National Nutrition Month: Eat a Variety of Foods From All Food Groups
As a dietitian I love getting to encourage my clients to incorporate more foods into their diet. While sometimes it is medically necessary to avoid foods due to allergy or disease, food freedom is an integral part of nutrition therapy.
At times, I like thinking outside the box when trying to incorporate things like veggies, especially when working with children. Here are some tips and tricks for getting your child to eat more fruits or veggies:
Hummus as a dip for crackers or pretzels
Raw veggie sticks dipped in ranch
Guacamole on chips
Refried beans in a quesadilla
Pizza sauce or marinara dipped on bread-sticks
Apples dipped in peanut butter or nut butter of choice
Egg bites with chopped veggies
Banana, apple, or pumpkin muffins
Another way I love to broaden variety, is trying new regional foods or cultural foods when I travel. Recently, I went to Cabo and the chef prepared salsa for our group of travelers. After complimenting the chef, he brought me into the kitchen and taught me how to make his family-salsa recipe, and I wanted to share his authentic recipe with you. It uses fresh tomatoes, jalapeños and Serrano peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro.
Tomatoes contain beta-carotene, lycopene, and Vitamin C, which are powerful antioxidants that protect against cell damage. Serranos and jalapeño peppers are a good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B6, and Capsaicin. Capsaicins are responsible for the heat in peppers and are linked to lowering cholesterol and keeping your heart and gut healthy.
Salsa is full of lots of great nutrients and can be put on eggs, quesadillas or used as a dip for chips. If you would like to find more ways to incorporate more foods into your meals, please schedule a visit with one of our Lemond Nutrition Dietitians.
This salsa can be enjoyed on or with anything.
Cabo Salsa
8 tomatoes quartered
1/2 onion, cut up
1-2 Serrano peppers, halved (depends on spiciness)
1 jalapeno, halved
3 whole cloves garlic
Sauté the ingredients above in a pan for about 20-25 minutes, until tomato skins and peppers are blackened and blistered. Only flip the onions. Once complete, blend the mixture with the following:
1.5 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 bunch cilantro (add last)
Salsa is full of lots of great nutrients and can be put on eggs, quesadillas or used as a dip for chips. If you would like to find more ways to incorporate more foods into your meals, please schedule a visit with one of our Lemond Nutrition Dietitians.