BLOG | DDInutrition

- Sep 26, 2022
- 2 min read

Is there a meal that everyone will eat?

My dear friend and her kids drove 3 hours to stay with me over the weekend. I love feeding people yummy healthy food when they visit...but I also like to serve familiar foods that everyone will like. That can be tricky with picky eaters, allergies and finicky kid appetites.

Solution!: "Build-your-own" or "BYO" style meals. Put out a bunch of ingredients and let everyone build their own plate based on what is available. Vegetarians, meat eaters and picky petunias can all sit down and enjoy a meal together.

A few of my "BYO" favorites are: Hawaiian haystacks, pizza, tacos, burrito bowls, pastas and crepes. I decided on DIY pizza for dinner, DIY crepes for breakfast, and then salmon with sides for lunch. Everyone was happy and went home with full bellies.

What's your favorite crowd pleasing meal? Write me nicoleheiner@gmail.com and let me know!

Here's what we ate last week:

Monday: Nicole went out for pizza with a friend, the family made grilled fish and pizza rolls (strange combo but whatever).

Tuesday: Nicole came home late: leftover meatballs from the previous week + leftover pasta + sauteed garden zucchini

Wednesday: pumpkin curry + chopped apples + brown rice (October's cooking class!)

Thursday: Trial recipe for December's cooking class white chicken chili + cheese quesadillas and mango smoothies

Friday: Camping trip: top ramen (with canned chicken and corn added) + go-gurts + sliced apples + brownies

Saturday: DIY pizza on store bought pizza crusts (toppings = basil pesto, marinara sauce, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pepperoni, pineapple)

Sunday: DIY crepes for breakfast (this is a great recipe from real mom nutrition!! toppings = peanut butter, berries, bananas, whip cream, nectarines, chopped + cooked apples.....we were supposed to have mushrooms but the kids ate them all on the pizzas!)

Lunch: grilled salmon + baked sweet potatoes + frozen green beans + store bought garlic bread + sliced nectarines

Dinner: chili con carne + whole wheat tortillas + red bell peppers + cucumbers + applesauce

Have a great week!

- Sep 12, 2022
- 1 min read

Is Pizza Healthy?

We ate it for dinner 2 times (and the leftovers for lunch 2 times), so I'm going to say yes! But I'm not just saying that to make myself feel better, it really is a healthy meal!

Instead of encouraging people to eliminate foods from their diet because they are "unhealthy," I like to encourage people to tweak their favorite dishes to make them healthier.

These are the two main tweaks that can make most food healthy:

#1 use whole wheat flour instead of white flour (or brown rice instead of white rice)

#2 add vegetables

I do this with Pizza. I do this with Mac and Cheese. I do this with tacos. I do this with casseroles. I do this with desserts.

Take a look through the menu I made last week. Note the bolded whole grain and veggie items:

Monday (Labor day at grandpa's house): Hamburgers, potato salad, fruit salad, coleslaw

Tuesday: Whole wheat noodles with beef + mushroom stroganoff + green beans + cantaloupe (image from link above)

Wednesday: Whole Wheat pizza topped with pesto, pepperoni, spinach, mushrooms and bell peppers + watermelon

Thursday: Pumpkin lentil curry + brown rice + frozen mangoes (this is next month's cooking class recipe!)

Friday: Whole wheat pizza topped with pesto + fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

Saturday: Whole wheat soft taco/whole grain corn taco shell + taco meat + tomatoes and lettuce + pineapple and grapes

Sunday: (at grandpas): Roast + rolls + green beans + apple pie + ice cream!

I hope you can find some meals to add veggies and whole grains to! If you do, let me know: nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com (or just reply to the email!)

- Sep 7, 2022
- 1 min read

Ode to tomatoes

Every one says garden fresh produce is better than what you can buy at the store.

I disagree with that statement. I have a big garden, and love growing my own food, AND most of the time the stuff at the store tastes just as good (if not better) than what I grow. I hate to admit it, but it's true.

But there is one exception to this rule, and that is tomatoes. Tomatoes from the store are nothing like tomatoes from a garden. Garden tomatoes taste like sunshine. As tomato season is in full swing, my menu this week focuses on garden fresh tomatoes!

Monday: eggplant parmesan with homemade tomato sauce + nectarines + bread

(image from link above!)