WellMeals4U is the Key!

There was a little blip in the Relish February 2013 newspaper insert that caught my attention.  Right next to the article about "pinching less than an inch" around the waistline was a very interesting statistic.  According to the International Food Information Council's (IFIC) 2012 Food and Health Survey, 52% of Americans believe figuring out their income tax is easier than knowing what they should and shouldn’t eat to be healthier.  I could not agree more and that is why I created WellMeals4U.  Getting organized enough to eat healthy home cooked meals was virtually impossible for me.  I tried for years!  I figured if I had a hard time, then likely a lot of people were in the same boat.  Come to find out, at least 52% of Americans polled by IFIC.

My first goal with WellMeals4U was to create an online application that did all the organization for me, allowing me to focus on purchasing the ingredients and preparing the meals.  It is hard to believe that in a matter of moments I can pick the meals I want, tell the system how many servings each meal should contain and then immediately receive a customized grocery list, instructions for assembling all the meals I selected as well as instructions for preparing the meals the day I decide to eat them.  It still amazes me!  There were four other goals I had when I created WellMeals4U:

• Keep within my food budget (this includes money saved by limiting those "heck. . . let's just eat out! meals),
• Fewer trips to the grocery store,
• No wasted food,
• Less daily mess in the kitchen

As always, every meal featured in WellMeals4U is very tasty and healthy! 

Amazing Chocolate Pudding. . . from scratch

Pudding doesn't come from a box? I grew up with boxed pudding mix. Imagine my surprise when "from scratch" takes just as much time and tastes oh so much better. This recipe was gleaned from the Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat cookbook. There was a little footnote at the bottom of the recipe that stated "no matter how many fancy desserts are in your repertoire, this is most likely the one the kids will remember when they are grown and gone."

This is a family favorite and I would suggest you let it cool down a bit before eating it. Hot pudding is like eating lava, tasty lava, but not worth the blisters.
We have taken to making this in a double batch. My eldest son, has claimed this as his domain and the double batch contains his slight changes in measurement.

Serves 4 (total time 15-20 minutes)

3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Cups skim milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, thoroughly combine the dry ingredients (cornstarch, sugar, and
cocoa.)
2. Next, add the milk to the saucepan and stir until smooth.
3. Cook the mixture on MEDIUM heat, stirring constantly, until the pudding comes to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to SIMMER, still stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
6. Pour the hot pudding into bowls and serve warm or chilled. Chilled takes about 2 hours.

To double the recipe (as per my son):

4 Tbsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Cups skim milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Enjoy! Be sure and check out the menu at WellMeals4U.com Works GREAT on smart phones. Now you can choose your menu, immediately view the grocery list and then email yourself the food prep and meal cooking instructions for later! It is so simple and convenient.

Healthy Meal Planning Part of Your Corporate Wellness Program?

The word on the street is that there will be grant monies available for organizations with 100 or less employees who are putting together a wellness program. The specifics on how to actually go about submitting a request for the money has not been announced yet, but should be through the grants.gov website. As I find out more, I will pass on the word. The health care reform act also makes it easier for employers to provide incentives for employees who participate in corporate wellness programs. If you think that WellMeals4U memberships would be a good addition to your corporate wellness program, let me know. We do offer corporate memberships. Contact me directly at info@wellmeals4u.com

May is Member Favorite Month

Special thanks to all of you who told us what you liked and didn't like. There were so many favorites we created a month soley featuring them!

The month of May, WellMeals4U is hitting the road and spreading the word.

Thank you to all of you (you know who you are:)) for making WellMeals4U as success!!!

Getting Ready to Grow a Garden

In honor of spring (and a sunny weekend) we began the process of "deweeding" our garden. This year we are proud to report we started waging our war on weeds before they became a formidable foe. Now with our garden bed weed-free we are "thinking" about putting a soaker water system and a timer in place. I say "thinking" because we have had the soaker hoses for about 4 years and have yet to use them. We all agree it is still too cold to plant any seeds, but that does not stop us from drooling over the seed catalogs that began arriving shortly after Valentine's Day. Should be try growing Marina Di Chioggia (a bumpy looking squash that averages 10 lbs each) or Red Burgandy Okra? We will moon and dream, but reality will eventually set in. What do we consume a lot of that grows really, really well and is super good for us? Greens! Greens grow fast and can be planted in a small plot. Spinach, Kale, Collards, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Beet Greens, Swiss Chard, Lettuce Greens, Arugula, etc. Sweet peas, green beans, squash, tomatoes, tomatillos, green onions, cilantro and parsley finish out the mix.

I always relish this time of year. The freezer is starting to look slightly bare of staples, the empty canning jars are crowding the cupboards. It is a nice reminder that our mission to control and reduce our food budget has been effective. With that said we are going to stick with the plan we laid out last year for reducing our food budget and eating well. Our plan is as follows:
1) Grow as many vegetables as we can, eating fresh during the summer and then freezing for the rest of the year. (We are lucky, unless there is a hard freeze collard and kale will survive through the winter.)
2) Buy seasonal fruits and freeze/can
3) Utilize WellMeals4U (http://www.wellmeals4u.com/)
4) Eat meat free at least two times a week.
5) Fish for salmon during the season to assure we get our Omega3 for the year.

Employers and Worker Health Habits

There was an article today in the Investor's Business Daily titled "Employers Move on Health Costs." In a nutshell, the article talked about a survey conducted by Towers Watson in which 83% of employers reported that they expect to revamp their health care strategy in the next two years. That is up from 59% in 2009. Needless to say, health care costs are pressuring companies to find ways to support "effective health management programs under budget constraints." 66% of employers are planning on offering incentives for employees to complete a health risk appraisal. This is up from 61% in 2009.

As we all know healthy eating habits and exercise play a huge part in improved personal health. WellMeals4U is a great way to demonstrate to your employer that you are actively working to improve your health.

WellMeals4U commends King County's Eat Smart Challenge

Every so often I visit the King County Health Matters website to see how the wellness program is progressing. Now in its 4th year, they have raised the bar for employee involvement. This year employees are encouraged to complete the wellness assessment, complete an individual action plan and then track individual progress online. This year employees are encouraged to create goals and act on "moving more" and "eating smart". They are asked to log what they eat for 5 days out of 7 for a period of 10 weeks.

WellMeals4U is a terrific way to eat better, change eating habits and make it easy to keep track of what has been eaten.

Build WellMeals4U into your Eat Smart Challenge. Visit www.wellmeals4u.com