Category / Recipes & Yums

by tessbrennan

Making Healthy Tomato Sauce From Scratch

With the recent knowledge of our daughter’s allergy to corn, our lives are rapidly changing and its not been easy, so we are now learning to read labels and discovering that most everything, processed at all, contains a corn product of some kind & it allows me to eliminate things I may not realize may even be in our foods.

Tonight, I took a bunch of tomatoes our neighbor gave us and am processing them into a homemade spaghetti sauce that I will freeze in quart bags for use in the future.  I began by processing the raw tomatoes.

After processing the tomatoes I threw everything into the crock pot to slow cook for around 8 hours.

Here’s my recipe: (sort of – I cook by handfuls like Grandma Ringer did)

Grandma Ringer

10-12 Fresh, ripe tomatoes (processed as above)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 cup of chopped, fresh onions

1/2 cup of grated zucchini (I shred & freeze mine so I have it to use when I need it)

1/2 cup of shredded carrots

3-5 cloves of Garlic sliced thin

2 teaspoons of oregano

4 teaspoons of basil

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:

  1. Pour Olive oil in bottom of crock, spread out the onions.
  2. Spread zucchini over onions (or drop frozen cubes around)
  3. Spread out carrots
  4. dump in peeled tomatoes & garlic
  5. Sprinkle spices over the tomatoes and stick the bay leaves down in it.
  6. Cook on low for 8-10 hours
  7. Stir, break up tomatoes further if need be
  8. Cool & pour into quart ziplocks and freeze flat.

When ready to enjoy it, thaw a quart, add some cooked ground beef, ground turkey, or shredded chicken and serve over whole wheat pasta.   Yummers!!!

Thank you Grandma Ringer (95 yrs old) for taking the time to teach me to cook with handfuls, and a love of the art of cooking that many have never been taught.  I love you!

by tessbrennan

Finding Healthy Snacks

Hungry

I saw some really good advice the other day.  When someone offers you something not included in your diet, instead of saying I can’t have that, answer them with I don’t eat that.  (for my daughter that is corn products, for me that includes foods laden with tons or refined sugars)

The difference in those two words is immense. Can’t implies you are not allowed, you are prohibited, it is against the rules.  Don’t implies it is my choice and desire to nurture myself with this decision.  A simple, yet profound difference.

So, once you decide you don’t want something as a snack, what are some healthy choices that will not knock you off your lead lap to regaining/maintaining the health you desire. 

Please enjoy this list of “free” produce snack ideas.  I gathered this information from the book, Why Do I Feel This Way? – Understanding Your Body…Discover Your Solutions ~Gaber, RHN & Day, RDC.  These colleagues of mine have spent a lifetime using nutrition to maintain and regain health.

If you would like more information on healthy snack options, contact me.

by tessbrennan

Tasty (beginner’s) Smoothie

I am just beginning to delve into the whole “green smoothie” thing, so this morning I made my first attempt. 

I couldn’t even taste the spinach!

Here it is!

8 oz Soy Milk
5-6 Fresh Raspberries
1/2 Banana
1 Big Handful of fresh, washed, organic spinach
2 scoops of Vanilla Cinch Shake Mix
2 drops of Almond Extract

Pour it all into your blender, turn on the blender and let it chew it all up good.

Beginner Green Smoothie

Pour tasty treat in a beautiful glass

Try to drink it before your 5 year old steals it and devours it so you have to make another one! Smile

(Thank you to MaryAnne Holtz for letting me know how well my blender would work with spinach!)

 

by tessbrennan

Gluten Free Banana/Zucchini Bread

Delicious, healthy, gluten free bread recipe.  It stays moist and so very yummy!  My family and co-workers LOVE it!

 

IMG-20120819-01765

 

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs 1/2 cup instant protein
1/2 cup applesauce 1 cup Buckwheat flour
1/4 cup grape seed oil 1 cup rice flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup white sugar 1 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 med. grated zucchini 1 tsp nutmeg
3-4 med ripe bananas 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

 

PUT IT TOGETHER

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease & flour two 8×4 inch bread/loaf pans.
  2. In large bowl, beat eggs until frothy & light yellow. Add oil, brown sugar, white sugar, grated zucchini, bananas, and vanilla; blend together until well combined. (My kitchen aid mixer works well for this.)
  3. In a separate bowl mix instant protein, flours, spices, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
  4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients in big bowl.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared loaf pans.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes with our oven.
  7. Allow to cool in the loaf pans on wire racks before removing & serving.

Enjoy this tasty treat! It stores nicely in plastic bags in the fridge, or freeze a loaf to enjoy in the future.

 

by tessbrennan

Hearty, Healthy Chili Recipe

School starts on Wednesday of next week and I am starting a new part time position at a friend’s Insurance Agency, so I decided today would be a good day to begin preparing “heat and eat” meals.  Enter, Hearty, Healthy Chili Recipe.

In my 6 quart slow cooker I layered. Continue reading →

by tessbrennan

How the Cinch Inch Loss Plan Works

Its pretty easy. Two delicious meal replacements a day, your snack bar, your energy tea, and your 3-in-1 booster tablet.  You choose your own healthy dinner choice, drink 8-12 glasses of water a day, and move your body!

You can go here for a complete outline of information on the system, and videos answering many questions!

The Cinch program isn’t just delicious – it’s easy to follow. Continue reading →

by tessbrennan

Thoughts on Weight Loss

What are your thoughts on weight loss/weight management? Do you see weight loss as a goal, or as an outcome from healthy decisions? Perhaps the old adage of “You are what you eat” could also be “You are what you think.”  Many of us, myself included, tend to sabotage ourselves rather than support ourselves with our thoughts, beliefs, and the way we treat ourselves.

My Facebook Page this week is focusing on different thoughts and patterns that different people have.  Some may apply to you, others may not.  I know as I looked down the list there are some who apply to me more frequently than others.  Why the focus on thoughts? Continue reading →

by tessbrennan

Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak

(This recipe is modified from July/August 2002 Issue of Energy For Women Magazine.)
We are a health conscious family, and we still like and eat meat!  The trick is to find healthier ways to fix it!

 

1 12-16 oz Flank Steak, trimmed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2+ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper Continue reading →

by tessbrennan

Chicken Soup for the Sniffles/Cold…

Grandma, and the Romans were right.  Chicken soup is good for your cold, just ask the Nebraska Medical Center who conducted the studies that proved just such a thing.

Into a Crock pot place

1 whole chicken (the nutrients need to be cooked out of those bones into the broth)
Water to cover the chicken
4-5 Large Cloves of Garlic (a natural antibiotic)
1 Chopped onion (we chop it small so the young one doesn’t realize she’s eating it)
2-3 Carrots Chopped
2-3 Stalks of ORGANIC Celery (the leaves of celery like to hold onto the pesticides – no need for those here)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Let it all cook on Low for 7-8 hours.  Serve with long grain or brown rice, or high fiber/protein pasta noodles if you choose.

A major thing to stay away from when fighting a cold:  is refined sugars because they inhibit your body’s immune system.  According to Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, an internal medicine specialist and author, "The sugar in a can of soda suppresses immune function by 30 percent for three hours."   (THEREFORE: stay away from sodas, candy, and processed flours and foods, please)

Also try:

Spicy foods or perhaps a good, homemade guacamole with local grown, organic ingredients.  Avocados, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, & Garlic are good for the body and the spicy peppers can help to clear out that congestion!

Happy recoveries to you and yours, and may your husbands not spend more than a day at a time moaning on the couch because they are sick. Smile

by tessbrennan

Tasty Chicken Recipe–Healthy

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This was so tasty!  I loved the mix of flavors in this healthy chicken.  I will give you a couple of choices for the ingredients…

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 Tablespoons bbq sauce (Annie’s Naturals Organic BBQ Smoky Maple)
  • 1/4 cup Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
  • 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies, drained
  • sliced scallions
  • 2 slices of bacon cooked crispy, blotted dry, and crushed up

Preheat oven to 400F.  Grill the 4 chicken breasts until done. (Juices run clear)

I then placed them my cast iron skillet and topped each chicken boob with a tablespoon of the Annie’s, piled on the shredded cheese, topped with the tomatoes & green chilies and sprinkled with the sliced scallions & crumbled bacon.

Put them in the oven for about 7 minutes.  Added a side of broccoli and we were good. to. go!

For a healthier choice use a large, organic, chopped tomato and an organic green chili pepper.  We use our home grown maters & chilis when we have them in season. I always have scallions & chives growing next to the house so I can just go out and grab a couple.

Just about any recipe you find can be tweaked to a healthier combo!  The problem here with the Rotel is the BPA in the cans and the possibility of GMO’s. Sad smile Every little bit that each of us does, can make a big impact in our own health and the health of those we love!

Happy cooking, may your choices keep you on the lead lap of life! ~Tess