Stuffed Zucchini

I am always looking for way to add vegetables into the dishes I cook. I love pasta and this is a great alternative to spaghetti with a meat sauce or lasagna. There is nothing wrong with having pasta every once and a while, but to have a healthier option is always good. It is also a great way to get kids to eat there vegetables.

Ingredients

3 whole Zucchini

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)

½ an onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 can of tomato sauce (or your favorite jar of pre-made sauce)

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions

You can make a meat sauce the way you normally would. I like to sauté the garlic and onions in a little oil add in the meat and season it with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning then add in the tomato sauce.  

Cut the zucchini in half the long way(like a boat), place in a baking dish and put the meat sauce on all of them evenly and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the zucchini is soft.

 **you can do the same thing but with eggplant instead of zucchini if you like that also. **

Live Healthy,

    Nadia

Drink More Water

One of my first posts when I started writing was about water and how people should be drinking more water. 

Water, water, water (previous post)

I want to expand on that by talking about infused or detox water. Detox water can help flush toxins from your body and help you slim down at the same time. 

Some good ingredients to add are::

Lemon-flush toxins from body

Mint-aids in digestion

Cucumber-contains anti-inflammatory properties

Ginger-natural pain reliever 

Watermelon-liver and kidney health

You can combine these and so many more fruits into a pitcher to add into your daily routine. They are not only good for you but can add vitamins and minerals more then just plain water into your diet. This is also helpful if you don't like or find it hard to drink water. 

Live Healthy, 

  Nadia 

Eat the Rainbow

     When you are planning meals and snacks you should aim to eat many different colors. Your plate should be very colorful and half of it should be vegetables. Each of the different colors of food indicates what they are good for and what nutrients they provide for the body. I encourage you to start by trying to eat one fruit or vegetable from every color group a day, when you can do that with no problem move up to having 2-4 with every meal.

Color	Foods	Nutrients
White	Mushrooms, Onions, Ginger	Flavonoids (for heart health and good cholesterol levels)
Purple/Blue	Blackberries, Blueberries, Eggplant, Beets, Dark Beans	Anthocyanin (good for healthy aging and memory)
Green	Peas, Cucumbers, Kale, Honeydew, Broccoli, Gapes	Vitamin K, Chlorophyll, Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Carotenoids(good for healthy eyes, teeth and bones)
Yellow/Orange	Pumpkin, Peaches, Butternut Squash, Carrots, Yellow Peppers, Oranges, Sweet Potatoes	Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Beta-carotene(good for immune function, healthy heart and eyes)
Red	Tomatoes, Red Onion, Apples, Cherries, Red Peppers, Watermelon	Folate, Vitamin C, Lycopene and Flavonoids (good for memory and healthy heart)

Live Healthy,
     Nadia