Make Use of Your Cresent Rolls or Puff Pastry

     You can use this idea for fruits or vegetables. If you've got a family that just doesn't like vegetables, try getting some puff pastry or dough for cresent rolls. Melt some margarine and add some of your favorite shredded cheese to it. Get a brush and brush some of the mixture onto the dough. Add some finely chopped veggies on top of that and roll it up.

     You can do it in individual slices or pieces or like I did the puff pastry, one long roll. Once I had mine rolled, I sliced it up carefully into pinwheels and laid them on the greased cookie sheet. With the oven pre-heated according to the doughs instruction, I gave it a last brush of margarine and shred more cheese on top.

     They were golden brown, flaky and delicious. Yummmm! Next time I'll try a different kind of vegetable and I'll wait till the last 3-5 minutes of baking time to add the top cheese.

Carrot Fritters

Here's a recipe I found for carrot fritters I know your kids would like. It's a great way to get them and maybe even you to eat some yum yum veggies. Here's what you need to make them;

• 6 cups of water
• 2 1/2 cups carrots chopped fine
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs, separated
• 3 tbls. milk
• 2 tbls. onion ,chopped fine
• 2 tbls. fresh parsley, minced
• vegetable to deep fry fritters

     Boil water in a saucepan and add carrots. Return to boil and cover. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain pot and put carrots in ice water to stop cooking. Drain and pat them dry.
     Combine flour, salt, and pepper in bowl. In separate bowl mix together egg yolks and milk. Stir into the flour mix till smooth. Mix in onion, parsley, and carrots. In separate bowl beat egg whites till stiff then fold those into batter.
     Heat about 1/4 inch of oil to about 375 degrees and drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls and fry about 2 minutes on each side till golden brown. Serves about 9.

Why We Don't Eat Enough Fruits and Vegetables

     This post is the second part of a post I wrote on my other blog, Healthy Life Food

     We looked at the two main reasons I could see for us not eating what we should of fruits and vegetables. The first, as was discussed on Healthy Life Food was afforibility. The second is we simple don't like them.

     While I'm aware that not everyone likes the same things I would first like to point out that there is such a huge variety of produce that if you just experiment a little you would find produce that you do like, or at least could eat daily for the nurtrition.

     My second suggestion is to examine what and why you don't like them.

     Except for carrots and tomatoes which are healthier cooked, most fruits and vegetables are most nutritious eaten raw. However changing the texture could have a lot to do with what you will or won't eat. For instance, I only eat raw apples if they are crispy. I hate soft apples and will not eat them. This does not apply to cooked apples as in apple pie. I love to eat soft cold pears, they are so refreshing, but I have no use for a raw soft pear.

     The same can be said of vegetables. A sandwich just isn't a sandwich without slices of cold tomato on them, but in a salad I just don't like them. I could eat them cold with a shake of salt alone, or I adore salsa, but leave my salads alone, and of course tomato juice or soup I also can't get enough of.

     Then there are the iffy veggies like cucumbers and brussel sprouts. These can be delicious, but they can also be bitter which is a turn off for me. Some don't have much taste alone like avocados, cucumbers, and oranges and just a slight bit of salt can turn you into an addict. You can get used to the taste and like it without the salt, which is healthier for some people. It depends what your body can tolerate and how much sodium you get from other foods during the day.

     So try your produce in different ways and in combination with different seasonings and foods and you may find something you can really begin to enjoy.

Photo by Rusvapluake

Leftover Appetizer Trays

     I should have entered this post before the holidays were over, but I wanted to remind you about leftovers.

     We purchased large vegetable appetizer trays for x-mass and new years. You know the ones with the dip in the center and carrots, pea pods, broccoli, celery, and cherry tomatoes surrounding it. I didn't want to waste any of it because they weren't cheap and the veggie's were nice and fresh to begin with. We ate them as snacks for a couple of days and then I needed to use them for cooking.

     Someone I know works for a private fast food restaurant and they ordered the wrong kind of roast beef for the restaurant. Since they couldn't take it back and it was already paid for they gave a few pounds of it to me. My daughter and I had a few sandwiches out of it but grew tired of it after that.

     I had wanted to make a beef stew so I thought why not use the sliced roast beef? I took a pound or so out of the freezer and chopped up the leftover carrots, broccoli, celery, and pea pods and threw them in the broth I made out of the leftover x-mass ham and beef juice. We also had some small white mushrooms, and red, yellow, and green peppers, and potatoes, which I also chopped up and added. Throw in a dash or two of flour and cayenne pepper and we had a wonderfull spicey roast beef stew. Oh, I almost forgot, I threw in about three or four ounces of cream cheese and it was outstanding.

Photo by Ohadweb