Tag Archives: recipes

Eggs and Avocados- a recipe we just discovered!

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I get so excited when I get a recipe from a fellow healthy eater and it’s delicious. This weekend a good friend of ours suggested we try the following for breakfast.

Hard boiled eggs
Avocado
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Just Mash it all together and serve for breakfast.

Can I tell you that I tried it this morning and I was blown away!

It was totally delicious and so easy to make. The only thing I had to do was boil the eggs which took about 15 minutes. Then I cut open the avocado, put the olive oil and salt and mixed it together.

The ratio I used was 2 eggs and 1/2 an avocado because that’s what I happened to have available.

It was also a nice variation from my regular morning smoothies. I’ll confess I felt a little guilty not getting all my fruits and veggies in the morning but I know I replaced them with good protein and fats which are also essential.

For those who are in a rush in the mornings:

Hard boiled eggs are quite easy because they can be cooked in batches. On any given night hard boil about 5-10 eggs (depending on your family size) and put them back in the egg carton. We get a marker and just write on the shell HB. The shell comes off and it’s how we differentiate them from the non cooked eggs. You can also tell by shaking the egg. Then in the morning you can peel and combine with the avocado. You can also take the boiled egg and avocado with you and make at work for snack or lunch… So it can be portable also.

I highly recommend you try this recipe. And it really doesn’t have to be limited to a breakfast food. I would have this for a snack in the middle of the day also.

I’m in love!!!!!!

I did a quick search on the benefits of these 2 foods and I found this informative short paragraph on both foods. Read below…

Eggs are one of our best sources of high-quality complete protein, which is easily absorbed and has all of the amino acids the body needs. Eggs are also high in choline, a phospholipid compound similar to B-vitamins that many cells in the body utilize. Choline plays a large role in gene expression, and may prevent long-term memory loss., Choline is also essential in the formation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that sends messages between nerves and muscles. With more than 90% of Americans choline-deficient, incorporating eggs into your diet is an easy fix. Just be sure to use the egg yolk when making your morning scramble – since this is where all of the choline and vitamins are stored.
We’ve come to think of orange foods as the best source of carotenoids (carotenoids might make you think carrots, right?). But dark green vegetables actually get their trademark deep green color from a mixture of the green pigment chlorophyll with the orange-pigmented carotenoids.

Avocados boast incredibly high carotenoid levels, which have potent anti-inflammatory properties. What does anti-inflammatory really mean for us? Inflammation is the body’s protective response to toxins, pollutants, and other harmful invaders. Inflammation can decrease short-term cell function and over time causes permanent damage. Nutritious foods with anti-inflammatory properties help us minimize those damaging effects. You already know that avocados are a great source of heart-healthy fats, and that just adds to their superfood status: avocados have a truly unique mixture of fat-soluble vitamins, antioxidant plant pigments, and antioxidants, which have been linked to decreased risk for cancer.

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/26/10833035-secret-superfoods-youre-already-eating?lite

Fool Proof, Easy, Works Every Time Veggie Recipe

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What is it about veggies that most of us just don’t want to eat them? I say its bad memories. Its the memory of the soggy broccoli you had at a restaurant or the canned vegetables your mother made you eat for dinner. The truth is that most people sabotage vegetables. Its not the vegetable…its the preparation. Boiling and over steaming are probably the biggest culprits.

But when you decide that you have to make vegetables the biggest part of your daily diet…you better find a way to enjoy them or you’re in big trouble. We have definitely found a cooking method that works:

ROASTING 

The recipe we are about to share with you is the most basic, embarrassingly simple way to cook almost any vegetable and LOVE it.

Here’s what you do:

Take Asparagus for example:

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  • drizzle olive oil and some salt on asparagus (Trim an inch from the bottom)
  • toss in a bowl
  • lay flat on top of parchment paper or aluminum foil on a baking sheet
  • cook for 30 minutes (time may vary depending on vegetable and your oven. You need to be vigilant the first few times you make the vegetables so you can note the time that is right for you. You don’t want to overcook the vegetable but you also don’t want it to be too hard)

THAT’S IT.

Other veggies you can try this method with include:

  • butternut squash
  • sweet potato
  • parsnip (trim an inch off the bottom)
  • green beans (trim off the ends)
  • brussel sprouts
  • cauliflower
  • carrots
  • beets
  • zucchini
  • squash
  • red and green peppers
  • garlic (to use in soups and other recipes…yummy)
NOTE: Don’t be afraid to combine the vegetables in one tray. While they generally have different cooking times, a combination of asparagus, carrots and brussel sprouts, for example, will cook well together.

This cooking method has allowed us to start this love affair with vegetables. Caveat: We don’t like using this method on broccoli because we find it to be too dry. We will post another recipe for broccoli, but we encourage you to try any and all of these veggies using this simple recipe.

What’s so great about this recipe is that you don’t need fancy ingredients or techniques and you don’t have to be a great cook to pull this off. Even I can cook this and I rely entirely on my husband to do the cooking.

We usually use this method at dinner time and we tend to make a large portion. We love leftovers because our kids go to sleep so early that they won’t enjoy this veggie until the next day.  We also sometimes double up on the veggies…for example we’ll make roasted butternut squash and green beans and use the squash as the carb.

But another great little perk is that I incorporate the leftovers in my meals the next day.

For example: My absolute favorite is to have the roasted butternut squash in my fridge for a few days to put in my salads. It is DELICIOUS! I also snack on it if I’m hungry and I need a snack. I just heat it up and eat a few bites and its filling and healthy.

If we have left over red beets I also put it in our salads the next day, but sometimes I make a beet smoothie in the morning.

We try to make our morning and afternoon vegetables RAW because that is the way you get the most vitamins and minerals from the vegetable. But it is nice to throw in a cooked vegetable into your salad every once in a while and keep it interesting.

We hope you’ll put this recipe to the test this week and try as many vegetables as you dare!!!

GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER…PILE ON THE GREENS!!!

Green smoothie

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This morning I made the family a green smoothie.

Here’s what I put:

Celery
Kale
Romaine lettuce
Apple
Banana
Honey
Water

I made this smoothie because Justin had a fever last night and I’m not sure if he’s teething or coming down with a cold. I thought the honey would be good for him.

I will confess it wasn’t his favorite. But he drank most of it and then I gave him a few craisins which he loves. I’m constantly trying new ingredients in my smoothies knowing that it may be hit or miss. But this is the only way to find the ones we absolutely love. It’s a process!!!!

Orly loved it though which shows that it’s really important to get the kids to try everything. It’s not a guarantee they’ll like it and each child is different but exposure plants the seed which is all we can do!

Carb alternatives

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We do not follow Atkins, however, we do believe that you need to eliminate the rices, breads, pastas, crackers of  your daily diet. The problem is not that “Carbohydrates” are bad for you. Carbs provide energy and energy is necessary for life. The problem is that we are living in a society where wheat (gluten) has been altered to the point that it is dangerous for you. The rise of Celiac’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome are highly attributed to these products.  It used to be that the white carbs were the bad ones because they were processed and that continues to be true…however, we are fooled into thinking that whole wheat is  a “healthy” alternative, when the research is now proving otherwise. Unfortunately, even when you shop at the store and read titles like “Multi-Grain” bread or chips, if you follow our principle of READING THE INGREDIENTS, you will find that these products are made primarily of whole wheat. You need to stick to WHOLE GRAINS and it has to be 100% whole grains.

Now, we are Cuban. We eat double and sometimes triple carbs in most meals (white rice, black beans, and yucca is a common example).  It is tough for us to make a meal without “carbs”until this day. What do we do?  We have learned to replace the carbs that we are used to (rice, pasta, potatoes) with vegetables that are satisfying, delicious, and starchy.

Here’s a a general idea…

You want a baked potato= make a sweet potato (no butter or sugar needed) it is sweet and healthy on its own.

You want mashed potatoes= make a cauliflower mashed potato. You won’t know the difference.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbsidedishes/r/cauliflowermash.htm

You craving pasta? Instead of pasta, roast a spaghetti squash, make a simple tomato sauce with ground turkey, and pour it atop the squash. Is it identical? No. But you won’t miss the pasta after a while.

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2010/02/how-to-bake-spaghetti-squash/  (This is just one website to teach you how to make the spaghetti squash but you can google it and find other informational websites)

Often times rice is the cornerstone of all meals. Rice is easily replicated by whole grains. Don’t fall into the “brown rice” scam. Most brown rice is just white rice with molasses and not a whole lot more nutritious.  Get whole grains like Quinoa, cracked bulgar, and millet.

You can also put raw cauliflower in a food processor and it will turn into “rice-like” portions that you can saute and serve in place of rice. You can actually make a pizza crust out of it.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbsidedishes/r/caulirice.htm

http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/16/cauliflower-crust-hawaiian-pizza

PLEASE NOTE: Don’t dream about making this pizza recipe without PARCHMENT PAPER. The crust is too sticky and won’t succeed without parchment paper.

For a great article on the evolution of wheat, please read this article:

http://boingboing.net/2011/10/26/triticum-fever-by-dr-william-davis-author-of-wheat-belly.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)

Salads for Lunch

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Anyone that knows me knows that i’m not a cook. I depend entirely on my husband to make dinner and I’m not good in the kitchen. For years this has limited me to the point that its easier to eat cereal from a box or go out to lunch than make my own food.

But I’ve discovered that we don’t have to know how to cook to succeed in Piling on the Greens. In fact, eating Raw vegetables is the BEST way to consume your veggies because you are not eliminating any vitamins and nutrients with heat.

So here’s what I do with my salads.

I’ve established a few staple ingredients that I put in my salad every time.

  • Organic Girl 50/50 greens mix or the super greens mix or the spinach. (I like them all)
  • Sliced almonds
  • Corn
  • Craisins

DISCLAIMER:  Craisins have added SUGAR!!!! I literally sprinkle 5-9 craisins in my salad because I absolutely love the taste that it gives the salad. They are not necessary and if you can find a healthier alternative that tastes good, please comment on this blog. Occasionally I skip them now, but when I started making my salads they were a must.

Besides these basics every day is a new day for my salad. I include ingredients such as:

  • mini red, orange and yellow peppers
  • sliced carrots
  • tomatoes
  • raw broccoli
  • raw red onions
  • mushrooms (raw or cooked if we have leftovers from dinner)
  • avocados
  • cubed roasted butternut squash (when we make it for dinner I make a separate batch to include in my salads)
  • raw pecans (not glazed!!!!!! like those salad toppers ones sold at the store. Buy plain raw pecans)
  • walnuts
  • sliced apple
  • sliced pear
  • sliced pineapple
  • mandarin oranges
  • raw cabbage
  • red beets
  • sunflower seeds
  • grilled chicken
  • salmon
  • steak
NOTE: I do not put animal protein in my salad everyday. We have greatly reduced the amount of animal protein we consume because our society tends to over-consume animal protein. We never eat it twice a day – either lunch or dinner. And we try to go 2-3 days a week without any animal protein. But if we know we’re going to have a light soup for dinner then I’ll plan a heavier salad that includes chicken or steak or salmon. And the steak or salmon is only used when it is left over from dinner, then I put it in lunch the next day or a couple of days later.

For dressing I use simply:

  • Olive oil and Vinegar
  • Lemon (which is actually quite delicious and eliminates the need for dressing)

You can pick and choose any of these ingredients and make a delicious salad. Obviously I don’t use all these ingredients all at once and sometimes it really depends what I have left in the fridge, especially towards the end of the week or what we made the night before. But you start getting combinations you like more than others. For example, I love combining the butternut squash with grilled chicken and lemon instead of olive oil and vinegar. And my husband’s favorite salads are the ones with avocados, or the ones with pineapple and sunflower seeds.

Between your smoothie for breakfast and your salad for lunch you are consuming more vegetables and fruits than you probably consumed in a week before. This eliminates the need for fiber supplements and solves constipation issues. It helps lower cholesterol, lower your sugar levels, and clean out your liver. In my husband’s case, it actually took away his acid reflux completely!

NOTE:  The avocados and nuts provide the GOOD FATS that we ALL need in our diets…even those trying to lose weight.

  •  Once again, this is a perfect meal solution for those who are in a rush in the morning because it can be prepared the night before.
  • Taking your lunch to work is a lot cheaper than eating out every day, so it offsets the additional cost of buying some items Organic. (And it is way better than ordering a salad from a restaurant which is much more expensive and you really don’t know the quality of what you’re eating)
  • If you have a good work group and a kitchen at work, you can all pitch in and buy ingredients and make group salads for each other instead of ordering pizza or chicken kitchen. You can make some extra chicken the night before and bring it for the group the next day, and your co-worker can bring the roasted butternut squash another day.
  • BJ’s and Costco are adding a lot of organic bulk items that are great for salads such as the greens, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, apples, pears, etc. I also buy my plain nuts there. Its a good way to buy cheaper and in large quantities for the whole family.

FOR THE KIDS: Kids need to start eating salads from as little as possible. My 1 1/2 year old and 3 year old eat salads all the time. I chop up the greens into tiny tiny pieces and make sure to always put a fruit in there to entice them to eat it. In my experience, what helped my 3 year old the most was to watch me eat it. Kids want to copy their parents, so whenever I ate my salad my son would sit next to me and ask me if he could try it. He was picking off of my plate which didn’t make him feel like he was being force fed. The result was that now I serve him his own plate because i’m sick of him eating all my food!  PARENTS WE LEAD BY EXAMPLE!!!! LET’S GIVE OUR CHILDREN GOOD EATING HABITS!

If I can make these smoothies and salads, anyone can. We can not hide behind the excuse that we are not good in the kitchen to avoid eating healthy!!!!!