Friday "Food Fact"... Pumpkin Seeds

    

 http://allrecipes.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/nuts-and-seeds/pumpkin-seeds/

     Pumpkin seeds make a great low calorie snack and you can add them to your salad, smoothie or in your morning cereal. They are an excellent source of Vitamin B which is known to help with stress as well as a rich source of iron. Just an ounce of seeds gives you 20-30 % of your daily allowance of iron. Need some protein in your day? One ounce has 7 grams of protein.
      Click on the link above and find your favorite way to add more pumpkin seeds to your day.

Saturday Supper...

 Bourbon Chicken

 http://www.food.com/recipe/bourbon-chicken-45809

(doesn't actually use bourbon)

be sure to read the reviews and comments on recipe site for ideas

Suggestion for Sides:

~ rice / noodles

~ fresh tossed salad

~ stir fry vegetables

Power of Suggestion...

Good and Plenty...

Someone gave me these garden grown cucumbers because they felt like the had plenty to share, and I was overjoyed! So as I was making this salad http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/tomato-onion-and-cucumber-salad-recipe.html ( I left off the olive oil) I got to thinking about the power of suggestion. What if those who had a garden or even if you go to the farmers market and bought a few extra things, and gave that extra to someone you know that maybe doesn't cook much or could just use something nutritious to eat?. You never know what that might spark, through the power of suggestion.  It could inspire them to want more healthy choices, they might ask you about the food, and it doesn't need to be delivered with a speech. When something is given with love from one heart to another ~ "it's all good."
If you watch TV or read a magazine, you know the power of suggestion that lingers there. So why not try and offer a healthy suggestion and see what power it has.

You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving

and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!

Tuesday "Try"... Jicama

Jicama

Pachyrhizus erosus, also known as Mexican yam or Mexican turnip, is a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean, although the term "yam bean" can be another name for jícama. The names for jicama include Mexican potato, ahipa, saa got, Chinese turnip, lo bok, and Chinese potato. (In Ecuador and Peru, the name jicama is used for the unrelated yacón or Peruvian ground apple, a plant of the sunflower family whose tubers are also used as food).^[2]

This is the Jicama I bought at my local store, it was 1.69 lb. and I'm so glad I tried it. The taste and texture was similar to an apple, celery and a potato and my favorite part was the "crunch". I loved it! When I "googled" how to use it, there were many options, from salads to stir fries, and a great snack idea, like the one I made. I tried peeling the Jicama with my potato peeler but the skin was a bit tough ( could have been my peeler ), so I just used a small knife and it came off easily. 

I then cut in half, sliced thin, sprinkled sourthwest seasoning an lime juice on it. I had a hard time not eating them all. I just LOVED the crunch I usually crave when I'm looking for something to snack on. I even made a few with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on ( thought if it tasted like an apple - why not) and that was yummy too. I'm looking forward to incorporating Jicama in my diet.

Some health benefits..

Jicama is an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C ( 44%) of the daily value per serving. 

It's a powerful antioxidant that zaps free radicals to protect against cancer, inflammation, viral cough, cold, and infections. http://foodfacts.mercola.com/jicama.html

Tuesday's "TRY"

     http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/f/fennel01.html

Welcome to Tuesday's Try, where I'll be experimenting with food I've never eaten or trying something with a food that's familiar and trying it in a different way. Today I'm using Fennel. I had never eaten this vegetable before and had always been a bit intimidated by the way it looks and just unsure what to do with it. But after doing a search for ideas, I'm excited to use fennel again in my recipes. Plus fennel is good for you. It contains Vitamins A and C as well as potassium and calcium and has a slightly sweet anise flavor and can be used to help with stomach distress.

Fennel Apple Salad

First I cut a very thin sliver off the bottom (discard) then cut off the fronds (feathery top - saved for another use).

As you can see in the above picture the outside can sometimes be bruised or discolored so I took off the top layer of the fennel bulb. But you can just as easily use a vegetable peeler and remove some of the discoloring. I cut the bulb in half and cut out small triangles of the core to discard.

Then with each half you can slice them really thin with a knife or use a mandolin. I also cut up one Granny Smith apple into thin slices.

I mixed the fennel with the apple, toasted pecans and made a simple dressing of orange juice, honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, mixed it all together then put in the refrigerator to chill. There are many ways to use the fronds but I just steeped them to make fennel tea, which I enjoy.

Recipe

1 fennel

1 apple

1/4-1/2 cup pecans - toasted

1/4 cup orange juice 

1 Tb. olive oil

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tb. honey

(adjust to your taste - play with the ingredients)

Only thing left is to ENJOY!

You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving

and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!