Harvest Meat 'bulbs'

This recipe is an absolute favorite in our entire family.  We grew up eating it and now our children love this recipe.  This is one of my husband's favorite recipes.  He will come home and immediately knows what I have made because of the smell.  This meal is a great hearty meal with the sweet and sour combination.  The fruit may seem strange in it but it is one of my favorite parts of the dinner.  When Nectarines and peaches are ripe this dish becomes even more wonderful.. It reminds me so much of fall, but we eat it all year long because it is too good not to.  It is a true southern dish.   We hope this recipe will become a favorite in your home as much as it has been in ours.

Recipe and photo posted by Heidi G.


Harvest Meat 'bulbs'

Meatballs:
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup milk
1 slice bread, crumbled
¼ cup chopped onion or ½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 lb. ground beef

Mix ingredients well in bowl and form into golf ball size meatballs. Bake in oven, uncovered, at 350°F for 30 minutes, or microwave on HIGH for 13 minutes.

Rice:
In a saucepan combine:
1½ cup rice
3 cup chicken broth (or 3 cup water with 4 bouillon cubes)
¼ cup snipped parsley
½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Cover and simmer till rice is done

Fruit Mixture/Sauce:
In another saucepan:
Melt ½ cup butter or margarine
Add ½ cup brown sugar
Add 3-4 cups of desired fruit
(Fruit can be apples, nectarines, peaches, grapes (cut in half), or cantaloupe. Soft melons do not work well. Cut the fruit into small pieces (i.e. apples, nectarines, and peaches cut into quarters and then halved, cantaloupes cut into chunks, etc.).

Cook fruit mixture for 2 to 3 minutes.

Blend in separate bowl:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup cold water
½ cup lemon juice

Stir into fruit mixture. Cook until thick and bubbly.

Add meat balls to fruit mixture sauce and serve over rice.

YEILD: 4-5 servings.
 
Note: I always one and a half the sauce because it is so good!

To make this gluten-free just substitute the bread for gluten-free bread or even gluten-free oatmeal.  I always prefer the bread but either one works

Fruit Bliss....Take your Bliss with You!

We live in a world full of processed foods and lots of sugary sweets. So, it is nice when you can find something that is both healthy and yummy that your kids will enjoy, especially if you haven't had to spend a lot of time preparing it.  I am excited to tell all of you about Fruit Bliss snacks.

The idea for Fruit Bliss was developed while the company's founder, Susan Leone, and her husband were taking trips to Turkey to visit relatives. During these trips she encountered re-hydrated fruit, a popular European snack food that is prepared by re-hydrating dehydrated fruit.  She felt this type of snack food might be popular back home in Brooklyn because it offered a simple, healthy, and sustaining snack not offered in the grocery aisle.  So, in 2011, Susan launched Fruit Bliss.




The process for making Fruit Bliss snacks is a simple one.  From Orchards in France, Turkey and Tunisia, fresh dates, figs, apricots and plums are picked while ripe.  They are then sun-dried for sweetness, steamed to make them moist and delicious, and then packaged.  There are no added preservatives or sugars.

You might notice that the fruit contained in Fruit Bliss snacks has a darker color than your typical dried fruits because their are no chemicals added to preserve coloring.  Everything is 100% natural. Fruit Bliss proudly offers products that are Non-GMO Project verified, as well as OU Kosher, vegan, and gluten-free certified.

Fruit Bliss has made it easy for you to enjoy their healthy snacks in your home or on the go.  Products can be purchased in individual, small, on-the-go packages (1.76 oz), or larger (6 oz) packages to be kept at home or in the office.  The larger packages have a resealable closure, so the fruit remains moist.

My own experience with Fruit Bliss's products has been great.  I have had the opportunity to try each product and I can't believe how moist they are.  The snacks taste just like the fruit.  They are so sweet that I had to look twice at the packaging to make sure there really is no sugar added.  I especially loved the plums and could have eaten a few bags of them.  I gave the apricots to my teenager who devoured them.  I was disappointed when we finally ran out.  

I really love the on-the-go bags.  They can be taken on a trip, to eat while shopping, or added to your kids' school lunches.  Fruit Bliss snacks are a wonderful addition to a salad, especially with fresh spinach and sliced almonds.  They are also great when combined with ice cream. 

One other great thing about Fruit Bliss is their website, where you can find more than just their products.  Their website also provides excellent insights on how to find bliss in your life.  We all could be doing something each day to bring a little more bliss into our lives, and a great way to start is by enjoying a bag of Fruit Bliss snacks.

*Fruit Bliss generously provided samples and images for this piece. This has in no way effected my opinion.*

Gluten-Free Cottage Cheese Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Gluten-Free Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten-free oatmeal (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 banana

Directions:
1. Blend in a blender all the ingredients and one half of banana until smooth.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with cooking
spray.
3. Pour the batter onto the skillet in medium sized circles and cook for 2-3
minutes, or until bubbles form on the edges.
4. Flip and then cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove from skillet and top with fresh fruit or 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter and sliced banana.

Makes about 5-7 medium size pancakes.

Our kids really loved this breakfast.  They ate it with apple butter and maple syrup.  We also ate them with fried eggs.  These are a great hardy breakfast that are healthy.

NOTE: You may also use non gluten-free oats to make these pancakes.  Just remember that if not using the gluten-free those on a gluten-free diet can't eat them.

Contributed by Heidi and adapted from BodyBuilding.com

A whole foods approach to eating

BOSTON—Debate about what constitutes a heart-healthy diet has been simplified, thanks to three nutrition experts whose advice is summarized in the November 2011 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter. The focus is on foods you should eat, not nutrients you shouldn't.
"For most people, getting more of what's missing will have a larger benefit than limiting certain nutrients," says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital and associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The "shoulds," according to Dr. Mozaffarian and the two other nutrition experts, include the following:

• 4 to 5 daily servings each of fruits and vegetables
• 3-plus daily servings of whole, unrefined grain products
• 2 to 3 daily servings of low- or nonfat dairy products
• 2 to 6 daily servings of vegetable oils
• 2 or more weekly servings of fish or shellfish
• 4 to 5 weekly servings of nuts and seeds

A handy table in this month's Heart Letter specifies how much a serving of each food type really is and gives specific grocery-store examples.

On the no-eat list is any food containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The eat-less-of list consists of processed meats, sugary beverages, sweets, and baked goods made with refined grains.
Another useful tip: you can distinguish between healthy and not-so-healthy carbohydrates, most people's major source of calories, by dividing the grams of carbohydrates per serving by the grams of fiber. An answer less than 10 is good for bread or pastry; aim for less than 5 for cereals.
Read the full-length article: "Latest thinking on a "cardioprotective" diet"
Also in this issue:

• The hidden hazards of high blood pressure
• Can a hospital stay make you anemic?
• Paying attention to the signs of worsening heart failure
• Should you stop taking aspirin and/or Plavix before having a tooth pulled?

The Harvard Heart Letter is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, for $29 per year. Subscribe at http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Heart_Letter?utm_source=heart&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=heart1111 or by calling 877-649-9457 (toll-free).