Water

We all know we should be drinking water and lots of it.  I only recently discovered how little water I was consuming and how a few small changes have made me feel a lot better!
First, some of you may or may not know I am newly pregnant.  And since I am health conscious, I have tried to be even more so during my pregnancy.  With the knowledge that what I feed myself feeds the tiny life growing inside of me, building his/her every cell, I have been *trying* to make the best choices possible.  I say *trying* because for some reason I have been craving bread.  Bread, toast, bagels, you name it.  Because of that I try to make sure I am getting lots of nutrients at other times.  Lots of leafy greens, whole grains, fresh fruit, and of course my prenatal vitamins.  That being said, I have been staying away from coffee and tea.  Not just because of the caffeine, but I actually haven't been feeling like drinking them either.  Funny thing about being pregnant, your body has ways of telling you what is not so good for your baby and a strong aversion to coffee has been with me for the past 20 weeks.
And I have been constantly feeling thirsty.  So water, water, water is pretty much all I have been drinking.(only just recently I have had some tea, but I have found I don't really feel that great after I drink it!)  So water it is.  And you know what, when I stick to water I feel so good!
I recently read/heard a tip to start the day with a big glass of water.  Before you do or have anything else first thing in the morning when you wake up drink a glass of water.  This was not something I generally ever did but have now started to do and I love the way I feel after that first glass.
They say that drinking water first thing in the morning is a good way to rid the body from any toxins that have been released through your night's sleep.  The water flushes them away.  Water in the morning helps to jump start the re-hydration process.  As you sleep through the night you are obviously not drinking water for a period of (hopefully) 6-8 hours.  In which time your body uses up its supply of water and starts to become dehydrated.  It's important to rehydrate before you become too dehydrated and feel the effects(headache, dry mouth/skin, nausea, fatigue).  Which brings me to the next benefit to drinking water in the morning, it brings you energy!  The body is made up of 60% water.  And most of the functions of the body need water to work properly (i.e. circulation, digestion, elimination).  When there is little water being put into the body these functions must work harder and this causes you to feel tired and sluggish.  All of these benefits will keep you healthy and radiant from the inside out.
So, what if you "don't like water"?
Well, there are many things to be said about this.  First thing to consider is; if you are not drinking water, what are you drinking?
Chances are any number of the following, coffee, tea, soda, juice.  Right?  Well, some of these things maybe  good at giving your body hydration, like tea and juice.  Depending on what kind you choose.  Herbal tea and other choices that do not contain caffeine, I have read, can give you an adequate supply of water.  Juice that is freshly squeezed(I'm not talking about sugary juice drinks that may or may not contain any real juice)has may benefits as well, and since fruits and vegetables that you can juice yourself ,or that they do at Whole Foods ;), contain mostly water and are therefore hydrating, but also contain natural sugars so you won't want to be drinking 8-10 glasses of juice a day, even if it is freshly squeezed from organic fruits and veggies.
Coffee is very DE-hydrating.  I'm not saying you shouldn't drink it.  Do what you want.  BUT arm yourself with the knowledge that coffee does dry you out, can intensify stress, increases acidity in the body (you want your body to be alkaline, not acidic), it causes a loss in nutrients, and may reduce fertility.   So drinking coffee all day doesn't sound so good anymore....and I was definitely one to do so a few years back.  I worked in a place where there was free coffee, and it was all I had to drink all day long.  I used to own a coffee maker and I no longer do because when I worked afternoons and my partner and then-roommate worked mornings we would make a whole pot of coffee.  They would leave for the day having had one cup (maybe two) each leaving me with the rest of the pot.  Which I drank.  Always.  Yikes.  So I am just suggesting drinking a big glass of water BEFORE a cup of coffee and not the whole pot.  And who knows?  You may feel so energized from your glass of water in the mornings that you no longer wish to have coffee. Maybe...
And lastly soda.  I choose not to drink soda.  It is sugary, contains caffeine(see above), it's pretty much empty calories.  Not to mention it can rot your teeth and make your bones weak.  So I avoid it.  And have done so successfully for a few years now.
But it tastes good, you may say.
It does especially when you're eating with it junk food, like salty chips, fried food or pizza.  But, and I do promise,  that when you start to make healthy food choices and cleanse your palate from the heavy, salty, sugary foods, you'll find water is the best companion to your fresh, healthy food.  If you don't believe it can be done, see my post here.

So if all this info doesn't make you thirsty for water, here are a few tips to make it more palatable.

1.  Try adding fresh squeezed lemon, cucumber slices, or mint to the water for a nice, refreshing flavor.

2.  Try sparkling water.  Especially if your go-to drink of choice is soda.  It hydrates just as well as still water, so drink up.  This is a suitable substitute during meals and while "at rest" like during work hours, or watching a movie, but if/when you are exercising choose still water.

3.  Find a cool water bottle.  I know it may sound silly but this may help!   I have this great stainless steel water bottle that I think is super cute, it holds a lot of water and I drink probably 6-8 of these daily.  It is now the only thing I drink water from even when I am at home.  Maybe for you there's a favorite glass you just like drinking from, use that.  Or maybe you like to drink from a straw, or water with ice.  Find what you like and stick with it.  And you definitely don't have to spend the $20 or whatever crazy price they sell the "name brand" stainless steel water bottles for either.  This one I got  for just 5 BUCKS!

How much water do you drink everyday?  What is your preferred method?  Try starting the day with water and let me know how  it goes!

Corn Chowdah!

I have been wanting to post a recipe but I have had a few weeks of some...I don't want to call them failures in the kitchen...but nothing worth posting about, let's say! ;)
Then last night I made corn chowder and HAD to share! Since the weather is turning chilly and because I just LOVE soup I thought this was good timing.
Here is the recipe. It's super simple and Delish! I hope you try it and it warms you up on a cold fall night!

Corn Chowder
3 cups frozen corn
3 cups water or vegetable stock*
3 cups almond milk(or any other non-dairy milk)
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1 large carrot, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 small-ish red potatoes, diced small
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp oil
generous sprinkle dried thyme, about 2 teaspoons?
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot heat oil over medium heat and add the onion, celery, carrot and potatoes. Cook a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cook another minute until fragrant. Next add the flour and stir it in so the veggies are covered and the flour absorbs the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then turn the heat up to high and SLOWLY add the liquids. Start with the stock (or water) and add about 1 cup at a time, stirring to combine. After each batch allow the liquid to boil so the soup will thicken. Once all of the liquid is in add the corn and turn the heat back down to medium. Simmer for 25 minutes and ENJOY!

This soup is a complete meal with bread or salad. I love it with a grilled "cheese" on sourdough. :)

*Extra Tip*
Save the ends of all the veggies you chop on a daily basis (carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, broccoli, zucchini) any "scraps" and put them in a zip top bag in the freezer. Instead of wasting money on buying vegetable stock use these scraps to make it. When the bag is full, put the veggies in a large pot, cover with cold water and boil for about 20 minutes. The longer you boil the stronger the flavor will be. Then strain the stock into a container and save in the fridge until you're ready to use. You can reuse the same bag in the freezer over and over. Less waste and you save money! :)

"If you've never tried, you should. These things are fun and fun is good!"

I love bread.  So much.  Toast with earth balance and nutritional yeast is like a little slice of heaven to me.
I don't really understand those who VOLUNTARILY give up carbs.   Not all carbs are not evil, despite what you may have heard.  Complex Carbohydrates that are found in WHOLE wheat give you energy!  It's the simple carbs you need to steer clear from, white bread, white pasta and the like.
Now, if you are gluten free because it makes you sick to eat stuff like that...  I feel your pain.  BUT you can use a mixture of brown rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, tapioca flour and xanthum gum.  Also, I'm pretty sure Whole Foods sells this type of mixture as gluten-free flour so you don't have to worry!
So, speaking of bread I thought I would share my TWO favorite bread recipes.  That's right, it's a two-for-one!:)
First is a beautiful loaf of traditional whole wheat bread.
But, you may say "I don't have a bread machine"
You don't need one!
"I don't have the time to make an old fashioned loaf of bread"
It doesn't take very long...and most of it is just waiting.  I thought the weekend would be perfect timing since you'd be home looking for something to keep you busy!
And, if you really just can bring yourself to try it this time, you can try the OTHER recipe. :)

Whole Wheat Bread
1 cup luke warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp oil, plus some for greasing
1 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and wait 10 minutes.  When the yeast is foamy stir in the oil, molasses and salt.  Next add the flour.  First stir in the 1 and 1/2 cups white flour then 1 and 1/4 of the whole wheat flour. When it starts to form a dough turn out onto a floured cutting board.   Use the remaining 1/4 cup to add in when kneading the dough, incorporate slowly whenever the dough starts to get sticky.  When finished form the dough into a ball, grease the bowl with a drizzle of oil, place the dough in the bowl turning over twice to cover in oil as well.  Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour.

After an hour the dough should double in size.  Remove from the bowl and again turn out onto a floured board.  Knead for a few minutes and shape into a loaf.  Grease a loaf pan with a bit of oil, add dough cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 while you wait for the loaf to rise.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Banana Bread 

2 very ripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup apple sauce
2 tbsp flax seeds
¼ cup water or soy/nut/seed milk
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

1 1/2  cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Grind flax seeds in a clean coffee grinder or a blender.  Transfer to a small bowl and add the water or milk.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl mash the bananas.  Stir in the sugar, apple sauce, flax seed mixture, baking powder,  vanilla extract, and cinnamon, if using, and combine.  Next slowly add the flour.  Finally add the nuts and cranberries.  Be sure to add the nuts and cranberries before the flour is all incorporated so you don’t over mix the batter.

Pour into an oiled bread pan.

Bake for about an hour.  Check for done-ness by inserting a knife into the center of the loaf.  If the knife comes out clean remove from oven or continue to bake if necessary.

Media Free Day!

Tofu scramble with tomatoes, spinach, onions and Field Roast Sausage, oven roasted home fries and fresh squeezed OJ!

When I wake up, on the way to the kitchen to make breakfast, I usually turn on the computer.  However, yesterday as I went to press the button and I remembered something my sister told me about trying a "Media Free Day" and so I didn't press that button, just continued on to the kitchen and slowly and mindfully made an awesome brunch; tofu scramble, home fried potatoes and fresh squeezed orange juice which we sat down to eat at 9:30.  9:30!  On a Sunday!  IF I had turned the computer on, I would have, no doubt, been sucked in to email, facebook, blogs, etc. and we would have eaten probably an hour later than we did.  Slowing down gave me the great idea to soak the Field Roast sausage in a little maple syrup.  YUM!     Taking it slow also made the whole process of cooking more enjoyable.  I was able to savor the meal twice!  Once while cooking and again while eating!  With a full tummy and a clean kitchen I read my book, Isla played and Corey was on the computer(I had kept my Media Free choice to myself).  Later, Isla and I went to the park where she played in the water fountain, then home for a nap.  I made bean soup(Monday's dinner), played bocci ball in the backyard and walked to Tacos Por Favor for dinner.  There were a few tempting moments when I thought "I could just sit and check my email...." but I didn't.  And I was so glad that I didn't.  There was something freeing about not getting sucked into the computer for a day.  I recommend you try it! :)  BUT when Isla went to bed we did watch and episode of "Pillars of the Earth"  so I guess it wasn't a completely Media Free Day.  But I still felt really good about it!  Thanks for the suggestion, Sarah!  I will definitely try it again, and maybe even suggest Corey tries, too!
Here's the recipe for tofu scramble.  I like it even better than scrambled eggs because it doesn't have that weird egg smell....and it doesn't get stuck to the bottom of your pan!  It's great for weekends, but simple enough for any day of the week!    Also fun for a "Breakfast for Dinner" night.  I love those...

Tofu Scramble
1 block extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed
1-2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp liquid aminos, or soy sauce
1 tsp turmuric
1 tsp onion powder
1tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp curry powder
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp nutritional yeastany veggies you like!
Try peppers, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, onions, chard...whatever you can imagine.

In a skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Crumble tofu and stir continuing to break it apart as you go.  Stir in aminos and spices, everything except the nutritional yeast.  Add water if it seems dry 1 tablespoon at a time.  Add veggies and nutritional yeast, stir to combine and serve hot!

A Relaxing Dinner at Home

When it was suggested to write a complementary food post to the previous post about relaxing in Child's Pose, my mind was flooded with ideas. And then I thought, what REALLY makes cooking a meal relaxing maybe has less to do with the ingredients used and more to do with the process of cooking. Since it's summer, and although it hasn't been too hot here, I know it has been hot in other parts of the country, I have decided to share with you what I made last night for dinner. It is simple, and cool and because of that, very relaxing.

Salad for Dinner topped with Chickpea "Tuna"
There are three components to the dish; the salad greens and veggies,

the dressing,

and the chickpea "tuna".

For the Salad Greens and Veggies, just use whatever you have and like in a big green salad. I used red leaf lettuce, tomatoes (both from my CSA:)) shredded carrots and cucumber.
For the Creamy Dressing
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 30 minutes or more
1 tbsp. Ume Plum vinegar, rice vinegar can be substituted, but try to get the Ume. You can find it at Whole Foods.
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 small clove garlic
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried dill
plus 2tbsp.-1/4 c water for thinning

Drain cashews from the water they soaked in and place them in the food processor with the garlic. Once smooth, keep processing and add the vinegar, lemon juice,and herbs. Slowly stream in water until the dressing is the consistency of creamy Ranch. Transfer to a bowl or jar.

For the Chickpea "Tuna"
1 can (about 2 1/2 cups) of chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic
Finely chopped carrots, onion(I used red) and celery
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2-3 tbsp. Wildwood Garlic Aoli, or your favorite mayo
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the chickpeas and garlic in the food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are flaky. Transfer to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients stir to combine.


The finished product.

How easy is that? And so wonderful when it's too hot to turn on the oven. With all the time you save not slaving away in the kitchen I'm sure you'll find quite a few things to do! Meditate? Practice yoga? Play with the kids? What will you do? Let me know!
Happy Eating! :)