Eating Healthy - Part 1

One of the most important tools I use in my kitchen is a new frying pan I bought at Zellers at a very reasonable price (under $20.00): It is a non-stick frying pan but a grey one - try not to use the black ones as the teflon can deteriorate over time and particles supposedly end up in your food.
The grey one is tougher than the black, you can even use metal cooking utensils, and it is sooo easy to clean.  When I cook veggies or meat in this pan, I use 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil and  a bit of water and the food is delicious every time. 
Now I believe we have all heard by now that the healthiest fat to cook with is Extra Virgin Olive Oil - cold pressed.  All other oils are banned from my kitchen.
Another thing about eating healthy is to buy as many of your ingredients fresh, try to stay away from canned, boxed or processed products.  Frozen veggies, fish or meat are an acceptable alternative.
In Europe people do not eat as much meat as North Americans do.  Really you should have fish 3 times a week, red meats no more than 3 times a week and poultry the rest of the time.  And the serving size of meat should be about the size of your palm (!!!!)
Stay away from deep-fried foods and baked goods as much as possible or limit their amount.  They contain too many unhealthy fats and sugars, that just clogg up your arteries.
One thing that is interesting is that garlic is very popular in Europe and is known there for it's ability to prevent aterosclerosis - the clogging of arteries.  Garlic does not seem to be able to establish itself across North America except as garlic bread - in a restaurant, who knows what the garlic butter is made of and the butter probably negates the benefits of the garlic.
Try to use fresh herbs in your foods if possible, but dried herbs will do in a pinch.  If you  are not a big fan of herbs, the most important one to use is parsley: it contains a myriad of minerals and vitamins. Also it has a very mild flavour and does not over-power the flavour of the meal, just enhances it.
I like to grow it in my veggie garden and there is something about freshly cut herbs - they fill the kitchen with such a lovely aroma!

So for a quick and easy dinner for 4 place fresh or frozen fillets of haddock, cod, or salmon in your frying pan with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, cook covered over medium heat. Next slice 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper and one small or half of a medium-sized onion into narrow strips, add to the fish, press one clove of garlic with a garlic press, add a small amount of parsley to taste, cover pan and cook for 20 mins - depending on the thickness of the fish fillets, turning fish half way through.  Fish is ready when it is opaque in the centre or flakes easily with a fork.  While fish is cooking, you can quickly throw together a salad, ( you can buy the bagged salads, just make sure you rinse them under water first )  or cook potatoes in the microwave.  Dinner is literally done in half an hour.
P.S:  a lot of children don't like fish, including my daughter, but lately she has had a change in her taste buds - she loves this recipe and polishes off her plate... 
Oh by the way, I used to hate the daily ritual of "what do you want for dinner?" - "I don't know" !!!  This used to drive me up the walls.
Well, recently I discovered that I am gluten intolerant!  So completely at a loss for ideas - wheat is in almost everything!!! - I ran off to the bookstore and bought myself a cook book!!! "1000 gluten-free Recipes" by Carol Fenster.  I started to look through it and decided on a new rule:  Everyone looks through the cookbook and picks one recipe, and we take turns.  More time consuming recipes are reserved for the weekend.  Quite a few of the recipes are new to us, so we decide after the meal, whether a recipe is a keeper or a one-time only experience and so far, they have all been keepers!!!  And the dreaded "what do you want to eat for dinner?" is a thing of the past!