What's In A Color

I learned that certain colors are great for your health. I never realized that colors influence different feelings, but according to this research I did:

I found that red is used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation. Yellow is believed to stimulate the nerves and purify the body. Orange is used to increase energy levels.

Blue is believed to soothe as well as be calming and peaceful. White brings feelings of purity, green brings cheerfulness, and light pink can be romantic, especially painted in a bedroom.

(about.com, 2011)

Kale Salad

The most addicting salad I have ever eaten, seriously! Just like the post below, who would think this superfood veggie could be so good. I got this recipe from my favorite food blog where I turn for recipes every now and then. Mel, from mykitchencafe, massages her kale with salt for two minutes to tenderize the kale before tossing in the other ingrediants. I made this last night, husband was in awe of the flavor, and am making it again for the second time. In fact, I made a special effort to stop at the store after work, just to get kale. Does that say a lot about how much I love this salad.

Recipe (adapted from melskitchencafe.blogspot.com)

1 bunch of kale, stem removed and chopped

1/2 c. red onion, chopped

1/2 c. feta cheese

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. chopped apples

1/3 c. toasted sunflower seeds

2. T. red wine vinager

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

In a bowl, place chopped kale and add salt. Begin to massage the kale for about 2-3 minutes or until the kale is tender and dark. Then and add onion, cranberries, apples. Heat sunflower seeds in skillet for about 10 min. or until golden light brown. In small bowl, mix oil, sugar, and vinager and whisk together. Pour dressing over kale. Toss in sunflower seeds and then add feta cheese and toss.

Kale, Zuchinni, Tomato, and Sausage Ragout! (adapted)

This is very good. You should make this immediately! I never thought this would be as good as it is, but after getting this recipe off my favorite food blog, melskitchencafe.blogspot.com, I had to make it. I adapted it a little, but it is still as good as Mel's came out I'm sure. You might ask, how could something with all those veggies actually be tasty? Let me assure you right now, that if this were not tasty, I would not be posting it here today. Trust me, it's good, it's healthy, and you will be proud of yourself for eating this way and desiring to make it again. I served it over couscous, but rice or even quinoa will work too. This meal is also under 30 minutes.

Recipe (adapted/slightly changed from melskitchencafe.blogspot.com)

1-2 T. olive oil

1 medium size zuchinni, cut into cubes with peel on

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can white beans such as navy or great northern

5-6 chicken or turkey sausages, sliced ( I couldn't find the apple chicken sausage she used, so I just used turkey sausage (without preservatives).

1/2 c. chopped onion

6 c. chopped kale with center stem removed

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2. c. free range organic chicken broth

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and add onion and garlic. Once onions are tender, add sausage and stir for about 3 min. Add chopped zuchinni and stir for two min. Add, tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper and 1/2 c. chicken broth. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes on low heat. Add kale and stir in as final step. kale cooks fast, so once stirred in, it should be tender. Serve over couscous (my recommendation).

Back to Yoga

This last few weeks have been very busy. We just moved into our new place which I love. The view is magnificent, lots of beautiful, magestic mountains from every window view. I never imagined having a view like this. So peaceful. It is great to say the least. With the move, I am still scrambling ideas, sorting through boxes, and still striving to make effort to cook the healthiest of foods. With all the moving, I have not been able to do my daily yoga. But I am going to get right back to it as soon as we are settled. If you have never tried yoga, please try it. It is has many health benefits and deeply soothing to the mind. Yoga is also great at distributing energy throughout the body in a very balancing way. I wanted to recommend a few yoga DVD's and instructors that I love. Crunch:Superslim down is faster paced but goes fast and the teacher keeps you engaged the entire time. I also like anything from lisa and charles Matkin, they are slower paced and target deep relaxation, deep breathing, and stretching. You can access these on netflix or purchase on DVD.

Homemade Baby Food

With the blendtec we now own, I have decided that this lil beauty will be doing much more then just making drinks for rodney and I. When we have a baby, we will be making every bit of baby food in this blender. I am also already sharing baby food recipes to friends and family members as well for their babies. I found some awesome recipes for every baby food you can imagine. Why buy the gerber baby food which has you don't know what in it, make your own. Here are some recipes below.

Apple Sauce

I apple

Going Preservative Free

This is a great paraben-free, all natural lotion with essential oils, that I really like. After doing research on how preservatives and additives in processed food can affect our bodies, I have decided to really watch what can be absorbed into my skin as well. Most lotions have preservatives, such as paraben, to protect the shelf life of the lotion, the same way food has preservatives to protect it from bacteria and fungi.

Here are common preservatives and additives in food that I watch out for. (healthfood stores generally don't carry foods with these preservatives).

TBHQ: this preservative is found in items such as taco shells, ramon noodles, packaged breaded fish sticks...

Nitrates: this is found in most deli meats found at grocery store.

MSG: a flavor enhancer that can cause headaches.

Red 40 and other food colorings such as tartrazine (yellow food coloring)

stannous chloride (tin) This is found in canned foods mostly. Avoid going above 250 mg per liter.

The list goes on. There is a reason why people turn to whole foods and avoid processed foods all together.

Common Cosmetic Preservatives include:

Paraben

glycol

artificial colors

synthetic fragrances

sulfates

propylene

The Magic Of Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass has become one of my best friends lately. I am on a role of going to Jamba Juice every day and getting this daily two ounce drink. Some may wonder why I don't just save money and juice it myself. I tried that once and we'll leave that at once! I thought I would put my juicer to work and juice it myself. A huge carton of about three pounds (valued at about 6.00 at heathfood store) produced about 2 ounces of juice and a huge mess. It took me a very long time to clean the juicer. The price of a once ounce is 1.95 and two ounce is 3.25. I just learned that two ounces of this juice is equivalent to three pounds of veggies. Wow, I think I am sold on getting this juice. Their are so many detoxing benefits of wheatgrass. Numerous books have been ritten on the benefits of this juice. Is it worth the 3.25 I spend on this juice daily? Totally!!