable ingredients. A healthy homemade lunch is one of those thrifty solutions that is actually better than its “convenient” counterpart. Be creative and have fun. Have a happy lunch!

Check out the great range of quality lunch bags at FreshPicnic.com. If you are looking for more money saving lunch tips why not teach your kids how to pack their own lunch.


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Learn how to and about combining salad, spring rolls, and pate for a whole lunch in thisfree recipe video about the raw food diet and lunch recipes. Expert: Denise Bennett Bio: Denise is a Raw food chef. She is a partner in “Light & Love Cafe,” in Sedona Arizona. She is also the owner of “Gentle Soul Cafe” in LA, CA. Filmmaker: Danniel Fishler

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No More Whining and Dining When You Bring A Chef Home for Dinner



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No More Whining and Dining When You Bring A Chef Home for Dinner










(PRWEB) August 4, 2004

If your sweetheart’s favorite whine is still “Take me to Miami”, don’t you think it’s time for a change?

If you are still having reservations about making reservations for that special occasion, then it’s probably a good idea to send in the chef.

Chef Paula Ricker of Savor the Flavor personal chef and off-premise catering has announced the addition of a new service, a romantic candlelit dinner for two. If your name is mud, why not change it to chocolate mud pie?

You can, when your sweetheart opens the door to a uniformed chef, with fresh flowers in one hand, a bottle of wine in the other, and a mission: to prepare a sumptuous four course dinner that will impress even the most discerning food connoisseurs. Joining the chef will be your waiter, whose sole purpose in life on that very evening, will be to serve your meal with grace and style.

Your dinner entree will be selected from a menu that is quite creative and extensive, offering everything from basic fish dishes to the chef’s signature Figgy Pheasant. Chef Paula’s creativity, talent and attention to quality and detail make each meal a memorable feast.

As you and your honey loosen your belts and sip some more wine, your delightful dessert will arrive.

This will truly be a night to remember. It will be a night of healthy decadence.

For more information on Savor the Flavor’s services, and to request a menu, call (908) 229-8093, or e-mail CHEFATSAVOR@aol.com.


















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Q&A: Is there a recipe book for healthy toddler meals?

Question by Lucky~Mommy: Is there a recipe book for healthy toddler meals?
My daughter is 14 months, and I want to find healthy meals to give her. Does anyone know of a book or website that I can find healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?
Thanks

Best answer:

Answer by annberlin
Here are great websites for baby foods:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/baby/baby.html

Here are books:
Williams-Sonoma Kids in the Kitchen: Fun Foods
by Stephanie Rosenbaum
This one looks like it’s for kids who are a little older, but it looks like healthier food.

The Redwall Cookbook
by Brian Jacques, Christopher Denise (Illus.)
This one looks like a great one for older kids as well.

What do you think? Answer below!

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Toddler Lunch Ideas

There seem to be two kinds of kids in this world: the picky eaters and the eat-anythings. This page has a lot of ideas for you, though you will want to adapt them to meet your child’s needs.

Other parents are going through the same dilemma with their 3-year-old kids, so you’re not alone. Some parents’ kids don’t eat peanut butter and jelly or any other sandwich, and this could really make them at a loss. However, their kids might love something else, such as those Lunchables, which are rather expensive. If this is the case, you can make one of your own. Simply purchase a deli ham and cut it into squares. Your kid would probably prefer the individually wrapped cheese slices, so try putting two of those in along with a few crackers, a pickle and a sliced apple or cereal/fruit bar. This will seem to do the trick and you might be surprised if she would never tire of this same meal.

Below are some ideas for your toddler’s lunch:

* Core an apple and stuff the inside with peanut butter. Top with raisins, nuts, sunflower seeds or toasted coconut. The filling will keep the cut apple from turning brown.

* Cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, or spread bread with cream cheese and top with dried fruits like raisins, apples or apricots.

* Mash a banana together with cream cheese and top with fresh apple, pineapple or peach slices.

* Pack fresh fruit with yogurt dip.

* Make fancy sandwiches by cutting shapes out of the bread with a cookie cutter (use the crusts and scraps to make breadcrumbs or croutons). Kids love the novelty and will be more likely to finish their lunch.

For more information and tips On Toddler Lunch Ideas visit, http://toddlerlunches.com

Freelance Web designer and Artist


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Learn about using a mandoline for zucchini in raw food spring rolls for a raw vegetable salad in thisfree recipe video about the raw food diet and lunch recipes. Expert: Denise Bennett Bio: Denise is a Raw food chef. She is a partner in “Light & Love Cafe,” in Sedona Arizona. She is also the owner of “Gentle Soul Cafe” in LA, CA. Filmmaker: Danniel Fishler
Video Rating: 2 / 5

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Im a vegetarian, and dont like many other foods!Anyone know where I can find out how to make a healthy meal?

Question by Moi: Im a vegetarian, and dont like many other foods!Anyone know where I can find out how to make a healthy meal?
I dont eat meat, fish, nuts, and most vegetables…

I love salad, potato, crackers, cheese, curry…

Anyone know a website maybe where you can type in the foods you like, then it comes up with an already-made meal planner? I’m only 15 and living with my parents, so it’s not like I do my own shopping or have any money to buy it either! We have most foods here anyway…

Best answer:

Answer by TX2step
recipefinder is a good site … or try the Food Network site … especially search recipes for tofu. That should work fine for you; it’s inexpensive and virtually takes on the flavor of whatever you do to it

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Healthy Packed Lunch Ideas

It can be a real problem to think of ideas for healthy packed lunches. In the winter a hot lunch will always be welcome, but how to do it? Well with a wide mouth thermos it is easy.

Hot Packed Lunch Ideas:

1. Soup

Of course soup is the first thing that springs to mind. Make a healthy, thick and nutritious soup and send it to school in a thermos. You do not even have to make it especially for the thermos, simply make more than you need when you make soup and pack the left over soup.

With this soup you can also pack some bread and a fruit and you will be sending your kid to school with a fully balanced meal.

2. Chili

The next idea is a tasty chili. On a cold winter’s day a chili is always very tasty. If your kid does not like it too hot, simply use less chili. Once again you can add a sandwich and some fruit to provide a fully balanced meal.

3. Stew

Any kind of stew will also be delicious. Make sure there are no bones on the meat. If you make this a really tasty stew with lots of vegetables you do not even have to add a sandwich to provide your kid with all the nutrition needed to keep going all day long.

Of course a thermos cannot only be used to keep food hot, it can also be used to keep food cold on a hot summer’s day.

Cold Packed Lunch Ideas:

1. Fruit salad

Fruit salad is an ideal choice here. Make a fruit salad with as wide a variety of fruit as possible. Add a cheese sandwich to provide the protein your kid needs and you once again end up with an excellent lunch for your kid. To make the fruit salad even tastier, you can add some yogurt to the fruit salad. I find that plain yogurt mixed into the salad works very well.

2. A substantial salad

Of course fruit salad is not the only salad that will work very well. You can send any kind of salad that is a substantial salad. With this I mean a salad containing some form of protein and carbohydrate and not only vegetables. Use all the vegetables you kid love with some cold meat and potatoes with a little mayonnaise and you have a tasty and healthy meal to send your kid to school with. Add a fruit juice as a drink and your kid will love this lunch.

So you see there a lots of ways you can send your kid to school with a healthy nutritious lunch.

You may now wonder what the best wide mouth thermos to get is. Well, I find that the Thermos Nissan is the best one. It will keep food hot or cold for very long. Read all about it at: http://www.squidoo.com/ThermosNissan


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The 2006 Holiday Season’s Perfect Holiday Gift Is a New York Personal Chef For a Day



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The 2006 Holiday Season’s Perfect Holiday Gift Is a New York Personal Chef For a Day










New York, NY (PRWEB) August 2, 2006

Want a great way to impress your friends, relatives or even clients this holiday season? There’s no better way than with a Personal Chef Service holiday gift. Your own NY Metro Personal Chef provides great tasting food and the precious gift of time with a convenient and affordable solution to the age-old question: “What’s For Dinner?”

“Year after year it gets more and more difficult to find the perfect gift for the person who has everything,” states Mark Tafoya, president of the NY Metro Chapter of the USPCA. “A Personal Chef for a Day is the answer. Not only will the recipient get to choose their customized menu, but they can select from a variety of services such as a dinner for two, meal preparation for everyday dinners, or even private cooking lessons.”

Americans are eating out less, according to an October report by The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based company that provides consumer information for the food industry. The report showed a drop in dining out, from 93 meals per person in 1985 to 80 meals per person in 2005. These recent surveys are proving that people prefer to eat at home, if they can. A Personal Chef can make this possible for those who don’t cook or those who like the idea of having a home cooked meal. Over the last 10 years, Personal Chefs have become the leading household service. And, in many cases, Personal Chefs are becoming more of a necessity than a luxury to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Busy families and working couples who are tired of unhealthy takeout, waiting at restaurants, confused about meal planning, food shopping, and preparing meals, can turn to a Personal Chef to provide the everyday healthy meal solutions they need. A Personal Chef for a Day gift certificate can give someone the perfect introduction to personal chef services so they can see for themselves what a great household helper a NY Metro Personal Chef can be.

Each of the Personal Chefs offers a variety of customized gift certificates throughout the year. A free phone consultation can provide you with all the detailed information you need to decide on the perfect gift for the upcoming holiday season or for any special event or occasion.

The NY Metro Personal Chefs cover the New York Metro area, including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, The Bronx, Nassau County, Westchester County, Suffolk County, Rockland County, North Jersey and Western Connecticut.

To learn more about a customized Personal Chef for a Day holiday gift certificate and to find a local Personal Chef in your area, visit our website at http://www.NYPersonalChefs.com or call 1-800-358-2857.

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Ideas for a healthy breakfast

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say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it’s true. By skipping breakfast is likely to become very hungry before lunch and end up grabbing something with sugar for a boost to wake you up, the sugar high wears off quickly leaving you feeling even more tired, irritable and unable to concentrate . People often think of skipping breakfast you lose weight, this is incorrect because in fact they are more likely to eat more than skipping a meal. As blood sugar falls more likely to snack before lunch, so it really does not lead to weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight. You could say they have no time for breakfast in the morning, but need not be a chore and not have to be larger or much time to prepare well, here are some examples of some easy, tasty and healthy breakfast ideas I might try:

healthy breakfast cereal

Spice boring breakfast cereal with dried fruit or fresh, you can use chopped bananas, strawberries, apricots or even more exotic and add things like mango or papaya to your breakfast cereal. Be sure to choose a fiber with high and low fat but no added sugar or salt to cereals such as Shredded Wheat or Weetabix, also be sure to use semi skimmed or skimmed milk powder. If this seems too long to try a Alpen muesli and fruits already contain. Try to keep your tea without sugar and coffee without cream.

Egg and soldiers

eggs in moderation is actually good for you. Eggs are a great source of protein and vitamins and if they are boiled or poached, very low in calories and if not fried in vegetable oil contain very little saturated fat. You must use bread for the soldiers and instead of using butter, why not try a plant expansion or be totally different and try Marmite or peanut butter instead. And instead of drinking tea or coffee, why not choose fresh orange or grapefruit juice.

Mixed Fruit Salad

If you wish, to prepare the night before, if you do not have much time in the morning, but you can add any fruit selection like you together for a very healthy and refreshing breakfast. Eat with a slice of bread covered with honey or finish the salad with some bio-yogurt. And if you really can not cope with something to eat first thing in the morning, you can even put the leftover fruits in a blender for a smoothie.

A full English breakfast healthy

For those with a little more time in the morning or on weekends, it is good for you to enjoy from time to time, and you can still enjoy the traditional fry up less excess fat. Ditch the fryer and use the grill instead! Use lean bacon egg poaching or boiling, opt for low blood sugar, baked beans low salt and grilled tomato. Choose wholemeal bread instead of white and a glass of unsweetened fruit juice. And voilà! A cold until it is good for you.

Welcome to < a rel = “nofollow” onclick = “javascript: _gaq.push (” _trackPageview “[" / outgoing /']);” article_exit_link href = “http://www.proactol-review.com”> Proactol Review , which helps you lose weight fast

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Be My Friend – www.myspace.com Healthy Breakfast Food Recipes – Nutrition by Natalie Natalie says five different healthy breakfast items and how to cook or make them. A good breakfast is key to their health and wellbeing. Items include, Smoothie, Breakfast Taco, Yogurt Parfait, Oatmeal or English muffin with egg and vegetables. Wiki en.wikipedia.org Breakfast Please visit Natalie’s website at www.nutritionbynatalie.com This video was produced by psychetruth psychetruth http www.myspace.com psychetruth.blogspot.com is empowered by TubeMogul http © Copyright 2008 Zoe Sofia . All rights reserved. This video can be displayed in public, copied and redistributed for any strictly non-commercial use in its entire unedited form. Alteration or commercial use is strictly prohibited


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Q&A: What are some quick but healthy dinner ideas?

Question by SuzieBox: What are some quick but healthy dinner ideas?
I won’t be able to start dinner till about 6:15 and my daughter’s bed time is 7:30. I”d like some quick, healthy dinner ideas.

Best answer:

Answer by fatson43
I really enjoy Tuna, but not the tuna out of a can. If you go to your local grocery store you can pick up blue fin tuna fillets. They cook almost like steak on your grill. Chop some Zucchini into strips and soak it in soy sauce garlic and a little lemon juice then throw them on the grill right next to the tuna. Finally make some instant white rice. You will have a great meal in about 30 min. Hope that helps. My source has 2 other healthy ideas for meals on the grill.

What do you think? Answer below!

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Budget Meal Planning – Quick Dinner Recipes for May

If you are pressed for time, there is a place for Budget Meal Planning in your life.  This saves you time, money and your sanity!  

Maximize the best ground beef recipes

If you make up a double batch of a quick easy ground beef recipe, you have the base of a myriad other meals.  You can transform the leftovers into a Shepherd’s Pie Recipe, Beef Enchilada Recipe or an Easy Eggplant Recipe whereby eggplant is baked and rolled around the ground beef.

A double batch of a Swedish Meatballs Recipe is equally versatile.  You can make leftovers into Albondigas Soup (Meatball Soup) or top them with a Fresh Tomato Sauce to ring the changes.

Double up on Roast Chickens

If you are going to roast one Oven Baked Roast Chicken, you may as well roast two.  One lot of dirty pans and washing up, but  two to three leftover meals. Leftovers make Cajun Chicken Pasta, Easy Chicken Salad, Chicken Pasta Bake and you could even use the carcasses to make the Best Chicken Soup Recipe.

Make the most of Vegetables

Seasonal vegetables are a cheaper option than meat, chicken or fish.  Use vegetables in abundance in a stir-fry,  and then add a tiny bit of finely sliced steak to  make up a warm Thai Beef Salad.  Make a Vegetable Casserole or a Spinach Quiche Recipe – both easy healthy recipes.  And as the weather warms up, meals get lighter: how about a lighter healthier version of a 7 Layer Salad Recipe?

May Meal Planning is now available and offers a wide variety of quick, easy dinner ideas.

Fiona Lesley has had over 20 years of experience cooking delicious meals for family and friends alike.  A teacher by profession, she brings together her years of time and money-saving tips at www.easy-meal-planning.com


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“What’s for dinner tonight?” Tonight, I made spicy tilapia, brown rice, and Asian, stir-fry vegetables (check out my videos on the rice and veggies, I’ll add a fish video the next time I make it). *Please rate my videos and thank you in advance!* “Rating is so important…Its easy. Its fast. Not only does it not cost you a thing, it is your way of saying thank you for the FREE videos we work so hard to produce for you lovely people!” ~ kimmaytube

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