Working on Healthier Meals...

When my mom was little, she was expected to cook and clean for her family.  So, when she married my father, cooking and cleaning was nothing new to her.  However, her family did not have a lot of money and when she married my father, she started experimenting cooking with a variety of vegetables.  Money was tight in those days, but every now and then, she would splurge and make something special.

During the summer, grilling foods only made sense.  With seafood, that was always either covered with a cornmeal or flour mixture, then fried.  Many vegetables came out of the can.  As I grew older, I realized that the reason for that was because it was easier to use and cheaper than fresh vegetables. 

There was always the classic southern types of comfort foods, fried hot dogs, fried baloney, boiled cabbage.  My mom's uncle Howard showed her how to make what they called "Goulash".  The recipe is much like chili mac.  Mom had her version of tuna noodle casserole and my personal fave was meatloaf.  I always enjoyed that.

It was until I was older that my mom started testing out different recipes.  At that point, she would make chicken or turkey piccata.  There was another dish she would make - I figure it was truly a heart attack on a plate, but it was oh, so good.  I cannot remember the name for it, but it was chicken and ham slices cooked with a cheezy mixture.

This week, I started thinking about how to make some of those meals healthier for me to eat.  I love pasta.  Most pastas make my blood sugar spike really high.  I made spaghetti this week with Dreamfield's spaghetti.  The results were great.  After I ate, my blood sugar only spiked a little bit.

I have been using this pasta for quite awhile.  I started researching diabetic friendly recipes for some variety meals.  I found a diabetic friendly recipe for baked ziti.  Dreamfieldsfoods.com had several recipes that I am considering making.  One of which is a recipe for Lemon Herb Penne.  There is also a great lasagna recipe.  I love lasagna and the fact that one pan creates many left over meals for me.  That is important because that helps save on both getting something out to eat or constantly cooking. 

Part of getting my health in order is making healthier meals for me to eat.  Also, to get meals that do not weigh me down.  I had fried fish and shrimp the other day for lunch.  The meal just "sat there" in my system and I ended up with some indigestion.  I think I will forgo the fried foods and go back to grilled, steamed, boiled, or baked.  Definitely less heavy on my stomach.

Here is the link for Dreamfields Pastas, in case someone is interested:

http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/index.php