I absolutely love drinking tea. It is such a wonderful ritual that makes me happy and keeps me grounded.
One of my favorite kinds of tea is chai, or as it's known in India, masala chai. Chai actually just means tea, and if you order chai, you'll get plain black tea. But order masala chai and you get the delicious and warming spiced brew that I'm in love with! It's a radical act to skip the take out paper cups and make your own drinks these days. Doing so is one step towards reclaiming what you put in your body, therefore reclaiming your body, and also reclaiming your HEALTH! Follow along as I make it here! So easy and delicious! Get more recipes for free and find the recipe in a beautiful paperback as well! Just click the image below!
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Is it paleo? Is it low carb? Is it disgusting?
NO! It's the super delicious peanut butter banana chocolate chip marshmallow souffle muffins!!!! Soooooo good! I almost burned my mouth because I couldn't wait! "Make this recipe while you watch!" I didn't prep half of it before hand, I pull that shiz out while you watch! You can, too! INGREDIENTS peanut butter eggs ripe bananas baking soda vanilla optional: honey or sweetener (or Add Ins below) Put all that in a blender and make it look like a smoothie. Then mix in the Add Ins with a spoon: chocolate chips or mini marshmallows or nuts or maybe dried fruit *DO THIS BEFORE YOU POUR INTO MUFFIN TINS IF YOU WANT IT TO BE FASTER* Or do it the way I do in the video if you want the exact same number in each muffin! Put it in lined/oiled (I like to do both) muffin tins, bake at 400F 10-15 minutes until it puffs up and cracks on top or gets brown all over. Want more awesome, easy recipes? Grab Kitchen Magic!!!
I wanted to share a few books that I have loved over the years! These are books that I have been going to for years, and keep enjoying them every time. They go right in line with my forthcoming book, The Kitchen Witch, and will inspire you in ritual and cooking alike!
Healthy Teas This book gives many specific recipes and instructions on how to make a wide variety of teas, for health and pleasure. I mean who doesn't love tea? (Dude, if you are saying "me," then it might be hard to be friends!)
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford This encyclopedic book on healing is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Okay, it may not really have an "inspiring" feel - it's a bit of a tome, but it is SO full of useful information and is like an intro course to healing with whole foods based on the philosophies of health in Chinese Medicine. The Language of Flowers This is a very small book, but lists the traditional European meanings of various flowers and plants. It is so fun to read and get inspiration on what the flowers say when you pick them or give them! The Herbal Healing Deck I'm obsessed with this deck of oracle cards! I LOVE the artwork and the insights are always helpful. It's been a powerful way for me to connect with plant energy and think about plant spirits and just connect with plants! I'm not much of a green thumb, so I'd rather think of them in their wild habitat! Haha. The Aromatherapy Handbook This is the best resource I have found on uses for essential oils. The book details various ways to use essential oils for therapeutic aromatherapy, as well health, cleaning, and gift giving, among others. It is an awesome reference book and makes it so easy to make healthy oils and beauty products. Alegra Loewenstein is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. By generating these funds - at no cost to you - she can continue to offer free and fun content on her site! I've been thinking about the fact that my signature program with my clients is called "Love Every Bite" and yet I have never really told you what kind of bites that I LOVE! Now, when the Kitchen Witch comes out you'll find out a lot more about that, since there is a whole section of sort-of recipes :) But in the mean time I thought I'd share my all time favorite cookbooks and why I love them so much!!! First, though, a caveat. Several of these cookbooks are vegetarian, but I thought you should know... I'm not actually vegetarian. I was vegetarian for many years, so partly I have cookbooks from that time period, but the truth is that I like to eat mostly vegetarian at home, and when I do add meat, it's usually salmon that I cook in a pan or tuna our of a can. This is because I'm used to cooking vegetarian, my husband eats fish but not meat, and I'm super weird about germs from fish and meat in my kitchen. Also, it's always easy to ADD a bit of meat to a dish, if that is your preference. So, without further ado... My favorite cookbook at the moment is a new addition to my shelf...
However, I also almost never follow a recipe, and with 4 versions of the same recipe it is very easy to mash them up and make my own unique version, and still have it turn out great!! Also, the recipes so far have been easy to follow, not too time consuming or complicated, delicious and nutritious!!! Another fairly new addition to my cookbook collection is...
It really makes on the fly cooking way less stressful. Also, I know that the recipes will be easy to shop for - I won't have to hunt around wondering if the store carries certain ingredients. This is really a great solution for a busy person like me (or you) to have on hand. The recipes are pretty no nonsense, a great selection of sandwiches, some casseroles, lots of quick things. It's not a dinner party kind of cookbook, but it is amazing at weeknight dinners, fast lunches, and making the empty pantry seem not that empty! Now to some of my old standbys that have bee used and loved for many years.
This is my go to book for dinner parties!!! The recipes are not hard to make, but they are delicious and turn out well every time. That is a rare combination!!! One of the show stoppers was the vegetable, feta, and pesto parcels...delicious vegetables packed into filo pastry. (I didn't exactly follow the recipe of course... but they were delicious none the less!) This cookbook is truly international in its dishes, but it does them well. The meals are light, flavorful, and present well on the table. A mainstay in my kitchen!!! My favorite book for fast weeknight dinners...
Plus... you can always grate some cheese on top if it would improve the meal ;) Vegan Express was a passed on cookbook fro ma friend who ended up with two copies, and I'm SO grateful! Both to her aunt for giving her the same book twice, and to her for passing it on to me! You'll notice a theme here: The recipes here come together quickly, are fresh and flavorful. The contents are organized by major ingredient just as much as type of food: protein (tofu, tempeh, seitan), grains, beans, noodles, pizza/quesadillas/wraps, salads, soups, sauces, and sweets. The way she breaks this down and clusters the recipes also makes it easy when you haven't been to the store to find something yummy to cook in a pinch. The pizzas/quesadillas/wraps section is particularly helpful, since she explains that these methods are interchangeable, so you can use the toppings/filling from one recipe with a different kind of bread to hold it, if that's what you prefer (or have on hand). She also includes a "recipe not required" section and just gives a whole bunch more ideas!! Now that is what I call inspiration! The last cookbook is also one I go to for inspiration just as much as actual recipes...
For example, The Sneaky Chef hides a bunch of zucchini and cauliflower in her mac and cheese. So if I'm making mac and cheese, I'll go look up her recipe and figure out if I can either quickly grate some extra veggies in or use some puree. Since I don't tend to follow recipes anyway, I might not use cauliflower, but opt for some cooked butternut squash or whatever I have on hand. The idea is to get inspiration. Well, that's the review of the most used cookbooks in my kitchen in the past few years. I'd love to know what you think or what YOUR favorite cookbooks are!!!! ![]() Alegra Loewenstein & www.healthyfamilyharmony.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Clicking these or any other links to amazon from my site provides me with income so I can continue to create free and fun content on my site!
This is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about because I want to know how to refer to my clients in a way that actually makes sense for them - here are my thoughts on all the approaches I've tried (and the one I created!) I hope it's helpful!!!
------- EMEALS I use emeals. They give a two week free trial. I think it was $59 per year for a dinner plan (you can add on breakfast, lunch, special occasion, etc), and lots to choose from (kid friendly, vegetarian, paleo, etc). The recipes are all pretty quick. It is somewhat seasonal (lots of squash and pomegranates on menus lately - yum!) I love that I don't have to think with this one! I choose the recipes I want to use as I enter the store and it makes my grocery list, with pantry staples separated out for easy shopping. The only down side is the app takes a few minutes to open - it always wants to refresh. Sometimes it fails to open at all, and then you are stuck winging it (see MY meal planning program below to get you through those days). Also the web version is not interactive, you have to get the grocery list for all 7 recipes for the week - so just use the app. I also noticed it saves me money at the grocery store (which is a claim they make as well)... as long as I don't just start throwing random things in (which I still sometimes do). ------- PLAN TO EAT I've used Plan to Eat, but it requires a bit of computer time to devote to it. People who avidly use Pinterest seem to have great luck with it - they just move from Pinterest to Plan to Eat and pop them in the calendar. You are completely in control of all the recipes each week. The service combines them into an easy to use format to schedule on your calendar and then compiles a grocery list for the days you select, which is mostly cohesive to put onions with onions, etc, but sometimes onions will appear more than once - not a huge deal, just a bug of the system to be aware of. But if you don't want to go around pinning recipes, then this is NOT the plan for you. It takes time, time that I was never able to get into my routine. It is only $40/year; they also give a 30 day free trial. ------- There is also my fellow Boss Mom, Sam Rodgers' Eating Clean Cooking Dirty!!! I've used her plan before - it is all clean eating, with several options to choose from. It is based on the premise of one prep day that is longer than other days, then everything is basically ready to go when you want to eat it. She integrates all the recipes into one set of instructions. She is seriously amazing at this!!!! It is like following ONE recipe, but at the end you are set for the week! She is as crazy about making yummy and easy to follow meal plans as I am about assimilating every self help book I've ever read into my coaching programs! This is great if you want to streamline your time in the kitchen - it's not as good if you like to improvise while you cook. i.e. If you can't or don't like to follow recipes strictly, this is probably not the plan for you; messing with one recipe is ok, but messing with 5+ at once may not be a good idea. She gives a free week to try, and then her monthly cost is fantastic for the quality of her product. https://www.eatingcleancookingdirty.com/ -------- Finally I also have a meal planning book, but mine is actually ALL about how to have a plan...and how to improvise when you need to!!! Because I'm a master at improvising in the kitchen :) ... But you still need a plan. You can get a free week of sample meal plans and also an introduction to my approach (basically break it down into simple steps and commit to them one at a time.) My approach works in conjunction with other meal planning tools! I use emeals AND I improvise :) Haha
Fast food is DESIGNED to make you want it, and to make you eat as much as possible. It is literally engineered to be that way. Sometimes getting info about that can help you want to stand up to that kind of deception and manipulation. Movies/Books like Fast Food Nation, Super Size Me, The End of Overeating, etc.
Also, learning about how bad that food is over time may help you decide you don't want to eat it. However, you also MUST address the emotional/lifestyle trigger behind the desire/craving. You don't feel like cooking... that is FINE! That is totally legitimate! There are many days when you may not feel like cooking. Cooking can be a joy...and cooking can be a total slog. I used to be a sugar addict (also very addicting), and now I am passionate about helping people create their ideal relationship with food. I ALWAYS suggest spending some time to understand what is driving that craving. Yes, with fast food some of it is physical/biological...but there is also a lifestyle/emotion to it. In the case of fast food avoiding the work of cooking and the clean up after is a big part of it. I focus on five steps: 1. Count the Joy - learn to celebrate food 2. Love Every Bite - you should eat foods you enjoy 3. Have Your Cake - include treats and foods you love 4. Eat Healthy Without Trying - this takes time, but you can train yourself to truly honestly prefer healthy foods! 5. Have a Plan - don't get caught too hungry or too busy I wanted to explain all the steps because a lot of the understanding work comes first, you have to know where all your triggers are coming from before the changes will last. And at the same you can start with some of the changes -- what usually comes at the end-- while you spend the time laying the emotional foundation. In THIS case, how can you have a plan? 1. Keep food in your freezer or pantry that is better than fast food... look for frozen meals with no weird ingredients. Be it pizza or noodles whatever super easy item you prefer, take some time to stock a few "emergency rations". 2. Keep your fruit bowl full. Add fruit to any meal to round it out. Noodles again? Add some orange slices on the side to freshen it and lighten it. Feels like a fancy restaurant, too 3. Use paper plates. Sure, it makes waste...but so does fast food, so indulge at home once in a while, too.
The secret to simple healthy food is this: grains and veggies.
I explained a bit about grains one week ago. Today, let's chat vegetables. If you really don't know how to make sure you make this happen, then grab yourself a coffee chat with me so we can chat and I can tell you about the ways I can help you commit to it. I have SEVERAL ways! I can teach you to Eat Twice as Healthy in Half the Time. I can schedule you a Pantry Makeover. I can help you go deep in Love Every Bite. Let me share with you how I tout the advantages of vegetables in my forth coming book: Vegetables: Adding a salad or steamed vegetables to a meal is quick and easy way to round the meal out. Cooking soup is an easy way to create a meal featuring the bounty of the farmer’s market. Vegetables should be plenty and abundant in your diet. They are filling and delicious; they are high in fiber and low in fat; most are low in sugar; they are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They really add so much to a diet and you can eat so much without ever worrying about whether or not they are healthy. Vegetables are the one part of any diet that you never have to measure, weigh, or be concerned about over eating. And I didn't even go into the health benefits! Vegetables are the staple of most healthy "diets." Anytime or place in the history of the world, they ate vegetables. Except, of course, for modern day industrialized nations. Like ours. Where we suffer from a disastrous array of preventable health ailments... Ahem. Alright, so how can eat more of them??? Just like grains. We have to commit. We have to change our mindset from "it's too hard" to "hell yeah I wanna live forever!" (You know, not really. But I do wanna feel great and look my best and be as healthy as I can as long as I can!!! And veggies help with all of that!!!) Okay, Alegra. HOW???? Well, if you are familiar with "Eat Twice as Healthy in Half the Time" - the first step is chop veggies. It's really three steps: Buy them and chop them and use them. Still. I know you can do that. So go ahead and hop back on Pinterest and find one recipe with veggies. Easy! And then chop TWICE as many veggies as what it calls for, and use up the leftovers in an other meal the next day!! You've just doubled your veggies consumption.
I told you last time I've dusted off my old manuscript for my book, The Kitchen Witch, and I'm working through it, finding typos, and getting ready to publish it!
I am having SO MUCH FUN reading through my old wisdom, and following the advice I gave myself ten+ years ago. What a gift! Of course, it's not really dusty, because it's on a my computer, and the advice won't really make you live forever, because that's impossible plus - who would want to? But it is excellent advice none the less, and advice which I see I have lost touch of with adulting and parenting... but advice which I am ardently working to bring back into my life! I hope you can, too! Check out these three basic premises (premi?). Check out this simple concepts that inspire the book! What’s good for the inside is good for the outside. That’s one of the mottos of this book, and what you’ll be learning about when you read this book or use it a reference. The book is organized categorically, but the extensive index will help you locate suggestions for specific issues or ailments, such as facial treatments or acne, or by ingredients that you happen to have on hand, like sesame oil, bell peppers, or rose flower water. What’s good for the outside is good for the inside. That means an approach to health that will help keep you happy and healthy from inside to outside and from outside to inside. You can’t create beauty superficially – beauty arises from deep inside of each of us. It’s when this beauty is blocked from surfacing that we don’t feel our best, and from there we can’t look our best. Treat yourself well, and the world will follow. So, how can we take care of our bodies and souls everyday so that we feel good and look good? It’s by treating ourselves to the best things in life, which happen to be things we have access to everyday: good food, good company, and good intention. Let's be honest. It's actually really hard to take good care of ourselves. Society, sadly, thinks it's great to run around, brag about how you haven't even eaten breakfast (and it's 2pm), complain about lack of sleep, etc etc etc. But that is called: On your way to adrenal fatigue / We don't take care of ourselves in 'merica. So, let's pledge together, that we will put ourselves first. We will take deep care of our bodies and souls. We will make choices that are good for our insides AND outsides. In fact, I'm going to eat some healthy snacks AND get a massage this week.
I'm excited to start sharing recipes with you that will stand on their own and that can be incorporated into my meal planning program for even more ease and speed. Here is a super healthy, simple, fast recipe. This is the stand alone version. However, if you sign up for Meal Planning for Healthy Family Harmony, you will see that this recipe fits perfectly into the "mid week" category, when you have already done the "prep heavy" meal earlier in the week. AND you will continue to get simple, fast, healthy recipes sent to you directly. --> GO BEYOND MEAL PLANNING HERE.<-- If you have peanut sauce on hand (which keeps for weeks in the fridge if you use only shelf stable ingredients), and if you've made the grains earlier in the week (step one of Beyond Meal Planning), and if you've already chopped veggies (step two of beyond meal planning)... Well imagine how quickly this super healthy meal would come together!! Five minutes!!! Peanut Sauce Delight Peanut sauce is a staple in my kitchen. It is great for a quick, easy, healthy meal. You just whip up the peanut sauce (if you didn’t already have it on hand), steam some vegetables and roast some tofu/chicken/meat if you like, then cook some rice or other grain (quinoa is a favorite because of it’s high protein and minerals) - or maybe you committed to the first step of "Meal Planning Beyond Meal Planning" - COOK GRAINS - so you already have that ready to go, too. Serve it all with a bowl of peanut sauce and it’s a solid meal, ready in 15 minutes (or less!). Basic Peanut Sauce
Other optional ingredients include:
First put the brown rice or quinoa on to cook (20-45 minutes). Then, whip together the peanut sauce using a whisk or fork (5 minutes). Then steam veggies, such as: carrots, snap peas, green beans, bell peppers, broccoli, etc. (5-10 minutes). You can serve some raw as well for the finicky little fingers. When grains are done, serve veggies on a platter, peanut sauce in a bowl, and rice from the pot! Let me know if you have any questions about my new Meal Planning Beyond Meal Planning. It's a program unlike any others I've ever discovered (and I'm compulsive about my health and food research!). By integrating prep throughout the week you can have healthy food on hand without spend hours in the kitchen at one time. --> GO BEYOND MEAL PLANNING HERE.<-- Let me know what you think about this recipe! |
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