*Cook*Share*Eat*

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Cook-Share-Eat Day 
Friday December 10

Get your aprons and cookbooks out!  Friday Dec 10th all who would like to participate can bring in their favorite healthy dish to share with the staff for lunch. 

Why?  Eating Clean is not always easy with busy schedules, and the idea of chicken/rice for lunch everyday can get old fast.  This will give everyone an opportunity to learn new, delicious recipes and will encourage a feeling of camaraderie for the entire staff. Eating clean will lead to elevated mood, energy, and self esteem in addition to reducing anxiety and stress levels!

Your dish can be as simple or complex as you desire, but a few things to keep in mind:
         
  • Recipes should avoid using pre-packed or processed ingredients.  A good rule of thumb is to only eat food with 3 or less ingredients on the package.
  • ·         Instead of less healthy toppings like butter, margarine, gravy, or salt try using new seasoning. Fresh or dried herbs (basil, oregano, parsley) and spices (lemon pepper, chili powder, garlic powder) or lemon will flavor your food without adding unnecessary calories.
  • ·         Steaming, baking, grilling are healthier cooking methods that eliminate the need to use fattening cooking oils.
  • ·         Stay away from anything with saturated fat which can lead to high cholesterol and heart disease.  Unsaturated fats (like olive oil) are essential to a well balanced healthy diet.  Can’t tell the difference? Saturated fats are solid at room temperature while unsaturated fats are liquid.
  • ·         Extra lean ground turkey is a good substitute for ground beef.
  • ·         You should use 100% whole grain breads, pastas and rice.  Always check the label! Companies can be tricky and misleading with their labels, and the product could not contain the same nutritional value.
You can bring in an appetizer, entrée, or healthy snack option.  If you need some recipe ideas, eatcleandiet.com or cleaneatingmag.com are good references.  Starting Monday, there will also be recipe books available to peruse. 
Make sure you write your name and type of dish you are bringing on the sign-up sheet!  Bring your dish along with a copy of the recipe to add it to the Mr. John Recipe Book so others can recreate your masterpiece!

- THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS -