Recipes

The "Cook it Up Healthy" Contest Recipe Book

The Brandon RHA recently held a "Cook it Up Healthy" contest where staff sent in healthy recipes, tips and strategies. All were reviewed by dietitcians and nutritionists. Here is the final product, a wonderful booklet of healthy recipes and healthy eating tips, enjoy!

March is nutrition month. The goal of the 2007 Nutrition Month® Campaign is to encourage people to eat home cooked healthy dinners during the week. More and more Canadians are trying to balance work and family life, however, time spent in the kitchen is declining and there is more reliance on convenience foods and eating out. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have estimated that 10% of food spending is devoted to convenience foods (including frozen foods, pre-cooked foods, soups, and baby foods) compared to 6% in 1986. Over a hundred years ago, the average time spent preparing meals for a day was six hours. In 2000, the average time spent preparing meals was 45 minutes a day. It is now estimated that Canadians spend only about 20 minutes a day to prepare dinner. As a result, cooking skills are declining.

The purpose of this book is to help you to reach the 2007 Nutrition Month® Campaign objective! Enjoy these healthy eating tips and recipes that have been submitted by individuals from the Brandon Regional Health Authority. The submitted tips are highlighted in green throughout the book.

Peak of the Market Recipes

Vegetables and fruit can help reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. It can be difficult to get the recommended five to ten servings of vegetables and fruit per day.

Peak of the Market is a Manitoba produce marketing company that encourages people to eat a healthy diet by distributing veggie recipes.

To make the recipes healthier try:

Reducing the amount of fat by using low fat or non fat versions of dairy foods, mayonnaise, sour cream, low fat cheese
Reducing the amount of sodium with low-sodium versions of soup, soy sauce
Increasing the amount of fibre - try using whole-wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, rolled oats, crushed bran cereal, brown rice, wild rice, bulgur or pearl barley
Adding two times as many vegetables as the meat on pizzas or in casseroles, soups and stews
Using fruit puree such as applesauce or baby food fruit puree. A general rule is to replace half of the fat with applesauce or fruit puree. If too dry add back 1 tsp at a time of the fat until the right consistency is found.