Got New Year's resolutions? How about resolving to put more nutrition into your family's meals in 2013? Here are five easy ways to do it:
- Go Green. Have a salad every time pizza is on your menu. It can even be a pre-packaged salad, if your day has been too hectic to do it from scratch. Or you can go all out and whip up a beautiful Kale Salad, or a spinach salad, or just mixed greens with a quick vinaigrette dressing. Put your salad on top of the pizza and make it a Salad Pizza.
- Opt for Organic. Even though the initiative to require labeling of genetically modified foods (GMOs) did not pass, you can still avoid unknowingly buying and eating those foods by buying organic. Organic foods cannot be genetically modified. They also don't have harmful insect-killers or other potentially harmful sprays. Yes, they are a little more expensive, but worth it. Luckily, many stores in our part of the East Bay offer a wide selection of organic products, including Berkeley Bowl (two locations in Berkeley), Whole Foods (230 Bay Place in Oakland), and most farmers' markets. The Thursday farmers' market at Shattuck and Rose in Berkeley is entirely organic, and runs from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. year round.
- Bolster It. Add chopped kale, shredded cabbage, or canned black or garbanzo beans to soups. Throw cubed tofu into a simple stir-fry.
- Expand Your Veggie Repetoire. Learn simple pasta with vegetable dishes, like Bowties with Broccoli. If you don't stir-fry, try it!
- Salsify! Add great flavor and no fat to fish and meats by dribbling a little salsa over it. Salsa is easy to make (chop tomatoes, onion, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro, drizzle with olive oil and fresh lime juice), and there are also many delicious salsas that can be bought in stores. The best are fresh, house-made salsas like those sold at Piedmont Market , The Pasta Shop,, and Mi Pueblo in Oakland.
Here's to a wonderfully nutritious year!
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