4 ounces Clearly Organic Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl stir all ingredients together until evenly distributed. Grease a small oven safe baking dish with Clearly Organic pan spray. Transfer mixture to the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and edges begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with Clearly Organic Corn Chips, celery and carrot sticks.
The world of nutrition and fitness has multiple different approaches and opinions, but one thing everyone can agree on is vegetables are a vital part of living well. Veggies can improve your health if you incorporate them into your meal plan on a daily bases. However, that is part of the challenge. Many people find vegetables hard to cook and lacking in flavor. So when you hear that you need to eat vegetables everyday and we need to add more of these super foods to our diet we start to dread what that might involve.
Here are a few easy ways to eat more veggies.
Try a new vegetable based recipe. Scan the web for appealing photos of vegetables, and test out a new way to prepare a veggie you enjoy.
Add extra vegetables to an existing recipe. It’s easy to add extra veggies to a soup or hot dish. Also try adding vegetables to a non traditional recipe like homemade meatballs or meatloaf. You can add minced carrots, cauliflower or broccoli to these recipes.
Try a veggie smoothie. You know you need more greens but the thought of eating another salad is nauseating? Try a spinach, frozen berries and almond milk smoothie.
Make a veggie bag. The prep work for vegetables is usually what keeps people from eating them. If you can set aside one day to wash, chop and prep your veggies you’re far more likely to get your needed 5 plus veggies servings each day.
If you love lemon this recipe is for you! These delightful citrus treats are refreshing and delicious. They go great paired with vanilla yogurt and seasonal fruit.
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup Clearly Organic Sugar
1/4 cup Clearly Organic Sesame Seeds, toasted (optional)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 1/4 cup Clearly Organic Almond Milk
1/2 cup Clearly Organic Coconut Oil, melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Clearly Organic Vanilla
For the lemon glaze:
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Clearly Organic Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
Extra zest for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners or grease with Clearly Organic cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, sesame seeds, baking powder, salt and lemon zest from 3 lemons together in a mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl whisk milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
While muffins are baking prepare glaze. Whisk together softened cream cheese, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. When the muffins come out of the oven poke several holes in each muffin with the toothpick. Then drizzle glaze over the top and let cool for ten minutes. Garnish with lemon zest or a small lemon wedge if desired.
Now that the weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining longer it’s time to allow our bodies more time outdoors to activate vitamin D. This fat soluble vitamin helps calcium, magnesium and phosphate absorb in our intestinal tract. The unique aspect of vitamin D is that it can be ingested from foods that we eat or it can be synthesized from sun exposure. About 10 minutes outside is all it takes to naturally activate vitamin D.
Foods containing vitamin D include fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna. Most vitamin D containing foods in the US are fortified like dairy products, soy milk and some cereals. While we can achieve our vitamin D needs from dietary intake it’s also nice to allow the sun its chance to brighten our mood, boost our immune system and allow vitamin D time to activate. Take advantage of your spring and summer months with more time outdoors.
When someone is diagnosed with a food allergy or intolerance it’s common to receive a list of foods and products that they should avoid or eliminate from their daily meal plan. While it’s very important to steer clear of foods that cause your body discomfort and illness, it’s also helpful to focus on all the foods you can still enjoy. The list of foods people can continue to enjoy is always much longer than the list of foods you should eliminate.
It’s important to open up your possibilities and take away the negativity and limitations that food allergies and intolerances can often bring. Food allergies often make people more dependent on natural ingredients, fruits, vegetables and organic products. By looking at the positive side of any lifestyle change we can all benefit from embracing new stages in our lifelong journey for health and wellbeing.
Coat an 8×8 inch baking dish with Clearly Organic cooking spray. Rehydrate 1/2 cup raisins in warm water, let sit while you prepare bread and egg mixture. In a large bowl whisk together eggs and milk. Then add sugar, honey, cinnamon and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 inch pieces then add bread to greased 8×8 baking dish. Pour egg mixture over the top and gently toss to distribute mix. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes to soak in, stirring occasionally. While mixture soaks preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain raisins of excess water and sprinkle over the top of the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with Greek yogurt sauce.
For the Greek yogurt sauce: Add all ingredients to a small blender or food processor. Purée until smooth and creamy. Add sauce to the top of warm bread pudding.
…When you come home from a long day of work or play during this season, nothing quite hits the spot like a bowl of HOT soup. The warmth, the smells, the taste – they all combine for a wonderful dinner. I tried my hand at soup making when the temperature outside was a frigid 9 degrees. Full disclosure – this was my first time ever making homemade soup. But the critics (my family) agreed – tasty!
So give my Turkey Sausage Bean Soup recipe below a try. Also, I’d love to hear your homemade soup recipes. Email them to bestchoice@awginc.com.
Turkey Sausage Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Best Choice Olive Oil
3 pre-cooked Turkey Sausage Links
1/2 Raw Onion
1 – 15oz. can of Clearly Organic Great Northern Beans
1 tbsp Clearly Organic Italian Seasoning
1/2 tbsp.Turle Red Pepper
3 cups Best Choice Chicken Stock
1/2 cup of Coleslaw/Broccoli Mix
1 tbsp Best Choice Heavy Whipping Cream
Directions:
Over medium heat, add olive oil, turkey sausage links and onion to large pot. Cook until sausage and onions are slightly browned for about 5 minutes.
Stir in red pepper, Italian seasoning and beans (don’t drain). Add chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for around 10-15 minutes.
Stir in heavy whipping cream. Once cream is mixed in, add coleslaw/broccoli mix and cook for about 5 more minutes. Salt & pepper to taste.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top (optional).
5 Tips For Healthy Meal Planning During The Holidays
Stock your pantry. Having your go-to items already at home makes meal planning one step easier. Beans for chili, noodles for chicken noodle soup, rice for casseroles and whole grain crackers for dips are great stock up items for the busy holiday season.
Prep challenging recipes in advance. If a meal calls for lots of chopped ingredients, consider cleaning and chopping ingredients the night before. Vegetables in particular can take a lot of time to skin and chop, so it’s great if you can tackle time consuming steps a day early.
Have healthy snacks ready to go. You’re much more likely to eat veggies and fruit as a snack if it’s prepped and ready to eat. We often grab high carbohydrate (and high calorie) snacks because they are convenient when we’re starving. If fresh vegetables and fruit are made just as easy to consume then chances are we’ll make the right choice.
Dust off your slow cooker. One dish hearty meals that can fed multiple people are easily made in your slow cooker.
Make breakfast the night before. If you despise mornings then make them easier by prepping breakfast the night before. Overnight oats with chia seeds, an egg bake and muffins can all be made the night before so you can sleep a bit longer.
Many people have family traditions of baking cookies, candies or breads around the holidays. These time honored traditions are a great way to connect with loved ones and cultivate creativity in the kitchen. During the month of December we’ll be highlighting delicious holiday treats. Cookies and sweet breads are my favorite holiday foods, to eat and share! I’ll be baking up several festive creations that you could serve at your Holiday party or share with your family and friends.
Any recipe is only as good as its ingredients. Be sure to have fresh baking soda, baking powder, eggs, flour and sugar in your pantry. Fresh oil, butter and coconut oil are also great to keep on hand for last minute holiday baking. By cooking up your own holiday treats you’re limiting the amount of extra preservatives, artificial ingredients and food dies that are often found in store bought desserts. It’s also possible to create mostly organic treats in your own kitchen by choosing base ingredients that are USDA certified organic. Let the baking season begin! Have fun preparing, sharing and enjoying your favorite holiday treats.
Cinnamon, maple, squash, apple and pumpkin…ohhh the sights and smells of Fall. When the sweaters and scarves come out we also start changing our meal habits and food choices. Fall often brings us back to soup, casseroles and warm pasta dishes. A common misconception is that these warm comfort foods have to be heavy on the calories and light on nutrients. Here are a few simple tips to make comfort foods healthier.
1. Make a cream sauce without heavy cream. Experiment with evaporated milk or use 2% milk instead.
2. Swap your noodles. Try whole wheat pasta for your spaghetti or in your macaroni and cheese.
3. Try new varieties of potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes work great for creamy mashed potatoes without all the butter. Also try chicken stock verses butter for extra creamy and smooth mashed potatoes.
4. Choose lean meat. Instead of ground beef use grass fed free range meat.
