Healthy Meal Planning For 2006
by Susan Linyear, Personal Chef

“Enchant, stay beautiful and graceful, but do this, eat well.” Charles Pierre Monselet

From infancy to old age, we all crave good food. However, the pace of modern life encourages us to forget the delight and refinement of healthy eating. As we embrace the start of the New Year, let's also consider the benefits associated with reevaluate our eating patterns. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

· Are you consistently eating breakfast?
· Are you eating every 3 – 4 hours?
· Are you eating a carbohydrate each time you have a protein?
· Are you doubling your fiber intake?
· Are you reducing your fat intake?
· Are you getting your vitamins and minerals from food or pills?
· Are you consuming 8 glasses a water a day?
· Are you consuming a minimum amount of sugar, salt and caffeine?
· Are you committed to avoiding fad diets?

Focusing on all of these issues at once may be overwhelming for some, but I challenge you not to ignore them just because of that. Instead, for the next five months, personalize two of the above questions each month. For January, for example, you might commit to drinking 8 glasses of water a day and eating every 3 – 4 hours. In February, focus on reducing fat intake and increasing fiber intake. And so forth.

Try planning your breakfast and snack times in advance. Try a new cereal with granola and dried fruits and buy premium caffeine-free tea. Make snack time a moment of pleasure  – not dread or guilt. Enjoy a cup of lentil soup and toasted pita points sprinkled with a Mediterranean spice blend. Skewer fruit pieces and dip them into yogurt. Food was not created to be boring. Be adventurous! It is possible to spice things up and still be healthy!

Wherever, good eating finds you – embrace it. But this time, do it for LIFE. Here's a wonderful recipe -- simple, delicious and comforting -- to get you started.

Baked Apples Superb

Ingredients

4 Golden Delicious or Gala Apples (about 2 lbs.)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup apple juice
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup chopped walnuts, optional (dM used chopped pecans)

Blending Procedure

Peel, core and slice apples. Combine all ingredients in a large microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 15 – 20 minutes or until apples are soft, stirring occasionally. Yield: 4 cups (serving size: ¼ cup).

dM's Note: I served Susan's wonderful apples at my Annual Christmas Brunch last month before I began asking myself Susan's above questions. As you may see from the picture shown, I confess to adding a bit of butter to the mix and as well as some freshly whipped cream! It was a party after all!

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Chef Susan Linyear launched Maryland-based Heart of the Home Dining in 2003 to help women re-establish a sense of genuine fellowship at family meal times. She prepares healthful meals for busy home managers, small businesses, assisted living facilities and health care organizations. Chef Susan graduated from the Culinary Business Academy and studied at .L'Academie De Cuisine (Maryland) and The Culinary Institute of America (New York).