Mmm...Summer

This is what I LOVE about Summer...all the fresh vegetables.
Being a southern girl, that's what I grew up on in the warmer months. My family reunions are filled with vegetables. Granted, a lot of them are fried, but many are just sliced up as they are.

Our table tonight:
Smashed potatoes
Corn - cut off the cobb with melted butter, salt and pepper
Fried okra (thank you Kara for advising me on how to make it your way, which is the best!)
Sliced tomatoes w/ torn basil, salt and pepper
fresh cantaloupe
Blueberry cornbread






Nothing fancy with the pictures here...just a true to us snapshot of our little family's dinner table. The cantaloupe didn't make it into the shot.

With the exception of the blueberry cornbread, everything came right out of my CSA box. Even right down to the basil. So, not only was everything delish, it was a good feeling to know that our meal tonight didn't have to travel far and by us purchasing it directly from the farmer, we're helping his family out. We explained the concept of buying local to our kids tonight around the dinner table.

And who out there is turning up their noses at the idea of blueberry cornbread? Don't knock it till you try it. It's a recipe from Hans Rueffert's book Eat Like There's No Tomorrow. Haven't heard of him? Check him out. Amazing chef, cancer survivor, and man. I've had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions and I really respect the man. I'm not giving you the recipe for the cornbread because I want you to buy his book!
There's some great recipes in there, especially for those who love to make the most of Summer's bounty. And I love the title! For someone who lives to eat, rather than eats to live, it's right up my alley.

Roast Beef Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Here's something super easy and requires no cooking for the hot Summer. It's one I adapted from Real Simple Magazine (put my own twist on it). It saved me from serving my family cereal for dinner tonight...not that there's anything wrong with that.

Roast Beef Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Toss the following into a salad, or use whatever you have on hand:
good quality mixed greens and romaine lettuce (Boston lettuce works nicely)
sliced tomatoes
cucumbers
carrots
sliced red onion
marinated artichoke hearts
sliced heart of palm

Top with crumbled goat cheese, sliced deli roast beef (warmed up a bit), and a good balsamic vinaigrette or TJ's Tuscan Italian dressing.
Or...make your own dressing of 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.

Morning glory muffins

When life gets busy (when is it not??), I need something quick, healthy, and delicious for breakfast. Something that doesn't take long to prepare and something packed with fiber. When I was losing weight a couple of years ago, one thing I was doing was really paying attention to my fiber intake. I didn't watch calories or fat grams so much, but I did aim to eat foods high in rich fiber. It fills me up and evens out my blood sugar keeping me from getting super hungry. I adapted a recipe for "morning glory muffins" from cooking light, making it more of my own creation. These babies have some great ingredients in them such as flax seed, wheat germ, wheat bran and oats. I make a big batch of them and keep them in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag so all I have to do in the morning is heat one up and throw a little Smart Balance on and I'm good to go. I usually try to have a fresh fruit, such as a banana, blueberries, or a peach along with a 8oz. glass of 1% milk. Sometime around 11am I'll also have some string cheese and an apple and I usually hold off on lunch until 1pm. I've heard it said that you have to eat to lose weight. I think that is so true, especially in the morning. I have to eat several times in the morning hours or else I'll be totally famished by 12 and will head for whatever is fast, easy and usually not so healthy. If I start the day off right I'm much more likely to keep it up and eat well throughout the day and not fall prey to sugar cravings.

Oh, and they make a great nighttime snack as well!

So, without further adieu, here's my adapted Morning Glory Muffin recipe:

Tip: Store wheat germ, wheat bran flaxseed and Scottish oats in the refrigerator or freezer in a ziplock bag. I'm able to fit them all into one bag and just grab the whole thing when I need to make the recipe. Keep them in their own individual bags in the larger ziplock bag.

Yield
18 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces) (I use King Arthur's White Wheat)
1 cup regular oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (can use less if desired)
1 tablespoon wheat bran
Good pinch of each: ground flax seed, wheat germ, and Scottish oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I use 2% Greek Yogurt but you may use fat free plain)
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup chopped dried fruits (mix and match raisins, blueberries, apples, cranberries, cherries...whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans. Walnuts are nice as well)
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons whole)
3 tablespoons wheat germ
3 tablespoons Scottish oats

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 18 muffin cups liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, banana, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in dried fruits and nuts. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with a mixture of the flaxseed, wheat germ and Scottish oats. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Turnips

I got a lot of goodies from Farmer Chad today, but my favorite was the turnips. Yes, I said was. Eventhough I was starving by the time I returned home after running errands, I waited to eat until I could boil those babies until tender, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and dig right in.

I sure do love turnips.
Why do people turn their little noses up at them?

I don't get picky eaters.

It's CSA time again!!!

And I'm so excited! I'm ready for some farm fresh food and creativity in my kitchen. It's definitely needed. As much as I enjoyed the Fall/Winter selection, I bet I'll enjoy the Spring/Summer variety even more. I love fresh summer produce. I have some pics of the goods, but can't upload them right now.
Today's box was great:

Two large bunches of leafy lettuce (I'll have salads twice daily I'm sure)
A couple of verities of greens (I love braised greens!)
A bunch of small carrots (for the salads....Ethan could eat all of them on his own)
A small bunch of spring onions (for cooking with and salads)
And a small container of bright red strawberries (snacks for the boys, and topping for greek yogurt or steel cut oats for me)

I like that getting the CSA box forces me to eat fresh; you don't want the food to go to waste.

The past couple of months have been hard for me to eat well. I try when I can, but my sweet tooth is working overtime and I find myself out of the "comfort zone" of where I want to weigh. Nothing that can't be easily remedied with more exercise and eating better. I have a goal in mind for myself of where I'd like to be in about a month and I'm going to work hard to get there.
The most difficult thing has been that I just can't get a workout in. Not at the gym at least. I simply don't have the time right now to go to the gym. Our schedule is jammed packed.

I was able to get two good workouts in this week at home doing a combo of the treadmill and a 20-min circuit that I made up (intervals of 1 minute cardo like jumping rope/jumping jacks and 1 minute weight or resistance). The first workout had me very sore for the next two days, so I feel like it was effective.

The truth is I was making more progress when I was going to the smaller women's only circuit gym (Shape Express) than I have being at the big gym. It's not a surprise to me; I knew this going into it. There really is something to a good effective 30- minute circuit training workout that combines cardio and resistance at the same time than to doing 30 minutes of intense cardio and 30 minutes of weights, which is what I usually end up doing at the "big" gym. I know taking classes would help, but I just can't make it to the classes. They're either during school or in the early evening. I'd need a mid-day class.
But...the big gym offers great child care and kid's activities, something the small one didn't have.
I'm thinking if I can come up with a really good 30 minute circuit I could do at home I'd be set.

Whatever I do, I need to make it happen. Lack of exercise isn't only showing on the scale, it's showing in my stress level, sleeping, and just not feeling relaxed. The days I've done it, I feel so much more relaxed.

There...I've put it all out there so now I'm committed!

White Chicken Chili

I totally meant to post this recipe at Christmas, especially since this is what I made on Christmas Eve for the family. And here it is April and I'm posting a Christmas recipe! It's great for any time of the year, though. It's also a wonderful option for serving at larger gatherings. You can do a tex-mex thing with it and let people top the chili with various toppings (sour cream, salsa, pico, chips, shredded cheese, etc.) It went over great. I pretty much made it just as the recipe calls, although I decided to use dried white beans and soak them overnight in lieu of the canned. Make it the day before and you won't be disappointed!

White Chicken Chili

Some of you may have seen this before; it was in my inbox this morning from a naturopathic/homeopahtic doctor I've been to. Very cool! Gives new meaning to the children's prayer "Thank you God for our food."

Nature's Pharmacy! Amazing!


God left us great clues as to what foods help what part of our body!


A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopene and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers! It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually help balance the blood sugar of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.