Valentine's Day Heart Pinwheels

Valentine's Day Heart Pinwheels

A savory treat for Valentine's Day!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, this is a quick and easy recipe to uphold the festive spirit. With my kids coming home from school with conversation hearts and gazillions of heart-shaped lollipops, I wanted something to counteract all the sugar. While crescent rolls aren't something I eat often (although I'd like to), they're perfect for a special occasion. They're versatile and fun to create different shapes - like hearts. I added some low sodium ham and grainy mustard, and...voila! Fun Valentine's Day breakfast, snack or party food!

Experiment with different types of ham, mustard or cheeses!

Valentine’s Day Pinwheels

Serving Size: 1 pinwheel

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury refrigerated Crescent rolls

5-10 slices low sodium ham

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

Preparation:

Set oven to 375 degrees

Roll out refrigerated crescent dough on a baking tray. Leave it whole as one rectangle, pinching together the seams

Layer slices of ham on the dough

Spread grainy mustard evenly over the ham

Slice horizontally into 1 inch strips; roll up each end to meet in the middle and form into heart shape.

Bake as directed on crescent roll canister. About 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try them!

Stock Your Kitchen with These Foods to Keep Your Family Healthy

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

The first step to a healthy lifestyle? A healthy kitchen!

Despite spending countless hours in the kitchen, I would fail most of the Martha Stewart “tests”. My spices have been in the cupboard for more than 6 months, soy sauce has been in the fridge more than 1 month, and I still have infant formula samples buried somewhere (my youngest kiddo is four and I never even used formula). But there are a few essential items I like to keep around that help me prepare healthy, quick meals and snacks and I’d like to share them with you.

1. Plain, Greek yogurt

Very versatile; high in protein and calcium.

Uses:

-add to a smoothie

-as a substitute for fat in quick breads and baking. Substitute ½ the oil with ¾ the amount of yogurt.

-as a substitute for ½ of the sour cream in dips, sauces, dressings, or when topping baked potatoes

2. Avocados

I almost always have one avocado in use and one ripening on the counter. Recently, though, I found frozen avocado slices in the grocery store! Frozen at the peak of ripeness, these are perfect for throwing into a smoothie in the morning.

Uses:

-as a substitute for mayonnaise on a sandwich or as a topping for a hamburger

-Add to smoothies for added creaminess

-Impromptu guacamole or healthy salad dressing. (Add peeled avocado, a garlic clove, some olive oil lemon juice, salt and pepper and a splash of water in a blender.)

-Avocado and tomato summer salad

-Shmear on toast for a breakfast packed with heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

3. Cocoa powder (unsweetened, natural)

You probably have it in your panty for baking, but I use it to add a chocolatey taste to a variety of things. Who could pass up chocolate that has no sugar or fat, but lots of polyphenols to help combat inflammation? Not me ;)

Uses:

-Add it to smoothies (Can you tell I make a lot of smoothies?)

-Add a tablespoon to an energy ball mix

-Add it to oatmeal (yep, it’ll mix right into hot oatmeal). My kids especially like this for an after-school snack.

-Add some depth to dry rubs for meats and pork

-Cocoa dusted almonds

-Hot cocoa. This may sound obvious, but I grew up on packaged, sugary hot cocoa. Since my kids have had the, ahem, ‘opportunity’ , to try the sugary kind outside of my home, they don’t want my reduced- sugar homemade version. So, I split a packet of the sugary stuff between two mugs and make up the difference with pure cocoa powder. Top with milk and no one is the wiser.

4. Frozen fruit

-Those bags of frozen fruit decrease waste as it’s all unbruised, ripe fruit.

Uses:

- You guessed it…smoothies!

-make a yummy crumble

-throw into oatmeal

5. Canned salmon

An inexpensive and convenient way to sneak in the recommended weekly amount of fatty fish for heart health! Canned salmon offers wild Alaskan salmon with omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D and calcium (from the tiny, edible bones).

Uses:

-Smoothies (just kidding!!)

-Salmon burgers

-Throw together with cooked rice/pasta/vegetables/risotto

There’s always more, but those are my favs.

6. Plain Oatmeal

Oats pack their nutritious punch from antioxidants and soluble fiber. The kind of fiber that lowers LDL and total cholesterol.

-Bowl of hot oatmeal

-Overnight oats

-Granola

-Mix into smoothies

-Add to batters for pancakes/breads

-Base for energy balls

Tell me what you keep around to whip up healthy meals in a pinch!

Why I Started a Blog

Idyllic family life - reality or dream??

So, why start a blog now??

I’ve had several websites for my counseling practice over the years, mainly for information for those who have heard about me through another avenue. I’ve tried hard NOT to create a new website or blog. For one, I’m busy and honestly afraid that the added stress of maintaining a blog would further add to the list of things that don’t go to completion (along with baby books and an organized electronic compilation of family photos). Another reason is that I feel we’re all overloaded with information as it is. I would even joke with some of my colleagues about how the next generation of Registered Dietitians will have blogging 101 in school instead of the customary microbiology and organic chem.

So why did I do this?? Because despite all the information out there, my clients still come to me with questions they are trying to answer from unqualified or quack websites. It is so rewarding when I help guide my clients through (science-based) healthy lifelong decisions, especially when we’re all so busy and encumbered with information. This has been my dream, in a way, for a long time. I’m glad to share it with you!