Didn't finish all my salad so will be the same menu as yesterday.

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Breakfast was Maggie's cereal w/dried cranberries. Lunch was a lettuce salad w/grape tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, and stuffed olives and a piece of zucchini lasagna. Dinner was baked chicken, zucchini carbonara, and green beans w/onion and tomato.

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Henry

Green beans and oranges for me today.

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Breakfast was an Italian sausage omelet w/onion and celery. Lunch was a lettuce salad w/grape tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, and stuffed olives and a piece of zucchini lasagna. Dinner was pot roast, fauxtatoes and gravy, and broccoli.
(I don't think I will be posting tomorrow as I am having outpatient orthoscopic surgery.)

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Henry

I pray that you have an easy surgery Henry. Well, as easy on you as a surgery can be any way.

Today wil be peaches for fruit and asparagus for veggies.

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Thanks Heather. Luckily, I don't remember anything about the surgery. The worst part was when the nurse missed the vein in trying to start an IV. But the surgery itself apparently went well.
"Breakfast" yesterday was some mid-afternoon post operative s/f jello and ham salad w/green onion, celery, and Splenda sweetened pickle relish on some of my l/c chipolte seasoned crackers. Dinner was beef pot roast, fauxtatoes and gravy, broccoli, and a piece of Cape Cod Cranberry Velvet Pie.

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Henry

I hate that Henry! I donate plasma at biolife and they occasionally miss the vein. Then I have to keep my mind on anything else while they fish around for it. Sometimes they give up then have to switch to the other arm. Ugh! Glad to hear that was the only hold up.

Today has been very unsuccessful in my 5 a day so I'll be back tomorrow with better results.

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Breakfast was bacon and a cheese omelet. Lunch was a lettuce salad w/cucumber, grape tomatoes, green onion, and stuffed olives, grilled steak, and zucchini carbonara. Dinner was baked chicken, eggplant parmesean, and green beans w/onion and tomato.

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Henry

Breakfast was a cheese omelet, sausage, and a l/c pancake. Lunch was celery stuffed with ham salad and a piece of deep dish pizza quiche supreme. Dinner was roast pork, broccoli, and curried cauli-rice pilaf w/mushrooms, onion, and celery.

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Henry

Not good at all the last few days. Tomorrow WILL BE better. I'm going to the gym in the AM, dyed my hair to what looks like a strawberry blonde, and will get caught up on some errands tomorrow. Life is good! Need to go back to eating good so that I can feel good from the inside out.

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Easy Ways to Eat 5 Fruits & Veggies Each Day

Tricks for Healthy Treats
-- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer
"Eat your fruits and vegetables." We've heard it all of our lives. If only it were so simple.

Our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than just about any other food because we tend to get far fewer of them than we need. We often think we'd survive just fine on 2-3 servings a day ? or less. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA both recommend at least 5 servings per day! What you?re missing could be the difference between just surviving and all out thriving.

With just a little thought and a tiny bit of effort in snack preparation, you can make these nutritious foods more convenient and accessible.

Tips and Tricks

• Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes at breakfast.
• Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different combinations of fresh fruit.
• Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels. Keep sugar snap peas, raisins or carrot sticks in your car, your office or your backpack.
• Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.
• Drink 100% juice instead of addictive coffee, tea, or soda.
• Going out to lunch? Take a trip to the grocery salad bar. Use lots of dark green leaves and other vegetables instead of piling on all of the extras like eggs, bacon and cheese.
• Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish. It's an easy way to get in another serving of the good stuff.
• Keep fruits and vegetables in line of sight. Grapes, oranges, bananas, and apples make a colorful bowl arrangement on the table. If you see them, you will eat them.
• Dried fruit is just as portable as potato chips -- and less messy. It tastes especially good when added to basic trail mix.
• When cooking vegetables, makes 2-3 times more than you need and immdiately store the extra away for tomorrow. It'll save you time later on.
• Add your own beans and vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, peppers, cabbage) to canned and quick-serve soups.
• If you must have pizza, load on extra veggies and pineapple instead of fatty meats and extra cheese.
• Try berries, melons or dates for a naturally sweet dessert rather than the usual candy bar, cookie, or ice cream sandwich.
• Frozen fruit and veggies are nearly as healthy as the fresh stuff, and only take minutes to prepare.
• Combine fruit with your main meal courses. Raisins, apples and tangerine slices add sweet, crunchy variety to a salad. Apples complement pork, pineapple is great with fish, and orange slices are perfect with chicken.

Besides being packed full of nutrients, fruits and vegetables can also be quite filling. They may even ward off any empty calorie snacking that might follow! Don?t be discouraged by the recommended 5 servings a day. The guide below shows that one serving is less than what you might think.

One serving equals:
1 medium piece of fruit
? cup fruit or vegetables (raw, cooked, canned, or frozen)
1 cup of leafy salad greens
? cup of dried fruit
? cup or 6 oz. of 100% juice
? cup cooked peas or beans (from canned or dried)

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The No-Excuses Appeal of Fruits and Veggies

Check Your Reasons at the Door
-- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer
By now you know the importance of getting at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (if not, click here). Perhaps you are still not convinced? Use the excuse-buster list below when you find yourself reasoning your way out of reaching for the good stuff. Excuses are easy to make, but with a little exploration, you?ll find that you can reach your healthy-habit goals quicker.

Excuse 1: Buying fruits and vegetables can be costly and they spoil too quickly.

Excuse-Busters:

• Buy them in-season and fresh. The y will be cheaper AND at their peak of flavor. Consider that you are getting nutrient-dense foods that your body craves, full of vitamins and minerals. They are certainly better buys than chips, cookies, and soda, which we normally buy regardless of cost.
• Buy both ripe and unripe items (for example, yellow and green bananas). That way you have some for immediate eating the first few days while the others are ripening.
• Keep fruits and vegetables on the top shelf of the fridge, on the kitchen counter or table. If you see them several times in a day, you will be more likely to eat them before they spoil.

Excuse 2: They take too long to prepare.

Excuse-Busters:

• Take advantage of your grocery salad bar, which provides already sliced varieties. Eat them in snack form or toss in a salad with less prep time.
• Stock up on frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. These are simple to prepare in the microwave and offer similar nutritional value to the fresh variety. Sometimes frozen vegetables lock in nutrients better than "fresh" ones that have sat for a few days. If buying canned food, look for the low-sodium varieties.
• Wash, slice, and dice ahead of time. Store in a clear container in the front of your fridge where you can see and reach for it on a daily basis for immediate use.

Excuse 3: Fresh fruits and vegetables contain harmful pesticides.

Excuse-Busters:

• Debates continue on the dangers of pesticides used on our foods. Remember that the FDA regulates pesticide use very strictly. You might consider buying "organically grown" varieties, which means that no pesticides are used. Most health authorities report that the health benefits that come from eating fruits and vegetables outweigh the concerns of pesticide use. Still skeptical? The following steps will help reduce risks.
• Wash produce with warm water. Don?t use any soaps. Scrub well with a dish brush. This is important especially if you are eating the outer skin of items such as apples, cucumbers, or potatoes.
• Discard the outer leaves of leafy vegetables that tend to be dirty, such as lettuce and cabbage.
• Peel and cook when appropriate. Realize that you lose some nutrients and fiber in this process.

Excuse 4: Vitamins are easily lost when you cook fruits and vegetables.

Excuse-Busters:

• It?s true that vitamins break down in heat and air. The longer and hotter you cook something, the more nutrients you lose. But there are simple, easy ways to avoid major vitamin loss when preparing fruits and vegetables. The most obvious, of course, is to eat raw fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
• Cook only until crisp and tender. Otherwise known as al dente, a crisper vegetable or fruit will retain more nutrients than a mushy one. A good way to achieve this is steaming rather than boiling your food.
• Use as little water as possible while cooking. This reduces the dissolving action of vitamins.
• Use big pieces rather than small, cut-up pieces. Minimizing the surface area of each piece prevents loss of vitamins when exposed to air.
• Cover your pots during cooking to contain steam and heat. This helps reduce cooking time and therefore saves nutrients.
• The water you?ve used for cooking vegetables can be reused in soups, sauces, stews or vegetable juices. This is a way to get the benefit of residual vitamins.

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Looks like today is pear halves and tomato soup. Yum!

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Breakfast was Maggie's cereal w/dried cranberries. Lunch was a lettuce salad w/grape tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, and stuffed olives, pot roast, and fauxtatoes and gravy. Dinner was an oven fried chicken breast, eggplant parmesean, and green beans w/onion and tomato.

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Henry

peaches and green beans.

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