Turkey Wrap

In honor of the first day of school I thought I would post a lunchbox idea. Instead of a sandwich how about a wrap???

Turkey Wrap

• whole wheat tortilla
• 1 tbsp hummus
• 2 slices turkey or ham
• 1 slice cheddar cheese
• 1 leaf romaine lettuce
• 1 tsp yellow mustard

Layer all ingredients, roll up and cut in half. Fits easily in a zip lock or side by side in a plastic sandwich box.

Hummus

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients to food processor or blender, except olive oil. Begin to blend on low/med adding olive oil as it blends. Store in Tupperware for up to a week.

Green Tea

For years my drink of choice was an ice cold Dr. Pepper but in recent months after deciding to stop drinking soda I discovered Iced Green Tea! My new favorite drink!!! When I started drinking it I had no idea how good it was for me and now that I am hooked I am pleased to report that I now have a vice that is improving my health. I found this great article online at About.com:Chinese Food and thought that I would share it with you....

The Miracle of Green Tea:

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

cancer
rheumatoid arthritis
high cholesterol levels
cardiovascular disease
infection
impaired immune function

What makes green tea so special?
The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.
Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties?
Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits:
New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?
To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

Author:Rhonda Parkinson

Vegetarian Lasagna

Meat can be added to this lasagna if vegetarian is not your style but I challenge you to try it without it first. For this recipe just eyeball the amount of vegetables. I never use the same amount and it always turns out. I would guess it is somewhere around 1/2 cup- 3/4cup each.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sliced onion
• zucchini, chopped
• green peas
• small broccoli florets, chopped
• 5 marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• small amount of juice from marinated artichokes
• 1/4c crumbled feta cheese
• Pepper and salt to taste
• Whole wheat lasagna noodles (Cook as directed and set aside)

Add all above ingredients to saute pan except feta and cook on medium heat until combined and vegetables are soft. Sprinkle with feta, set aside.

• 2 cups Ricotta cheese (medium container)
• 3-4 tbsp fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine ricotta cheese with other listed ingredients and set aside

• 2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• fresh Parmesan, grated for garnish

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 13x9 casserole dish with a little olive oil. Begin layering noodles, cheese mixture, vegetable mixture, and mozzarella cheese. Does not need to be heavy layering, you want to have enough for about 3 layers. Final layer should end with mozzarella cheese and your Parmesan cheese garnish. Bake at 375 for 30min or until layers are bubbling and cheese is melted.

Super foods!

There has been alot of talk in recent months about "Super Foods". I thought I would take some time to explain what these are and why they are so SUPER.

Super foods are foods that are saturated in their nutrient. These are food that occur naturally and in their pure form boost maximum nutrient potential and maximum health benefits. The great thing about these foods is that you do not need to do anything to them in order to make them REALLY good for you. They do not require packaging to tell you how good they are. They do not require another ingredient to make them shine.

A Super Food is also a food that after years of research on multiple continents have been shown to lower cholesterol, reduce heart disease, and inhibit cancer cell production. They have not been engineered to do this they are just so saturated with the good stuff they do it on their own.

Key components to Super foods are Antioxidant rich, Omega 3 rich, and fiber rich.

Antioxidants: substances that prevent oxidative damage to our body. when oxygen breaks down it produces free radicals (waste) this waste builds up and starts breaking down our system. Antioxidants eat up the free radicals.

Omega 3: essential fats that promote a healthy heart. They are necessary for human health but the body can' t make them. They work by reducing inflammation. Inflammation creates an environment that disease and cancer cells love to make home in.

Fiber: Fiber is the flushing component needed to keep things moving. We do not want food sitting and rotting in our system causing inflammation and the release of toxins. Just as dead things rot in our environment food rots in our body.

Here is a list of some of the tops Super Foods:
Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Oats
Barley
Oranges
Salmon (Wild not farmed)
Soy (soy fiber) ex. Edamame
Tea (Green and Black)
Walnuts
Almonds
Flax seed
Kale and other Leafy greens

I try to fill our weekly menu with as many of these items as I can. The great thing about many of these items is that they are really tasty and really easy to find in the market.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes are a big hit in our house on Saturday mornings, here is one of my favorite whole wheat recipes. When I switched to these pancakes with real maple syrup my kids didn't even skip a beat!

• 1 1/4c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1 tbsp maple sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2-3/4c blueberries (Make sure they are Organic. Blueberries are one of the worst culprits for being over treated with pesticides. Costco sells a frozen organic blueberry if fresh is not an option)

Sift together flour and baking powder and set aside. Beat together egg, milk, vanilla, salt,and sugar. Stir in flour until just moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Make as you would any other pancake.

Yogurt!

Many of my friends ask me what kind of yogurt I feed my kids and what do I put in it? I thought we needed a post on this. My new great love is Greek Yogurt.

Why go Greek ?

1. Greek Yogurt has minimal "humane" interferences (processing)
2. It has 2x the protein of regular yogurt (12g vs. 20g for 1 cup)
3. Half the carbs of regular yogurt (16g vs 9g)
4. More fat! That's right this IS a good thing. More natural fats mean that it is less processed. Good news is when it has real naturally occurring fat your body knows how to use it and it helps you to stay fuller longer. This is different from regular yogurts that use artificial sweeteners that trick your body.

*When you eat dairy you should be eating fat because that is what it is. If you eat "real" food your body knows how to use it. Shocking concept? Dairy has Fat in it? Ummmm Ya! It comes out of the animal that way so that is how it should be consumed.

My favorite Greek Yogurt is Chobani!!!
This unique straining process is what makes Chobani Greek Yogurt “Greek” and full of flavor and health benefits:·

All natural.
No preservatives.
No artificial flavors. ·
No synthetic growth hormones: No rBST-treated milk.·
Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics.·
Made with real fruit. ·
Twice the protein of regular yogurts.·
A good source of bone-building calcium.·
Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified.·
Safe for people with corn, nut and soy allergies.

If you google it you can go to their site and print a coupon to give it a try.

I either buy it plain and add my own mix ins or if I need a quick grab I will buy the one with the fruit already added. They use only real fruit.

My favorite home made mix in:

• Favorite berry of your choice
• 1 tsp maple syrup

In a blender add your favorite berry (Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry) then add 1 tsp maple syrup. Pulse until mixed but chunky. Scoop into a Tupperware and refrigerate all week, Scoop out what you need and add it to the top of your plain yogurt. Yummy!!!!

To add more texture add in your favorite nut. I love pecans!!!!!

Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

This is a no fail pizza crust the whole family will love!

• 1 tsp sugar (I use maple sugar but white is fine)
• 1 1/2c warm water
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast (I use the individual yeast packets, this ensures they are fresh)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2c all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let stand 10min until foamy.
2. Stir in olive oil and salt into yeast mixture. Then add whole wheat flour and 1/4c white flour, mix until dough starts to come together. Tip dough from bowl onto surface with remaining white flour, and knead until all flour absorbed and the ball of dough becomes smooth. Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat surface. Cover loosely with towel and let stand on the counter until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When dough is doubled, tip dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust pizzas or leave whole for 1 thick crust pizza. Form a tight ball place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise an additional 45min until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 425. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Place on a well oiled pizza pan and use your hands to pull dough to fit pizza pan. (I use a 1in rectangle baking sheet).
5. Top pizza with favorite topping and bake 15-20min until crust is crisp and cheese is melted.