Category Archives: Uncategorized

4 sneaky ways to eat beans

Beans are rich in antioxidants, fiber and protein.  They are rich in plant estrogen-like compounds.  Useful for a variety of conditions, including heart disease, menopause, a variety of female disorders, osteoporosis, constipation, to name a few.

These are tips for sneaking beans into your diet or the diet of a picky eater.

1.  Vector Icons of Beans, Nuts, SeedsMash white beans or northern beans into tuna salad.  1/4 cup for every can of tuna.  I did this the other night.  No one could guess the secret ingredient in the tuna salad.  Get chunk light, skipjack or tongol tuna for lower mercury content. Download the National Resources Defense Council to see lowest mercury fish.

2.  Sneak into chocolate pudding.  Try this tofu chocolate pudding recipe.  You will never know it is made with tofu.

3.  Add beans to smoothies.  The extra protein helps balance blood sugar and provide a more nutrient dense snack or breakfast.  (Thanks to my friend and chef, Bonnie Gray for teaching me this trick).  Basic smoothie recipe – 1 cup almond or other unsweetened milk, 1/3 cup frozen organic berries, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup white, pinto or fava beans.  Add more liquid as needed.

5.  Make burgers out of them!  This is a favorite recipe from Myra Kornfeld, chef extraordinaire!

Black Bean Burgers a modified recipe, original recipe by Myra Kornfeld

Serves 4

3/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted unsalted

1 ¾ cup cooked black beans (1 can)

2 tablespoons coconut oil plus more for sautéing the burgers

1 cup diced onion

Salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon chile powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup bean cooking liquid or water

Warm the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté 7 to 10 minutes until softened.

  • Warm the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté 7 to 10 minutes until softened.
  • Add the garlic, cumin, chile powder, and oregano; and sauté another minute. Add 1/3 of the beans with 1/3 cup water (or bean cooking liquid if you have cooked them fresh), mashing the beans with a potato masher or fork. When the liquid is absorbed, continue with another third of both the beans and 1/3 cup water. Continue mashing until most of the beans are broken up and the mixture is chunky. Do this 1 last time with the last 1/3 of the beans and the last 1/3 cup of the water. Cook, stirring constantly at this point until the liquid is absorbed and the beans are very thick but not completely dry.
  • Transfer the beans to a medium bowl to cool until handleable, about 15 minutes. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Spread a layer of pumpkin seed powder on a small plate. Form the bean mix into 12 small patties.
  • Dredge each patty in the sunflower seed powder.
  • Sauté the burgers; Warm a tablespoon oil in a medium non-stick skillet. Add the patties and sauté in batches until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Add more oil if necessary, just enough to have a thin film. Serve hot.

 

Best Chocolate EVER

Most people prefer to eat sweets in moderation.  Why is this so hard to do?  Let’s face it.  Sugar is addictive.  Some individuals I work with feel that sugar is an all or nothing conversation and that staying away completely works best.  Others find this approach leads to restriction/overindulging swings.  A healthy approach to sugar is not “one size fits all.”

For those that are trying to find moderation and struggling, I have invented the single serving homemade chocolate recipe.  It does not live in the cupboard.  It needs to be made nightly.  It is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free (hard to find in chocolate bars).  And it is arguable the best tasting chocolate I have ever had.

The RECIPE (1 serving)cocoa4

2 tsp coconut oil

1 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp coconut palm sugar

1-2 tsp milk alternative

sprinkle of sea salt

(optional) raw pistachios or other nuts, dried fruit

Melt coconut oil if not liquid.  Stir in all ingredients except pistachios and milk.  Line very small bowl with plastic wrap.  Place nuts, dried fruit (as desired) on plastic wrap and pour chocolate mixture over top.  Place in fridge for 30 minutes then enjoy.

 

Sports Drinks

There are 9 tsp of sugar in one 20 oz bottle of gatorade.  This amount of extra sugar is useless to most except maybe the elite athlete.

Are sports drinks needed in some cases?

When you are sweating, sweating a lot from exercise, you need to replenish both electrolytes and water.  Sweat contains electrolytes as well as water (thus the salty taste of sweat).  Generally, a typical person who exercise 30-60 minutes a day does not need added electrolytes from sports drinks but rather can acquire them from their food (fruit, vegetables, beans), in addition to hydrating with water.  Marketing has misled some to believe that sports drinks are the only way to replenish lost electrolytes.  Drinking water and eating a balanced diet is sufficient in most cases.  Hydrating is important.  The body will tell you when it is thirsty with symptoms such as a dry mouth.  Listen and drink water during physical activity.

Are there healthier options to gatorade and sugary sports drinks?

Here are a few options to replenish electrolytes and water during a strenuous workout:

  1. Orange juice with a pinch of sea salt
  2. Coconut water
  3. Water, pinch of sea salt and healthy fruit snacks
  4. Ultimate Replenisher (contains corn)
  5. Emergency Electromix (contains corn)

 

 

Encourage Healthy Eating in your Kids

picking pumpkins

Are you dancing around the table, trying to get your kids to eat broccoli.  Join the club.  Here are some tips from one parent to another.

1. Model healthy eating habits.  Humans have mirror neurons that encourage us to imitate health behaviors we see in others.

2.  Visit farms, pick berries, grow a garden.  There is nothing like tasting a tomato from the garden.

3.  Decide what, where and when.  Let the kids decide whether or how much.  Author Ellyn Satter of “Your Child’s Weight: Helping Without Harming” suggests that snacking and lack of structure is one major cause of obesity in our children.  Timing meals allows children to become familiar with hunger and satiety signals rather than snacking all day.

4.  Let them help in the kitchen.  Have some messy fun making 2 ingredient banana cookies. Healthy food can be fun to make and eat!

5.  Exposure.  Keep serving vegetables.

6.  Avoid sodas and fruit juice.  It is better for children to eat their calories than drink them.  High glycemic drinks shift metabolism and promote obesity.

7.  Love your body.  Demonstrate healthy body image for your kids.  Show them you care about your body and your health.

8.  Make tasty food.  A little fat and spice goes a long way.  Baked sweet potato fries.  Mashed cauliflower.

9.  Have fun with your food.  Turn broccoli into trees, a clown face with your salad, see more ideas here Making Food Fun.