Green leafy vegetables are of the highest nutritional value, and the thing that many of eat the least of in our diets. Most people think “salad” or spinach when you say leafy greens, but have you ever tried and of the following: kale, Swiss chard, collards, dandelion greens, bok choy, or mustard greens? They are not only nutritious in the highest sense of the word, they are very tasty and versatile foods. Some can be a bit bitter to eat raw, but try steaming them with a bit of lime juice and apple cider vinegar for a great, easy meal – or try this Red Swiss Chard recipe as a great side dish.
Recipe: Wheat-free Whole Grain Pancakes
I found this whole grain pancake recipe in a little booklet when I bought some grain from a farmer’s market years ago. I’ve had it tucked away and recently pulled it out when I was asked what I eat for breakfast. While weekdays we mostly eat 8 grain cereal from Red Mills, on the weekends we sometimes like a treat but still want something healthy. This wheat free whole grain pancake recipe fits the bill as it creates the lightest, most delicious melt-in-your-mouth pancakes ever while staying wheat free for those with allergies.
Recipe: Quinoa Salad
February I will be featuring recipes using different types of grains. I find that many people don’t know how to cook grains or what to do with them. So I hope you try something different and add some grain into your diet. NOTE: none of my recipes have wheat in them for those of you that can’t eat wheat – and please note that these grains I’m using are NOT wheat.
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is the grain of the gods according to the Incas of Peru. On my recent trip there I found the people there ate a lot of this powerhouse grain. Not only is it tasty, but it is highly nutritious. If it’s good enough for the Incas – it’s good enough for me! Try it in this colorful and delicious Quinoa Salad.
Recipes: Healthy Christmas Dinner
December was soup month here on the blog, but I wanted to show everyone how we created a healthy Christmas dinner. We wanted to put a healthy spin on the traditional version. We started by buying a free-range organic turkey from a local farmer (100 miles rule), adding a festive salad with homemade Christmas salad dressing, and a fabulous sweet potato side dish to complete the dinner. My mom and sister made some other dishes but we skipped the white potatoes with butter and milk, and only had a tiny bit of the stuffing from white bread. So we wanted to show that if you offer to bring some dishes, you have control of what is in them, and you are contributing to the meal. Then you can eat a tiny bit of what else is offered if you want to be polite, but you also have some healthy choices that you’ve made to fall back on, if the main menu isn’t so healthy.
