A Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving

Ever since I became a Health Coach, I’ve been a little worried that someday my family will boycott Thanksgiving at my house. But they are always pleasantly surprised to find most of our well-loved family recipes, along with a few new healthier twists on old favorites. (I’ve included a new “nutritious but delicious” Thanksgiving recipe below.)

How you approach the holidays is a personal choice. For some of us, this is one of those “treat” days where we eat what we want, without guilt, knowing we’ll be back on our mindful eating path the following day. For others, particularly if you are trying to lose weight or live healthier, you certainly don’t want to start a “season of overeating.”

So here are a few of the tips I like to share this time of year:

Try Thanksgiving grazing. Load your plate with vegetables and whole grains and just a side of lean turkey. When the rest of the dishes and desserts are passed, choose one or two that you really want, but put just a spoonful of each on your plate – not an entire serving. That way you will get a taste of the holiday foods you love most, without overeating or feeling deprived. (Two foods I always skip are white potatoes and bread. What foods are you willing to skip this year?)

Try alternatives, not abstinence. I’ve roasted sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg instead of marshmallows, for a lighter, healthier dish that still shouts “Thanksgiving!” How about wild rice pilaf as an alternative to stuffing (see the recipe below)? There will be traditional stuffing as well, but this way people can choose. And who knows? They may prefer the pilaf! 

Don’t drink your calories. You don’t have to imbibe spirits to get into the spirit! I may have a glass of red wine with dinner, then switch to sparkling water with lemon.  Pace yourself. Remember, Thanksgiving kicks off a “season of eating” – if you let it. Don’t give in to the domino-effect that can happen from consuming large amounts of sugar, alcohol and dairy. Also, remember that food temptation is only one stress of the holidays; houseguests, family dynamics, kids home from school—all can send you running to the refrigerator. Try to be aware of your relationship with food and how you feel after indulging. Headache? Bloated? Exhausted? Moody? Why ruin your holiday by not feeling your best? Reducing or eliminating sugar, meat, alcohol and processed foods will help you avoid these symptoms, feel better and have more energy.

Don’t throw it all away. Even if you do over-indulge on Thanksgiving day, remember: it’s just one day. Don’t throw away all of your hard work by turning one day into a long-weekend marathon of eating. Stock up on disposable containers and send guests home with all of the leftovers. Maybe a neighbor will want the uneaten, leftover pie. You can’t eat it if it’s not in your house. If you have to, you can always toss out the temptations; after all, which is worse: throwing away food or throwing away your hard-earned health and wellness?

Find other ways to enjoy the holidays that don’t involve food. Bundle up and take a walk after the big Thanksgiving meal. Organize a game of touch football. Pull out the board games and close down the kitchen. Build a fire and tell stories, or watch old family videos (remember those?). In our family, we go around the table and each of us shares what we are most thankful for this year. Everyone slows down for a minute and it reminds us what the holiday is truly all about: Giving Thanks.

                                        ————————————

Barley & Wild Rice Stuffing

from Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter

Instead of a traditional stuffing, try this healthful, lighter alternative! It has a slightly chewy texture and nutty flavor.

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 ½ cups chopped white or yellow onion (about 1 large)

1 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)

½ cup uncooked pearl barley

½ cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

½ cup slivered almonds (2 oz.)

½ cup dried cranberries

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or 4-qt pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened (3 to 5 minutes). Add barley, wild rice and thyme; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil; reduce heat, simmer and cook covered, 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, toast almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until lightly golden and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. (Alternatively, toast almonds in a small baking pan in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes.) Transfer almonds to a plate to cool.

3. After stuffing has cooked for 35 minutes, lift lid and stir in dried cranberries. Simmer, covered, until barley and wild rice are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 more minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add parsley; add pepper to taste. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle top with toasted almonds, or allow guests to sprinkle almonds per serving.

Makes 8 half-cup servings. 

Tip: You can make the stuffing ahead of time; cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat, place stuffing in baking dish, add 1/8 to ¼ cup water and cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, checking to test temperature and avoid overcooking. Sprinkle with almonds just before serving.

Good Morning Quiche

I can’t believe how much time has passed since I’ve posted a recipe… it seems that “Live Green” has been taking up a lot of space lately, so I say it’s time to give “Eat Clean” a little time in the spotlight.

EAT BREAKFAST!  Yes, I yelled that out to you.  I cannot tell you how often I hear that people skip breakfast, or (almost worse) choose a bagel, a bowl of cereal or a muffin for breakfast.  Both of these scenarios lead to a roller coaster cycle for your blood sugar, which weakens your immune system, causes over-eating (and ultimately weight gain) throughout the day and typically leaves the body feeling sluggish, moody, hungry and can even lead to headaches.

The best breakfast is one that is centered on protein. Not only will a healthy breakfast stabilize your blood sugar and help keep full longer, it will improve your concentration (help the kids stay focused at school) and keep your immune system strong.  A few quick examples of good breakfast choices are: a scrambled or hard boiled egg, Greek yogurt with walnuts and fruit, nut butter on sprouted grain toast or a smoothie with protein powder added. Even last night’s roasted chicken would be a good choice… just remember to EAT BREAKFAST.

Pressed for time in the morning? Here’s a fun and easy, make-ahead recipe for mini crust-less quiches that you can make at the beginning of the week.  If you use organic ingredients and raw cheese, it’s a ‘clean’ breakfast, too. You can bake a batch, eat one, and save the rest for later in the week.  Experiment with different add-in’s, too!  

Mini Breakfast Quiches

Makes 12-14 mini quiches

8 eggs

½ cup heavy whipping cream (organic)

½ cup milk

1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

ground pepper

1 tsp herbs of choice (I used Italian seasoning)

1 ½ cups shredded gruyere

2 organic zucchinis, grated

4 oz chopped pancetta

2 TBSP chopped shallots

1 TBSP coconut oil + a tad bit extra for the muffin tins

12 cup muffin tin

Heat oven to 375 F.  Using a paper towel, lightly brush the muffin cups with a bit of coconut oil and then put enough Gruyere in each cup to cover the bottom (this will form a crust when it cooks so make sure it’s covered well).

 Heat 1 TBSP coconut oil in a pan, add shallots and cook about 2 mins.  Add grated zucchini and stir until just softened (about 3 mins).  Put cooked zucchini in a bowl and set aside.  Next add the pancetta to the pan to cook until gently crisped. Drain on a paper towel.

Put 1-2 TBSP of zucchini mixture on top of the cheese in each cup. Next, distribute evenly the pancetta among the cups.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, cream, milk, herbs, salt & pepper. Distribute mixture evenly pouring into each cup (about ½ cup of egg mixture per cup).

Bake until the quiches puff up and turn golden, about 18-20 minutes. When done,  let cool for 10 minutes, then run a small spatula around the rim of each quiche and lift out. 

Eat right away or the mini quiches can be refrigerated and reheated when ready to eat.

Enjoy for breakfast (or lunch or dinner).

"Natural" - Don't Get Duped!

Can you picture it now? Walking down the food aisles at the grocery store and the labels scream out to you “all-natural” and “made with natural ingredients”… and you begin to think, “Oh, it’s natural, so it must be good – I’ll buy it!” 

If that’s a scenario that has played out in your grocery shopping moments, then I hate to say, but you’ve been “Duped”!

There is almost no greater farce than the word natural on a food label.  For the record, the FDA has no definition for the term natural when applied to foods. Here is a quote from their website:

“From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is ‘natural’ because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances” (www.fda.gov)

And that means that we are consuming things like wood pulp and petroleum in our processed foods all under the guise of ‘natural’. What do I mean? Take the ingredient cellulose, for example.  Do you know what it is or how it’s made? Have you ever seen it on a shelf for purchase to use when you make a recipe? Well, there’s a reason for that.  Just what is cellulose?  Here’s an explanation:

Cellulose is used as a fiber supplement, a calorie reducer, a thickener, emulsifier, and anti-caking agent in processed and fast foods.  Cellulose has also been used to replace oil, flour, sugar and other more expensive ingredients.  Cellulose can be made from nearly any plant, but wood pulp and cotton are the least expensive and therefore most widely used.  ( http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/world-our-backyard/2013/jun/12/cellulose-aka-wood-pulp-processed-foods/#ixzz2jyK3xwCc)

Americans are finally starting to catch on and if you’ve followed the news in recent months, you’ll know that PepsiCo, the maker of Naked Juices, was sued (and lost) because their juices contained ingredients that were not as natural as their labels claimed. And, in light of that lawsuit and the nearly 100 more that have been filed against companies like Unilever and Kellogg’s Kashi, thankfully, a new trend in the food industry is beginning - a trend where companies are starting to pull back from using ‘natural’ on their labels. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Nov. 6, 2013) explains that food companies are finding it just isn’t worth making that claim… at least for now. (Part of the ambiguous defining of what is natural is the problem with Genetically Modified Ingredients, but that’s a topic for another time). More recently Kraft Foods has agreed to remove harmful food dyes from some of their mac ‘n cheese products. Learn more about this at www.foodbabe.com.

So, what’s a health conscious shopper to do? It’s quite simple: learn to read the ingredients list on the foods you buy. The ‘cleanest’ foods are those that are close to their source and don’t need labels (ever seen a nutritional facts label on a banana?).  But once you move out of the produce department, you’ll need a little more help.  Look at what ingredients are listed and ask yourself: are there more than 5 ingredients? Do you know how to pronounce them? Could you find them as a stand alone product on a different shelf in the grocery store? What nutritional benefit comes from those odd-sounding ingredients?  The answers will lead the way to whether that product makes its way into your grocery cart or stays on the shelf.  And I’m guessing that more times that not, it will stay on the shelf. 

It may take a little extra time to do shopping, but once you find the brands you can trust, you’ll be back to quick shopping before you know it. Remember – You vote with your dollars every time you shop.  Start voting for foods that are real and clean! Your body will thank you.

A New Kind of Dirty Dozen

A new Dirty Dozen list was released this week by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and it’s full of a dozen things that you may think don’t matter, but really, they do. 

In my research and findings of elements that contribute to inflammation and disease in the body, the chemicals on this list showed up again and again… and again. As a country we have become lazy, motivated by convenience and the idea of things that ‘make our live easier’ without questioning if those very things are making us unhealthier in the process.  Inflammation in the body starts off silent and can be fed and ‘fueled’ by the foods we eat, stress in our lives and chemicals like these endocrine disrupters listed in this new Dirty Dozen list. 

Here’s the Link: http://www.ewg.org/research/dirty-dozen-list-endocrine-disruptors

"There is no end to the tricks that endocrine disruptors can play on our bodies: increasing production of certain hormones; decreasing production of others; imitating hormones; turning one hormone into another; interfering with hormone signaling; telling cells to die prematurely; competing with essential nutrients; binding to essential hormones; accumulating in organs that produce hormones." (EWG article - link above)

While I realize this could be a controversial topic for many who read this, I

offer this question to you: If there is an alternative, why not take it? My daughter has battled an autoimmune disease for the past five years. One of the first things we did was to decrease her (and our family’s) exposure to environmental toxins and you know what?, It made a difference! Her symptoms have been greatly minimized and she feels healthier and her blood work is improved as well.  Who wouldn’t want those kinds of results? 

Don’t wait until you are diagnosed with a health issue to start making changes. You don’t have to clear out your house tonight, start with the products you most frequently use. Make changes each time you shop. Look for “BPA Free” cans and bottles on products you buy (food and non-food).  Next time you buy food storage containers, opt for glass and BPA free.  Use a glass or stainless steel (BPA Free) re-usable water bottle container and not only will you reduce toxic exposure, you’ll be helping our environment, too. Look for personal care products that say ‘phthalate free’ and nail polishes that state they are ‘3 Free’, which means they are free of three ‘bad guys’ of chemicals.  Switch your non-stick cookware to brands that state they are PFOA and PFC free.  Target has a line of ceramic-coated cookware that is available by the piece and is easy on the wallet.

Starting with one change at a time will allow you to gradually improve your health without becoming overwhelmed. Add some healthy eating to the mix and you’ll be better off than you were before you read this… Small changes lead to big differences!

The Trick is NOT to “Over-Treat”!

It’s the scariest time of the year, especially for anyone who fears the inevitable sugar cravings and dreaded extra pounds from Halloween indulging. Grocery stores are frightful places – you go in for your daily shopping and suddenly you are surrounded by aisles and aisles of candy corn and Fun Size ® Skittles® and M&Ms – all looking colorful and appealing, designed to weaken our resistance and lure us into Candyland and the consequences of “over-treating.”

And it’s not just us! As a mom who fought the “Sugar Bowl of Holidays” for years, I know that the extra sugar this time of year can weaken on our kids’ immune system, wreak havoc for those with ADD/ADHD, interrupt normal sleep patterns, and promote fatigue – not to mention tooth decay.

While you may think a piece of candy here and there won’t be a big deal, consider this: a Fun Size® Snickers® has 8½ grams of sugar and 80

calories! Not so fun, huh? If you sneak a few treats from your kids’ candy bag each day and a few more at night, you could easily gain a pound a week! By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you may be noticeably heavier, more sluggish, and more addicted to sweets than ever before.

Eating Halloween candy does not have to be inevitable this year! Here are some tricks to avoid over-treating:

1.)    Be a party animal. See if your kids will host or attend a party instead of (or in addition to) trick-or-treating. Serve adorable, nutritious Halloween treats like the ones pictured here, and show your kids how fun healthy can be!

2.)    Don’t make candy the star of the Halloween festivities. Encourage your kids’ excitement about costumes; plan or go to a neighborhood haunted house; carve pumpkins; decorate the yard with ghoulish delight. Consider starting the “Secret Halloween Boo” in your neighborhood print out your poem and ghost here: and enjoy surprising friends with a few small gifts or healthy treats.

3.)    Eat before you start. I know kids want to begin Trick-or-Treating as soon as school lets out, but prepare a nutritious meal the day before and take 30 minutes to sit down and eat before everyone goes out. Make sure your meal includes whole grains, protein and veggies to keep kids energized and full longer. Try chicken and veggie pitas with brown rice, or fish tacos with avocado and whole-wheat tortillas. If you’re in a hurry, kids can have a “snackful dinner” – almond butter on whole grain toast; sliced carrots and apples with hummus; black beans and rice, or guacamole and low-salt tortilla chips.

4.)    Start a new tradition. If you’re in charge of buying the candy, consider giving non-food items instead. Research shows that kids don’t think it’s lame to get a toy treat or two on Halloween. Go online now to buy bulk discount items such as glow-light bracelets (see below, 100 for $8.95), bubbles, glow-in-the-dark plastic fangs, or spider rings.

➢ Glow bracelets 
➢ Plastic fangs 
➢ Glow-in-the-dark fangs 
➢ Glow sticks

5.)    Leave your favorites at the store. If you must buy candy to give out, buy the kind that you’d never eat if it was the last sweet on earth. For me, that would be Sour Gummi Worms®. What would it be for you? Buy just enough of the candy to cover Halloweeners for the night, hours, then see Tip #6.

6.)    Toss it. My clients tell me that the best – and perhaps the simplest — advice I give is to clean out your pantry and refrigerator and don’t keep any temptation in the house. You can’t eat it if it’s not there. Don’t let one night of indulgence turn into a month of candy hording. Leftover Halloween treats will hinder any healthy eating plan’s success. Better to toss the treats and be a little wasteful than to add to your own “waist fullness.”

This year, let’s not give ourselves permission to eat stuff we wouldn’t normally bring home from the store just because it’s the 31st of October. In fact, the next few months – from Halloween through Christmas – are filled with temptations that can sabotage your health, wellness and weight-loss goals. Keep fresh fruits in a bowl front and center on your kitchen counter; take a container of almonds to work; have a pitcher of water with lemon on the top shelf of your frig and cut veggies in top crisper drawer. When you want a sweet or salty snack, don’t tell yourself you “can’t” have it; instead, first drink a glass of water. Next, have some sliced fruit or crunchy vegetables or a dozen almonds. By the time you’re finished, you may not want that unhealthy treat after all.

You CAN survive Halloween without going candy crazy!

And just think ….with all this planning and preparation, you’ll be ready to conquer Thanksgiving!

Happy and Healthy Halloween-ing,

It's Food Day!

How many of you had no idea what Food Day is all about? Until about year ago, I didn’t know either. Celebrating Food Day is a great way to get started on making healthy eating a priority or it can be a day where you commit to eating food that comes from plants and is not made in factories. It can give you a chance to start seeing the food that you choose as

nourishing or damaging to your body.  Make today the first day of a yearlong journey into eating REAL FOOD!

Here are a few key points from the www.foodday.org website:

Food Day is a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies.  Food Day aims to help people Eat Real. That means cutting back on sugar drinks, overly salted packaged foods, and fatty, factory-farmed meats in favor of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and sustainably raised protein. Food Day envisions shorter lines at fast-food drive-throughs — and bigger crowds at farmers markets.

This annual event involves some of the country’s most prominent food activists, like Jamie Oliver, united by a vision of food that is healthy, affordable, and produced with care for the environment, farm animals, and the people who grow, harvest, and serve it. Food Day priorities include:

• Promote safer, healthier diets: The foods we eat should promote, not undermine, our good health. Yet, every year we spend more than $150 billion on obesity-related health care costs, plus another $73 billion in reduced productivity.
• Support sustainable and organic farms: Currently, sustainable farms receive little to no federal support and often lack market access to keep them competitive. Meanwhile, the largest 10 percent of industrialized farms—which contribute to poor health and severe environmental degradation—receive 75 percent of all farm subsidies.
• Reduce hunger: Currently, around 50 million Americans are considered “food insecure”, or near hunger, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) participation is at an all-time high. SNAP is vital to reducing hunger, but the program’s budget is under constant attack while federal measures to increase food access are minimal.
• Reform factory farms to protect the environment and farm animals: Today, most farm animals are confined in “factory farms”—sometimes containing as many as 50,000-100,000 cattle, hens, or pigs. These practices result in needless animal abuse and illness, environmental degradation, and harm the people who live in and around those facilities.
• Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers: 20 million workers throughout the U.S. food system harvest, process, ship, sell, cook, and serve the food we eat every day. And yet, many farmworkers earn well below poverty levels while the tipped minimum wage for restaurant servers has remained at $2.13 per hour for the last 21 years.

Make your Food Day a fun day… visit a farmer’s market and try a new fruit or vegetable, make a new recipe from scratch and have your family help prepare it, plan a potluck dinner with your neighbors or think ahead and plant something to eat later in the year (blueberries, perhaps?). I’m going to fill my fridge with what’s in season … what will you do?

For the Love of Cinnamon

Fall is here and one of the biggest flavors that starts popping up around us is cinnamon.  I know most of you would have said pumpkin, which is true, but every pumpkin spice ‘something’ out there has cinnamon in it as a main ingredient, so cinnamon gets the shout out today (but oh, how I LOVE pumpkin pie!).

A short bit of background: Cinnamon is an amazing spice that contains calcium, fiber, iron and manganese and has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda medicine to remedy illness. The bark of the cinnamon tree contains healing, essential oils as well. These oils are considered an ‘anti-microbial” food and have been studied for its ability to stop the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Cinnamon has been found to lessen the impact of high carb foods on your blood sugar levels and slows the rate of digestion as seen in recent research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which states that cinnamon may help you better regulate your blood-glucose levels.

The December 2003 issue of Diabetes Care also reported a study with type 2 diabetics that showed not only reduced blood sugar, but lower triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.

But there is so much more cinnamon does for the body:

• It can improve brain function and memory just by smelling it.
• It has been used in TCM to provide relief for the onset of a cold or the flu (best when mixed in a tea with fresh ginger)
• It’s been used in Chinese medicine for improving indigestion, cramps and circulation
• When combined with honey, its been known to relieve arthritis pain
• Stabilizing blood sugar helps in weight loss

Now, all that being said, I don’t recommend you start over-doing the cinnamon consumption.  In large doses it can be toxic, so adding it to your diet in small doses is the best way to gain its benefits. No, this is not permission to eat as many Cinnabons as you want!

Here are six ways to add cinnamon to your day:

1. add it to a smoothie
2. add it to a bowl of hot oatmeal
3. roast sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon
4. have a cup of ginger tea and add a pinch of cinnamon
5. simmer almond milk with cinnamon sticks for a warm beverage in place of hot cocoa.
6. as a treat, spread raw honey on a piece of toasted sprouted grain bread and sprinkle the top with some cinnamon

What’s your favorite way to use cinnamon?

Enjoy the fall season and a burst of cinnamon in your life!

Grow in Gratitude

When you hear the word gratitude, what comes to mind? Do you feel something inside? Do you smile? Gratitude research demonstrates that when we learn to be thankful, we will be healthier in mind and body…but how often do we really sit down and spend time focusing on the things we are grateful for?

Being thankful is having an attitude of appreciation for something good that we have received from another person or from God.  And this is not a new concept – it has been around for thousands of years! Many cultures and faiths teach the benefits of the practice of gratitude.One of my favorite bible verses is about being grateful:  “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”  (I Thes. 5:!8) 

Research shows that thankfulness has a strong link to emotional health and physical well-being. Grateful people are typically happier, less stressed, more purposeful (and altruistic), sleep better and have fewer

complaints. Gratitude strengthens our emotions, makes us more optimistic and increases relaxation. It is felt in the heart, the mind and the body.

 I think Albert Einstein was on to something when he was quoted as saying “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as everything is a miracle.”  And there’s always the old question of, “do you see the glass as half-full or half-empty?”

For years Oprah has advocated the power of gratitude and has urged us all to keep a gratitude journal.  The simplicity of taking time, just five minutes a day, to write down things you are grateful for can lead to noticeable changes in your life. You can be thankful for something as simple as a beautiful sunset or as big as good news from your doctor. Once you start journaling, you’ll start finding more things to add to your list.

Here are a few ways you can practice gratitude:

Gratitude Journal. Each day, write down the things you are grateful for. Try to identify new things that you haven’t appreciated before. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. On days you are having a hard time with what to put down, read over previous entries and remind yourself that there are things to be thankful for.

Thankful Thoughts. What you think about is hugely significant! Spend a few minutes focusing your thoughts on the good things in your life that you’re thankful for. (I turn these thoughts into gratitude prayers.)

Gratitude Letter. Write a letter or a card to someone who has blessed you. Thank him or her for specific things they’ve done to encourage you. Offer affirmations for qualities you appreciate about them.

Growing in wellness means many things and the practice of gratefulness is one element that costs you nothing, but can bring great gain. Take one more step toward being healthier today… start by shifting to an attitude of gratefulness (see your glass as half-full!).  In the words of Maya Angelou, “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.  And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

Be happy, be healthy!

Overnight Oatmeal

My Vitamix blender blade was recently part of a recall and, as much as I’m happy Vitamix is on top of things and is replacing the blade at absolutely no cost to me, it’s tough to be without my favorite kitchen appliance.  Especially in the morning.  I’m an avid “green protein drink for breakfast” kinda girl and not having something to pulverize my kale into a yummy drink in the morning is getting old, fast. 

The good news of it all is that I have had to find some new options for breakfast (that are healthy, “clean” and filling), which led me to this

fantastic recipe for oatmeal.  It’s easy, there’s no cooking needed, and it can be adapted to several tastes. My husband loves coconut (and I don’t) so he gets some shredded coconut; and almond butter is my favorite, so in it goes to my jar.  There are so many possibilities… experiment with your own add-ins, just keep the base the same (oatmeal, flax, chia and almond milk) and you’ll be fine.  I’d love to hear what you try – post your favorite combinations under comments. 

Here’s a glimpse of my latest batch of oatmeal for this week:

Gather your ingredients: 

Fill your jars: 

Mix well: 

Cover and refrigerate: 

Overnight Oatmeal

(Following is for each serving)

½ cup gluten free oats

½ TBSP chia seeds

1 TBSP shredded coconut

1 tsp. ground flaxseeds

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup almond milk

2 tsp. chopped dates

optional add ins:  dried blueberries, dried cranberries, walnuts, etc.

Combine all ingredients in order listed into a wide-mouth jar, mix well. Cover with lid and put in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning, stir one more time and eat cold or warm in the microwave for a warm breakfast. Option:  add fresh fruit before eating.

Enjoy!

It's a Quinoa kind of day.

Have you heard the buzz about quinoa? It’s the new superfood that’s been around for hundreds of years.  If you haven’t heard the word (pronounced ‘keen-wah’) or seen it popping up on menus, then read on and become ‘in the know’.

Quinoa is an ancient pseudo-grain (it’s really a seed) from the Andean community in South America.  It is a complete protein, which means it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs, and it’s low in fat. Plus, it’s an anti-inflammatory food.

It’s my new favorite grain substitute for 3 reasons: first, it cooks super fast (12 minutes and it’s done!); second, it is a complete protein, cholesterol and gluten free; and third, it’s a super-flexible food that can be eaten at any meal of the day. Bonus: it keeps well in the fridge for leftovers. 

Quinoa does have a bitter tasting coating comprised of saponins, so if the package you purchase doesn’t say it’s already rinsed, then rise under cold water for about a minute before cooking.  I buy Bob’s Red Mill brand – it is ready to go straight from the package.

 Not sure where to start?  Here are a few ideas:

 7 Ways to Eat (cooked) Quinoa 

1. Use instead of rice as a side dish for dinner
2. Add a cup-full to a green salad
3. Toss with roasted seasonal vegetables
4. Go for a southwestern touch and toss with black beans, corn (organic and uncooked), chopped chiles, green onions, cotija cheese and a lime-olive oil dressing
5. Try it for breakfast:  add warm almond milk, cinnamon, fresh blueberries, bananas and walnuts to cooked quinoa
6. Scramble cooked quinoa with eggs, spinach, mushrooms and cheese for a tasty breakfast.
7. Make a chilled quinoa salad by mixing with shredded chicken, red onions, goat cheese, arugula, pine nuts and a champagne vinaigrette dressing.

I’d love to hear what your favorite way is to eat quinoa… enjoy the eating!