Vegetable and Garbanzo Bean Curry

Growing up in the age of processed foods was challenging. My parents tried to put healthy food on the table when there were many mouths to feed. Time constraints and busy schedules always played a role in what was put on the table. Boxed mac and cheese, hamburger helper, mock chicken legs and frozen pizzas were things likely to be served when there was no time for whole foods to be cooked and served. I did not know at the time what was in those prepared foods. Thankfully we have easier access to accurate information about nutrition and what is healthy for our bodies. LOW FAT was the way to go growing up. Now we know that LOW FAT also means HIGH SUGAR, and sugar is no-go in my dojo! Looking back I remind myself that my parents provided as best they could and I have always appreciated that. I am grateful to this day that they provided for me and my brothers even when things were difficult to do so.

Many years later my husband and I would find an unexpected joy in cooking, healthy eating and food preparation. Together we have delved into healthy ways to prepare food for our family at mealtime and have passed down this joy to our children. There are nights where my son doing food prep and my daughter helping to make a meal is not out of the norm.  Eating whole food is powerful. Teaching our children at a young age how to nourish themselves and feed their bodies is empowering for everyone.

Part of learning about healthy food is learning food origins. Discovering foods from all over the world is something we all enjoy learning about. My knowledge about food from other countries growing up spanned tacos and chop suey!

Curry never seemed appealing to me even though my husband had made it several times for the family. After trying it again and again, and using different curry spice combinations, I started to realize there was something unique and satisfying about these spices.

(If you are interested in the origins of curry, or definitions around the world you can read this article published online:  Curry: Where Did it Come From? I found it to answer a lot of questions I had about curry, and if you want to know more please take a peek. Looking at the old English cookbook, The Forme of Cury, the origin of the word 'curry' came from the french word 'cuire' which means "to cook.")

I was looking for a different way to use garbanzo beans while perusing recipes online and I came across this vegetarian dish.  We sill eat meat, but have limited our consumption and strive to eat more plant based foods. They are less expensive to prepare and I think it's environmentally responsible to eat less meat. Also, multiple studies show that eating more plant based foods improves the overall health of our bodies.

I read the last word. Curry. I  decided to give it another try. This recipe is for a curry that we made in the slow cooker and I am delighted with it! The secret for us was to find a blend of curry spices that we really liked. We buy our curry spices from a local bulk store. Experiment with the proportions and find a combination you like. I am glad I was persistent as this has become one of my favorite go to dishes.

Vegetable and Garbanzo Bean Curry

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
6 cups of cauliflower florets
2 cups of garbanzo beans (or 2 -15 oz. cans)
2 cups of green beans ( I use fresh, but frozen would also work)
2 cups of sliced carrots
1 large onion (optional)
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 tablespoons (or to taste) of favorite curry powder
1-2 cans of light coconut milk
Fresh chopped basil to taste
1-2 tsp. pink Himalayan Salt

Directions:
In a slow cooker combine vegetables, onion, beans.  Stir in broth and curry powder.
Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on low-heat, 2-3 hours on high. Stir in coconut milk, basil and add salt to taste (optiona).  Makes 8-12 servings.

In Search of a Better Grain; Teff

In 2014 I made a decision to go wheat-free. I have not been diagnosed with any dietary intolerance but when I would eat things with wheat I felt a heavy, unsettled feeling. There seemed to be so many healthier alternatives that offered more nutritional value than the standby grain, so I started to do research. LOTS of research.

In search of better and healthier grains I have used many different recipes to try to find a desirable grain blend to make a fantastic Sunday pancake. Sunday in our house is the only day I have to do some real experimenting. I can invest some time trying different creations and tweaking recipes to suit what we like in a pancake.

Today I found a recipe that looked very appealing, but I really wanted to try using teff in  pancake batter. Teff is an ancient grain cultivated in Eritrea and Ethiopia. The grain can be used by celiacs, and has a high concentration of different nutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, aluminum, iron, copper, zinc, boron and barium and thiamine. Teff is high in protein, which I really like.  It contains ALL 8 essential amino acids for humans, and is high in healthy carbohydrates and fiber as well. Sounds healthy to me!

Using a buckwheat pancake recipe I replaced some of the flour, changed some other ingredients and came up with what I think is a fluffy and fantastic pancake batter.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I and my family did. Happy pancaking!



BUCKWHEAT AND TEFF PANCAKES

Ingredients: 
2/3 cup flour (1/3 cup buckwheat, 1/3 cup teff)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup milk or water
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and using a fork break up any chunks. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl to make sure eggs are beaten then mix into dry ingredients.  Allow to sit for 2 minutes. Using 1/4 cup measurer drop mix into heated pan. Let cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until bubbles appear on top of the pancake, flip and heat for 2-3 minutes or until browned nicely. Repeat. You may season the pan lightly with coconut oil if you are not using a non-stick pan. (I triple the recipe and freeze leftovers in an airtight container and put them in the toaster to reheat.)









 




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German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake 

Ingredients

8 oz water or almond milk

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Coconut extract

3 tsps. shaved, shredded, or flaked coconut

10 pecan halves

Combine ingredients, blend with stick blender, or blender. Leave some ingredients out for garnish on top (1 tsp. coconut and 3 almond halves shown in photo.)

Gaining Health, Losing Weight and Real Food

According to the National Health Center statistics 2 out of 3 adults in the United States are overweight, and 1 out of 3 adults are considered to be obese. 

That's crazy!  When you read that, how does that make you feel?  How did this happen? What is going on in America that this could really be true?

June 2014 with my children

I look at this picture, and at the time this was taken, I was happy, but not healthy. I was one of those 'obese' people. It is hard to write that, but it is true. I am working my way to being a healthier person in many ways and it has been successful. I was caught in the convenient food trap like many others and could not find an effective way to change my lifestyle.


"When I grow up I want to be an overweight adult" said no one, ever. Still many of us continue to make small, unhealthy choices that over time continue to diminish our health and the health of the next generation. I have a very clear message to share if you want to read it:  EAT REAL FOOD! What we feed our bodies is 80% of the weight loss battle.

Stuck in the food-like product era
We are caught in an economy where food-like products rule supreme because they are CHEAP and convenient. Cheap in every sense of the word.  Processed "foods" offer very little nutrition for very little cost. These products contribute to obesity because these products are NOT FOOD and contain things that if you were aware of the industrial uses for some of the ingredients you would not want in your body, or the bodies of  your children and loved ones. Convenience 'foods' are contributing to the obesity epidemic at an alarming rate.

Is trying to get healthy becoming overwhelming?
I used to buy vitamins, supplements, probiotics, fish oils, flax oil, and the list goes on. It was expensive and very time consuming looking for the best products.  I wanted a simpler and more convenient way to feed my body what it needed. I was "busy." I really struggled because I did not know what I was doing. I was reading everything I could, trying to gather information, but I still was not losing the weight I wanted to lose. I did not make time to exercise and when I did, I felt overwhelmed with the whole process.

Trying to find healthy foods that are convenient
I was skipping meals a few years ago. I would often grab the most convenient thing I could find and shove it down in a hurry (doesn't help with the digestion). I have an organized and full schedule, and want to spend time with  my family and not always shopping for the best nutrition products and figuring out what to do with them. If I could just find one meal, could prepare something in less than two minutes (yeah right), and have it be the healthiest meal of my day, I would surely go for that. And then I found it.

German Chocolate Cake - Shakeology

Dense, convenient nutrition
Shakeology. If you look at the ingredient list it will shock you. It shocked me. I had no idea something like this existed and I felt like I found a gold mine. It is:

1. Real food
2. Convenient
3. Delicious
4. Promotes healthy eating habits
5. Supports weight loss
6. Enormously nutritious (contains 70 superfoods)

I drink it every day.  When asked if I will ever stop drinking it, my answer is no. Would you stop eating healthy if it helps you meet your nutrition goals? It provides me with an amazing amount of nutrition and boosts my health every day and provides me with everything I am looking for. I feel so strongly about this product that I recommend it to my friends whether they have weight to lose or not. The company stands behind it with a money back guarantee. It has aided me in losing 30 pounds to date.

Are you ready to gain health, and lose weight along the way?
You may wake up and decide that today is the day I start striving for better health. Where do I start? Start small and ask for help if you do not have the knowledge or the tools. You can click on my 'free membership' tab to learn more about how I can help you find a way to become healthier without feeling so overwhelmed. I have been there, I understand, and having help is easier than going it alone.

January 2015 after losing 30 pounds

The Dawning of a new me

As a mother my family is my number one priority. Last year I was on the cusp of turning 40. I was very happy with my children, my marriage, and feeling blessed and thankful that I had them in my life. I was continuously striving every day to provide for them a life where they could feel happy, safe, and confident in who they were. As happy as I was, I couldn't help but feel there was something missing. Something BIG!

In July 2014 the seasons were changing and steamy weather was upon us. I felt excited for the kids because they were in the midst of their summer break from school. I always dreaded summer because it meant many things that I did NOT look forward to. l would have less income from teaching and the hot weather meant the kids would want to go swimming and be outside all the time. I NEVER WORE SHORTS because my legs were nothing anyone would want to be exposed to and I was always hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. Wearing a bathing suit was even worse. I need not explain that one.

I had mixed feelings about the whole season. The kids were happy because they felt 'free.' Free from homework, had free time to do activities that during the school year they didn't have time for, and free to sleep-in and to be with friends and family more often. It was amazing to see them grow and explore outside and I always felt happy FOR them.

My beautiful family; June 2014

I spent my summer worrying about paying bills, big white legs, and really feeling held back in life. I loved teaching (still do) and I enjoyed my career (still do), but clearly I was not at peace with the way my life was.

I was fed up! I needed to try to find some peace with who I was. I knew that gaining health was one thing that could make a difference, but I was afraid to fail again. I had tried to do workouts but could never finish a whole program.  I got results, but I quit. Three times in 10 years to be exact. I went to the gym, I lifted weights, I swam. I would lose a few pounds and then be right back where I started. Sound familiar? Why would this time be any different?  I remained optimistic that I could do it, but I really didn't know HOW. I had been carrying comfort weight for 10 years and let's face it, I was struggling to find time for myself because my kids were my priority.

As afraid as I was, I needed to try again. What were my kids thinking of me? What kind of role model would I be if I threw in the towel again?  I decided to commit myself to a new program, and this time I would succeed. I had to. A friend of my husbands offered to help me.  He was a Beachbody coach. I was VERY skeptical about working with him, but he was gaining health, he was being successful, and I had a thought: If he could do it, why can't I? What I didn't know was that my LIFE would change drastically. My weight changed, my priorities changed, and I am happier now than I ever thought I could be. Yes. This is real. This is me!

July 2014 on the left;  October 2014 on the right

How did I do this?  Beachbody programs with a Beachbody coach. I used world class home workouts, world class nutrition and meal plans, and had support, accountability and motivation every day. These were the key elements it took to succeed in not only changing my health, but changing my life for good.

I decided that I could not keep this information to myself, but rather I felt obligated to all of the people out there like me to share how I did this. If you knew something worked, wouldn't you share with someone who needed the help? Don't give up. You are worth it, and you can do this! If I can, why not you?

No Bake Cookies

Looking for something to do with your Shakeology that your kids will think is a treat?  One of these delicious chocolate and nut butter cookies will satisfy your sweet tooth without wrecking your diet!

No-Bake Cookies 

Total Time: 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 25 cookies, 1 cookie per serving

Ingredients
1 cup all-natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cup raw honey
1 cup Chocolate Shakeology

Preparation
1. Combine peanut butter, oats, honey, and Shakeology in a medium bowl; mix well.
2. Roll mixture into 24 balls, each about 1-inch in size.
3. Flatten each slightly so that it is shaped like a traditional cookie.

Recipe by: TeamBeachbody

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 112

Fat: 6g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 2 mg

Sodium: 13 mg

Carbohydrate: 12 g

Fiber: 1 g

Sugar: 7 g

Protein: 5 g

Chickpea and Black Bean Salad

I love beans! That however, was not always the case. The only beans I remember eating growing-up were lima and kidney. As an adult, I have come to love all beans equally but I still have favorites. Here are two of them combined in the same salad! 

Chickpea & Black Bean Salad

Yields 6 servings

Salad
1 15oz can of garbanzo beans
1 15oz can of black beans
1/2 cup of chopped red onions
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2tbs of chopped mint
1/2 cup of chopped parsley

Dressing 
5 tbs of olive oil
1 lemon juiced (about 3 tbs)
salt and pepper to taste
2tbs apple cider vinegar

Directions
Drain and rinse the garbanzo and black beans. Pour into a bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients to the beans and mix well. Mix the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour over salad. Mix well to incorporate. Add more lemon or olive oil to taste.

By Dala Al-Fuwaires