You know it's the holiday season...when the cartons of clementines arrive!

Yum! My favorite time of the year for citrus fruit...those delicious, juicy and easy to peel clementines are here!

Not only are these little delicious oranges easy to eat...they are easy to pack for lunches, grab on the run...or in other words...are an EASY way to increase your fruit/vegetable intake. Most of adults should be getting upwards of 8-10 fruit/vegetable servings daily. Unfortunately, most Canadians are lucky if they get in 2-3.

Why are they so important? Fruit & Vegetables are jam-packed with nutrition--high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre! Just to mention a few! Not only are they nutritious, but they are also lower calorie options than many other food items! Which means we can eat more of them, without the same calorie damage. (This does exclude deep fried vegetables and cheese sauce over the broccoli...haha).

Sooo, chances are you need to work on the fruit/vegetable intake....grab a few clemetines and you are well on your way! Not to mention a great source of Vitamin C which always helps in this immunity-based craze we are all experiencing now with H1N1!

Recipe of the Week

Recipe of the Week: Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

This might sound like a weird snack to some of you; however, for those of us that want a crunchy healthy snack...these are a great option! Snack on them by themselves or throw them on top of salad for a high protein, high fibre snack!

Ingredients:
- 2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp maple sugar flakes
- 1.5tsp cumin
- 0.5tsp coriander
- 0.25tsp cinnamon
- 0.25tsp each, salt & pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper

Instruction:
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss well to coat
- Spread chickpea mixture on foil-lined baking sheet
- Roast in oven for about 20-25min (until golden and toasted), stirring about halfway through
- Cool and store in air-tight container (refrigerate until serving)

Nutrition Analysis: per 2/3 cup serving
140 cal, 5g fat, 4g fibre, 6g protein, 460mg sodium

Ffffrosty....

Today I woke up and the ground was white...not yet snow...but frosty...frosty enough that I am loving our new pellet stove.

To me...frosty mornings mean warm breakfasts, so I dug out the container of oatmeal and settled in with a mug of coffee. From a nutrition perspective, oatmeal is great...high fibre, a wholegrain...where people go wrong with oatmeal is the "instant" packaged stuff. Some of those packaged pouches (i.e. maple brown sugar) have MORE sugar than a bowl of Fruit Loops!

I'm not disputing the fact that plain old oatmeal requires a little something; however, some packaged oatmeals have the equivalent of 4-5tsp of sugar per POUCH! Most grown adults would have 2 pouches--that is like starting your day with a can of pop (10-12tsp of sugar per can)! Not to mention the sodium that is packed into the instant packaged variety.

Nutrition Diva Recommendation of the day:

Make your own oatmeal...from normal quick cooking oats...all the bags have microwave directions..so it is just as EASY! Save yourself the extra empty calories and sodium found in the packaged stuff. If you're really stuck up for the convenience of it being in a package..check out Blue Menu instant oatmeal...at least it is lower in sodium with no added sugar.