ARF/5-A-Day #2

Welcome to our second ARF/5-A-Day round-up. For those that aren’t familiar with what we’re doing here, any food blogger who has a recent meal that included an ARF (Antioxidant Rich Food) or fruit or veggie (or any combination of the three) can be included in our Tuesday evening round-up, designed to help us all on our never-ending quest for healthier eating.

OK, I had such high hopes for my own participation today, but got really sidetracked … the best laid plans and all that. Breakfast was a bagel, lunch was non-existent. The Husband made dinner (luckily saving me from my own ARF/5-A-Day Hall of Shame), so I finally managed to sneak in an ARF with the black beans (phew!), and that’s all I ate. Pitiful eating day today, but that’s a whole ‘nother story. Now to highlight those of you that did way better than me. Here we go…

Faith from Blog Appetit wins the prize for first entry in for ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday #2 with her recipe for Vacation Condo Soup, a hearty recipe with oodles of veggies. Definitely great food for cooler weather months, that’s for sure!

Susan, from 5 Recipes a Week is really getting her health on, braving Stewed Prunes; sucking up her disdain for stewed foods, she uncovered a new winner for herself. She also participated last week, albeit a day too late, so she gets double credit this week with the Waldorf Salad she made.

Pat from Up a Creek without a Patl joins in with Herbed Spinach Bake. It sounds divine, and I think I might slate this one to use up some spinach I have this week.

Checking in with Tortilla Soup, Peanut Butter and Purple Onions has definitely got her veggies covered, and then some.

Nupur from One Hot Stove joins us with her Spinach Mushroom soup, another soup that’s perfect for chilly weather, and a simple recipe at that!

Clare from Eat Stuff is totally making me jealous with her homegrown organic tomatoes. Not really tomato weather here yet, making me doubly jealous! :)

Bilbo from Smorgasbord entices us with a hearty, vegetable-laden Noodle Soup.

Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen wins the photo spot of the week with her picture of a gloriously purple colored shredded cabbage. She’s got to be the only person I know who snacks on shredded cabbage, but she certainly gets bonus points for that. Check out her site to see what other veggies filled her up on her low carb snack attack.

Even though it took some convincing, I’m glad Robert from White Trash BBQ joined in the fun. His Confetti Ham Rolls more than fit the ARF bill with two of the Top 10 ARFs featured. Way to go, Robert!

Heather from Eating 4 One brings us Veggie Pizza. I love homemade pizza – it definitely trumps take-out pizza any day of the week!

Urban-Agrarian presents total comfort food with Oatmeal with Blueberries and Cream – not only a fruit, but one of the Top 10 Brain Foods I talked about yesterday. Not bad!

I have never made Mustard Greens before, but The Chocolate Lady’s recipe with caramelized onions certainly sounds tempting! And just to take it one step further, she highlights some of her other favorite vegetables as well.

OK, if you count the orange juice, Just Braise got in 4 fruits with her Berry Smoothie from yesterday, and then went on to make a little piece of heaven with her Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Syrup. The picture looks too divine not to post as well. My rules, I can break ’em. Make sure you go read the story that goes with the cake – I think you’ll like it.

Between her Easy Layered Beans with Rice for dinner, her Very Veggie Soup that she took to work for lunch, and the Cranberry Muffins Alysha from The Savory Notebook had for breakfast, she has her ARFs, fruits and vegetables covered both coming and going!

Patti from Adventures in Cooking and Wine shares her take on something I very rarely make (but admittedly should have more often!) … brussel sprouts. Her recipe and picture sure make a strong case for this one, and with pancetta included, you can’t go wrong. Coupled with the greens she added to her dinner, she’s doing great with her healthy eating. Go Patti!

Alanna from A Veggie Venture entices us with her Broccoli Tapenade, something I never would have thought of making, but actually have all the ingredients on hand for, so I think it’s going to hit our table this weekend.

Cyndi from Cookin’ with Cyndi made Chicken Thighs Adobo, getting kudos for her roasted potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and green beans. Considering her dinner didn’t go as planned, she did an awesome job nonetheless!

And lastly, even though she didn’t send it to me, and heck, didn’t even cook it, I’m dragging Cookie Crumb and her red chard in here anyway. ;)

Thanks to all who participated. I am really getting inspired by all the great variations on the theme everyone is doing … looking forward to next week’s round-up.

Until tomorrow…