Health Cafe Journey

I'm all about healthy foods that are closest to the real thing. That is, fresh from farm to fork with little stops in between. But now and then we need a little help from our friends who are dedicated to creating foods that contain healthy ingredients, nothing artificial, no or little sugar and are minimally processed. The other day I stopped by our local  Nugget Market  for a fresh juice and passed a very animated, energetic and inviting food vendor. "Start your day with love," said Maddy holding up a sample cup filled with strawberry-colored O's. I whooshed by to order my juice, but returned to chat while sipping my yummy nectar of vegetables (kale and spinach) with grapefruit, lemon and apple. "They're made with beans—navy beans, lentils and garbanzo beans." Now that's a wallop of good stuff that will  stick to your bones . Maddy went over the ingredients and talked about  Home Grown Foods  the company behind the healthy breakfast cereal. Home Gro...

Wonder what to do with those leftover grilled vegetables from Saturday's BBQ? Here's a great salad you can prepare with those vegetables as a main course or side dish. Cook a large batch of quinoa for breakfast and save 2 cups (or an appropriate portion) for your salad that evening. Chop the grilled vegetables into large pieces (3/4 inch). The photo shows the grilled pieces before chopping (in case you were wondering). Chop the kale leaves into small pieces. Here's my quick and neat technique for chopping kale: Strip the leaves from the thick stem then slice the pieces lengthwise into 1-inch strips.  Next cut the strips into shorter strips then stack them lengthwise and slice thinly across the width. You're left with 1x1/4-inch pieces to add to your dish.  Alternatively, de-stem and cut into large pieces then  chiffonade  the kale. Grilled Vegetables & Quinoa Salad from Chris Pedersen yield 4-6 servings category Salad cuisine Vegan ingredients 2 C cooked qui...

Probably the most enjoyed vacation we've taken lately was back in 2011 when we toured the Southwest National Parks and surrounding sights with friends. I thought you might like to revisit the trip or perhaps you're seeing the post for the first time. You may discover some places you'd like to visit with your family. Come on... let's go! Photo by Mike Eisenhard Places To Go ~ Things We Saw Starting with Zion National Park in Southwest Utah, the neat and upscale town of Springdale invites travelers to the entrance of this majestic, wow-factor, geologic wonder—my favorite park on the trip. A convenient shuttle runs through town and delivers you to the park entrance and visitor center. Boarding a double shuttle, we could disembark at any stop in the park. Our first morning, we chose to hike the Watchman Trail. We made our way up a short canyon passing colorful displays of wildflowers to an overlook with a panoramic view of the valley below and the Watchman Peak standing at ...

Tip: I have not used my microwave since changing my diet to hold off the growth of cancer—an unfortunate condition I inherited from my parents. In the process of heating,  Microwave ovens destroy nutrients . That means I would not get the nourishment my body needs. I eat lots of raw food (no cooking), but when I cook, I use a toaster oven to cook or reheat food. I also use the stovetop. Really it takes little extra time to heat conventionally (oven or cooktop) than use a microwave, which destroys far more nutrients and may cause other harm. Why toaster oven instead of the big oven? The toaster oven holds a quart-size dish, which is large enough for 4-6 servings. Why heat up the big oven which takes more time than the energy-efficient toaster oven. What are your thoughts on microwave ovens and toaster ovens?

This is a dessert that is guilt-free, healthy, full of protein and includes the superfood cacao . Plus I used 100% organic ingredients to make it even better for you, provided you do the same. I saw this recipe on the Food Matters weekly newsletter email and thought, "Gotta make this!" To begin making this awesome dessert, pull out all the ingredients so you don't miss anything. I'm usually doing a few things at the same time when I cook, so forgetting to add something happens from time to time. Does that happen to you?  The original recipe showed a few ingredients measured in weight, so I needed to translate it into cups. You're welcome! I weighed out the cacao, ground it, then put it into a measuring cup to determine how many cups to use instead of weight. This process took extra time and because I had not put out all the ingredients ahead of time, I forgot the vanilla. Waa! The vanilla extract I just posted about making: DIY Make Your Own Vanilla Extract . The...

I am continually amazed at the reaction of so many who run out and buy "the next best thing to make you skinny, heal your ills or get you ready when the mood is right." Hello, people—there is no magic bullet.  The magic bullet is over there with the unicorn, the genie in the bottle and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The Magic Bullet Trend Ever since companies started to make food more convenient, quick and easy, Americans have been moving away from preparing fresh foods. Sitting around the family table to enjoy a truly home-made healthy meal used to be the norm, until families began to fill their hours with activities (kids' sports, drama, music, etc). Now a quick visit to the fast-food drive-thru more often passes for the evening meal as taxi-driver-mom tosses nuggets of non-food with accompanying sugar-laden sauces into the back seat on the way to the next activity. On top of that, the trend to vilify oils in our diet and add sugar to enhance favor has led...