Spring Entertaining

I was recently invited to a wonderful evening with a group of fellow IIN students. We all got together at my friend Holly's house. She lives on the 58th floor overlooking Lake Michigan. Wow! It was breathtaking.

I wanted to bring a dish to share with everyone and I wanted to keep it healthy. So often the recipes for entertaining can be heavy on the fat, sodium, calories and processed foods. I am not opposed to that kind of thing occasionally but it seems like I am hosting or attending some kind of function every week so I have made it a priority to find things that will taste good without all the junk.

I found this recipe while watching Everyday Italian on the Food Network. I was a bit nervous about it because to be perfectly honest, I don't even like peas and that is the base of the recipe. I decided it was worth a shot so I made it. I am so glad to did. It was really good! It's quick, easy and healthy.

Sun-dried Tomato and Peas on Endive Spears

Prep Time: 10 min Level: Easy Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 pound frozen peas, thawed
8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, drained (about 3/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 heads endive, ends trimmed and leaves separated

Directions
Combine the peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the peas and tomatoes are finely chopped. Add the olive oil and pulse until the olive oil is incorporated and the mixture is minced but not yet pureed. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the salt and pepper. Serve as a dip with the endive spears alongside

Michelle's Note:

I scooped the dip into the endive spears and assembled them onto a platter to serve them. It looked really nice.

Spring Has Sprung!

In my area of the country it is beginning to feel like spring. The weather has warmed up, the sun is out, the birds are chirping and people have begun to emerge from there hibernation in their modern day caves.

The amazing thing about spring is how almost instantly our desires for food change. After a long winter of heavy foods, more meat, and less activity we begin to want to clean out our system and lighten up with salads, fruits and vegetables.

While we have access to a plethora of produce from all over the world, people have begun to get back to their roots and buy local. That means we eat what is in season. The best way to do that is to hit your local farmers market. If you are looking for one in your area check out the Local Harvest website.

It may be a bit early in the season just yet but let's take a look at some of the fruits and vegetables that we are lucky enough to enjoy in the spring season.

Apricots
Artichokes
Asparagus
Arugula
Baby Lettuce Mixes
Blueberries
Boysenberries
Broccoli
Broccoli Raab
Carrots
Celeriac Root
Chard
Cherries
Chives
Collards
Dandelion Greens
Fava Beans
Fennel
Fiddlehead Ferns
Garden Peas
Garlic
Green Onions
Lemons
Loganberries
Mangoes
Morels
Mustard Greens
New Potatoes
Pineapple
Plums
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Snow Peas
Sorrel
Spinach
Turnips
Watercress
Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas

Kiss Your Diet Goodbye!

I was walking around the store today browsing in the book aisle. I couldn't help noticing the plethora of diet books that lined the shelves. I myself own some of them. I have tried several diets in my life. Not as many as some people I know but still enough to know that diets don't work.

Think back to your last "diet." I imagine it went something like this...

1. You realize that you put on a few pounds. Your clothes are getting tight or bathing suit season is quickly approaching and you are scared stiff!

2. You hear about the newest diet craze. Low fat, low carbs, cabbage soup, lemonade, whatever catches your eye. You decide that the time has come...BUT you will wait until Monday to start.

3. You research the diet du jour, plan your menu, make your shopping list, and when Monday comes you start with the plan. You are motivated. You are excited. You are going to look good in no time.

4. A few days go by, you have dropped a few pounds and you are loving it! OK, so the diet is a bit difficult. You're hungry or feeling deprived but who cares, you are losing weight! It is totally worth it.

5. After about a week, 2 weeks, or a month your enthusiasm is starting to wane. You get invited to a party and you are faced with a table full of delicious looking food that you have been avoiding like the plague. One little bite won't hurt. You deserve it after all. You've been so good. You've lost some weight so why not reward yourself with a little "treat."

6. You can't help but wonder what the heck happened. It's been about a week since your little reward and you've been eating out of control. Your diet plan has been trashed and you don't even care about it anymore. Life is too short. Food is enjoyable and why shouldn't you live life to the fullest and eat whatever you want right?

This scenario or ones similar are played out every day in this country. We have been brainwashed to believe that the next diet will be "the one" that will save us from ourselves. These authors know more about this then we do after all. And didn't our best friend Suzie have amazing results on diet xyz? It has to work for us.

I say ENOUGH! Enough of the deprivation! Enough with the crazy plans that inevitably throw our bodies out of balance! Enough with feeling like a failure because we can't live without bread! It's not working! Our obesity rates are at an all time high. It was Albert Einstein who said, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" and this couldn't be more true when it comes to the world of dieting.

Join me in kissing our diet days goodbye. Embrace food and enjoy it in its whole and natural form. Eat what feeds your body and also feeds your soul. You will be amazed at the difference this simple change can make.

Can't imagine how to do this? It's best to start where you are and make a change. Decide on one healthy food you can add to your repertoire and head off to the store to pick it up. Experiment with different ways to cook it and when you are feeling comfortable, try something new.

If the whole thing seems overwhelming, contact me today for a free health consultation. Spend an hour doing something good for yourself. You will have the opportunity to zero in on the changes that make sense for you and you will get really clear about your health and wellness goals. How often do you actually get an entire hour to focus on your health?

Roasting up Some Sweetness in Kitchen

This is a nice way to prepare veggies in the colder months. The slow roasting gives a rich, deep flavor and brings out the natural sweetness in the vegetables. It's a feel good food. It's so easy to do and while there is a long cooking time, you just pop it in the oven, set the timer and walk away. Now that is my kind of cooking.

I made a variation of this the other night for a side dish and it was really good. The kids liked it enough to actually eat it and my husband who HATES sweet potatoes actually ate them! I even chopped up a rutabaga and threw it in and no one was the wiser.

Veggie Bake

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4-8 servings

Ingredients:
any leftover veggies that need to be used
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
3 or 4 large yams, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Chop veggies (except yams) and stir-fry in a bit of oil until soft.
2. Add can of tomatoes and drained can of chickpeas.
3. In a casserole or lasagna dish, layer yams then veggie mix (same as if you were making lasagna but use
potatoes as lasagna sheets and veggie mix instead of meat).
4. Finish with a layer of yams, lightly drizzle olive oil on top.
5. Bake for 1/2 hour at 300 degrees. Then take off cover, turn up temperature to 400 degrees for 10
minutes to crisp up the top layer.

Variations:
Add your favorite herbs or spices, like basil, oregano, fennel, cumin, chili pepper, sea salt, etc., when adding tomatoes and peas for an extra kick. For a bit of added texture, add roasted sunflower seeds when adding tomatoes. Veggie Bake keeps great in the refrigerator for a few days.

Move Your Body

One of the things I am learning to love is exercise. I have not always had the greatest relationship with the many forms of exercise that are out there. Now that I am focusing on not only eating right but also in complete body care, I am searching for ways to get my exercise without feeling like I am torturing myself.

This weekend during class at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition I got a huge lesson on what it takes to get a good workout. We had a trainer come in and work with us for 15 minutes. We were standing up in front of our chairs and let me tell you there wasn't much room. We started jumping around, raising our knees, doing some punching, and getting our butts kicked with some squats.

Let me tell you, at the end of those 15 minutes everyone was sweating. It was so simple. There were only about 5-8 different moves and we just repeated them until the time was up. It doesn't get much easier then that does it?

Later, I was on the plane heading home and I ran across a reader's tip in the Body and Soul magazine. She had a history of struggling with establishing a workout routine. She never felt like she could fit it in. She decided to change her mindset and commit to doing just one minute of sit ups a day. Now on days that she struggles she only does the one minute but on other days she ends up doing 10, 15, or 30 minutes of exercise. Very interesting.

In one day I got my lesson twice. I don't need to go to the gym. I don't need to have the perfect workout DVD. I don't need to complicate my life. I only need to move my body. What a great lesson for all of us. Start small, commit to something, and get moving.

Not Just for the Birds

Since I have joined the Institute for Integrative Nutrition I have been experimenting with my diet. We are learning about over 100 different dietary theories and most importantly we are learning about bio-individuality. In a nutshell, bio-individuality means that there is no one perfect diet for everyone. One man's food is another man's poison.

The reality of it is that no one can tell me which foods are right for my body. I can read all kinds of things and learn different theories but in the end I need to learn to listen to my body and feed it what it needs.

Over the last week or so I have taken gluten out of my diet. I am staying away from wheat, oats, rye, and barley. I have actually not had much in the way of grains at all except a bit of brown rice here and there.

I am heading out to NY tomorrow and I started wondering what the heck I am going to eat for breakfast while I am there. I have been having a problem with eggs for a while now, can't have gluten grains, just eating fruit isn't enough to keep me going until lunch. Hmmmm, quite the quandary.

I bought a package of millet from the health food store and did a little research. I knew millet was a gluten free grain and that it was in the bird food I used to give my cockatoo but that was about it. What I found out is wonderful!

Millet is actually a seed that has been around for ages and has been used in countries all over the world such as China, India, Greece, Egypt and Africa. It is even mentioned in the Bible. Millet is easily digested and alkaline in the body. It provides serotonin to calm and soothe your moods and helps to hydrate your colon to keep you regular. It is full of nutrients that our bodies need such as magnesium, calcium, maganese, tryptophan, phosphorus, fiber, B vitamins, and antioxidants.

Sounds great right? But what do you do with it?

Millet is as easy to prepare as a pot of rice. It is a good idea to soak the grains over night to release phytic acid that can make it difficult to digest. Simply rinse the millet in a strainer and put into a bowl of water. Let it sit 8-24 hours. I put it out overnight.

Millet absorbs a lot of water so you will typically need 3 cups of water for 1 cup of millet. After soaking you may be able to reduce it to 2 or 2 1/2 cups of water. To cook it, boil the water, add the grains, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the water is absorbed and it has reached the desired texture. That's it!

Millet can be used in savory dishes like stuffing, soups, and pilafs or it can be sweet like a breakfast porridge or snack bars. I chose to make some millet fruit balls for that I can bring with me to NY. I followed a recipe that I got off the package of millet I purchased but I ended up changing it up quite a bit. They are very versatile so I wrote up a recipe that allows you the freedom to use whatever you like or whatever happens to be in your pantry.

Millet Fruit Balls

2 cups prepared millet

1 cup your choice of chopped nuts. (I used 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup pecans)

1 cup chopped dried fruit ( I used 1/4 cup apricots, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup cranberries)

Grated orange rind from one orange

Agave to taste

Additional finely chopped nuts

Just put everything in a bowl except the additional finely chopped nuts. Stir it all up and then form it into bite sized balls. Roll the balls in the nuts and enjoy. You could use your food processor to mix it up too.

Oh the pain, the sinus pain!

My husband Ed picked up a little friend this week. It was an ugly little virus that hopped a ride home with him from the office. Throughout the week it worked its evil magic and has given him some annoying gifts. He has had chills, fatigue, congestion, cloudy thinking, sniffles and more.

Now Ed is what I call a sinus guy. I have a UR (upper respiratory)guy, and a stomach guy, but Ed is the sinus guy. Whenever he gets sick it ends up turning into sinusitis.

When I first met him he had the worst sinus problems. He was ALWAYS suffering with his yucky sinusitis! Over the years I have helped him by changing his diet. He was a hard core milk man. He loved his milk and drank a lot of it. He couldn't believe how much better he felt when he drastically cut back on the dairy. He was having less and less infections. Adding more fruits and veggies helped to boost him immune system too. Now he will usually only get sick once or twice in a year as opposed to once or twice each month. I am not kidding, he was sick all the time.

This week his suffering was lingering on a bit so I made a quick stop at the health food store and picked up some eucalyptus essential oil. I heated up a pot of water, added about 5 drops of the oil and had him put a towel over his head like a tent. He sat for 5 minutes breathing in the warm water with the oil. We refreshed the oil a few times by adding more. At the end of it he was covered in sweat but he felt so much better. He only did it once and he was amazed at the relief it brought him.

If you are a sinus sufferer or you have loved ones that may be in need of some help give that a try. Here are a few other things you can do to find relief:

1. Drink a lot of water and hot herbal teas to thin the mucus and promote drainage.
2. Eat chicken soup or vegetable soup. Yes, your grandma was right. There are actually studies that show that hot chicken soup promotes sinus drainage.
3. Eliminate all milk and dairy.
4. Make a drink of hot lemonade: Combine the juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons with an equal amount of hot water. Sweeten with maple syrup or agave. You can also add 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper if you can tolerate it. Drink this three times a day.
5. Look for foods that may be triggering chronic sinus problems: Dairy and wheat are the two most common offenders.