Aetna Healthy Food Fight Competition #SSFoodFight

My family loves to eat. I usually prepare meals rather than opting for fast food or prepared meals. Why? Fresh food not only tastes better, it is also often better for you. Prepackaged meals and take-out foods are often chock full of additives, fillers, and preservatives. No one wants to load their family full of these things, and I am no exception. When you cook at home using fresh ingredients, you are in complete control over what goes into your meals. Cooking can also be a family affair, and can help give kids the skills and knowledge necessary to make more nutritious dietary choices when they're adults.

Aetna Health Insurance has partnered up with SheSpeaks for a huge contest called the Healthy Food Fight. By submitting your own healthy recipes and browsing others, your family can get on the right track towards a healthy (and tasty) lifestyle! It may sound daunting at first, but let me assure you: Cooking nutritious foods at home is a lot easier than it sounds. Here is a recipe of my own, for example:

Easy Balsamic Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

1. Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and salt. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, and brown the onion, garlic and seasoned chicken breasts.
2. Pour tomatoes and balsamic vinegar over chicken, and season with basil, oregano, sugar, rosemary and thyme. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

Easy peasy, right? Making wise food choices doesn't have to be painful! By learning how to make simple substitutions for commonly used ingredients and changing cooking methods, healthier eating can be achieved without sacrificing flavor. Rather than frying, bake! Instead of using vegetable oil when making cakes, brownies, and other baked goods, use applesauce! There are so many wonderful ways to transform your favorite dishes from full-fat to super skinny!

 So hop on over and submit your favorite recipes to HealthyFoodFight.com. Four regional winners will be flown to New York City to cook for celebrity chef, Bobby Flay. The national champion will win the grand prize of $10,000 in groceries donated by Recipe.com. I know I am personally very excited about this campaign, as I am a huge fan of Bobby Flay's!

ABOUT AETNA:

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability insurance and employee benefits. At Aetna, we believe we can help create a better health care system. This belief drives our daily decisions as one of the nation’s leading health care benefits companies. We work hard to provide our members with information and resources to help them make informed decisions about their health. For more information on Aetna and the Healthy Food Fight, be sure to check out: http://bit.ly/mVbfOe.

You can connect with SheSpeaks on Twitter at @shespeaksup and use the #SSFoodFight hashtag to spread the word about this awesome campaign!

***Disclosure: I received a promotional item to thank me for spreading the word about this campaign. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.***