There are no “bad foods”. There are, however, foods that don’t provide much value other than taste and perhaps comfort. In the same vein, there are no “miracle foods”. Some foods, though are chock full of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and all those good things you read about.

To strike a balance, perhaps we should consider eating less of the “bad foods” and more of those other ones! Would we then live long, healthy, prosperous lives? Would we find happiness, contentment?

Probably not, but we might feel and look better along the way. We might even have a better quality of life. We would definitely make our doctors and our mothers happy.

Let’s do it, let’s celebrate October as “good stuff month” and eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. We have included a recipe for each for you to try.

Healthy Recipes

ASPARAGUS & SUN-DRIED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

• 2 pounds fresh asparagus
• 5 tablespoons Good Seasons Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Peel stems of asparagus if big stalks. Steam asparagus, covered, 6-8 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Place in a shallow dish. Pour vinaigrette over asparagus, toss to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Nutrients per serving:

• Calories 47
• Sodium 132 mg
• Fat 2 g (32%)
• Carbohydrate 6 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg
• Protein 32 g

BARLEY-VEGETABLE SAUTE (Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook)

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 cups cooked barley
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 16 ounces frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
• 10 ounces frozen lima beans, thawed

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, and garlic about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrients for 1 cup:

• Calories 180
• Sodium 205 mg
• Fat 1.5 g
• Carbohydrate 42 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg
• Protein 7 g
• Fiber 7.5 g

SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTMAS SALAD

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 jalapeno chili, seeded, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 navel oranges
• 2 pink or red grapefruit
• 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce
• 1 California avocado
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Day ahead:
In small bowl, whisk together juice, water and mustard. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in chili and rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover; let stand at room temperature.

Up to 4 hours ahead:
Peel oranges and grapefruit. Slice oranges into rounds and grapefruit into half rounds. Line large platter with lettuce leaves. Arrange orange slices in center of platter, overlapping. Arrange grapefruit around oranges, overlapping (can be done up to 4 hours ahead, cover, chill). When ready to serve, peel, pit, and thinly slice avocado. Arrange slices around grapefruit. Top with pine nuts and onion slices. Drizzle all of dressing over salad.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrients per serving:

• Calories 172
• Sodium 24 mg
• Fat 12 g (59%)
• Carbohydrate 16 g
• Cholesterol 0 mg
• Protein 3 g
• Fiber 4 g

Serving Suggestions

The Asparagus & Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette is perfect with meat or poultry cooked on the grill. The Barley-Vegetable Sauté would be delicious served with broiled orange roughy. Although it’s called Southwestern Christmas Salad, this dish would be great year round. It would look great on a buffet.

Calorie Conscious

One cup of raw, non-starchy vegetables or 1/2 cup cooked has only 25 calories. What a bargain!