Friday Foodie Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Mint is a great mix of crispiness and popping flavors. The above picture shows the layers of color before tossing. I seem to have failed to take a final picture, but this gives you the essence of this light, tasty, easy to prepare salad.
Start with 1 1/2 cups quinoa, prepared according to package instructions. I made mine in the rice cooker on the white rice setting. I made it a day ahead so it would already be cooled.
I used already sliced apples and then simply chopped them up into small, bite size pieces.
The walnuts did not need further chopping.
I like this frozen roasted corn, as it is easy to throw into any dish. No need to defrost. By the time the salad is ready to be tossed, the corn will be defrosted. If frozen roasted is unavailable, either roast a cob and remove or use any frozen corn. It does not have to be roasted. Do not use canned.
This celery was in the bottom of the drawer on its last leg, but still crunchy and this salad was a good way to use it up. I cut into long strips, as above, then chop.
This kale is quite young and tender. Avoid the big heavy leaves as they will not be as tender. If that is all that is available, cut the amount to 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 and chop into small pieces.
Aren’t red peppers just beautiful! I love the color and they always seem so juicy.
This is just a few sprigs of the mint leaves I had. Sadly, kind of blurry. The mint adds the refreshing pop that makes this salad so delicious.
This salad was inspired by a salad I ate at the Flying Star a few weeks ago. I almost didn’t order it, as it sounded like such an odd combination, but it truly is delicious. I dressed the salad with pomegranate balsamic, but I have included a recipe for a pomegranate vinaigrette that could be used. I hope you will give this a try. This salad kept nicely for 4-5 days, so it is a great choice to fix ahead and have ready for a sack lunch. Quinoa provides a protein punch that satiates and keeps you feeling full. This could also be served on a bed of mixed greens. Give it a try and enjoy!
Aging can make us feel a bit creaky, stiff and sore at times. At 53, I sometimes have days where the last thing I want to do is exercise, but the more I work out, the better I actually feel.
Think you are too old for exercise? Think again! Take a look at this group of people, all past 70 and putting in their 150 a week. Preventing diabetes takes work, but it’s the work that keeps us out of the doctor’s office, off of drugs, keeps all our limbs attached and our eyesight bright. Movement is medicine. The best kind.
No matter your age, you have to move! Get your butt in gear and do it! Really. Not kidding. No more excuses. See you out there!
Peace and Joy!
To learn about programs that prevent diabetes and a change in diet that will have you losing weight and feeling great, check out my Prevent Diabetes Programs. Gain your Ultimate Health!
150! That’s right! The number of minutes of exercise you need a week. Sound like a lot? It’s not really. Divide by 7 and you have 21 + minutes a day. Pick an activity you enjoy and go for it! And you don’t have to do crazy hard exercise to reap the benefits, a moderately fast walk will benefit you nicely. If you get in the habit of 22 minutes a day, but add more minutes any time possible, you will be helping your body by reducing your blood sugar and double bonus, it’s good for your heart too.
We often think of exercise as having to be painful or there is no gain, but this does just not hold true. Exercise should be fun. And once you get in the habit, you will find you crave the activity because it lifts your mood, gives you energy and makes you feel great.
Think you don’t have time? Think of all the time you can spend in the doctor’s office instead. Doctor? or Exercise? Hmmmm. I think I’m going for exercise!
Movement is Medicine! Get moving today and get your 150 minutes of exercise!
Check out my Diabetes Prevention Programs. Let me help you take back your health!
Since I don’t eat many sweets these days, usually just a square of 85% chocolate a day, I get a craving for a proper dessert now and then. I came up with this idea through experimenting with an uncooked chocolate oat ball that didn’t hold together as planned, and well, it evolved into a little frozen banana “ice cream” pie that is quite nice and fixed my sweet tooth right up!
(In the picture, the small bowl is the crumbs before baking, then the crust and the final dessert.)
I actually ate this for breakfast this morning, as I had to be sure my experiment was a success before I posted the recipe. Some one has to make these kinds of sacrifices! Bananas, oats, cocoa….pretty nutritious!
I started with 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats, 2 Tbs natural cocoa, 2 Tbs real maple syrup (I think raw honey would work too) and 1/4 cup of raw almond butter. Mix this together with a fork. It should be sticky enough to hold together in a ball, but crumble easily.
Divide among four ramekins. Press into layer that covers the bottom. Bake at 375 for ten minutes. Remove and cool.
While crust is baking, peel three bananas and place in food processor. Add 3 Tbs chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond, soy, hemp or coconut milk. If you don’t have the vanilla milk, add 1/2 tsp of real vanilla flavor to the mix. Process until smooth.
Place banana mixture in freezer for thirty minutes while crust cools. Remove from freezer, stir and divide banana among the four ramekins with crust. Freeze until firm. Sprinkle with cocoa powder before serving. I froze mine overnight and had to let it set for 30 minutes before eating. If you make ahead, just pull out of the freezer when you sit down to dinner and they should be perfect by the end of the meal.
Sleep and weight loss go hand in hand. Catching enough Zzzzz’s is part of keeping a check on your weight, and of course not falling asleep on the job. People who don’t get their 7-9 hours of sleep tend to weigh more because they eat more. Research shows that the hormones Leptin and Ghrelin play an important roll in our ability to maintain a healthy weight. When you don’t get enough sleep, Leptin levels, which govern hunger, go down and keep you from feeling satisfied when you eat. Therefore, you eat a lot more, never feeling full. Gherlin rises, which stimulates your appetite, keeping HUNGER knocking at your stomach all day.
Love to read on your tablet or watch television before shut eye? You may find yourself two hours away from good sleep because the light from such devises suppresses melatonin production, delaying sleep by about 25 percent.
To get a a good night’s rest, limit device time, whether television, computer or reader, turning them off at least thirty minutes before sleep. Like reading on your device? Invest in a filter that blocks shortwave blue-light emissions or pick up an old fashioned book and read till drowsy. Additionally, go to bed at a reasonable hour each night, one that allows you to wake on your own without an alarm clock.
Sleep is vital for your overall health and for keeping your job! Get your Zzzzz’s!
This is so simple. You do it every second of every day, but how you do it is the key. Guess what it is? Breathing! Why breathing? Because most of us are way over stressed, which causes extra cortisol production, which is good in short situations, but for most of us, we are producing too much cortisol all the time, never giving our bodies a break, which can lead to chronic stress, which is trouble with a capital T. Whew!
How do we break this stress cycle? Through breathing. Taking time to really breathe. Start with 5 minutes. Find a comfortable spot, set a timer and begin a slow meditative breathing pattern of 8 counts breathing in, and 8 counts breathing out. Slow. Nice and slow. Your mind will wander, but pull it back to counting the breaths and feel your mind and body relax. Work up to about 30 minutes a day and over time, you will begin to stay relaxed in stressful situations. Your body will automatically switch into relaxation mode when over stressed.
Now, how does this relate to weight loss? When the body is in chronic stress mode, it holds onto fat because it fears a starvation period. Our bodies fight or flight response is in high gear. This causes major cravings and we all know that means sugar sweetened calories or ooey gooey cheesy, fatty dishes. Right? We want to break this pattern to break the cravings.
Find time today for YOU! Start with those five minutes and breathe. Just breathe. Repeat daily and build up a 30 minute practice. Your health is in your hands!
I love a little snack in the afternoon, but nuts are what I always want to grab and instead of eating just a small handful, I go back for 1 or 2 more. That’s a lot of fat added to my diet that I don’t need. Yes, nuts are healthy, but only in small doses. So what’s a crunch fan to do? Roast a few chickpeas, that’s what!
I rinsed a can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), tossed them in 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, (I wanted just enough oil to make the spice stick, without adding too much fat) and coated them with Northwoods seasoning from Penzey’s. It’s a mix of herbs, sweet Hungarian paprika, black pepper and garlic. I poured the seasoned chickpeas on my preheated backing stone, but any cookie sheet will do, and roasted them for just about 40 mins. at 400. I stirred them at 15 mins and started checking on them at 30 mins. You want them to be crunchy all the way through, but not burnt.
Once I had the crunch I desired, I poured them on a paper towel to cool. Be sure you don’t put them in a container until completely cool or they lose their crunch.
You can make these with any spice you like. Try a chili, garlic, or onion powder. Cumin or paprika. Even a wasabi powder. The choices are endless.
And there you have it, a delicious, nutritious treat!
Yesterday, I was going over the limitations of my health insurance and at the bottom, they gave two common examples of what the insurance will pay and what it won’t. What were the two examples? The most COMMON occurrences? Pregnancy and TYPE II DIABETES! It is so common, they can use it as an example of how the policy will pay out.
Average cost a year to have this disease? $6,000
How much insurance will cover of this disease? $1400
That leaves you with a bill of $4,600 dollars! And this doesn’t include any extra costs, like eye exams, and amputations.
A fatty diet leads to fatty blood cells which makes the blood cells insulin resistant. To avoid this, we need to cut added fats out of our diet. Today’s vlog shows you how to sauté onions and garlic using nothing but water. You can use this method with any veggies. Give it a try and if you have questions, please post a comment and I’ll get back to you.
