10 minute meals for less than $10

Most people think it’s almost impossible to feed their family a meal for less than $10, but think again!  I’ll be sharing these recipes on my YouTube page to help you save money while planning a healthy and filling meal for your family of four or less.  These recipes only take about 10 minutes or less to prepare.  If you’re teaching your kids how to cook, these are simple/easy to follow recipes that they can learn how to prepare, as well.

Click on the following link to watch how you can save money while feeding a family of 4 for less than $10 (http://youtu.be/Bs_u5jS3PUE).  My recipe is below:

4-6 oz of skinless chicken breast (I bought mine at Walmart, Harvest Chicken/skinless chicken breast, pre-packaged into 4 – 6 oz portions) ($2-$2.50/Walmart)

6-8 pieces of East Coast Fresh Catch Shrimp ($1/Harris Teeter on sale $8.99 lb)

2-90 Second Uncle Bens Brown Rice ($1.39 less - I used a $1/off coupon from another Uncle Ben’s product)

2-cups of vegetables ($1 - I used a generic frozen vegetable mix for this recipe “without added seasonings” from Walmart, but you could use any medley of vegetables)

Olive Oil for sautéing (.25 - I bought mine on sale at Food Lion, but Walmart usually has the lowest price.  If you’re on a budget but generic brands in smaller quantities.  I use olive oil in almost everything I cook)

1 frying pan

Seasonings – I used Cayenne Pepper, MSG free and salt free Mrs. Dash seasonings (whatever you use just make sure it’s salt/MSG free and as natural as possible), Garlic powder.  About one to one and a half of seasonings is all you will need for this recipe.  

It took about 6-7 minutes to make this lunch or dinner.  You could add a slice of organic whole wheat bread for less than .50 cents a slice or Arnold’s whole wheat bread for .25 cents a slice.

Enjoy!

Pat

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Quick Tips for Wellness ™ Copyright © 2012, All Rights Reserved

Hidden sodium.....bread lovers beware

Most of us assume sodium to be in anything preserved, but rarely do we think about a higher than acceptable amount of sodium being in our slice of bread.  Did you know that “bread” is at the top of the list for food containing the highest average amount of sodium per food item?  Well, it is.  No matter how the bread is made (organic to white/enriched/bleached bread), a fair amount of sodium is added and appears in every slice.  The average slice of bread contains about 150 mg of sodium.  The maximum recommended amount of sodium per day can range from 1400-2500 mg per day (based upon health, ethnicity and weight). 

So how do you find low sodium bread and what should you look for when searching?  First, never compromise quality for quantity.  For example, “white bread” is usually lower in sodium; however, it is the unhealthier choice for you (enriched/bleached).  The better and healthier alternative is whole wheat bread (even though it’s about 20 mg higher in sodium than the average slice of white bread, it’s the healthier choice).  Look for recipes that suggest healthier/lower sodium alternatives when making homemade bread.

A few excellent websites for bread recipes and off the shelf bread products are listed below:

Low Salt Foods lists many off the shelf products that have lower sodium content. (http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/food_center/lsfoods/breads.htm)

The Cleveland Clinic has a list of foods, including bread, and their sodium contents. (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/heart_failure/hic_low-sodium_guidelines_for_heart_failure.aspx)

EHow lists Pepperidge Farms Stoneground or Whole Wheat, Sara Lee’s Heart Healthy Classic and Whole Wheat, and Oroweats Masters bread as some of the better choices

(http://www.ehow.com/facts_5329856_brands-bread-low-salt.html)

Healthy bread has many benefits to our diet such as fiber.  Learning to read the label on food will help you make the best choice when choosing the best bread.  Equally beneficial when choosing bread is making sure you avoid the words “enriched and bleached” in the label.  Look for the words “whole wheat” on the label and avoid breads with a higher than normal sodium content.

Quick Tips for Wellness:  Avoid hidden sodium by reading the label.

 Quick Tips for Wellness ™ Copyright © 2012, All Rights Reserved

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Symptom checker for unexplained weight loss in children and adults

Anorexia and bulimia are often thought to be the culprit behind unexplained weight loss but what about causes related to undetermined health conditions lying beneath the surface?  How do you decide what may be a normal or abnormal development throughout childhood and adulthood, when our bodies are naturally changing?

As parents, we can only hope our children will tell us when something is wrong but many times the problem is more complicated than what a child may understand or be able to communicate.  Most kids won’t recognize the symptoms they need to pay attention to and sometimes most parents don’t know which questions to ask. 

To help you navigate between the symptoms and the problem, “symptom checkers” provide a helpful way to get started.  Click on the following link to begin the process (http://www.drugs.com/symptom/unexplained-weight-loss-in-children-2.html). 

Below are some things that you might expect to see if your child has an illness related to their weight loss condition:

*Increased sleepiness

*Decreased urination

*Fever

*Vomiting, diarrhea

*Cough, sore throat, ear pain, chest pain

When our health is under attack, our body will respond in a number of ways.  For example, a fever burns up more calories when we’re sick.  On the other hand, vomiting/diarrhea are symptoms that relate to the body rejecting/eliminating/ reacting to illness and stress.  Coughing, sore throats and other body pain may be the beginning symptoms of a virus/ flu or the body responding to another illness related disease.  Weight loss can be directly or indirectly related to any of these symptoms.  Other health conditions, like Graves disease, can lead to the over-activity of the Thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) and can be at the root of the problem (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000358.htm).

In adulthood, women are more likely to have thyroid related health conditions and may experience the following related symptoms (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/thyroid-problems-symptoms-hypothyroidism-hyperthyroidism.html) :

*Sensation of feeling hot in cold temperatures

*Decreased/stopped menstrual cycles

*Nervousness, tremors

*Unexplained weight loss (even when eating more calories)

The good news is this:  Most thyroid related illnesses are treatable, but left untreated can become a greater problem.  Never, ever, use a symptom checker as the only answer to your condition.  Seek professional medical advice from an Endocrinologist or Internist, who can then guide you to the proper medical treatment for your condition.

Quick Tips for Wellness:  Unexplained weight loss is a red flag you don’t want to ignore.  Seek professional, medical advice immediately should you have any symptoms that suddenly appear and are negatively affecting your health.

Quick Tips for Wellness ™ Copyright © 2012, All rights reserved

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Solving the mystery: What's that pill in your closet?

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/solving-mystery-whats-pill-your-closet