Peek Into Kelly’s…Gadget Cabinet
May 21, 2013 by KathyG · 11 Comments
We’ve had an emotional week filled with fond memories and tears. We said goodbye to my Grandma Vesta. My Grandma was a woman who loved people and had a passion for good food. She would share her love by feeding others. She was well-known in my hometown as an amazing cook and talented baker. She was a caterer and cake decorator.
She would make homemade donuts for special occasions.
She would make birthday cakes in the shapes of animals, t-shirts, cars, stars, sports equipment, motorcycles and even a piano. If we could dream it, she could make it. Not only did these cakes look good…they tasted great!
Here’s Grandma with our wedding cake. Yes, she made it!
My Grandma appreciated kitchen gadgets. If a new gadget or tool came out, she had it. Her walk-in-closet was literally overflowing with these space-sucking, but useful tools of her trade. I can still see the rice cookers, blenders, mixers, electric knives, slow cookers, food processors, popcorn poppers, can opener and food dehydrator. While I don’t have such an expansive collection of kitchen gadgets, there are a few I cannot live without…
- Cuisinart blender/food processor combo—2 gadgets in one!
- Kitchen Aid mixer—which is actually a 19-year-old wedding gift from Grandma Vesta and Grandpa Earl and still runs like a charm.
- Yonanas machine. Yo, what?? You heard me…our Yonanas machine.
Yonanas
We learned of this wonderful dessert maker a couple of years ago. It is a machine that turns frozen bananas into a soft-serve dessert. Mock ice cream, if you will. And tasty, too!
We pulled out the Yonanas machine last night to whip up some dessert for my uncle Keith and cousin Becca, who were in town for Grandma’s funeral. They are both into nutrition and health. And, like me, they can no longer eat copious amounts of cookies and cakes for dessert.
We pulled some peeled ripe frozen bananas out of the freezer and let them “rest” on the counter for a few minutes. Then we turned on our Yonanas machine.
You simply push the bananas through the chute and watch creamy soft-serve come out into the dish. That’s it. No dairy. No added sugar. No sodium, fat or cholesterol. Only frozen bananas, which score a NuVal 91, and are high in potassium and fiber.
Both Keith and Becca gave it a thumbs up!
While it might not be as “homemade” as Grandma’s desserts, I know she’d approve. And, I know she’d have a Yonanas machine in her gadget closet.
Win a New Kitchen Gadget!
This week, in honor of Grandma Vesta, and because I like dessert, I’d like to give away a Yonanas machine to one of my blog readers. For a chance to win, give us a Peek Into YOUR cabinet and tell us about your favorite kitchen gadget. Just leave a comment below (or click on “comment” at the top of this blog). I’ll select one winner at random on Tuesday, May 28.
Congratulations to Anthony, winner from my last blog – Peek Into Kelly’s…Family. Meet Brooke!
Until next time, enjoy your dessert…and, if you can, give your Grandma a great big hug!
Kelly
Passionate about food and good nutrition, Kelly, a BLEND Program Specialist for CentraCare Health Foundation, is also a mom who wants to set her kids up for a lifetime of good health. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC, Coborn’s, Inc., BLEND, and the CentraCare Health Foundation.
Peek Into Kelly’s…Family. Meet Brooke!
May 7, 2013 by KathyG · 8 Comments
I love my job! Where else do I get to embarrass my kids all in the name of work? Today I’m picking on Brooke. Poor dear!
Meet Brooke!
She’s my firstborn and also my first (and only) “almost vegetarian.” I’ll bet you’re wondering what an “almost vegetarian” is, right? Well, around here that means she might eat some chicken and, once a summer, she will put away a brat. But that is where her meat eating stops. The kid has never eaten a cheese burger or a steak. Never.
When Brooke was about 3 years-old, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, with conviction, in her high little voice, “Mommy, I’m a meat vegetarian.” I asked her what she meant by that and she informed me, simply, that she didn’t eat meat. Ok, I thought, where did this come from? No meat? Did Sesame Street have an anti-meat campaign going on that I was not aware of? I then recalled her first years and how she would devour the little jars of sweet potatoes, squash, peas and carrots. I also remembered how she would spit out the tiny bites of beef and chicken. How she would eat the breading off of a corn dog and leave the dog. How could I not see it? She never liked meat.
Please understand her Dad and I were (and are) carnivores. We clearly appreciate a sizzling medium-rare steak fresh off the grill. We eat burgers and brats and turkey legs! Where did we go wrong? And, how long would this last?
What Does a Meat Vegetarian Eat?
Well, here we are today and our “meat vegetarian” is almost 17. She still avoids red meat and loves seafood. She’ll eat an occasional chicken breast, thank goodness! She eats almond butter, yogurt, beans and sushi. She has broadened our palates and helped our meat-loving family members try new foods. She has also consumed many a peanut butter sandwich without complaining as the rest of us ate roast beef.
NuVal® has been a wonderful addition to her diet and ours’. We’ve learned that not all foods are created equally. NuVal helps us compare everything from soup to nuts, so we can see at-a-glance which food items pack the most nutritional punch! We use NuVal to trade-up to more nutritious ingredients in our recipes and inspire us to create healthier meals.
On that note, here’s a delicious pasta recipe Brooke created that even her meat-loving family can appreciate.
Brooke’s Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta
Ingredients:
8 oz. Barilla Plus Pasta (any shape) – Nuval 91
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil – NuVal 11
½ medium yellow onion, sliced - NuVal 93
2 teaspoons garlic, minced - NuVal 91
½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved – NuVal 96 ½-1 bunch asparagus spears, cut into 1” pieces (woody ends removed) - NuVal 100
½ pound shrimp (thawed, peeled and deveined) - NuVal 75
6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional) - NuVal 100
Grated parmesean cheese to taste - NuVal 20Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.
While pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for a few minutes and add garlic, halved tomatoes and asparagus. Saute a few more minutes being careful not to burn garlic or it will make the dish bitter. Add shrimp and cook until they are pink. Remove from heat. Toss shrimp and veggie mixture with drained pasta and fresh basil. Top with grated parmesean cheese and serve.
Check out these step-by-step photos – courtesy of Bailey Hollencamp.
And there you have it – Brooke’s Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta! Simple, delicious, healthy…and, I have to say what a show-stopper!
A Vegetarian Giveaway!
This week one lucky reader will win ”the easy way Vegetarian” book. To register, all you need to do is leave a comment below (or click on “comment” at the top of this blog) telling me your child’s interesting, or funny, food story. I’ll select one winner at random on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
Congratulations to Tara, winner from my last blog – Peek Into Kelly’s…Favorite NuVal Trade-Ups!
Healthy regards,
Kelly
Passionate about food and good nutrition, Kelly, a BLEND Program Specialist for CentraCare Health Foundation, is also a mom who wants to set her kids up for a lifetime of good health. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC, Coborn’s, Inc., BLEND, and the CentraCare Health Foundation.
Peek Into Kelly’s…Favorite NuVal Trade-Ups
April 23, 2013 by KathyG · 7 Comments
What is a Trade-up? 
A trade-up is a simple way to add more nutrition to your diet. The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System scores foods from 1-100, and higher is better. Why buy a cereal that scores a 10, when there is another one on the shelf that scores a 91? I’ve made a lot of trade-ups since I began shopping with NuVal.
Here are just a few…
Hey Cutie!
Before NuVal, I used to buy the Geisha brand canned mandarin oranges for our girls’ lunch boxes, thinking that they were super high in nutrition. After all, they are just baby oranges, right? I guess I didn’t factor in the sugar water they were canned in. Even though the can says they’re in “light” syrup, they only score a NuVal 15.
I noticed I could gain a few NuVal points by trading-up to Del Monte Mandarin Oranges, packed in water with no sugar added. But, somehow a 23 for a fruit just didn’t seem like a great score.
So, I went fresh. A Cutie (fresh clementine orange) scores 100 on the NuVal scale. Rich in vitamin C and low in calories, Cuties earn a perfect score!
Yogurt I actually LIKE….who knew?
So, those of you who know me know I am not a yogurt lover. It’s not a texture thing. I like puddings. It’s not a dairy thing. I like sour cream and cottage cheese. It’s a flavor thing. To me, most yogurts just taste like spoiled milk. I will eat yogurt in smoothies, provided I can totally mask the flavor with piles of berries and bananas. But, eating plain yogurt…no way!
I really want to like the stuff. It looks tasty and is such a convenient and nutritious treat, packed with calcium and vitamin D. So, I have been on a quest to learn to like yogurt. I’ve tasted (and often gagged on) many brands and flavors with no success.
So cute! Here a few little ones sampling yogurt and granola at the Earth Day Run – BLEND Kids Health and Fitness Expo.
Last weekend, at the Earth Day Run – BLEND Kids Health and Fitness Expo, we gave out samples of Food Club Light Vanilla Yogurt (71) topped with Bear Naked Fit Triple Berry Crunch Granola (91) to kids and families attending the Earth Day Run events. By late afternoon, my stomach was growling. Because we were setting up the booth, I had skipped lunch. Hunger was setting in. And, the kids sampling the yogurt were ooohing and aahhing over how tasty it was.
I have to admit, it looked good. So, I gave it a shot, figuring the sample was small and I had a water bottle nearby to wash it down if it was terrible. And, guess what? I liked it. It was creamy and vanilla-y and, well, I was hungry. The crunchy granola topping didn’t hurt either
The range of NuVal scores for yogurts is 11-100, with the average yogurt scoring 44. Many of those “fruit on the bottom” kinds bottom-out in their scores as well. So with that in mind, here are some Food Club Yogurt examples…
While I did like the Light Vanilla at a 71, I am not ready to trade-up any higher to the Food Club Plain yogurt just yet, even if it does score a 100.
A Great Trade-Up Giveaway—Comment to Win!
This week one lucky reader will win: a bag of Cuties, a bag of Bare Naked Fit Triple Berry Crunch Granola and some Food Club Light Vanilla Yogurt. To register, all you need to do is leave a comment below (or click on “comment” at the top of this blog) telling me what food you don’t care for, but want to like. I’ll select one winner at random on April 30, 2013.
Here’s hoping you make a great trade-up this week!
And, as always, thanks so much for reading my blog.
Kelly
Peek Into Kelly’s…Earth Day Activities
April 9, 2013 by KathyG · 3 Comments
When my girls were little, they were like most kids and happy to be active. They could entertain themselves with a bucket of water and a stick. They could spend hours on the swing set and in the sandbox. They put miles on their tricycles and scooters. As they grew older, I noticed their activity levels changed.
Organized sports and activities became the norm. However, in the process of learning team sports, our girls seemed to forget how to just hop on a bike or shoot some hoops in the driveway. Unless there was a team, a coach and a cheering section, they just didn’t seem to engage in as much physical activity.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love organized sports. I am a huge fan of Community Ed, school sports, club sports and all of the wonderful opportunities available through these programs. They teach teamwork, social and athletic skills. Yet, while our girls gained these valuable life skills, they seemed to lose their creativity and desire to “just play outside.”
As a parent, it was frustrating to see my “bored” kids sitting in the house with a garage full of bats, balls, jump ropes and bikes. Was society to blame? Did we program them to need a coach, a snack and a team t-shirt for motivation? What was my role in their attitudes toward activity? As a Mom, where did I drop the proverbial ball?
They saw me pack a cooler of snacks and a lawn chair before we DROVE 5 blocks to softball where I would SIT and watch them play. Gee, no mixed messages there! I had to make a change in MY attitude before I could expect them to change theirs. I realized I had to model the behaviors I wanted to see in my kids.
Earth Day Run – BLEND Events…Healthy, Active Fun!
Are you a parent who needs a refresher course in healthy, active FUN? Bring your kids down to the BLEND Kids Health and Fitness Expo on Friday, April 19th. The SCSU Field House will be bursting with fun activities from 2:00-7:00PM. This FREE event is open to kids of all ages.
Come out and maneuver through a 50’ inflatable obstacle course and dance with instructors from NorthCrest Gymnastics and Dance. Train one-on-one with St. Cloud Area Family YMCA staff and Wellness Director Chad Johnson (he’s one of our favorite BLEND guest bloggers!). Cycle on bikes with trainers from Scheels and learn helmet safety with the folks from the St. Cloud Hospital Injury Prevention team. Practice with instructors from Evolution Tae Kwon Do. Learn some tennis skills with St. Cloud School District 742 and get a free incentive! Play car games with the Boy Scouts of America - Central MN Council. Watch and learn how to jump rope with the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart Team.
Coborn’s NuVal Nutrition Booth
And, while you’re there, please remember to stop by the Coborn’s NuVal Nutrition booth and say “HI” to me! I’d love to give you some free samples of delicious, nutritious foods! You can meet Ashley, Coborn’s Supermarket dietitian, and learn how NuVal can help you pack a healthy lunch bag.
Earth Day Giveaway!
I’m pretty excited about today’s giveaway! We are giving one free entry to the BLEND 1K Youth Run. It’s a great way to be active and give a child the opportunity to participate in this fun run. Each participant earns a t-shirt and a medal. For a chance to win, please tell us your favorite physical activity. Is it walking, running or playing tennis? Do you like to garden, swim or bike? Just leave a comment below (or click on “comment” at the top of this blog) to be entered in the drawing. I’ll select one winner at random Tuesday morning, April 16, 2013.
Congrats to Valerie, winner of “The GORP Giveaway” from my last blog, Peek Into Kelly’s…Pantry (Snacks)
See you at Earth Day!
Kelly
Peek Into Kelly’s…Pantry (Snacks)
March 26, 2013 by KathyG · 16 Comments
I’m a lucky woman! I have a walk-in pantry. For some girls, it’s diamonds. For others, it’s pearls. For this girl, it’s clean white shelves, glass jars and lots of space for canned goods, cereals, baking supplies and, of course, snacks.
What do the Radi’s snack on?
Well, let’s see… We like nuts …peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds. We (especially Marty) like raisins. He actually has them on his cereal every morning. I like plain old Cheerios. Notice I said “I” and not “we.”
We do like chocolate. Especially M&M’s, which is why they are rarely in our pantry. If I buy them, they disappear quickly! One snack we all agree on is GORP. I have absolutely no idea who came up with the name or what it means, but that is what my aunt called it when we were kids.
Basically, GORP is a snack mix that consists of the above ingredients in various amounts, tossed together, eaten with your fingers. I recommend pairing it with an ice-cold glass of skim milk (NuVal 91).
GORP Giveaway!
This week one lucky reader will win a really cute reusable shopping bag filled with the ingredients to help mix up your own big batch of tasty GORP.
- Food Club Dry Roast Lightly Salted Peanuts (NuVal 23)
- Good Sense Whole Natural Almonds (NuVal 81)
- Planters Dry Roasted Sunflower Kernels (NuVal 38)
- SunMaid Raisins (NuVal 87)
- Cheerios (NuVal 37)
- Plain M&M’s (NuVal 2) I know…a 2. But, sometimes you just need some M&M’s!
To register, all you need to do is leave a comment below (or click on “comment” at the top of this blog) telling me one of your favorite snacks. I’ll select one winner at random on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.
Congrats to Rian, winner of “The Chilly Giveaway” from my last blog, Peek Into Kelly’s…Freezer.
Happy Snacking!
Kelly
p.s. The photo’s in this blog were taken by my friend Bailey Hollencamp!
Passionate about food and good nutrition, Kelly, a BLEND Program Specialist for CentraCare Health Foundation, is also a mom who wants to set her kids up for a lifetime of good health. NuVal is a system designed to lead customers to the most nutritious food choices. It is not a diet or weight-loss plan. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC, Coborn’s, Inc., BLEND, and the CentraCare Health Foundation.
