Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

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Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

This is a healthier twist on a classic creamy turkey and wild rice soup that hails from Minnesota. Serve with a crisp romaine salad and whole-grain bread.

4 servings, about 1 3/4 cups each | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms, (about 4 ounces)
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup quick-cooking or instant wild rice, (see Ingredient Note)
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, or turkey (12 ounces; see Tip)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots and shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more.
2. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in turkey (or chicken), sour cream and parsley and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

Nutrition

Per serving : 354 Calories; 9 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 87 mg Cholesterol; 27 g Carbohydrates; 36 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 378 mg Sodium; 577 mg Potassium

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Ingredient note: Quick-cooking or instant wild rice has been parboiled to reduce the cooking time. Conventional wild rice takes 40 to 50 minutes to cook. Be sure to check the cooking directions when selecting your rice—some brands labeled “quick” take about 30 minutes to cook. If you can't find the quick-cooking variety, just add cooked conventional wild rice along with the turkey at the end of Step 2.
• Tip: To poach chicken breasts, place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.

From Eating Well

Cream of Turkey & Wild Rice Soup http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cream_of_turkey_wild_rice_soup.html From EatingWell:  November/December 2008This is a healthier twist on a classic creamy turkey and wild rice soup that hails from Minnesota. Serve with a crisp romaine salad and whole-grain bread. 4 servings, about 1 3/4 cups each | Active Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes Ingredients 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups sliced mushrooms, (about 4 ounces) 3/4 cup chopped celery 3/4 cup chopped carrots 1/4 cup chopped shallots 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 cup quick-cooking or instant wild rice, (see Ingredient Note) 3 cups shredded cooked chicken, or turkey (12 ounces; see Tip) 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Preparation Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots and shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add rice and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in turkey (or chicken), sour cream and parsley and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more. Nutrition Per serving : 354 Calories; 9 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 87 mg Cholesterol; 27 g Carbohydrates; 36 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 378 mg Sodium; 577 mg Potassium 2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 1 fat Tips & Notes Ingredient note: Quick-cooking or instant wild rice has been parboiled to reduce the cooking time. Conventional wild rice takes 40 to 50 minutes to cook. Be sure to check the cooking directions when selecting your rice—some brands labeled “quick” take about 30 minutes to cook. If you can't find the quick-cooking variety, just add cooked conventional wild rice along with the turkey at the end of Step 2. Tip: To poach chicken breasts, place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.

Shelf Life of Fruits and Vegetables

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Healthy Food to Buy in Bulk

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Healthier Halloween Tips

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Six Helpful Strategies 

 1. Trick or post-dinner treat — Trick or treat after eating a wholesome dinner. Children who are full may be less likely to snack on the treats they accumulate.

2. Pillow cases are for pillows — give the kids smaller treat containers like recycled grocery bags or small, plastic jack o’ lanterns so they won’t bring home too many sweets. Use your pillow cases to create ghostly costumes instead.

3. Scare ‘em with vitamin E — Instead of handing out candy corn, hand out prepackaged servings of carrots or dried fruit that has no added sugar. Both are great sources of vitamins that can help your children stay healthy. Take it a step further and hand out cut fruit and berries packed in small plastic bags.

4. Use your pumpkins — Pumpkins are for more than just pumpkin pie and jack o’ lanterns. Use the flesh and seeds from your pumpkins to make delicious, healthy treats as a replacement for candy. 

5. Give ‘em treasures for treats — Hand out boxes of crayons, stickers, colored pencils, erasers, Halloween tattoos (the removable kind!), or rubber spiders!

6. Patrol those sweets — The best way to limit the amount of candy your children eat is to limit the number of treats they CAN eat. After inspecting all treats to make sure they’re safe, set a limit on how many they can keep. Then remind them to eat in moderation so they last longer (wink, wink). Store the bag in a high but public place so you won’t be tempted to snack on the candy either! 

Alliance For A Healthier Generation

More Halloween Candy Calories..Yikes!

Posted by fmurphy

Chocolate Bars and Kisses (Mostly Chocolate)

Dove Milk Chocolate Promises or wrapped squares (8 g) - 42 calories and 6 g carb

Hershey Kisses - 26 calories and 8 g carb each kiss

Hershey Kisses with Almonds - 23 calories and 2 g carb each kiss

Hershey Kisses filled with Caramel - 21 calories and 3 g carb each kiss

Hershey Candy Corn Kisses - 27 calories and 3 g carb each kiss

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars - Fun size (14 g) - 67 calories and 8 g carb

Hershey's Miniature Bars (mixed) - average of 42 calories and 5 g carb each bar

M&Ms, plain, Fun size (18 g) - 88 calories and 12 g carb

M&Ms, peanut

• Fun size (18 g) - 93 calories and 11 g carb
• 1/4 cup candy - 220 calories and 24 g carb

Miniature Bars (Milky Way, Snickers, Twix, 3 Muskateers) - average 38 calories and 5 g carb each bar

Mr. Goodbar Snack size (17 g) - 90 calories and 9 grams carb

Nestle's Crunch Bars Fun size (10 g) 50 calories and 7 grams carb

Nestle's Crunch Caramel Bars - Fun size - 70 calories and 9 g carb

Palmer Peanut Butter cups, small - 6 g carb

Three Muskateers bar

• Fun size (15 g) - 64 calories and 11 g carb
• Mint, Fun size (15g) - 64 calories and 11 g carb

Tootsie Rolls

• Small bar - 50 calories and 10 g carb
• Midgee - 23 calories and 7 g carb
• Mini-Midgees - 11 calories and 2 g carb

Peanut and Peanut Butter Candies

Pay Day - Snack size (19 g) - 90 calories and 10 g carb

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

• Miniature (about 9 grams each) - 44 calories and 5 g carb per cup
• Snack size (17 g) - 88 calories and 10 g carb
• Snack size (21 g) - 100 calories and 12 g carb
• White, Snack size (21 g) - 100 calories and 11 g carb

Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins (34 g) - 180 calories and 17 g carb

Reese's Crispy Crunchy Bar, Snack size (17 g) - 95 calories and 9 g carb

Reese's Nutrageous Bars, Snack size (17 g) - 88 calories and 9 g carb

Reese's Whipps Bar, Snack size (14 g) - 60 calories and 10 g carb

Mixed Candy Bars

100 Grand Bars

• Fun size (11 g) - 50 calories and 8 g carb
• Fun size (21 g) - 95 calories and 15 g carb

Almond Joy Snack size (15 g) - 80 calories and 10g carb

Baby Ruth Bar, Fun size (18 g each) - 85 calories and 13 g carb

Butterfinger Bar, Fun size (18 g each) - 85 calories 14 g carb

Butterfinger Crisp Bar, Snack size (20 g) - 100 calories and 13 g carb

Heath Bar, Snack size (13 g) - 74 calories and 9 g carb

Kit Kat, Fun size (14 g) - 73 calories and 9 g carb

Milky Way bar, Fun size (17 g) - 75 calories and 12 g carb

Mounds bars, Snack size (17 g) - 83 calories and 9 g carb

Rocky Road, Snack size (10 g) - 45 calories and 6 g carb

Snickers Bars, Fun size (17 g) - 80 calories and 10 g carb

Snickers Almond Bars, Fun size (17 g) - 80 calories and 11 g carb

Snickers Creme Pumpkin (1 oz) - 150 calories and 16 g carb

Take Five bar, Fun size (15 g) - 10 g carb

Twix, Snack size (10 g) - 50 calories and 7 g carb

Taffy and Caramel

AbbaZabba, small (12 g) 50 calories and 11 g carb

Charleston Chew bar, Fun size (10 g) - 45 calories and 8 g carb

Laffy Taffy, Chocolate, small bars (8 g each) - 32 calories and 7 g carb

Milk Duds Snack size (12 g) - 54 calories and 9 g carb

Milk Maid Caramels, Brach's - 40 calories and 10 g carb per piece

Fruity and Gummy Candies

Jujyfruits - 9 pieces - 60 calories and 16 g carb

Lifesavers Gummies (2 rolls per ounce) - 52 calories and 13 g carb per roll

Mini Dots (2 small boxes per ounce) 70 calories and 17 g carb per box

Skittles

• Original Fruit, Fun size (20 g) - 80 calories and 18 g carb
• Chocolate Assortment, Fun size (20 g) - 80 calories and 18 g carb

Starburst, Fun size (2 pieces per stick) - 40 calories and 10 g carb

Twizzlers

• Mini-bars (14 g) - 11 g carb
• Strawberry Twists, Short (9 g) - 32 calories and 7 g carb
• Cherry Pull-N-Peel (12 g) - 40 calories and 9 g carb

Hard Candies and Pops

Blow Pop, Junior - 50 calories and 14 g carb

Jolly Rancher

• Hard Candy (6 g) - 23 calories and 6 g carb
• Lollipops (17 g) - 60 calories and 16 g carb
• Hard Candy Sticks, Small (11g) - 43 calories and 10 g carb
• Double Blasts (4 g) - 13 calories and 3 g carb

Tootsie Pops - 60 calories and 15 g carb

Tootsie Caramel Apple Pops - 60 calories and 15 g carb

Wonka Nerds - small box (13 g) - 50 calories and 12 g carb

Other Candies

Candy Corn, Brach's - 11 pieces - 70 calories and 18 g carb

Hot Tamales - small pkg (14 g) - 50 calories and 12 g carb

Jr. Mints, Fun size (10 g) - 50 calories and 12 g carb

Mike and Ike small box (14 g) - 50 calories and 12 g carb

Pop Rocks - small packet (10 g) - 7 g carb

Raisinettes, Fun size (16 g - about 16 pieces) - 56 calories and 11 g carb

Smarties Candy, Roll - 25 calories and 6 g carb

Whoppers

• 1 small tube - 30 calories and 5 g carb
• 1 small pouch (21 g) - 100 calories and 16 g carb

York Peppermint Patties

• Regular small patty (14 g) - 53 calories and 11 g carb
• Pink Peppermint Patties, small (14 g) - 53 calories and 11 g carb
• Peppermint Patty Pumpkins (14 g) - 50 calories and 11 g carb

Halloween Candy Calories

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Quickies Are Good for Your Heart

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A study published in American Journal of Physiology found that 15 to 25 minutes of high-intensity biking just three times a week is as good for your heart as 40 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity biking 5x per week.

Prepare Winter Squash

Posted by fmurphy

Cooking Winter Squash Winter squash can be cut in halves or pieces. Dress any cooked winter squash with maple syrup and nuts, marinara sauce or stewed fruit. Any type of mashed or pureed squash can be used in the place of canned pumpkin in soups, pies, cookies or quick breads. Chunks of squash can be added to soups, stews and casseroles. Preparing Winter Squash: To cook them, first remove fibers and seeds. Wash the exterior of the squash just before using. The seeds are scooped out before or after cooking. Then bake, steam, or boil the squash. Using Water When Cooking Winter Squash: When water is used in cooking the squash, the quantity of water should be kept small to avoid losing flavor and nutrients. Peeling Winter Squash: Because this rind makes most squash difficult to peel, it's easier to cook the unpeeled squash, and then scoop out the cooked flesh. As many recipes do require peeling (and cutting) first. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin and when cutting hard winter squashes. Cutting Winter Squash: Winter squash have a hard skin and flesh (this includes acorn, buttercup, butternut, calabaza, delicate, Hubbard, spaghetti, sweet dumpling, and Turban, as well as pumpkin). To cut winter squash in half, grasp the squash firmly and use a sharp knife to slice through to the center. Then flip and cut the other side until the squash falls open. Remove and discard the seeds. Hint: Place the whole winter squash in the microwave for 3 minutes; then cut it easily, remove seeds, add butter, etc, and put into hot oven to bake. (Perforate with knife before putting in microwave so it won't explode.) To Bake Winter Squash: Using a whole (1 to 1 1/2 pound) winter squash, pierce the rind with a fork and bake in a 350 degree oven 45 minutes. Acorn and butternut squash are frequently cut in half, baked, and served in the shell. Boil or Steam Winter Squash: Cut into quarters or rings 25 minutes or until tender. Boil or mash winter squash just as you would potatoes. Add peeled squash cubes to your favorite soups, stews, beans, gratins and vegetable ragouts. To Make Squash Puree: Cut winter squash (any type) in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place squash, cut side down, in a shallow pan on aluminum foil or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. until squash is soft, approximately 45 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of your squash). Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, scoop out the cooked flesh/pulp (discarding the shell), place the pulp in a food processor and process until smooth. Measure out the amount you need for your recipe, and reserve any remaining pulp (either in the refrigerator or freeze) for other uses. NOTE: This Squash Puree may be substituted in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree. To Microwave Winter Squash: Place halves or quarters, cut side down, in a shallow dish; add 1/4 cup water. Cover tightly and microwave on HIGH 6 minutes per pound. Whole Squash - Poke squash all over with a fork. Microwave the squash at full power (High) approximately 5 to 10 minutes (depending on size of squash). Testing Winter Squash for Doneness: Test for doneness by piercing with a fork. Fork should easily pierce peel and flesh. Let sit until cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds (if needed), and proceed with recipe or eat.

They are watching me

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I wish my boys would just adopt my healthy habits and ignore my "cheats" .  However I have found it to be just the opposite..atleast I think.  "Seriously Mom, Starbucks again"? My need for a mid-day boost is getting a little out of hand. The other day I "needed" my fix and set off the alarm opening the emergency door to the coffee shop looking for the employee that was not at the front counter.  Of course no one at the shop had the authority to shut off the alarm. I got my coffee and ran.  I am now in caffeine counseling. Turns out I am not getting enough sleep at night and I need my fix to get me through another round.  Solution...get more sleep? It won't happen over night (no sleep pun intended)  I will work on getting 15 minutes more a night and cut my coffee from a tall to a small. Or is it a grande to a tall?

A  habit that I got from my loving Mother is not eating dinner with the family. My Mother would cook, serve and clean at every meal. She never sat down. As much as we wanted her to eat with us, she kept busy taking care of the meal start to finish. Our kitchen rarely "closed"  Even though I don't cook or clean as well as she did, I don't sit down with the family to eat.  I am working on engaging my boys to help with dinner and clean up so I can spend time sitting down with them. It is easier for me to do it all, but in the long run I want to instill the importance of family meals.

Steps for Food Diary Success

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8 Steps for Food Diary Success from WebMD.com

Here are some tips from the experts on how to make a food diary work for you.

Food Diary Tip No. 1: Know Your Reasons

If you know what you hope to gain from your food diary, you can make sure you're recording the type of information that will help you in that area. Fletcher advises people to be clear about their intent, whether it’s to become aware of hidden food triggers, notice problematic eating patterns, or just make sure they're eating a healthy diet. 

Food Diary Tip No. 2: Choose Your Format

Kerri Anne Hawkins, MS, RD, a dietitian with Tufts Medical Center's Obesity Consultation Center,  uses several types of food diary forms for her patients. She tells them to fill out just what works for them; they can even create their own system, like using sticky notes.

"The basic elements I would recommend including, however, would be time, food, amount/portion size and degree of hunger," says Hawkins.

Rebecca Puhl, PhD, director of research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, also suggests including the location of the meal: "These details will provide insight into emotional triggers for eating habits, as well as times of day and places where healthy and unhealthy foods are most likely to be consumed." 

Keeping track of carbs, fat, and fiber grams will be helpful for people with diabetes and other medical conditions. If you have type 2 diabetes, you might find, for example, that meals high in carbohydrates or meals high in saturated fat may cause you trouble. Or you might discover that your blood sugar levels improve when your meal or snack contains a certain amount of fiber.

Write down other items you think are important, such as how you felt (physically and emotionally) when you finished eating, what and how much exercise you got that day, any medication you took, and your blood sugar results, if you have diabetes. 

Food Diary Tip No. 3: Decide How Often to Update

You should write in your food diary at least 5 days a week -- but filling it out every day is best, says Catenacci. 

You can fill out your food diary as you go throughout the day, or set some time aside at the end of the day to update it. But experts say your record will be more accurate if you do it right after eating. They also say it's important to record everything – even if that seems painful.

"It can be tempting to avoid recording an unplanned indulgent dessert or binge episode, but this is the most important time to record," Puhl says.

Something to watch out for: As time goes on, dieters tend to become more lax about how often they update their food diaries and go longer after eating or drinking before logging the information. 

Food Diary Tip No. 4: Decide How Detailed You Want to Be

If you just can’t bring yourself to fill out a detailed food diary form each day, that’s OK. Just writing a minimum amount of information in your food diary will help you self-monitor. Hawkins says many of her patients believe that if they do not keep a "perfect" food log with every detail, they have failed. She tells them that every attempt they make at recording gets them a step closer to paying attention to their food choices and habits.

Food Diary Tip No. 5: Be Accurate About Portion Sizes

If you're just trying to get a general idea of what, when, and why you are eating, this tip may not apply to you. But if you want to get a precise picture of your intake, make sure the amounts you record in your diary are as accurate as possible, Catenacci says. Measuring out your portions can  help give you a picture of what a normal serving size looks like. Kim Gorman, MS, RD, director of the Weight Management Program at the University of Colorado, Denver, advises her clients to measure portions regularly at first, and then on occasion after that.

The more thorough you are when recording what you eat -- that handful of M&Ms at the office, the mayo on your sandwich, the sauce on your entree -- the more ways you'll eventually find to cut those extra calories. When you look back over your food diary records, look for those nibbles and bites that can really add up. Did you know that 150 extra calories in a day (that could be one alcoholic drink or a slather of spread on your bread) could result in a 15- to 18-pound weight gain in one year?

Food Diary Tip No. 7: Beware of Common Obstacles

Are you embarrassed or ashamed about your eating? Do you have a sense of hopelessness, feeling that it won’t help to fill out a food diary or that weight loss is impossible for you? Does it seem too inconvenient to write down what you eat/drink? Do you feel bad when you "slip up"? These are the four most common obstacles to keeping a food diary, Delinsky says. What's the cure? "All of these obstacles can be overcome by remembering the usefulness of the diaries, not trying to be perfect, acknowledging that slips will happen, and staying motivated to use tools that promote health and well-being," Delinsky says. 

Food Diary Tip No. 8: Review What You Wrote

Food diaries are most helpful when you look back and review what you wrote. You can do this on your own or with a therapist or dietitian who can help point out patterns that are keeping you from losing and suggest alternatives to try. "The act of acknowledgment and reflections is the most important piece," says Hawkins.