Archive for August, 2009
Homemade Trail Mix
When you’re hungry between meals, it’s convenient to grab a candy bar or a bag of chips. Unfortunately, these items are loaded with sugar, fat and salt. Although they are fine in moderation, it’s important to supplement your snacking habits with some nutritious, energizing food as well. Trail mix is just as simple and convenient to make, and it will help stave off hunger until you can eat a proper meal.
Dried fruits and nuts should make up the majority of your trail mix. Potential fruit combinations include pineapple, raisins, apricots and banana chips. You can complement that mix with any of the following nuts: pecans, cashews, peanuts, macadamias, almonds, pistachios and walnuts. As a special treat, you can also put in a few M & Ms or chocolate chips.
Healthy Food Snacks - Carob
Carob healthy food snacks are great. Carob has a slightly sweet taste resembling chocolate and is used as a substitute for chocolate.
Carob is a healthier alternative to chocolate because it does not contain the caffeine of cocoa which is the basis of chocolate.
Carob is used as a coating around raisins, almonds, cashews and bridge mix.
Carob coated raisins and natural nuts are nutritious healthy food snacks, high in protein and fiber. Carob coated raisins also high in antioxidants.
You will be living a healthier lifestyle by choosing healthy food snacks of carob coated raisins and natural nuts.
Hard Red Wheat Berries Make Great Salads
Hard red wheat berries make great salads. They are served cold and you can use a variation of healthy food. You can create your salad by adding a combination of natural healthy food.
Hard red wheat berries give a nutty taste, delightful to your taste buds.
Here is how to cook wheat berries:
Put 1 cup of hard red wheat berries in 3 1/2 cups water in a medium pot. Add 1 tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Cook 1 hour or until berries are bursting and chewy. Remove from heat. Cool until ready to use.
Here are some ideas for the ingredients along with the hard red wheat berries. Use your imagination.
Choose your ingredients [a couple of portions] of the following:
1. 1/2 cup nuts or olives: e.g. toasted pecans, toasted walnuts, kalamata, black olives or green olives.
2. 1 cup summer vegetables: e.g. diced cucumber, tomato, sweet peppers, blanched peas, sauteed zucchini, summer squash, roasted beets or diced avocado.
3. 1/2 cup sweet fruit: e.g. segmented oranges, segmented grapefruit, raisins, currants or dried cranberries.
4. 1 cup summer greens: e.g. arugula, watercress, wilted chard or spinach.
Choose your FLAVOR PAIRINGS [one of each]
1. 2 Tbsps. Mediterranean herb: e.g. parsley, mint. oregano, margoram, basil, dill or cilantro.
2. 1 tsp. citrus juice: e.g. lime, lemon, orange or grapefruit.
3. 2 Tbsps. vinegar: e.g. cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
4. Salt
5. Freshly ground black pepper
6. 3 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
Add, if you like:
1. 3 oz. cheese: e.g. cubed feta, mozzarella or crumbled goat cheese.
2. 1 allium: e.g. 1 diced shallot, 1 minced clove garlic or 1/2 red onion, diced.
3. Spice: e.g. 1 tsp. cumin or 1/4 tsp. cayenne.
4. 1 tsp. something sweet: e.g. maple syrup or honey.
Our creative wheat berry salad was made using wheat berries, watercress, arugula, cucumber, green olives, red onion, mint and crumbled feta.
Now, have fun creating your very own hard red wheat berries salad; and enjoy eating this great healthy food.
Portable Nutrition
For a number of years, I was complacent about getting a nutritious breakfast. Despite everything I had read about the importance of eating a balanced breakfast, I just couldn’t seem to find the time. My job requires that I wake up at the crack of dawn, and I barely have enough time to make coffee before heading off to work. Luckily my wife finally intervened and provided me with a healthy solution.
These days I make sure to grab a few natural cereal bars before hopping in the car. These tasty combinations of whole grains and fruit are filling enough to tide me over until lunch. They also augment my diet with enough vitamins and minerals to keep me well-balanced and energized to take on the day. I wouldn’t even consider sacrificing my newfound breakfast treat.
Healthy Food Snacks - Raw Nuts
Start eating nutritious healthy food snacks. Eating raw nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews and brazil nuts will give you the nutrition you need without adding unwanted pounds to your waistline.
Raw nuts are high in protein, vitamins and minerals and low in carbohydrates.
Eating raw nuts as healthy food snacks will fill you up and leave you satisfied, unlike many of the processed snacks from a vending machine.
Raw nuts are convenient to take anytime you want a snack. Put the amount you want for a snack and put them in a ziplock bag and you are ready to go hiking, fishing, camping, school, work or any other activity.
Bringing your own snack of raw nuts will bring you a healthier lifestyle and easier on the pocketbook.
The Story Of Whole Grain
Whole grain contains valuable antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables. It is a healthy food, high in protein and fiber.
A whole grain is a grain that has its outer covering, which is nutritiously rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Hard red wheat berries are whole grain.
There are three parts to a whole grain; the outer bran, the middle endosperm and the small inner germ.
The outer bran layer is rich in protein, fiber, B vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folacin; and minerals such as zinc, copper, magnesium and iron.
The endosperm layer provides some protein, B vitamins and almost all of the complex carbohydrates nutrition.
The small, inner germ layer is bursting with antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin E and minerals.
Together the nutrients of the hard red wheat berries work to protect against heart disease, diabetes and cancer. They have a positive effect on carbohydrate metabolism and help improve blood sugar control.
Cooking Healthy With Red Beans
Make cooking healthy using a great recipe with dried red beans in a crock pot.
Your meal after work can be all ready when you get home. All you have to do is make the rice; or have it already prepared to heat.
Enjoy this New Orleans recipe and treat your family to an economical healthy food.
Dried Red Beans & Rice
1 cup dried red beans
7 cups water, divided
2 smoked ham hocks
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 medium tomoto, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
4 cups hot cooked rice
Place beans in a 3 quart crock pot. Add 4 cups water. Cover and let stand overnight.
Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. Return beans to crock pot, add the ham hocks, onion, garlic, cumin and 3 cups of water.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beans are tender.
Remove ham hocks. Cool slightly and remove meat from bones. Finely chop meat and return to crock pot. Stir in the tomato, green pepper and salt.
Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until pepper is tender.
Serve with rice. Makes 6 servings.
Wheat Berries - A Healthy Food
Wheat Berries is a healthy food and can be prepared in many unique ways.
Here is a recipe using wheat berries and dried beans.
You will enjoy making this chili; and will enjoy, even more, serving it to your family.
This chili is not only healthy, it is very economical.
Wheat Berries And Bean Chili
1 cup uncooked dry beans [northern, red, kidney or pinto]
1 cup uncooked wheat berries [red or white]
1 quart water
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic
2 tsp. canola or olive oil
1 large [46 oz.] can tomato juice
1 can [15 oz.] stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and paprika to taste
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cumin
Cook wheat berries and dried beans together in one quart of water [ may be soaked overnight before cooking].
Cook until almost tender.
In separate pan, saute ground beef, onions and garlic in oil. Drain.
Add to beans and wheat and add other ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour.
Season with salt and paprika.
Sweet Taste of Summer
Candied sweet potatoes make for a colorful summer treat. These tasty tubers can be supplemented with all-natural ingredients to create a dish that’s as healthy as it is delicious and pleasing to the eye. Consider trying a recipe like this when preparing for a summer picnic or a garden party:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
1/3 cup organic clover honey
2/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tsp. cornstarch
1 Tsp. butter or margarine
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly, and then place them on a piece of tin foil to bake 40-50 minutes at 375 degrees. They should be tender.
2. After they have cooled, peel and cut the potatoes into 1 ½-inch segments. Place them in a baking dish, and set it aside.
3. Stir orange juice, ginger, honey, nutmeg, cornstarch and salt together in a small pan until smooth.
4. Cook contents of pan over medium heat until mixture thickens and starts to boil. Then remove from heat and add butter. Pour mixture over potatoes.
5. Bake the dish for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees, checking for tenderness.