Showing posts with label coconut oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coconut oil. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Nature's Got You Covered



As I sat on my deck this morning sipping on a freshly blended smoothie chocked full of goods, this thought came to mind...Nature's got you covered.

Think about it: All the food that is good for us is of the earth.  Fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, roots, herbs, on and on. There are no fruits or vegetables that are bad for you. Roots and herbs are used to heal and soothe. And mostly all things of the earth have multipurpose uses.  You can eat the flesh of a coconut, drink the milk from the coconut, extract the oil for cooking or use the oil for your skin and hair. How cool is that?  Nature's bounty is simply amazing.

So do your body a favor...When you're ready to reach for a so-called energy drink: 5 Hour Energy, Red Bull, Monster, etc. Remember, Nature's Got You Covered -- Opt for a homemade blended smoothie or juice and don't forget to add chia seeds or wheat germ to give you an extra-nutritional boost.

Blueberry Banana Kale Smoothie: 
Blueberries (Antioxidants), kale (Vitamins A, K), bananas (Potassium), 
chia seeds (more Omega 3 fatty acids than Salmon!)
 non-fat plain yogurt or non-dairy milk. 
Naturally sweet. Full of energy. Liquid Goodness!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Test Kitchen: Oatcakes

The best part of writing a cookbook -- testing the recipes!

My upcoming cookbook will focus on the use  of fresh, whole foods to create "Outside of the Box" meals.  We all get a sweet tooth now and again and I don't want us to be deprived. So, I've been browsing recipes to find dessert items that use whole food ingredients. I found an appealing Oatcake recipe from Heidi Swanson that fits the bill. Yesterday, I opened the test kitchen and put my spin on Heidi's recipe.

Ingredients

Rolled oats
Whole wheat pastry flour 
Aluminum-free baking powder
Sea salt
Flax seeds
Chopped walnuts
Dried apricots
Dried cherries
Coconut oil
Unsalted butter
Pure maple syrup
Demerara sugar
Eggs



Score card:

Level: Moderate

+ : Biting into oats, nuts, seeds just made me feel good. Lightly sweetened and dense.
-: Oops, I over-toasted the walnuts. 

Comments: While I liked the crumbly, drier texture I'm not sure that others would appreciate it -- they were more like a scone. Retest.

Grade: C

Shop, Cook, Eat: Outside the Box...
Coming Fall '12

The Obesity Epidemic is REAL!

The evidence of an epidemic is everywhere.

· Two-thirds, more than 190 million Americans are
overweight or obese.

· Obesity-related diseases are a $147 billion dollar
medical burden every year.

· Childhood obesity has tripled in the last thirty years


Source: CBS News