Healthy Summer Eating

 After a weekend of celebrating - and still some celebrating it;s time to look at good , healthy eating. Tis is the perfect time of year for it. There are so many fruits and veggies to use.It;s impossible NOT to eat nutritiously .

Look to the fruits of the season for dessert. A simple peach or plum is the perfect breakfast on the go.  Slice them into the latest morning craze = overnight oats. Put the oats in a small container with enough milk. These will soak the grains until they;re a pudding like mash. The oats themselves are healthy and using plant, nut or low fat milk also adds toteir nutritional value. Slice any often stone or pitted fruits in them along with berries  such as strawberries,raspberries and blueberries Sweeten with all natural honey or agave. Hot oatmeal can benefit from fresh fruit slices as well along with cold cerial such as Rice Krispies  and Cheerios. Even a meal as decadent as brunch can be made healthy. Think the egg substitute Just Egg with such fresh veggies as spinach and bell peppers in a tasty omelet Whole wheat Crepes can be made and filled with both sauteed veggies for a savory main  course or fresh fruit and Greek yogurt for the dessert. Serve with mocktails for added fun.

Lunches and dinners can be made with the harvests of the season. The Spanish cold soup gazpacho is the perfect lunch or dinner course.It is so delicious that you'll want to put in on your meal rotation two to three times a week.It's a blended mix f tomatoes, green bell peppers, cucumber ,olive oil and red wine vinegar.Chill it for two to three hours in the fridge before serving .I;ts great with a crusty whole wheat bread but also crackers work too. Another favorite veggie dish is ratatouille. This Southern French classic starts with sliced eggplants, tomatoes , onions and garlic. I prefer the stovetop method where the veggies are cooked in a skillet in olive oil plus a tablespoon of the plant butter Melt. I also sub in zucchini - which is in abundance right now for the eggplant since the eggplant sometimes has a bitter taste. Do use fresh picked herbs to flavor this. It goes well with a crusty bread but try a whole wheat boule wit it to sop up the sauces.Any stuffed veggie is a good lunch or dinner. Us brown rice and spicing for fillings for tomatoes , peppers and mushrooms

It;s time to eat healthy again.It;s easy to do in the summer. The harvests are in full force right now and it's time to take advantage of them.

10 Years Of Foodie Pantry!!

2018 marks the ten year anniversary of Foodie Pantry! I can't believe it,because it doesn't feel like a decade has elapsed. It started  from  two little  paragraphs  and grew into pictorials about cooking polenta and icing cakes. There have been interviews with famous chefs , and cookbook reviews , analyzing Times Food section  articles and delving into the history of our favorite foods. Unfortunately I have lost my greatest adviser ,my Mom, on the long trip to this point.I will miss asking her for advice or how she made a certain recipe.

The upcoming year will reflect what this poor writer has been writing about  - trends, eating healthy , and recipes. There will be posts or my new favorite  - the pommelo - the granddaddy of the orange. along with forays into crockpot cooking and turns with Mexican and Indian cuisine. The fun thing about writing this blog is that I get to explore different cuisines from around the world along with tasting  new trends and traditional dishes.

I'm grateful for all you readers and promise that  this anniversary year will be a palatable one.

Special thanks to Pete Burley and Mitch Rappel fr for letting me create this blog for their Fyxx Caffeinated Water in the spring of 2008.