Thursday, March 24, 2011

Am I Going Healthy?!

What a wonderful Thursday! Yes, here in Tennessee we've hit another cold, winterish streak, but just just knowing warmer weather on its way helps me to keep the cheerfulness flowing.

Today, hubby and I have been in meetings, meetings, meetings.. And it was great! It's so thrilling to meet new people, to begin developing new relationships (me being a people person, I feel alive)!

Yesterday, however, I got in touch with my homemaker/cooking side, and went on a "snack around" food tangent. Since Jonathan always seem to be looking for food to consume, I thought I would cook some satisfying snacks that would keep him until next meal.

1st:  Banana, Nut, Wholegrain Muffins! These are healthy, and will hold you a nice little while!
Quick to put together...

Smells SSOOO good in that oven!


And Delicious cooked! These will be perfect for quick breakfasts, or before lunch snacks.

I also have (for reasons I have yet to discover), started making my own bread. I actually started as soon as I got married. We don't eat a whole lot of breads, unless it's a Bruchette lunch, or a slice to accent a dinner. So, my Aunt Wendy gave me a DELICIOUS, easy recipe for homemade bread. I thought today I would share it with you!


This is the recipe book she gave me as a wedding gift, all hand written by her, it's the best gift she could have ever gotten me! Especially since I live by this book when it comes to cooking.

Here's what you will need:


Bread Flour, Flax Seed, Salt, Canola Oil, Active Dry Yeast, Water, Sugar, and that's it!

Step 1: In a bowl mix 2 cups of warm water, with a 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Active Dry Yeast. Mix it, then cover with a towel and let it "bubble" for 10 mins.




(It will look something like this)

Step 2: Mix 5-6 cups of bread flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of Flax seed, and 1/4 Cup of Canola oil. Knead your bread for 5 minutes.



( I love kneading by hand... but I had to show off my fancy Kitchenaid, so I tried it yesterday, and sadly, it did an excellent job! It did so good, I had to fire my hands! hehe)

(Ain't it pretty folks?!)

Step 3: After Kneading, put a little oil in the bottom of your bowl and place the dough back in, cover and let it rise 1 hour.

Step 4: After 1 hour, punch the dough down and divide into two loafs, place them in the two greased loaf pans, cover and let rise 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350.

Step 5: cook!!  It takes between 30-45 minutes to cook, and PRESTO!!!  Yummy, warm bread!

Banana nut muffins, warm bread,... then I made some blueberry muffins. And my all time favorite lunch drink:

The Fruit Smoothie!!!




I freeze my strawberries and my blueberries, put them in the blender with fresh bananas, some pineapples, and pineapple juice, and THAT'S IT!!! It's absolutely delicious too!


I start my morning with my favorite Lemon Water (I cannot make myself enjoy water plain, so I have learned that lemon water is the key to keeping me properly hydrated).


And here we have a healthy feast!



Now, I never saw myself as a health food kind of a person. But last night I stayed up late researching the health benefits of certain foods. And here's what I found:

Lemon Water is:
1. Good for the stomach- it relieves many digestive problems.
2. It can help your skins appearance- It acts as an anti-aging remedy
3. It is good for your gum line, and aids in relief from bad breath
4. Helps cure throat infections
5. It paves the way for weight loss.
6. Controls high blood pressure-- due to it's potassium content. And reduces mental stress and depression.

(It is a good source of citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.)

7. It is effective is dissolving uric acid, often the cause of pain and inflammation in joints, and other poisons in the body.

WOW!!! And I drink this stuff EVERYDAY!!!  The more I research the happier I got, check out what people have to say about my fruit smoothies!

Making smoothies every morning as a part of a daily routine is perhaps the best expenditure of your time and money you can make. They give you more fiber than juice does.

Smoothies ensure you are properly hydrated at the beginning of the day.
Provide you with the full spectrum if nature's available vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants.
They give you natural fiber to ensure excellent digestion
Provide you with the scientifically proven best "brain fuel" in the form of fructose.
Empowers your immune system to protect you from illness.
They're in fact much more effective than any multivitamins!

And perhaps you already know that BLUEBERRIES:

Are packed with antioxidants, (which fights the aging of skin)
Prevent the degeneration of eyesight and macular degeneration.
Increase brain function, memory, and fights Alzheimer's Disease.
Strengthens cardiac muscles, and fights heart disease.
Increases your immunity.
They keep you fresh, active, fit, sharp, close to nature and in a good mood! They are effective anti-depressants.

The deeper color of blue, the more rich they are in anti-oxidants!

There's SO much more!  I have a list of 150 of the healthiest foods, ALL good, it's SO fascinating.

So ladies and gents.... with the results of my reseach, I believe I am more than happy to "Go Healthy!"

What do you think?




Today I am happy to link with "Between Naps on the Porch" and her lovely "Tablescape Party", and "Funky Junk Interiors"

6 comments:

  1. One of my favorites, of all your posts! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The muffins look yummy and I absolutely love home made bread. I used to make it years ago, but don't seem to want to take the time for that now. It is good "therapy" though if done by hand, but I'd rather use the Kitchenaid. Enjoyed your post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the tips on lemon water, I will have to try it! Wouldn't wine work just as well? lol Your muffins look delish. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Mom!

    Babs, I'm a hands on person myself, and need to get with the times... my kitchenaid is heaven! Thank you so much for visiting!

    And Rene, I am sure that wine has it's health benefits also!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the muffins! It looks so yummy yet so nutritious. Hope you had a great time eating. :)

    ReplyDelete

I sure do love to hear from ya'll

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails