Millet Black Bean Patties with Corn - score!

I have seen so many recipes including Millet lately, so I was curious about the health benefits.

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Millet is a tasty grain that has a mildly sweet, nut-like flavor.  It is nearly 15 percent protein, and is rich in fiber, B-complex vitamins, essential amino acids, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.  The magnesium in millet can help to reduce the severity of asthma, the frequency of migraines, lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack.  Millet is non-glutinous, and is not acid forming, so it is soothing and easy to digest.

I followed the recipe exactly, and the patties came out perfect!  The mixture was delicious, and the patties actually stayed as patties when cooked (unlike my other veggie burger variations I have made!).  It was nice to try a grain that I do not cook with a lot.

I sauteed the onion, corn, black bean and spice mixture until soft and warm.

I could have eaten the mix just like this!  But, I added the cooked millet instead – and cornstarch to make it easier to mold into patties.

This made 15 patties for me, even though the recipe says it will make 10!  I cooked 5 patties as suggested – fried on each side in a little olive oil over medium heat.  They were deeply browned on each side.

I baked the other 10 patties in the oven at 375°F for 20 minutes (10 on each side).  They came out great as well – now as browned, but still a little crunch on the outside with a soft patty on the inside (and healthier without the extra oil!).

Lot’s of leftovers for the week – yum!

I served our Millet Patties with a salad and homemade pita chips.

Salad with arugula, raisins, sweet curry sprouted sunflower seeds, feta cheese and a homemade dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Delicious dinner!

And, a mocktail with seltzer, pomegranate juice and lime.  I needed a change from water!

Give these patties a try, they are great!  The recipe makes a lot, which makes it great for a crowd or for plenty of leftovers.  I am planning on freezing about 1/2 of the leftovers to keep for quick lunches and dinners when I am in a pinch.

I found a fun new website the other day called Vital Juice.  I think that it is similar to Daily Candy in that you can sign up for email newsletters that they will send you with tidbits of info each day/week/etc.

I was searching through some of the articles on nutrition and found one on Spring Vegetables that I thought was super interesting.

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Even though the weather keeps tricking us, it really is starting to feel like spring around here.  Flowers are popping up, and we keep getting some very nice 60 degree days.  At this point, I will take what we can get!

As you know, I love to eat seasonable local produce, and try to as much as possible.  But, it is hard to eat locally over the winter in New England!  Therefore, once the spring comes, I am more than ready for the farmers markets and CSA’s to begin.

But, my absolute favorite thing about Spring and Summer veggies – grilling them!  It brings out the best flavors and keeps them very healthy.  All you need is a little olive oil and you are good to go.

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The article on Vital Juice, lists many healthy spring fruits and veggies that are important to get into our diets, especially since many of us have been missing out on them (and their nutrients) all winter long.

Check out the list below:

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I have definitely been getting my fair share of asparagus and mangoes recently, but can’t wait for my local farmer’s market to start bringing their greens and native strawberries along.  My body seems to crave different produce in the spring and summer, and this is definitely a normal trait.  In the winter we want more comfort foods to make us warmer (such as potatoes and other starchy veggies) but in the summer, refreshing fruits (such as strawberries and melons) are all that I crave.  Your body is an amazing thing – just listen to your cravings and it will tell you what your body wants and needs.

Another great find for me was the cookbook Clean Food by Terry Walters.

It contains many wonderful recipes broken up into 4 sections – Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and Anytime.  I have not tried any recipes yet because I literally just picked up the book, but  I have plans to try many Spring recipes in the next few weeks.

It is so important to eat a variety of foods to get all of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need, and even more important to support local farmers!  This cookbook is a great way to help you do both.

Do your cravings change as the seasons do?  What foods have you found yourself craving on the warmer days we have had this month?

I recently purchased the cookbook, Veganomicon due to all of the rave reviews it has received.  I was looking for a vegan cookbook to try out some stuff, so I figured, why not?!

We had girls night tonight, so I thought it was the perfect time to make a fun springy recipe.

Enter: Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa

You can find the recipe here!

It was sweet and spicy at the same time, and the flavors all worked really well together.

I decided to use both white and red quinoa to make it prettier.  Red and white quinoa have the same health properties.  The only difference is the color!  Quinoa is most commonly referred to as a grain, but it is actually the seed of a leafy plant, related to spinach, beets and Swiss chard.  It has a very delicate taste, and therefore, takes on the taste of the foods that you mix it with or cook it with (like pineapple juice!).  It is considered a complete protein and is very rich in iron, potassium and dietary fiber.  It is very easily digested!

The recipe recommends that you cook the quinoa in 1/2 water and 1/2 pineapple juice, so I did just that.  I cut up a pineapple and reserved 4 cups of pineapple chunks, then juiced the rest for cooking.

While the quinoa was cooking, I got to work chopping up the remaining ingredients, including red peppers, chili peppers, scallions, basil and mint.  It is important to have everything chopped up ahead of time, because once you start cooking everything gets added to the pot quite quickly.

I started by toasted the cashews over medium-low heat until toasted.

Once the cashews are toasted (it took about 7 minutes), place them in a separate bowl and turn the heat in your pan up to medium heat.  Then add sesame oil, scallions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, until garlic sizzles.

At this point, we were chatting, so I forgot to snap photos of each step .  But, after the garlic sizzles, you add the chile peppers (above), and then the peppers, peas and quinoa.  Once heated through, add the basil and mint for 2 minutes, then the pineapple and cashews.

Continue to stir-fry for about 10 minutes until everything is heated through, then serve warm.

I served this along with a spinach, tomato and mozzarella salad.

This was delicious!  I think everyone else loved it as well.

My mom made a delicious breakfast with broccoli quiche, sour cream coffee cake and fresh cut cantaloupe.  It was a great start to the day.

And, my plate!

After breakfast we headed out to cross country ski with my in-laws.  I haven’t been cross country skiing in a really long time, so it took a little while to get the hang of it, but once I did it was fun!

We went to the rental place to pick up our stuff.

After what seemed like forever to get our gear, we headed out to the slopes!

We made it 2 laps around these cross country trails.  It felt like a great total body workout!  I am exhausted.   Some pics of our day!

It was mostly flat or uphill, until we came to the hills – yikes!

We made it down and stopped by the river for some photo ops!

It was a gorgeous day!  After we finished skiing, I snacked on my new favorite bar for some protein before lunch.

Once home, we had panini’s and homemade soup for lunch!

I enjoyed a grilled cheese with cheddar and some roasted root vegetable soup from Barefoot Contessa made by mom!

After lunch we took a scenic drive up to the Mount Washington Inn!  The sky was a gorgeous blue and so clear that we had a perfect view of Mount Washington from the Inn.

We decided to sit in the gorgeous lobby overlooking the enormous fireplace and enjoy an afternoon cocktail!

I enjoyed a hot apple grog (cider and brandy) along with my mom and father-in-law, while Brant and his mom enjoyed an Irish Coffee.

With a cinnamon stick!

And, some snacks.

Once home from our lovely and relaxing afternoon, we started preparing for the dinner party!

A fun cheese platter!  I have a major cheese weakness…I love the Apricot Stilton, yum!!

And, the whole appetizer spread.

Lots of yummy choices, but I stuck with the cheese and crackers.  They went better with my cosmopolitan!

Dinner was chicken marsala, israeli couscous salad, spinach pie, and salad.  Here is some of the spread.

My favorite was the couscous!  YUM!

And, it is so simple!  Just israeli couscous, toasted pinenuts, raisins and some herbs.  Delicious.  I made a plate up of green salad and the couscous with added mushrooms from the chicken marsala (minus the chicken)!  Along with a glass of red wine.  Perfect!

Eggplant Bacon

from Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 dried chipotle chile, soaked at least 2 hours – omitted because I didn’t have any!
• 1/2 cup soaking water from the chipotle peppers – omitted, and added a little water instead
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons nama shoyu
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• pinch black pepper
• pinch cayenne

Directions:

Cut the eggplant in half, then slice thinly to make ‘bacon’ strips.

Sprinkle it with the sea salt and allow to sit for 1-2 hours on paper towels.

In the mean time, blend all of the other ingredients in your high speed blender or food processor.

Press our the extra moisture in your eggplant by blotting it with extra paper towels.

Then, submerge the eggplant in the marinade and let sit 30-45 minutes.

Carefully lay out the eggplant strips onto your dehydrator and dehydrate at 115°F until crispy (mine took about 14 hours – I put it on before I went to bed, and it was done mid-morning).

13.5 hours later, my eggplant bacon was crispy and done!

It tasted great!  Definitely not like real bacon, although I probably haven’t had that in at least 10 years!  It was crispy and the flavor was great, so I’m glad I used the marinade!

To make our BLT’s for dinner, I took 2 slices of sprouted grain bread and toasted them, then spread a thin layer of mustard on each.

I layered the toast with green leaf lettuce, yellow tomatoes and eggplant bacon.

After the sandwich was put together, I put it on our grill pan to press it a little bit.

Yummy!  The eggplant bacon was crispy enough that it really did remind me of real bacon, besides the flavor.  But, then again, I used to eat BLT’s because I liked the crunch, so this works just fine for me!

I served our sandwiches with a side of zucchini and kale chips, which I dipped in ketchup!

Yesterday morning, I took my zucchini chips out of the dehydrator after 9.5 hours!  Here is how they turned out:

They were crispy, just like chips!  I liked the flavor better dipped in ketchup, so next time I will use some kind of seasoning before dehydrating.  I’m thinking even italian seasoning would be delicious!

For dessert I made some Super Charge Me cookies from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.

Super Charge Me Cookies

adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

makes 12 ‘ice cream scoop’ sized cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick oats (i used rolled oats)
• 2/3 cup spelt flour (i used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (i used 1/2 tsp)
• 1/8 cup unsweetened coconut (i used 1/4 cup)
• 1/4-1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruit ( i used 1/3 cup raisins)
• 3-4 tbsp carob (to be vegan) or chocolate chips (i used 4 tbsp dark chocolate chunks)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup flax meal
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tbsp almond butter (i used Futter’s Almond Haze)
• 1.5 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp canola oil (i used coconut oil)

Mix all of the ingredients together, scoop with an ice cream scoop and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 13 minutes.

I took my cookies out after exactly 13 minutes, and they were perfect.  Enjoy!!

These cookies were great.  It will be my new go-to cookie for awhile now.  They are extremely east to make, and I normally have all of the ingredients in my pantry!

Even though I aim to eat more natural foods, I still 100% believe that you can eat anything that you want, as long as it is in moderation.  No one is perfect (I certainty am not!), but personally I feel better when I eat healthy the majority of the time and still allow myself to have treats every so often!  If you deprive yourself, you will just want that chocolate bar or donut even more.  I definitely eat some kind of chocolate everyday!

My yogurt maker will allow me to avoid buying yogurt all together and make my own!  The maker that I received comes with individual jars to cook the yogurt in, which is perfect for grabbing when I am running out the door to work.  You can cook it plain, add a flavor to the mix, or add flavors to the individual jars to come out with 7 different types!  I’ll most likely be keeping mine plain.

All you need to make yogurt is pasteurized milk (of your choice) and a starter, which can be a container of a plain yogurt that you enjoy (or from your last batch of freshly made yogurt) or starter cultures that you buy.  You then heat the milk on the stovetop (this will ultimately create a creamier yogurt), add the starter once it cools to room temp and pour the mixture into each jar in the yogurt ‘oven’.  The yogurt will ‘cook’ for 8-12 hours depending on the type of milk you use.  Sounds easy, right?  Well, here goes my first shot:

My Very Own Homemade Yogurt

1.  Thoroughly clean each of the yogurt jars and allow to dry.

2.  Heat 42 ounces (specific to my yogurt maker) on the stovetop until it boils.  I am using 1% milk this time because it is what I have in my fridge!  Next time, I will definitely use a creamier milk, like 2%.

3.  Remove saucepan from heat and let sit until the milk reaches room temperature.

4.  Once milk has cooled, pour it into a pitcher.

5.  Add yogurt starter to the milk and stir until it dissolves.

6.  Pour the room temp mixture into the 7 glass jars of the yogurt maker.

7.  Place the jars (without lids) into the yogurt maker and place the cover on top.

8.  Plug in the unit and switch the ‘ON’ button.  Set the unit to the desired length of time (most likely 10-11 hours for 1% milk).  My 1% milk took 10 hours!

9.  Once the 10 hours is up (add actual length of time here), check the yogurt to make sure the yogurt is set.  It may take a few tries at making your yogurt until you receive the consistency and tartness that you desire.

10. After the yogurt is set, add the lids and place the individual jars in the fridge for 2-3 hours until chilled.

11. Once chilled, enjoy!

YUM!  It seems like a long process, but the steps of the process are very easy.  I think that it is important to make sure the yogurt is really at room temperature before adding the starter, and the mixture into the yogurt maker.  I read some reviews from people who did not have good results their first time.  But, I seemed to have a lot of luck my first time!

My yogurt was a little tart, which plain yogurt usually is, but it was also a little thinner than I prefer.  I enjoy greek yogurt over regular yogurt, so next time I will use different milk and I think it will help!

I’ve been enjoying my little jars of homemade yogurt all week!

I love it for breakfast with fresh blueberries, granola and a squeeze of honey.

But, I also love it for dessert with raspberry jam, shredded coconut and cacao nibs!

Next up, I’m going to try making some tzatziki for a more savory way to use yogurt.

I changed it up again by adding something green to my smoothie to get some fruit and veggies in my breakfast.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 6 ice cubes

• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• a few squirts of agave

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• 3 handfuls of spinach!!

• Mix it all up and get this yummy smoothie!

Don’t be disturbed by the green color, I promise, you cannot taste the spinach!

And, if you can’t get over the color, than do what these girls do and use a sippy cup!

This was my first green smoothie, and it was really good!

Lunch was leftovers from last nights dinner!  Still great the next day -maybe even a little better because the veggies were more marinated.

After my 8 miles of speed-work at the gym, it was time for a good and substantial dinner, so I made another Moosewood recipe, Wild Rice Waldorf Salad.  It was a twist on the classic waldorf that I love.

While the combination of wild and brown rice was cooking, I set to work chopping up all of the fruits and veggies: yellow pepper, celery, red onion, and 2 granny smith apples.

I tossed the apples with lemon to keep them from browning.

Then toasted some walnuts, and whipped up the dressing!

This was a super simple recipe.  The longest part was cooking the rice!  There was a lot of sitting and waiting around while it cooked.  Next time I will pre-cook the rice the night before.

My husband and I both loved this dish.  The tartness of the apples and the sweetness of the raisins really added to it.

I served it on a bed of mixed salad greens.  I love to add in more veggies when I can!

Wild Rice Waldorf Salad

from Moosewood Restaurants Low-Fat Favorites

Serves 6

Salad Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup wild rice
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 medium granny smith apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup red onion, minced
• 1/2 cup unsweetened raisins
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1-2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Soak the wild rice in 1 cup of hot water (in a closed saucepan) for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, add the brown rice and the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes until rice is tender.
3. When the rice has cooked for about 30 minutes, dice the apples and toss with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
4. Chop the pepper, celery and onion and add to that bowl along with the raisins and walnuts.
5. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a seperate bowl.
6. When the rice is cooked, add it to the bowl of veggies and toss everything with the dressing.
7. Serve over a bed of greens!

And, dessert was 2 homemade macaroons!  The chocolate with some raw almond butter on top.

It was Day 2 of my weight training today, so I worked out my Legs & Abs.

5 minute warmup – jumping jacks

Legs

• Lunge & Lift – 3 sets of 12
• Stability Ball hamstring curl – 3 sets of 12
• Mountain Climbers – 1 minute
• Calf Raises with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Squat jumps – 1 minute
• Deadlifts with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Step-ups with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Burpees – 1 minute
• Leg lifts – 2 sets of 12

Abs

• Crunches – 3 sets of 15
• Reverse Crunches – 3 sets of 15
• Bicycles – 3 sets of 20
• Frogs – 3 sets of 10
• V-ups – 3 sets of 10

5 minute cooldown – jumprope

Tough workout tonight, my legs were burning during those squat jumps and burpees!  I’m sure I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it!

Then, it was time for dinner and baking!

Tonight on the menu was our favorite – quinoa!  You probably think that we eat quinoa all the time.  Well, we do!  It is a delicious grain (actually, it’s a seed) and it pairs nicely with any type of vegetable.  Quinoa is about 15% protein, which is very high for a grain, so we rarely eat much other protein with it.

We used a recipe out of one of the Moosewood Cookbooks tonight.  These cookbooks are great, especially for vegetarians.  They make all sorts of delicious recipes.

Quinoa cooks like a couscous does, very quickly.  I started dinner by rinsing 3/4 cup of quinoa (it is important to rinse the quinoa because the seed produces a natural coat to protect itself from insects and you want to rinse this bitter coat off) and placing it in a pan with twice as much water to boil.  Once it boils, you just reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  A few minutes before the quinoa was cooked, I added some corn to the mix.

Meanwhile, I chopped up my veggies: garlic, onion, green pepper, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes.

Add the onions and garlic to a pan heated with olive oil and cook until tender.  Then, add the pepper, zucchini and squash and cook until a little browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes along with 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a tablespoon of thyme and cover, simmering until the veggies are all tender.  Then add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  We like our food a little on the spicy side, so I added extra pepper flakes!

Serve the stew over a scoop of the quinoa mixture!  The quinoa really works nicely with the stew.  It is a much lighter dish that it would be with a rice.  Delicious!

Quinoa with Vegetable Stew

adapted from Moosewood Restaurants Low-Fat Favorites

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 summer squash, chopped
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa and add to pan with water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender and fluffy.
2. When quinoa has cooked for about 10 minutes, stir in the corn, and continue to cook.
3. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, until the onions soften.
4. Add the pepper, zucchini and squash; cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomatoes and thyme.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until veggies are tender.
6. Add red pepper flakes, then salt and pepper to taste.
7. Fluff the quinoa mixture, spoon it onto individual serving plates and ladle on the vegetable stew.

Nutrition Facts: About 300 calories per serving.  9.2 grams of protein and 6.5 grams of fat.

My dessert creation of the night were some delicious Almond Coconut Macaroons and Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons!  We are having some friends over for dinner this week, so I needed to try some things out.  I can’t serve just any old thing to my guests.

I got this recipe from another foodie’s blog and they came out perfectly.  Plenty of almond and coconut flavor.  I added extra sun-grained chocolate chips to the chocolate ones which makes them much more chocolaty and sinful!

I buy my raw almonds and raw coconut whole because you get more bang for your buck, so my first task was to chop them all up.  I ground up the almonds in my food processor until they were almost to a flour-like texture.  I did the same with the coconut, but made sure it had more texture.

Once chopped, I mixed all of my ingredients together and formed them into ice-cream scoop sized balls.  These are supposed to be placed in a dehydrator, but mine isn’t large enough, so instead I turned my oven on to 170°F (the lowest it will go) and “cooked” them for about 4 hours.

Almond Coconut Macaroons

borrowed from Joggerslife.com

makes 9 macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw Almonds, ground (flour-style)
• 1 Cup Raw Ground Coconut
• 2 Medjool Dates, spun in food processor
• 1/8 Cup Raw Agave Nectar
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract

Double Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons

borrowed from Joggerslife.com

makes 9 macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw Almonds, ground (flour-style)
• 1 Cup Raw Ground Coconut
• 2 Medjool Dates, spun in food processor
• 1/8 Cup Raw Agave Nectar
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract
• 1/2 Cup Raw Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Sun-Grained Chocolate Chips

Directions for both recipes:

1. Preheat oven to 170°F. (or use a dehydrator at 105°F for 6-8 hours)
2. Combine all ingredients.  You’ll know it’s perfect when everything sticks together easily.
3. Form batter into round balls, and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
4. Allow to stay in oven for 3-4 hours, or until macaroons are firm to the touch. (mine took 4 hours)

These babies are so good.  I could eat them all day long!  They would be great topped with a little almond butter, or even broken up over some coconut ice cream!

I will be making these for family and friends in the very near future!  They just might be the 2010 Christmas cookies!  By then, maybe I’ll have a bigger dehydrator.

We love quinoa and made another delicious quinoa dinner tonight!  The prep didn’t take too long, but make sure you get the tomatoes into the oven early because they will definitely take the longest.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Splash of Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F

• Cut cherry tomatoes in half

• Place open side up in a baking dish

• Spritz or drizzle tomatoes with olive oil

• Then sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper

• Place tomatoes in oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on size.  Keep checking every so often to see if tomatoes are done.  They should be slightly wrinkled and very tender.

• Our tomatoes cooked for 30 minutes!  Let tomatoes cool before serving.

Quinoa with Vegetables

adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Serves 4-6, depending on type of dish

Ingredients:

• a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
• a pinch of fine grain sea salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups rinsed quinoa
• 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups kale, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 1 cup oven roasted cherry tomatoes (recipe above)

Directions:

• Place 1.5 cups of quinoa and 3 cups of water in a saucepan; bring to a boil

• Once it comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.  When ready, quinoa will have small spirals off of each seed.

• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and salt in a saute pan over medium heat.

• Add onion, and cook until tender.

• Add quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling.

• Once sizzling, add the kale and cook a few minutes until wilted and tender.

pre-chopped

chopped

• Then add the pesto (we used store bought, but you could make your own!) and stir until well blended.

• Once mixed, add the toasted pumpkin seeds and stir.

(place on a baking sheet, and toast for a few minutes until browned)

• Serve with oven roasted tomatoes on top!

We both loved this meal!  The pumpkin seeds gave it crunch, and the tomatoes added a little sweetness to the dish.  The pesto was not overpowering at all, just a little flavor.  Give it a try!

Does anyone have any delicious quinoa recipes that are a must try? Or is their another grain that you love?

I have read about the benefits of coconut before, during my marathon training, because I had seen coconut water in the grocery store and wanted a healthier alternative to boost my electrolytes (instead of drinking gatorade) after my long runs.  I now drink coconut water multiple times per week just because I love it!

I was interested in more research on other parts of the coconut, so I began again…

I found a great website, Coconut Research Center, which highlights the importance of coconut in a diet, as well as, for medical purposes.  I read through their list of health benefits, and have included a list of 10 highlights (or benefits that stuck out to me!):

• Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.
• Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.
• Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
• Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.
• Supports tissue healing and repair.
• Supports and aids immune system function.
• Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.
• Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.
• Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.
• Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.

Why wouldn’t you want to eat and/or drink something that has such amazing health benefits?!

When I embarked on my healthy eating adventure, I completely replaced all bad oils in my pantry with healthier oils, such as coconut oil.  Therefore, when a recipe calls for a different type of oil, I reach for my favorite resource, Super Natural Cooking, and try to find a healthier fat to use in it’s place.  In most baking recipes, I substitute coconut oil for canola or vegetable oil.  Canola and vegetable oil are not bad to use, but coconut oil provides many more benefits to your health, and is a healthier fat.  You will see that I did not do this for all of my holiday baking!

I could go on and on with all of the articles and websites that I have read about coconut, but instead I leave you with some interesting articles on the benefits of coconut:

Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Coconut Oil, Healthy Living Magazine’s Interview with Bruce Fife, CN, ND.

The Fat That Can Make You Thin, by Bruce Fife, CN, ND.

Coconut Oil, by Raymond Peat, PhD