Powerful Noodles

My kiddo loves pasta.  Who can blame him?  Carbs=comfort, right?  Though an issue of ours is that spaghetti sauce is gross, and who could stand spinach in your noodles?  Well, I could.  Let's face it, kids can be PICKY!  I used egg noodles which have a good amount of protein.  Then, just a touch of butter.  Sprinkled it w/ lowfat mozzarella, and my secret weapon, YEAST FLAKES!  This time my secret weapon went on undetected and he gobbled up this pasta like no one's business!  Did I mention it took a matter of minutes to whip this together?  Here's to mommy triumph!

Grilled Baby Portabellas

I am not going to pretend to be a master griller.  Here is one of my attempts to make yummy portabellas.  First, wash them off well.  Then, I trimmed the stems and then cut them off and grilled them too.  I grilled them w/ olive oil & tamari.  Seasoned them w/ season salt, fresh ground black pepper, & yeast flakes.  This will be my "meat" for a few days.  Don't worry I will get my protein in!

Share your portabella recipes here!

Mighty Monkey Muffins

Yum-o!  These muffins were modified from the Door to Door Organics website.  My son and I made them together.  I macerated the berries (tossed them w/ just a pinch of sugar), and then I tossed them w/ a bit of flour so the would float throughout the muffins.  We added carob chips to some of the muffins, and cut the wheat flour in half w/ almond flour.  That is what makes these muffins MIGHTY!

Ingredients:

fresh blueberries
2 medium extra-ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (we used frozen & thawed them)
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

1 1/8 c Whole Wheat flour

1 1/8 c Almond Flour

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick of butter, melted
2/3 c brown sugar, packed (play w/ this amount the recipe wasn't clear so this is what we tried)

Directions:

Combine mashed bananas, eggs, sugar and butter until well blended. Stir in blueberries and vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to banana-blueberry mixture. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then serve while warm. This recipe makes 12 good sized muffins.

UPDATE:

  5 days after these muffins were baked the berries were STILL plump and juicy!!!
 

Tuna Fish

This morning I had an urge to eat tuna fish.  It has been awhile since I've had any.  It seems when I really crave meat, and eventually give in I regret it.  Not because I feel bad necessarily, but because it doesn't taste as good as I remember.  So today I chose to eat some seaweed instead, nori to be exact.  Let me tell you, it certainly SMASHED the craving... and then I ate a banana to cleanse my palate.

My point of sharing this w/ you is that sometimes our cravings are telling us something.  Next time you REALLY want to eat something sit back, and ask yourself why.  Then, reflect.  Is it really that I am dehydrated?  Am I stressed?  Am I hormonal?  Or am I lacking in a nutrient?  Then, do a quick and easy google search on the nutritional value on your craving.  Is what you are craving really what you need nutritionally?  Are there other options?  Slow down and think for a minute before you are quick to throw something down the hatch.

Organic Berries

It isn't too often that we have a problem eating all the berries before they go bad, but it does happen now & again.  Did you know that you can prolong the life of fresh berries in your fridge?  Here is a neat tip I learned at the MHealthy Champion Retreat.  Turn your tap water on as hot as it will go.  Fill a bowl and let your berries soak in it for a minute or 2.  Then, rinse them off.  Dry them w/ a salad spinner if you have one.  Line a glass bowl w/ paper towel.  I like to use my pyrex bowls w/ lids.  Do this and your berries will last so much longer than usual.  The hot tap water kills off any mold spores that may have gotten into or on your beautiful berries.  ENJOY!

Reflections MHealthy Retreat

Yesterday I was honored to be on a panel of MHealthy Champions.  Over the past week I went over and over what I was going to say when it was my turn to answer my question.  It sounded so good, so humble, so genuine... and then when it was my turn to speak the words didn't come to my lips.  I stumbled on my words, but I got the gist of what I wanted to share across.  In some ways that is very humble and real.  My question was, "Keeping people engaged can be a challenge.  What do you do to keep things fun?"  For a week I let this question marinate.  I really felt like I had no answer.  And then some answers did come to me.  I use different ways to reach people: encouraging emails, fun eye catching flyers, walks on campus or to the farmers market, & workshops.  I have been the captain of our departments ActiveU team for the last three sessions.  ActiveU is a program where we are all on a team to encourage each other to be active while offering a sense of a "community".  It is a pretty awesome thing to be a part of.  What else keeps people engaged?  Let's face it.  People like incentives.  What can I offer as an individual at a HUGE university?  When I give Wellness Workshops I also give a neck & shoulder massage as well as teach healthy ways to make smoothies.  Everyone needs human contact, and adding in knowledge is empowering.  Since I have partnered together w/ MHealthy I now lead a "To Market" walk.  Participants that join me in walking to the local farmer's market on our lunch hour receive a MHealthy reusable grocery bag and recipes that are relevant to the current produce.  All of these things don't seem like much to me, but when I take a moment to pause and look behind me I see how these little things have impacted others in a HUGE way.  It is one of the most rewarding things to feel; how a little bit of effort and care on my part can really help someone else to blossom.

stay tuned...more to come!

Making Flint Beautiful

Recently my son, Hakeem, participated in the Kid's Classic Crim 1 Mile race.  He did it in 9 minutes!  The little stinker is faster than I am!

While we were at the Crim event there were LOTS of healthy activities for the kids to participate in: Zumba, agility exercises, science experiments, making stress balls, learning about veggies & fruits, learning how much sugar is in there favorite soda, and Karate.  

Hakeem enjoying a plate of fresh greens from a King's Karate student named, Hakim.  Hakim told him it would turn him into a black belt.  Hakeem was pretty impressed to meet someone w/ his same name.

The Karate table from King's Karate impressed me the most at this event.  At King's Karate the kids not only participate in the physical aspect of the practice, the mental aspect-working hard, respect, and pride, but also farming the land.  King's Karate cleaned out abandoned lots in Flint, and turned them into greenhouse farms.  I am super inspired by the program they are leading, and how they are taking Flint and making it beautiful & prosperous.  At the same time including the kids.  Showing them hard work.  Teaching them healthy living.  Teaching them pride.  Showing them that just because they maybe handed a situation that isn't sparkly and pretty doesn't mean they can't clean it up, dust it off and make it of great value to them, and those around them.  If you are in the Flint area I urge you to checkout King's Karate.  They have a great thing going there!

http://kingkarate.org/