Tag Archives: Standard American Diet

Peaches Gone Wild!!

July 10, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

Tired of swooning over the covers of Southern Living and other magazines just wishing you could join the rest of the world in cool summertime deliciousness? Except, you have wisely chosen to no longer eat gluten; and since giving up sugar, you really do not want to get that addiction started again. So, you stand in the line at the checkout counter at the grocery store and you salivate at the magazine covers looking pitiful and deprived. It could be embarrassing:

“Clean up at register 5; customer weeping buckets and drooling on the floor!”

I regularly prepare what I like to call “Fruit with Benefits” which is a concoction of already healthful berries, sometimes an apple or a pear, and varying amounts of Great Lakes gelatin and ground flax seed. This gives me all the goodies of the berries PLUS protein, PLUS more fiber, PLUS Omega-3 fatty acids! A small scoop of this satisfying dessert and you are a happy camper.

Since developing my “Fruit with Benefits” skills, I am always looking for ways to squeeze in some more nutrition. Therefore, when presented with this mouth-watering spread in the magazine about icebox pies, I began to wonder…and as the imaginative and creative juices flowed, an idea formed… Well, I think I’ve done it!

There is a bit of sugar, just over ½ cup total, for the entire pie but that’s compared to way over 1 cup of sugar in the original recipe that uses store bought peach preserves which have who knows how much sugar?!

The original recipe called for folding gobs of whipped cream in the filling, but I chose to not even convert that by using more whipped coconut cream. Enough is enough.

I have tried lots of gluten free pie crust recipes, but this one is the best. One of the things I especially liked were the occasional whole flax seeds that had escaped the food processor blade; it not only tasted great, but it looked great, too!

So, do not despair my lovelies, this will be a great treat, not sweet enough to initiate binge carb fests, but smooth and creamy and peachy enough to make you smile!

This recipe has plenty of bone and joint health benefits of gelatin and boosts in protein from not only the gelatin and eggs but from the flax seed that also gives omega-3 fatty acids! Win! Win! Win!

Prepare the crust first so it can completely cool before adding the contents.

Put the following ingredients into a food processor and pulse until well-combined:

1/2 cup whole flax seeds

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. Kosher salt

6 Tbsp. butter from pastured cows, melted- (I use the Kerrygold brand)

Pat dough into a smooth ball and press into a 9-inch, lightly- greased pie plate. Evenly distribute the dough, pressing it up the sides.

Create an edge. I just pressed a fork into mine.

Bake 6-10 minutes at 325 degrees until golden. Remove from oven and cool.

Prepare fresh “jam” by putting the following ingredients into a sauté pan and cook on medium until it comes to a boil, check for sweetness, and take off heat:

1 Tbs. coconut oil

2 peeled and finely-diced peaches

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. gelatin that is wisked together with 1/4 cup boiling water: NO lumps!

Prepare the filling as follows:

Fill a 3 1/2 quart sauce pan with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium to keep at a simmer.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the following together in a 2 1/2 quart glass bowl:

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

Place bowl over simmering water and cook while whisking constantly five to six minutes or until mixture becomes slightly thick and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and the simmering water.

Place 4 tsp. gelatin in a small bowl and pour 1/4 cup boiling water over it, whisking constantly until gelatin is completely dissolved.

Using the handheld electric mixer, whisk the egg mixture on high speed for 8-10 minutes until ribbons form on surface of mixture when beater is lifted.

Add gelatin mixture and continue whisking one more minute.

Fold in the peach “jam” and a pinch of kosher salt.

Spoon filling into cooled pie crust and arrange thin slices of 2 medium peeled peaches over the filling. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze 2 hours.

Serve slices of pie with a dollop of whipped coconut cream sweetened with a pinch of sugar and a splash of vanilla!

Going, going, gone!

Just peachy!!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Just One (Good) Thing After Another!

May 14, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

My absolute favorite morning routine sets me up for greeting the new day with renewed and centered energies. Whenever possible, this is what sets me on a great path. I call this a “Series of Good Things.” We started talking about this in the fall series of Designed for Health classes, and with my deeper understanding of habits and habit formation, it is all coming together for me with positive results.
Let me share:

Rise and shine at the same time each day! In doing so, I am waking naturally a few minutes before my gentle phone alarm announces itself. With more consistent bedtimes, waking up is not so problematic. Sleeping in has robbed me of too many retirement mornings, and I regret it when I do. No. Getting up at a consistent time is my first good thing.

Drinking that first full cup of cold water right after swishing out the “cob webs” from my mouth is good thing number two. Start the day with the best “hydrater” of all: water.

If my husband is up, I will make the bed on my way to the closet to dress. Good thing number three. The bedroom is neat and I am already on a roll!

Moving into the kitchen, I pass the refrigerator first, so I grab my cold Bragg’s apple cider vinegar from the door, pour a tablespoon-full into a glass, add about 6 ounces of water, and chug. This is a personal experiment; many in my spring Designed for Health class are doing it for cholesterol benefits. My research has netted a zero on scientifically proven health benefits except for well-documented benefit of improved blood sugars. I am doing it to add acid to my stomach in hopes to improve some reflux issues. While we refer to acid reflux, often it can be a result of not enough acid in the stomach. We will see. No harm for sure, and – hey- that’s more water! Good thing number four.

Then, I have to start my day feeding my menagerie of birds and squirrels! Watching their antics off the back porch is our major amusement and delight. That’s number five.

Taking a few deep, mindful, meditative breaths while pausing to sit on the porch swing helps me calmly set myself up for a new day. “Thank you, God, for this new day; thank you, Lord, in every way for your blessings great and small; make me a blessing to others this day. Amen.” Six.

Then, while the coffee or tea is brewing, number seven is my favorite to check off because, not only do I enjoy doing this, but getting to it can be hard for me. Plank time! Starting with a child’s pose to stretch my lower back, I move forward to do my two minutes of planks: full body plank followed by a “restful” half-plank from the knees.

The rest of coffee brewing time is dedicated to slow motion squats, kitchen-counter slow motion push-ups, palms up arm circles, ballet-bar style toe points to the front, side, and back: very good for balance. That is number eight!

Bing, bing, bing! Coffee’s ready! That’s number nine!

So – exercise minimums are met, bed is made, water is drunk, nature is fed; well… it’s a series of good things!

To keep that good vibe, I make sure half of my breakfast plate is veggies! Leftovers work great as a side to my two eggs or they can be scrambled together as a frittata. If all else fails, after frying the bacon and before cooking the eggs, I will grab a giant handful of greens to sauté with a bit of good oil (coconut, avocado, or olive). That’s number ten!

I hope that you, too, have a “series of good things” you are doing for yourself each day. Please share them with me!

To summarize some good things we have covered here and in class about improving our over-all wellness:

1. Mindful breathing

2. Gratitude each day

3. Drink some extra water

4. Taper-off and eliminate added sugars

5. Eat real food. Eat food without labels!

6. Half of your plate each meal should be (mostly green) veggies

7. Use good fats- butter and ghee from pastured cows, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil

8. Supplements should include Vitamin-D, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and magnesium with your calcium

9. Toss the grains- they cause inflammation seen and unseen, and work against vitamin and mineral absorption

10. You may also want to toss the legumes: dried beans and peanuts- because they can have an adverse effect on digestion, can block absorption of vitamins and minerals, and can be inflammatory

11. Keep a regular bedtime and get enough sleep

12. Move and stretch your body every day. I have just started weekly Yin Yoga classes and am just loving it! More restful sleep; greater inner awareness and calm; and a more balanced feeling.

13. Set tiny, repeatable “tweaks” to move yourself toward better wellness.

14. Simplify, simplify, simplify!

15. Rather than getting more “stuff,” gather experiences in your life!

16. Smile!

As I concentrate on finalizing my book, preparing single day seminars, and simplifying my own possessions by cleaning and tossing out, I will be taking a bit of a blogging sabbatical. There may be the occasional summer recipe or thought, but I am going to practice what I preach by simplifying and daily application of things that make our ultimate goals come true!

Have a great summer!

In health and wellness-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Note to Self – Just Don’t…

April 25, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

Congratulations, self! You decided to break away from sugar as the one good thing you were going to do. A little tough at first, perhaps. No Pop Tart for breakfast. No mid-afternoon cookie break. Cake for dessert? Nope. No added sugar this week!

And you did it! Funny how, after the first three days, the yearning for sweet stopped! It felt so good, too! Those knee joints didn’t hurt so much. There was enough energy all day long! That mandatory afternoon nap wasn’t even needed or missed! I could just sit down and relax while reading a book and not fall asleep mid-sentence.

Why, then, oh why, did I think I could reward myself with a sweet dessert? Why? Why would I want to break the “spell” of being FREE from sugar? And not just as a habit! Why, oh why, did I think that one dessert would not have an effect on me?

Immediately, I felt physically weighted down.

The sofa beckoned me for a nap…

Where did my pep go?

Why was I hungry later on?

This is how it was for one of our Designed for Health class participants last week. Great progress in sugar habit modification, and an even greater personal example to her about the power of sugar.

Not only does sugar contribute to blood sugar and hormone imbalances, but it is addicting to the extreme, contributes to body-wide inflammation, disrupts thyroid balances, provides fuel for cancer tumors, and generally mucks things up.

Note to self…once off sugar, stay off!

Another case, this time with yours truly—who should know better – I know, I know… We were eating lunch at our favorite destination, Carolina Bagel. Passing on the bagels is not even hard; I just do not do gluten, but I am not Celiac. I forgot to ask to have the croutons left off the salad. I had no trouble removing them from my plate, but…oh, there were a couple left and they are seasoned so well…
What’s a few measly (delicious) croutons? Was I going to be above any reaction at all? No.

Just 30 minutes later there was a knot in my gut for a while; and why did that nameless malaise suddenly appear?

Note to self…listen to your body and do not eat the gluten. Ever!
Those were the things I noticed right off; but what was happening on levels I could not immediately appreciate?

We all may think we can be above it all, be the exception, but “no.”
Don’t beat yourself up for temporarily not thinking…although, not thinking is a choice, too…. But okay, you may goof. Just pick yourself up, dust off, appreciate that your body ALWAYS tells you the truth, and recommit to listening better and thinking smart.

May is National Celiac Month. I will be sharing some new information about gluten, grains, and intestinal permeability a.k.a. “leaky gut” on this blog and in my Designed for Health classes at First Baptist Church.

If you are in the New Bern, NC area, please join us next Wednesday at 6 pm in Building A. We will be sharing information about healing our guts through supplementation and food choices.
Stay tuned-
Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Have We Got News For You!

April 14, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

Designed for Health classes have re-commenced at First Baptist Church, New Bern, NC, and it is not too late to start joining us for an hour of wellness techniques! With so many folks enjoying Easter Break out of town last week, I want to make sure to remind everyone that we are starting a new series!

Come join us each Wednesday evening from 6-7 pm for the next five weeks. Class is held in the main sanctuary building, just off of the breezeway entrance. There are plenty of signs and people to guide you!

This week’s main topics are about sugar, sugar substitutes, and starchy vs. non-starchy vegetables. We will also re-visit last week’s topics of how to establish new habits.

The class is free to all who attend, and we always have a great time!

Hope to see you Wednesday!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

A New Trend In Exercise – The Plank

April 7, 2015 Deidre 2 Comments

A svelte model, I am not.

One to turn heads in spandex, no.

Worth a second look fully clothed….maybe.

I just know that I want tighter abs and stronger back muscles. My poor chiropractor has to re-assemble my lower back every month, and it never seems far away from “going out.” Then, there is the flat tummy thing. After two babies, each weighing over 9 pounds, those lower regions have been stretched to kingdom come! Even returning to my pre-pregnancy weight back then never gave me “abs of steel”!

Coupling these two needs with my application of recent advanced studies in habits, I have made fantastic progress!

A little history, first. The whole idea of doing planks was brand new to me. I thought we just walked on planks of wood…it’s called flooring; but, my fifth period junior boys were showing off to each other their prowess at doing planks. Students taught me things all the time; this was cool! I was eager to learn!

It seemed simple enough: get down on the floor, face down, with body touching floor only at the elbows and forearms and toes, and stay there a minute. The two boys who were having a plank-off seemed to be having a tough time after about 30 seconds. Their whole bodies seemed to tremble at the 45 second mark. They were wiped out after a minute.

One boy hung back, not wanting to participate. Seems he boasted he could do it, but just not in front of everybody. Wise chap.

Needless to say, Mrs. Edwards went home to try it out for herself…in private…away from photo sharing students who would have lit up Facebook with embarrassing pics of their teacher. That was over three years ago.

Sure enough, seemed like I had found yet another exercise I couldn’t do! I played around with it every now and then, making it easier by bending my knees and cutting the work load in half. Still…I naturally did not master it because I did not consistently do it. And…it was a little boring!

But there was something intriguing about this exercise. I kept reading about it and watching it on videos. “Great exercise for core strength!” “Perfect for those efficient 10 minute workouts!”
Ten minute workout? That’s me!

So, ok. A little here….a little there…once a week….twice a week…every few days…. Is it any surprise things were still no good? I decided that, sure as I want to become a better writer, so I needed to write every day; I needed to do this (and other exercise) every day as well, if I wanted to see progress.

If all I could do was a half-plank for 15 seconds, then fine! Who does not have 15 seconds? So I did 15-second, half-planks every day. Period. No skipping. Naturally, as I got stronger, it was easy to extend my time to 30 seconds. Every day. Then 45 seconds; then a full minute!

But that was a half-plank, so I moved on to a full body plank: only elbows/lower arms and toes on the floor. I followed up full-minute half-planks with a 15-second full plank.

You can imagine how this is going to play out. From 15 seconds to 20…to 30…to 40…45…50…a full minute! Wow! What elation! What happiness! I did it!

Then I learned about straight-arm, full-body planks! You got it! Right now, I do:

A full-body elbow-toe plank for a minute

A half-plank for a minute as a rest, then do a straight-arm plank for a minute!Three minutes of plank-ness! ME! Non-exercise-y me!
And you know what? That straight arm plank so looks like the starting position for a push up…..!

Always wanted to do push-ups……

Maybe I’ll start on my knees with those….

Whatever you are trying to accomplish remember to:

1) break it down to a manageable, easily repeatable task that takes just a little time, knowing that what you are doing is right, and will pay off in time, and

2) show up every day to do it!

When doing a teensy good thing, it is easy to do!

But it is also easy NOT to do, as well…

If you miss doing your 15-second plank today…no harm? People who succeed would tell you that, yes, there’s harm in not doing it. The world is full of people who do not succeed. Their teensy little things just do not get done. It’s easy to do and equally easy not to do! As a result, they reflect that daily choice just the same way those who do that teensy little thing also reflect the result of their daily choices.

I chose to do a plank. What do you want to choose?

Deidre Edwards, “Planker” Extraordinaire!

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Good Morning, Glory, Power Muffins!

March 29, 2015 Deidre 2 Comments

March on Morning Glory Power Muffins

Sometimes you just really want a muffin! I know that often, muffins are just glorified little cakes full of unnecessary carbohydrates. Popping on the label saying they are gluten-free is NOT necessarily a pathway to improved health. There is so much around these days with the label “gluten-free,” and once again, the advertisers are wooing us with products still replete with chemicals, highly refined oils, starch, and sugar!

So, I was determined to make a nutritionally dense muffin that would satisfy and be truly delicious.

I did it!

These Morning Glory Power Muffins have received rave reviews, and it is my pleasure to share this recipe with you today!

Morning Glory Power Muffins

Yield- 20 muffins

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

½ cup golden raisins

4 Tbs. hemp seed hearts

3 Tbs. ground golden flax seed meal

¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup crushed pineapple no sugar added

1 cup chopped walnuts*

2 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup gluten-free flour

½ tsp. xanthan gum

¼ cup coconut flour

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Method:

In a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until creamy yellow; add the banana, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and baking soda, beating until well-combined. Add the melted coconut oil and mix well. Add the flours and the xanthan gum, beating to combine.

Then, using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the raisins, hemp and flax seed, coconut, carrot, pineapple, and walnuts. Make sure to mix all ingredients well.

Fill muffin tin lined with baking cups about 3/4 full.

Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted.

*Prior to using, soak walnuts at least 4-6 hours in enough water to cover and 1 tsp. sea salt. Rinse soaked nuts very well, blot dry on a towel, and dehydrate in oven or dehydrator. This process activates the nuts, makes them more digestible, and increases their crisp tastiness. While I do own a dehydrator, this was the first time I used my oven for nut dehydration, and I was totally satisfied with the results. After using the oven for another purpose, I spread these walnuts out on a large rimmed metal pan and put them in the pre-warmed oven (350) which I then turned off. After a few hours, I stirred the nuts around, closed the door and warmed the oven up to about 200 degrees; then I turned it off, and let them dehydrate some more. This was done before going to bed. By morning, they were crisp. Once you have tasted activated nuts, you will never want to eat plain raw ones again!

I hope you agree that these are the “Best Ever Morning Glories”! Their power comes from the hemp, flax, and walnuts which give great forms of “good fat” as in Omega 3 fatty acids, and in protein! Certainly, the other ingredients aren’t too shabby, either!

News Flash!

Deidre has been a little absent from this blog because there is so much good stuff going on!

Sorry for my absence here, but I have been preparing for the next cycle of the Designed for Health Classes, AND I have been working on my book in which I am putting all of this wellness thinking into one work! Plus, I have been doing so much research into habits are born, and how to develop our daily energies into something more powerful than we could ever imagine!

Designed for Health, Series 2 classes will be held at First Baptist Church, New Bern, North Carolina. They will be held in Building A for six weeks on Wednesday nights from 6-7 pm. If you are not a member of First Baptist Church, that’s fine, just email me at foodtalk4you@gmail.com to let me know you want to attend. I want to make sure we have a room big enough for everyone, so a head count is always good to have in advance. This series is free to all.
If you are interested in a class closer to where you live, or your organization would like me to speak with them, please contact me at the same email address to schedule a class or single presentation.

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

The Best Ever Salmon Patty Recipe!

March 6, 2015 Deidre 1 Comment

Hungry as a bear for salmon? Try this terrific recipe from Deidre's recipe book! — Hungry as a bear for salmon? Try this terrific recipe from Deidre’s recipe book!

There are just some things we always need to keep around and canned salmon is very high on my list! Ever had one of those days when you just wanted to pull something together really quick with little fuss?

Well, this could be the answer for you!

But what to call them? Maybe they are just humble patties. You know, like a hamburger patty; plop them on a grill or throw them into a pan….few minutes on each side…dinner is served. Last year, I may have briefly described my creation without benefit of a recipe as a “fritter.” Sounded more colorful; a little regional, perhaps. Countrified. Then, this month’s Southern Living magazine had a recipe for “Salmon Croquettes” which really looked like MY patties… or…fritters!

Goggling the moniker dilemma just sort of muddied things up. Both croquettes and fritters, apparently, are deep fried. Nay! Nay! Even Southern Living did not deep fry its croquettes! They are both also dipped in egg and breaded before frying.

Please, so much messy work!

So, I am left with my humble patties. “Croquettes” just sounds like a restaurant raising their price on patties by calling them something elite. “Fritters” just sounds….I don’t know, maybe deep fried in a converted gas station come greasy spoon restaurant.

I did not have the Greek yogurt Southern Living mentioned to fix up as a dipping sauce which I have done in the past; fortunately, these patties remained quite moist and did not demand a sauce. I will give you some ideas for the sauce, though. Cool thing is, this recipe can be adapted to a variety of ingredients at hand and measuring is not a must at all.

Southern Living’s recipe called for 2 – 14.75 oz. cans of salmon; I used just one. They called for 4 eggs which I actually used between 2 to 4, but I compensated by adding ¼ cup of coconut flour!

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this actual process and all the evidence is eaten, but I did have a couple file photos of a similar recipe to share. So here it goes from my memory for the Best Ever Salmon Patties!

Best Ever Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

1 (14.75 oz.) can salmon, drained
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped with green stalks
3 mini multi-colored bell peppers, finely chopped
½ small can water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 – 4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dill weed
Approx. ¼ cup coconut flour, as needed. to make the patties “stick” together

Method

Beat eggs in a large bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the coconut flour, and mix well to combine. I do this with my hands while wearing latex free gloves.

Add the coconut flour if the mixture is too moist and needs some ‘glue’ to stick together.

Using your gloved hands, form mixture into approximately 1/2 cup patties, pressing firmly to mold.

Pan fry the patties on medium heat using about 2 Tbs. good oil of choice: olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. When the edges start looking a little crispy, flip patties over. Cooking time should be 2-3 minutes on each side.

Ingredient ideas for dipping sauces:

Using a base of plain Greek yogurt add:

Dijon mustard, dill weed, lemon zest, lemon juice, pinch of ground red pepper

Or in a blender or food processor combine the following with the yogurt:

English cucumber, dill, salt, pepper for a Greek flair

The delicious end product - Best Ever Salmon Patties! — The delicious end product – Best Ever Salmon Patties!

Ingredients are easily substituted and swiped out. When there is fresh parsley around, I always add it for added spunk and flakes of greenness. No water chestnuts? Leave them out! I just happened to have a few green onions that needed to be used up; any kind of onion could be used.

Just keep a few cans of salmon around to “save the day.”

Enjoy-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Recipes

Just A Little Something From Me to You!

February 24, 2015 Deidre 1 Comment

With a lot of help from Sheree Alderman and Michael McClendon, we are finally able to present to our readers our first e-booklet covering the recipes posted last year in a usable PDF format! Yay!

Magic Mousse, Broth, Dumplings, Smoothies, Gravy… it’s all there! To get your copy, all you have to do is: Click on the link FoodTalk4U 2014 Recipes and wella!! Just follow the prompts on top of the screen on the right hand side to download it!

I am following ‘my bliss’ (see recent blog by same name) by delving into writing my first book! It is designed to go along with the ‘Designed for Health’ series that I teach here in New Bern, North Carolina, a couple times a year but will certainly be a helpful guide for any reader! It’s still unfolding before my eyes, and I look forward to seeing it in my hands… and YOUR hands!

Book writing and self-publishing represents such an exciting learning curve! I am reading more than ever, above and beyond the daily food and wellness research; and then, of course, there’s the writing. Writing, writing, writing. I am trying to garner more resources for you and put together tools for you that will guarantee your personal success at a higher, more complete level of wellness than you ever imagined!

In the meantime, how does your plate look?

Here are two representations that summarize what I have been talking about:

1) The goal

2) How breakfast might be composed.

What’s the ‘green stuff’ in breakfast? Well, usually, I will grab 2 or 3 handfuls of baby spinach or a baby spinach/baby kale combination and throw them into my enamel non-stick pan with ‘happy butter’ from grass fed cows, similarly sourced Ghee, coconut oil or olive oil, and wilt the leaves. It’s a cinch! Stir those babies around a minute and they’re done! Add some pink Himalayan salt or lemon pepper, and you’re all set!

Or…you can reheat last night’s leftover greens. Really, once you start doing this, breakfast will look funny without some healthy greens. Asparagus? Go for it! Sprouts? Green beans? Do it!

I always try to keep some mushrooms around. If they are not leftover, start them first in the pan and when they are finishing browning on the second side, scoot the mushrooms to one side of the pan and cook the spinach. After plating the veggies, you are ready to cook your eggs. Or….you can whip up the eggs, start cooking them, then add the veggies for an easy omelet!

See, you do not have to be a Master Chef to take control of your nutritional destiny!

It is so easy!

Enjoy the FoodTalk4U 2014 Recipes

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Recipes

It’s A Ten Carrot Day!

February 3, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

Not those kind of carats... unfortunately.... — Not those kind of carats… unfortunately…

It is so economical of time and effort to engage in periodic cook-a-thons; they save on food prep and clean-up time. Such was yesterday afternoon when my kitchen was all about carrots—shredded carrots. No use dirtying up the food processor three separate times … just do it all in one day and create three nutritious recipes!

Broccoli Salad

1 broccoli crown- stem removed and tiny florets created

2 celery stalks, sliced lengthwise and cut into small ¼ inch pieces

¼ red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise and cut into small thin slices

¼ cup red onion cut into thin semi-circular slices

1 cup shredded carrots

Handful of Craisins (cranberry raisins)

2 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled

Just enough mayonnaise to “glue” things together. I use Duke’s because it has the fewest number of ingredients and no high fructose corn syrup.

1 Tbs. coconut milk

Salt

Pepper

Method

Start with maybe a 1/3-1/2 cup mayonnaise, stir in the coconut milk to thin it, and season with salt and pepper.

Toss all ingredients into mayonnaise mixture, adjust seasonings, and enjoy!

Carrot Salad

Shredded carrots—quantity is up to you

Handful of golden raisins

Minimum quantity of mayonnaise

1 Tbs. of coconut milk to thin the mayonnaise

Salt

Method

Thin the mayonnaise with coconut milk and season with salt. Add carrots and raisins. Combine well. Adjust seasoning.

Carrot Pear Nut Muffins

About 2 cups shredded carrots

1 pear, shredded

½ tsp. Anise seed

½ cup coconut flour

1 cup hazelnut flour

Hand-full of activated walnuts (remember: soaked and dehydrated)

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

tsp soda

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbs. coconut oil, melted

Method

Put carrots, pear, anise seeds, salt, both flours, nuts, and melted oil into a large bowl and combine well.

Whip eggs with a whisk, add brown sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine well. Pour wet ingredients into carrot mixture and mix well. If the batter is too wet, add a bit more coconut flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each spoonful.

Put batter into a greased muffin pan or use baking cup liners. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven or 325 degree convection oven for 25-30 minutes until toothpick can come out clean once inserted into the middle of a muffin. Yield: one dozen.

All a part of a well-rounded dinner: raw broccoli salad, raw carrot salad, one muffin, sliced left-over steak with sautéed mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper. Even Mr. Virgil liked the muffins…They were sweet enough for him even though they are super low sugar! Yay!

Best wishes for successful cooking! Remember to breathe, walk in the sunshine and fresh air, do a few slow-motion squats and counter top push-ups. It’s been a few days since the last time I did those moves and after just five or six “slo-mo” squats and push-ups, I feel decidedly more invigorated and tighter around the tummy! So little work and so much benefit!

Deidre

Blogging for good health!

Follow Your Bliss!

January 28, 2015 Deidre Leave a comment

food-talk-4-u-spirituality — Mentally, physically, spiritually – love yourself

Being “Designed for Health” means more than learning how to return to eating nutrient-dense foods; it means creating and maintaining that healthy balance in all areas of our life: mentally, spiritually, and physically.

food-talk-4-u-insomnia — Stress-related insomnia

“Fixing” the food part to meet physical needs is just one part of that healthy triad. Many of us are spinning so many stress-filled plates, the mental and spiritual part of ourselves is going lacking…which then circles back to an unhappy body. Stress hormones play into poor sleep which plays into morestress hormones which play into hormones designed to push us to more starch and sugar which plays into…… well, it’s a mess!

Did you ever say “Stop this stress-go-round, I want to get off!”?

Are you experiencing a dark existential ennui?

Pretty young woman enjoying sunshine and fresh air in a flowering field. — Just breathe….

If there is a sunbeam shining right now, make sure to head for it! Take a 20 minute walk in the sunshine every day that you possibly can. Breathe in that fresh air. Look for things you have not noticed before. Something seen. Something heard. Something felt. Something smelled. Even this most basic exercise helps on all aspects of the health triad.

Pet a puppy. Who doesn't love a puppy? — Pet a puppy. Who doesn’t love a puppy?

Breathing helps, too! Not the everyday kind. The stop for a minute and take slow breaths kind. See, our over-active minds are hard to shut off even during a walk – hence the idea of noticing new things – so five methodical breaths are a great way to cleanse the mind, stop the stress-go-round, and lower the anxiety level.

You know the drill:

1. Stop everything

2. Close eyes

3. Drop shoulders

4. Inhale slowly for a count of five

5. Let the air circulate inside of you for a count of five

6. Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of five

7. Repeat four more times

Concentrate ONLY on this procedure; if another thought drifts in then gently release it. Concentrate on the feel of the air coming into your body. Imagine it swirling around inside you. Feel the release while you exhale. Mindful breathing can be a beautiful, life-saving thing. Try it right now. Whew…I just did, and the release is just amazing!

Another way to shift our mental and spiritual focus away from the negative can be through being a part of what I have named a Tapestry Group. I am facilitating a Tapestry Group at our church. It is an easily replicated concept you may want to try yourself. The name of this group reflects the thought that each one of us is a part of the larger Tapestry of Life; that each one of us provides a meaningful thread to this tapestry; that the color of our thread may change over time; and that the threads of others are woven along with our own to create the rich and beautiful tapestry we call Life.

Our purpose is the sharing of experiences, reflecting on matters or topics of the day, expanding or clarifying our view points, learning from others, and supporting others and ourselves through the exchange of ideas and thoughts.

At our last monthly meeting, I shared four talking points taken from a book by Karl Moore entitled, “The 18 Rules of Happiness: How to be Happy.” His first four “rules” provided a great resource for reflection and sharing. To paraphrase his book:

1. Stop the pity party; self-pity eats up everything around, except for itself. Elsewhere, I recently read that we have 60-70,000 thoughts each day; while some are not that significant, others may color our whole day. So, stop the negative thoughts and go to rule #2:

2. Be grateful. Well, sure, we’re thankful that semi-tractor trailer missed hitting us on the interstate, but on a daily level—moment-to-moment—we need to be grateful. I have heard of people keeping a gratitude journal whereby they make daily entries, morning or evening, for their items of gratitude. You’ve heard of that old hymn that goes, “count your blessings, name them one by one”? There’s a lot of truth in this process as counting our blessings— mindfully reviewing the positive in our lives—can create a mind-set shift, a general re-focusing on what is important, and a re-framing of how we view what’s on our personal plates.

3. Open yourself to selectively saying “Yes” more. I know, I know; aren’t we supposed to learn to say “No” more….I mean, we are being stretched too thin, right? Well, sure, but some of us have gotten too good at saying “no” and have shut too many doors, shut out light, shut out life. There are random twists in life and unexpected opportunities that come knocking that we need to seize. Sometimes it’s even easier to say “yes” because you participate in a positive flowing forward instead of saying “no” which goes against the flow of life. You be the judge; say “yes” to good things that may be unexpected and that can open up a positive flow in your life.

4. Follow your bliss. This is an idea originally from Joseph Campbell. I remember an example of bliss in my students as they practiced what they learned in the classroom and became hands on caregivers to real patients. Their eyes lit up! They couldn’t start their clinical rotations soon enough! The joy poured out of their very beings and flowed around and caressed their patients! Time flew by! Bliss is something money can’t buy. What is your bliss? Probably everyone knows what needs to be done to be happy, but few are brave enough to take the steps to do it. Follow your bliss.

Get a room full of people to reflect and talk about the first four rules of happiness, and you will have a room full of refreshed folks who have a new perspective on life; who have shared and received inspiration; and who have said “Yes” to an opportunity to get outside of themselves, engage with others, and who shared their bliss!
Consider being a part of or forming a Tapestry Group. We were designed for health, and we were designed to be social beings.

There’s a reason for all of it!

Blissfully-

Deidre

Food Talk 4 You

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Reclaim your health one meal at a time

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Reclaim your health one meal at a time