Feasting Fancies© Nutrition

Sep 14, 2008 by Ralph Lupoli

I guess it’s because of the children going back to school that I start thinking about good nutrition and eating healthy. This is a subject that gets lots of attention and yet so many people don’t pay any attention to it. The government has helped us by creating charts with groups of foods that are necessary for good health. The five basic food groups are Grains, Vegetables, Fruit, Milk and Meat & Beans. They even tell us how much of each to eat. If we want a personalized plan all we have to do is go to MYPyramid.gov., answer a few simple questions and they will send you back the answers. The new symbol includes physical activity in the program.

For a 2,000 calorie diet, you need the amounts listed from each food group. To find the correct amounts that are right for you go to MyPyramid.com.

• GRAINS – eat 6 ounces every day, at least 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, rice or pasta.
• VEGETABLES – eat 2 ½ cups every day. Eat more dark green veggies like broccoli, spinach, and other dark leafy greens. Eat more orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Eat more dry beans and peas like pinto beans, kidney beans and lentils.
• FRUITS – eat 2 cups every day. Eat a variety of fruit. Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit but go easy on fruit juices.
• MILK – get 3 cups every day. Go to low-fat or fat-free when you choose milk, yogurt and other milk products. If you don’t or can’t consume milk, choose lactose-free products or other calcium sources such as fortified foods and beverages.
• MEAT & BEANS – eat 5 ½ ounces every day. Choose low fat or lean meats and poultry and bake it, broil it or grill it. Vary your protein routine by choosing more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.

Companies like Harbar, LLC in Canton, Massachusetts are making life a bit easier by creating two lines of tortillas, “Marie and Ricardo” which is the standard line and made with all pure products and “Mayan Farm” which are made for the health conscious. Here are some recipes for the use of tortillas the will make your life easier and more fun and healthy.

Vegetable Lasagna
9 inch lasagna could feed 2 for dinner or 4 for lunch

4 Maria and Ricardo’s White Flour Tortillas
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 zucchini, cut into ½ inch dice
1 summer squash, cut into ½ dice
2 ½ cups ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
½ cup chopped, roasted red pepper
2 ½ cups your favorite pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Add oil to a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper, sauté until crisp and tender and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove from pan and repeat with summer squash. In a large bowl combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, beaten egg, red pepper, zucchini and squash.

Grease a 9 inch round cake pan, add 2 tablespoons tomato sauce and spread over bottom with spoon. Place one tortilla on sauce. Spread one third of cheese mixture over tortilla, spoon ½ cup of tomato sauce over cheese and spread with spoon to edges. Repeat twice, ending with tortilla. Over top tortilla spread ½ cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle with reserved Parmesan cheese. Bake until heated throughout, about 1 hour. Let set for about 1 hour and reheat for 15 minutes, before slicing into wedges.

If you check out the recipe you will see all of the food groups being used. Why not try this with sautéed chopped beef and Italian sausage removed from its casing.

Fruit and Arugula Salad Wrap

4 Maria and Ricardo’s Multigrain Tortillas
1 cup peeled, ½ inch diced apples
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup blue cheese, ¼ inch dice
1 cup candied or spiced walnuts
4 cup washed and patted dry arugula
½ cup favorite vinaigrette

Lay multigrain tortillas on a flat surface. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients and toss well. Lay about ¼ of mixture on each tortilla and wrap. Bring tortilla bottom up over filling about ¼ into tortilla, fold one end into mixture, and roll up leaving one end open. Enjoy.

Again, check recipe and see how many of the food groups are being used. Don’t forget the multigrain tortilla.

Spicy Tuna Salad Wrap

4 Maria and Ricardo’s Multi-Grain Soft Taco Tortillas
4 large soft lettuce leaves, of your choice
1 can of tuna fish, packed in oil or water
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tablespoon minced jalapeno
¼ cup finely diced celery

Lay tortillas on a flat surface. Place a lettuce leaf in the center of each tortilla. In a bowl combine drained, flaked tuna, add mayonnaise, jalapeno and celery, combine. Lay tuna mix down center of each lettuce leaf. Roll tortilla, folding bottom over to keep ingredients in wrap as you eat.

You can also use the food groups for dessert.

Caramel Apple Roll-ups

4 Mayan Farm Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 cup cream cheese, softened, add a couple drops of milk to make it easier to spread
2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples
1 cup caramel sauce, plus more for drizzling
1 cup granola, of your choice

Lay tortillas on a flat surface. Spread ¼ cup cream cheese over each tortilla, sprinkle ½ cup diced apples over cheese and drizzle ¼ cup caramel sauce over apples. Sprinkle ¼ cup granola over mixture and roll each tortilla tightly. Slice into pieces. Drizzle with caramel sauce if desired.

I’m sure if you thought about it you could come up with many filling and uses for tortillas. How about a base for a pizza?

When you’re food shopping always check the ingredients list and notice what the product contains. If you can, always prepare your own food, take out food contains a great deal of sodium which is not good for any of us. Try eating healthy for a few weeks and you will see how great you feel and you may even lose some weight. Always look for the freshest fruits and vegetables; always bright in colour and crisp not limp and faded. Calcium pills count if you can’t drink dairy products.

If you need more information or have any questions please write me at this newspaper or e-mail me at RAskRalph@aol.com.