Wellness
Stuffed Peppers-Garden Healthy Variety
I have always wanted to find a good stuffed peppers recipe! And, I think I finally did! I took the Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers from “The Recipe Critic” and made a few swaps and changes and created a healthy, tasty meal! Full of protein, very colorful, yummy spices, and a new product from Grain & Simple that can be found at Costco! “2 Minute Grains” is full of red spring wheat berries, quinoa, farrow and barley with tomato, onions, and peppers- It is a perfect side for a night of BBQ turkey burgers or, as I discovered with this recipe, the perfect add-in for stuffed peppers! You will love this recipe! We first published this post about 1 ½ years ago and it was one of our most popular recipes, so we decided to repost. With gardens beginning to produce home grown peppers and tomatoes, this is a fabulous springtime recipe.
INGREDIENTS
6 large bell peppers
Ground Turkey, 1 pound
1 medium onion
2-4 garlic cloves
2 TBS tomato paste
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes diced
2 packs of Grain & Simple 2 Minute Grains (from Costco) or 3 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Colby Jack cheese, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Add olive oil to pan. Saute the onion and garlic. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, coat with olive oil and cook the ground turkey. Add the onion and garlic once browned. Remove from heat.
3. Add the tomato paste, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and lemon juice. Heat the 2 Minute Grains as directed on package (or cook your quinoa or brown rice according to …
Read MoreThe Benefits of Juicing-Healthy living from Faithfulness to Kindness
As we transition from our month of faithfulness including our “Clean Eating” challenge to a month of celebrating KINDNESS….I want to reassure you all that there is a very clear correlation for me between treating my body with kindness and treating others with kindness. The better I feel inside physically, emotionally and spiritually the more energy I have to show lovingkindness to others. When I am faithful to healthy living I can be more consistent and committed to kindness towards others. One of my newest passions in my quest of healthy living is juicing. I am very new to juicing. What I am sharing with you is information that I am starting to collect as I research the health benefits of juicing. What I know is that there is a “pressed fresh juice” craze moving through our communities with places to buy fresh pressed juice opening up all around. I for one LOVE the fresh flavors of fresh pressed juice but the cost is prohibitive for me to enjoy this treat every day. So I decided to try my hand at Juicing with my new Breville juicing machine (thanks to a VERY sweet friend). The results for me have been extraordinary.
Here are some of the interesting facts I have found on the benefits of juicing……”phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered are changing the way we think about food, especially fruits and vegetables. for example, broccoli contains a substance that may prevent – even cure – breast cancer. Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens, thus decreasing the chance of contracting cancer. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells’ DNA from damage. Similarly, a number of green vegetables contain phytochemicals that appear to offer protection against cancer-causing substances. The list goes …
Read MoreGluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
For some of our friends and loved ones, the days of delicious chocolate chip cookies like grandma used to make seem to be a long ago luxury, never to be enjoyed again. During this “Clean Eating” month I have been searching for an option for those who need to be gluten free for whatever reason when it comes to their clean eating desserts. I started by researching recipes for homemade gluten free flours and found two that sounded quite reasonable. I will share both of them with you and the sites where I found them so you can do your own evaluation. In the end I happened to have one bag of “Bob’s Red Mill” Gluten Free All Purpose Flour on hand so I used it today in my recipe for the sake of time and convenience.
I adapted a recipe I found online from Michelle@MyGluten-freekitchen.com
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if Gluten Free flour blend you are using already has xanthan in the recipe)
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter melted
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperate
1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt. In your mixer bowl, put cream cheese and melted butter and begin to mix. Add brown and white sugar and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture and blend on low until just mixed. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand. Cover the cookie dough with saran wrap and …
Read MoreFaithful Pursuit
Today I want to encourage you to stay faithful in the pursuit of your goals.
There will be days when you feel like progress is slow, or even non-existent. However, those are the times when you must push through!
So often we don’t see change when we are in the middle of our journey. When you want to give up– take a step away from your BIG goal and take a minute to remember that every step forward (Even after a few steps back) is teaching you skills and lessons to prepare you for the journey ahead and future paths you take.
I hope this encourages you today to stay strong, recharge, and get ready to continue to faithfully in your pursuit.
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Faithful and Consistent
This month we are focused on the theme of FAITHFULNESS. The definition of faithful that struck me the most was these words: steady, loyal, constant.
I thought of how we can easily apply faithfulness to our lives and that is by being CONSISTENT.
Consistent in moving forward and allowing God to work in us and through us with devotions and prayer.
Consistent to see God’s hand working in our daily life by keeping a gratitude journal.
Consistent in our marriage by devoting time to connect and grow together.
Consistent in goal setting and daily actions that move us forward.
Consistent in our health by choosing foods to fuel us, and fun things that move us.
A mindset of consistency motivates me because it is a focus on progress, forward progress, NOT perfection. So embrace the hard days, embrace the crazy times, and know that God is always with you and when you are faithful and steady He will use you for greatness because we were made to THRIVE!
Need help getting started?
Set up a consistent morning routine
Join our Clean Eating challenge
Share with us: What helps you stay consistent?
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Read MoreRed Lentil Stew
Lentils are legumes, seeds of a plant whose botanical name is Lens ensculenta. They grow in pods that contain either one or two lentil seeds. Lentils are classified according to whether they are large or small in size with dozens of varieties of each being cultivated. While the most common types in the United States are either green or brown, lentils are also available in black, yellow, red and orange colors. Lentils are low in calories and high in nutrition, lentils are the perfect legume to eat in the summer in salads, spreads and are a perfect protein on a vegetarian dinner plate. Lentils are a hassle-free compliment to any meal. Nutty and earthy in flavor, lentils have a high nutritional value.
Their health benefits include:
1. Lowering Cholesterol – Lentils can help to reduce blood cholesterol because of their high levels of soluble fiber.
2. Heart Health – Several studies have shown that eating high fiber foods like lentils reduces your risk of heart disease. Lentils are also a great source of folate and magnesium, which are big contributors to heart health. Folate lowers your homocysteine levels, a serious risk factor for heart disease. Magnesium improves blood flow, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
3. Digestive Health – Insoluble dietary fiber found in lentils helps prevent constipation and other digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis.
4. Stabilizing Blood Sugar –The soluble fiber in lentils traps carbohydrates, slowing down digestion and stabilizing blood sugar levels. This can be especially helpful for those with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.
5. Good Protein – Of all legumes and nuts, lentils contain the third-highest levels of protein. 26 percent of lentil’s calories are attributed to protein, which makes them a wonderful source of protein for vegetarians and vegans.
6. Increase …
Read MoreClean Eating Made Easy
Have you joined us in the April Clean Eating challenge? I’m already having so much fun and making great changes–DELICIOUS changes to my meals and attitudes about healthy food. Healthy food can taste SO good.
I want to help you make it easy but sharing this new app I discovered called Mealime.
It is simple to use and really convenient. You set up a meal profile based on dietary needs, foods you don’t like, how many people you are feeding, and how many meals you want. I started with 4 meals. It generates 4 meals for you and you can easily swipe and switch a meal you don’t like.
The app provides a complete grocery list for your meals then breaks down cookware needed, ingredients needed, and instructions for each meal.
The pictures are great, the prep was simple, and the meals have been tasty. I really don’t like to try new things and I tried 4, yes 4 new meals just this week. I even made 2 dressings from scratch AND made my own tortilla chips. How’s that for clean eating?!!
The best part? The app is free! I’m so excited for you to try it out. Let me know what you think!
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Homemade Applesauce-Clean Eating Style
A great dessert or snack or breakfast treat. When you have a daughter that lives near Apple Hill and she calls to say a 40 pound box of apples is $14 you jump at the opportunity to share a box. Even though it took me a few weeks to pick up my apples, and they did not look as fresh as they had, I knew I was going to make applesauce so the appearance of the apples was not a deterrent. I set aside a morning to have fun in the kitchen making the applesauce and it went so fast, I was done in under 2 hours.
Ingredients
20 apples (about 8 pounds of apples-I used golden delicious and granny smith)
2 whole cinnamon sticks
1 lemon peel grated off
4 tablespoons lemon juice (2 lemons juiced)
⅓ cup honey (original recipe calls for ¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup white sugar)
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
If you have a vintage cone shaped food mill you can make your applesauce without peeling your apples. To purchase one click here. Otherwise, peel, core and chop the apples. Place into a big pot with all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the apples are soft. If you have a food mill put 2 cups of apples at a time into collander and press applesauce through the strainer with the pestle. Place applesauce into 1 quart Ball jars and seal according to canning directions or place in refrigerator and use up within 2 weeks. My recipe made 3 quarts.
I love homemade applesauce with plain yogurt as a wonderful snack or dessert. YUMMY!
What is one of your favorite healthy desserts?
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Clean Eating Mediterranean Style
A perfect start to our Clean Eating challenge is a recipe for Tabooleh. It is delicious and extremely nutritious and it’s my husband’s favorite Mediterranean side salad. Last night we paired it with a big Greek salad and a small portion of garlic sautéed Greek seasoned chicken for a fabulous dinner salad. Since we set our intentions this weekend to join the Clean Eating challenge together, we were both excited to have our first meal. As the base to our Tabooleh, I made a big greek salad with romaine lettuce and heirloom cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and a tiny bit of feta cheese. I used a light homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing. We piled the Tabooleh on top of the salad, spread the sautéed chicken around the edge and enjoyed some steamed cauliflower, hummus and carrots to dip on the side. A very satisfying meal.
Tabooleh Ingredients
2 cups bulgur wheat (medium grind #2)
3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 4-5)
1/4 cup chopped mint (fresh is best, but if only dry is available use 2 Tablespoons)
2-3 large tomatoes chopped into small 1/4 inch pieces
1 large cucumber chopped
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 head romaine lettuce
Pour the boiling water over the bulgur wheat and let it sit until the wheat kernels are soft and cooled completely. Add all chopped vegetables except romaine lettuce and stir. Mix the oil, lemon juice and spices and pour over wheat vegetable mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Greek sautéed Chicken
1 large chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces (serves 2)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic smashed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon fine …
Eat Clean for April
Happy first day of April, and first day of our eat clean challenge. I am so excited to focus on nourishing foods for myself and my family and to start some life-long healthy habits. Our family has always been into health, but with the growing issues of toxins in our food and environment, gaining health savvy has never been more important.
Making changes of any kind are only going to stick if you have your mindset ready and willing to accept change. What do I mean? You can just say you are going to do something and hope it sticks. No! You need to write down your goals, looks at them every day, and assess and evaluate your progress.
Here’s my challenge for you: Every morning when you wake up set an intention for the day. What is ONE (only one) thing you can do to move you toward your health goal. Is is something you are going to do, something you are going to not do, something you will think or say to yourself? Write it down. Commit to that one thing for the day. Keep a journal of your daily “thing” for the whole month of April and keep track of how you do. Share your progress with us on social media and be sure to tag us in your post!
Here’s to the next month of the rest of our lives!!
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