Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Tomato, Chickpea, and Feta Salad

Za’atar—a Middle Eastern spice blend treasured for its savory thyme-oregano flavor—adds a lovely herbal quality to this easy side salad.


Serves 6

3 oz. feta, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

2 tsp. za’atar

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. cherry, grape, or pear tomatoes, halved

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs. white wine vinegar

________________________________________

In a small bowl, mix together the feta, za’atar and crushed red pepper flakes. Add 1 Tbs. of the oil and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Put the tomatoes in a large bowl. Stir in the chickpeas and season with 1/4 tsp. salt and a few grinds black pepper.

Add the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and the vinegar. Stir in the feta, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

McFrankenstein??

An excerpt from Dr. Mercola's website...

"Do you put dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent made of silicone, in your chicken dishes?



How about tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a chemical preservative so deadly that just five grams can kill you?


These are just two of the ingredients in a McDonalds Chicken McNugget. Only 50 percent of a McNugget is actually chicken. The other 50 percent includes corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents and completely synthetic ingredients….


Bottom Line You Are What You Eat...


The bottom line is that if you want to stay healthy, and keep your children healthy, you have to avoid fast food and other processed foods, and invest some time in your kitchen, cooking from scratch. Reclaiming your kitchen is part and parcel
of healthful living, so you know exactly what you're putting in your body. "


Checkout the entire article at:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/08/do-you-have-any-idea-of-the-chemicals-used-in-fast-food-chicken.aspx

Sunday, February 26, 2012

If you can't be at the Ranch, bring the Ranch home

Jillian is a big black bean soup fan. I can no longer stomach canned soup, so I found this in my Canyon Ranch recipe book. I followed the directions and served it up. Jilli asked where the beans were. I told her I blended all ingredients together. She was a little disappointed. So this time, I followed the directions but added two cups of "whole" beans at the very end. I did not make the salsa.....but that would be super yummy I am sure. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup with Red Onion Salsa

From Canyon Ranch


Ingredients:
  • 1 cup dry black beans
  • Red Onion Salsa:
    • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
    • 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
    • 1/4 cup diced red onion
    • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup diced onions
  • 1/2 cup diced carrots
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, roasted and diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 quarts vegetable stock
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, cover black beans with at least 3 cups of water and soak overnight.

In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon garlic, cilantro, red onion and red wine vinegar. Mix well and set aside.

Rinse soaked beans in a colander with fresh water and drain.

Spray a large saucepan with nonstick vegetable spray. Saute onions, carrots, celery, roasted red pepper and 1 tablespoon garlic. Add vegetable stock and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When beans are tender, remove from heat and cool. Pour into blender container or food processor and puree. Add cumin, salt, oregano and parsley. Garnish with 1 tablespoon red onion salsa.

Makes 6 (3/4-cup) servings, each containing approximately:
  • 140 calories
  • 27 grams carbohydrate
  • Trace fat
  • 0 milligrams cholesterol
  • 8 grams protein
  • 182 milligrams sodium
  • 5 grams fiber

What's happening on THAT farm?


I hope this works.....this video is available for free until 3/3. If this link doesn't work, go to the mercola.com site and search "the silent time bomb on your plate".

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/26/fresh-video-documentary.aspx?e_cid=20120226_SNL_Art_1

Name This Fruit....

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Next time you're in Burlington...

Visit this awesome market in South Burlington.
Healthy Living Natural Foods Market

Thursday, February 23, 2012


I have been doing some reading on this "peak 8" training theory. Take a look. I am incorporating more into my workouts (with the help of a coach). Makes sense.....we will see. Matt is already seeing success in his TRX workouts which uses a similar format.

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/06/26/10-minutes-of-exercise-yields-hourlong-effects.aspx

BTW.....subscribe to the mercola website. He is "tabloidy" to some extent but there are some great articles.

What's In your body???

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

LBOH - For those of you unfamiliar with Papa G.

A Day on the Elk with Mr. G. and Joel -LBOH
LBOH- is an acronym I recently used on this Blog and I have been asked to explain myself.  Well the phrase comes from the Grey Gost himself, Mr. G. it stands for a Little Bit Of Heaven. Not a bad acronym, spread the word! 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Italian Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I adapted this from a recipe found in this month's Vegetarian Times by former food writer Lillian Kayte. My Eight Year old ate this two night's in a row. Not too shabby...

Italian Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

6-8 green peppers tops removed
1-2 cups cooked quinoa (use you judgement)
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 medium tomato seeded and chopped
1/3 cup flax seed oil
3 Tbs. black olives, chopped ( I would try Kalmata olives next time)
3 Tbs. roasted pine nuts or walnuts
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. capers, drained
2 Tbs. raisins, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

1. Lightly oil peppers and Roast bottom side up at 425 degrees until slightly soft. Let Cool.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Stuff peppers with filling and arrange in a baking dish stuffing side up.
4. Bake at 400 degrees 10-12 minutes or until stuffing is warm and peppers are tender.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

It's "Huddled Masses" not "Huge and Massive"!

The mis-interpretation of these words at the base of Lady Liberty have apparently caused our nation to become increasingly massive. Look at this graph and behold the power of food. Tis no drug more powerful, with more potential to due harm or good than FOOD. Let's wake up America!!

Behold the most depressing graph I have seen. I have grappled with this graph for over a year and wonder at how quickly we have transformed ourselves into Jabba The Hutt!

By the way...It's weigh in time..give up your numbers!!

It's a beautiful Saturday here in New England..Get out for a hike, bike, ....


Monday, February 13, 2012

Slim Jim and the Macho Man Randy Savage


Meat snacks: the next big thing in salty snacks?

Direct from Conagra:

“Sales of meat snacks, the fourth-largest category in convenience stores, are growing faster than total snacks.They could be the next big thing in the supermarket salty-snacks ....
...Meat snacks are high impulse purchases that sell on display at full margin. They are among the top sell-through items at check stands, and they provide treat and gift opportunities during Christmas and Easter....


...Retailers can leverage a category with already booming sales. Dollar sales of meat snacks overall rose 10.1% to $363.3 million in food, drug and mass merchandiser stores (excluding Wal-Mart) during the 52 weeks ended July 24, 2011. Behind these gains: dollar sales of jerky items were up 9.6% to $230.1 million, and meat sticks jumped 13.0% to $112.2 million. These growth rates generally exceeded those of convenience stores. "

And a different view by some guy named Steve:

“Slim Jim's are so awful that they have to dare you to eat them now. Slim Jim recently launced a new line of Slim Jim's called, "Slim Jim DARE."


 This is not a joke, that is a real image, check out the slogan on that banner..."Your brain thinks it's meat. Your mouth thinks it's the apocalypse." This couldn't be more accurate your brain thinks it's meat, it isn't f*&%ng meat your brain just thinks it is. I think they really should change the second sentence from "Your mouth thinks it's the apocalypse." to: "Your bowels think it's the apocalypse." Just to refresh our memory the apocalypse can be defined as:
• the complete final destruction of the world, esp. as described in the biblical book of Revelation.
• an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.


Yep, that sounds about right. Introducing Slim Jim Dare, "YOUR BRAIN THINKS IT'S MEAT. YOUR BOWELS THINK IT'S THE APOCALYPSE."

Randy Savage also known as the Macho Man, passed away earlier this month (May 2011) in a car accident. Officials suspect he had a heart attack while driving, the Macho Man was a very popular spokesman for Slim Jim in the mid-to-late 1990s. I think we all know who to blame for this terrible occurrence."

POSTED BY STEVE. AT 12:03 PM

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Winner, Winner, Tofurkey Dinner! -Roasted Sunchokes -

These knobby tubers look a lot like ginger root. You don't need to peel them; the skin is edible. Simply scrub them clean under cold running water with a stiff brush.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 large sunchokes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Scrub the sunchokes under cold running water and slice 1/4-inch thick. Add the sunchokes and garlic to a roasting pan or baking sheet and toss with the olive oil so the bottom of the pan and the sunchokes are lightly coated. Add more olive oil a tablespoon at a time if you don't feel like the vegetables are coated enough, but not too much; you don't want them swimming in olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and rosemary. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sunchokes are tender inside, like a potato.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Snausages Anyone??? Time to weigh in!

It's that time of week!
I am now asking for three numbers:
1. weight
2. Blood Pressure
3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well you lived the JWE last week.

BY THE WAY.....DON'T FORGET THE CHALLENGES...I JUST FINISHED A FOUR MILE RUN ALONE, IN THE DARK...THROW THOSE EXCUSES OUT WITH THAT FOOR FOOT SLIM JIM YOU HAVE HIDDEN IN YOUR SOCK DRAWER JUST IN CASE YOU'RE HAVING A "BAD" DAY!!!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012



I made this tonight. Did 4 cups of broccoli and about three cups fresh kale. I kept the olives on the side because Matt isn't a fan. I added some to mine.....yum! Matt will probably add some chicken (gasp).

Clap your hands....I added my first picture. Skip, I applaud your patience in typing in recipes. I am not there right now. I am listening to John Denver, and that just explains it all. This is a super yummy recipe! Especially for individuals(I had another I word there but changed it cuz it wasn't so nice) coming off a juice fast. As usual, I never follow a recipe 100%. I used canned diced tomatoes with half the juice because fresh tomatoes just don't excite me this time of year. I also am LOVING Those little tubs of "fresh" herbs. Kind of expensive but if I think about the herbs I buy and throw away, I think they are worth it. And I did use lite coconut milk...it's curry for goodness sake. (OMG.....Grandma's Feather Bed!) How old am I that soups and stews now excite me?????

Sunday, February 5, 2012

A bunch of healthy Super Bowl snacks


Genevieve's creation

Griiled Avacado with fresh salsa and black bean filling
Vegan Wild Mushroom Pate

Fresh Veggies with a White Miso Dill Dip






Ok, this week is "National Brothers Week" and Skip's b-day was yesterday so Skip, Happy b-day old man and I love you brother....but will never forgive you for putting me under a laundry basket and sitting on it...EVER.

So it's February already. A great January for sure. Lots of pounds lost, but more importantly, a lot more better eating happening. Skip is looking for the NEXT GREAT CHALLENGE!!!! I say cool it old man. Let's use February to assess and ponder life....well just the health part of life. Pondering all of life is just too big a task.

I think everyone should watch the movies Skip recommended. I found both on Netflix and enjoyed them both tremendously. I cried when Phil was running....seriously, I did. Reading the China Study is a lot but I loved it.....lots of back up info that is not in "Forks over Knives".

Over the past few days I have come to realize I eat more like Joel than I thought. Yet, the few deviations are fine and not detrimental. I don't see much point in continuing to eat fish, but may if stuck at a restaurant with no alternative I guess. I will probably eat a couple of eggs a day or two a week. And I have learned that eating protein bars is not necessary. Who knew spinach had protein, never mind 13 grams in a cup of cooked spinach! In our January journey, I found hemp and nutrition yeast and various other goodies. I don't need to be a vegan or not, I can be an almost vegan....whatever makes me happy and healthy.

I also started to read more articles supporting a plant based diet. I will post some good ones that I have come across.

I feel better and stronger because I started working out with a trainer and running more. I think everyone should move more and find something they love to do....not sure how everyone is doing on that.

So I am going to support Skip's thought about this month's focus being exercise. But add to it really contemplating what January was about and see what you want to take out of it. Just don't go back to your old ways....if you are thinking about it, pop in "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead".

Healthy Eating!
Kim

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Time to weigh in and two new challenges

First, final weigh in for the first challenge.

Second, This month is focused on moving. Exercise! Just do more or add something new to your current routine. More to follow. I need your comments on this challenge. Maybe Kim could take the lead.

Third, Read the Book "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell  or watch the video by the author, "Knives over Forks" You have all month to do this!

Bonus Challenege, Watck the documentary, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross and complete at least the five day Juicing challenge.