The Runner's Palate: May Recipe

With three kids, life is anything but dull in our household. It's hard, but we try to eat healthy as a family. Luckily our kids are open to trying most anything. We've never been advocates of the clean plate club, but we do insist that the kids take at least one bite of each item on their plates. Even if they've complained about having to take a bite of some different or unusual looking food, nine times out of ten they end up liking it. If they don't care for it, we don't make them eat it. Pick and choose your battles as they say. The running joke in my family is over my 17-year-old son who doesn't like beets. He never has and never will, but every time we have them, his siblings enjoy egging him on to take his one bite. I think he actually enjoys entertaining his younger sisters trying to make the best gross-out face he can when he's taking his bite. Not only are we challenged with trying to feed the family healthy foods, but doing it quickly is often a must in this busy household. About a year ago, I stumbled across the best cookbook—Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. This wonderful resource contains over 500 healthy, low-fat recipes for your slow cooker.

Below is one of my family's favorites—"Lean" Cowboy Beans. Dump a few cans, chop an onion, toss in a few other common ingredients, and heat for a few hours. Often I'll put everything in the pot the night before and stick it in the fridge. Then, the next day, I'll have one of the kids take it out, plug it up, and heat it for 1-2 hours. Voilà! Dinner! With 18 grams of protein per serving, this dish is great for the runner.

"Lean" Cowboy Beans (John D. Allen—Rye, CO)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

16-0z. can baked beans, undrained

16-oz. can kidney beans, drained

2 cups onions, chopped

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Brown turkey in nonstick skillet over medium heat.

2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker sprayed with non-fat cooking spray.

3. Cover. Cook on high 1-2 hours.

Makes 8 servings

Per serving: 320 calories (50 calories from fat), 5g total fat (1g saturated, 0g trans), 35mg cholesterol, 880mg sodium, 52g total carbohydrate (7g fiber, 30g sugar), 18g protein, 10%DV vitamin A, 8%DV vitamin C, 6% DV calcium, 15%DV iron.

Note: For a milder taste, sauté the chopped onions with the turkey in Step 1. You may also decrease the dry mustard to 1 Tbsp., or according to your taste. Also, if your family is like mine you also might want to pick up a bottle of Beano. :-)