Pumpkin Smoothie

By:  Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

It's time for pumpkin!

Simple ingredients.

Healthy nutrients.

Fabulous flavors.

Ingredients
serves 1

1/2 c pumpkin
3/4 c almond milk
2 dates, pitted
1/2 banana, frozen
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c ice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Drink.  Enjoy.

Season of Sugar, Part I - Halloween

By:  Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

Follow us in this 3-part series on Season of Sugar.  For tips on how to make better food choices and avoiding the sugar load during:

1.  Halloween
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas

Walk into any store and you will see rows of candy and sweets to entice us.  Many of the stores don't even wait until the end of summer before beginning their Halloween sugar campaign!

Regardless of where you go, we are already in full Season-of-Sugar swing!

From Halloween to Easter and all the holiday's in between, the sweet revolving door does not stop.  Bags and bags of candy for trick-or-treaters, a gluttony-feast for Thanksgiving desserts and sweets, sugar ladened gifts and cookie plates for Christmas cheer and, ofcourse, ringing in the New Year with more of the same.

We get a blink-of-the-eye break before the stores fill up with heart-shaped candy and chocolate for Valentine's day, everything-green for St. Patrick's day and then followed quickly by chocolate Easter bunnies and plastic eggs filled with more candy!

Enough said.

For the next 8 months, when we venture out of our home, we will be inundated with these temptations at just about everywhere we shop.

As many of you already know, refined sugar is linked to:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Inflammation
• Depression
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Skin Irritation

For those of you already battling with some of those issues, it's disheartening to learn that during the peak season of sugar (Halloween - New Year), the average American can gain 5-10 lbs!

There IS good news.  You DO have a CHOICE! 

Halloween:

We have a tradition in our household when it comes to Halloween.  Rather than purchasing bags of candy to pass out to ghosts and goblins, we will be cooking up 100% beef hot dogs and making hot apple cider. 

Initially, our children grumbled and bellyached, but we stuck to the plan and set a table right in front of our garage.

The plan worked!

Not only did our little visitors enjoy warm-the-belly food and drink during a cold night, but the parents enjoyed it as well!

If that isn't something you are willing to do and prefer to stick with the traditional candy route; at the very least, don't buy candy until the very last minute, so you don't have the temptation staring you in the face each day.
When purchasing candy, choose a type of candy you don't enjoy - this way, the temptation to dip into the candy bowl will be low.

Halloween Idea:


Photo & recipe Martha Stewart

For the ghost, use your favorite mashed potato recipe or, for lower carb, use this one.
For the pumpkin, use a mashed sweet potato recipe.
Place in a pastry bag or snip the end of a ziploc.
Pipe the mashed potato into a ghost shape and the sweet potato into a pumpkin shape.
For the ghost eyes, use either black sesame seeds, or peppercorns work well also!
For the pumpkin stem, use cilantro or parsley leaves.

Nutty Banana Waffles - Gluten Free!

Who likes waffles?

Who likes easy-to-make waffles?

Who likes waffles that won't make you feel like you have a ton of bricks in your belly?

If you raised your hand to all of these questions, you'll love this recipe and you should try them ASAP!

My family members like these with real maple syrup, but honestly, the over-ripened bananas add enough sweetness that I eat them plain!

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups almond flour
4 eggs
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed (the more ripe they are, the sweeter the waffles!)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut oil (only if your waffle iron tends to have waffles stick to it)
Chopped pecans**

Preheat waffle iron.
In a bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly, except for the coconut oil and pecans.
When waffle iron is heated and if your waffle iron has waffles stick to it, brush some coconut oil in each square (I have to do this with only one of my waffle irons).
Drop about 1/4 cup of batter into the center of each waffle-spot.
**Optional: before closing lid, sprinkle some or all of them with chopped pecans.  I like doing this over mixing the nuts straight into the batter, because some family members like the nuts and some don't.  This way, I control not only the amount of pecans per waffle, but also whether or not to sprinkle pecans over waffles.
Once you've sprinkled desired amount of pecans on each waffle square, close lid and cook until done.

Scotch Eggs

By:  Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

Probably one of the easiest meal or snack to throw together. 

Traditionally, Scotch Eggs are hard boiled eggs wrapped in pork sausage, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.  Contrary to assumptions, Scotch Eggs did not originate in Scotland, but rather in England.

A popular picnic snack, Scotch Eggs are eaten cold and usually with a side salad.

Wanting the flavor of Scotch Eggs, but not the effects of pork sausage, breadcrumbs or even deep fried foods, I decided to make a few substitutions.

The end result was surprisingly tasty and, with such an easy method of preparation and no required re-heating, it will become a convenient snack to have in my fridge for those grab-and-go moments.

There are many variations of this recipe and I encourage you to create your own!

Ingredients
makes 8

1.5 lbs ground beef (you can use any variety of meat or sausage, including ground chicken or turkey)
8 hard boiled eggs
spices of choice
almond flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix your ground beef with any desired spices or herbs (optional).
With your hands, wrap some ground beef around the hard boiled egg until evenly and completely covered.
Roll in almond flour.
Repeat with remaining eggs.
Roll in almond flour again and place on baking sheet.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until meat is fully cook.

Slow Cooker Meals

By: Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert 

We all have busy schedules. Some weeks are busier than others. Unfortunately, when our time becomes crunched, our plans for a healthy dinner is the first thing to be sacrificed. There are enough places out there to grab a quick bite to eat for yourself or even to pick up for the entire family. The problem, of course, is that some will do this entirely too frequently and the effects to health are detrimental.

The solution? The slow cooker.

Utilizing a slow cooker for meals almost feels like cheating.

Is it really cooking if I am simply dumping a few ingredients into the slow cooker, turning it on, walking away from the kitchen for hours and coming back home in time to serve a delicious dinner??

Fortunately, I can live with that kind of guilt.

If you have never attempted a slow cooked meal (why not??), I challenge you to try at least one of these easy recipes this week. You will discover at least one thing: It requires little to no EFFORT!

If you double these recipes, you’re certain to have enough leftovers for an entire week!

Even those that have difficulty boiling water, will have no problems tossing random ingredients into the slow cooker and walking away.

Meal #1

Sweet Potato & Chicken Soup

6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, trimmed of fat

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

½ pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

6 large shallots, peeled and halved

4 cloves garlic, peeled

½ cup sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker; stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook on low until the potatoes are tender, about 5 hours. Before serving, remove bones from the chicken, if desired.

Meal #2

Hot Wings

12 Chicken drumsticks (or 3 lbs of whatever pieces you want)

½ c ghee (or you can use Kerry Gold grass fed butter or coconut oil)

¾ c red hot sauce

¼ c water

black pepper 

Combine your ghee, hot sauce, and water in a mixing bowl and stir well.

Line the bottom of your crock pot with your drumsticks, or wing, or thighs.  Pepper your chicken to your taste liking.  Take your sauce mixture and poor it over all of your chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.  Once done, remove chicken and place on a baking sheet.  Pour your sauce in a sauce pan, add 2 cloves of garlic and reduce down by about half.  Use this sauce to baste your wings and then broil in the oven on high for 3-5 minutes to get crispy.

Meal #3

Meatloaf

2 pounds of ground beef, bison, or turkey (or a combination)

1 medium onion, very finely diced 

-2 carrots,  finely diced

1 green sweet bell pepper, finely diced

1 med tomato, diced

3 tablespoons coconut aminos

1 tsp garlic salt

salt, pepper and any other spices to taste

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ c almond flour 

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Shape into loaf.

Place directly in crock pot or place in loaf pan and put loaf pan in crockpot.

When cooked, turn the crock pot off and let cool for 15-30 minutes with lid off before cutting.

Granola



 

By: Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

 

Nothing but good ingredients, fall flavors and hearty nutrients without the chemicals, additives or undesirable ingredients we are trying to avoid.

 

Have this as your breakfast cereal or as a delicous snack - either way, you will not be disappointed with the flavors.

 

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

 

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

8-10 dried dates, pits removed, then chopped

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of salt

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add your pumpkin puree, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and all spices. Mix well.

Add your nuts, seeds, and dates and mix well with your wet ingredients.

Place parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour your granola mixture on top. Use a spoon to spread out the mixture evenly so everything will cook at the same time.

Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, moving the granola around half way through to be sure it doesn’t burn.

LET COOL. Letting the granola cool will help it harden up, and that’s what you want from granola, right?

Eat all by itself or top it off with coconut milk or almond milk.

Enjoy!

 

 

 



Baked Apples

 

 

By:  Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

 

There's something about the cooler weather that makes me want to bake.  With fall comes an abundance of apples and those apples are great for baking. 

 

There's really no need to rely on your typical brown-sugar recipe when baking apples.  By choosing the right ingredients, the baked apples are delicious as a dessert or even as part of a snack without all the sugar.

 

Ingredients

serves 4

4 apples (any variety will work)

2 tblsp coconut butter

2 tblsp almond butter

1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c raisins

sprinkle of nutmeg

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Core your apple with an apple corer or a knife. With a melon scoop, scoop out the inside of the apple - being careful not to go all the way through the skin - reserving the scooped apple and placing it in a bowl.

 

In the bowl with the scooped apple, add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.

 

 

Spoon liberal amounts of the apple mixture into each apple.

 

 



Place apples on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.