Category Archives: Nutrition

Quick Easy Chicken Butternut Curry

Posted on by
1

IMG_0488For those of you who don’t always plan in advance as well as you would like (my hand is up), I thought I might share a very easy last-minute recipe you can make which will surprise you by how fast it is ready and how good it tastes.

It does depend on having a few things in your refrigerator on stand-by, which is a good habit to get into, especially if you try to figure out last-minute healthy meals like I do.  These quantities serve about 4, but you can add a bit of everything to serve more. Preciseness is not that important in most of my cooking, much to the dismay of some of my family members!  Prep time is about 10-15 minutes, depending on your chopping speed.  Cooking time is about 10-15 minutes too!  You can hardly go out and get fast food for under 30 minutes!  And this is WAY more delicious and healthy!

Ingredients & Method all mixed together:

  • 2 Chicken breasts (organic, if possible.  They can be frozen, so don’t worry if you didn’t thaw it out!).  If you are able and want to cut them into pieces, you can, but for a faster result, just use them whole.  If they are still frozen solid, then use them whole, and you can break them into smaller pieces somewhere along the cooking process!
  • Coconut Oil, 1-2 Tablespoons (depending on your budget and how much you have on hand, more is always good!)
  • Onions, chopped.  Either ½ onion leftover in the fridge, or a whole one, your choice.
  • Garlic, couple of cloves, chopped or pressed (I’m still chopping, though I am hoping for a Pampered Chef garlic press for Christmas!).

Throw all of that into a largish pan on a medium low heat (it can go in stages, whatever works!).  Cover and simmer on a low heat, turning the chicken occasionally to brown.  If frozen, this stage will take a little bit longer.  You can also use a firm wooden spoon to break the chicken breast into pieces whenever you are able to do so.  Wait until it’s cooked a bit, so that it is not a difficult thing to do). I never use metal on metal when cooking, just saying.

  • Curry Powder, 1-2 Tablespoons.  Add curry powder to the pan after the chicken has mostly changed color on all sides and stir everything around so it gets impacted by the curry powder.  The chicken does not have to be cooked through the middle. The curry powder likes to sauté with the other ingredients to share its flavor. I have been enjoying Simply Organic Curry Powder, which I think I buy from Kroger.  It is a staple in my cupboard. I will also experiment with different curry powders.  It’s great to get one with Turmeric, since it has so many beneficial qualities.
  • Butternut, chopped.  I chopped about ¾ of a butternut into small pieces (while the chicken mixture was browning).  I actually left most of the skin on, but it was cut small.  It was fine with the skin on, and it is a lot faster than having to peel it!  (I took the seeds out and put them in a glass dish (see picture) with coconut oil and salt to roast in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes – makes a wonderful snack for later! Once I figured this out, I was amazed about how I had been wasting butternut seeds for years!  Don’t worry about cleaning them, just dump all the insides in!)  If you don’t have any butternut, you could use carrots or any combination of vegetables that you have on hand, and change the name!IMG_0487
  • 1-2 Cups Chicken Stock.  This is a great thing to find in your fridge or freezer!  If I didn’t have any homemade chicken stock, I would have just added one cup of water
  • Ground Salt, Himalayan Crystal.  A few turns.
  • Ground Pepper, a few turns.

Allow to simmer on low for about 15 minutes.  Put some Quinoa or rice on to cook and it will be ready at the same time.

Optional:  cashews.  If you are a bit short on the meat, add cashews, or if you have an abundance of cashews, just add them for the taste!

While simmering, make a quick salad and Voila, a wonderful dish to delight the family – and they didn’t even guess I wasn’t prepared!  I promise I didn’t use any recipe for this, except what was stored in my head.  That doesn’t mean no one else gets any credit, I just can’t remember who I need to acknowledge for how I’ve learned to make curry.  I used to have no idea how to make a nice curry and asked a lot of people along the way.  It turns out, it isn’t really all that hard!  And it gets easier and better with a bit of practice!

I don’t think this curry was spicy at all.  If you want it a bit more spicy, add a chili pepper with the onions during the sautéing process.

 

Shopping in the USA

Posted on by
Reply

I feel vulnerable at the very core of my existence in the USA. Spending 30 years living in a foreign country and coming back has given me a different perspective than the average person.

I see an older couple shopping at Kroger.  They look sweet, loving, normal.  They put two huge boxes of Diet Coke into their shopping cart and take them to their car.  I want so badly to ask them if they’ve ever heard of the dangers of aspartame.  They are not energetic looking, but they also aren’t sickly – not riding in the wheelchair carts like so many I see.  They just look like people who grow older and think that life is all about aches, pains, medication and doing the best you can because we all know growing old brings health challenges.  I don’t know if the Diet Coke is for them or maybe for someone else, who knows?  Maybe they are trying to bless someone else.

They trust the FDA, Kroger and the US “system” to keep them safe and healthy.  They don’t know that their trust has been violated.

I just walk past rows and rows of food.  I don’t stop.  I already know that nearly 100% of it contains ingredients that have been proven to be harmful.  Hydrogenated fats, colorings, flavorings, aspartame, HFCS, and on and on.  It does not promote or sustain life in any way.  It is all marketing ploys to get the unsuspecting public to purchase their products.  I walk down an aisle containing incalculable varieties of products sold to help us keep our clothes clean and fresh.  It is a maze trying to decipher.  Are all these claims real?  Is there any negative impact on the environment from any of the products? What are these things doing to my skin?  Our water supplies?  Does it matter?  Is it all about the cheapest one to do the job, or is the traditional brand, or the one most advertised better?  I’m overwhelmed by just one product decision.

People are oblivious.  They know what they like. They know what their momma used. They know what tastes good.  After all, taste is the supreme indicator for goodness.  Once the bagger at the grocery store asked me if organic bananas tasted better than the others.  As if I am choosing them all because of taste!

What do I do with this great burden I carry?  The burden of living healthy.  The burden of the knowledge of what people are doing to their bodies – yet most are oblivious.

Not all big business is bad.  But big business is in the business of making a profit – for their shareholders.  Along the way something has gone very wrong.  I don’t know how to fix it.  What do I, one individual, have power to accomplish in the face of this onslaught by big business that impacts me at the core of my existence?

I can….

  • Choose to buy organic and local only (or as much as possible – but I can raise the bar higher than is comfortable).
  • Choose to cook healthy food in my kitchen with the organic ingredients I buy.
  • Help others understand whenever I have the smallest opportunity.
  • I can learn the facts so that I can share the cold hard facts and not just vague feelings.
  • Lean hard into Jesus when I feel overcome with fear or anxiety.
  • Meditate on God’s word.
  • Use the passion for health I have been given as a gift to share in a winsome way.

Am I crazy?  Am I delusional?  Is it all safe and I’m just over-reacting?

Or am I on the right track, but missing other important things I can do?  What else can one person do to buck the system, live with health amongst so much plenty?

What thoughts and feelings impact you during your regular grocery store expeditions?

Healthy Snacks/Quick Meals

Posted on by
Reply

Fruit FaceWe all need to eat.

We enjoy our food.

We like to satisfy our sweet tooth and hunger with good things. But when we are trying to make a move away from processed foods, AND we don’t have all the time or money in the world, what do we eat?

  1. Apple, banana or date with or without organic fresh ground peanut butter
  2. Celery stalk with peanut butter, hemp, cacao nibs, sprouts (or any combination)
  3. Sliced carrots, cucumbers, avocado, broccoli, or other vegetables, with or without dip
  4. Raw chocolate loaded with coconut oil and nuts – a great source of minerals, energy and satisfaction!
  5. Leftovers from the night before
  6. Hardboiled eggs
  7. Sliced meat roll ups
  8. Cabbage leaf roll up (fillings could be peanut butter and sprouts, or cottage cheese)
  9. Organic cheese slices
  10. Organic plain yogurt with berries, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, chia seeds and honey
  11. Smoothie (more about the possibilities later)
  12. Homemade trail mix with raw organic coconut flakes, cacao nibs, raw nuts, organic raisins, seeds, etc.
  13. For a treat: organic corn chips with organic salsa!
  14. For special treats: organic fair trade dark chocolate
  15. Arden’s Garden (or other healthy ethical option) juice
  16. Baked sweet potato

There are many options, but I find it is key to plan in advance and be prepared for when the snack attack hits you.  What are your best healthy snack options?

Deviant Chocolate Mousse Cake

Posted on by
1
Minolta DSC

Raw cacao powder – packed full of nutrition

deviant |ˈdēvēənt|, adjective, departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior: deviant behavior | a deviant ideology.

Ingredients:

  • ½ Cup cacao butter
  • 1/3 Cup cacao powder
  • 4 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs (organic)
  • zest and juice from one lime (organic)
  • pinch salt
  • almonds (raw, organic)

Method:

Add desired amount of almonds to a food processor, process until they are the consistency you desire. Dump all the rest of the ingredients except the cacao butter and process to blend.

Melt the cacao butter over low heat, or in a double boiler. Remove from the heat and add to the food processor and blend with the rest of the ingredients.

Oil a glass dish or pie pan with coconut oil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  When it is done the top should be slightly cracked but the middle will still be soft and wiggly.   Allow to cool and then refrigerate overnight.  If you are very aware of presentation, you can decorate with sliced or chopped almonds and cacao powder on top before serving.

Commentary:

I doubled the recipe when I made this for Thanksgiving Eve 2013.  The cacao butter was REALLY REALLY hard, so I didn’t manage to use the full amount required. I added some coconut oil to make up for the lack of cacao butter. Of course, I didn’t measure anything (except the can of coconut milk, because that was really easy), so the results are only approximate! I doubled the recipe and processed it in a food processor half at a time.  I cooked it for longer at a lower temperature. After cooking, I put it outside to cool because it was about at freezing temperature where we were.  It didn’t have time to set overnight in the fridge, so when it was time for serving, it wasn’t at its peak.  The overall response was tolerable, but I enjoyed it.  It looked more promising than it tasted. A bit more honey (not sure I used the full amount) would have made it better for some of the less whole, natural food enthusiasts amongst us.  After tasting the batter, I must confess that I added some cream cheese, about 5 Tablespoons, to the double batch, because it seemed as if that might give the taste an umpph. Since there was some leftover, I enjoyed eating it the next day after it had set in the fridge. There weren’t too many takers for my Deviant Mousse Cake the following day, but it was also Thanksgiving with a lot of sweet treats around to choose from!

I would definitely make this again and may experiment with quantities.  I might also try to make a nut/date crust for the bottom.

I named this cake because I loosely based it on a recipe I found at http://spirithealers.blogspot.com/2013/11/gluten-free-chocolate-mousse-cake-with.html

but I deviated significantly from it.  It was also a big deviation from the rather mainstream types of mousse or cheese cakes which my audience was more familiar with.  The benefits of raw cacao, cacao butter and coconut are certainly deviant thinking for many of us!

What is your favorite healthy treat?

 

Snack Attack

Posted on by
Reply

HoneyOk, I admit I sometimes get those cravings for something rich, sweet and gooey.  We have a family recipe for chocolate chip cookies with oats that are legendary. Breaking that habit is hard.

Trying to go gluten zero is not easy.  Gluten free and sugar-free is taking it to another level.  I haven’t even begun to go dairy free, although I do choose raw organic milk in small quantities!

Making wise food choices sometimes seems like a battle.  So, here is something I tried that I think might become a new go-to food!

  • ½ Tablespoon peanut butter
  • ½ Tablespoon coconut oil
  • ¼ Tablespoon local organic honey
  • A sprinkle of cacao nibs

Mix together and savor!  Enjoy it with a cup of your best hot healthy beverage, or just a cup of tea!

I try to use mostly natural organic ingredients.  I like my peanut butter freshly ground from organic peanuts. If you can’t eat peanuts, other nut butters would work.

Double the batch if you want to share.  Or encourage your kids to make their own delicious, healthy, natural treat.  A little goes a long way to fight those cravings!

What are your favorite ways to fight the sugar cravings?

Coaching for Health

Posted on by
3

Fruit FaceIn the area of health we are bombarded with information, often competing and contradictory.  There are powerful forces at work to keep us confused, sick and dependent.

Most of us don’t have time to delve into the latest research and make sense of it.  Only when we, or someone we love is faced with a huge health challenge, do we get the motivation necessary to delve into the details and research what is truly healthy.  We also get the motivation needed to follow our new knowledge with action.

I have spent hours researching various aspects of health.  My body is my personal science experiment.  I put what I learn into practice as a part of my research.  I love sharing what I learn with others.

Children’s Health

I am particular passionate about raising healthy children.  I began my healthy parenting journey 31 years ago with reading Adele Davis’ book, Let’s Have Healthy Children and continue to endorse her approach to helping our children reach their unique potential through breastfeeding and providing whole foods in as close to their natural state as possible, while avoiding processed foods.  In our present day, I think Mrs Davis would be shocked by the state of children’s health in our country where childhood cancer, auto-immune diseases, diabetes, behavior disorders, etc are all reaching epidemic proportions.

I raised five children who are making wise nutritional choices as adults and parents themselves.  Feeding a family is a very difficult job in today’s world with so many quick, easy, tasty options tempting us.  Parents today face an enormously difficult task in raising healthy children.  Join me in a Journey of discovering optimal health for every member of the family.

A coach is someone trained and devoted to guiding others into increased competence, commitment, and confidence.  I’d love to help you reach your personal health goals.

How do you implement and encourage healthy nutrition in your family? Please let me know your ideas in the comments section below.

It Starts with the Shopping

Eating Healthy – It Starts With the Shopping

Posted on by
2

738926_27892725Imagine if you could hire someone to do all your shopping and healthy food preparation for you!  What a luxury!  What a thrill.

This is the reason we often find ourselves going out for a meal, whether in a restaurant or fast food, because we want someone else to do the work for us.

So, if you could get a real live person to take over this part of your life, what instructions would you give them?

“Just make me healthy food.”

This instruction might not be enough.  We all have different definitions of health. Many distinctively unhealthy fast food outlets promote the health of their products!

Most of us at some point have assumed that the food products available in the grocery store are safe – we do have an organization called the Food and Drug Association, which is there (paid by our tax dollars) to make sure the options are safe and healthy – right?

Every family has their own interpretation of ‘healthy food.’  Every mother teaches her children food preferences.

So, how do we navigate the maze and figure out what healthy food means in 2013? If someone was shopping and preparing food for me, this is what I would instruct them to buy and prepare:

My short list of ‘NO’:

  • GMO products (corn, sugar beets, soy components, unless specified non-GMO);
  • HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) containing products (HFCS is GMO, so it would be excluded anyway);
  • Partially hydrogenated fats;
  • Pork;
  • Most processed foods (or >5 ingredients).

YES:

  • Lots of healthy fats: coconut oil, olive oil (EVOO), avocado, wild fish, clean meat, raw clean nuts and seeds;
  • Organic vegetables (celery, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, leafy greens, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, peas, summer squash, zucchini, etc.);
  • Organic fruit (apples, bananas, limes, anything seasonal);
  • Ginger, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, Himalayan salt, other herbs;
  • Superfoods:  cacao powder, maca powder, spirulina, cacao nibs, goji berries, aloe, bee products, hemp seeds, chia seeds, etc.;
  • Limited grains:  oats, rice, quinoa, wheat or wheat flour (all organic if possible);
  • For a treat:  organic corn chips, organic salsa, fresh vegetable juices

Once you get all the good ingredients home, then the fun part of figuring out how you are going to prepare it begins!

Some people say, eating healthy is so expensive, but I remind them that cancer is being expensive; being sick and disabled is VERY expensive.

What principles help you with your grocery shopping?  I’d love to hear from anyone who has transitioned even further on the road to health and is growing some of their own organic foods!

Coaching for a Healthier Family

Ideas for Improving Your Family’s Nutrition

Posted on by
Reply

A big key is:   Gradually, with love

1.  Involve your family as much as possible.  Don’t try to be the big heavy coming in with a massive overhaul to the current status quo.  Nobody likes that guy.

  • Brainstorm together what are your favorite meals to make at home. Start with an open-ended question:  What are your favorite meals we’ve made at home? What are your memories of good meal experiences? What meals do you choose at restaurants?
  • Encourage their cooking efforts and make it a priority to give them opportunities to explore food preparation for themselves and the family.  Start early, but keep your expectations small and allow freedom.
  • Cook together as a family.  Plan a meal that requires everyone’s help in chopping, etc.  Some good group cooking meal ideas:  make your own pizza (even the dough is simple when doing the work with friends!), tacos, sushi (haven’t mastered that one yet), etc.

2. Pick your battles.  Make a list of EVERYTHING that is important that you would like to change.  Brainstorm (maybe by yourself or with a friend, so your family doesn’t know all the intel).  Get ALL your ideas written down.  Take a deep breath; don’t feel overwhelmed because there is so far to go.  Prioritize your list and start with one or two things at the top of the list.

3. Model healthy choices.  What you do speaks far more loudly than any lecture you could give.  But don’t have a ‘holier than thou’ attitude.  Gently explain the choices you are making and why – when the opportunity arises.

4. Catch them doing something good.  Affirm healthy choices that you see: even if they choose to drink a glass of water.  Find something!  People will move in a positive direction if it is encouraged.

5. Exercise together.  Set up family dates to go for a walk, play Frisbee golf, hike, etc.  If it helps increase enthusiasm and participation, encourage the kids to invite friends for the activity.

Caution: Don’t set the bar so high – for yourself or others – or you may be tempted to give up before you even get started.  Baby steps in the right direction will lead to bigger and bigger steps and before you know it, you will look back and see that you have made tremendous progress!

Please share some ideas that you have found easy to implement to help your family improve their nutrition in the comments.  We’d all like to get some new ideas!

Remember, to enjoy the journey!

Some really good thoughts about food…

Posted on by
Reply

I have grown to respect Marc Davids ideas about food after attending parts of his on-line Psychology of Eating course.  If you have ever struggled with your weight or desired to make changes, here is a great article that might help you see your situation in a new light and give you some perspective that will be highly beneficial in achieving the results you desire!

I’m still learning…

A Happy Dietary Ending