Tag / healthy eating

by tessbrennan

18 meals from my 12 pound Turkey.

I saw several news stories this Thanksgiving about the amount of turkey people throw away after the holiday.  It’s a known fact that the most expensive food you buy is food you throw away. So I thought I would share with you how we got 8 meals and turkey stock for 10 more meals for my family of 3 out of one 12 pound bird.

I roasted it for 4.5 hours (1 hour longer than the package said to because it wasn’t done yet)

Suntan_turkey

Meal:

  1. Sliced turkey breast hot from the critter, fresh from the oven.
  2. Turkey sandwiches at a nearby theme park with swiss & mayo & mustard.
  3. Turkey casserole (whole wheat pasta, frozen peas, fresh carrots, cream of anything soup, french’s french fried onions)
  4. Turkey burritos (homemade refried beans, fresh made pico de gallo, cheese, Daisy Sour Cream)
  5. 5-8 are yet to be determined, the turkey has been frozen in 1 pound, cooked portions in ziplocks for a quick addition to any meal.
  6. The other 10 meals I will use this turkey in, will be in the form of turkey stock/broth.  I have 10 16 ounce portions frozen flat in my freezer to use when a recipe calls for stock.  I know what’s in it and what is not.

I will blog on the recipes and the process for dividing this bird up sometime this week as I have to head off to my other job for a bit.

Happy Thanksgiving & thank you for reading.  May you find yourself Feeling Good Fast!

by tessbrennan

What are Polyphenols?

Consuming polyphenols is a great way to pay attention to prevention and begin to Feel Good Fast.

Power Up With Polyphenols

Arthritis: The #1 Cause of Disability
Can you believe how amazing plants are? They contain their very own medicine cabinet full of naturally occurring substances that help defend against oxidative stress, disease, and other environmental threats. Over the past few decades, scientists have begun to discover that plant-based polyphenols can also help defend human health.

Initially, polyphenolic research focused on the antioxidant potential of these plant compounds, and how this could help protect us against heart disease and various types of cancers. Today, scientists have expanded their research and are finding that polyphenols may help defend our health in other ways. Here are a few highlights of this research:

  • Polyphenols have been found to increase the number of mitochondria—energy producing “power plants” found in all of our cells. Mitochondria are known to decline with age.
  • In a recently published study, a unique combination of polyphenols (resveratrol plus muscadine grape,extract) was found to protect against the potentially damaging effects of a high–fat, high-carb meal by blunting inflammation and oxidative stress. This study was novel in that it was one of the first human studies to show that this combination of powerful plant compounds activated a key genetic regulator called Nrf2. Some scientists believe Nrf2 may be the master genetic regulator of cellular stress resistance and strongly impact the aging process.
  • Some, but not all, polyphenols have been shown to inhibit the formation of AGE proteins in laboratory studies. AGE proteins occur with normal aging. They may be acerbated by unhealthy eating habits, and damage our cells through a process called cross-linking. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that a blend of polyphenols, including muscadine grapes, inhibited age protein formation better than resveratrol alone.

So, like those amazing plants, power up your defenses with more polyphenols. Watch your intake of high-fat, high-carb foods that promote inflammation, boost your intake of antioxidant nutrients like vitamins C and E, and selenium. And look to power up your polyphenol intake with a healthy plant–based diet and supplements containing a broad spectrum of well researched polyphenols.

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Source:  http://member.myshaklee.com/us/en/article/HealthScience1112P02-feb8351c374d224d003c6e189b710ada?campaign_id=hs:nov:article%202

by tessbrennan

Banana-Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie!

On the weekends, I make old fashioned breakfast with eggs and meat, sometimes with toast, just like my great grandparents did, its part of our family tradition.

So for lunch I have my Fast Food – maintenance smoothie.

Today it’s Banana-Peanut Butter Cup:

20121103_143306[1]

* 8-10 Oz of Soy milk
* 1 TBSP Natural Peanut Butter
* 1/2 Banana
* 2 Scoops of Chocolate Soy Protein mix with Leucine.

 

Blend in the bullet until mixed and smooth & enjoy.

I don’t even wait to pour it into another cup, I just inhale it, so to speak.  Bask in the deliciousness of a healthy meal!

ahhhhhhhh

(Trying to drink it mindfully, but it’s just so good and goes down so smmmoooooootttthhhh.)

Make it a GREAT DAY!

For more information on feeling good fast, or other tasty fast food recipes, feel free to contact me.

by tessbrennan

Want to get healthy, not sure where to start.

When I started trying to get healthier, I wasn’t sure where to start. I tried diets of all types and yo-yo’d for years, but without a road map of where I was going, it was a futile attempt.  Lose weight, pack it back on plus some more.

Today, I want to share some resources that could help.

1. Decide WHY you want to get healthier, why EXACTLY and WRITE
IT DOWN!

2. Journal what you eat and drink, EVERYTHING, for a week.

a. Keep a written journal of everything you put in your mouth.

b. Use an app like http://myfitnesspal.com I really like this one to use on my phone AND my laptop… whichever I choose. (I also use the Shaklee 180 app that comes with my maintenance program.)

c. The average American over-consumes 300 calories a day. It isn’t
until we begin to pay very close attention to what we consume that
we realize where our challenges lie. (Many times this is from Drinks) This does NOT mean to substitute with “sugar free” options. Artificial sweeteners add a whole new set of problems.

3. Begin to move – the options here are limitless.

a.  I did it with walking, lots of walking. Park and walk the whole
outdoor mall, walk around the block, walk a 5K event, walk if
you haven’t “moved” with purpose in ages, simply begin small
walk to the mailbox and back, do it twice if you can.

b.  Join a gym, a lot of my friends have done this, I prefer to spend
my dollars elsewhere.

c.  Hire a personal trainer.  Get specific advice that works for YOU.

d.  Pick a cause & work toward an event. (I have done 60 mile walks)

4. Choose healthier options that taste GREAT!

a.  Knock out all artificial sweeteners, colors, & flavors.

b.  Look for new recipes, or do what I do, make healthier substitutions
for some of the ingredients.

c. Pick 1 thing and do it till you’ve got it down, then pick something
else to master.

IMG-20111030-00286
Starting line for day 3 of the 2011 Tampa 3-day, 60-mile walk for Breast Cancer.

For more suggestions or a personal consultation to get you started on your own, personal map for improved health, contact me.

by tessbrennan

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

We purchased a big pumpkin from the store and I was really worried about how it was going to cook up, since many sites say not to use the large pumpkins.

Well, it worked GREAT! We got 3 quarts of pumpkin puree’ and it is delicious.  We froze 1 1/2 quarts, made the following recipe with 1 pint, saved a pint for smoothies, and are making pumpkin muffins tonight with the other pint.

How we puréed the pumpkin.

half pumpkinPumpkin puree

Cut the pumpkin in half, set it in a baking dish with a 1/4 inch of water in it.

Bake the pumpkin 1/2 for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Take it carefully out of the oven so as to NOT splash HOT water all over yourself, flip the now cooked and soft pumpkin over into a large bowl and then scoop out the inner flesh.

I scoop the flesh into my blender and blend until it is puréed then dump it into the bowl and repeat until I have it all done.  This pumpkin yielded 3 quarts of pumpkin puree.

Now for the Pumpkin Bread Recipe. (leave the oven set at 350 degrees F)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of pumpkin puree
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup veg. oil
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup of water
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup organic raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 3 cups of unbleached flour

 

  1. In a large bowl, I mix the pumpkin puree, eggs, oils, water, & sugar until it is very well blended.
  2. In another bowl, I whisk together all the dry ingredients.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until JUST blended.
  4. Pour into oiled bread pans. (I used coconut oil to grease them)
  5. Bake for about 50 minutes in my preheated oven and they were perfect.
  6. Loaves are done when a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool loaves on a wire rack, slice and serve!

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as my family and co-workers have!

Pumpkin bread

Here is what the puree looks like in my freezer.  I freeze it in ziplocks in 2 cup servings, so when I want to make a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin, I have my own pure pumpkin to cook with. Smile

pumpkin in the freezer

by tessbrennan

Can’t believe I’ve been drinking coffee with Beaver Butt!

So, I start working for my friend, Mark Ackerman, and he makes coffee at the office.  I love a good cup of coffee (just one) with some flavored creamer… or at least I did.

Last weekend I was looking over a blog by Sean Croxton and this morning, my coffee had an off flavor that I just couldn’t overcome to complete drinking the cup. (I also felt the need to share such information with my co-workers.) Smile

Natural_Flavoring

So I did some research this morning and here is some of what I found… Wikipedia stated,

“Food use: In the United States, castoreum as a food additive is considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be generally recognized as safe,[11] often referenced simply as a "natural

flavoring" in products’ lists of ingredients. While it can be used in both foods and beverages as a vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavoring,[12] the annual industry consumption is around 300 pounds.[13]

Castoreum has been traditionally used in Scandinavia for flavoring snaps commonly referred to as "Bäverhojt".[14]”

Then I moved to health.com to get their take on the issue.

“While it sounds downright disgusting, the FDA says it’s GRAS, meaning it’s “generally recognized as safe.” You won’t see this one on the food label because it’s generally listed as “natural flavoring.” It’s natural all right—naturally icky.”

Finally, I found a bit more information “According to G.A. Burdock in a 2007 article published in the International Journal of Toxicology, “Castoreum extract… is a natural product prepared by direct hot-alcohol extraction of castoreum, the dried and macerated castor sac scent glands (and their secretions) from the male or female beaver. It has been used extensively in perfumery and has been added to food as a flavor ingredient for at least 80 years. Both the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regard castoreum extract as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).”

When castoreum occurs in a food, it does not have to be listed by its name. It is considered a “natural flavor” and may be so designated on a food package according to the CFR: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=501.22

Here is the interview with Sean Croxton explaining Beaver Butt!

Whether Beaver Butt is true or not, it should be understood, that just because something states it contains “natural flavoring” that “natural” derivative may not be from what you were originally thinking… 

I will now purchase products that LIST their ingredients rather than HIDING them with words like “natural”.  “Natural Beaver Butt” is something I’d prefer to be CERTAIN is NOT in my coffee! Smile

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!