Salt, Sugar, and Fat….
The perfect combination to keep us eating all the wrong foods. The food industry spends a lot of time and a lot more money to study exactly what ratio of each will keep us buying and eating their food or “food like substances”. Click on the link below for more details.
I know you have heard this all before but you really need to read the labels. Anything with “quick” or “instant” or ingredient lists with words that you cannot pronounce or have more than 3 items should not be permitted in our houses. Feeding ourselves and our families should be one of the most important things we do. I have met so many people that think that high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimers’ disease are all just the normal progression of aging or “it’s in my family”.
These are all preventable diseases. You do not have to spend the last 30 years of your life taking handfuls of pills. What you eat matters and it matters now. You know what you need to do. You have all heard it before. Keep the processed food out of your house and you and your whole family will be less tempted. Eat more meals at home more often. Plan your meals.
How much exercise you get also matters. If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend it. One is written with women in mind and one for men. A little motivation can go a long way. Only 21 days to form a new habit, start today:)
![ynywomen[1]](https://revolutionwell.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/ynywomen1.png)
Keep it simple…
It has been a while since my last post. While thinking about what to write about next I realized that we eat quite simply. I have shared many of our favorite recipes and for the most part I stick to doing pretty much the same thing. I have been close to ending my blog but then I bump into someone who encourages me to keep at it, that they check in regularly and love it. So…..I will endeavor to keep it going, with one simple thought each time and a recipe we love.
FISH……….
We still eat fish, though only about twice per month. I still am not sure where I stand on this issue, it’s one of those, should we or shouldn’t we? Is it healthy or is it not healthy? When we do eat fish I make sure that I spend the money and buy fish that is oceanwise approved. See the link if you are not sure what that means.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/omega-3/HB00087
Our serving size is limited to about 4 oz or the size of a deck of cards.
Broiled Salmon or Artic Char with Herb Mustard Glaze
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3/4 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp dry white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
pinch salt
fresh ground black pepper
In a mini food processor combine the garlic, herbs, wine, oil, honey, Dijon and 1 tbsp of grainy mustard. Grind until the sauce is combined. Transfer to small bowl and stir in the remaining tbsp of grainy mustard.
Preheat the broiler. Line the bottom of a heavy baking sheet with foil. Brush with a little olive oil. Place the fish on the baking sheet, skin side down, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and the fresh ground pepper. Broil for about 2-3 minutes. Spoon over some of the mustard suace and continue broiling for another 5 minutes. Add more sauce and broil until the fish is just cooked through. This can vary depending on the type of fish and how thick the fillets are. I have found it can take anywhere from another 2-3 minutes to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the fish as it cooks. The sauce may start to burn.
Serve with fresh lemon wedges on the side, with a large salad and dinner is served.
The best Thai Soup Recipe..
My friend Eunice found this one. When it comes to spicy her family likes it hot. My family likes some heat but not so much that you can’t feel your lips:) You will need to have a few items in your pantry that you might not normally stock but so worth it! They have been staples in our house for awhile now. Check out my “pantry” list for details. I made this soup last week. It really hits the spot after snowshoeing or X-country skiing or any other winter outdoor activity. We have another month at least of winter. Don’t rush away the days, embrace them. Get outside , get moving… and before you go out, make a double batch of this soup. You will be glad you did. Yum!
Thai Soup (double to make full pot)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms (could leave these out or replace with boy choyor carrots)
4 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. Gourmet Garden™ Lemon Grass herb paste (the stuff in the tube or the real thing, if you can find it) ***Could substitute with 1 tbsp lemon juice & 1tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can lite coconut milk (398ml)
2 tsp. red curry paste
1 1/2 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili paste
2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste (to taste)
½- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (depends how thick you want the soup)
2 cups cooked rice ( brown rice or try a mix of long grain with wild rice or black thai rice for some added texture)
Fresh cilantro, parsley or basil leaves shredded for garnish
Lime for garnish
Instructions:
Cook rice and set aside (or use left-over cooked rice).
Heat large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. oil. When hot, add mushrooms and cook until golden and tender. Remove to a plate. In same pot, add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add onion, red pepper, (if using carrots or bok choy add here)and saute just until softened. Return mushrooms to pot. Add broth and heat through. Add lemon grass paste, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, turn heat to low, then cover and simmer 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, add curry paste, Sambal Oelek, tomato paste, 2 Tbsp. water and cornstarch and mix until incorporated. Stir into soup until combined and heat until soup simmers, thickens very slightly and has a velvety appearance. Add cooked rice, cover and simmer 5 minutes. (You can also add more curry paste, tomato paste and/or Sambal Oelek to taste at this point, as well).
Pour soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, parsley or basil leaves and serve with additional Sambal Oelek for those who prefer a hotter soup.
Juicing and a Friday morning tradition…
As promised in my last post, I was going to talk about Juicing. It is something I have thought alot about, read alot about and spent considerable amounts of time researching juicers. I even invited myself over to a friend’s place with a friend, who has juiced alot and had her demo her juicer and favorite juice combinations. It was impressive but seemed like too much work. Too much time to clean the machine, too noisy, too much waste, (the pulp) and some of the “healthiest” combos just didn’t taste that good. But…I accidently came across a juicer in a new favorite kitchen store here in Kelowna(Lakehouse) where they were making samples available to customers. Delicious and simple, apple and carrot. By the time she showed me how easy it was to clean and how quiet it was I was sold. I splurged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXTEPUggyuw
Now I realize most of you won’t be running out to buy a juicer anytime soon, but I have been juicing now for a little over 3 weeks. First thing in the morning, before coffee or breakfast and before my workout, I quickly juice varying combinations of fruit and vegetables.and we each have about 4-8 ounces. I am not going to say that I notice any great new burst of energy or better skin or any other noticeable health improvement yet, but I do feel good about getting a quick shot of nutrition into my body first thing in the morning.
Speaking of first thing in the morning..we’ve all heard it said “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. I really do believe this to be true. We have kept it pretty simple with a standard repeat every morning of the week except Fridays. I decided about 9 years ago that Friday would be our special treat breakfast alternating between pancakes, waffles and French Toast.
I found a new pancake recipe, my search was inspired by a local restaurant. Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes. A delicious break from the norm. We all love Fridays, enough to come back home for:)
BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL PANCAKES
½ cup whole spelt flour
2/3 cup fine cornmeal
2 tbsp coarse stone-ground cornmeal
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp brown sugar
¼ cup plain greek 0%fat yogurt
1 ½ cups soymilk + 1 ½ tbsp vinegar added
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 egg, bring to room temperature
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
toasted pecans (optional)
Coconut oil for cooking
Measure the dry ingredients and stir them together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl lightly whisk the egg, then add the yogurt, the “soured soy milk” and the oil.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients gently until just mixed. Do not overmix. Let the batter rest for at least 5-10 minutes. (Don’t skip the last 2 steps!) It will be a bit runny.
Heat a griddle on medium-high heat. Brush just a little coconut oil on pan. Use about 1/3 cup per pancake and cook until a few small bubbles appear on the surface, drop a few blueberries into the batter, When the edges look a little dry, flip the pancake over and cook just a little longer..the berries will begin to release their juice. Serve topped with a few more blueberries if you like, a small handful of toasted peacans or just a little pure maple syrup. Delicious!
Heart felt gratitude..
In keeping with my last post on the theme of gratitude…thankfulness, and a new year’s resolve to be more thankful you really have to watch this inspirational clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=player_embedded&v=nj2ofrX7jAk
And… Winter adds a whole new challenge to staying active, especially this year where here in Kelowna we have had alot of snow. We have been getting outdoors often this winter hiking and snowshoeing. It has been amazing. The photo is from the top our latest hike, lots of snow, blowing and cold but a spectacular view (depending on how you look at it) It might look grey to some but through a “thankfulness” lens, I am in awe of the beauty of winter, even the white and the grey that dominates the landscape. It was hard work, uphill for a good hour or more with good friends to chat with along the way.
I hope you are all finding ways to stay active this winter. If not, I would encourage you to start something. Get outside if you can. There is something incredibly peaceful about spending time in nature.
Next post: What about juicing?
I Simply Resolve to..
Be thankful.
For every breath I take.
For every breathtaking view I see.
For my family.
For my Friends.
My daughters and I have watched the “Anne of Green Gables” series many, many times over the years. New Years reminds me of a favorite line in the movie “”Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
– Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Though New Years often causes us to reflect over the past year, I resolve to live more fully every day, embracing each day with a clean slate and as simply as I can.
One year ago I started sharing recipes and my thoughts about healthier living on this blog. It was on my heart to start for quite some time before it ever came to be. This will be my 52nd post, not bad for a beginner:) The writing has not been easy but I will press on.
Thank you for stopping in, for trying some recipes and for your encouragement.
My challenge for the New Year ..2 simple goals:
Serve and Eat more vegetables and fruit. Aim for 5-10 servings/day
Move more. Aim for 30 minutes/day, 5 days a week.
Miso, Tahini, what in the world?…
Are ingredients I had never heard of until we started our healthier eating journey. Almost 9 years later, I don’t know what I would do with out them. Miso, a traditional Japenese food, is a high protein seasoning made from soybeans, cultured grain, salt and water. It’s many uses include adding it to soups, or as a sauce, gravy or dressing. There are different types but most importantly I choose one that uses select organic ingredients including, non GMO whole soybeans. I have stocked both “white miso”, which has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor and “amano miso” or “barley miso” which is a naturally aged blend of pearl barley and soybeans with a full-bodied flavor.
Miso soup which is traditionally served with every meal in Japan is delicious, easy to make and loaded with vitamin D and healthy vegetable protein. I made this a few days ago when I feeling a little under the weather with flu-like symptoms. It was just what I needed…nutrition packed, chasing the flu away.
MISO AND MUSHROOM SOUP
Makes 4-6 servings
5 cups vegetable broth
1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms or 2 cups thinly sliced cremini (brown) mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced leek (green part mostly)
1/2 pound firm organic, non GMO tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 sheet nori, cut into 1-inch squares (nori-dried seaweed)
2 to 3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 cups small broccoli florets or bok choy chopped large pieces
1 cup julienned or grated carrot
3 to 4 tablespoons white miso or 3 tbsp barley miso
Pour the broth into a large pot, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Add the mushrooms, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened. (if using dried shitakes) Remove the mushrooms from the broth with a slotted spoon. Cut off and discard the mushroom stems. Thinly slice the caps and set aside. If using fresh sliced mushrooms, add them to the broth together with the leeks, bring to boil then simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until softened
Add the tofu, nori, and ginger to the broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms (if you had removed them), broccoli, and carrot. Cover and simmer for 1 minute, just until the broccoli turns bright green. Transfer 1 cup of the broth to a measuring cup and stir in the miso with a fork until it is completely dissolved. Pour the dissolved miso into the soup and stir until it is well incorporated.
Store in a covered container in the refrigerator, Miso Soup will keep for up to 3 days.
Note: Do not boil the soup after the miso has been added, as high heat will destroy the beneficial enzymes in the miso.
Tahini, (raw and organic) is made using mechanically hulled sesame seeds. It is naturally low in saturated fat, and is an ingredient found in many asian foods. Instead of the high salt versions of teryiaki sauce, or soy sauce dressings and sauces, I have found a great recipe for topping stirfrys using tahini, a “no salt” added, surprisingly yummy sauce. There are a few ingredients in this sauce you may not normally stock and can be a little pricey. They last a while when stored correctly, are healthier than the traditionally stocked condiments in your refridgerator and will open wide your taste buds to some unique and wonderful flavors. Try some new flavors in 2013!
Yummy Tahini Sauce
1 small onion or ½ cup shallots roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp dark toasted sesame oil
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp Braggs ( low sodium soy sauce available in health food stores)
1/3 cup raw sesame tahini
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ cup vegetable stock (low sodium)
¼ cup olive oil
1/8 cup flax or hemp oil (found in health food stores in refridgerator)
With a blender or food processor, blend all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
A little goes a long way with this sauce. Try topping brown rice, lentils or quinoa and steamed vegees starting with a tbsp at a time. The flavor is rich and delicious! I usually toast raw sesame seeds and top it all with about a tbsp per person. Yum!
Vegetable Barley Soup….another delicious and nutritious grain
It is snowing, lovely and white and the perfect time for a hike outdoors then a steaming hot bowl of yummy soup. I have adapted this recipe to exclude the beef and added in more vegetables. It is hearty and delicious. Barley, especially in whole-grain form (hulled or “pot barley” ) is an excellent grain to add to your repertoire. It is more flavourful and has a chewier texture than white rice, with a more subtle flavour than brown rice.
Barley is versatile: and like oats, it is an excellent source of soluble fibre, which can help in lowering blood cholesterol levels and is high in thiamin and fibre.
One serving of 1/2 cup cooked barley provides 97 calories, 1.8 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 3 g fibre.
Whole grain pot barley contains high levels of numerous vitamins and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin E, niacin and folate.
This recipe is easy to make. I like to make the soup in the morning (20 minutes tops), and adding it to the slow cooker. No matter what the rest of the day looks like, whether off to work or out for a hike, a ski, snowshoeing or skating, nothing beats coming home to a hearty bowl of hot soup with a thick slice of whole grain bread. Enjoy:)
Vegetable Barley Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp salt
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (any variety –white, cremini, shitakes, oyster or portobellos or any combination of)
1 each carrot and celery stalk, chopped
1 small turnip, diced
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
2 tbsp no salt tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
3 cups water
½ cup pot barley
1-2 bay leaves
1 can (540 ml) black beans or white cannellini beans or combination of
1. In a large deep pot, heat oil over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic with salt until onion is soft. Add mushrooms, carrot, celery, turnip, thyme and cook for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms.
2. Add the tomato paste and vinegar; stir to coat the vegetables. Add stock, water, barley and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until barley is tender or after boiling, transfer to a slow cooker, set to low for about 3 hours. Add beans and heat through. Remove bay leaf before serving with fresh ground black pepper. Makes 4-6 servings.
Is rice getting boring? Try something new…
My grocery list for Costco is pretty small with only a few very carefully selected items on repeat every 3-4 weeks. I go in with a list and get out with only the items on my list…at least most of the time. I love rice and could eat it with a some steamed greens and other vegees several times a week, but everyone else at home would likely not be pleased with that kind of repetition. My sister introduced me to this new product available at Costco, (here in Kelowna) Wildroots, Pearl Harvest Couscous, check out http://wildrootsfoods.com/
It has Israeli couscous, red and green orzo, split garbanzo beans and red quinoa. So what exactly is couscous? Orzo? Quinoa? How do you cook it? Why should you try it?
Couscous is among the healthiest grain-based products. It has a glycemic load per gram 25% below that of pasta. It has a superior vitamin profile to pasta, containing twice as much riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, and folate, and containing four times as much thiamine and pantothenic acid.
In terms of protein, couscous has 3.6 g for every 100 calories, equivalent to pasta, and well above the 2.6 g for every 100 calories of white rice. Furthermore, couscous contains a 1% fat-to-calorie ratio, compared to 3% for white rice, 5% for pasta, and 11.3% for rice pilaf
Orzo pasta is a type of pasta which is made in the shape of a grain of rice. Orzo pasta is often about rice-sized, as well.The word orzo is Italian for “barley,” and a reference to the size and shape of the pasta.
Red Quinoa is heart healthy and an excellent source of healthy fiber. It is rich in magnesium and folate B9 with 25% DV (daily value), a good source of protein, iron, thiamin B1, riboflavin B2, and vitamin B6, very low sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol free. Quinoa has the most complete amino acid profile of all grain, including lysine and threonine that are rarely found in cereal grains.
The basic recipe is on the back of the package..add 1 3/4 cups of Wildroots Pearl Harvest Couscous to 3 cups water or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Our favorite way to finish off the basic recipe:
1 onion chopped
1 -2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (if olive oil packed- soak first in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, then drian off liquid)
1/2 -1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 celery stalks chopped
Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan and add onion. Saute until onion is translucent. Add garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms and celery. Saute until soft, but not mushy. Add cooked couscous and saute and medium low heat for about 5-10 minutes stirring to ensure it does not burn. Serve topped with a fresh ground pepper, a little fresh chopped parsley.
The texture is wonderful, it tastes delicious and changes things up a little.
revolutionwell 