New Blog!

I've taken a long break from blogging, but I'm back!

Thank you to all those who have followed Simply Real. I look forward to sharing more recipes and real food love over at my new blog:

www.reallifehealthblog.com

Head over for my free ebook. Thanks for your continued support!

                                                                     -Chanelle

Mise en place

Mise en place is French for "Everything in its place." It means that you do some of your food prep in advance, with everything in its place so that the actual cooking is less stressful. They do a version of this on cooking shows all the time. All the onions are diced, all the ingredients are pre-measured. That way, when they're ready to cook, everything is in its place and they just move through the recipe instead of watching them measure out each ingredient.

Mise en place is a great technique for home cooking too. It can be varied and used to suit your cooking style and the time available. I will use this week's menu at the Neilson house and demonstrate two different variations of mise en place.

Menu:

Beef Stew

Burritos

Fried Chicken and sweet potatoes

Zucchini and Quinoa Bake

Baked Potato Soup

Beef, Cheese and Noodle Bake

Quick meal prep: Let's say you have a little extra time on the weekend to do some meal prep, but don't have hours to do all your weeks cooking. I would look at all my recipes, and see what ingredients are needed. For beef stew, I would chop all the veggies (onions, carrots, and potatoes) and meat, and then store them in a baggie in the freezer. You could continue on with all your recipes, pre chopping and freezing or refrigerating veggies. I would also use my short meal prep to make the breads, tortillas, etc. for the week, as well as any grains that take a while to cook.

Longer meal prep: The way I've been doing this is a little more in depth on "cooking day", but takes almost all the work out of weeknights, which has been fabulous! (I watched the clock this week and was able to have dinner ready in 5-15 minutes each night.) In addition to my weekly menu, I also needed to make granola this week, and french bread since the kids asked for bruschetta to take in their school lunch. Here's my action list. This really just takes a little time looking at each recipe and seeing what needs to be done and what can be done ahead of time.

Beef Stew:
Thaw Beef
Cube beef, cut veggies, cook in crockpot
Freeze cooked stew

Burritos:
Soak pinto beans
Cook beans in crockpot
Make tortillas

Fried Chicken:
Thaw chicken
Fry chicken
Freeze in pan
Bake sweet potatoes

Zucchini and Quinoa Bake:
Thaw zucchini
Cook quinoa
Add eggs, cheese and seasonings, freeze in casserole dish

Baked Potato Soup:
Bake Potatoes
Mash and make soup
Refrigerate for later in week
Chop and Cook bacon
Dice Green onions

Beef, Cheese and Noodle Bake:
Cook Pasta
Brown ground beef

Other:
Make french bread
Make bruchsetta topping
Soak oats for granola
Mix and dehydrate granola
Wash and chop lettuce, store in baggie with paper towel

Looking over this menu, with most of these meals I was able to put most of the meal together and just reheat. That hasn't been the case with other recipes I've done, and really will just depend on what you're making that week.  A few of these meals will just need to be reheated the night of. Others, like the burritos,  take just a few minutes of cooking since everything's in its place.

The basic plan is to
1. Make a menu for the week
2. Make a step by step action plan of what needs to be done
3. Decide what you can/ have time to do ahead of time
4. Get to work!

I will also add that the original article I got this idea from had more basic ingredients stored in her fridge instead of actual meals. That way, she could just throw together caramelized onion jam (which is awesome, by the way- recipe coming soon), wheat berries and squash, and dinner was ready. That's sounds great in theory, but it's not how I cook. I don't just throw a bunch of things together and hope for the best. (Well, sometimes I do, but it doesn't always turn out great.)  But if that works for you, try to think of staples that you could make ahead of time. Sauté some onions and mushrooms, make some rice or quinoa, whatever your staples are, and voila! dinner is ready in a snap.

Mise en Place: The benefits of once-a-week cooking

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I like to cook, so I never really thought of it as a problem, but lately, between four kids, my yoga business, cleaning, shopping, and all those other regular life things, I've been feeling that something's gotta give!

I'd heard of once-a-month cooking before, but it didn't really appeal. There are very few meals I make that would freeze well, and go straight from freezer to dinner. When I read an article in Whole Living Magazine about mise en place, I realized THIS kind of preparing meals in advance could work for me. The article talks about a chef who does the bulk of her cooking on one day a week, and then is able to throw the meals together in about 10 minutes after she gets home from work.

In my next post, I'll detail specifically what this kind of meal planning looks like for me, but here I just want to tell you some of the benefits:

1. Freer Afternoons. This is number one for a reason. This is huge! I've had more time to help my kids with their homework, play, clean my house, read a book, work on lessons--all that stuff that I haven't had time for. It's amazing what a free hour or two in the afternoon does for me. It's gone from a stressful time, to a stress-free time. *Happy Sigh*

2. Fewer dishes. I was able to re-use a lot of the dishes that were out without throwing them in the dishwasher. The cutting board cut all the veggies for the week without needing to be washed in between, the measuring cups did all their work in one day. And because the food is all made, there are fewer dishes after dinner too. 

3. Less last-minute scrambling for dinner. Am I the only one who has this problem? The afternoon gets busy, or you get home later than planned, and suddenly, you don't have time to make what you planned for dinner. I've found myself searching the cupboards for something--anything that comes together quickly-- and we usually end up with some culinary masterpiece like noodles and eggs. 

4. All the breads rise at the same time. This week's menu included three different kinds of bread (french bread, crescent roll dough, and pizza dough). Normally, I would make each bread on the night we use it, but on Monday, I made them all. One rising time for 3 breads- amazing! I froze the ones we'll use later in the week so they will still taste fresh with a quick reheat in the oven.

5. My kitchen only looks like a bomb went off once a week instead of everyday. If you do a lot of cooking from scratch, you probably know what I mean. Keeping the kitchen clean is always a challenge, but only tearing it apart one day a week means its a lot cleaner on the other days.

In my next post, I'll detail the specifics of how to try this out in your own kitchen.

It's Pumpkin Season!

Even though it's 95 degrees here in Southern California, it's fall. And even if we're just eating it from a can, it's time to dust off the pumpkin recipes and make it feel like fall! Here are two of my favorites, Pumpkin Muffins and Pumpkin Pancakes. They are perfect for a fall morning... even if it feels like summer.

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey                                    ½ t. cinnamon
2 eggs                                                   ½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. baking powder                          1 2/3 c. whole wheat or sprouted flour
1 t. baking soda                                  ½ c. melted butter or coconut oil
¾ t. salt                                               1/4 c. cold water
½ t. cloves                                          1 c. pumpkin (about half a 15 oz can)
1 Tbs. molasses (opt.)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together.  Put in greased loaf pan or muffin tin.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 2/3 cups wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• 
  
• Directions:
• 1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil or butter and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with real maple syrup.

Classic Fettucine Alfredo Recipe

This delicious recipe should be in every food lovers collection.

New Blog

I've been asked by a lot of people (okay, maybe just two) if I'm ever going to start blogging again. And I've finally decided, the answer is yes!

But I'm ready for a new challenge and a new blog. I can be found here: http://somanythingstotalkabout.blogspot.com/ , writing about... well, life. I'm sure food and nutrition, the main focus of this blog, will creep in there too. So, I hope you'll come check it out and talk about life with me.

Chanelle

Roasted Corn and Poblano Pizza

I can't take much credit for this recipe. I got it from Cooking Light years ago and just made a few changes- things like swapping out egg whites and using whole eggs, and using whole wheat pizza crust instead of white, packaged crust. The cilantro and sour cream topping really makes this dish, so don't leave those out. If you're afraid of hot, spicy foods, just make sure to remove all the seeds and skin-- that's where all the heat is. Then all you're left with is a mild chile flavor without it being too spicy.

Roasted Corn and Poblano Pizza

Ingredients

2 poblano chiles

Olive oil or butter for sauteing

2 cups corn kernels

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Pizza dough*

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

*You can buy premade whole wheat pizza dough at stores like Trader Joe's and Fresh and Easy, in the refrigerated section. I make my own so that I know exactly what is in it.

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
Place poblano chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 10 minutes or until blackened and charred, turning occasionally. Place in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and discard skins, seeds, and stems. Chop peppers.
Lower oven temperature to 425°.
In a large skillet, melt butter or olive oil over medium high heat.  Add corn, green onions, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in milk; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Cool slightly. Place eggs, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in poblano peppers, corn mixture, and cheese.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll dough onto parchment paper; pat dough to form a 13 x 8-inch rectangle. Spread corn mixture over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold 1 inch of dough over corn mixture. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until set. Serve with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Yoga for Weight Loss

Back in my cardio-loving days, I would have laughed at the title of this post. Because I thought that burning more calories was the answer for weight loss, I considered yoga to be not the best use of my time.



Yoga helps reduce stress. Stress in the body releases cortisol, a hormone known for its link to weight gain. Deep breathing and meditation, both important parts of a yoga workout, reduce stress. This is another way of working with your body.
 Contrast that with the person who is busy busy busy all day long, runs into the gym, continues running or doing some other form of cardio exercise, and then hurries on with their day. In that case, exercise continues to elevate the level of stress carried by the body. You send your body a message to burn calories and to produce cortisol, thus storing fat (particularly around the midsection)- a mixed message. (Note that in all three forms of exercise we've talked about, there are periods of rest, not a constant low grade stress on the body.)
Yoga helps you slow down your body and your mind.

Yoga strengthens your muscles. You get stronger when you hold poses for a long time. Though it works in a different (gentler) way than weight lifting, your body weight acts as resistance to build and tone muscles. And the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn, even at rest.

Yoga helps you feel good. With your muscles stretched and toned, of course you feel good after a yoga workout! But even more than that, you feel good about your body. Your muscles are stronger, and so is your mind. A few minutes of peace and relaxation helps you to remember that looking good is not what it's all about. You feel better about where your body is now and what it is able to do.
And when you feel good about your body, you want to treat your body better. You know that a donut is not going to nourish your body, and so- even when it sounds good! - it makes it easier to make a better choice.

I've said it before, but yoga is for everyone. If you are looking to start a fitness program, start with yoga.
Then, when you're ready to take it to the next level, you can add in heavy weightlifting and HIIT.

A sample weight loss, fat burning workout for the week (which doesn't include any traditional cardio) would look like this:
Monday- Yoga
Tuesday-Yoga
Wednesday- HIIT
Thursday- Yoga
Friday- Yoga
Saturday- Heavy Weightlifting
Sunday- Rest

There you have it: a workout that is better than cardio. Enjoy!

High Intensity Interval Training

Once a week, I do exercise that could be considered "cardio." It gets my heart pumping. But unlike a traditional cardio workout, where you perform low to moderate intensity activity throughout the workout, HIIT training has periods of rest.

The basic structure of a HIIT workout is a warmup followed by intervals of intense exercise and intervals of rest.

I walk down to my local park. It's about a 5 minute walk, and that counts as my warmup. Then I run sprints across the length of the park. I have never been much of a runner, and I still wouldn't say I'm fast, but when I sprint I give it everything I've got. I try to pretend that a bear is chasing me. Or that my baby is on the other end and a bad guy is going to get him if I don't hurry across that field. Or that I'm in a race and this is the last 30 yards to the finish line. It's that kind of a run. Totally. Intense. Focused. Running.
I walk back to where I started and catch my breath. The first two times, I always think, "Why did I think this was so hard last time? This isn't so bad." By the fourth time, I'm starting to remember why I thought it was so hard. And after the 6th time, I can't run back right away. I have to catch my breath a little longer before heading out for another intense sprint. I do this 6 to 10 times in a row and I walk back home.

The reason HIIT training works is that your body doesn't "get used" to it. Just like with progressively adding more difficult weights, you progressively add more challenges with HIIT training- either by making your rest intervals shorter and your intensity intervals longer, or by lengthening the total time of the workout.

Here are some ideas of exercises to perform doing HIIT training:
sprints or hill sprints
jump roping
biking
swimming
plyometrics

Add your own ideas for HIIT in the comments below!

Kat at Body Incredible has some great thoughts on HIIT if you'd like to learn more.

Weight Lifting for weight loss

In my last post I talked about why I think cardio is less effective for weight loss. Still. I do believe in exercise, and in the next three posts I will cover exercises that I believe ARE effective: heavy weightlifting, HIIT and yoga

Weight lifting. I learned about heavy weightlifting from Jen, personal trainer friend. I was already lifting weights, but she taught me a whole new concept. Instead of lifting 8 or 10 or even 15 pound dumbbells over and over and over, she taught me to lift heavy weights with less reps (repetitions). When she introduced me to this concept, I was used to teaching the S.E.T. (Strength Endurance Training) class at 24 hour fitness. We would lift weights for 3 minutes straight (followed by 3 minutes of cardio endurance). I would use about 20 pounds when I was squating for 3 minutes. With Jen's help, I worked up to squating 105 pounds-- and I definitely don't do it for 3 minutes straight!

The whole point of weight training is to tear muscle fibers so you can rebuild a stronger muscle. These tiny muscle tears happen when you add resistance-- or in other words, it has to keep getting harder!
When I was lifting a lighter weight over and over and over, I was working my heart, I was sweating, but after a while, my muscles got used to that kind of a workout. I wouldn't even get sore! With heavy weightlifting, I am always sore afterward, if I do it right. That's because I progressively add weight, or add a few more repetitions.

Weightlifting builds muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even at rest. Or in other words, more muscle means a faster metabolism. That's what we're going for, right? Building muscle turns our bodies into calorie-burning machines.
When I was teaching aerobics, people would always ask me which burned more calories: cardio or weightlifting. The answer I would give was that cardio burned more calories during the hour you were doing it (usually not by a huge margin), but weightlifting burned calories while you were doing it and kept on burning calories afterward to feed the muscle you just built.

Weight lifting increases your metabolism because you force your body to build more muscle.

If you have never lifted weights before, it would be a great idea to have a personal trainer, or someone at the gym show you how. You want to make sure your form is correct so that you don't injure yourself. If you have done a little weight lifting in the past, here is a very basic workout that works all your major muscle groups and can be done in about 20 minutes. This is the workout that I always come back to if I'm in a hurry. It works the largest muscles in your body, making it efficient AND effective.

Warm up:
Squat (with no weights), 5 reps.
Chest Press with 5 lb. dumbbells, 5 reps.
Bent over row with 5 lb. dumbbells, 5 reps.

Workout:
When doing heavy weightlifting, you want to try to lift at a weight that you can maintain for 10-15 reps. If you can do more than 15 reps, your weight is too light. If you can't get to 10, take some weight off.

Squat with barbell., 10- 15 reps.
Chest Press with barbell, 10-15 reps.
Bent over row with barbell or heavy dumbbells, 10-15 reps each side.

Repeat this workout 2-3 times.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays.

Former Aerobics Instructor is Now anti-Cardio

I went to a Jazzercise class last week with some friends. Jazzercise is basically aerobics, but each song has its own choreography. It was a lot of fun, and quite similar to what I used to do as an aerobics instructor. But it was interesting listening to them, and doing all this cardio when... I don't believe in it.

Let me just say first of all, that moving your body is good. Doing jazzercise, or aerobics, or jogging does keep your heart pumping and makes you feel good. But for weight loss (the reason most people exercise), I believe cardio is the least effective form of exercise.
Here are the reasons why I no longer believe in cardio:

It's not as simple as "calories in, calories out."  The instructors at my class today reminded us of how many calories we were burning. ("One class can burn up to 600 calories, ladies!")  But scientific studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise makes you hungrier. Your body wants to replace those lost calories. Basically, with cardio, you are fighting your body to lose weight. Dr. Stephan Guyenet uses a great analogy that helped me to visualize this. (You can listen to the entire podcast here.)  He said that losing weight by doing cardio is like having the a/c on in your house. But when it gets too cool and you want to warm it up a bit, you open the front door. Well, you know what happens then, right? The air conditioner works hard to cool the house, requiring more energy. With cardio, you are burning more calories (working harder), so your body will crave more calories for energy too.
If "calories in, calories out" worked, then you would exercise (calories out) and eat less (calories in). But that is missing one very simple physiological process: hunger. You can only fight your body's hunger signals for so long.

Cardio can do harm to joints and cause overuse injuries. During the weight portion of the class, we worked very specific small muscle groups over and over and over. Jumping and running definitely have their place in an exercise regimen, but all you have to do is look at the number of runners with bad knees to know that overuse injuries occur. Often.

Your body adapts to cardio. This means that doing the same exercise becomes less effective over time. Your body adapts to the exercise--  that's why it gets easier. Your body is becoming more efficient at the exercise. Good for the body, but bad for weight loss. That means that to do exactly the same exercise, you will be burning less calories after a month than you were when you started.

So maybe you know someone who started doing cardiovascular exercise and lost a lot of weight. Maybe you know a lot of people who have done that. But what if it wasn't the exercise at all?  What if, like my instructor said today, "after I've done a class, I don't want to go eat that cheeseburger. I worked so hard to burn those calories, I don't want to put them back in."  Maybe cardio exercise changes our psyche more than our figure, causing us to make other changes, like in what we eat. Or maybe, when we start working out, we are burning so many calories that our body has a hard time replacing them all through food. But as time goes on, and our bodies adapt, we burn less calories and our exercise is less effective at helping us lose weight.

Coming up: In my next post I will detail what I believe in instead of cardio and how to work with your body to lose weight.

Wheat Berry Salad

This is one of my favorite warm weather recipes. I first tried it at a party at my sister in law's house. It does make a great party food when you're doing Mexican or Southwestern, but I love to make a batch and eat it all week for lunch. The flavors go so well together-- it's easy to pack in a lot of nutritous veggies when they taste this good! Another perk is that the only cooking is done in a crockpot, so it doesn't heat up the house.

Wheat Berry Salad

4 cups cooked wheat berries (see below for directions)

1 red or orange bell pepper, diced

1 red onion, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1-2 cups corn, fresh or frozen and thawed

1-2 cups black beans

Dressing

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)

1 Tbsp. raw honey

1-2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

Whisk together and pour over chopped vegetables and wheat. Mix all together.

Wheat berries:

Combine 4 cups wheat berry kernels, 10 cups water, and 2 tsp. sea salt in crock pot. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Drain off any excess water. Chill. Wheat berries can be frozen for up to a month, keeps a week or more in refrigerator.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays and Two For Tuesdays.

Giveaway winner!

You wouldn't think it would be that hard to get to the computer, enter some numbers in at random.org and choose a winner for the Organic Manifesto Book Giveaway! But somehow, it's taken me a week to actually do it! Life has been busy around here, but I have finally chosen a winner...

Entry #11: Alex from A Moderate Life

Alex, I'll need your contact information to send you this great book. I hope you enjoy it!

More posts coming up soon...

60 days with no sugar: what I learned

Going sugar free for the past couple of months was really eye-opening for me. My main motivation was to speed up my weight loss-- and I think it did-- but I learned some other things in the process.

Baked goods can be enjoyed without sugar. For the first month, I stopped making muffins for my family for breakfast. (I probably make muffins about once a week or so.) I didn't think they would taste good with no sugar, and I didn't think any substitutes would work quite as well. When I finally did try my banana nut muffins with honey, all wheat flour and coconut oil, they were great! I used honey in El Torito's sweet corn cake recipe, and no one even noticed the difference.

I have learned to like things a little less sweet. I use less sweeteners now, because I taste them more. As a culture, we not only eat sugar too often, but we eat too much of it when we do. A little sugar goes a loooong way. When you slowly cut it out, you change your taste. I used to live in Taiwan where I was a missionary. The Taiwanese people don't like things very sweet. They eat slightly sweetened beans for or fruit for dessert. Even the Snickers bars they sell in 7-11 have less sugar, because they just don't like things overly sweet. You can train yourself to like things less sweet.

The less you eat sugar, the less you crave sugar. And the opposite is also true. I think that's a good thing to remember if you are trying to cut sugar out of your diet. It will be hard at first, but will totally get easier. When those sugar cravings DO happen, it's usually your body telling you that you need fat. Have a few nuts and wait a little while and your craving WILL go away.

Most sugary foods aren't worth it anyway. Think about it for a minute. Most of the time, when you talk about sugary food, it's things like store bought cookies or ice cream... some may be okay, but most are not amazing. And most don't make you feel great afterward. Except for a little piece of dark chocolate. That does feel good on my stomach.

Cutting out sugar helps you lose weight. Studies have been done on this, but I will just add my own experience: my baby weight came off faster and easier while I was not eating sugar. I certainly didn't cut my caloric intake; I ate what I was hungry for, plenty of fat and protein and yes- carbs too, but no sugar or white flour. And my weight loss sped up. I am now within 10 pounds of my goal!

Be sure to check out my giveaway ending this week.
This post is part of Fight Back Friday, wholesome whole foods, and Vegetarian foodie fridays.

Book Review and Giveaway: Organic Manifesto

I'll admit it. When I am making food choices for my family, I am much more concerned about our health than about the greater good. The more I read, and the more I learn, the more I realize that they are linked. People can't be healthy if the environment isn't. We are all connected. This book helped me see the bigger picture-- what organic means for the earth.

I buy a lot of organic IF. I buy organic IF it's not too much more money. I buy organic IF it's in the budget. I buy organic IF the produce I'm buying is on the dirty dozen list. I'd love to say this book made me see the error of my ways and I will only buy organic from here on out. The truth is, we are on a budget, and there have to be some "ifs" if I am going to stick to it. But I think reading this book and better undertanding the consequences of chemical farming will cause me to think even more about getting that chemically raised food. Maybe if I can't afford it from now on I'll just skip it.

I want to get the message out about organics, so I am giving away a copy of Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale.

Any of the following are good for one entry:

1. Follow or subscribe to this blog via email and let me know that you do in a comment below.
2. Leave a comment telling why you want to learn more about gong organic.
3. Share this giveaway with a friend on email, facebook, twitter or a blog; each good for one entry.

I'll choose the winner at random at midnight on July 7th. This giveaway is only open to residents of the continental U.S. Good luck!

This post is part of Tasty Tuesday Parade, Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays, Delicious Dishes and Two For Tuesday.

Renew You 2010

If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of FREE. I love getting something that I actually want without having to spend any money. This weekend we have that opportunity! There is a free teleseminar with amazing speakers called "Renew You 2010." All teleseminars are available 24/7 from June 24 to 28.

They will be speaking on the following topics:
■Karly Randolph Pitman: The Self-Care Pathway: Four Practices to End Emotional and Overeating

■JJ Virgin: Five Insider Secrets to Boost Your Energy, Shrink Your Waistline and Feel Your Best

■Brenda Kinsel: Defining Your Personal Style from the Inside Out

■Christine Arylo: Dare to be loved: Get the Love You Want by Loving Yourself First

■Connie Bennett: Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction with the Author of Sugar Shock!

■Rose Cole: The 3-Day Beautiful Skin Diet: Food for a Clearer, Younger & More Radiant Complexio

■Karen Russo: Discover a New Money Reality: The Love Path to Abundance

■Leanne Ely: Nurture, Nourishment and Nutrition: Saving You and Your Family One Meal at a Time

■Mary Tedesco: Inspired to Exercise: Get Active and Fit in 5 Fun Steps

■Laura Klein: The Smart Pantry: Time- and Money-Saving Foods for Health and Flavor

■Stephanie McWilliams: Your Space for Success: Designing Your Dream Environment for Greater Purpose, Passion and Profits

■LiYana Silver: Bringing Sexy Back: Decoding Desire, Attraction and Connection

■Melanie Dodaro: The Psychology of Permanent Weight Loss

■Alisa Vitti: Hot Sexy Hormones

■Jennifer Louden: Ending the Pain of Perfectionism
 
I am excited to listen and learn from these women. I will definitely be taking notes and hope to learn a lot that I am able to share. Click here to register and I'll see you there!

Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchiladas

Near the end of the month, when most of my grocery budget (or all of it!) is gone, I try to find inexpensive meals that are still full of healthy, real food. Veggie and Bean stuffed enchiladas are delicious and a great way to stretch your budget. They are really filling and flavorful, and no one misses the meat. They are also gluten free. I served this last night with a side of cooked carrots. I included the cost breakdown. I make my own enchilada sauce, so it's really inexpensive. If you're purchasing it from the store, you may spend a little more.

Cost:
Tortillas: 98 cents
2 Zucchini: 25 cents
1/2 pack corn: 50 cents
Black beans: $1
Enchilada sauce: .50 - $1.50
Cheese: $1
Total: $4.23 for 8 (or more) servings
Cost per serving: 53 cents!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups diced zucchini

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 cups Enchilada Sauce, divided

Cooking spray

20 corn tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups zucchini and corn; sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in beans and 1 1/2 cups cheese.

Heat 1 cup Enchilada Sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat tortilla in sauce until hot, about 45 seconds on each side. Spoon about 1/4 cup zucchini mixture down center of 1 tortilla and roll up. Place seam-side down in baking dish. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, and zucchini mixture. Heat more enchilada sauce as needed.

Top enchiladas with any remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and serve.
(This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light.)

Notes: I make my own enchilada sauce ahead of time and can it. I like knowing exactly what's in there, and it's more cost effective too.
I also make the beans ahead of time and can those. If you're really ambitious, you can soak the beans the night before, let them cook slowly all day, and then add them to the enchiladas to retain the most vitamins. That's what I do, only I add the step of pressure canning them and putting them in my pantry so I can use them whenever I need them.

This post is part of Two For Tuesdays and Real Food Wednesdays.

Produce Buying Club

Every Saturday at 10:00, you can always find me at the same place. I am picking up produce at a beautiful resort/ farm. A group of us gather there to pickup our organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and eggs. Some of it does come from overseas, but some comes from just a mile away. A member of our group made the videos below with some of the farmers who grow the produce and the eggs for our group.

We talk a lot about moms cooking things with love-- well, when I watched these videos, that's what kept coming to mind. These farmers are farming with love. Watch as Mr. Guldseth carefully pulls a radish from the ground. He knows how it will taste; he has a passion for what he is doing.

Betty's eggs are the most colorful eggs I've ever seen. A mixture of blue-green, brown and speckled eggs fill those clear cartons, and the yolks are bright orange and so tasty. Most remarkable to me in the video was how much she cares about what she's doing.

If you've seen Food, Inc. compare the images of the henhouses, or the industrial crops being sprayed. Growing food with passion and love is better for everyone.

I was also impressed by the gratitude these people have that we're buying from them. They are able to do what they love, and we are better able to feed our families.

The G-Free Diet

I picked up a copy of the G-free diet by Elizabeth Hasselback at the library last week. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever go gluten-free, but I thought the book might be interesting, and the cover looked so cute I thought I'd check it out.

There was a lot of great information on celiac disease, which causes the body not to tolerate gluten. The first thing I learned from this book was that it takes constant work to make sure you aren't eating gluten! If any of you reading this haven't heard of Amy's blog, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, make sure to check it out. She has lots of great recipes and resources for those who are G-free.

The part of the book that I could most relate to is the Chapter "G-free and slim as can be!" Elisabeth explains healthy principles that can guide all of us in our food decisions, whether we are eating gluten or not.

From The G-Free Diet:

 "Gone are the days of living off foods with mile-long lists of ingredients, or one dimensional starches that left me forever craving more... without providing my body with the nutrients that it needed to thrive. I have more energy than before. I have more stamina to train and work out more efficiently. By default, when those factors are in synch, I tend to want to eat in a healthier way.


You, too may find that by building your diet around basic foods close to their natural state--foods direct from the earth such as fish and meats, fruits and vegetables and nuts-- you will nourish your body, instead of merely cluttering it with empty calories and unpronounceable chemicals...


We obsess over fat and calories but pay very little attention to actual ingredients in the foods we eat, and the essential nutrients that they should be delivering. Somehow, we lose sight of the fact that, quite simply, some foods are healthier and more nutritionally dense than others. Some foods fill us up and leave us happy and satisfied; other foods leave us constantly hungry for more. Foods that carry maximum nutritional impact are crucial , whether you have embarked on a particular diet out of necessity or by choice.


Most people can relate to episodes of overeating. Many times, you might feel a persistent dissatisfaction, even after a monster meal. Sound familiar? No matter what quantity of food you are eating, if your body is not getting the nutrients that it needs, it will continue to want more. Your body has an internal checklist of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that it needs every day to flourish. If your diet is not checking off every item on that list, your body sends signals to "keep on searching," to fill those nutritional deficiencies... thus throwing us into "overdrive eating."...


The secret to long-term health and fitness is not counting calories and fat and leaping on the scale first thing every morning. (I have done all of the above.)  Though these numbers may make you feel more in control, the critical information is what's behind those numbers. You can get triple the amount of fat from a bag of almonds than from a bag of M&M's, but the nutritional content isn't even in the same ballpark. In terms of heat and energy burned, 2000 calories is 2000 calories. That said, eating 2000 calories of junk a day would leave you with a significant mineral and vitamin deficiency-- and a significant lack of energy. Eventually, your body is going to cry uncle. Going G-free forces you to step up and start looking at the big picture."

EAting healthier for most of us doesn't have to mean going without gluten. It does mean making conscious decisions about our food. We need to choose whole over processed foods. We have to pay attention to what we're eating so that we can nourish our bodies.

Here are my suggestions to put this into practice:

1. Cook! Make something you would normally buy. If you make it, you can be sure of the ingredients.
2. Try something new. Quinoa. Kale. Flaxseed oil.
3. Read the list of ingredients rather than the nutritional facts on packages. Find out what your food is, rather than how much fat or calories it contains.
4. Take a look at your wheat intake. Try going wheat-free for a meal, a day, or more.

This post is part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Two for Tuesdays, and Tuesday Tag Along.

Spaghetti Squash with mozzarella and chicken

This was one of the first meals I learned to cook when my husband and I got married 10 years ago. That means it's easy, because I was not much of a cook back then. So, beginners, rest assured- this is right at your level.

This dinner's perfect as the weather warms up, because it's light and fresh. If you use the microwave, it won't heat up your house, but I like to use the oven to cook the squash to keep as many vitamins intact as possible. When I first learned this recipe, I used only extra virgin olive oil, but adding some butter makes it melt it your mouth. Oh, and speaking of melting- don't be afraid to add extra chunks of cheese. Those gooey, creamy bites of cheese make this dish.

Spaghetti Squash with Smoked mozzarella and chicken

Prep: 15 minutes

Microwave: 12 to 14 minutes

Oven: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 medium tomatoes

2 ounces smoked mozzarella or gouda cheese

12 ounces chicken breast cut for stir fry

½ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Ground black pepper

¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. butter

Directions

1.With tip of sharp knife, pierce squash in about 10 places. Microwave on high 6 to 7 minutes. Turn squash over and pierce in another 10 places until squash is soft to the touch. Alternately, cut squash in half and bake for about 45 minutes, cut side down, in a 375 degree oven.

2.Meanwhile, in nonstick 12 inch skillet, heat olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender and golden, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.While onion is cooking, dice tomatoes and cheese.

4. Add chicken, ¼ tsp. Salt, and 1/8 tsp. Pepper to onion and cook until chicken loses its pink color throughout, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This is also a good recipe for leftover cooked chicken if you have some around.)

5.If using the microwave: When squash is done, cut lengthwise in half; discard seeds. Microwave or oven: With fork, gently scrape squash lengthwise and lift pulp out in strands as it becomes free; place in large bowl. Discard squash skin.

6.Mix tomatoes, cheese, ¼ tsp. Salt and 1/8 tsp. Pepper with hot squash. Spoon squash mixture into four individual bowls; top with onion and chicken mixture. Sprinkle with basil.

This post is part of Two for Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tempt my tummy Tuesdays, and  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Delicious Dishes.