You Just Can't Tell the Truth in this Situation

Last time I served this dish, I mean made this dish, it never got eaten! My husband refused to even try it when I told him the meat sauce was made out of tofu instead of ground beef.  I made it again today.  He said it was really good (without me even asking)!  Same food item. Just did not tell him it was not made with meat.

Beef-Less Ground Beef Label

A few weeks ago I was shopping at Trader Joe's and I came across a food demonstration promoting the store brand of beef-less ground beef.  I am not usually a fan of processed food but I looked at the nutrition facts label and saw that this product was low in calories, saturated fat and sodium - so I decided to give it a try.  The 12 oz package was $2.99. Of course, the whole wheat pasta you see in the photo was what I ate.  My husband refuses to eat whole grain pasta - so I made a concession here.  I used my favorite jar sauce "Cleveland's Own Little Italy."   It's the only jar sauce I have found without high fructose corn syrup and the taste is amazing!  You pay a little more for it - but it is so worth it - especially if when trying to disguise ground tofu as ground beef.  You can get this at Marc's or Costco for about $3.50 a jar.  (32 oz - most sauces are in 25 oz jars - so you get a little more)  If you try this idea, please let me know what you and your picky eaters think!

Better than McDonald's

My husband had his last day of teaching high school on Friday.  So I am going to have to be creative with ways to get some healthy food in him over the summer.  Breakfast is a meal where I can sometimes have a positive influence. I make an imitation "McDonald's McMuffin-type Sandwich".  I use the "Arnold's Bread Sandwich Thins," an organic egg and a slice of cheese.  My husband loves the Kraft singles type cheese.  I have tried to use "Alpine Lace" low-fat deli slices but he does not like the texture.  So I make a little compromise here.  At least I can get some fiber into his meal with the bread.  It's the one time that he will eat something other then "Classic White Wonder Bread".

I went to the McDonald's website and compared items below.  While calories and fat are somewhat similar, the higher fiber content of Kevin's sandwich will leave him with a greater sense of fullness -- which means with my version he is less likely to eat 2 sandwiches!  In addition, the average American should have no more than 2300mg of sodium per day.  Sugar, salt and fat can also be addictive and lead to overeating - so less is always better.

1 Kirkland Sandwich Thin 
1 Organic Egg
1 Land O' Lakes Cheese Slice

	Kevin’s McMuffin	McDonald’s McMuffin (without Bacon)
Calories	240	270
Total Fat	11g	10g
Saturated Fat	4.5g	4.5g
Trans Fat	0g	0g
Cholesterol	245mg	250mg
Sodium	430mg	570mg
Total Carbohydrate	23g	29g
Dietary Fiber	6g	2g
Sugars	3g	2g
Protein	15g	14g
Calcium	230mg	290mg

Want to, but cantaloupe

This is actually a plastic cantaloupe! Real ones are too $$$ right now!!!

My husband has one more week of school left.  Now that the summer is coming I realized that I will have less control over what he eats - because he will not be forced to eat what I pack him for lunch.  So this got me thinking.  I try to focus on the healthy things he does love to eat -  one being cantaloupe.  I know that if I buy a cantaloupe and don't cut it up - it will never get eaten.  My thought for the summer is to buy his favorite fruit, cut it up and put it in a Pyrex air tight container - so he can just take what he wants out of the refrigerator. 

Pyrex BPA free container

Air tight seal - keeps food fresh for a very long time

Over the weekend I went with good intentions to Marc's Grocery store to buy a cantaloupe.  I was surprised by the price - $2.99.  I have bought them in the past for as low as .99 cents.  I asked the produce manager why they were so high in price this time of year and he said the American growers try to make the most money early in the season.  Cantaloupes come into season beginning in June and going through August.  To stay within a budget I try to buy the cheapest produce that is in season. So I did not buy a cantaloupe.  Instead I bought another of my husband's favorite - bananas.  I also bought some oranges. He doesn't traditionally eat oranges - however if I peel one and put it in his lunch he will eat it. I have one more week to pack his lunches for school so that is what I did. He may not like it as much as cantaloupe - but that is what he will be a eating today!

Check out this link to a great page about Cantaloupes.

http://www.producepete.com/shows/cantaloupes.html