Smoked Salmon Yogurt Dip

Would you expect to find a salmon dip recipe on a fashion blog? I didn't, but here it is.

Smoked Salmon Yogurt Dip

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 oz. smoked salmon (I got a BOGO)
Splash of lemon juice (very little splash)

Place in food processor and spin until the dip gets thick, pink and creamy. I ate it on Triscuits for a nice little snack. If you have time to let it sit, it just gets better, but for me, that wasn't as option. (When you gotta have, you gotta have it.)

You can also add other ingredients if you wish, but the point for this dip today was to satisfy a craving for a smoked salmon cream cheese bagel. Yes, sometimes I just want one. This had to be something quick, easy AND healthy.

Healthy Exchanges:

Exchanged cream cheese for plain Greek yogurt

Exchanged bagel for original whole grain Triscuits or my gluten free crackers


Satisfaction? Yes, in my tummy, checkbook and my "thinker", knowing I made an investment in my well being.
  

Also linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Basic #2 - Fabulous Fruits

"A thousand different sorts of trees, with their fruit were to be met with, and of a wonderfully delicious odor"

-A quote from Christopher Columbus' journal on his voyage- 

I don't know about you, but that quote makes my mouth water... Maybe it's because I love fruit, all fruits, every fruit. Some of my most cherished childhood moments are sitting around the table eating an avocado or mango with my mom. She had the magical way of invoking in all three of us kids a love for all kinds of food. Probably because she loved all sorts of food. Fruit is easy to like; I think everybody does. We just get stuck buying the same ol' ones, like our veggies.

Again, like in all food, there is the nutritional hierarchy. Let's look at the two authors and PhDs that we looked at before for the vegetable rankings, Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Steven Pratt.

Joel Fuhrman's Eat for Health High Nutrient Foods chart lists these:

-apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, grapefruit, grapes, kiwis, mangoes, nectarines, all melons, oranges, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines

Dr. Steven Pratt's book, Superfood Rx, is the original chart for superfoods. His superfoods are in blue above with more listed here:

-purple grapes (specifically), cranberries, boysenberries, currants, cherries and all other varieties of fresh, frozen, or dried berries.

-oranges, lemons, kumquats, limes

-red watermelon (specifically), red fleshed papaya, strawberry quava

He suggests eating 1 to 2 cups daily of the berries, and 1 serving each daily of the citrus and red fruits.

Here's what Dr. Steven Pratt, in Superfood Rx, says about berries:


"I think of the polyphenols in berries as the choir directors. The other nutrients are all members of a huge, effective choir, working together to create something much more powerful than each individual voice. With that in mind, and remembering that each polyphenol in each berry has something to contribute, mix it up! Don't limit your berry consumption to any particular kind. Eat them all!"

This speaks to not only eating a variety of berries but also a variety of fruits, in general. There are compounds yet to be discovered and they all work synergistically together for our benefit. Keep fruits as close to the original as possible.

Fruits are available in many ways, fresh and frozen being the best. As far as berries are concerned, frozen berries are by far the most cost effective way; they don't spoil and you can thaw them, if frozen is not desired. But there is nothing like yummy fresh ripe fruit to go with ANY recipe at ANY time. You don't even need a recipe, just grab, wash and eat! It's that simple and is definitely less than 15 minutes to give you super nutrients to fuel your body.

This is one of those recipes in which you just use what you have available and make to suit your tastes. Definitely use the yogurt but use whatever fruit and nuts you have on hand. Easy prep and easy clean up.

Here it is: a 3 in 1 breakfast, snack or dessert recipe.

Powerful Fruity Parfait

In a goblet or pretty vertical glass,

layer starting at bottom

small spoonful of all fruit jam (sweet surprise)

organic low fat yogurt (unsweetened)

spoonful of raw honey over yogurt

chopped strawberries (berries of all varieties)

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed tangerine juice (any citrus)

layer sliced almonds (or chopped nuts)

another layer of yogurt with honey on top

chopped strawberries and tangerine juice

topped with a few sliced almonds



My favorite way to serve this in the glasses my grandmother gave me. They make the meal pretty and special and remind me of her and her passion for pretty dishes.

Serve and enjoy your nutrient dense parfait that has eye appeal and taste appeal. Yum! Children of all ages enjoy meals like this. :)

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesdays
Tempt My Tummy
Gluten Free Wednesdays
Real Food Wednesday

What are your basic food choices? Do they include High Nutrient/ Superfoods?

Orange Pecan Whole Wheat French Toast

How would it be if you were getting ready to receive your inheritance and your brothers go through the line before you so you hear what they receive? Some don't get much because they don't deserve much considering the way they acted earlier in life, but some get raving reviews and receive words that they would be victorious over their enemies and that the scepter would never depart from them, and others become great merchants and still others a judge for the people.


Then it becomes your turn to receive the words that would define who you are and who your children would become. And the words from your father Jacob are..."Asher, your bread shall be fat and you shall yield royal dainties." (Genesis 49:20) What?


You mean after you tell my brothers that they're going to be great warriors and judges you come to me and say, I'm going to have "fat bread and royal dainties"? Yes, in fact, Asher's inheritance was just that. But you have to understand that not only did he have sustenance for his family every day with bread and oil (meaning he had very profitable crops) but that his family and country were gifted in the area of food and provision, so much so that they later served their delicacies to King Solomon and his household according to two different commentators. 


We have a God that not only provides needs, as in daily bread, but beyond as in the royal dainties, the luxuries of life. I'm sure that if you really took the time to meditate on how and what God has provided, you, yourself, could say, yes, my inheritance has been filled with not only daily bread but royal dainties as well.


Orange Pecan Whole Wheat French Toast


1 lb. loaf of leftover bread (hide it if you have to) :)


Whisk together
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. raw honey
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (freshly ground)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. almond milk (or organic milk)


Dip bread and soak up mixture. Put on griddle, medium low heat, until lightly browned. Keep warm in 200 degree oven.


After toast is done, place, sprinkle and drizzle over top
1 - 2  oranges, peeled and sectioned, juice reserved
1/2 c. pecans, chopped fine

Here's a quick picture tutorial on the quickest way to peel and section an orange. To get the juice, after you section the orange squeeze the leftover segments over the french toast right before serving.

We like our french toast not too sweet. You may like to add more honey or all-fruit marmalade over top after toast is done but I'd rather not have the extra sweetness, especially in the morning. You can also add the orange zest to the egg mixture if you wanted more orange flavor. If you don't have homemade bread, another option is the high fiber bread (6g fiber) available. It's a real filler and helps slow the absorption in the body.


Buy the best eggs (omega 3 or cage free) you can afford and try to limit your dairy intake by using something like almond milk. (Dairy is very acidic in the body.) Pecans add crunch and extra nutrients and the citrus is awesome to have every day. Have a look to see what citrus does as a fat burner.


There are many ways to use our leftover bread, since we have plenty. :)  And adding variety in the morning is an excellent way to stay consistent with healthful eating.


To make this go quicker, plan ahead - slice your bread the night before, combine your egg mixture and place in frig to use the next morning. Pull it all out and just do what you can; if you have any mixture leftover, place what you need to in the frig and finish the next morning. Or even prepare it all the night before and heat them in a toaster oven as needed. 


A nice warm filling breakfast is a great way to start the day! Remember small changes are better than no changes at all.

This is linked to:

Friday Food at MomTrends
Foodie Friday at DesignsbyGollum
Finer Things Friday at TheFinerThingsInLife
Fight Back Friday at FoodRenegade
Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeAsMom

Citrus SuperFood Juice

Do people really think they don’t have time to eat better? Adding a quick fresh juice is one of the easiest changes to obtain more nutrient dense food. The closer you get to God’s original creation the better it is. 

Everyone knows some benefits of fresh citrus juice and remember it’s one of the original 14 superfoods recognized by Dr. Steven Pratt, the person who actually coined the term “Superfoods”. But did you know it could also have a weight loss effect? According to one of Dr. Pratt’s later books, Superfood Rx Diet, “people with adequate vitamin C status oxidize 30 percent more fat during moderate exercise than those with low vitamin C status”. That means if you have any movement at all, you’re going to burn more fat than the person who doesn’t have enough Vitamin C.

Juicing could be the easiest way to get fresh citrus into your family. If you don’t have an automatic citrus juicer, don’t worry, neither do I, one of the hand juicers is just fine. Take 5 minutes and just squeeze as much and you can during that time. Also split the juicing time with your family and then split the juice between your family members. It’s a great way to include all of them in the process of healthy eating. 

As an extra bonus, another quick way to serve oranges is to just cut them into eighths. This is a favorite of children. For some reason, they like the slight messiness, they can cut it themselves (age appropriate), and it is much quicker than peeling. 

[Photo]

In less than 15 minutes you have a quick easy addition to your meal. Go to your local produce stand, if possible, and start juicing your way to health.

This is linked to Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam

and Tempt My Tummy at Blessed with Grace.