What Do You Love About Christmas?

What do you love about Christmas?  As we hustle around with our to do lists, (check, check, check) we can find ourselves mumbling and complaining of the many things that fill our days and our nights this time of year.  Let’s take a moment to reflect on what makes our heart sing at Christmas.  One of the joys I have is arriving home each day and looking in the mailbox to spot any envelopes addressed by hand.  I love Christmas cards!  It is the one time of year to connect with those who have moved away or family that no longer lives close by.  As a child who grew up in 4 states and went to 5 schools before moving to another state to go to college and yet another state to get married and start a family and two more states after that to raise a family, I have friends and family scattered all over.  Let me reiterate, I love Christmas cards!  I love the ones with the pictures and the notes that give me a snapshot into their lives.  I know with Facebook, we can stay connected all the time, but there is something magical about everyone stopping for a moment to wish the ones near and dear to them blessings of health and peace and prosperity.

My Mother used to sell Christmas cards and there were huge binders full of samples that filled our kitchen table.  She did it to raise money for Easter Seals.  She must have raised a lot of money because she spent a lot of time on the phone pitching the cards. After school I would find her sitting at the kitchen table with a neighbor, books open, glittering angel wings or red shiny Christmas balls catching my eye, only adding to the anticipation of Christmas morning.  When the day came for her to address, stamps and seal her personal cards, it was a production.  She would line us up with a sponge and a small water bowl with instructions to dab just the right amount of moisture on the envelope so it would close, but not ruin the card.  It was a mini cottage industry for a day.  Watching the stack of cards signed and sealed grow taller gave an amazing sense of accomplishment.  Family traditions are the things that make each Christmas touch your soul in places that make all the check lists worth it.

I am offering a recipe that is not part of a family tradition.  We get so overwhelmed with sugar, sugar, and more sugar at Christmas, I decided to offer a delicious dessert that is sweetened naturally without sugar.  Maybe you can start a new tradition in your family. 

Blessings of Health and Peace and Joy to you and all your loved ones!

Polynesian Pineapple Date Bars

Filling:

2 cups chopped dates ( I get fresh Medjool and chop myself)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

21/2 cups crushed pineapple with juice

Base:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup cold pressed canola oil

Cook filling over low heat until thickened

MIx dry base ingredients

Mix wet base ingredients in a separate bowl and add cooked dates

Combine both mixtures

oil a 9x12 glass pan

Press 1/2 of the base mixture into glass pan

spread date filling over top

Top with remaining base mixture

Bake 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes

Bon Appetite!

What's Not to Love about the Fall?

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

Warm nurturing colors against a backdrop of blue that can boast neither Duke nor Carolina blue.  It is God’s true blue that not only expresses His handiwork but His faithfulness.  The intensity of the contrast of the reds and gold against that blue is accentuated when the sun’s rays play their part to create depth and focus to draw our thoughts inward.  In stillness there is strength and purpose.   Wake up before dawn and gander outside and draw your attention upward.  Your vision will behold some of the awesomeness that inspired Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

I got married in the fall 35 years ago.  As I think about my marriage metaphorically I picture an oak tree whose roots go down deep.  As the seasons change in our lives from birthing and raising children to growing businesses to empty nesters there have been storms we have had to weather.  There have been strong winds that have caused the tree to sway and break branches.  There has been sunshine and warmth that has brought on new growth and greening of the leaves.  And then there has been the fall, when the vibrant colors remind me of the hope within all of us for a life full of creative possibilities!  

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

I love soup and this is the time of year I love to make a pot of it on the weekend and have it warm me up throughout the week. I grew up on Campbell’s tomato and chicken noodle soup as a kid.  I never experienced the depth of flavors of homemade soup until I married my husband. My first ever soup that I made was lentil soup from our first cookbook, Cooking Creatively with Natural Foods 
By Edith and Sam Brown(recipe posted in my January 2012 blog).  

I want to share with you my Fall Harvest Soup because it conjures all of the feel good feelings about fall with its autumn colors and unique taste.  So take some time this weekend to peel and chop, simmer and spice.  Then venture out into the woods and let the fall colors wrap you a blanket as you watch your feet take a step forward and another and another after that on your journey home.  You will be delighted to know the pot of soup on the stove is waiting for you!

Bon Appetite!

Fall Harvest Soup

4 lbs. of orange veggies & apples: 

Add a dollop of plain NF Greek yogurt or
plain soy yogurt before serving!

- 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
- 2 to 3 sweet potatoes (about 1lb)
- 2 apples (about ½ lb)
- 4 to 6 Carrots about ½ lbs)
2 quarts liquid: 

- 1 quart vegetable broth and 1 quart water, or reserved liquid

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ground ginger or 1 TBLS freshly minced or grated

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp curry

Salt and pepper

1 cup 100% apple juice (local freshly made is best!)

Peel and roughly chop the first 4 ingredients – the 4# of orange veggies (and apples).  You can cook them two ways:

1. Boil in a large pan with the water for about 30 minutes or until tender, reserving the cooking water to add to soup.

      2.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 45- 60 minutes

Heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large soup stainless steel pot.

Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. 

Add seasonings.  (Ginger, curry and cinnamon)

Add the soup stock and water (or reserved liquid from boiling the veggies/apples)

Add the cooked veggies and apples

Heat thoroughly.

If you have an immersion blender you can puree the soup right in the pot.

If not add part of the soup to a blender and puree, continue in stages until all of the soup is pureed.

Thin with apple juice until desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.

  

Heat and serve. 

Garnish with toasted sunflower seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, and chives.

May add a dollop of Plain NF Greek yogurt or plain soy yogurt to the middle of the soup bowl before adding seeds.

Swimming & Summer Salads

The lazy, hazy days of summer are approaching and I can't wait.  I don't know what happens to me but when June first rolls around all I want to do is hit the beach, sit by a pool, ride my bike and forget about the grind of work.  I guess those childhood memories of summer are etched deeply into my soul and the next three months become my time of yearning for peace and tranquility at a much slower pace than the other seasons.

As a kid we grew up in California and went to the beach every summer for 2 weeks.  Those were my favorite two weeks.  The rest of the time we swam in our backyard pool.  When I was 10 we moved to Connecticut and our family continued to beach it at the Jersey shore or Cape Cod.  When we weren't at the beach we swam on the swim team at our club.  The evenings consisted of "kick the can" or "touch football" in the streets with our neighborhood friends.

This past week I had the opportunity to revisit my childhood neighborhood and walk the streets I used to play in decades ago.  My favorite place was the reservoir where I could be found riding my bike for hours on end along the paths through the woods.  It was my sanctuary.

I really have no childhood memories of summer foods.  Remember, my mother hated to cook.  What I can recall is the smell of the charcoal as my dad cooked up steaks and burgers on Sunday evenings.  I also remember the Good Humor man who would ring his bell and we would drop everything, race home for a quarter and jump on our bikes and find him before his truck took him to a different hood.  My favorite was toasted coconut over vanilla ice cream on a stick.  Ah, sitting on the curb enjoying each mouthful was heavenly!

Memorial weekend marks the start of summer with the halfway point the 4th of July, and ends with Labor Day weekend. There are sure to be family reunions, baseball picnics and summer parties.  I have included the summer salad recipes that have been my go-to for the pot lucks that abound this time of year.  I always bring my bowl home empty.  Bon appetite!

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

5 TBL olive oil

1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 cup Veggie broth

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 TBL lime or lemon juice

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 cup cooked black beans

1 cup whole kernel corn

1 large tomato, diced

1 red sweet pepper, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

3 TBL cilantro, chopped

2 TBL fresh parsley, chopped

In large saucepan heat 1 TBL oil over medium heat.  Add quinoa & stir till toasted & aromatic, approx. 5 minutes.  Stir in broth, cumin & salt.  Reduce heat to low & simmer, covered until all liquid is absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, let stand 15 minutes.

In medium bowl whisk 4 TBL olive oil, lime juice & pepper.  Stir in remaining ingredients.

Serve on bed of greens at room temperature.

Eat For Life Hummus

2 -3 cloves of fresh garlic

4 cups cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ fresh squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup water (reserved from cooking the beans)

1 tsp cumin

¼ cup tahini

One my favorite brands of tahini!

1 tsp your favorite dried herb or 1 Tbl fresh (oregano, basil, rosemary)

In food processor chop the garlic with steel blade till stick to sides.

Stop machine and scrape minced garlic back to center and add beans and cumin.

Process to a course puree, then stop machine and scrape the sides again.

Mix the oil and lemon juice in a separate bowl.

Slowly add the liquid mixture to the beans as machine is running.

Add any fresh or dried herbs you prefer.

Add tahini and process until the hummus is smooth.

If mixture is too thick, thin with reserved water or plain water.

Serve with cucumber slices, baby carrots, celery, and sweet peppers.

The garbanzo beans and sesame seeds (tahini) are high in calcium.

Hummus will keep 3-4 days in fridge.  It is great also spread on whole grain wraps with fresh veggies.

Desserts WITHOUT Sugar!

When my husband, Ken and I first moved to Tennessee and purchased our land to do organic gardening and make functional pottery, we met several other artisans from other parts of the country.  One of our new friends was a couple from Michigan and Kris; the wife was an amazing folk singer. She actually sang at our wedding, Beatle John Lennon’s, “All you Need is Love”.

When we had potlucks on Sunday afternoons she would often entertain us with her acoustic guitar and the lyrics of many of our favorite folk singers of the time. One of my favorite songs Kris sang was Judy Collins’ song “Cook with Honey”. 

(CHORUS)

I always cook with honey

To sweeten up the night

We always cook with honey

Tell me, how's your appetite

For some sweet love

I remember hearing that song and deciding I would never cook with sugar again and only natural sweeteners of nature like honey, maple syrup and molasses.  I doubt if Judy or Kris knew the impact the lyrics would have on setting my standard for sweets.

I offer you a recipe made from natural fruit, natural dates and wonderful nuts. It is not original, but this recipe is from the wholefoods.com website.  My son actually found it.  He was in the grocery store and noticed how fresh and delicious the pineapples looked.  So he got out his smart phone and went to the Whole Foods web site and searched for pineapple recipes. So easy and completely gluten free, dairy free, egg free, sugar free dessert! Voila – delicious!

CINNAMON ROASTED PINEAPPLE WITH MACADAMIA NUT CREAM         

Serves 4

The natural sweetness of pineapple and dates and the richness of macadamia nuts make this palate-pleasing dessert, but it's also something you could enjoy at breakfast—try it over hot oatmeal.

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw unsalted macadamia nuts or cashews 
1/3 cup chopped pitted dates 
1 cup boiling water 
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method

In a small bowl, combine nuts and dates with boiling water and let soak 30 minutes. 
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange pineapple in a single layer over the paper and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roast until pineapple is very tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. 

Pour nuts, dates and soaking water into a blender and add vanilla and salt. Blend until very smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender once or twice. Serve drizzled over the warm pineapple.

Nutrition

Per serving: 330 calories (170 from fat), 19g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 44g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 33g sugar), 3g protein

Celebrate Spring - Nourish Your Seeds

This week celebrated the first days of Spring! 

As I sat on my front porch this morning to watch the sunrise, the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance were actually blue.  But today the blue was like a hue I had never experienced.  It was spa blue, the color of Calm.  It was as if God painted it Himself by hand just for me.

Spring to me always evokes feelings of recommitment to hopes and dreams and reconnection to our true self.  More than the frenzy of New Year’s Resolutions after a month of holidays, spring is an awakening of life within our souls, yearning for purpose.  Just as the early shoots of spring emerge from the earth and point their way upward to the sun, so too our hearts long for that resurgence of nourishment and growth.

Virginia Bluebell's
A sign of spring's arrival!

One of my favorite things to do in early spring on our farm in Tennessee was to take walks in the woods looking for wildflowers.  I knew the spots to hike to find the Dutchmen britches, the Indian paintbrush and Virginia bluebell.  But my favorite was a spot by the waterfall deep in the woods where there was a cluster of Narcissus.

When I reached that spot, I knew that winter was over and spring was here!  I would spread out on my back like an angel in the moss and listen to the water as it hit the rocks and gaze at the white petals of the flower.  In my spirit I knew that all was well with my soul.

We are like that little seed, and when given the right nutrients and elements will prosper as well.

This spring do something to connect with the earth.  Get your feet on a trail or hands in the dirt.  Plant some flowers or herbs.  Get adventurous and plant a garden.  When you see those little seedlings sprout up out of the dirt, you are amazed at something so simple, yet so amazing.  Within that little seed is everything the plant needs to become a tomato, a daisy or some basil.  All it needs is the earth, the rain and the sun and it will grow.  We are like that little seed, and when given the right nutrients and elements will prosper as well.  This spring dig deep into your soul and discover what you need to blossom and bear fruit in your life.

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken” Oscar Wilde

Granola

When I think of the farm and hiking in our hills I think of our homemade granola, that I made every spring and summer for years.  In the fall and winter we made oatmeal.  Remember oats are great for lowering cholesterol and their low glycemic index makes them a great breakfast to keep your blood sugar stable.  This recipe is an adaption of my original recipe.

Bon Appetite! 

GRANOLA

3 cups rolled oats

½ cup ground flax seed

1 ½ cup sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup raisins

6 TBLS Natural Peanut Butter

2/3 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  I like a wooden bowl.  Heat the peanut butter and agave nectar on low until blended.  Add the vanilla extract and then add to the dry ingredients.  Blend thoroughly with your hands to coat the oat mixture.  Spread out on a large baking sheet or pan and bake at 300 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes turning once, until lightly toasted.  Dump out on your clean counter to cool.  If you like a clumpier granola, let it cool in the pan.  Let it cool completely before you store in glass jars.

Nutritional data:

Serving size ½ cup

Calories 234

Fat 13 grams

Carbs 25 grams

Fiber 9 grams

Protein 7.5 grams

Asparagus & Chocolate

I spent the weekend in Williamsburg and everywhere I went restaurants and health food stores were promoting asparagus and chocolate, not necessarily in the same dish, but as aphrodisiacs for Valentines Day. I realized that until just a few years ago I hated both asparagus and chocolate. 

Raw, fresh asparagus beats soggy,
 canned asparagus any day of the week! 

My only experience with asparagus was out of a can in my youth, pretty mushy and stringy for a kid to embrace.  Sometimes my Mother would hide it and disguise it in her asparagus casserole.  I remember there being cream of mushroom soup, cheese (probably Velveeta cheese food) and I think bread bits.  I thought it was nasty, but my sister loved it. 

My next experience with asparagus was in 1978 when we bought a 250 acre farm and dug a huge trench and planted lots and lots of asparagus.  I figured maybe if I labored for it I would like it.  No, still not a favorite. But then a few years ago I tried roasting it.  Oh my gosh – it became a different vegetable.  Now it is on my top five green veggies!  Little soldiers all lined up that taste sweet and crunchy! (see recipe below)

Worlworth's 5 and 10 Cent Store
A classic when I was growing up!

Now maybe you can relate to the asparagus story – I mean who likes stringy and mushy.  But chocolate?  I doubt I have one reader who doesn’t like chocolate.  Growing up I never liked chocolate.  I remember when I was a youngster in Southern California, my sister and I would walk several blocks to the Woolworth's 5 & 10 candy store every Saturday with our allowance.  You could buy a candy bar for a nickel.  My sister would always get a chocolate bar, Snickers, Almond Joy or Butterfingers.  I ALWAYS got a Payday.  Fast forward five years and we are now living in the suburbs of Hartford, CT.  My friend Susie Gates and I would ride our bikes a few miles to Friendly’s ice cream every Saturday with our allowance. You could buy a Sundae for a dollar.  She would get hot fudge and I would ALWAYS get butterscotch.

My favorite DARK chocolate! I first tried
it in Italy 5 years ago and I was hooked.

I even took my one of my daughters to Hershey, PA to go through the Hershey Museum and did not eat any chocolate.  Because I did not like chocolate, UNTIL I went to Italy five years ago and had European DARK Chocolate.  It was a different breed of chocolate and I became hooked.

So this Valentine’s Day enjoy your DARK Chocolate and your Roasted Asparagus and remember that “we can LOVE each other because HE first loved us”. (1John 4:19)

Roasted Asparagus

Purchase tender spears – thicker ones are tougher and less sweet

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Rinse the asparagus clean

Snap each spear near the bottom, the woody part knows where to snap off.

Delicious, healthy & easy to prepare.

Line up like soldiers on your cookie tray

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Place in oven and cook 20 -25 minutes turning once after 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate

The darker the better

Organic is best

Fair trade is great

With nuts is divine

With cherries or raspberries is the best

One square (or 60 calorie piece per day)

120 calories is a splurge!!

Control – there is always tomorrow!

Year 2012, Week 3, Day 20

How is your New Year’s Resolution going?  Have you started yet?  Are you getting weary yet?  OR are you forging ahead, on fire, ready for change?  Ready for a NEW YOU!  Let 2012 be your year of Jubilee!

They say it takes 21 days to make a new habit! You can move from conscious non-compliance to conscious compliance and eventually to unconscious compliance.  It actually becomes PART OF YOU!  The down side is it takes only 3 days to break a good habit and go back to the path of least resistance.  So each day you can accomplish your nutrition and fitness goals you get further down the path to sustainability.

Change is not easy.  Just like water, we take the path of least resistance.  I think of it as a river, a mighty force of nature that is going to chart its own course.  Unless, of course, we build a damn.  Changing behavior is like building a damn, one sand bag, and one stone at a time, until the water is re-routed.  Re-route yourself, one decision, one food choice, one workout at a time, until the path of least resistance is your path of unconscious compliance.

There are three key factors to staying on track as you re-route your journey to Optimal Health.

#1 – Mindful Eating – Eat food that supports your health vision.  Be conscious of not only what you put in your mouth but also why you are eating it.  Be aware of the quality and quantity of the food choices you make.  Plan, plan, plan on the front end so you are not stuck eating from the window of your car.

#2 – Find something you LIKE to do for movement and exercise.  Schedule it in your day just as you would schedule a dentist appointment or a haircut.  It is non-negotiable!

#3 – Prioritize your rest and relaxation.  When you are not on a racetrack, then planning and scheduling healthy living becomes more realistic.  Learn to discern the difference between the important and the urgent.

I purchase my beans in bulk at my
local health food store
(Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op). 

One of the ways I plan for healthy eating is to make homemade soup or stew every weekend.  This provides at least one evening meal and a few lunch heat-ups.  Legumes are a perfect food, high in plant-based protein, good fat, and high in fiber.  The low glycemic index gives you long lasting energy and helps stabilize blood sugar, which helps stabilize your mood.  The high fiber content keeps you fuller longer and helps lower cholesterol and regulates elimination.  What’s not to love about beans?

If you grew up in the North like me, you never had beans.  If you grew up in the South you had plenty of them, the Southern way – cooked in fat back with lots of salt and sugar.  Here are a few healthy ways to use legumes in hearty winter soup recipes.  Serve with fresh bread and a green salad and you have my all time favorite meal!!

It is important to soak the beans…  Overnight if possible, but at least for several hours.  Rinse them before you soak them and after you soak them to get all the dirt off.  Soaking also helps cut down on the cooking time, and since beans take so long to cook, up to 3 hours without a pressure cooker, we are all about saving time.  Finally, soaking the beans cuts down on gas, which are the main reason people complain about why they don’t like beans. The indigestible complex sugars on the outer coating of the bean, which is responsible for the gas, is removed through soaking.  So get a strainer and rinse and soak and rinse and soak and learn to appreciate Mother Nature’s gift to you.  Inexpensive, fiber rich, high protein, plant based complex carbohydrate that comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and tastes.

Bon appetite!

Lentil Stew

Every great soup starts with fresh onions!

Eat For Life - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 Tbls olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp marjoram

1 tsp basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh)
2 TBLS vegetarian soup blend dissolved in 2 quarts of water

2 cups dry lentils rinsed and drained

Garnish with: (optional)

A squirt of soy sauce

2 tbsp Nutritional cheesy yeast

Heat the oil in a large soup pan.

Saute onion and garlic, add celery and carrots and herbs.

Next add the tomatoes, water, lentils and soup blend.

Simmer 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.

White Cannellini Bean Soup
EAT FOR LIFE - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 TBLS olive oil
1 large onion diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh rosemary sprigs –  1 TBLS fresh – 1 tsp dried

Salt and pepper to taste
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale leaves (6-8 leaves)
2 TBLS veggie soup blend dissolved in 2 quart of water
3 cans white cannellini beans (or 2 cups of dried beans soaked and cooked)
½ cup bulgar

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil
Add the rosemary and salt and pepper
Add the soup blend to the water & add to pot
Add the beans, washed and drained
Add the tomatoes
Add the diced kale leaves
Add the bulgar and heat thoroughly for
20 to 30 minutes

Optional:
Partially blend by pulsing with an immersion blended
OR add part of the soup to a blender and pulse and add back to pot 

Split Pea Soup
EAT FOR LIFE - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 TBLS olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots diced
2-3 celery stalks diced
1 tsp dried rosemary, 1TBLS fresh
2 quart water
2 TBLS veggie soup blend
3 white potatoes diced
2 cups dried split peas rinsed and soaked
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic on olive oil
Add carrots and celery
Add rosemary and sauté
Add soup blend to water and add to pot
Add potatoes and dried split peas

Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 1 - 2 hours until peas are tender
Garnish with nutritional yeast and Bragg’s liquid aminos
Serve with corn bread and salad!