ⓒiStockPhoto - dial-a-view

It’s cold outside and you need to plan dinner, but all you really want is a steaming bowl of soup to warm you from the inside out. It’s tempting to turn to cans of store-bought soup, because soup looks so complicated, but it’s actually very easy to make your own hearty soups that the entire family will love. You can find recipes for different soups on the internet, but the nice thing about soup is that it’s easy to improvise with what you’ve got on hand or adjust the texture and seasoning depending on your taste. Here are ten suggestions to throw into your menu rotation:

Crumbled Pepper Beef Soup: Simmer some chicken broth along with some chopped vegetables, and meanwhile cook up a pan of hamburger meat seasoned with salt and pepper. Crumble it into the broth, and add a decent amount of pepper to taste. Going a little heavy on the pepper gives you a very warming soup, as does using some of the fat from the cooked beef. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - Fertnig

Here are two nutritious recipes which are very commonly made in Indian kitchens using turmeric.

Lentils with Zucchini and Boiled Rice

Lentils are very good for growing kids who need extra protein. In addition to providing protein with only 230 calories per cup, lentils can reduce the chances of bowel cancer and maintain a healthy nervous system when cooked with turmeric. Lentils are good source of calcium, zinc and iron, which make them a good replacement for red meat for people following a vegan diet. This recipe is rich in proteins, amino acids, dietary fiber, minerals and folate along with vitamin B1, and can be made vegan by substituting vegetable or olive oil for the butter. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - SharonDay

By Natalie Anne Lanoville

This recipe was created for a patient on the Gerson diet by Natalie Anne Lanoville. The Gerson Protocol limits herbs, aromatics and other concentrated flavours, but the patient really needed the extra pizzazz of the herbs, hence the relatively generous quantity of dill. The Gerson protocol also limits cooking temperature, but my time was too limited to experiment with different oven temperatures and cooking times, so I just chose the lowest temperature I knew would work.

The recipe was adapted from Ashley/Medellia12 at Vegan-Food.net, and I am very grateful to that site for the inspiration. I chose their recipe as the basis for mine because it was already fat-free and used oat flour rather than wheat flour. I added dill and changed the proportions a bit, as well as moving the cooking venue from a frying pan to the oven. Gerson doesn’t allow any salt and discourages pepper, so I eschewed those as well.

Gerson prefers unpeeled potato, but my friend was sick of potato skins, so I have used peeled potatoes in all my Gerson recipes. (continue reading…)

ⓒ Savneet Singh

Turmeric is uniquely an Indian spice. India produces nearly all the world’s turmeric, and consumes 80% of that crop. Traditional healers use turmeric to treat and cure disease. Turmeric is a member of the ginger family. Its stalk has the healing properties. It has got a bright yellow color because of the presence polyphenols, curcuminoids, in it. In the past few years, researches have begun exploring myriad aspects of this compound:

• anti-tumor
• anti-oxidant
• anti-arthritic
• anti-amyloid
• anti-ischemic
• anti-inflammatory

Its anti-inflammatory properties come from curcuminoids’ ability to inhibit eicosanoid biosynthesis. Turmeric is effective in treating malaria and in the prevention of cervical cancer. Studies suggest that it can be useful in the treatment of the HIV virus. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - dkapp12

If you’ve had your summer’s fill of caprese salads and tomato sandwiches but still have a glut of late-season beefsteak tomatoes, try this easy recipe that goes from ingredients to table in 15 minutes. For an elegant presentation, top each tomato slice individually. If you’re looking for a quick dinner for the family, layer the toppings all over the tomato slices the and serve as a casserole.

The short broiling time of this recipe melts the toppings without cooking the tomatoes, saving the fresh tomato flavor. Because the tomatoes don’t cook, start with the tomatoes at room temperature to avoid chilled tomato slices under warm toppings. By not cooking the tomatoes, this recipe also avoids becoming watery, as can happen when cooking juicy slicing tomatoes. Breadcrumbs absorb what tomato juices are released, but can be omitted for people on a gluten-free diet. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - jeffshanes

Preparing a healthy meal at home can be tedious work.  While you’re out camping, Mom doesn’t want to be stuck in the camp kitchen and never get in on the fun.  Make it easy on yourself and make meals easy and fun for everyone.  Simple ingredients and preparing what you can at home will make meal time less work for you and more fun for everyone.

Breakfast

Start the day off with something easy so you can enjoy a cup of tea by the fire while your little ones stumble out of their bedroll.  A pot of oatmeal or other cooked whole grain is easy, filling and can be topped with trail mix or fruit to round out the food groups.  A spoon of fruit preserves stirred in is a good treat, too.  Actually, there are numerous toppings that can personalize a bowl of gruel.  Let your imagination run with carob chips, raisins, dried cranberries, seeds… the list goes on.  (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - theboone

Hamburger Helper and similar boxed meal kits are convenient, but leave something to be desired in the area of nutrition.  They usually use white-flour pastas and a string of additives in the flavorings, and can contain up to half of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of sodium in a single serving.  Plus, they tend to be scant on the vegetables.

By making your own dinner kits, you can control the sodium content and eliminate synthetic preservatives.  Plus, you can slip in a serving or two of vegetables into each portion and save some money over the premade, preservative-laden commercial dinner kits.  Dehydrated vegetables, which are easy to make at home and very economical when the vegetables are in season or purchased at a farmer’s market, are an easy way to incorporate vegetables into the meals with no extra prep time after work. Make a few of these dinner kits up ahead of time for quick, no-effort dinners on busy nights. Precook and portion out the meat for even easier weeknight prep. (continue reading…)