The Holiday Detox

What does it mean to you? I think all of us get through the holidays eating, drinking, then eating some more of whatever we want and tell ourselves it only is Christmas time once a year, pushing any worries about the affects on our body into the New Year. This is when the New Year's resolutions happen and we make big plans for changes in the coming year. I have never been one to make resolutions, but I do plan on spending the month of January detoxing my body, cleaning up my diet and getting back into my regular exercise routine as I gear up to start my new business as a Health Coach. My body is so ready to go back to the healthy foods again, large amounts of fresh vegetable and fruit, less cheese, sugar and processed wheat products. It is amazing how my body has been affected particularly by all the sugar (alcohol & baked goods) leaving me sluggish, tired and grumpy. I have found a 3 day Holiday Detox online that I really like as a good jumping off point for something easy to follow in getting the body back into its healthy habits. I plan to start with this detox the first week of January and move into high whole food diet, no alcohol for the month of January and very limited sugar (a small piece of dark chocolate in the evenings). I believe this plan will help me get back in tune with my body, increase my energy level and drop of few of the extra pounds added in the past few months. Here is a link to the holiday detox:
 http://health.yahoo.net/experts/joybauernutrition/holiday-detox
Stay tuned for updates on how the detox is going!
Coming soon: workshops starting in January including Sugar Blues and Green Smoothie 101 food demos.

Winter Green Smoothie

My love for green smoothies has continued into the winter months. I love the energy and vibrancy it gives me in the morning and makes me feel ready to face the day. I found a really great recipe that focuses on more ingredients that you can find in the winter and I really enjoy it, especially the tartness of the cranberries with the collards and green cabbage. I tweeked the recipe a bit (of course) because I thought it was too thick. This makes 64 ozs, which carries me through 2 mornings. Be sure to add some fresh lemon juice to help preserve it for the next day. I like to store mine in a mason jar with a tight lid.

Winter Green Smoothie

2 granny smith apples, cored and cut into large chunks

2 pears, cored and cut into large chunks

handful of fresh or frozen cranberries

handful fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)

1 T raw cacao nibs (optional)

2-inch piece of fresh ginger

2 cups of water

1 cup ice

6 to 7 large kale leaves

4 to 5 large collard greens

large chunk of green cabbage (about 1 to 2 cups chopped)

handful of fresh parsley

Place apples, pears, cranberries, ginger, and water into a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Stuff in the greens and blend again until smooth. Add more water for a thinner smoothie.

Healthy baking...yes there is such a thing!

I have never really enjoyed baking but recently decided to try baking some muffins. In my never-ending quest to find healthy snacks for my 4 year old, I decided to try making some bran muffins with the wheat bran that has been sitting in my fridge for quite sometime. Plus my son LOVES to help me in the kitchen and baking is a fun, easy to way to let him be my little helper. After tweaking the recipe 3 times I finally came up with some really delicious muffins that the whole family likes. I started with the recipe on the front of the Bob's Red Mill package of wheat bran, then added a few things to make it my own. I changed the sweetener from molasses to the honey/brown rice syrup mixture and it worked well to help keep them moist. I also added some pumpkin and pumpkin spice seasoning which added some nice flavor. Here it is:

Pumpkin Apple Spice Bran Muffins

1 C wheat bran (I used Bob's Red Mill, of course!)
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 C milk (they are best with regular milk, but I have used both hemp & almond milk)
1/2 C mixture of honey and brown rice syrup
2 T oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 to 1 C canned pumpkin
1 t pumpkin spice

Stir together all dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients, except for apple sauce and pumpkin. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Add apple sauce, pumpkin and pumpkin spice to mixture. Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the pull away easily from cups. Yum!

Spending the day with Watercress

On my quest to add more green, leafy vegetables into our daily diet, I have found myself buying too many greens at a time and then struggling to use them all before they go bad. So, I have decided to focus on just a few leafy vegetables each week and building daily menu/recipes around just a few of them so I don't end up with too much in my produce drawer. On Saturday I focused on watercress. Watercress is a fairly pungent cruciferous green that has a peppery taste, though not as strong as arugula. It is also amazingly nutritious, with almost three times the calcium than spinach! I used two recipes out of the book, "Greens Glorious Greens!" by Johnna Albi & Catherine Walthers. This is a fantastic book with many delicious recipes all broken down in sections by each green. I made Scrambled Eggs & Watercress for breakfast and Kristen's Wilted Watercress Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms for dinner, which I paired with a delicious Bulgur and Flax Pilaf. I found it interesting that both recipes had carrots, even with the eggs! I wasn't too sure how it would be, but was pleasantly surprised it was delicious! Here's one of the recipes:

Kristen's Wilted Watercress Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms

4 cups Watercress
1 carrot
1 T canola oil
2 t freshly grated ginger
2 to 3 cups thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (@ 1/2 lb), stems removed
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 t tamari
3 T water
1 T maple syrup
1 T plus 2 t brown rice vinegar
toasted sesame seeds to garnish (I used Gomasio)

Strip watercress leaves from stems and wash in cool water, then spin dry. Chop slightly, but leave mostly whole leaves. Peel carrot and slice on sharp angle in think ovals, then slice into tiny matchsticks. Place watercress & carrots in large serving bowl.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over high heat. Saute ginger and mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes. Some bits might stick to pan. Stir in scallions and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from pan and set aside.
To deglaze pan, add sesame oil, tamari, water, maple syrup and brown rice vinegar. Cook together with ginger/scallions/mushrooms for 1 minute over low heat
.
Pour hot dressing over watercress and carrot mixture. Toss gently and garnish with sesame seeds.

Label me, what?

As I have been doing many food experiments over the past 6 months I have been really surprised by some of the results. I have found that people really like to give themselves a label like, "I eat low-fat", "I am a Vegan", "I am a low-carb eater", "I only eat organic", "I am a Vegetarian". I have been fascinated by the fact that I truly have no taste for red meat and pork anymore. I think there are many factors: I have found so many other things I like eating more, I feel better, lighter, and able to maintain my weight without eating meat and I did happen to read some terrible information on slaughter houses...accidentally. With that being said, I think I would most identify with a Vegetarian, however I eat cheese and eggs, and small amounts of chicken and fish. I find that without any animal protein at all, I don't have as much energy. So what is my label? Am I a  lacto-ovo Vegetarian who sometime eats chicken? I discovered the term Flexitarian and I feel it fits me well. As the founder of IIN says in his book, Integrative Nutrition, "It is important to have balance and a flexible attitude...Being a health food addict can be isolating." Even though we should eat healthy most of the time, we still need to live! We are social beings who will always have relationships with people that eat differently than us. Without acceptance of not only how we feed ours, but of how our friend eat, we can never be truly happy. Life is too short to be inflexible. I am a Flexitarian.

After the cleanse...

No regrets. I am so glad I had the chance to give it a try and do it for 8 days. However, the next day I had some protein and felt a lot better. I was no longer freezing and had much more energy. I felt like I could go out and exercise again which for me is so important, especially at this time of year. Once the rain and cloudy skies are upon us, doing cardio exercising frequently helps to keep my happy endorphins going! On Halloween I made a yummy black bean soup. It was delicious and I was happy to be cooking soups again. The recipe includes pumpkin, chipotles and lime juice. Here is a link to the wonderful blog where I got the recipe: http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/01/black-bean-soup-with-pumpkin-lime.html.

Even though I wasn't eating all raw anymore I decided to make the Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies since I had bought the ingredients. They were surprisingly good, of course very different than warm, gooey, fresh out the oven traditional chocolate chips that are my absolute favorite dessert, but I thought they were pretty tasty. Here is the recipe:

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cup ground cashews

3/4 cup ground oats

1/4 cup agave

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

3-4 tablespoons cacao nibs

Stir together all ingredients. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment paper lined tray. Chill in the fridge until firm.
I used a coffee grinder to grind the oats and cashew, which was really easy. Also, I substituted brown rice syrup for the agave. I used Navitas Cacao nibs that I purchased on amazon.com. They are fantastic, loaded with antioxidants and I put them in my morning green smoothies too!

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 8 (And final day...)

Today I have decided not to continue the cleanse for several reasons, because as I have learned since beginning school this past summer it is very important to listen to your body. I've had eight days of no energy, being freezing and not seeing much improvement in my skin. I think part of the issue is the time of year. I feel like I am depriving my body of what it wants as we get closer to the winter months. Fall is one of my favorite times of year because I get to make soup. I don't want to miss out on any more soup making time! I do not regret trying the cleanse as it really has been a great learning experience. However, I do not think it is healthy to have only 2 very small bowel movements in 8 days!! It very well could have gone a lot differently if it had been Spring or Summer. During the summer I love to eat salads, even crave them. Right now I feel like I can't eat another one anytime soon. I couldn't stomach the cold soups. I sat here today wondering what I would eat for the next six days and realized this just isn't working. I have a lot of respect for Raw Foodists that can continue to eat so much raw foods throughout the year. So, I am going to enjoy a nice warm bowl of soup, then curl up on the couch with my boys.

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 7

Well, today hasn't really gone how I had hoped. I was still pretty low on energy and really wanted something warm to eat...had a hard time not giving in! I think part of the problem is the time of season. As my friend pointed out, this is when our bodies want foods that are more grounding and warm. When I read a book about doing a raw cleanse at the end of the summer I thought I would like to try it, but would wait until spring because that seemed to make more sense. Then when a woman from school had a group together with an online support network I thought I would give it a try, but it is a struggle. The damp, cold, cloudy, weather is not helping. However, I have reached the halfway point and am telling myself I can make it through next Thursday. Maybe I am a "late bloomer" when it comes to cleansing. I still am struggling with being cold, especially in the evening. Wow, not too cheery tonight. Doesn't it make you want to do a raw cleanse? :) Maybe tomorrow will be better. Patience...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 6

So today I got to have a smoothie for breakfast which was delicious and a beautiful salad at lunch. I felt like my taste buds were in overdrive because being able to chew food made everything taste so delicious! Dinner was not as great...tried a cold tomato soup. I think because I love hot soups so much it just didn't do it for me. Also, I think I added too many shallots and garlic. It was overpowering and didn't sit good in my stomach. Tomorrow I think that I will stick with smoothies and salads. On day 8 we move to a high raw diet, I guess including more than just smoothies, salads and cold soups. Should be interesting...although I have been intrigued with the Raw Food Diet when we studied it in school, I think there are certain things about it that would be really hard to follow. It will be fun to try some of the recipes and see how they are. I will be sure to share any that are really good! I am still waiting for the vibrant energy that apparently I should be having by now and haven't seen too much improvement in my skin yet. Maybe it is just taking a little bit longer for me...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 5

Well, all I can say is that I am so glad to be done with juicing and drinking them tomorrow! Today was hard as I was hungrier and really craving some fats, like cheese and avocado. Made my salad tonight for lunch tomorrow, lots of yummy fresh green, parsley, cucumber, purple cabbage, red pepper, sunflower seeds and avocado. Yum!! Plan to make a yummy Blueberry Kale smoothie in the morning. Yes, fiber!! It was actually kind of hard to drink the juices today, where as the other days they were refreshing and delicious. Still haven't seen much improvement in my skin. :(  Hopefully it does start to improve more, as its one of the main reasons I did the cleanse. Really tired tonight, still waiting for the bright, vibrant energy to happen. The cloudy, cold, rain that we have been having here in Portland certainly is not helping the energy level.

I keep forgetting to mention the gross liver cleanse I have been drinking in the morning! Um yeah, it is warm water, lemon juice and olive oil. I have been using flax seed oil but still not fun to drink. It is supposed to help get things "moving" in the morning, but let me tell you that certainly hasn't been working for me! We do continue drinking this for the whole 14 days...we will see if I make it. Going to head to bed early so I can have sweet dreams about avocado and actually chewing my food.

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 4

Another day down and only one more to go before I can have a salad! Yay! I am dying for some avocado...yum. Today was a little harder in dealing with hunger. Maybe because I dropped 3 lbs. from yesterday or just because I haven't had anything but juice for 4 days!! :) Energy was good today and no headache. As long as I don't get the stomach flu that my son and husband had I should be good to go...yikes. That would really mess up the cleanse, wouldn't it!

Juicing with the Vita Mix has turned out to work pretty well. I like the fact that I can throw in a hunk of ginger to the mixture with the Vita Mix which you probably couldn't do with a juicer unless you had a really good one. I took some pictures to load that show the process of juicing with my blender. I made my juice for breakfast and lunch tomorrow so I don't have to worry about it in the morning. First day of working while on the cleanse, hope it goes well! Stay tuned...

Full blender of veggies!

Don't over blend

The flat  wooden spoon worked well to squeeze out juice

Voila! Dinner is done

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 3

So, I can tell that my brain wasn't working too well yesterday as I forgot to mention that I have been FREEZING. Can't get warm to save my life, slept the last 2 nights in several layers of clothes. However I have been sleeping like a baby, deep sleep with vivid dreams. Today I do seem a bit warmer though, and my other detox symptoms seem better as well. I wasn't as tired and only had a dull headache for a short while in the afternoon. Much to my surprise my hunger level hasn't been bad at all. I do find when I feel hungry I am actually craving the fresh juice that I have made, guess my body really loves it! Only 2 more days to go on the juice portion of the cleanse. Overall, except for the exorbitant amount of time I am spending in the kitchen juicing, this cleanse has been much easier than I thought it would be (so far anyway, need to remind myself it is day 3). Until tomorrow...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 2

Well this morning went a little bit better using the Vita Mix and then a mesh strainer to make the juices. Still a lot of work though, probably wouldn't do this if it was more than 5 days of juicing! I have been a little more hungry today but not too bad until about 2pm. Then I got a monster of a headache and had to lay down. Slept for an hour or so, body has been a bit weak and tired. I am so glad the cleanse started on a Friday! Hopefully by Monday I will be through most of the detoxing and having a lot more energy for work.

I did experience some food cravings today but mostly when I opened the fridge and the food was right in front of me. Luckily the juices I have made really taste pretty good and I just grabbed my mason jar full of juice for a few swigs when I felt hungry. I am hoping the hunger level is not too bad tomorrow. I am pretty calm though, not feeling stressed out or regretting doing the cleanse. I will probably hit the hay early again tonight letting my body get plenty of rest during this detox stage. I am looking forward to a smoothie and salad on Wednesday!

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 1

I have been wanting to do a raw food cleanse/detox for a while since my interest in raw foods has grown. I notice I feel more energetic and happy on days when I have incorporated more raw foods into my diet. When a fellow student at IIN said she had a group of 40+ people starting today together and there was an online support group I jumped on the bandwagon. I even got a friend at work to join me so we can support each other. I am hoping to clear up my skin on my face and jump start my energy which has been low since the weather started changing.The cleanse is 14 days...about the longest I think I would ever want to do. The basic layout is: Day 1-5 drink fresh squeezed veggie/fruit juices, Day 6-7 adding in Smoothies and salads, and soups, Day 8-14 eating a high raw diet.

So, Day 1 has been okay. Had a few issues this morning trying to strain my juice that I blended in the Vita Mix since I don't have a juicer. It was over blended and pretty much impossible to strain so I did have some fiber today, oh well. The next batch I made was much better. I haven't really been hungry, just a bit tired and running on the cold side this evening. Luckily I had made a batch of the Grounding Soup broth last night that I could warm up and sip, which has helped me warm up a bit.

I can already tell I am going to get sick of the juices and that work that goes into making them. At least it is only 5 days. Also, I think I am really going to miss chewing!! Until tomorrow...

Cozy Lentils

I love lentil soup and my grandmother's simple recipe is delicious on a cool fall day. The simple ingredients simmering on the stove create a lovely meal. I like to pair it with a salad or if you have problems digesting lentils, serve it over some brown rice. I also have recently been using red lentils. I made a yummy Red Lentil Roast that was really tasty. It bakes in a pan and when finished has the consistency of corn bread.

Grandma's Lentil Soup

one bag of dry lentils
10 cups chicken or vegetable stock or 5 cups stock, 5 cups water (whatever is on hand)
chopped carrots, celery, onion
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
1/2 thyme


Wash and drain the lentils and add to boiling stock. Simmer for 1 hr. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 2 - 3 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Red Lentil Roast

1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup canola oil (it's optional on the recipe, but I use it)
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt
dash nutmeg

Simmer lentils in water, covered, until soft (about 25 minutes). DO NOT DRAIN.
Saute onions and garlic in oil (if using it) til lightly browned.
Mix all ingredients together and turn into a well oiled oven dish. (The consistency is kind of thick and gloopy.)
Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. When done, it'll have the springy feel of cornbread.

My favorite soup

My favorite soup recipe for the past couple of years has been a Coconut Chicken Butternut Squash soup. I usually am not a big fan of squash, but I love it in this soup. It has an amazing flavor and is the perfect comfort food on a cold, rainy day. The red pepper gives it a little kick and is perfectly paired with the earthy butternut squash. Try serving over some steamy brown rice. If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Coconut Chicken Squash Soup

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes or 1/4 t ground cayenne red pepper
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
1/2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 t freshly grated lime peel
Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 T)
3 cups butternut squash (@ 1lb, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 coconut milk
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

In medium stockpot over med-high heat, saute the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes in the butter and olive oil for 1 minute.
Add the chicken, salt and white pepper. Cook for 4 minutes or so.
Add the stock, grated lime peel and lime juice.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10 minutes.
Add the squash, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Add the coconut milk and cilantro, cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes (do not boil the coconut milk or it will separate).
Serve with a green salad and/or over brown rice.

I should add that I usually double or triple the recipe to have lots of leftovers since it is a bit labor intensive. New Seasons and Trader Joe's both have cut butternut squash that comes in handy for saving time. Enjoy!!

Cook once eat two or three times

I LOVE this concept and Andrea Beaman's handout that we got from her lecture about whole grains, but I do not seem to be very good about incorporating this into my weekly cooking. I think I am just so excited about all the new recipes that I want to try that I end up buying WAY too much food at New Seasons, especially fresh produce and trying to cook too many meals in a week. Tonight, I don't want to cook...so we shall eat the hodge podge of leftovers in the fridge and it will do. Just need to make sure I get through all my fresh produce this week...hmmm, maybe I will just make a giant salad of all the beautiful greens that are in the fridge topped with some leftover chicken, feta, tomato and sunflower seeds. Yep, that sounds good. At least there isn't too much "cooking" involved in making a salad. I do love how making a big pot of soup last 3 - 4 days. Sometimes just doubling the recipe (if you have a giant pot!) makes at least 2 dinners and enough for lunch. Easy. Yummy. And simple to pair with a fresh greens salad. Oh soup. I think I need to make my favorite soup this weekend, Chicken Coconut Curry soup. It's the best!! I will post the recipe soon. What do you do to make your healthy meals stretch into more than one meal?

Health and happiness,
Julie

Simple zucchini "spagetti"

So someone from my class who can't eat wheat mentioned using raw, shredded zucchini as pasta topped with your favorite tomato sauce and parmigiana cheese. I was pretty skeptical at first, but thought I would give it a try since I had some zucchini's from the farmer's market. I was pleasantly surprised that it was delicious and I didn't miss the pasta! The recipe is simple:

1 large zucchini, shredded (I used my food processor)
Jar of favorite tomato sauce (I doctored mine up with some garlic, onions and mushrooms I had in the fridge)
Parmigiana cheese, optional

I paired it with a salad and it was a filling, satisfying meal that I will definitely be making again in the near future. Note: Do not reheat the zucchini and tomato sauce together for lunch...my husband learned the hard way that the zucchini is meant to be RAW or it turns to a watery mush! :) Give it a try and be sure to post if you like it!

Discovering Curry

I have always loved Indian spices, especially curry. I just tried a Mulligatawny soup that is delicious. I made a giant batch (doubled the recipe below) so we have plenty eat this week or it can always be frozen for a later date. What I love about this recipe is that you can mix it up with different vegetables for the season or what you have on hand. Here is the version that I tried:

Mulligatawny Soup

2 tbsp. coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 cups hard vegetables (sweet potatoes and parsnips, cut into smaller than
1/4 inch cubes)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium)
3 tomato stewed tomatoes
2 cups soft vegetables (eggplant, cut into smaller than 1/2 inch dice and frozen peas)
2 tablespoons curry powder


• Put oil into a large, deep pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, cumin, and turmeric. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about five minutes.
• Add the hard vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the stock and tomato; bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring every now and then, until the vegetables are fairly soft, about 15 minutes.
• Add the soft vegetables and curry powder and adjust the heat once again so the mixture simmers. Cook until all the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

I also love this recipe for Indian Vegetarian Curried Fried Rice. It's pretty easy to make and is lovely for leftovers

Indian Vegetarian Currie Fried Rice

2 T oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T minced ginger
1 cup green beans, cut into pieces (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 T curry (I love curry, so I always add more)
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup chickpeas
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 T soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in flat bottom wok or skillet over high. Swirl in 1 T oil, add onion and ginger and stir-fry until ginger is fragrant. Add green beans and carrots; use spatula to stir-fry until beans are bright green. Stir in curry powder, stir-fry until fragrant. Swirl in remaining oil, then add rice. Break up rice with spatula until it is well combined with vegetables. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, soy sauce and pepper. Continue cooking until heated through and serve.

Food for Fall

Cooler weather, falling leaves, lovely soup simmering on the stove. Just a few of my favorite things about Fall. This year my plan is to try to incorporate more seasonal meals into our diet. Along with discovering new, yummy soups I plan to incorporate more roots vegetables in stir-fry's, baked veggies and in my soups/stews. I would also like to experiment more with autumn squash like butternut and kabocha. I think experimenting with chutney would be fun too. Stay tuned! Two things on the menu I am excited about this week are homemade Pad Thai (never made it before, but will be sure to post if it is good) and Mulligatawny soup. Yum!!

Late summer Corn & Tomato Salad

Although it already feels like Fall here in Portland, I wanted to post one more late summer recipe before I move on to all the yummy Fall foods. I really like this salad as it uses bulgur, one of my favorites grains. Bulgur has a nutty flavor and is really satisfying. I also love the basil in the salad as well. Enjoy!

• 1 cup bulgur wheat*
• 1 cup water
• ¼ olive oil
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or thawed frozen)
• ½ medium cucumber, diced
• 4 tomatoes, cut into ¼” dice
• 3 scallions (with about 3” of the green stem left on), thinly sliced
• ½ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 t garlic powder
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Prep
1. Combine the bulgur and water and let soak for about 1 hour.
2. Mix in the olive oil and lemon juice. Then add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve right away or store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nothing like homemade bread

So I "bake" bread, but I use my Breadman machine which I love! It is so easy and I have come up with a fantastic recipe that we all love. I had to play around with it for a while as if I just used all whole wheat bread flour it was too dense and hard. So here is what I came up with:

5 Seed Bread

1 1/3 cup water
2 T canola oil
3 T brown rice syrup
3/4 cup white bread flour
1 1/3 cup whole wheat bread flour, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 t salt
2 T sunflower seeds
2 T flax seeds
2 T chia seeds
2 T sesame seeds
2 T pumpkin seeds
2 t active dry yeast

Choose white cycle, 1.5 loaf size.

Green Smoothies: What's the big deal?

Green smoothies are a hot topic in the nutrition world. When I first started hearing about them I thought they were just for those crazy health nuts that only eat raw food. So I decided to give them a try to prove my point. Well not only did I discover they are delicious but my 3 year old son also loved them. I was so pleased because he was eating leafy, green vegetables! I got hooked. I also realize they can be incorporated into any diet/lifestyle. I am going to post two of my recent favorites. The first one is great in the morning, the flax seeds and berries help it stick with you all the way until lunch.

Berry Kale Smoothie
1 cup almond milk, or any milk you like to use
2 T flax seeds
1 banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
 handful strawberries, or any other frozen berries on hand
2-3 cups kale
2-3 cups spinach

Blend all together and enjoy!


The next smoothie is delicious and wonderful for healthy bones (all the calcium in the kale) and a great immune system booster. I prefer this as a snack, lunch or even a light dinner on a hot night if you have eaten lots of heavy food through the day.

Pear and Kale Smoothie

1/2 cup water
2 cups ice
1 cup green grapes
1 banana, fresh or frozen
1/2 Bartlett pear
1 orange, peeled
1-2 cups kale

I like to blend the water and ice first, then add fruit and finish with the kale. Enjoy!

I love food

I love food. I also love cooking. I also love simple, healthy cooking. That being said you understand the reason for my blog. I want to share with people that it doesn't have to be difficult to cook healthy. Experimenting with new foods really can be fun! So, on that note I will post my first recipe. I like to call it Julie's Tofu Asian Stir Fry although feel free to add any protein you enjoy.

Julie's Tofu Asian Stir Fry

Any veggies in the fridge (bok choy, celery, carrots, green beans, shallots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach) etc, you know whatever is on hand
1 block extra firm tofu, chopped in small pieces
toasted sesame oil (this is key, don't scrimp and use olive oil)
mirin
tamari soy sauce
salt & pepper (or my favorite Gomasio)

In saute pan, warm up toasted sesame oil. Throw in onions, shallots or garlic, whatever you are using. Then toss in the tofu. After few minutes start adding veggies, add harder ones first that will take longer to cook. Throw in some mirin, and Tamari. Saute some more. Taste test, then add more. Add some salt & pepper or Gomasio.Voila!! You are ready to go. Enjoy. If its just you there might even be enough for lunch tomorrow which makes it even more fantastic. I love to cook once and eat two even three times.