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Category Archives: Health
Southwest Style Chili – Delicious and Easy!
Serves 5-6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cans of chili seasoned diced tomatoes
• 1 can of red kidney beans, not drained
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 1 large red pepper, diced
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
Directions:
In a large saucepan, brown the beef and once cooked, drain the beef and transfer to a large pot. Add canned tomatoes and kidney beans. Let simmer on medium.
In the now empty saucepan, add the olive oil and lightly brown the onion and garlic on medium, ~5 minutes. Add the diced green and red peppers, cook until tender, ~ 5 minutes.
Add vegetable mixture to beef mixture and stir. Add in chili powder and cumin. Bring to a low boil and simmer for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Pair with your favorite glass of red wine for some added antioxidant benefits and ENJOY!
Think About Your Food Today…
“Contemplating our food for a few seconds before eating, and eating in mindfulness, can bring us much happiness” Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindless eating can lead to poor food choices, often foods high in sugar and fat and allow us to become disconnected with what we are eating and how it makes us feel. If we just take time before we eat our meals and become mindful of what we are putting in our bodies we can really start to make that mind/body connection. The intent here is to slow down, enjoy the taste, digest and metabolize all those wonderful nutrients you are eating. Learning what this feels like and practicing it in your everyday life is so important.
I challenge you today, and every other day, to be mindful of the foods you are eating and how it makes you feel. Keeping a daily journal can be a very helpful exercise in making this an everyday habit.
Cheers to Mindful, Healthy Living!
Crossfit’s Dirty Little Secret
Crossfit’s Dirty Little Secret
I have many friends who do Crossfit and have seen tremendous results, which is terrific! I, myself, have even tried it several times and have felt my muscles going to work long after the workout was over – something many of us like to experience. On the other hand, I have heard several stories within the last few years of people getting injured and/or experiencing extreme overexertion. This being said, I found this article to be quite interesting in terms of the negative aspects of overexerting your body to the extreme. The last paragraph sums it up very nicely…
“Exercise is just about the best thing you can do for your body, but in the case of Crossfit, we’re left to ponder the question, is this workout worth the risk? Can the culture adapt to one that embraces safe training principles? Do coaches truly have the ability to detect what a proper training load is for their athletes? Only time will tell, but the future of CrossFit may depend on it.”
For me and for my body, I will be sticking with my spin, plyometrics, and zumba classes while also continuing to practice yoga. 🙂
It’s Pumpkin Time!
It’s that time of year when I start pulling out my pumpkin spiced candles, decorating the house with fall colors, ordering pumpkin spiced lattes and pumpkin flavored donuts (occasionally of course😜), enjoying the smell of the fresh fall air, windows open, and having football on all weekend long. Nothing compares to this amazing feeling of peace and happiness.
One thing that’s for certain is that pumpkin is ALL around us, which is so exciting as it is such a multi-functioning, excellent source of nutrition! I can’t help but take advantage of it this season. Whether I am baking pumpkin muffins, pancakes, sauce, or adding it to my smoothie, I will certainly be experimenting with all kinds of recipes this season. The good ones I will be sure to post!
This being said, I wanted to share how cooked pumpkin and roasted pumpkin seeds can aid in your nutrition and well-being in hopes that you may be consuming lots of it this season!
• Pumpkin is a great source of fiber and low in calories, 3 grams of fiber and only 49 calories per 1 cup. A fiber-rich diet has been consistently known to aid in weight loss.
• 1 cup of cooked pumpkin provides you with more than 200 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A, which aids in vision.
• The antioxidant beta-carotene found in pumpkin has been researched and found to possibly play a role in cancer prevention.
• The same free radical neutralizing powers of the carotenoids in pumpkin that may keep cancer cells at bay have also been known to diminish the signs of wrinkles.
• Studies have shown that pumpkin seeds are naturally rich in plant based chemicals called phytosterols that have been shown to lower LDL, aka “bad” cholesterol.
• The amino acid found in pumpkin seeds has been known to be an all natural mood enhancer. Grab a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds to improve your mood!
• Cooked pumpkin is a great source of potassium, even better than a banana! 1 cup of cooked pumpkin provides you with 564 milligrams of potassium vs. 422 grams in a banana. This is a great post workout snack as it refuels the body for faster recovery.
All of this information has been gathered from various resources and intended to provide valuable information to improve overall health and well-being.
Cheers to Mindful, Healthy Living!
Zucchini Quiche – Paleo Style
One of my most challenging meals to plan for is breakfast. I often find myself reaching for the most convenient breakfast meal and often times it’s the least healthiest option. Ideally, I would like to start my day with some vegetables, protein and lean carbohydrates so I’ve been doing some research and adapted this recipe from a Paleo recipe. I found this recipe to be easy to prepare, nutritional, filling, easy to reheat throughout the week and most importantly tasty! I added in the Applegate Chicken Sausage for added taste and protein. This can certainly be omitted for a vegetarian dish.
Here are the details 🙂
Serves 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
• 8 eggs + 2 egg whites
• 2 medium sized carrots – shredded
• 1 medium to large sized zucchini – shredded and squeezed with a cheese cloth or paper towel to remove excess water
• ½ teaspoon rosemary
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ tablespoon of soft organic butter to coat the pan
• 2 Applegate Farms Apple Chicken Sausage (optional and can be found at Trader Joes) – Cooked and Thinly Sliced
Directions:
Shred the carrots and zucchini and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, mix well the eggs and egg whites and add the rosemary and salt. Add the shredded carrots, zucchini and chicken sausage. Mix well.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9” x 12” pan with butter and add the egg mixture. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Quick, Easy and Delicious!
Cheers to Mindful, Healthy Living!
Happy Labor Day!!
Celebrated with friends and family today and experienced my first shrimp boil! Healthy and delicious! (minus those 3 sticks of butter) 😜 . I hope everyone had a safe and happy Labor Day weekend! ☀
Antioxidants = Pigments of Color
Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that protect and repair our cells from damage caused by free radicals. Experts believe that damage to our cells play a huge part in a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), arthritis, and many more. Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables can play a major role in fighting off this damage to our cells and keeping our immune system strong.
As my journey continues through The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I continue to see the incredible value that fruits and vegetables have on one’s health and wellness. To put it simply – incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet as much as you can, as often as you can – it’s a no brainer. The health benefits are irreplaceable.
Generally speaking, the more colorful the fruit or vegetable is, the more antioxidants it contains. A few of the major antioxidants are beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E. Below you will find a list of specific fruits and vegetables that contain these powerful antioxidants.
Beta-carotene and other carotenoids: Apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, green peppers, kale, mangoes, turnip and collard greens, nectarines, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, squash, spinach, sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon
Vitamin C: Berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, honeydew, kale, kiwi, mangoes, nectarines, orange, papaya, red, green or yellow peppers, snow peas, sweet potato, strawberries, and tomatoes
Vitamin E: Broccoli, carrots, chard, mustard and turnip greens, mangoes, nuts, papaya, pumpkin, red peppers, spinach, and sunflower seeds
Baked Chicken Alfredo Casserole- Healthy & Easy – I Promise!
Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 bunch of cauliflower (~2 cups)
• ½ cup of chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ fresh squeezed lemon
• ½ cup low fat milk (any milk you prefer works)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup of parmesan cheese
• 4-6 gloves of garlic – minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ lb of Chicken (omit for vegetarian diet) – diced
• ½ lb of your favorite pasta (I like shells – whole wheat for my man and brown rice (gluten free) for me).
• Bread crumbs (optional)
Directions:
Boil Cauliflower heads in water until tender. Meanwhile, mince garlic and add to blender along with broth, lemon juice, milk and butter. Once cauliflower is tender, drain water and let cool (~3 minutes) before placing in the blender. Add cauliflower and blend, slowly add in the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper for taste. Keep in blender until your chicken and pasta are completely cooked.
Place diced chicken, pasta and sauce in a medium size dish. Sprinkle your favorite bread crumbs on top and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
* Add some broccoli or peas if you want to get crazy! 😉
Kick the Old Coffee Habit with Teeccino!
Have you ever found yourself trying to reduce or quit your coffee intake but just can’t seem to kick the old habit? I find myself there often, not because I think caffeine in moderation is necessarily bad for you, but because I feel that the negative effects of addiction to caffeine are far worse. For me, I typically have a cup of coffee in the morning because I think it will help “wake me up”, not because I actually enjoy the taste of it. I don’t in fact, unless it’s a blueberry iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts then I do really enjoy it, but hot coffee most of the time isn’t great tasting to me. Like many of us, I drink it because I think it will “jumpstart” my day. Unfortunately, in the last few months I have noticed myself trying to sleep in a few hours on the weekends, but waking up with these debilitating headaches trying to understand why. Eventually I realized it was because I wasn’t getting my daily dose of caffeine at 6:30 am so I was getting caffeine withdrawal headaches. I have tried to quit but just find myself reverting back to the morning coffee ritual.
Last weekend I met up with my friend, Nadia, who is also a nutrition buff (read her blog!) and we were discussing some of our health concerns. She was so excited to tell me about this caffeine free, mostly organic, herbal coffee her husband has been drinking and raving over. It’s called Teeccino. That same day I went to the natural health store and found Teeccino in the coffee section and bought my first bag of grounds. I went home and brewed myself some just to see what the hype was all about. Nadia’s husband was right – it was delicious! They have a few flavors but I opted for the original that had a sweeter taste to it, which I liked. To wean yourself off of coffee, they recommend mixing 1 part coffee with 1 part Teeccino and eventually decreasing the coffee amount until you are drinking pure Teeccino.
The health benefits are amazing as well! Not only am I starting my day off with a healthy dose of nutrients for natural, sustainable energy, I can also snooze on the weekends without starting my day with a headache. Win, win!
Mindful Healthy Living 