When an inconvenience becomes a serious health problem...

So allow me to set the stage: a neighbor of mine is in his garage and I just pull into my garage next to his...I ask him, "How have you been / how was your weekend / how are you?" and the response he gives me reminds me why we need be healthy and have better eating habits...

"I was in the hospital over the weekend / I had chest pains and pressure in my chest / I underwent an angiogram (medical procedure to using a colored dye in your blood to visually see blockage problems in your heart)..."

No one should have to respond to "how was your weekend" like that...the unfortunate reality is that many of us are currently putting ourselves in that position through our daily eating habits and food choices...it is our "human nature" to only deal with a problem when we can see it, feel it, hear it, when it truly becomes an inconvenience. And the consequences of our actions include hospital visits, medical procedures and the possibility of needing to take medications since we cannot win the fight to incorporate health into our lives...

So "How do I prevent this condition from worsening / reoccurring again???..."

"The doctors told me to eat healthy...."

And that's the blunt truth of it all...if you want to avoid the hospital, or unncessary doctor's visits, or avoid undue stress related to lingering diet related health problems, we need to eat healthy...BUT HOW????...

For this particular situation, without knowing the specifics, most doctors & nutritionists want us to lower the amount of bad cholesterol in our diet, eat more fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and eat smaller portions to lose weight and lower our risks for these diet related medical conditions...In terms of food ideas, here's my take on getting our bodies back on track through healthy & great tasting meals:

• Roasted Butter Nut Squash w/ Roasted Shrimp and Garlic
• Saute Eggplant, Peppers, and Sun-dried Tomatoes with Chicken Breast
• Herbed Chicken & Apple Burgers with Arugula, Grape Tomatoes and Whole Wheat Pita Sandwiches
• Zucchini, Cauliflower & Chicken Breast Stuffed Bell Peppers
  

Here's the recipe for the Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Serves 4 (1 serving = 1 stuffed pepper)

-4 medium red bell peppers, tops and seeds removed
-1 tsp olive oil
-salt & pepper to taste

-2 medium sized zucchini, finely diced - 1/4"
-1/4 head of cauliflower, finely chopped
-8 oz chicken breast (cut into 1/2" slices)
-5 basil leaves - chopped
-1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence
-1 Tbsp Light Olive Oil

-1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
-1 tsp Light Olive Oil


Preheat oven to 375-degrees & line a baking sheet with rimmed edges with foil. Cut the tops off the red bell peppers and remove the stems and seeds. Place on the baking sheet and drizzle the inside of the peppers with olive oil, and season lightly with salt & pepper. Set aside.

On low heat, heat your oil with the basil leaves - do not burn - we want to extract the oils from the basil to infuse the olive oil. Meanwhile, prep your veggies and chicken breast. Once the basil oil starts to "sizzle" (about 10 minutes on low heat), increase the temperature and saute the chicken breast slices. Light season with salt & pepper. After the chicken begins to brown, remove from the pan and begin to saute the veggies. Lightly season with salt & pepper. While veggies are cooking, finely dice the chicken, and add back into veggie mixture. Add Herbes de Provence and continue to cook until zucchini is just turning soft (5 to 7 minutes). Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Remove the chicken veggie mixture from heat and spoon into the the bell peppers. Make sure to pack in as tight and as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the panko crumbs onto each stuffed pepper and drizzle the olive oil on the crumbs.

Place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the peppers are soft but not burnt. Make sure to watch the panko crusts to keep from burning.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly for 5 minutes after removing from the oven.

Take something and make it "better"

So there's an adage, "if it's not broken, don't fix it..." However, there's nothing in that statement that says, if you want something more, go make it better!!!....So I'm sharing my brownie recipe from a girl from college who told me that brownies from a box are gross...and i believed her and I've been making this recipe for years!...I don't know why, but I share this recipe with others in the past, and they can't get it, so I don't know...I've changed it a bit to suit my current tastes and new knowledge that I've picked up along the way...so my recommendations are to look for products like these to substitute and increase the nutrition in your brownies and add flavor at the same time:

• Nut flours (i.e. Almond Flour)
• Coconut Flour
• Whole Wheat or Whole Grain Type Flours
• Nut Oils (La Tourangele has an excellent line of nut oils to add flavor)
• Palm Sugar or Agave Nectar to keep the GI of the dish down without using artificial sweetners
• Add citrus zest to add more flavor and depth to your chocolate based desserts
• Experiment with coriander, cardamom, and nutmeg to add more layers of flavor to your baking
  

The point of this post is not to show off a great brownie recipe, but it's to demonstrate that with a little information about healthier ingredients, you can take something that is already good, and make it "gooder!!!!" by using healthier and flavorful ingredients!...

Jameson's Brownies


Dry Ingredients:

• equal portions whole wheat flour and almond flour to make 3/4 cup
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt (or 2 small pinches)

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp of water
• 3/4 cup of Palm Sugar (this sugar has a lower GI than regular sugar and just as sweet)
• 9 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (60% or higher)
• 1/3 cup walnut oil (butter substitute)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (use real extract in lieu of imitation)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Sherry Wine (Harvey's Bristol Cream)(or Baileys or Kahlua or Godiva Liqueurs)
• 1/2 Tbsp Orange zest ( you want the orange smell from the oils)
• 2 large eggs, brought to room temperature (this is key to make sure you're add ingredients together at relatively the same temperature)
  

Pre-Heat your oven to 325-degrees, line a 9x9 or any other baking dish of comparable size with parchment paper so that you can easily take it out afterwards with no brownies sticking.

Mix your dry ingredients. Measure and sift your flours and add the salt and baking soda. Set aside

Take a sauce pan and add to it the water and sugar and bring to a boil. When the caramel starts to bubble, add your walnut oil. When the mixture is boiling, turn off the heat and add chocolate and stir into mix. When the chocolate is completely melted, add vanilla, sherry and orange zest mix into chocolate.

With an empty heat proof bowl and a silicone heat proof spatula, pour the chocolate into the bowl. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and make sure no shells go into the mix. With a whisk in hand, add the eggs to chocolate and whisk quickly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Add dry ingredients and whisk into chocolate mixture until just incorporated (try not to over whisk to keep the brownies moist instead of chewy). Pour mixture to baking dish and heat on 325-degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. It's important to set your time to about 15 minutes and then check it periodically to prevent burning and thorough cooking in the center.

Remove and allow to cool. Cut and serve with "Agave Dream" Vanilla Ice Cream (low GI sugar used to make ice cream)

Serves 9
Be GREAT, One Meal at a Time!

Add some spice in your life...Creatively Make Something Your Own

So as far as cooking is concerned, it's not about how well someone can follow a recipe, it' really how well you use the recipe as a guide to make the dish reflect who you are and what you want to express to other people...this concept is common throughout the creative art world - you take a technique and then add your personal touch...you mix and match the best of what you like from a couple of different dances and turn the mix into your own unique dance style...you combine different types of music - classical and techno for example - come up with your own brand of music...the same rings true in cooking...as my mother used to say, you use "a recipe" as a guide and then you add your own personal touches to make it your own...so here's an example:

From my cookbook, "Mediterranean Food of the Sun", the "Bananas with Lime and Cardamom Sauce" recipe calls for limes, butter, a strange foreign sugar...and since I'm a health conscious kind of guy, I replace the butter for Almond Oil, the strange foreign sugar with Palm Sugar that helps keep your blood sugar levels low, and continue to use limes or lemons...But here's where I put my spin on it: I add cinnamon to the mix to also aid in lowering blood sugar levels and a another layer of flavor, and then I want to add another fruit to the mix, so I diced some pears to add contrast in flavors and textures with the bananas, and then for another layer of contrast, as Emeril Legasse puts it, "I kicked it up a notch" by adding a dash of cayenne pepper which leaves a very mild heat on your palette that makes you want to crave for some vanilla gelato!!!!...

And what do you have???...a completely different dish from the cookbook that is similar but now is completely my own because i used the recipe as a guide and put my own personal creative touches to express who I am and what I want to impart on whomever I'm going to serve it to...

So here's my recipe as adapted from the cookbook I am using for you to try and enjoy:

"Be Great, Bananas with Lemon and Cardamom Sauce

• 6 small bananas - sliced lengthwise and in halved (now you have 24 pieces)
• 1 Pear - cored and diced into 1/4" pieces
  
• 4 Tbsp of Almond Oil Extract
• 1 tsp cardamom-powder
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup flaked/ slivered almonds
• Half a Large lemon, to zest and one 6-inch peel for garnish
• 1/4 cup Palm Sugar or Low GI sugar substitute
• 2 Tbsp Dark Rum

-In a saute pan, add half the almond oil and bananas and saute until golden brown. Make sure you leave them alone to allow the sugars in the bananas to carmelize and give you a crust...As Tyler Florence says, color means flavor...Add half the cinnamon and distribute evenly throughout the bananas. Once golden, remove and place in a heatproof dish.

-Use the same pan and add the remaining Almond oil and almonds and cardamom until almonds are golden-pay attention because the almonds will brown fast and will burn on you if you're not watching them.

-Once their brown, add the palm sugar and lemon juice and lemon zest and allow the sugar to carmelize...reduce the heat, and add remaining cinnamon and cayenne pepper and continue to stir to incorporate.

-Take the pan off the stove and add the rum (you must do this to avoid uncontrolled flame outs), continue to stir...add the diced pears and cooked bananas and turn off the heat and fold the fruit into the sauce, careful not to break the bananas.

-Return all of the mixture to the heatproof dish...take the lemon peel, and twist and garnish...serve with vanilla ice cream/ gelato.

this should serve 6 people

Be Great, One Meal at a Time!

Law of Attraction-Attracting Great Nutrition with Great Fitness

I am a big believer and practitioner of "The Secret" (book by Rhonda Byrnes) and the "Law of Attraction" on how what you feel and think will attract those same things into your life...if you feel lousy and think that you're unworthy, well, that's what you are going to have in your life...but if you CHOOSE to actively think and feel that your are worthy, that you are somebody, that you are special, and start feeling good about yourself by doing things in life that are good, then guess what?...your choice to change your thinking and feeling will change your life and you will attract more of those good things into your life that are in line with what you're thinking and feeling...it really is that simple...

And for myself, at a friend's party, I introduced myself to Kristen Nolan who is a personal trainer (I LUV My Body Fitness) and she is a firm believer in making active choices to include fitness and exercise into your life to feel and "be" better in life...She also believes that good nutrition is an integral part of a healthy life and spreads this message to her clients. I believe in fitness and exercise and you know, I love food and believe that great food and great health can be one and the same. Believe this or not, I don't care, but I believe my feelings and her feelings attracted each other and put us in the same room at the right time and the right moment...I hope to connect with her and share my passions for great health and great taste with her passions for great fitness and exercise for healthy, strong and meaningful lifestyles...what's my point???...

My point is that if you want a GREAT life, you have to think that you're life is Great, that you are Great, and do the things that are required to have the rewards of a Great life...And if you do, you will attract people who think like you and feel like you and slowly, you will surround yourself with positive people who are in line with what you believe and I promise you, life will look and feel Great!!!!...Both Kristen and I have realized this concept for ourselves; she's spreading the word of exercise and fitness and I'm doing the same thing by combining great nutrition and great taste to make other people's lives Great...and hopefully we can help each other help more people together!

So I'd like to share a link to Kristen's website and blog and a comment I made to her Jan. 22 blog posting for 11 ways to include simple nutrition into a busy life.



Be GREAT, One Meal at a Time!
(Sauteed Cod with Mediterranean Sage and Lemon Sauce-Rosemary Roasted Veggies-Olive Oil Toasts)










Kristen Nolan - I LUV my Body Fitness
Website - http://www.sanfranciscofatloss.com/
Blog - http://www.kristenfitness.com/

My Comment (in blue italics) to Kristen's Jan. 22 Blog Entry:

11 Healthy, Quick and Easy Snacks for Busy San Franciscans

1. 5 Whole Grain Crackers with cheese. I recommend Ak Mak or Raincoat Crisp Crackers

2. 1 cup Plain Yogurt with 1/2 cup blue berries mixed in. I love the brands FAGE and Saint bonnet
-Try the Greek Gods greek yogurt brand - the flavoring is already mixed into the yogurt for added convenience and consistent flavor throughout yogurt.

3. Handful of almonds and dried fruit (no added preservatives)
-Buy one bag of each and buy mini-tupperware containers that are 3/4 cup servings and place half-and-half nuts to fruit in each. For added flavor, add 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of a log GI sweetner that can be shaken in the tupperware to incorporate with mix.

4. Preservative free granola or dried fruit and nut bar such as Kind Bars and Lara Bars

5. 3/4 Cup baby carrots and 4 Walnut halves

6. 1 Slice cheese with 1 apple or any piece of fruit

7. 1 Apple with 1 tbsp peanut or almond butter
-A variation of this would be to core and slice the apple into 1/4" slices, and toss with 1 Tbsp of Lemon juice, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp of Agave Nectar and place on one piece of whole grain bread and spread the peanut/almond butter on the other piece and combine as a sandwich. For texture, you can grill it like a panini or toast in a toaster oven.

8. 1 piece of celery with 1 tbsp peanut or almond butter

9. 1/2 cup soybeans with 1/4 cup dried fruit

10. 1/4 Avocado on 5 whole grain crackers or 1/2 slice of whole grain bread
11. 1 Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella cheese and basil
-Combine #10 and #11 - Toss in a small bowl 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/4 Avo, 1 Plum tomato, seeded and diced, Mozzarella that is cubed into 1/4" pieces, 4 basil leaves that are cut into thin ribbons (or shred by hand), and 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Put salad into a sandwich sized tupperware/Gladware and eat with toasted whole grain bread.