Humana Cooking Demo: August 3, 2023

Today's recipes: Southwestern Sloppy Joe, Green Bean Slaw, and Watermelon-Cucumber Salad with Mint

Today we focused on seasonal ingredients and ways to incorporate more plants and vegetables into our diet.

The Southwestern Sloppy Joe Recipe illustrates the concept of increasing the nutrient density of a recipe.  Normal sloppy joes are just meat with seasonings.  Here we added in black beans and corn. You can also add diced bell pepper, shredded carrot, or minced jalapeno pepper.  Instead of using a packet or "can" to season, we used dried spices, tomato paste, and other real ingredients!  Since ground turkey can be on the dry side, we used chicken broth/stock to keep things moist and further increase the nutrient density.  Although you could serve this meat mixture in a healthy bun, experiment with lettuce wraps, corn tortillas, cooked sweet potatoes, zucchini "boats", or serve on its own!  

Slaw is a standard picnic and cookout item.  However, it is usually not all that healthy.  This version uses in-season green beans and purple cabbage and tosses it in a light vinaigrette made with healthy olive oil.  It is a GREAT way to get in several servings of vegetables in a rainbow of colors all at once!

Finally, in celebration of National Watermelon Day today, I shared a watermelon-cucumber-mint salad with lime vinaigrette! Although watermelon is a GREAT summer treat, pairing it with seeded cucumber, minced fresh mint, and lime juice makes it even better health-wise! 

I also shared a tip on "saving" leftover tomato paste for future uses!  (See the video for details.) 

If you have any questions, let me know, and be sure to share if you make these recipes at home!