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You’ve heard that certain diet and lifestyle changes may offer a drug-free way to improve the mental, physical and emotional well-being of you and your family, but…..

·        You are overwhelmed by the amount of information promising that this food or that diet will be THE cure for what ails you and you have no idea where to start;

·        The very idea of introducing fruits, vegetables and other whole foods to a child who EXCLUSIVELY eats chicken nuggets, French fries, potato chips and buttered noodles–every.single.day– is simply laughable;

·        You can’t imagine adding another responsibility to your plate that is already full with work, family, kids’ activities, doctor’s appointments and school meetings.

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Pears are also a very good fruit choice.  In addition to being just plain delicious, pears are low in calories (about 100) and are very similar to bananas in fiber and potassium content.  One pear will give you about 5 grams of fiber and 200 mg of potassium.  Not bad, huh?  So, grab some apples and some pears and make my Apple Pear Crumble this week.

This tasty, healthy and easy recipe is delightful served as an after dinner dessert—but I always make enough for leftovers because it’s even better heated up the next morning for breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 pears, cored and sliced into bite-sized chunks

2 tart apples, cored and sliced into bite-sized chunks

½ cup oats

½ whole wheat flour or almond flour

¼ cup raw cane sugar or your favorite all natural sweetener

1/4 cup chia seed or ground flaxseeds

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

4 T butter or ghee

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a baking dish (9×9 works pretty well) with butter or ghee or olive oil.  Core and slice apples and pears and place in baking dish.  In a medium mixing bowl combine oats, flour, chia seeds or flaxseeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener and butter until you have a “crumb” texture.  Spread crumb mixture on top of fruit and bake about 30 minutes.

This tasty, healthy and easy recipe is gorgeous to look at and scrumptious to eat.   Feel free to add any of your favorite veggies (sometimes I throw in radishes and parsnips) and seasonings and let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb, diced small

6-8 fingerling potatoes, diced small (I use the purple fingerlings because I love purple)

2 carrots, diced small

1 small celery root, peeled and diced small

Sea salt

Pepper

Extra virgin, first cold pressed olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dice all veggies into small pieces (small enough that you can fit multiple veggies on your utensil to form a single bite).  Place veggies in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Mist with olive oil and top with fresh ground sea salt and pepper.  (If you don’t have a “Misto” for olive oil misting, toss the veggies with a tablespoon or more of olive oil before turning out on the baking sheet).  Roast veggies for approximately 30 minutes or until veggies are tender but still firm.   This recipe is great as a side dish, lunch or afterschool snack.

Fennel is an excellent source of Vitamin C and a very good source of fiber, potassium, manganese and folate.  Fennel seed oil is believed to provide relief for infantile colic.  The phytonutrients in fennel may reduce inflammation and help prevent cancer.  Fennel is great in salads, on sandwiches and with salmon.  I like fennel raw or roasted.  My favorite recipe featuring fennel right now is my Roasted Veggie Medley.  I’d love for you to give it a try and share your thoughts on my Facebook page.

Ingredients:

2 14 oz cans wild caught Alaskan salmon or tuna

2 eggs

½ cup whole or sprouted grain bread crumbs

3-4 T extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1-2 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Drain (and if necessary bone and skin) salmon or tuna and place in mixing bowl.  Add eggs, bread crumbs, 1 T olive oil, salt and pepper and mix until combined.  Heat 1 T olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic and spinach.  Sautee until spinach is just starting to wilt and then add to the salmon mixture and combine.  Add feta cheese and stir gently until combined.   Form small patties out of the mixture and set aside.  Heat remaining olive oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Add patties to the skillet and cook until the patties are seared to a crisp, light brown texture (3-5 minutes).  Turn patties and do the same to the other side.  Remove from heat and serve.

Tip:  Keep the patties on the small side and less than an inch thick or they will start to crumble when you try to flip them over.  I learned this the hard way.  They still taste good after they crumble, but they don’t look very pretty.

My personal favorite is Nordic Natural brand Children’s DHA.  Yes, I take the “kids’” stuff.  It’s strawberry flavored and both my son and I drink it right off the spoon.  It’s made from arctic cod livers, so in addition to the DHA and EPA, you also get Vitamins A, D and E with each serving.  If you can’t seem to make yourself take it off the spoon, try mixing it in a smoothie like my Super Summer Smoothie.  You’ll never know it’s there.