Quinoa is Easy to Prepare!

Quinoa is an excellent source of magnesium, B vitamins, fiber and protein. It is easy to digest and so versatile and delicious for breakfast as a cereal, in a vegetable stirfry or in a cold salad.

To prepare quinoa:

1 cup quinoa - in a strainer rinse it in cold water first

2 cups water

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10 - 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and enoy!

You will notice a white spiral tail (the germ of the seed) when the quinoa is done.

I will often have it for breakfast, substituting it for oatmeal, with plain yogurt, berries, a sprinkle of flaxseed and cinnamon.

I made a delicious salad with quinoa, jicama, strawberries and pumpkin seeds and a lemony viniagrette. It was light and refreshing! Really you can add any vegetables, legumes or fruits to it in any combination you like to enjoy this healthy food.

How do you like to eat quinoa?

Helen

Lesson from a Frog

The Boiled Frog Story
They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water,
it will leap out right away to escape the danger.
But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling,
the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late.
The frog's survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

We are very much the frog in regard to processed food filled with additives, chemicals and harmful ingredients. For example we have gone from drinking soda made with cane sugar to soda made with high fructose corn syrup and this switch in ingredients is making us sick, causing disease and contributing to our 'health crisis'.

The good news is that we can reverse these behaviors and quietly and gently begin to change our habits to eliminate disease (through weight lose for example) and improve our overall health. You see we really do not have a 'health crisis' but instead have a 'food crisis' with so many chemicals and synthetic ingredients used to create our food that have very harmful effects on our bodies.

Now is the time to make those changes to whole, unprocessed foods. Suggestions for small changes you can make include: increase the amount of vegetables you eat each day, lessen your sugar intake, avoid high fructose corn syrup, eat plain yogurt instead of flavored/sweetened or eat whole grain bread instead of white.

Let us take control of our health and not keep adapting to what the food companies are selling us as 'natural' or 'healthy'. We are smart, intelligent human beings who do not need to be lulled into thinking high fructose corn syrup or synthetic foods will make us healthy.

Helen

Feeling Better from the Inside Out