My challenge this week was to try a new vegetable. I tried Swiss chard. I’ve never had it. I was very surprised to learn it is related to the beet. It was quite tasty. The taste is a little stronger than spinach but not as tough as kale.

According to the web site The World’s Healthiest Food: Swiss chard is not only one of the most popular vegetables along the Mediterranean but it is one of the most nutritious vegetables around and ranks second only to spinach following our analysis of the total nutrient-richness of the World's Healthiest vegetables.

Multiple studies on animals have shown that chard has unique benefits for blood sugar regulation. In addition, chard may provide special benefits in the diets of individuals diagnosed with diabetes.

I sautéed it in olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. This veggie is definitely a keeper!

Nutritional Yeast

Besides quinoa, my second favorite new ingredient is nutritional yeast. I usually use Parmesan cheese on my popcorn but I'm loving this nutritional yeast.   I've also been sprinkling in my black bean burritos instead of shredded cheese.  Yummy! 

I love that it's tasty.  It's also lower in calories than cheese.  I was a little apprehensive about trying it because it does not look or sound very appealing.  From what I've read, it's packed with lots of essential vitamins and minerals.  So, it's a win-win all around!

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I'm thinking about trying to make a pizza crust with quinoa and nutritional yeast.  We'll see.....

Curried-Cashew Cauliflower

·         Cashew butter

·         Chopped cashews

·         Olive oil

·         Curry

·         Sea salt

This was very tasty.  In fact, it really looks and much better than the photo protrays.  I took this photo with my Blackberry.  I don't think I was roast it as long or I may put it on a lower rack.

Clean(er) Eating - Salad Dressing

Yay!  So excited about my new toy – a salad dressing bottle!  Actually, I purchased two of them.

So, I’ve had it in my mind for quite some time to start making my own salad dressing.  When I review my meals, I am “wasting” calories on salad dressing.  I’m looking forward to seeing what I can concoct. 

I know I want to experiment with a “cleaner” blue cheese dressing.  I’m thinking I’ll start with a Greek yogurt base and see what happens. 

Training Dirty -- Kickboxing

So this week I had every intention of trying Zumba. I wanted to try something totally out of my comfort zone. Instead, I stumbled upon kickboxing. I love it! In fact, I think kickboxing is more my style than Zumba. 

For now, I’ve just been doing kickboxing routines at home but I think I want to try out a class in the near future. I like that I get a fun cardio workout. It’s an especially great workout to release stress.

I still plan to try Zumba some time in the future.  For now, I'm sticking with kickboxing!

Clean(er) Eating

Clean(er) Eating

One of my goals for 2012 is to adopt a clean(er) way of eating. I recently subscribed to Clean Eating magazine and received my first issue in the mail yesterday. I love that I am in the mindset of making lifestyle changes instead of trying to find a diet that works. I’ve learned a lot about my eating from being in Overeater’s Anonymous for over a year and a half. It still amazes me that I have not had any chips, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, etc. in over a year.
Anyhow, I was reading “What is Clean Eating?” in the magazine. This is what attracts me to adopting this into my food plan and lifestyle:

Clean Eating is about consuming food in its most natural state or as close to it as possible.

Some of this lifestyle’s approaches that I am learning are to:

-Drink at least two liters of water a day – this is still a challenge for me.
-Get label savvy -- I’m getting much better with this.

-Avoid processed and refined foods -- I’m doing great in this area. Now that I can make a connection between consuming these foods and what happens to my mental, spiritual, and physical state, it is becoming easier to make healthier choices.
-Know thy enemies – for me these are my trigger foods. The piece I discusses saturated and trans fats, anything fried and anything high in sugar. I’m good with the fat and sugar. Every once in a while, I want something fried like fish or French fries. Truthfully, I’m cool with having something fried every other month or so. We’ll see if that changes.

- Consume healthy fats -- I’ve been experimenting with this. I’ve recently purchased flaxseed oil and sesame oil.

-Learn about portion sizes—this is in perfect alignment with my OA food plan. There are days I resent having to measure my food but I know it’s for the best.
-Slow down and savor – for me, I will eat with mindfulness. There’s still a part of me that will be triggered if I get too much into the food. Eating is about nourishing my body, not soothing my emotions.

Clean(er) Eating: Roasted Brussel Sprouts Salad

One of my best friends posted a photo of her salad on Facebook.  It looked yummy so I decided to try to recreate it.  I added turmeric to my roasted veggie.  This was very delicious and filling.  It's a keeper:

Roasted brussel sprouts, roasted red pepper, olive oil, turmeric, sea salt, sesame sticks, romaine lettuce, basil and balsamic vinaigrette.