Healthy Alternatives For Great Immunity

I came across an article with ideas for great immunity, which many of you are very interested in this time of year! I have chosen to not do flu vaccines this year for me or my children. I believe that we can fight off any illness by properly caring for our bodies. I also believe that much of what we take in during the winter months is just dead food: food that has been killed to the point where we aren't able to enjoy the enzymes, vitamins and minerals. We do this by cooking things for long periods of time (soups, chilis and stews that cook for hours and hours on the stove).
I have a love/hate relationship with green smoothies when the weather turns cold, because let's face it, who wants to drink something cold when they are already....well, cold? :) So, on soup night, which is a must at our house, we have a nice cup to a cup and a half of green smoothie cram-packed with nutrients before we indulge in savory vegetable, lentil or quinoa soups. So far, it's working nicely and we all feel really good.

Anyway, here is the article, the detox immunity tea and the link to the Glowing Green Smoothie.

Quinoa Pilaf

Here is a new quick recipe, dedicated to one of my readers at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. She likes quick stuff!

Quinoa Pilaf with Cranberries

 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup sliced raw almonds


Heat oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add quinoa and toast, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cranberries, cover again and continue to cook until liquid is completely absorbed and quinoa is tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Toss with almonds and serve.

APPLES!!!!!

 What in the world do you do when you have apples this big? Make a pie, of course! We order seasonal produce from a local source called www.bulknaturalfoods.com, and have enjoyed a few new varieties of apples this year. The variety you see above is called Mutsu. I have never been good at making piecrusts, but I finally learned a way to do it pretty!!! See below, prior to cooking:

 Pretty huh? Here is the link to how to do it, but don't pay attention to the recipe-we are going to healthify it! :)

Whole Wheat Pie Crust
2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t sea salt
Mix together well, then follow the instructions on how to cut in 2/3 c butter
Mix 1/2 c very cold water with 2 T agave nectar, and pour into the mix a little at a time until it reaches the flaky consistency shown on the video. Then, split it into 2 balls and roll out as shown in video.

Filling
6 c sliced apples-mix varieties if you'd like
1/4 c agave
3 T whole wheat flour
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 t cinnamon
3/4 t nutmeg
dash or 2 of sea salt

Mix well, and put in the crust. Cut 1 T butter into small pieces and dot over the filling. Top with other crust, and follow the video's instructions to make it pretty. Bake at 425 for about 40 minutes.

It was delicious! A different taste because it's whole wheat, but delicious, nonetheless! Be sure to let me know if you want to join the Group Buy. I'd like to order by November 1 if possible.

Lentil Soups

Soup season is upon us, and my family eats a LOT of soup when the weather cools off. Here are a few new ones that we tried and LOVED! I don't have pictures for these. They disappeared much too fast! :)

Green Lentil Soup

1 lb. green lentils, rinsed well
1 C brown rice, rinsed well

2 large onions, diced

8 stalks celery, diced
5 carrots, diced

5 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1⁄4 C coconut oil
1 Tbsp. sea salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cumin
3 qt. vegetable broth

1 can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
grated Parmesan cheese 

Cover the lentils and rice with boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes, then drain. In a large stockpot, sauté the onions with the coconut oil and seasonings until the vegetables are tender. Add the carrots and celery and sauté another 5-10 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, garlic and lentils/rice.

Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for one hour. Add the vinegar and serve with grated Parmesan. This recipe makes a LOT! Tastes even better the next day.

Lentil Chili

8 cups vegetable broth, divided
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped 
1 1/2 t oregano
1 1/2 t sea salt
4 t chili powder
2 1/4 cups brown lentils
2 cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Bring 3/4 cup broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent and pepper is tender. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add lentils, tomatoes, garlic and remaining 7 1/4 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Butternut Squash Soup

I've been dying to post this one, til it got colder. I actually made it this summer on an unusually cool day. Here ya go!

Butternut Squash Soup
2 stalks lemongrass (very inexpensive! I found it at Whole Foods. Oh, and it freezes well, so you can stock up and throw it in the freezer).
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into cubes
3 c frozen corn
1 potato, scrubbed and chopped
1 c coconut milk
3 c vegetable broth
1 T ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 jalapeno
1 large onion
1 1/2 t sea salt
1 t extra virgin olive oil
roasted pumpkin seeds

Cut off the tips of the lemongrass and bruise the stalks with the blunt edge of a knife. Chop the onion, jalapeno and ginger, then saute them in a bit of olive oil. Add the lemongrass and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the squash, potato and 1 1/2 c corn and the vegetable broth. Cook on high until the squash is cooked through.

Discard the lemongrass, pour all the other cooked ingredients in the high powered blender and blend until smooth (it will take a few batches). Pour soup back into pan, add the coconut milk, sea salt and the rest of the corn. Heat through. Serve with pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.

Fallllll!!!!!!!!!!

Ah! It is finally here! To me, October IS fall! The first weekend, our family surrounds our computer to listen to our Church leaders in a semi-annual general conference. It is a weekend that is spiritually nourishing, and our family enjoys good food as well. There is no question, however, which was more filling: the food or the words... General Conference weekend is always so amazing! It's a shame that it goes by so quickly.

This morning we enjoyed pumpkin pancakes topped with raw applesauce. We had a simple lunch of green cranberry blueberry smoothies, fresh veggies and hummus. Then we sat down to a lovely dinner of black bean enchiladas with raw apple crisp for dessert.

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 c whole grain flour (mix different grains for different flavors!)
3 Tb Sucanut or agave
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (I do an overflowing 1/2 cup)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 mashed banana
1 egg
2 Tb coconut oil
2 Tb vinegar

In one bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, oil and vinegar. Combine dry ingredients separately and them stir into pumpkin mixture just until combined.Cook on a hot griddle and top with Grade B maple syrup or fresh raw applesauce (see below).


Raw Applesauce (thanks, Green Smoothie Girl!)
4 large Jonathon apples
1/3 c lemon juice
1/3 c maple syrup
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 c water
Pulse in blender until chunky.

The kids loved it!

Black Bean Enchiladas
2 c black beans
1 c (or less) leftover shredded chicken
1/2 c chopped cilantro leaves
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
3/4 c (or less) of shredded cheese
2 c spinach
1/2-3/4 c salsa
1 T taco seasoning
Combine above and fill in about 10 large whole wheat tortillas. Then take an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and mix with a heaping tablespoon of taco seasoning. Pour over and sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve after a LARGE salad! :)

 

 Raw Apple Crisp

5 c diced apples

1 T lemon juice

Mix well and spread in a square baking dish. Then crumble over the top the following combined ingredients:

1 c regular oats

1/4 c raw honey

1/4 liquid coconut oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t sea salt

1/4 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c chopped almonds

(use your hands to mix it up!)

You can eat it as is, or bake at 350 for 45 minutes. We ate it raw, and everyone except my husband loved it. 

His family has caramel apples for Conference weekend, and I haven't found a healthier alternative to this....yet. :)

Breakfast Recipes

I think I blinked too long because what the heck? It's the last week of September already! I've had a serious bout of busyness lately, so I have been lax in many things.

A few thoughts before I proceed to my post of quick breakfast recipes that I promised a long time ago. First of all, I have an inspiring person who I've been so blessed with. She comes to me to talk about struggles she is having, and I always come away feeling like I got the better end of the deal, nuggets of wisdom. She and I were discussing the importance of prioritizing. You know that analogy with the rocks and the sand in the jar? Well, I was reminded once again that I need to take another look at how I spend my time and make some changes. It takes time and effort, but I can go to sleep knowing that the most important stuff is done. I need to write the things down, not so that they can be checked off, but as a reminder of what is most important. One priority is exercise. Not only do I want to do this for my health, but I also want my kids to have that example. I decided instead of saying, "I'm going to exercise 3 times a week", giving me permission to skip this day or that...instead I'm going to do something physically active every day, even if it's 5 minutes of stretching. So far, it has really helped.

Do you have trouble with priorities sometimes? If so, what have you done to stop and rearrange and start again? What helps you focus on what is most important?

Okay, onto breakfast recipes. The kids have been in school for a month and a half now, and we have not had store-bought cereal at all! The kids leave home feeling satisfied and happy. Here is a list of what we do:

Granola!!-Serve this with fresh fruit, sprouted sunflower seeds and some almond milk for a scrumptious, filling breakfast.

Toast-We serve toasted whole wheat bread with organic (or freshly made) peanut butter, a sprinkling of chia seeds (which are very filling and a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, and is great for fighting depression as well!), and sliced fresh fruit. We've had a lot of peaches and plums lately. Pears, apples, bananas are all nice, too. We top it with a sprinkling of cinnamon and the kids are happy as clams.

Scrambled eggs-this is maybe a once a week to every 10 days, but take FRESH eggs, mix with almond milk, sea salt, fresh pepper and scramble. Sometimes I add sundried tomatoes, spinach and parmesan with some ribboned basil leaves for something different, or some salsa and black beans with cilantro. Anything to add variety!

Steel cut oats-this is wonderful for those chilly mornings. Rinse a cup of steel cut oats really well and put in 3 1/2 cups of boiling water with a dash of sea salt. Boil for about 20 minutes, maybe a tad longer. 1 cup of uncooked oats is enough to feed 1 adult and 4 children when you add fresh fruit, cinnamon, raw honey or agave nectar and a dash of almond milk. You can also add some raw nuts if desired. It is delicious! Oh, watch for the reboil. Sometimes it will boil over, but if you watch it closely that won't happen.

 Overnight oatmeal-soak 2 cups of regular rolled oats in 2 cups almond milk and a dash of vanilla extract overnight in the fridge. The next morning, top with nuts, peaches (or other fruit) and a drizzle of raw honey or agave nectar. Simple and nummy.

Green smoothies-I usually do these in the afternoon, but if it seems like there is a cold coming on, we've done these in the mornings, and it helps during the day as the body fights it off. I need to knock on wood but it's been nearly a year since any of us have been to the doctor because we were sick! Woo Hoo! With 5 children, I can't count that as coincidence. I believe that what we eat plays a major role in our ability to fight off illness.

Leftover pancakes-about 2 or 3 times a month, we'll do pancakes for supper. I usually make lots of extra to freeze, pull out a couple per child, toast in the toaster oven and top with fresh fruit and drizzle with a smidgen of Grade B Maple syrup, fresh honey or agave nectar. Sometimes just fruit and a dash of cinnamon is enough!

What are some of YOUR favorite breakfasts?