6 Must-Do Weekend Tasks to Eat Healthy All Week

Meal Planning Healthy Eating
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Do you ever get home from work on a busy weekday, at 8:00 or even 9:00, and realize you haven’t planned
anything for dinner? I know that feeling, the “I don’t feel like making
dinner, let’s order pizza” feeling that we all experience from time to
time.  Let’s focus on some meal planning that involves healthy
eating.

You can do some basic things every weekend to insure this doesn’t
happen to you. Use some time on Saturday or Sunday to shop, prep, cook, and
enjoy a great sit-down dinner together with your friends or family — all the
while getting your fridge ready for the week. When you wake up Monday
morning, you will feel better about the week to come, and you will really
thank yourself when it comes time for dinner.

1) Plan the Exact Number of Meals Needed
You may not need to plan every meal. Some meals will come easily to you, some meals you may eat out, and some meals may be already prepared for you. So, it’s more efficient to only focus on meals that you usually struggle to get right, and put your time and effort into those. Figure out how many meals you will prepare at home, and then
plan them out. Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Just thumb through
some favorite recipes, create a shopping list, and prepare ahead what you
can. Meal planning gives you an opportunity to control exactly what kind of
nutrition you will be getting in your meals, since you get to decide ahead of
time. Many recipes on line now have nutritional data, and even shopping
lists. Read More

Rainbow Spring Rolls with Almond Sauce

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I love it whenever I can take a
yummy favorite and reveal how easily it fits into what may be considered a
stricter, more sober health regimen. Take this variation on the spring roll,
for example. Well, it may not really need pointing out, but this delightful
dish is…(drumroll)…raw!! Tah-dah!! This crowd pleaser, starring a handful
of raw plants, works well for your weekend Saturday lunch, an afternoon tea
party, or as an hors d’oeuvre for your evening get together.

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Roasted Yam Salad with Kale & Figs

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Warning: Fig season is here!
Which means that I may post more than one recipe with figs over the next
week or two. Since figs are one of those fruits that you simply can’t find
when they’re out of season, just enjoy and soak it up while you can!
I’ll start with this easy mid-week salad that can practically serve as a
weeknight meal, a lunch, or a side dish with something off the back yard
grill. These figs were given to me by my neighbor, artist Bill
Wheeler. The roasted yams and onions seem to give
the figs and kale a nice caramelized hug…yes I said hug!! You can even
roast the yams on your barbecue if you want, for some extra smoky flavor.
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Healthy Burger Recipe for Vegans or Omnivores

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One of my favorite go-to meal
prep staples that I always try to keep on hand is the “Power
Burger,” made from a healthy burger recipe that can be enjoyed whether
you eat plant-based burgers or traditional ones! And, the benefits of the
power burger for vegans, is that it allows you to turn fake meat like Beyond
Burger or Impossible Burger into a more wholesome, whole food. That’s because
it adds fresh spinach, whole seeds, and oats, making it more nutritionally
complex with added nutrient-dense calories. Read More

Jaggery Caramelized Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Macadamia Cream

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A while back I met Navaz Nooshin
of Welmor Enterprises. Navaz imports Sweet Wellness Organic
Jaggery from India. She gave me a couple different
jaggery products to try and I am pleased to be sharing my discovery here with
you. Navaz is passionate about educating people on the health benefits of
Jaggery, which is basically a sugar cane product that has been around for
centuries. Jaggery is made from organic unrefined sugarcane juice. The
juice after extraction and removal of external impurities is slowly cooked on
a low flame until it reaches a soft pulpy caramel consistency. It hence
retains all the vitamins, minerals and fiber. In addition, all the
polyphenols and flavonoids are kept intact giving jaggery its medicinal
properties. And it is known for having ayurvedic benefits as well. So
for me, if you are going to have some sugar, why not get a minimally
processed and more nutritious version?

The consistency and color of jaggery may take some getting used
to. It does not grind down the same way refined sugars do. It is very moist,
and even the “powder” that I received from Navaz was more like
little moist morsels of sugary goodness. Navaz explains that the consistency
can vary, and that was just the condition of the jaggery I received. I didn’t
let anything about the consistency stop me from exploring this new sweet pal
in my kitchen. I have enjoyed it a lot in warm almond milk beverages, tried
using it in a mango chutney, and have sweetened a cup of tea or two, all with
some success. But I really wanted to bake something with it. After giving it
some time and keeping my imagination open, I found a terrific
role for the jaggery powder that couldn’t have been more perfect. In
this healthier version of a classic comfort cake, the jaggery contributes to
a perfect, caramelized pineapple topping, but with some added nutrition! I
look forward to exploring this healthy sweetener more and keeping you posted
along the way.

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Stuffed Kabocha Squash with Buckwheat, Pistachios, Pears & Pomegranate

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It’s
October 1st, and therefore it is not too early to get the autumn flavors and
smells going in the kitchen! Hell, if Macy’s can put out Christmas
merchandise, then I can make a stuffed kabocha squash for dinner, okay? There
is a vendor at the Farmers Market who always has a humble variety of melons
and squash, and this week some awesome looking kabocha squash appeared on
their table. So I snatched a couple up and here is what I came up with.
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