Tag Archives: lemon

Recipe: Kale and Quinoa Salad For Refreshing Lunch or Dinner

Food & Nutrition, Healthy Living, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

kale and quinoa saladI’ve been trying to lose weight since…well, since birth pretty much. I’ve been trying a lot harder now that I live on my own and have a lot more control over what I eat. One of the first things every diet (and I’ve been on most of them so I’m pretty knowledgeable of the field) is that it’s important to be able to cook for yourself. For the past three years I’ve learned to live mostly off of microwavable Lean Cuisines (have you tried their french bread pizza? Delicious!) but a few weeks ago I decided to give real cooking a try.

It turns out I’m kind of good at it! I started with a few recipe’s from Dr. Mark Hyman‘s book “The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook” because sugar is a huge weakness for me. My dad swears that I must be half ant. Anyway, I made my through sweet potato burgers, lemon garlic chicken, and a few great smoothies. Then shortly into the cooking expedition I started experimenting on my own! I made some really awesome yorkshire puddings and chicken olive oil pasta… before realizing I was heading back into my old carb heavy (and carbs are just bread sugars) habits. So I took some inspiration from Dr. Hyman and from my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles – Franklin & Co. and perfected a kale and quinoa salad that I wanted to share with all of you.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium boneless chicken breast / pre-cut chicken strips (can leave out for vegetarian/vegan options)
  • kale (I prefer Trader Joes kale because it’s already washed and cut, but to each their own!)
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 avocado
  • dried cranberries
  • 4-5 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (Have a bottle ready if you’re going with chicken)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preparations:

Chicken – If you’re going for the carnivore version of this salad, defrost a medium or small size chicken breast or frozen chicken strips. (I found some really great pre-cut chicken pieces, boneless and not mechanically processed at my nearby Super Target, go figure).  Fill a medium sauce pan with just enough olive oil to cover the bottom the pan and cook chicken on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to flip over about half-way through. Chicken is properly cooked when the pinkness from the center has disappeared. Add seasoning as you wish – I like a small dash of garlic herb or lemon and pepper – but add a pinch of whatever you like. If you used a chicken breast, cut into desired pieces to add into the salad.

Quinoa – The first time I tried this I used a full cup of quinoa and had some left over for weeks, so I’ve learned to cut down (1 cup of uncooked quinoa = 3 cups cooked, jeez). Add 1/2 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water in a small pot and cook on medium to low heat until the water is absorbed into the quinoa (Usually about 10-12 minutes, but may vary depending on your oven).

Kale – To prepare the kale, wash the leaves and cut away any extra long and thick stems. Add 1bsp olive oil, 1tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 tsp of sea salt to the leaves. Then using your hands massage the mixture into the kale (just like you’re rubbing someone’s shoulders). You’ll see the kale curl into a rich dark green and you’ll know it’s ready.

Salad – Add the dried cranberries, tomatoes, chicken, quinoa and avocado to the salad and mix. The lemon juice and olive oil you used to massage the kale mix well enough that you won’t need any additional dressing (calorie save, what!).

This has been my staple lunch for a few weeks now because once I got the hang of cooking the chicken it only takes a few minutes to make! Feel free to change up the cranberries for something different if you aren’t a fan (I’ve tried it with strawberries or olives instead, but cranberries are still my favorite). Even with chicken the salad comes in under 300 calories if you are conservative with the olive oil. I’ve heard many of my friends complain about kale’s bitter taste which makes them reluctant to eat it. When you massage it with this scrub it makes it so delicious though. It’s such a refreshing dish.

This post has been part of my intent to cook more and get more confident in the kitchen. Please support my intent or help out by sharing your favorite recipes with me! 

The Amazing Health Benefits of Freshly Squeezed Lemon!

Balance, , ,

I want to share this with you because this is good stuff and it works for me. 
 
Did you know that freshly squeezed lemon juice when metabolised by the body is the most alkaline food you can consume?
 
Consuming alkaline food makes you feel good and improves your health because it changes your body PH levels.
 
When your PH levels are more alkaline you are more likely to have feelings of peace, love and kindness. Much easier to pray and meditate in an alkaline state.
 
The opposite of alkaline is acid. High levels of sugar, artificial sweetners, nicotine and caffeine promote high acid levels. High acid PH corresponds with feeling stressed, anxious, overworked, angry etc. 
 
People who are stressed generally consume acid forming foods because thats what they are attracted to. They are not usually aware that raising their PH to a more alkaline state by choosing alkaline rich foods will promote an increase in well being.
 
The rule is 80 percent alkaline foods and 20 percent acidic foods.
 
Try googling alkaline and acid foods to get more of an idea of the PH qualities of the foods you consume. Lemon is an instant alkaliser, you can almost feel its effects immediately.
 
I really hope this info can help you in some way.

Tim – www.timcrawshaw.com
 

Freshen Up Your Living Space With This Natural Cleaning Agent: 12 Uses For Lemons And Lemon Juice

Green, , , , ,

More than a lemonade ingredient, lemons are a potent cleaning agent and a great way to green up your household cleaning. Here are 12 innovative ideas for cleaning and freshening up your living space with lemons.

1. Disinfect your cutting boards by rubbing the cut half of a lemon, letting the lemon juice sit for 10 minutes and then washing the juice off. This will also help remove any tough stains.

2. Add a cup of lemon juice to your rinse cycle the next time you run the dishwasher. It will help get rid of grease and add extra shine to your glassware. 

3. Clean your tiles and other hard surfaces with a paste made of equal parts lemon juice and salt.

4. To get rid of rust, rub the cut half of a lemon directly onto the affected area with a sprinkle of salt. For tough rust, leave on for 30 minutes and then wipe off with a cloth.

5. For lime deposits at the bottom of the sink, use lemon halves.

6. Clean out the stain on your favorite white top or T-shirt by adding lemon juice to the affected area and letting the article of clothing dry in the sun. Also works with embarrassing underarm stains.

7. Heat lemon slices on high for 45 seconds in a bowl of water to deodorize your microwave.

8. Use lemon juice as a natural bleach. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle for your white clothes and then line-dry in the sun. 

9. Use the peels in your garbage disposal to add a fresh, more pleasant scent in your kitchen.

10. Dirty windows and glass? Spray and wipe down surface with equal parts lemon juice and water.

11. Did you know that lemon juice can clean pennies? Polish your copper items with lemon juice-soaked cloth.

12.  Not only is the equal parts lemon juice and water solution a great way to clean dirty windows, it can also be used as an all-purpose room refreshener. Far better than the nasty, artificial-smelling stuff that is loaded with toxic chemicals.

PHOTO (CC): Flickr / 96dpi

Why You Need To Start Eating Kale (And One Fabulous Kale Salad Recipe)

Green, Healthy Living, , , , , ,

In the color spectrum, green is at the center of the rainbow, representing balance, healing, emotional stability, love, peace and rejuvenation.  Green foods are power packed with nutrients, energizing, detoxifying, rebuilding and immune strengthening. As greens grow, they provide oxygen for people and the planet. Green foods are rich in chlorophyll, a potent collector of solar energy.

 One supergreen is kale (Brassica oleracea), a member of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferous) Family, making it a relative of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Native to Asia Minor, it is considered the closest relative to wild cabbage. The species name, oleracea means "a garden herb used in cooking."

Kale and collards are very similar, but kale often has curly leaves, and where collards thrive in a warmer climates, kale survives in a cooler one. Flowering kale is edible, but not as tender as other varieties (There are no poisonous members of the Brassicaceae Family!).

Kale benefits the stomach and helps relieve lung congestion. It has been used to treat constipation, obesity, dental problems, pyorrhea, arthritis, gout, skin disorders, ulcers and to rejuvenate the liver. All members of this family contain antioxidant indoles, which protect against colon, breast and lung cancer. Kale also has antiseptic properties.

Kale is considered warming, sweet with a slightly bitter-pungent flavor, similar to cabbage. Kale is rich in calcium, iron, potassium, sulfur, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and folic acid. One cup of kale has more calcium than one cup of milk. Many greens are high in oxalic acid, a chemical that can bind with calcium, forming calcium oxalate, which if consumed excessively can inhibit calcium absorption. However, kale is low in oxalic acid.

Select tender, dark green, or even bluish-green leaves, avoiding those that are yellowed.  You can cut off the bottoms and large middle ribs, as they are quite fibrous. Kale can be added to vegetable juices, chopped fine and added to salads as well as steamed, stir fried or made into soup. Some may find that kale is cleansing. The addition of a bit of ginger, cumin or caraway can ease it’s digestability.

Kale is easy to grow, tolerates cold weather and is quick to harvest. They are best when young and tender. According to traditional folklore, eating greens promotes prosperity. Now will you eat your greens?

 Kale Salad

(Ready in a minute!)

  • 1 bunch kale, washed and chopped fine
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder (optional)

Toss everything. Then “massage” the seasonings into the kale.  (Serves 2-4)

For a complete meal, add an avocado, tomato or a few nuts or olives. You’ve got lunch!

Brigitte Mars, a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, is a nutritional consultant who has been working with Natural Medicine for over forty years. She teaches Herbal Medicine at Naropa University, Omega, Boulder College of Massage, and Bauman Holistic College of Nutrition and has a private practice. Brigitte is the author of twelve books, including The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, Beauty by Nature, Addiction Free Naturally, Healing Herbal Teas, and Rawsome!. Click here for more healthy living articles, raw food recipes, videos, workshops, books, and more at brigittemars.com.

Check out her international model yogini daughter, Rainbeau at www.rainbeaumars.com

PHOTO: Flickr / Laurel Fan

 

Albert Einstein

Balance, , , , , , ,
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, Then what are we to think of an empty desk?”
~ Albert Einstein
 
Overflowing ashtrays, piles of books, coffee stained napkins scribbled with half-baked theories, mangled envelopes, semi-scribed journals, purloined pens, dog-eared dailies, notebooks, piles of paper and mountains of unopened letters…the strictness of order and the opposing efficiency of chaos? Well, I dunno’ about that. Albert Einstein may have been brilliant but to this neat-nick, I think he must have been a complete and total slob.
 
Theories of relativity aside – nobody needs to drop an apple onto my head for me to notice both sides of the tidiness fence – those who see the advantage of having a messy desk and those who slip into flames when a pen is left askew. (Okay. I admit it. I just described myself.)
 
While revealing your true inner being, if your desk is nasty maybe you’re just disorganized by nature, maybe your productivity skills are rusty, you’ve decided to cozy up to your own special brand of disorder or perhaps you’re the kind of person who – when finished with something – it spirals into a whirling abyss of invisibility. Although your mass-of-mess is mounding into Mount St. Helens, Mount Fuji or even Mount Everest, you’ve become blinded – and to your delusional sightless eyes, your chaos ceases to exist.
 
Finding the middle ground between what’s tidy and untidy can be slippery. A study at Columbia Business School found that people who keep a dashing desk actually spend more time shuffling through stuff than those who keep it mildly messy – systematizing and salvaging stuff takes time. And when it comes to a messy desk, time is of the essence – for it was our sloppy scientist who once said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
 
Ebbing and flowing like the tide, when your desk is out of control, wrestling your stack of stuff can be absolutely aggravating. Slob that he was, our birthday boy also once said; “Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
 
When your messes reach maximum density, make a hole into your Himalayan-sized-hysteria – a gap into your Alpine-shaped-mishap by keeping your tidying trouble-free. Simply commit yourself to digging through your disaster for just five minutes a day.
 
And once you’ve reached China – umm-errr – your desk top, consider this simple, eco-friendly way of polishing it: Use two parts olive oil mixed with one part lemon juice. Pour just a few drops on a soft cloth, wipe away the dust, scuffs, and fingerprints, and make your wooden desk shine. No sprays, aerosols or chemicals needed—just two natural ingredients, and voila, a clean and polished surface.
 
Although a clean desk to some may symbolically resemble a blank slate (Yoo-hoo! Is anybody home?) I find peace when my desk is shipshape and tidy. While cleaning yours, you may not find Amelia Earhart or Jimmy Hoffa, some missing masterpieces by Rembrandt, Manet or Vermeer, or even the meaning of life but hopefully you’ll discover a newfound semblance of order and – ultimately – the long-lost surface of of your desk.
 
 

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