Heart Healthy Recipes and Ideas

Disclaimer:  I wrote this post on behalf of The American Heart Association and Campbell's Soup.  All thoughts and beliefs are solely mine and were not encouraged in anyway by anyone other than myself!
 
     My family is probably not the picture perfect family when it comes to being healthy, However I feel that there are things that we do they are healthy.  One of our favorite past times, especially in the Spring and Summer, is that we go on family walks in the evening.  We own a Pit/Rottweiler mix dog and we take him and walk approximately 1 mile a day! In the Winter months we suffer from what I call couchitis, it is where it is so cold outside and nobody wants to go out so we stay in and watch movies or play games together.  It is actually great Family time but we don't get the much needed fresh air and exercise! Once the weather gets warmer though you can't keep us inside, we love to spend time outside together, grilling out, and just spending time as a Family!

     As a Mother I try to keep fresh fruits around the house instead of jars and bags full of candy.  When given the choice any child will choose candy but when they see fruits that they love to eat available they are likely to make the right choice.  It can be a little more expensive at times, but I think about the money I save in dentists bills and it weighs out.  They are also much healthier children because they aren't getting all of that sugary sweets.  I also try to prepare most of our meals.  To me if I prepare the meal myself I know exactly what I am putting into it and the nutrition value that it carries. At the bottom I will post some really great recipes approved by the American Heart Association.

     How are some ways that you try to keep your Family healthy?  What are the kinds of things you do alone or as a family that maybe you feel are better for you even though someone has told you that that's not enough?  I'm a firm believer that doing a little here and there is better than not doing anything at all.

About Campbell's Address Your Heart

Health is foremost on people’s minds, keeping your family in tip top shape can be a challenge in these busy times. Campbell’s Soup wants you to “Address Your Heart” with Heart Healthy Tips, recipes and more!

Visit AddressYourHeart.com to get heart-healthy tips, including 21 Campbell’s recipes that are certified by the AHA and product coupons, as well as Facebook.com/campbellskitchen for the latest Campbell’s recipes and offers.

These are some really great Recipes that are approved by the American Heart Association and click here and you can get some Money saving coupons by Campbell.
If you have a great recipe or idea of staying Heart Healthy please share below.  I always enjoy new recipes and great ideas!

Family Togetherness

      I remember as a child my mother made supper every night and as a family we would sit down and enjoy a wonderful home cooked meal.  The meal she would make may not always been the healthiest meal, but she always made it with the best ingredient known to man.  Her special spice was love, it can't be bought or purchased in any store but makes any meal the best.  That is my goal in life, to cook everything I make for my family to be made out of love!

     With a family of 5 it is hard sometimes to cook something that all  5 will like.  I have to plan my meals appropriately so that everyone will eat, and at the same time make sure that it is a healthy meal.  We don't go out to eat very much, due to the economy downfall and we can't afford it.  So I cook 98% of all meals in Ma's Kitchen!  I try to make it fun for the family b trying to get them involved with the process of cooking the meals.  The girls help out sometimes and the hubby tells me helped by staying out of the way!  I guess he is right, sometimes it is just easier to do things for yourself and to just keep everyone else out of the way!

     What are some of your favorite meals to cook for your family?  I guess I have a couple that we really enjoy but some took a little convincing on my part to the little one's.  We all enjoy baked steak, however the stir fry not so much.  Here is my recipe for the Stir Fry and trust me at first my little one's did not like the thoughts of it but quickly came around.  Especially to the whole broccoli thing.  And if I am honest to you I will tell you that I do not like broccoli myself however in the stir fry mix it is not that bad.

Stir Fry and Uncle Ben's Rice

Steak cut into long thine strips
Frozen or fresh vegetables

First thing I do is get my pot and put a tsp of oil and place in your cut up steak strips.  You only need to cook your steak long enough that the outside is brown, it doesn't have to be done.  Then you will add your vegetables.  I prefer the frozen vegetables and you can get the Japanese stir fry mix.  You can use fresh but you will need to allow some time to cook the vegetables.  Once you add your vegetables add a little water to steam the vegetables and finish cooking the steak.  It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and your done with the main meal.

Uncle Ben's Rice
I like to make the Uncle Ben's stir fry rice.  It goes really well with this meal and so easy to fix.  Just follow the directions on the box.

With this you have a meal in less than 20 minutes.  It is also easy enough your smallest can help you and then you have some bonding time.  I also enjoy the learning and teaching experience I get to have with my babies.  Once we are done cooking together, we enjoy a great meal together, and then it is clean up time!  For some reason when they are little they want to wash the dishes but when they get older, it is a no go!  I have 2 daughters one is 3 years old and the other is seven years old.  They both have an opportunity to assist in this meal and we enjoy the healthy benefits.

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About Uncle Ben’s Uncle Ben’s®, the number one rice brand in America, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for convenient side dishes and savory main courses. Uncle Ben’s® offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, Uncle Ben’s® is the top-selling branded rice in the United States and products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. Uncle Ben’s® Brand products are manufactured by Mars Food NA, part of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.UncleBens.com.

More info on Uncle Ben’s: http://www.unclebens.com/



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