The Weekly Spread + "Is Canned Fruit Healthy?"

The Weekly Spread + tips on choosing healthier canned foods

Thank you to everyone who came to cooking class last week! I hope your family loved the tuna casserole as much as I did! One class participant had a question about canned fruit. She was curious if it is healthy for her child. So I thought I would write up some info on canned fruit.

Here’s how I think about fruit:

• It’s important to eat fruit at every meal (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner)

• Fresh fruit is healthiest, but I run out of it before I can make it back to the store.

• Frozen fruit is just as healthy as fresh fruit, I use it often.

• Canned fruit makes it possible for me to eat fruit at every meal.

  • It is nutritious, but can have added sugar.

  • Some nutrients can be lost during the canning process.

  • Even though it’s not as healthy as fresh fruit, canned fruit is still healthy.

  • It is better to eat canned fruit than to eat no fruit at all!

Here’s some ways to make a healthier choice when choosing canned fruit:

• Buy unsweetened fruit

• Buy fruit packed in FRUIT JUICE (see photo above)

• Avoid buying fruit packed in syrup (avoid all kinds of syrup, light or heavy)

• Look at the label, there should be 0g added sugar (see photo below)

Got more questions about canned fruit? Send me an email: nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com

Here's my menu for the week:

Sunday: chili + cornbread + fresh oranges

Monday: crock pot cabbage, leek and potato soup + bread + fresh apple slices

image from tasteofhome.com

Tuesday: chinese new year! Salmon + cabbage and ramen salad + frozen stir fry veggies + fresh oranges

image credit: https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/ramen-cabbage-salad/

Wednesday: vegetable curry + rice + mango smoothie (using frozen mangoes, I'll be out of fresh fruit by Wednesday, so I'll use frozen or canned the rest of the week)

Thursday: green split pea soup (new recipe for me, never made it before!) + canned pineapple + crackers

image credit: https://www.budgetbytes.com/vegan-split-pea-soup/

Friday: leftover chili + cornbread + canned applesauce

Saturday: ground elk tacos + canned pineapple

The Weekly Spread + a picky eating story

The first time I made a salmon a few weeks ago, my daughter ran into her room and would not emerge until we were done eating it. She would rather skip dinner than be anywhere near people eating fish. Why? Because it was a totally new food for her, and it's smelly, and she's sensitive to smells.

That's why I was surprised when she asked me if we could try salmon tacos. She said she might eat fish in taco form.......maybe.....if they were like mashed up or something.

That's a big change! LOL.

This is what happens when you expose your kids to food repeatedly WITHOUT FORCING them to eat it. I've been cooking salmon twice a week for about a month now. The first time we had it, she locked herself in her room. The next time she was able to sit at the table, as long as she couldn't SEE the salmon. Then she was able to have salmon within view the next week. When I cooked it last Friday, she was talking about how she might be ready to try it. I never once tried to get her to eat it.

Why am I telling you this? Because this is how kids learn to like new foods. Being around the food, smelling it, seeing it, and watching other people eat it are all forms of "trying" a new food. Will my daughter eat the fish tacos we make this week? I'm guessing no. But will the exposure do her good? Yes it will. And I will keep on trying because the rest of us like salmon.

You might be wondering what she eats when she's not eating the salmon I serve? The side dishes of course! We're having fish tacos Thursday. If she's not feeling brave enough for fish tacos she'll have a cheese taco, which is fine.

I know that my job is done when I offer my kids healthy food and sit down to eat it with them. It's okay if she doesn't eat much at dinner. She has a good breakfast, school lunch and afternoon snack every day. If she doesn't eat much at dinner, she can make up for it by eating more at breakfast.

Are you struggling with a picky eater? I hope this message gives you encouragement. For more help with picky eating, send me an email or visit this page on my website.

With that intro on picky eating, here's my menu for the week:

Monday: my 9 year old is cooking: Whole Wheat Crepes with filling options: sauteed mushrooms, cooked spinach, chopped bell peppers, defrosted berries, or nutella

photo credit: https://www.realmomnutrition.com/recipe-whole-wheat-crepes/

Tuesday: Cooking Class Night! Tuna Noodle Casserole + frozen peas + oranges. I'm super excited. I love this recipe.

https://www.ddinutrition.com/tunanoodlecasserole

Wednesday: my 11 yr old cooking: One pot lasagna + canned green beans + applesauce (I'm trying this recipe for cooking class, I hope it turns out!)

photo credit: https://www.foodhero.org/recipes/quick-lasagna

Thursday: grilled salmon + whole wheat tortillas + salsa + mango smoothie

photo credit: https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/249647/grilled-salmon-soft-tacos/

Friday: pizza with pesto sauce, artichokes, chopped spinach and olives

This is a photo from summer, we will probably have oranges on the side, not cantaloupe, which is out of season. I use frozen whole wheat dough from WinCo.

Saturday: soup with what’s left in the fridge, ? bean burritos for dinner. I'll be posting my bean burrito recipe soon. It's our new favorite food that we eat on weekends.

The Weekly Spread: a dietitian's meal plan

Did you read last week's blog about vitamin D? If so, you might be wondering....

What 3 oz of salmon looks like.

That actually might not be what you are wondering; but it is what I was wondering. So we bought some salmon last night for dinner and I weighed some before I ate it.

This is what 3 oz of salmon looks like on a plate and next to my hand. It's really small!

Why do I want to know what 3 oz looks like? Because 3 oz provides between 12 and 15 mcg of vitamin D, which is enough for the day (everyone age 1-70 needs 15 mcg per day). Vitamin D isn't found in a lot of other foods, so it's important to eat those foods or take a supplement.

Point of this photo: it's not very much salmon.

The salmon I bought was 8$ per pound. There are five, 3oz servings in 1 pound. Which would make this vitamin D rich food only $1.60 per serving. I think that's reasonable.

I plan to start adding salmon to my menu. I hope this encourages you to think about adding fish to your menu too.

Here's my dinner menu for the week:

Monday: (11 year old is cooking) Burrito Bowls + mango smoothie (just frozen mangoes and milk blended together)

Tuesday: (my 9 year old is cooking) Basic Noodles + roasted frozen Brussel sprouts + canned peaches

Wednesday: Quick Curry + rice + naan bread + mango smoothie

Thursday: Corn chowder (new recipe, lots of exciting ingredients) + cornbread

image source: fromachef'skitchen.com

Friday: Miso salmon, ramen with a package of frozen stir fry veggies

image source: america'stestkitchenkids

Saturday: Bean and Cheese burritos

Here's how I make my burritos

1. In a big bowl mix: 1 cup cooked beans (drained canned beans work too), 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, 1/2 cup salsa, and about 1 pound cooked ground taco meat

2. Put about 1/3 cup filling in each burrito, roll them up and bake at 350 until warm throughout, about 20-30 minutes

   1. tip#1: I keep bag of cooked and frozen beans in the freezer, it saves $$

   2. tip #2: use whole wheat tortillas for more fiber

   3. tip#3: the meat is optional, if you leave it out, add less salsa

   4. tip #4 I don't actually measure, I just estimate the ingredient amounts