Back to the grind.

It's Monday and I am back to the grind. I got a phone call this morning at 4 a.m. from my sister saying that my mother had a heart attack and was in the hospital. This was enough to keep me awake for the rest of the morning. Needless to say, I am on barely any sleep. Please keep my mom in your prayers. This is the second time that she has had a heart related promblem. This time was way worse than the last. I am staying here in Athens and working until she gets released, then I will make the decision whether or not to go home. When things like this happen it makes me feel stressed and helplessness. Living a few hours away causes me to feel too far to be there when needed. It could always be worse. I could live across the country but when you want to be there, you want to be there fast.

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up just in case my posts are all over the place this week.

With all that being said lets talk about food when you are stressed out and have a lot of things on your mind...

I will not lie....This morning when I got the phone call and was barely awake. When I got the news I was very upset. I could feel my heart pumping and I knew that there was no way for me to go back to bed. There is nothing worse than getting a call in the middle of the night from a family member. As soon as I saw it was my sister calling, I knew that bad news. After talking with her for a few minutes and pacing around my kitchen, I caught myself grabbing for things out of the fridge to calm me. At that time I didn't care or even stop to think about what I was doing. Now, after getting to work and have had my coffee, I am re tracking my steps this morning. I didnt go on a binge or anything. I didn't stuff my mouth with things like cookies or cake when I could have. Instead, I went for a whole grain Dr. Kracker. Two things come to mind when I think about what I reached for this morning. One, I am so proud of myself that I could have but didn't go for the real comfort foods that I still have left over. This means that I may have successfully trained myself to actually DEAL with my problems instead of feed them. Two: Why a whole grain cracker? Well, I think that the cracker box was right in clear site and I think that I wanted something that wouldn't make me feel worse after getting such bad news. I think that this brings up a great topic...

Place foods that are healthy and good for you in eye's view. Reachable foods that are low calorie and healthy will be easier for you to choose, even in stressful times. This made my stressful morning a no brainer when it came to me eating something when I felt like I needed a little something to sooth my tummy. This is something that I think you should consider in your pantries, cabinets and drawers. I am not a fan of hiding foods. To be truthful, when I hide foods it just makes me feel like I am cheating (and I try not to exclude and one food group from my diet). Instead of feeling like you are sneaking around eating that piece of dark chocolate just eat it and be done with it. If you hide things and make you feel like you are being "bad" then it is just going to feed that emotion and before you know it you are playing games with yourself and food. Instead, try strategically placing your food. I do this and it works for me. I also find that it helps me stay organized which is bonus! Here is a picture of one cabinet that makes perfect since to me.

This photos are not of my pantry, it makes mine look awful. In this pantry notice what is eye level.

I like this picture because one of the first things that I noticed was the fizzy water. I would totally grab one of those to fill my stomach up and get hydrated as well. Notice you don't see, cookies, chips or candy in the middle sections.

Here is another pantry that I liked a lot. This one was divided up into sections. Nothing bad here and in fact I don't really see anything that I could grab and eat without using it for actually preparing food. This is a good idea. Eating a clean diet is great because 90% of the foods that I eat are not packaged and need to be eaten within a few days of buying. Fresh fruits and veggies are always on hand and usually chopped up and in a ready to go container.

If you are not a pantry kinda person and usually go for the fridge when stressed, anxious or just plain bored. Make sure that you have fresh fruits and veggies to get your fix. I always have chopped cooked veggies and chicken ready for me at anytime. I can pair these two ingrediants and make just about anything I want. I am a emotional eater like so many and I just had to figure out what works for me. I grab a banana or some fresh fruit if I have a "craving" for something sweet. If I want something crunchy I go for celery and if I want something savory I go for the veggies and chicken with salsa. This is what works for me.

Something else that works for me is having a designated spot. I have two other roommates and I was the one that said "I hope that this is not weird but I need to have the fridge and pantry divided up into our own spots." I wanted this for two reasons. One, Karen and I eat a lot of the same foods and I didn't want to accidentally eat some of her food if it weren't mine. Secondly, I wanted to be able to know exactly where my food was so that I could see if I needed to re stock so that I always had a plan for those days I would come home tired from the gym, stressed out from work or those bored evenings when it is a rest day and you are trying to have a low key evening. third, I am not a vegetarian and I think that if you eat meat and someone in your household doesnt, you should be considerate and not out your meat next to their foods. Some people are very sensitive to these sorts of things.

There is a method to my madness!

Another tip that I have is utilize your freezer. I almost never go for the freezer. To me the freezer=work. That means that whatever I grab out of there I have to prepare. I always think that if it is the freezer it is going to take a while to thaw and must be assembled. Not completely....I use the freezer for things like my chocolate stash. I put my chocolate in there because it allows for it to be cold and fresh and I always forget to look in the freezer when I am on the prowl. I sometimes freeze things that I know I would reach for. You can also have some fresh on hand and freeze the rest so that you don't have it all at once!

These are just tips that help me stay on track, when my mind may not be. Next time you are in the mood to rearrange or clean out your fridge and cabinets, make a effort to place foods strategically. Sometimes doing something as simple as moving those cookies from the middle shelf to the bottom shelf can make a world of difference.

I know that it has for me!

I will be having more news and reviews this week so stay tuned!

See you tomorrow!

-Heather

The day after...

I know that I said that I would not be posting until Monday however I just couldnt stay away from you!!! I wanted to re-cap my amazing Thanksgiving. It was one of the best Thanksgivings that I have ever had. I didnt spend it with family this year as (you can read in yesterdays post) they had to work and decided to order in. I decided, that wouldnt stop me! I was to make an amazing Thanksgiving that was SUPER healthy and spend it with one of my most favorite people! The two of us really had a blast. The re-cap begins!

I woke up at around 9:00 (late for me) and decided to have a regular breakfast. So often people on Thanksgiving starve themselves all day knowing that they are going to pig out. They THINK that they are saving themselves calories and allowing themselves to REALLY enjoy the food because they will be hungry. What really happens is, it is time to eat, your body is already in starvation mode, you eat a massive amount of food (twice as much as you would normally eat if you were to eat earlier in the day) and everything that you ate sits there like a brick. This is not my idea of a happy Thanksgiving. I however decided that I would go about things as I usually do.

After I had my coffee I had some greek yogurt, granola, pb2 and jam mixed together. I wanted to eat some protein but something light. I knew that I was going to go for a run to start the day. I was so glad to do so. The streets were dead and I was able to relieve some stress. I knew I still had a ton of cooking to do and didnt want to be a reck in the kitchen. 4.58 miles later I was home. I had plans to start entertaining at 1:00 and by the time I got home I saw that it was already noon. I started running around the house to take a shower and get in the mode of cooking and then stopped. I said to myself "This is Thanksgiving, just relax and enjoy it." So, I picked up the phone and asked Pete if he could come by at 2:00 instead. He was happy to oblige and in fact was running a little late as well so this allowed me to have more time and even get in 30 minutes of yoga! I was relieved.

After yoga and a hot shower I was ready. I knew I had about a hour and a half to do the simple appetizers that I wasnt to serve and get the marinade done for the hens so that they could go into the fridge for a few hours. The appetizers were made and here is a snapp shot of the bitesize treats!
On the yellow plate have rice crackers, sliced apple, goat cheese, ginger preserves and fig and preserves.
On the blue plate have endive stuffed brochette and chopped walnuts. Peaking in the background...A persimmon.

These were accompanied by New Age sparkling wine and these gems.
Chocolate pomegranate seeds with sesame. I gave you all my super easy recipe on my last post. Boy were these gooooood!

After I served these and had a glass of wine, it was time to start cooking. I got the Cornish Hens stuffed and poured the marinade on top.

Cranberry, apple marinade stuffed with Quinoa and all the fixings! The first picture was "before" and the second is "after". So amazing.

While the hens were s-l-o-w-l-y cooking I got the kale prepared. Shelly brought me the most beautiful red and green kale straight from her garden! I was so excited to cook up a huge batch of this! I also got the sweet potatoes ready and put olive oil and sea salt on the white asparagus. I dont have pictures of this process. It wasnt all that exciting truthfully. HOWEVER, I have better! I have the final plated food. Are you ready??? I have some food porn for you.

Look at this!!! I ate this entire plate and still ate desert. To tell you the truth...I am still full. Here you have a breast of Cornish Hen baked with cranberry and apple with sides that included white asperagus, sweet potatoes, kale and quinoa dressing. This meal was out of this world. I ate it slowly and enjoyed every bite.

Of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without desert! I made pumpkin bread pudding!!!! The pomegranate seeds and walnuts accented it perfectly.

I popped this in the oven just as we sat down to eat so that it would be really warm. I put some whipped cream and drizzled peanut butter on top. OH MY GAWD! It was to die for. The perfect ending to a perfect day....
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I must admit, it is going to be pretty tough to beat this one!

See you Monday!
-Heather

Superior Salt

I am not going to lie....I like salt. I put salt on just about everything and I used a lot of it. It may be a southern thing but you don't sit down at the table or cook in the south without it. I cut back slowly over the years because I knew that these little granules were what caused me to hold water and feel puffy. I had no idea that in fact my food didn't taste like food, it tasted like salt. Over the years I tried everything to keep these little guys in my life. I tried the salt substitute and it tasted like chemicals. I tried seaweed because it has a salty taste but it just make all my food taste fishy.I tried non -iodized salt as this kinda goes through your blood stream and doesn't cause water retention. I have tried sea salt, which I thought was the best thing, next to nothing. Then my friends I tried Himalayan salt. The superior salt, by far.

Know What You are Eating: Are you aware that common Table Salt is an industrial by-product, stripped by chemical processing of all elements except sodium and chloride - detrimental to health in isolated form? Anti-caking and flow agents are added, yet the FDA Code 21CFR101.100(a)(3), does not require their disclosure to consumers. Table salt comes from the same lots as vacuum-refined industrial salt and is treated with caustic soda or lime to remove all traces of magnesium salts, which are important for health. Important minerals are removed because they provide large corporations with staggering profits for use in agricultural and industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, ammunition's, and other unsustainable industries.

After extreme chemical processing and heated at up to 1200 degrees, table salt cannot support health and no longer combines with our body fluids. Table salt can also cause a deficiency of important essential trace minerals, which are abundantly present in HimalaSalt.The fear of salt has arisen from consumer alerts that advise reduced consumption of salt and foods that have a high sodium content. It has more to do with quality vs. quantity. Consumers deserve to know that this is not the whole truth, and the FDA doesn't require salt companies to disclose to the consumer what's inside, like anti-caking and flow agents, mostly derived from aluminum.Pure salt is essential to life.

The body is made from water and minerals, and all critical functions of the body require these essential minerals and trace elements, which are no longer present in table salt or heat treated sea salt. Table salt is in most all processed, packaged foods, including drinks, candy, snacks, ice cream, cheese, processed meats, etc. Eliminating processed foods and table salt from your diet is important for health.

By using HimalaSalt, rich with over 80 essential trace elements and high in magnesium, calcium, and iron, you can obtain easily assimilated essential minerals and alkalize your body, which is baseline for wellness.Sea Salt comes from oceans that in our lifetime, have become heavily polluted. Growing dead zones and the mix of mercury, heavy metals, and toxins from agricultural chemicals, industrial runoff, nuclear waste, raw sewage and more, have compromised all ocean life. HimalaSalt™ has been protected for millions of year in the remote, pristine Himalayas, and is Pre-People, Pre-Pollution.

HimalaSalt contains a full spectrum of whole essential minerals and delicious flavor that supports well being and adds delicious flavor to sumptuous meals.It's important to have essential minerals for health.When a salt like HimalaSalt, that contains over 80 essential trace elements, is ingested, it immediately works with the saliva (amalese in particular) and begins digestion. The more present in the mouth, the better the digestion, which then continues in the stomach.

HimalaSalt has been known to lower blood pressure, decrease water retention, and supports the liver, kidneys and adrenals to work more efficiently. It also can boost the immune system.Do your body well and use HimalaSalt for optimal mineral absorption, it also opens up the flavor of food, and has significant health benefits over table salt and sea salt from polluted oceans.

As you can tell...I received salt! I have never been so happy to get it either. I opened the package and I was so surprised to see that I had not only gotten a sample, I got enough salt to last me a LONG time :)

I must admit, I try not to use that much these days and sometimes go weeks without adding it to my foods (I really enjoy tasting what foods are like pure). However there are times when it is needed and if I am going to shake the shaker, it better be the best. Being that it is this close to Thanksgiving, this package could not have come at a better time. My family has called my way of eating many things. "Different" (which is my mothers nice way of saying weird), "interesting", "Healthy" and the dreaded...."Bland". This year I am the one that will be cooking the meal for Thanksgiving and the last thing that I want is to have "bland" food on the table for my family. I am going to be using all the kitchen magic that I can to make it as healthy and gourmet as possible this year. I am not going to be using things like butter, bouillon cubes (which my family uses almost anytime something is boiled and it is LOADED with salt), oil or the dreaded fat back to flavor my foods this year. I will be using pretty, pink salt! I already know that my folks will be wondering what in the world is it but with the knowledge that I have about it, I doubt they will mine using it. Besides, trying something new is always good.



Let me tell you a bit about the company Himala Salt. They were so great to send me an array of products!


Green-worthy, gift-worthy grub! Himalayan salt is the world's finest sea salt and HimalaSalt™ is the purest form of Himalayan salt one can find, created 250 million years ago during a time of pristine environmental integrity and hand selected for the highest quality in color, clarity, and purity. You can now experience the healing benefits of Himalayan salt in fine grain, coarse grain, chunks, cubes, bricks, Himalayan cooking slabs or plates, salt bowls, and more. Visit our online store and try our Himalayan salt products, HimalaSalt™, Artisan Salt Plates, Organic Gourmet Peppercorns, HimalaRose Healing Rituals for the home spa, and our new HimalaRose Himalayan Salt Massage Stones.Our artisan Himalayan sea salt and organic peppercorns are made using 100% wind power, certified by the Green-e and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Being 100% Carbon Neutral helps us do our part to reduce global warming, while providing you with the highest quality natural Himalayan salt products and organic peppercorns, artisan crafted with the purest ingredients from nature. Our organic lines are 100% certified through QAI, and all products are certified Kosher/Kosher Passover through Organized Kashrush. Our eco-friendly packaging leaves the smallest footprint possible, being either 100% recycled, recyclable, refillable, and reusable. In addition, 5% of profits go to the environment. All products are allergen-free and gluten-free, and produced in our Certified Organic/Kosher facility in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of New England.

PLEASE go to their website to see for yourself!

http://www.himalasalt.com


Wow! This is a lot of info huh? I bet you didn't know that salt could be so complicated...I know that you are thinking that salt may not be the best gift in the world for Christmas but I am telling you, it is a beautiful thing. Look at one of the products that they gave me!



I got the most gorgeous square of pink Himalayan Salt that came with a Italian stainless steal grinder. AOL picked it as one of the top food gifts for the holidays, people have been blogging about it like crazy, and Phil Lempert, the Food Guru reviewed it on The Today Show, voting it one of the coolest products he's seen in a long time! I also got this:

Needless to say...I am hooked up in the salt department for a long time.Melissa Kushi, Founder and President of Sustainable Sourcing, has devoted much of her life's work to sustainable foods, farming, alternative health, and ethical business models. As a social entrepreneur she traveled some of the world's most remote and deeply cultured regions creating bamboo micro-industries in rural Africa, replacing coca crops with organic cotton in the jungles of Peru, and introduced heirloom soybean seed to organic farmers in the US. Thank you so very much Melissa for sending me this package. The quality is far superior than any other I have tried. I love it when the president of the company contacts me themselves. The customer service is outstanding! I got my package VERY quickly and it was well packaged. This company gets two thumbs up from me! Please go visit their site to read more info about their wonderful products and see what they have to offer. I tell you, you wont be sorry!

Next time you reach for white table salt think about it. Salt doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can be a lovely addition to your table and foods. As long as I have this pink, mineral filled product I wont feel a once of guilt. We are so close to Thanksgiving! I can almost taste my pumpkin pie! Tomorrow's post will be the last one until Monday (unless I just cant stay away from you guys) so get excited! I will be having a great one for sure!


Tootles!
-Heather

OH NUTS!

Good morning! It is Monday again and I tell you one thing...I am going nuts! I walked into the office today with a TON of work. I guess with a short week ahead and the upcoming holiday, people are trying to get business done. Needless to say...I am going nuts today, ways than just one.

Over the weekend, I was able to think about today's post and I came up with a great one. With the help of a wonderful company, of course. I have a HUGE passion for the foods I am about to talk about. I thought I would talk about something that I often eat and love more than just about anything. My love....

NUTS!!!

That's right, I am a lover of any kind of nut. Seeds are often added to my meals such as sesame and sunflower but it is very rare that I go a day without raw Almonds, Cashews and Walnuts. Oh Nuts! sent me over a pound of each. I swear when I opened this package I could have died.

Cashews are my absolute favorite nut of all time. I love RAW nuts not roasted or salted.

Let me tell you about the properties that nuts can bring to your overall health.

Love nuts? Eat ‘em raw—here’s why.

If you’re a nut fan, you probably feel good about consuming a tasty food that’s high in Omega 3 oils. After all, Omega 3’s are good for you, right? Correct, but roasted nuts aren’t good for you…and raw nuts are.
Sure, nuts start out high in healthy Omega 3 oils. The problem is that oils are vulnerable to heat, light, and oxidation. Once you heat the healthy oils found in nuts, you degrade them. But it does make the oil shelf-stable, which manufacturers find desirable.
To hydrogenate oil, the manufacturers take huge vats containing thousands of gallons of oil and they raise the temperature to almost boiling. Then they run an electrical current through the oil and bubble hydrogen gas up through it.

The effect is to saturate all the bonds of the fats with hydrogen atoms and to turn the fat from a liquid into a solid. That’s how margarine is made. Other processes can hydrogenate oil and keep it liquid, but it is now a saturated fat rather than a poly-unsaturated fat.

Still other heating processes turn good fats into transformed fats, or “trans-fats.” Trans-fats have been found in studies to be bad for your health.

The same sort of transformation for the worse happens when nuts sit on a store shelf in bright sunlight, or when they’re in a big bulk bin exposed to air.

Once nuts are roasted, the healthy oils they contain are no longer healthy. Sure, they might be tastier, but you can retrain your taste buds to appreciate the healthy goodness of raw nuts and seeds.
Given that the roasting process takes place under high heat, in the presence of air and light, you’ve got a recipe for turning all the good fats in nuts into bad ones just to improve the taste…in some people’s opinion.
A study on the benefits of consuming nuts in the diet recently appeared in the November 14, 1998 issue of the British Medical Journal. Women who consumed nuts 5 times per week had about a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease than those women who rarely ate nuts.

It was hard for me at first to stop eating the roasted, salted kind but now you couldn't give me salty nuts if you wanted to. Without the salt I feel like I can really taste them .


Let me tell you about the benefits of each one that I got in the mail:

Cashew nuts are a product of the cashew tree, have gained popularity in North America and Europe not only for their succulent flavor but for health benefits, too. Whether roasted, salted, sugared or covered in chocolate, the cashew nut, often used as a flavorful complement to appetizers, main dishes and deserts, packs a mix of nutrients and minerals not found in many common foods.Cashew nuts, native to equatorial South America, are actually seeds, found growing on the end of the cashew apple, an edible and nutrient rich South American treat that is too fragile to export to North America or Europe .
Here is the link to the cashews:
http://www.ohnuts.com/buy.cfm/bulk-nuts-seeds/cashews

These California grown almonds are a wholesome and delicious nut. Almonds are high in protein, calcium and zinc, and also contain significant amounts of fiber, vitamin E, Folate, calcium and other vitamins and minerals. Studies reveal that almonds, a diabetes friendly food, can lower the risk of heart disease and bad cholesterol. In order to maintain a safe and healthy standard for the product, raw almonds are now pasteurized as required by law. Due to their high fat content, shelled almonds can easily turn rancid. If store properly in the freezer, they will keep for up to a year.

Here is the link to the Almonds.

http://www.ohnuts.com/buy.cfm/bulk-nuts-seeds/almonds

A gourmet chef's best friend, our lightest walnut to date, makes for an excellent addition to any recipe. Or snack on them plain. Either way, you're certain to enjoy. Walnuts are a great source of antioxidants and the minerals manganese, copper, phosphorus, and magnesium. Walnuts are a good source of dietary fiber, protein, the amino acid arginine, omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). it has been shown that Walnuts significantly reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels.

Here is the link to the Walnuts.

http://www.ohnuts.com/buy.cfm/bulk-nuts-seeds/walnuts

So as you have read, I have no problem eating these babies. The problem is making sure that you eat just one serving. How do I go about that when I want to eat them?

I count them. I know that this doesn't sound like fun but if you are like me I could eat a TON of them at a time.

***Confesion time**** I ate the entire POUND of raw cashews that Oh Nuts! sent me in just two days. That is 8 servings in one day with a whopping 1200 calories. Yes, I am not allowed nuts usually in bulk. If I want them I usually go to the bulk isle and buy just enough to eat at that time. If I go into the store and get a whole bag...They are long gone. These are things that I have just had to learn over time. You better believe that when I sat down and calculated how many cals that ate in just one day, it kinda blew me away. Yes, even I have issues with over doing it at times.

Granted it could have been worse (I could have eaten 1200 calories of candy) but you have to be careful with nuts. While they are super healthy and have great benefits, they are high calorie and can add up quickly. I like to count out about 20 to 25 nuts. That comes out to about 160-180 calories depending on the nut. Pair this with a piece of whole grain toast, fruit or yogurt and you have yourself a wholesome snack taht is a complete protein.

I must say that Oh Nuts! have the best of the best to offer. I have never eaten such high quality, fresh nuts. You are talking to a girl that LOVES nuts and eats them all the time. I have bought a ton of nuts over the years and from many different companies. For me to say this about one impaticular company is huge.

I Oh Nuts! You guys get a 10 from me. If you want amazing quality foods at a price that you can afford. Go to their site. They have all kinds of yummy things.They dont just sell nuts. Thier website offers, dried fruits, candy and gifts as well as their bulk nuts.

You wont be sorry that you did!

www.ohnuts.com

Thanks so very much for being so wonderful and sending me a great variety, I truly loved every bite! I want to leave you guys with a fantastic recipe using these gems. You better believe that you will be seeing more cashews, almonds and walnuts in up coming recipes and posts.

I bring you...

Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Almond,Cashew, Walnut Butter

This recipe makes about 2.5 cups of amazing, spreadable butter.

First you have to soak your nuts. I get a big bowl and put the nuts in them and then cover them with water (about a inch of water is on top) overnight. It looks like this:

This is one cup raw almonds soaking for the butter to be made the next day.

Ingrediants:

-1 cup almonds, cashews and walnuts soaked.
-1 cup of raisins

-1 teaspoon sea salt

-1 pack of stevia (I like my butters a tad sweet)

-1 table spoon of cinnamon

-3 tablespoon unrefined vegetable oil

(cashews are on the bottom;)
Combine the soaked almonds walnuts and cashews and salt and cinnamon in a food processor, blender, meat grinder or nut butter machine and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the oil and continue processing until the almond butter reaches your desired degree of smoothness, adding more oil if necessary. After all ground up add in the cup of raisin and for chunky butter, stir in ¼ cup chopped almonds, walnuts or cashews. What you get is the most amazing butter you ever had.

This is it in the processor all ground up!

Here is a trick that I do (it is not in the recipe because I wanted to give you just the simple way to make regular nut butter but I also want to share with you a way to have a lower calorie option. Shhhhh, no one will ever know! This is a great way to trick your taste buds and get away with about 100 less calories! This way you will be getting TWO count em, TWO table spoons for about 60 cals!!!!

I add almond milk...I take the finished butter and I add (with this recipe) about a cup and a half of vanilla almond milk (unsweetened) and STIR. You have to stir this up really, really, really well. I will admit...It is not easy but once stirred in the almond milk ,you get a thinned out version of your favorite nut butter but with less cals. When you do this you are going to think to yourself "Oh no!!! It is soupy nut butter." Well my friends, stick the jar in the fridge and it thickens up! It gets nice and thick and you will not be able to tell that you have a lower calorie butter. The best part about this is....YOU get TWICE as much nut butter!!!! Yes, that is right. Just when you thought you would only be getting 2.5 cups of homemade nut butter, by adding the almond milk you will get 5 whole cups of nut butter. YAY!!!

Here you have the finish product!

Here is the mixture after the almond butter has sat in the fridge overnight.


Look at the raisins in there! MMMM.

Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

May you be well nourished,

Heather

Friends and Fridays

Today, I dont have review...HOWEVER, I do have the winner of the Mussleman's Apple Sauce Give-A-Way....Bobbie Webber! You are the winner. Random number 114 was chosen.

Please e-mail me your address and the awesome apple sauce will be coming your way! Thanks to everyone that participated and I am sorry it took me a extra day to announce the winner. Let's get to what this post is all about today.

This post is about friends/family and how they effect your moods and your foods.

I am feeling MUCH better as yesterday I was stressed, tired and ready for the weekend. There is something about Fridays that just give you a boost. Something that makes me VERY happy is my roomie Karen is back at home. Yes, I have roommates at the ripe age of 28. I wish that I didn't, but I do. Hey, you gotta do whatcha gotta do! I have two (one of which I will not talk about, you get the idea) and the other is my best friend. Without Karen in the house it is just terrible. Now that she's back in my life I feel great this morning. I am relief, happy and ready to take on the holidays. She is a life saver. I think that she feels the same way about me, at least I hope so. In March, I will be moving out either into my own place or with her. I have yet to decide (finding a place will be the deciding factor) so I am just warning you now that over the next couple of months, you may be hearing me going through the ups and downs of finding a place and moving. We wont get into that right now though. Let's talk a little bit about nutrition and exercise. I haven't touched on my routine here of late so I thought that today would be a good day to talk about my work-outs and my meals.

Fridays mean so many things to me. It means that my work week is over! I usually go out to dinner once a week and usually pick Fridays, it is a low key day in the gym and I let myself have a few favorites on this day. During the weekend I am a snack face! I rarely sit down and eat a meal except for dinner. Usually it is trail mix, celery and PB2, fruit and Greek yogurt. Weekends are when I spend the most time in the gym. I love being there and not having to run around to get it done in 45 minutes. I take my time and really focus. The other thing about the weekends that I love are my long walks with Karen. She is my walking Buddie and with her back, you better believe there will be way more walking. I love it. It is a great way to either warm up or cool down. Talking with Karen though is the best. I figure that if we are just going to sit around and gab, we might as well walk and do it! Sometimes we can go on three 40 minute walks a day! I know that sounds like a lot but it doesn't feel like it when you are with someone that makes it fun. We have a rout that we usually do and it goes by quick. Do you have a work out buddy? Well I do and here she is:
My best friend and I don't know what I would do without this lady!

This is Karen and I on her birthday with a meal that I prepared. That is my kitchen as well! Notice the blender and magic bullet...

Karen and I look like complete opposites and in fact we almost are! We are very different from each other but some how some way it works. She is the one that introduced me to Sex and the City, french soaps and pedicures. This girl makes me more girly. We have our "girls night" at least once a week. Salads are had with wine and enough gossip (just between the two of us) to fill a book. We do no harm when together, just laugh, dance, work out and eat awesome food. Could you ask for more? I could....I wish she were a guy and then I would marry her!!!

I wanted to recap for you all my workouts this week without the lovely Karen and compare it to next weeks (I will start to recap for you all what I have done Saturday-Friday each week instead of telling you every day). I bet you there will be a huge difference. When she is around, we move!

Here you have the workouts that have been completed thus far!

Saturday-Active rest day. I cleaned the house like a mad women for three hours and went on a 2 mile walk.

Sunday-Ran 2.5 miles and walked 2 miles, lifted weights for upper body for 45 minutes

Monday- 20 minutes stair climber, 20 minutes running (2 miles)

Tuesday-full body lifting and a 45 minute walk

Wed-walked 3.5 miles (55 mins), 45 minutes of yoga and a 40 minute walk

Thurs-Full body weight workout, 40 minute walk

Friday-Running for 30 minutes, 40 minute walk

That is less than what I usually do. I usually do something like this:

Saturday-Full body weights (about a hour and a half), 20 minutes of stair climber, 40 minute walk

Sunday-5 mile run, 40 minutes of walking

Monday-Full body weights, 40 minute walk (sometimes yoga)

Tuesday-40 minute run, 40 minute walk

Wed-Full body weights, 40 minute walk

Thurs-40 min run, 40 min walk

Friday-walking for a hour

Usually, I get three days of cardio and three days of weights with walking (very low key) and some yoga. That is what works for me. Not what is going to work for you. That also may explain why I EAT so much! If I feel the need to rest, I rest. If I feel really good and I want to run or walk longer, I go for it. I say when you FEEL it then agknowlege it and test yourself. I worked myself up to this and it took me years to get this active. This did not happen over night. I prefer to work out alone so Karen and I go on our walks but that is it really. We do go to the gym together but go our separate ways once inside. It is better that way for me because I have been injured before and need to focus on form and posture. If I were talking that would all go out the window and I would get hurt for sure. The proper fuel is necessary to go along with it. A normal day of eats Monday-Friday consist of

In picture form the foods that I eat usually, in order of course.

insert working out here.

Off work from here on out.

Insert walking, yoga and meditating here.

. Then bed.

This is a typical day of eats (all made by me!) Monday-Friday. The weekend are way different I don't plan what I eat, I just go for what my body craves. Even I am not perfect! I have days where I don't eat everything or add things to mix it up. I don't have alcohol every night (try my best to limit it to two nights a week). The dark chocolate makes a few appearances, I usually have a piece after lunch and dinner. I also eat fruit like persimmons, mango, apples, banana and grapefruit. I am trying not to count my cals right now and just pay attention to my body but I would say that all this come out to about 1500 cals and a good balance of healthy fats and protein. The carbs that I eat come from oats, Ezekiel bread, quinoa, fruit and veggies. All in all I would say that my friends/family dont really change the way that I eat. It use to but I as long as I am listening to what I want I always find that I go for a simple salad, grilled or baked fish or chicken and enough veggies to fill a plate! This is how I roll. If anything Karen and I keep each other in check. There are so many times that we help each other out when a craving for something not so healthy comes into play. Again, there are times when we indulge. Balance and moderation is the key and as long as you hold yourself accountable or even better have someone help you, you will be fine. Being social and having friends and family around doesnt have to be hard. Next time you are around a friend or a family member and the thought of stuffing your face with something bad, be a friend, stear them and yourself clear away from it. You will be doing yourself and them a favor!

With this being said, have a wonderful weekend and try my food challenge PLEASE. Try something that you have never had before. I did this week and boy and I glad that I did! I will be doing a post all about it Monday!

See you soon and have a great weekend.

-Heather

Chocolate and Mood Disorders.

Good Morning Beautiful People! I have a secret to tell you (no real secret if you could actually see me this morning...) I am stressed and I feel worn out. Yes, I know that is totally far from what you read just two days ago (I was well rested and feeling great) but it only takes a day in my world to have a pounding headache and enough stress to break a back! Sorry to be a downer first thing in the morning but this is what my blog is all about.

What am I going to do about my mood??? Well, I am going to FEED it! Now I need to make a thing or two clear. When I say feed your moods that doesn't mean "Oh, gosh I am stressed, tired, angry, sad, I need a tub of ice cream and some cookies to make it all go away." NO WAY!!! What I mean by feeding your mood is to either change or stay the way you feel based on what you actually nourish yourself with. Almost always when I get stressed out or tired I do feel like going for the comfort foods, however I know that it will temporarily make me feel better but then the guilt will set in and worse, the calories. Instead, I do a little researching and find out what I can consume that may boost my mood or steer me in the right direction. Now don't get me wrong, your attitude plays a huge role in this too. I figure though, if you are setting out to find a particular food or nutrient to boost your mood, then you are in the right mindset. With that being said, I say if your attitude is "I want to FEEL better and I want to FEED myself better" then you are on the right track. When I am feeling the way that I do this morning, I am on a mission. The great thing about food is there are SO MANY choices that you are not limited to just a few things that can help you out. If you are not in the MOOD for a particular food that would boost your mood, chances are you have another option.

This morning I knew exactly what I wanted/needed.

DARK Chocolate. I cant think of a morning (except when I was 10 maybe) when I wanted something sweet for breakfast. Usually, I opt for oats, quinoa, toast or maybe a piece of fruit. Never have I wanted a donut, pastry or chocolate. Well folks, there is a first for everything! This morning, I wanted dark chocolate. I thought to myself "Why is this?" Well I will tell you! When you are in the right place (nutrition wise) you will find that you don't crave foods as much as before. I can remember in my Cheetos's days and sugary lucky charm mornings that I would tear some one's arm off for a french fry or strawberry ice cream if I had the craving for it. Now, because I live a balanced life style I find that my cravings are very limited and more often than not it is for a simple piece of fruit. Sorry to say but this morning I had a craving, and it was for chocolate. I payed close attention to this FEELING and thought about why. It was obvious to me once I looked up a bit about chocolate and it's properties towards your mood. I found that chocolate helps with mood boosting and for the exact feelings that I am experiencing this morning. So get on with it Heather! Tell us already!!! Ok, Ok Ok!

How it boosts mood: Just call it the ultimate comfort food. Chocolate has been found in study after study to improve a negative mood. Why? Besides evoking fond memories of holidays and happy occasions, chocolate has the optimal combination of sweet flavor and creamy texture to cause a very effective release of endorphins, which are mood-elevating hormones. Cocoa and dark chocolate contain significant amounts of antioxidant flavanols, which have been shown to improve blood flow in the brain.
Isn’t it great that we can have something that is not only good for us, but fun to use? Yes sir (or ma'am), dark gold, pure happiness! You’ve probably heard the buzz about dark chocolate, and how it’s good for your blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, prevents cancer and can fix nearly anything that is wrong with you, except that expanding waistline. (And for the record — white chocolate is not really chocolate at all. It’s milk solids and fat. No cocoa. Nada.)

The basic ingredients of dark chocolate include cacao beans, sugar, soy lecithin (an emulsifier to preserve texture), and flavorings. This yummy treat, which contains fewer milk solids than its more popular cousin, milk chocolate, often is rated by the percentage of cocoa solids in the bar. The cocoa content of commercial dark chocolate bars can range from 30 percent to above 80 percent.

Some of dark chocolate’s benefits come from resveratrol, an antioxidant (immune system booster) found in red wine, among other products. Its mental health benefits include the ability to boost brain levels of endorphins (natural opiates) as well as serotonin (a mood-altering chemical on which many antidepressants act). Because it can increase serotonin levels in the brain, dark chocolate also may increase serotonin production in the gut, and thus help your immune system.
But before you decide to switch to an all-dark-chocolate diet and throw away the rabbit food, keep this in mind: The recommended dose is one ounce per day. It doesn’t sound like much, but it may help reduce blood pressure and increase arterial blood flow, reduce the chance of blood clots and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Here’s another dietary caution: Downing a glass of milk along with your ounce of dark chocolate negates all the good stuff. Research has shown that milk interferes with the absorption of the antioxidants. So, in that case, all you get are the calories. Bummer.

Many chocolates can be high in calories, sugar, and saturated fat. To maximize the health benefits of chocolate, avoid eating processed chocolate products that have refined sugar and milk fat.
Instead, choose the purest dark chocolate you can find – the more raw and unprocessed, the higher the flavonoid content. The best dark chocolate to eat has at least 60% cocoa solids.

If that is not enough to convince you not to go wild in the candy aisle, try this: Eating too much chocolate each day can cause complications including migraines, weight gain, digestive tract problems (such as diarrhea), kidney stones and heartburn. Dark chocolate seems to have less of an impact on heartburn than milk chocolate and it may also be less of a problem in gallbladder disease, but no promises there. And all chocolate contains caffeine, which is a problem for some as well. As always, if you have any dietary restrictions, talk with your primary care physician before making any big changes.

Last night, when I got home I went to the mail box and found a UPS package waiting for me. What was inside, made me SMILE.

I was delighted to see that I had not one, not two, but THREE bars of NibMor dark chocolate!!! It also had a lovely card in it telling me that the folks there hope I enjoy it and are looking forward to my review. Well, first I would like to state, never have I gotten a hand written gorgeous card from a company saying so. What amazing customer service! I mean it, it made my evening after a VERY stressful day. It made me feel like I had gotten a gift and it was personal. Let me tell you a bit about the company first, then we will get into the good stuff!

At NibMor they believe that the food we eat should be as simple as possible. That means using ingredients made by Mother Nature, not someone in a lab coat.

What happens their kitchen? They combine the best of it all. Their ingredients are All Natural and Organic, plus they work in small batches to meticulously create artisan perfection.

This bar to me looked fantastic! I loved the packaging. When I saw that it was RAW, VEGAN and ORGANIC, I was sold! I opened the package and took a bite (last night). My first thought was "OH MY!!! This is love at first bite!" The chocolate was smooth, dark and semi sweet. Perfection in a package in my mind. Here is the bar it's self and the nutritonal info:

I give this bar a 10, no kidding!

I erg you to PLEASE go to their site to see what they have to offer in the chocolate department....You wont be sorry you did!

http://www.nibmor.com

I came up with the following ten reasons why you need to consume more chocolate.
1. Reduces high blood pressure – flavonoids in cocoa (procyanids) help balance blood pressure and reduce blood clotting. Researchers from Germany’s University Hospital of Cologne found that cocoa consumption lowered blood pressure by an average of 4.7/2.8 mm Hg. The New York Times reported that dark chocolate is almost as effective at lowering blood pressure as common antihypertensive drugs.

2. Improves blood flow to brain – a University of Nottingham professor found that drinking cocoa drinks rich in flavanols improves blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours. Flavanols in the cocoa drink are a key ingredient of dark chocolate. Professor Macdonald’s study also suggested that cocoa flavanols in chocolate may enhance brain function to help fight sleep deprivation, fatigue, and the effects of ageing.

3. Boosts mood – MSNBC reported that caffeine and other chemicals in dark chocolate can improve your mood and ease premenstrual symptoms. Mark’s Daily Apple wrote that the chemical phenylethylamine in chocolate has been found to trigger feelings similar to “falling in love.”

4. Prevents cell damage and 5. Improves blood sugar levels – Lisa C. Cohn, R.D., President of the Park Avenue Nutrition Spa in NYC, wrote that flavonoids in pure dark chocolate are responsible for these added benefits. Cohn said, “if you’re going to indulge on Feb. 14 or any other day, go for the purest dark chocolate you can find. That’s the kind loaded with flavonoids…”

6. Reduces risk of heart attack – a researcher from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine said that eating a few squares of dark chocolate every day may reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack by almost 50%. The study found that blood platelets clotted slower in people who eat chocolate.

7. Helps ease chronic fatigue syndrome – a study found that adults with chronic fatigue syndrome who eat 1.5 ounces of 85% cocoa dark chocolate were less fatigued after they eat chocolate.

8. Raises HDL cholesterol and lowers LDL cholesterol – a Penn State study found that diets high in cocoa powder and dark chocolate (with high flavonoid content) are related to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels when compared with diets low in flavonoids such as tea, wine, coffee, and onions.

9. Improves processing of blood sugar – an Italian study found that dark chocolate consumption increased the body’s metabolism of blood sugar and may reduce the risk of diabetes.

10. Eases a persistent cough – a UK study found that theobromine, a component in cocoa, may be more effective as a cough medicine than standard drug treatments. The research showed that “theobromine acts on the sensory nerve endings of the vagus nerve, which runs through the airways in the lungs to the brain.”

Ok, so I have completely went off on a chocolate tangent this morning. Maybe I was craving this dark goodness because it was the last thing that I ate last night and it sent me into a chocolaty dream land. Or maybe my stress tired body needed another small dose of it to start my day in the right direction. What ever it may be...I am listening and going to eat intuitively. Now, instead of going for that bar and eating half of it for breakfast I am doing what my body wants but in moderation. I am having this baby for my starter.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Oat Bran!

I made my oat bran as usual

-1/3 cup of Bob Mills Breakfast Oat Bran

-1/2 cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk

-2 egg whites (makes it so fluffy)

-1 table spoon of Salba

-ONE ONCE of NibMor dark chocolate

Mix all together after it is hot and then crushed up two Newman's Own pretzels.

NOM!

It was just what I needed this morning to give me more energy, get my chocolate fix and more importantly BOOST my mood! It did the trick and I am thankful to Jennifer for sending me the package my way. NibMor was so thoughtful with the card and very generous to give me more than one bar. Because you did so, I am sharing it and screaming from the roof tops about this chocolate. It is 100% awesome.

So, next time you are feeling not so great (and maybe that time of the month, shhhhh) go for a PIECE (not the whole bar lady) of wonderful dark chocolate. Incorporate it into a meal and make it extra special!

I will be talking more about chocolate in up coming posts so keep your eyes out. I have another company that is sending some my way and we will see what they have to offer as well. All in all, chocolate is not just chocolate. If you are going to go for the "gold" go for it. Get a fantastic bar and SLOWLY enjoy it!

I know that I am!

See you soon, with more reviews and moods!

-Heather

Well rested and energized!

This morning, after a much needed rest I feel great! I am so glad that over the weekend I decided to just take it easy and recover. It is amazing how once I get on a roll of exercising I can just go day after day without realizing that I have worked out for two weeks straight without a break. Of course, the way that I know I need a break is by listening to my body. My body on Friday was saying "Hey now, give me a break!" I decided that Friday would be my rest day. Saturday morning I woke up sore. Sometimes you need more than just one day to get the recovery time that you deserve, especially if you train the way that I do. So even though it wasn't planned, Saturday was a rest day as well. Sunday morning I woke up STILL soar. This was a huge sign to me. I needed this a rest day as well and it showed that I have been way over doing it. I was shocked that after three days of rest I was still recovering.

Happily, this morning I woke with no soreness and feeling as though I am 100% again. It just goes to show you that allowing more recovery time when you train really hard is necessary. This morning my feelings are rested, energized and ready to take on the cardio that I missed over the weekend. A change in my workout days will be needed since I took a few days off. Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's are usually lifting days but this week it will be Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday. This should change things up a bit and keep my body guessing.So see, everything works out!

Over the weekend I made something quite special! I made Quinoa Breakfast Bread!

I was sitting around thinking and said to myself...."I need a better breakfast." Yes, I LOVE oat bran and oatmeal more than cake any day but for some reason after I eat it, a hour later I am HUNGRY. I started to seek out a new and different starter. I have been seeing quinoa flakes in the blog world and have yet to try them. To be honest, it doesn't sound pleasing to me. What does sound good though is just plain Quinoa. I thought "Surely, Quinoa could be made into some sort of hardy breakfast". It is packed with so much goodness. I feel that it would almost be even better than oats. How dare I??? I know.

Well fellow breakfast eaters, I give you the most amazing thing since oat bran or oatmeal. I give you:

Quinoa Breakfast Bread

-1 cup of cooked Quinoa

-1 cup Almond Milk (Vanilla is best)

-Two hand fulls of rolled quick oats (about one cup)

-1 cup of chunky apple sauce

-2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)

-2 chopped pears

-1/2 cup of raisins

-1/2 cup of Agave

Cinnamon and All spice to taste.

This recipe is SO easy and SO filling. You can have this for breakfast, a snack or desert. Versatile, just the way I like it! 8 ingrediants and you have yourself a protein packed breakfast that will stay with you for hours. This is the perfect on-the-go meal that is easy to stick in your bag too!

-First you want to cook one cup of Quinoa. I cooked 3/4 cups of Quinoa and 1/4 cup of wheat berries.

This is the cooked Quinoa with a few cinnamon sticks thrown in for added holiday flavor!

After you have your cooked Quinoa, get a oven ready bowl.

In the bowl Mix in two hand fulls of oats.

(about one cup)

1 cup of almond milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of raisins, a teaspoon of allspice and 2 chopped pears.

Then I mixed it all together.

I tasted it and boy did it taste great. Something was missing to me...

I knew that it needed to be sweeter. So what did I do??? I added the key ingredient!

Musselman's apple sauce!!!

I added in 1 cup of chunky apple sauce and 1/2 cup of agave.

Mmmmmm, look how chunky!

With added cinnamon, I knew that this was just the finishing touch that my Quinoa Bread needed. This is the best apple sauce to eat by itself or mix with just about anything to give it that moist consistancy.

I placed it in a baking dish and set the oven for 250 degree's.

Here she is all warm and ready!

I could not believe how well this dish came out!!!

One more close up!

This is exactly what I wanted this morning when I was FEELING well rested and energized. I knew that I wanted something that would keep me this way and also get me through my intense cardio session today. This was amazing! It made 8 bars and just enough for me to have one every morning for breakfast this week. Of course, I had to have the extra bar last night as a warm desert, which by the way was the perfect Autumn snack. You can add nuts or seeds to the mix as well for added staying power.

Before I leave you on this wonderful Monday, I would just like to give you some info on the lovely Quinoa. It has so many wonderful properties! If you are active, you need this added to your diet. This gain is truly a super food!

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel! Quinoa was used to sustain In can armies, which frequently marched for many days eating a mixture of quinoa and fat, known as "war balls." Beginning with the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, there was a 400-year decline in the production of quinoa. It became a minor crop at that time and was grown only by peasants in remote areas for local consumption.
In Peru, Chile and Bolivia, quinoa is now widely cultivated for its nutritious seeds, and they are referred to as "little rice." The seeds are used in creating various soups and bread, and also fermented with millet to make a beer-like beverage. A sweetened decoction of the fruit is used medicinally, as an application for sores and bruises.

Quinoa has been grown outside of South America for a relatively short time. It is grown in Canada and has been grown in the U.S., in Colorado since the 1980's by two entrepreneurs who learned of the food from a Bolivian. They developed test plots in high arid fields in the central Rockies and began test marketing in 1985. Quinoa can be found in most natural food stores in the U.S.
Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant. It is used as a grain and substituted for grains because of it's cooking characteristics. The name comes from the Greek words, chen (a goose) and pous (a foot). This is due to a resemblance of the leaves of the plant to the webbed foot of a goose. The leaves are lobed or toothed and often triangular in shape. The succulent like plant grows from 4 to 6 feet high and has many angular branches. The flower heads are branched and when in seed looks much like millet, with large clusters of seeds at the end of a stalk. The plant will grow in a variety of conditions but favors a cool, arid climate and higher elevations. Beets, spinach, Swiss chard, and lamb's quarters are all relatives of quinoa.

Quinoa grains range in color from ivory to pinks, brown to reds, or almost black depending on the variety. There are over 120 species of Chenopodium, but only three main varieties are cultivated; one producing very pale seeds, called the white or sweet variety; a dark red fruited variety called red quinoa; and a black quinoa. The seeds are similar in size to millet but are flat with a pointed oval shape and look like a cross between a sesame seed and millet. Quinoa has a delightful characteristic that is all it's own: as it cooks, the outer germ around each grain twists outward forming a little white, spiral tail, which is attached to the kernel. The grain itself is soft and delicate and the tail is crunchy which creates and interesting texture combination and pleasant "crunch" when eating the grain.

Quinoa has a fluffy consistency and a mild, delicate, slightly nutty flavor that borders on bland. The leaves of the Goosefoot (quinoa) plant are also edible and make a pleasant vegetable, like spinach. A quinoa leaf salad is generally more nutritious that most green salads.
Before cooking, the seeds must be rinsed to remove their bitter resin-like coating, which is called saponin. Quinoa is rinsed before it is packaged and sold, but it is best to rinse again at home before use to remove any of the powdery residue that may remain on the seeds. The presence of saponin is obvious by the production of a soapy looking "suds" when the seeds are swished in water. Placing quinoa in a strainer and rinsing thoroughly with water easily washes the saponin from the seeds. In South America the saponin which is removed from the quinoa is used as detergent for washing clothes and as an antiseptic to promote healing of skin injuries.

The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. It is exceptionally high in lysine, cystine and methionine-amino acids typically low in other grains. It is a good complement for legumes, which are often low in methionine and cystine.

The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids. Some types of wheat come close to matching quinoa's protein content, but grains such as barley, corn, and rice generally have less than half the protein of quinoa. Quinoa is 12% to 18% protein and four ounces a day, about 1/2-cup, will provide a child's protein needs for one day. The 6-7% fat of quinoa is relatively high when compared to other grains, but it boasts a low sodium content and also provides valuable starch and fiber. Quinoa also contains albumen, a protein that is found in egg whites, blood serum, and many plant and animal tissues. The seeds are gluten-free which makes this a nutritious and flavorful alternative grain for those with gluten sensitivity. Quinoa would be a worthy addition to any one's diet, supplying variety as well as good nutrition. The seed is also excellent feed for birds and poultry and the plant itself is good forage for cattle.

Quinoa can be found in most health food stores.

WOW! I know. I bet you are running out to go get some after reading this! I sure hope so. I feel like I have been missing out.

I hope you try this festive dish and enjoy it as much as I have! This will be making many future appearances for breakfast!

See you tomorrow with more food and feelings!

-Heather