SALSA!

My family loves salsa. The girls eat chips and salsa for snack two or three times a week. I got very excited when my friend Eileen made homemade salsa for us when we stayed at her house in Jersey. It looked easy! Throw things in the blender and hit the button. I can do that!

Now, realize that usually when I have these thoughts ("Easy! I can do that!"), I am woefully mistaken. But not this time. I LOVE my homemade salsa! And even better, so does the rest of the family!

So, as I was mixing up a batch this morning, I was thinking . . . why does salsa not qualify as a vegetable? I mean, here are my ingredients: tomatoes (canned right now, but I'll try fresh when they're available), onion, garlic, jalapenos, fresh cilantro and lime juice. LOADS of veggies in there! Nothing fatty, nothing processed, nothing sugary. I think salsa could downright qualify as a health food! (And not even in a Bill Cosby kind of way. "Eggs -- eggs are in cake. Milk is in cake. Nutrition!")

Of course, I am conveniently bypassing the question of the sodium-laden chips we dunk into the salsa. Maybe I can look for a healthier version of those. I'm also conveniently ignoring the fact that my girls don't usually eat any of the vegetables -- they just coat their chips with the sauce.

No matter. There's gotta be some nutrients floating around in the sauce, too. LOVE salsa. Thanks, Eileen!