Alternate and Wait

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RapidsI do not worry about things I cannot control, and I focus on my own inner peacefulness. – Glenn Reiner, yoga teacher

I read an article at About.com the other day on how you can lose weight easily through one trick – stop drinking alcohol. Each glass of wine or beer holds a great lot of calories. Reducing by a few glasses a week may well be all you need.

If you have an alcohol dependency, quitting completely is the best way to go for your health and life. If you find you cannot quit on your own, please see your doctor.

For those that drink responsibly and do not have symptoms of dependency, there are ways to reduce the urge to pour one more.

These two techniques help you apply a little mindfulness to how you drink when you are at a party where a glass in hand is normal, or at home where you might have a few glasses of wine.  Read More

Spaghetti Squash Mastery

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450px-Spaghetti_Squash_cooked_and_prepared_3 aWinter squash is a vegetable that some people avoid because they are not sure how to cook it. Others give it a pass because the squashes are so very hard, and they are afraid that it would be too difficult to cut. Let’s gain a little cookery confidence by improving our squash skills using the family meal friendly spaghetti squash.

After cooking, have some fun dragging the tines of a fork lengthwise through the squash to remove those long lovely and nutritious strands. Look at that beautiful mountain of squash!

Since you cooked it, you may as well serve it. The easiest way is to drizzle a bit of garlic and olive oil on top – or add a ladle of spaghetti sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Below are eight different ways to cook spaghetti squash. Which one will be right for you? I usually use the whole squash in the oven method because my hands are arthritic and do not work well when I try to cut a hard squash in half. My slow cooker is not big enough for any but a smallish squash, but if it fits yours, it is such an easy method… or I could use the microwave method… Read More

Roasted Poblano Pork Carnitas Pizza

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Roasted Poblano Carnitas Pizza sliceMakes two pizzas.

Ingredients:

1 recipe bread flour pizza dough
1/4 cup corn meal

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup salsa, hot or mild
1 cup tomato puree
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
Optional sauce ingredient: 2 t chopped cilantro

Pizza Toppings:

2 cups leftovers from Pork Carnitas
2 large poblano peppers, roasted (see below)
1 large onion, sliced
1 T vegetable oil
1 lb queso manchego, grated
2 cup Monterey jack, grated
2 t olive oil
Optional toppings: sliced jalapenos, pineapple chunks, or hot red pepper flakes Read More

Ricotta Stuffed Portobellos

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Ingredients:

2 portobello mushrooms
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
2 T onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T Italian flat parsley, chopped
1 jalapeno (or 1 T bell pepper), deseeded and chopped
2 T green onion, minced
6 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
6-8 basil leaves, rinsed and torn
3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 t fresh cracked black Pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 T parmigiano reggiano cheese
6-8 spinach leaves
Optional: pinch of salt added at the table Read More

Selecting and Slicing a Fresh Pineapple

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Pineapple goldenThe Spoon Mage™ loves her pineapple almost every day. Fresh pineapple is tasty,  nutritious and does wonderful things for her arthritis. This magical property comes from an anti-inflammatory enzyme called bromelain that lives within fresh pineapple. Neither dried nor canned pineapple works as well on my pain, and forget about pineapple in a pill. Go fresh for less pain and great flavor!

A pre-cut pineapple is just fine, but it is twice the price of a whole pineapple. If you have a ripe pineapple and a pineapple corer slicer, and know how to use it – go for it!

If you don’t have fancy equipment, no worries. It is easy to slice up a pineapple with a large sharp knife. With practice, you will be a pro – a pro that saves money!

How to Select a Perfect Pineapple: Read More

Wokking Made Easy

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BeefBroccoliCarrot Stir FryBefore you slice the veggies and heat up the wok, there are a few things to understand about the Art of Wokkery.

While you can stir-fry in a large tall sided skillet, a wok is a good investment for creating kitchen magic. The veggies spread out and have greater contact with the heating surface in a wok. This helps you to stir up crispy veggies instead of letting them sit in a soggy mess.

You don’t need an expensive wok. I suggest getting one in your local Asian food store. I have seen them on sale there for $10. You might as well pick up an interesting veggie or two while you are there. Read More

The Moo Shu of Peace

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable stock, low sodium
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce, low sodium (divided use)
2 T plus 1 t sesame oil (divided use)
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 T cornstarch
1 t honey
3 eggs
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 T fresh ginger, grated or finely minced (from a jar is fine)
1 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced into strips
1 T garlic, minced (from a jar is fine)
4 cups cabbage, thinly sliced, (about half a large head of cabbage)
2 cups snow peas, cut on the diagonal
2 cups carrots, shredded (a small bag of pre-shredded carrots is fine)
2-3 green onions, sliced
2 T neutral high heat wok oil (divided use)
1 jar Hoisin sauce
20 lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
20 thin whole wheat flour tortillas or moo shu wrappers
Sriracha Sauce or Asian Chili Garlic Sauce

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Wild and Brown Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 medium (or 3 small) acorn squashes, halved with seeds and fibers removed
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup Wild and Brown Rice
1 1/4 T dried ground garlic
1 T dried basil
2 t dried ground rosemary
1/2 cup dried currants, cranberries, or raisins
1/3 cup (or more if you just love nuts) smashed walnuts
2 T unsalted butter
2 T dark brown sugar, packed (3 T unpacked)
1/4 t ground black pepper Read More