December Nutrition Letter


 

     snowmen          Bring Winter White Foods to the Table          snowmen

You may have heard the phrase “eat the rainbow” to include a variety of colored foods in your meal planning. Do not forget to also include white-colored foods for added nutrition. What season comes to mind when you think of the color white? If you think of snowflakes, then your answer is likely to be *winter.* Join in the white food excitement by creatively thinking of different ways to incorporate these white foods into meals and snacks.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Apples / [Unsweetened] Applesauce:

* Bake apples with cinnamon

* Add raisins, dried cranberries, and/or cinnamon to applesauce

* Dip into peanut butter

 Bananas:banana

* Blend a strawberry-banana smoothie

* Roll in a tortilla smeared with peanut butter

* Roll a banana in yogurt and granola, then freeze

Barley:

* Add to vegetable soup for a chewy texture

* Replace a rice recipe with barley as the star ingredient

* Try a barley salad with mushrooms

Cauliflower:cauliflower

* Smash cauliflower in place of potatoes in mashed potatoes

* Roast cauliflower until crispy and caramelized, then toss with parmesan cheese

* Make a stir-fry with ginger and other vegetables

Garbanzo Beans (also known as chickpeas):

* Roast garbanzo beans in the oven with oil, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and salt

* Make homemade hummus

* Mix into vegetarian chili

Oatmeal:oatmeal

* Make overnight apple-cinnamon oatmeal in the Crock-Pot

* Top with chopped walnuts and frozen blueberries

* Mix pumpkin puree into cooked oatmeal

Pears:

* Poach pears with sugar-free red gelatin

* Make a roasted fruit soup with pears, apples, and cranberries

* Substitute pears for apples in a baked pear crisp

Yogurt (plain/vanilla, low fat or fat-free):vanilla yogurt.2

* Layer vanilla yogurt, fruit, and granola for a parfait

* Use vanilla yogurt as a fruit dip

* Top pancakes, French toast, or waffles with vanilla yogurt

 

Other white foods you can have winter fun with are: parsnips, coconut, eggs, mushrooms, potatoes, pinto or navy beans.