What Kale? Protein Smoothie

Summer time = Breakfast?  No worries, the kids are not even awake until lunch time.
Back to school time = Breakfast?  Our daughter has the weird "B" lunch in the middle of her fourth hour class and our son has the late lunch, 4 1/2 hours after the bus picks him up in the morning. Whatever it is it must contain some protein or they just won't make it to lunch.

This smoothie tastes so good and with it's beautiful purple hue they won't even know the kale is in there.  It's the perfect way to get them off to school


What Kale? Protein Smoothie
Printable Version

The C Word, Facing Difficult Decisions With Cancer

No one wants to get that call from their physician asking them to come into the office to receive the bad

news.  I am sure, from the other end, they dread making those calls. 

I am not an expert.  I have no medical training or education, but I have had front row experience from the bleacher seats. I hope that you and no one you know receives the dreaded call, but if they do I hope that these 5 tips help.

1)  Find a doctor you trust and like.

Everyone you talk to will know someone.  They will recommend doctors, hospitals, advice.   "This one is the best", "I heard this one is the worst".  Unless they have had the same condition as you, stick with referrals from your physician.  Keep looking until you find someone you like and trust.  My husband really liked his doctor and I know that it has made a difference.

Sneak in an Avocado

Did you know that an avocado is actually a fruit?  I didn't.  I always thought it was in the veggie group.  Green, slimy, kids won't eat it.  It must be a veggie.  Digging deeper the avocado is a berry.  My kids new better.  "Mom, everything with a seed is a fruit".

High in fiber (10g), vitamin C, vitamin B 6, and more potassium than a banana sneak these heart healthy fruits into your morning smoothies.

We enjoy this recipe so much we have it every week.

Skin In The Game

At a networking breakfast yesterday, someone mentioned leaving the skin on kiwi when you make

smoothies.  It just didn't sound right to me, but then someone added "my kid eats kiwi with the skin on like an apple".  OK, but kids eat worms too.  I still wasn't 100% sold, but I tried it this morning anyway - you couldn't tell they were in there.  Believe me, if anything was funky our 10 year old would have called us out.

Thanks for the great tip. 

I did some research this morning, there's actually a California Kiwifruit Organization.  I found out that by leaving the skin on the fiber value is tripled and more of the vitamin C is retained.  Hey, I just like that it's a shortcut in the morning.

According to Wikipedia to have "skin in the game" is to have incurred monetary risk by being
invested in achieving a goal.  In my smoothie recipe having skin in the game is to retain more of the vitamins and add fiber.

Hide the Spinach

Sometimes it's not the foods our kids (and husbands) won't eat, it's the way they are prepared.  For instance, most people steam brussel sprouts. Yuck!  You can't get most people to buy in to them this way.  Try roasting them with olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and orange peel. DELICIOUS!  The same goes for asparagus.  Steamed, not so liked.  Grilled or roasted it takes on an entirely different flavor, and texture, that will get more wins and empty plates.

I find that the best way to make sure that my family gets enough vegetables is to hide them in a fruity flavored smoothie.  Sometimes I sneak a few too many veggies in there and I am busted.  Sometimes I hit a home run like with this limey flavored smoothie.

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hide the Spinach, An Antioxidant Smoothie

Wednesday Night is Family Dinner Party Night

Parents, you know how hard it is to get the entire family seated in the same room, at the same time, to enjoy a "real" meal together.  The 9 year old boy just wants to play xbox.  15 year old girls just want to text.  Frankly, you're too tired to get it all done, so you give up before you even begin.

Last week I invented  the family themed dinner party.  It was Mexican night.  We had fish tacos (we made a cheese quesadilla for the 9 year old), beans and rice, homemade guacamole, fancy frozen drinks and we found a Spanish mix on Pandora.  It worked.  30 minutes of togetherness.

The next week,

Spicy Pork and Greens Soup

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  ~Julia Child   

I love to experiment in the kitchen.  Some trials are hits and some hit the trash can.   Some are originals and others come from reliable sources like Food Network or Food and Wine Magazine.  Super Bowl Sunday I found another homerun from the January 2014 Bon Appetit magazine, Spicy Pork and Mustard Greens Soup.  I made it as a first course, but it could easily be an entree as well.

Printable Version

Ingredients

• ½ pound ground pork 
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp finely grated peeled ginger
• 1tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
• ¾ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, coarsely chopped

Mango Kiwi Smoothie

I made a beautiful fruit platter for breakfast this weekend.  Instead of trying to bag up the leftovers and hope that they still look attractive enough for the kids to eat them I threw them into the blender. 

"Life's too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful." ~Jeff Bezos

 

 

This recipe is great for breakfast, an afternoon pick me up, or post workout nourishment.

Mujadara, Rice and Lentils Recipe

Middle Eastern food is one of my favorite food groups.  I can eat it every day.  Although I enjoy cooking, I find that many of the recipes either require too many ingredients that I do not have or require way too much labor (chopping parsley for days).  Mujadara, however, is one of my favorites to make at home.  The ingredients and the instructions are basic and you can cook it once and eat many times.

Mujadara is a low calorie, low cost meal packed with health benefits.  This recipe is super easy to make (except that I have a tendency to burn instead of caramelize the onions). I love to make it as a side dish for dinner and then enjoy the left-overs as a main course for lunch.  Dr. Oz lists lentils as one of the best anti-aging super foods and here's more on the 7 Health Benefits of Lentils.

 

Printable Version
3 onions
1 bag lentils
1 c long grain brown rice
6 cups low sodium veggie or chicken stock
1/2 Tbs. cumin
salt
pepper
olive oil

cut 1 onion into 1/2 inch pieces
heat olive oil in frying pan
caramelize onion (cook until dark brown, but careful not to burn)
remove from pan and set aside

Dice remaining 2 onions
Cook diced onion in olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat until soft, 2-3 minutes

Purple Power - Antioxidant Smoothie

Smoothies are an excellent way for hiding veggies from 9 year old boys who won't eat them any
other way.  The trick is keeping your smoothie recipe from turning sludgie yucky brown and looking like swamp water.  Here's a recipe that stays purple (ish) keeping the mass amounts of spinach in it your secret.

Brown Pow, Antioxidant Smoothie

I am blessed to have an artist for a husband whose creativity carries over into the kitchen.  He whipped up this amazing smoothie for us this morning.  The color was not very attractive, but if you close your eyes it's extremely yummy.  Our 9 year old won't eat most vegetables without a fight.  This recipe is great for kids, like him, who won't eat their veggies.  Even the pickiest eaters won't detect that the spinach is in there.

 Printable Version

Surf and Turf, A Delicious and Nutritious Smoothie Recipe

Our kids in the ocean with a shark, Jamaica

Spring break to Jamaica was one of my family's favorite vacations.  The weather - perfect; the pool -
perfect; the beach - rocky, but perfect; the food - amazing; swimming with the dolphins - unforgettable!  Our all inclusive resort had fresh fruit at every meal.  Dinner had a fruit carving station.

Vampire Venom, An Antioxidant Rich Smoothie

This morning we decided to create a new concoction in our Vitamix mixer.  I had the last bit of a pineapple to use, but I wanted to try something different than Kermit Juice.  I asked my 9 year old what color should it end up.  Begin with the end in mind, right?  He shouted out "red". OK, red it is.

Harry Potter Booger Juice

Mornings at our house are super busy and difficult to manage.  Who am I kidding?  Mornings, afternoons and evenings are tough.  This one will eat this.  This one won't eat that.  Did our daughter eat breakfast before she left?  You can't wear shorts it's 30 below zero!!!  You can't eat cake for breakfast!  Yes, you can eat cake for breakfast - but not JUST cake.

Beating Cancer through Physical Fitness

By Melanie Bowen
 

Exercise can help individuals to recover and return to good health, even after a cancer

diagnosis. At each stage of recovery, there are a variety of light to heavy exercise regimens that are suitable for cancer patients. Each of these routines offers substantial physical and health benefits. With consistent practice, cancer patients can speed their recovery process and improve their overall quality of life.

Light Fitness

A workout is considered light if the individual does not sweat or have problems breathing. During this level of exercise, individuals can normally sing or talk while they work out. While beginning treatment or recovery,