Perfectly refreshing, colourful, and versatile. Looking for a healthy dish to bring to a pot luck, picnic or just a great way to end a meal, here is a healthy option.
Ingredients
1 lb of strawberries, chopped
1 lb of fresh pineapple (canned pineapple pieces if you don’t have fresh, drained)
12 oz of fresh blueberries
12 oz of red grapes, sliced in halves
4 kiwis, peeled and chopped
3 mandarine oranges (canned mandarines drained will work)
2 bananas, sliced (optional)
1/4 cup of honey
2 tsp of lime zest (zest from 2 medium limes)
1.5 tbsp of fresh lime juice
Directions
Add all fruit to a large mixing bowl.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, lime zest and lime juice.
Pour over fruit and toss to evenly coat, and serve
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories 143
Fat 0.4 g
Sugar 27.1 g
Carbohydrates 36.6 g
Protein 2.0 g
Fibre 4.1 g
This is a very versatile recipe. Use the fruit you like best and/or have available. Keep in mind that the longer between the time it is made and served, your pineapple will start changing color. It will absorb the juice of the strawberries and such. This is a little tart due to the pineapple, lime and mandarines. You can make this using melons, watermelon, mango, peaches. The possibilities are endless. All you need is a little imagination to have fun and make it your own.
I was making a recipe called Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese and thought I would compare the values of Kraft Velvetta Vs Kraft Cheez Whiz vs Kraft Mac and Cheese (KD). I have done my recipe with both Kraft Velvetta and with Kraft Cheez Whiz. Of course, like every else, I’ve also had Kraft Mac and Cheese.
The purpose of this exercise was to compare value to the nutrients. I wanted to compare price to the fats, protein, vitamins and of course convenience.
Convenience Kraft Dinner Mac and Cheese wins hands down. It is the easiest, quickest and needs a total of three items, the Kraft Dinner, milk and margarine. My recipe needs tomato soup, pasta, Velvetta or Cheez Whiz, milk, margarine, onions. Then I wanted to compare pricing. Of course this varies where you are and if you are using generic or brand names. For the purpose of this exercise I used brand names and all from one store, Walmart.
I calculated to make the same quantity which would serve six. However, I didn’t count the salad or veggie you should be having with this to make a balanced meal. Nor did I add any extra protein. Conclusion of the pricing was pretty simple. Cheapest was with Cheez Whiz, at 1.05 a plate, Velvetta at 1.10 and Kraft Dinner which I found expensive at 1.27 a plate. Kraft Dinner has more calories, more fat, more sugar, and less calcium and Vitamin A per serving. Mind you, it is much quicker and works well in a pinch. I have used it as side dish many times and will continue to do so.
Now for the comparison of the Cheez Whiz light and Velvetta light which one or the other was required for my recipe, here is what I came up with:
Cheez Whiz Light
Velvetta Light (2% fat)
30 g or 1 ounce
30 g or 1 ounce
60 calories
62 calories
3 g of fat
3 g of fat
2 g of carbohydrates
3.3 g of carbohydrates
2 g of sugar
2.4 g of sugar
3 g of protein
5.5 g of protein
0 g of fiber
0 g of fiber
8% of daily calcium
10% of daily calcium
2% of daily Vitamin A
5.5% of daily Vitamin A
4.88 for 15 ounce jar
5.48 for 16 ounce package
7.98 for 32 ounce package
comes to $0.325 per ounce
comes to $0.342 per ounce
comes to $0.25 per ounce
To me, this was an easy choice. The 2 calories, 0.4 g of sugar more vs the 2.5 g of protein extra made all the difference. Now mind you, if budget is the issue buying the large container of velvetta was also very appealing. I’ve seen both these items go on sale for lower than that.
Results, I vote for Velvetta. The main reason for this exercise was to see which was worth more for the buck. We should think of doing this for all foods we buy. We need to make sure we are eating the right foods, and are getting the most we can for the price and convenience. A non processed food would have been a better alternative, but pricing is not always the option.
This was a fun exercise on something we use often and never took the time to compare.
Eat right, eat healthy, eat economically and always have fun and make your recipes your own.
Mac and Cheese is very popular right now. You go to almost any restaurant and it’s on the menu. This recipe is actually quite old. I’ve used variations of this recipe for at least 40 years. It is economical, relatively healthy and can be modified in so many ways, we could probably fill up a whole recipe book with all it’s versions. You can use this as a base or as is.
Ingredients
1 lb of elbow macaroni
300 g of velvetta light cheese chopped into small pieces (11 ounces)
1 cup of low fat milk (I used almond milk)
1 large onion chopped
1 can of tomato condensed soup (I used Alymer low sodium)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of butter or margarine
1 tbsp of cajun spices
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook pasta until al dente and drain (reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Set aside.
In the same pot, melt butter and add onion. Stir until translucent and tender.
Reduce heat to medium low, and add milk, water, tomato soup, and cheese.
Stir until cheese is melted and this is a nice smooth sauce. If too thick, add a little milk. It might seem a little runny but don’t worry it will get absorbed into the pasta,
Add spices, salt and pepper.
Add pasta and stir to cover all of the pasta and make sure that the pasta is warm.
Serve. That easy.
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories 437
Fat 8 g
Sugar 12 g
Carbohydrates 67 g
Protein 19.5 g
Fibre 5.1 g
So as you see this was easy peasy. This is a very economical meal. I looked at the prices for the cheese and the pasta vs Kraft Dinner. Mind you there is nothing wrong with Kraft dinner but there is more sugar, less calcium and vitamins and if you are not using generic mac and cheese, can actually be more expensive with Kraft Dinner. I’ve written a comparison between Kraft Cheez whiz, Kraft Velvetta light and Kraft dinner, see Economical Comparison of Velvetta, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Dinner. On the average you can make this for approximately 1.10 a plate. Now is the fun part, I was asked what about veggies. This is not a balanced meal and they were right. I suggested a nice green salad with this, or you can add spinach, steamed broccoli or streamed cauliflower. You can also add drained canned veggies or thawed and drained frozen veggies. All depends on your budget and/or tastes. If you want to add protein feel free to do so, including a very economical black bean or white kidney bean drained. This is where I tell you have fun and make it your own.
It all started with a bite 