I do most of my own freezing and canning for my family. It is like having a jar of summer sunshine in the pantry. With many of us running a household, raising children and working outside the home, we are busy. Not so busy that we ignore the health of our family Take the time to set up a menu. If you have an idea in mind it becomes easier to prepare a all the food good for us. Keep In mind when making up this menu what the food contains to contribute to health. For example, lentils contain zink. Zinc helps keep your immune; and reproductive systems in good shape; helps with healing wounds. A deficiency can lead to acne. These foods supply 4 mg per serving. 3 ounces lean beef or veal, ½ cup of pork and beans or tofu or sardines with bones.

Zink is most important for men and contributes to a healthy prostate. My menu for a day reads like this. Lentil soup, chard pie, Turkey burgers or make your own veggie burgers on whole-wheat rolls tossed salad and low fat apple cake. This is my favorite recipe for chard pie. Start with the dough, 2 cups unbleached flour ½ teaspoon sea salt 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil- about 10 tablespoons ice cold water. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl -stir in the olive oil and slowly add the water -mix until smooth If the dough is dry mix in another tablespoon of water. Gather the dough together and cover it to rest for half an hour. Meanwhile, wash and cut away any tough stems of about 1 pound of swiss chard. Using as little water as possible cook chard until tender. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible and finely chop. Sauté diced onion in two tablespoons of olive oil add to chard.

Combine one cup part skim ricotta cheese, two tablespoons chopped parsley one beaten egg and ½ cu p parmesan cheese. Divide the dough in half. Roll one piece on a floured work place for a 13 inch circle, line this on the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan Pour in the chard mixture. Smooth with a rubber spatula. Roll the remaining dough to form a circle to carefully cover the mixture. Press edges together with a fork to seal. Trim off any excess dough Pierce the top crust with the fork in several places to allow steam to escape. Bake for 40 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.