You’ve heard the hype: Meal planning helps save money, helps you eat better, and will put hair on your chest. The truth is, meal planning really can be beneficial for so many reasons (maybe not the hair on your chest, but others), so you should be planning meals the right way, to maximize benefits.

We all know a good balanced meal includes fruits and vegetables. When planning your dinner’s for the week, do you write, “Hamburgers on Monday, Spaghetti on Tuesday?” Are you forgetting that the primary focus for every meal should be fruits and vegetables? So, why do we forget to add that to our meal plan? When we fail to plan to eat fruits and vegetables, oftentimes they don’t get eaten, or a bag of frozen peas are taken from the freezer to compliment the meal.
No matter your dietary preferences (low fat, low carb, gluten free, etc), almost everyone can agree on one thing, Fruits and vegetables have tremendous health benefits. These include

· Lowering blood pressure

· Reducing risk for cancer

· Improving digestion

· Supplying essential vitamins, nutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants.


So, plan to get fruits and vegetables in every meal!

· Stock your fridge with seasonal produce.

· Check what you have and plan meals around those. If you have tons of lettuce, plan what kind of salad you want, and then whatever entrée you like that compliments your salad. Or if you have an eggplant that needs to get eaten, plan to add it to your lasagna for that week.

· Prepare your produce by chopping and washing when you bring it home.

· Always use your produce! Don’t let it get bad. EAT IT UP!

If you can add fruits and vegetables to your meals every single day, your kids will get accustomed to eating this way and everyone will be healthier and happier!

Amy Roskelley

www.superhealthykids.com
www.twitter.com/healthykids
www.facebook.com/superhealthykids

For more great recipes from Amy, check out her blog and Kitchen Monki Blogger Profile

1.  North Korea apparently has developed a Super Juice that will multiply brain cells and stop aging!  (via weird asia news)
2. The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in LA (via Huffpost)
3. Gordon Ramsay teaches you how to properly sharpen you knife (via Youtube)
4. Make This: Olga’s Pita Bread Recipe
5. 7 Fruit Cocktails Good For Your Health (via treehugger)

Each year, a few weeks before Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year), I start thinking about what to cook for a festive meal on the first night. Some years I go more complex, some more simple. Sometimes it’s just my immediate family, sometimes we invite parents, friends, etc. And because the date of Rosh Hashanah changes from year to year (Jewish holidays are based on a lunar calendar), ranging from very late August to early October, the amount that I’m fixated on “fall” food changes each year as well.

I am happy to share my menu for this year’s Rosh Hashanah dinner. My family is mostly vegetarian, but we do eat fish, so we have avoided the “traditional” chicken or brisket. There’s a lot of symbolism on the table at a traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner. Much centers around the image of a cycle/circle, but some other ones can be found as you read on…

Appetizers / Starters:
- Apples & Honey (for a “sweet” new year, probably the most well-known Rosh Hashanah tradition)
- Challah (traditionally a round challah is served on Rosh Hashanah, again to signify the cycle of the year)
- Hummos
- Crudite with meaning — a “Raise-in Celery” and Carrots (the Hebrew term is similar to that of decree and we hope for a good decree)

A squash and lentil soup to start: Moroccan Pumpkin and Split Pea Soup (new recipe) — this is a traditional soup served by Moroccan Jews on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. I have a tradition of trying at least one new food for this meal — to start the new year off with creativity, taking on new challenges, etc.

Then the main dish is talapia or salmon with our favorite sauce: South Beach Lemon Sauce

Sides are:
- Tzimmis (cut the carrots into coins for good luck!)
- Broiled vegetables, including Can’t Stop Eating Brussel Sprouts as well as some broiled asparagus, brocolli, green beans, etc. (a tradition is to have a head of fish or lamb, to signify the “head” of the year (the term Rosh in Hebrew means head), but many have replaced that with a head of cabbage or some other symbolic alternative. We’re doing little mini heads of brussel sprouts, as well as some other vegetables for those who don’t like them!)
- Cous Cous (the roundness is symbolic)

And my inlaws are bringing dessert!

Enjoy! And may you have a Shanah Tovah u’Metukah — a Happy and Sweet New Year!

Rachel Meytin

Make sure to stop by Rachel’s Kitchen Monki Profile and check out more of her great recipes!

1. San Fran McDonalds to stop offering Dollar Menu to get rid of homeless patrons (via Eater)
2. What would happen if restaurants stopped hiring illegal immigrants? (via NY Times)
3. 8 Weight Loss Secrets from around the world (via Reader’s Digest)
4. How to “Send Food Back” at a restaurant if it’s not right (via divine caroline)
5. Make This for Rosh Hashanah: Bubbe’s Apple Cake Recipe

1. 7 Tips to Kick the Sugar Habit (via Huffpost)
2. 5 Ideas that would revolutionize school lunches and save our kids (via planet green)
3. Cockroach brains found to have powerful antibiotics that can kill strains of E. Coli (via treehugger)
4. Eat This: Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Parmesan Recipe
5. Which vegetables to grow during the fall (via MNN)

“I am trying to build my grocery list, but was wondering if you could tell me if there is a way to modify some of the recipes I come across in the system? For example, I want to be able to sub bread crumbs for a gluten-free option on my grocery list. Is this possible?”

Yes, it is possible! Here’s an example:

1. I have populated my grocery list but want to drop an item from the list and replace it with another. In this case, I want to drop Chicken Broth and add Vegetable Broth.

2. Hover over Chicken Broth and then click on Delete and it will be dropped from the list. Go up to the Quick Add box and type in “Vegetable Broth” and click the Quick Add Button.

3. The new item is now on your Grocery List, ready to be shopped!

A big thanks to Dave for that question!  A reminder to everyone with questions or comments about the site to send your inquires to team@kitchenmonki.com.  We are always looking to improve the site and the make the community a better place.

1. Barefoot Contessa’s Tequila Lime Chicken (submitted by DMB)
2. Grilled Salmon with Curry and Garlic Sauce (submitted by Lynn)
3. Herb and Garlic Pork Chops (submitted by K Monki)
4. Grilled Eggplant Slices with Caprese Salad (submitted by Pryor)
5. Chili-Lime Sweet Potatoes (submitted by Dan)

For More Great Labor Day Grilling Ideas, check out these recipes on Kitchen Monki’s Recipe Explorer!

As a father of four, I want to make sure my kids grow up with the ability to take care of themselves. I’m not talking about turning them into gourmet chefs. I just want them to be able to prepare good food for themselves, and their future families. The benefits of teaching kids to cook goes beyond just learning to feed themselves, though. Learning a new skill and executing it well develops self-confidence. It give kids a sense of personal identity and increases self-esteem.

Teaching kids to cook takes a little planning, and a lot of patience. The results are worth it, though. As kids get older, they’ll want to start trying out recipes on their own. Let them. Just be on hand to supervise. Curb your desire to “fix” everything. Failing is just as important as succeeding when learning process.

When teaching kids to cook, safety in the kitchen is paramount. It seems obvious, but often obvious things get left out of informal training. “Use a pot holder,” and “wash your hands,” are classic safety rules.

Proper knife use is important, too. Very small children should stay away from knives, but I feel kids eight years and older can learn to use them safely. Start with a paring knife or other small kitchen knife. It’s a great size for small hands and kids can easily learn proper cutting and chopping techniques with it. Once they master the smaller knife, you can move them up to the chef’s knife.

Introducing a child to the stove can be a good next step. Grilled cheese sandwiches and canned tomato soup are a great combination for teaching. Add a glass of milk and your child has now made a complete meal. Wait until the child is a little older, at least the early teens, before introducing the oven. They need to have the physical capacity to open and shut the oven door and lift food laden pans.

The most important part is to have fun. If you keep it light, and don’t worry too much about the final results, the kids will have fun and want to cook more. They’ll get better, and learn to love cooking for themselves. Isn’t that the point, after all?

John

Check out more foodie wisdom at John’s blog, Confessions of a Mormon Foodie.

1. 20 Retro Cereals that were Awesome (via Pleated Jeans)
2.  A brief history of the Lunch Box (via the Atlantic)
3. 10 Minimal-Labor Labor Day Grilling Recipes (via Serious Eats)
4. Eat This: Dill Chicken Paillards with Tomato-Dill Relish Recipe
5. The secret to the shelf life of food from McDonalds (via Salon)

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2. Roger Ebert no longer eats, but he can still cook (via NY Times)
3. Why you can and should eat Kangaroo (via Esquire)
4. Make This: Pumpkin and Coriander Soup Recipe
5. The Secret to Good Airline Food: Fly Italian (via the Atlantic)