Congratulations to the Winner of Our Contest – Kristie Wasnesky! Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Thank you to all the participants for submitting your healthy recipes.  We had a great time going through each recipe.  Choosing a winner was a difficult task! But we are confident that we made the right choice and we hope you agree.  Check back frequently for future contests for your chance to win!

Kristie has kindly requested that we donate the $25 dollars to Whiz Kids charity instead of receiving the Whole Foods Gift Card.

Thank you Kristie!

Here is Her Recipe and Photograph:

Ingredients

• 3 acorn squash
• 10 baby carrots, chopped finely
• 2 celery stalks, chopped finely
• 1 apple, chopped finely
• 1 small red onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 can black beans
• 1 cup cooked Quinoa, made according to package directions
• 2 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp garlic grape seed oil
• 6 tbsp vegetable broth (optional)
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in dish and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a pan and saute carrots, celery, apple and onion about 5 minutes. Add cooked Quinoa, cumin and beans. Saute about 1 minute more. At this point mine looked a little dry so I added 6 Tbsp. of vegetable stock to moisten.
4. Add mixture to cooked squash

Food of the Week – Apples

Description

• Have green, yellow or red skin
• Sweet and refreshing taste
• Tartness depends on type
• Red and Golden Delicious are the sweetest
• Granny Smith (green) most tart – good for cooking
• Apple season – end of summer to early winter

Health Benefits

• Help to regulate blood sugar levels
• High in fat soluble fiber called pectin which helps to lower blood fat levels, therefore has cardiovascular benefits
• Apples help to manage hunger
• Helps to balance bacteria in digestive tract
• Excellent antioxidant benefits
• Decrease lung cancer risk
• Benefits people with asthma due to anti-inflammatory effects

How to Select and Store

• Choose firm and bright colored fruit
• Can be stored for 3-4 months
• Cold storage maintains nutrients
• Do not store spoiled apples with “good” apples
• Choose organic apples when available since apples are on the list of the dirty dozen (highly sprayed with pesticide)

How to Enjoy

• Nutrients are best preserved when consumed whole with skin (skin has numerous benefits)
• Nutrients are lost when prepared as applesauce and even more when prepared as commercial juice
• Nutrients are lost when made into apple sauce or when consumed as apple juice

 

Baby Food – Apple Rice Cereal

Ingredients

• 1/2 apple (I use red gala or pink lady apples) finely grated (use the side of the grater with the smallest holes)
• 2 tbsp organic brown rice cereal (The brand Plum makes a good one)
• warm water, formula, or breast milk to desired consistency
• tiny pinch of cinnamon

Directions

• Mix all ingredients well and serve immediately

Apple Watermelon Juice

Ingredients

• 2 slices of watermelon with rind
• 4 leaves of kale
• 8 carrots peeled and washed
• 3 apples cored and washed

Directions

• Insert all vegetables and fruits into juicer one at a time
• Stir well and serve immediately

Chard and Apple Berry Blast – Gluten Free, Vegan, Raw

Benefits of Swiss Chard

• Recent research has shown that chard leaves contain at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants, including kaempferol, the cardioprotective flavonoid that’s also found in broccoli, kale, strawberries, and other foods.

• One of the primary flavonoids found in the leaves of chard is a flavonoid called syringic acid. Syringic acid has received special attention in recent research due to its blood sugar regulating properties. This flavonoid has been shown to inhibit activity of an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase. When this enzyme gets inhibited, fewer carbs are broken down into simple sugars and blood sugar is able to stay more steady. It makes sense to think about chard as a vegetable whose flavonoid phytonutrients are unique and may offer special benefits for blood sugar control.
• source: http://www.whfoods.org

What you will need:

• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 2 large leaves of chard with spine (any kind)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 4 scoops Standard Process SP complete Protein Powder (Dairy Free)
• NanoMega Lemon Fish Oil
• 1 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
• Water to desired texture
• Blender

Add the fruits and veggies chia seeds into the blender with water.  Blend the contents.

Then add the NanoMega and SP Complete to the blender and pulse gently to mix contents Do not overblend the proteins and oil, this will de-nature them.  Drink Immediately!

Breakfast – 02/13/11 – Vegan and Gluten Free

Kirkland Brand – Cashew Clusters

These little bite sized clusters are made from cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds and agave nectar, cane sugar and honey.

They are perfect for a quick snack or side for breakfast.  Kids love them since they are a little sweet.These can also be coated with some yogurt or almond milk and eaten like a cereal

There is only 4 grams of sugar per serving, 11g of healthy fats and 4 grams of protein.  A serving size is 5 pieces

 

 

One of my favorite treats is to have a shot of POM juice with a tablespoon of RAW apple cider vinegar

This tonic hits you like a tonne of bricks and tastes awesome.  I drink it from a shot glass to control my dose.  I could drink the entire bottle if you let me!

We buy the ACV from Kroger’s and the POM juice from Costco

ACV is awesome for lot of things including weight loss and healthy liver function, for more info go to this link.

Apple Cider Vinegar

 

 

Apple – I try to eat 2-3 apples a day.  They are awesome for countless reasons.

Also Dipa had a Larabar – Cashew Cookie Flavor, so good

That juice is the POM and ACV, two servings

 

 

 

 

 

Now the last segment in what seems to be a never ending breakfast.

1 cup of strawberries, blueberries and kiwi

1 banana

8 leaves of turnip greens, stems removed

4 scoops of Lepterra Rice protein, berry flavor

1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds

Notice that the color is a nice purple, kids wont even know they just had turnip greens (probably for the first time ever for most)

The shake is sweet from the stevia in the protein and from the banana, so you can cut the banana if you wish.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD BLENDER TO DO THIS