Juicing for better health

 By Cassie McCully

Though the weather resembles nothing near the sweet days of summer, you can enjoy sunshine in a glass any day of the year. 

If you don't already juice, here's a few reasons why you might consider doing so:

1)  Fresh juice provides vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, proteins, immunity building and more
2)  Regular juicers rave about an increase in energy, clearer skin, and a clearer mind
3)  It's an easy way to consume your USDA recommended 2-4 servings of fruit and vegetables each day

Interested in adding juicing to your diet?  Here's a great 30 days of juicing list, and a green detox recipe that will be perfect for after the holidays and to start the New Year off right.

Once warmer days do roll around, I'm definitely going to pay a visit to Portland's very own juice cart, "Sip," who made it onto Food & Wine's list of best juice bars.  They're now closed for the winter, but their steamed "Flu Slayer": apple, lemon, ginger and garlic would have been a great pick for the entire family during these last couple of weeks.

Do you juice?  What has been your experience?

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Day 29: Overnight Oats

We all know how busy life becomes when the school year begins.  Multiply that for each child you have, and compound it with sports and other extra-curricular activities.  Time is of the essence! 

Starting your day off with a healthy breakfast fuels your mind and gives proper nutrients to your body to sustain energy levels.  Why not try overnight oats?  Throw them together in the evening--in a jar, Tupperware, a mug, put them into the refrigerator and let the ingredients seep into delicious goodness overnight.  The perfect no-hassle, healthy breakfast.  High in fiber, protein and calcium and low in fat and sugar, too.

The blog, Kath Eats Real Food, has a long list of combinations for delicious overnight oats.  For starters, here's her basic recipe.

Basic KERF Recipe

Kath Eats Real Food

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 – 1/2 cup milk [depending on how thick you like it]

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/2 banana

1/2 tbsp chia seeds--a great source of Omega-3's

Pinch salt

Pinch cinnamon

Directions

Stir everything together in a bowl. Place in fridge overnight. In the morning top with something crunchy and something with healthy fats – like nut butter or nuts.

Strawberry Cookie Butter

With Coach's Oats

Berrylicious

The Yummy Life has a great list of recipe ideas as well.

 

Have you tried overnight oats?  What do you think would make a fantastic flavor combination?

Some posts you may have missed:

 

Day 28: Tightwad Tuesdays at Cinetopia

Day 14: What To Do With All That Zucchini?

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Day 21: Keep 'Cool' With Homemade Popsicles (Second Edition)

Popsicles are such a festive way to keep cool during the summer months.  Why not get creative and make your own?  All it takes is a few ingredients and a mold of your choice.  You don't have to use an actual popsicle mold to enjoy a good popsicle, either!  Even a dixie cup with a stick will make a good, cold treat.

Honeydew Lime Popsicles

Raspberry Yogurt Popsicles

Pomegranate, Nectarine and Raspberry Popsicles

Coconut Cream Pops

Keep cool in this last stretch of summer!

View part one of our popsicle recipe here.

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Day 14: What To Do With All That Zucchini?

By Cassie McCully

Although our garden has yet to produce a mass amount of zucchini this season, I'm preparing now for what is to come.  If you're anything like my family, again, you've planted one too many zucchini plants, afraid that one wouldn't produce.  Really, what would a garden be without zucchini? 

Did you know that Zucchini is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and a great source of fiber?  All the more reason to implement zucchini dishes into your meal plans.

With a plentiful harvest on the horizon, and one giant gifted zucchini on my counter, finding delicious recipes was a must (and a pleasure).  Here's a handful worthy of sharing:

Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki

Zucchini Bites

Zucchini Boats with Mozzarella and Olives

Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad

Zucchini Brownies

Who would have thought?  There's much to do with your zucchini!

Another great resource:  Beyond Zucchini Bread: 15 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Green Monster Squash

What are your plans for your "green monster squash" harvest?

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Day 9: Davis Family Homemade Ice Cream

By Cassie McCully

There's something about making homemade ice cream that makes summer feel complete.  The process has me reminiscent of younger years, when we'd go berry picking, and with what was left after half the berries were eaten on the way home, we'd make fresh berry ice cream.  I can still hear the roar of the maker churning the cream, and Mom and Dad adding more and more ice to create a finished product.  There's nothing like homemade ice cream.

Here's a Davis Family recipe you'll want to try:

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

4 eggs

4 c. whipping cream

2-1/2 c. sugar

2-1/2 Tbsp. vanilla

6 c. half & half

Beat eggs lightly; mix all ingredients well. Pour into ice cream freezer. Mix and freeze for 20 minutes (follow your ice cream maker's directions). 

It's especially fun experimenting with different flavors and add-ins during the process.  Add pureed or diced fruit or candy pieces in the

last five minutes of freezing.

The other week, our family made nectarine ice cream.  We added one fresh pureed nectarine to the base, and added three finely diced nectarines in the last five minutes of freezing.  It turned out excellent! 

And the recipe made roughly 1.5 gallons. 

Enjoy!

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All Natural Energy Bites

By Cassie McCully

As you may have noticed, things have been rather quiet around here.  We are working on a blog transition and have quite a few loose ends to complete.  Until we get settled, I'm going to leave you with an irresistible recipe.  It's a perfect snack for all of you last minute shoppers, those of you heading to the mountain this winter, and those who are going to motivate the rest of us during the holiday with their unwavering commitment to the gym.

All Natural Energy Bites

Adapted from fooddoodles.com

Makes approximately  16 walnut-sized bites

1/2 C. nut butter ( almond butter, peanut butter or any kind of nut butter--I buy Adam's Natural Creamy)

1/3 C. honey

1 C. old fashioned rolled oats

1 C. shredded unsweetened coconut (you can substitute here with any dry ingredients, including nuts and seeds.  I used 3/4 C. wheat germ and a small handful of ground flax seed).

1-2 tsp. vanilla

1-2 tsp. spices (optional-I didn't add any)

pinch of sea salt

1/2 C. of other addins (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips etc.  I added chocolate chips).

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the nut butter, honey, vanilla and salt if desired. 

2.  Once combined add the remaining ingredients.  Mix well.

3.  Place in the fridge for 15 or so minutes.

4. Remove from the fridge and begin to roll the dough into walnut (or smaller) size bites.

5.  Place in an airtight container in the fridge or in the freezer for a quick and delicious snack!

Enjoy!

Cassie

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Settle Into Fall With These 5 Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Dip

By Cassie McCully
I don't know about you, but my love affair with pumpkin treats lasts long after the pumpkin patch closes and the jack-o-lanterns get tossed.  Whether you buy canned pumpkin from the store or you were on top of your game and canned your own pumpkin this year, incorporating pumpkin into recipes is festive and healthy, too!

Here's a few healthy ideas that will make eating pumpkin a pleasure...

Pumpkin Bread in a Bowl

Pumpkin-Leek Soup

Pumpkin Ravioli

Pumpkin Smoothie

Each of these is making me more and more hungry for lunch.  You, too?

Do you have any go-to pumpkin recipes that you want to share?
Please do in the comments! 

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Mint: For Health & Enjoyment

By Cassie McCully

Growing mint is as easy as throwing seeds and watching them turn into wildflowers--my kind of gardening!

Did you forget to water...for a week?  No problem!  With a lot of sunlight, mint will continue to grow and grow, and if you're not careful, it may just grow outside of its pot, into the ground and up the porch. 

Mint can be highly invasive. 

The good news is that growing mint can be purposeful and enjoyed in various ways.

The use of herbs and essential oils are becoming more popular with health care professionals, and even Dr. Davis.  Especially since we live in a day and age where our grocery store shelves are filled with processed foods that lose their essential nutrients through their processing.  Essential oils are the concentrated and complex heart of the plant.  The heart of mint, is in fact its leaves. 

MINT FOR HEALTH: 

• Digestive Process: The menthol in peppermint aids the digestive process by creating bile, an essential digestive fluid, to soothe the digestive lining.
• Nasal, Sinus and Chest Congestion: Menthol vapors are widely used for relieving nasal, sinus and chest congestion.  Just as Vick's Vapor Rub is marketed to give soothing effects, a cup of mint tea can do the same.
• Cough: Drinking cold peppermint tea has been known to help with coughs. 
• Colic: Peppermint tea has been used to soothe colic.  Talk with your pediatrician about soothing colic with peppermint.
• Nausea, Gas and Tension Headaches:  Mint can ease nausea and excess gas when taken orally, and soothe tension headaches by rubbing peppermint oil on the temples.
• Anti-inflammatory, Pain-Reducer, Counterirritant: Mint, in its essential oil form helps create white cells
• Mental Fatigue: Mint has been used to re-energize the mind, and lift the mood.
• Mint contains Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

Using mint for the above mentioned remedies call for mint in either the concentrated essential oil form or in its natural-grown form.  You can find the essential oil of mint at your local health section in your grocery store or at your health food store.  Ask your health foods expert how to incorporate mint as a remedy for your health.

MINT IN THE KITCHEN:

• Mint Tea
• Moroccan Mint Tea  "It's so popular, it is served all day long..."
• Lemon Mint Cucumber Water
• Mint Smoothie
• Tropical Fruit Salad With a Hint of Mint
• Mint Rice
• Fried Eggplant With Walnut and Mint Sauce
• Salad With Lime-Mint Dressing
• Ina Garten's Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad

I could keep linking, but you get the picture. 

Mint can also be dried and stored for later usage. 

Perhaps now you are looking at those mint plants a little differently? 

I know I am.

Health references and more information: mintrubbing.org/themintplant.pdf 

Photos by Cassie McCully

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Blackberry Heaven

By Cassie McCully

The blackberries are ripe and ready to pick!  The kids and I have been on a couple berry picking outings already, and have gathered ourselves quite a few bowlfuls. 

Last week, while up in the more mountainous region of Camas, Washington, my husband and his friends found some Huckleberries.  He always does a nice job of thinking of me while away, even on a guys outing, and returned home with said berries in hand.

So what did I do with my berries, you ask?

I made one decadent pan of Blackberry & Huckleberry Crumble Bars!

  Not only did they taste divine, my house smelled just as nice.

Blackberry Crumb Bars

Adapted from Martha

"Delight picnic-goers with a portable version of summer berry crumble:

a perfect marriage of tart fruit and tender cake, capped with a slightly crunchy topping."

Ingredients

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted, and 1/2 C. (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan

1 3/4 C. flour

1/2 C. packed light-brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 C. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

2 containers (5 oz. each) blackberries--or whichever berries you have on hand

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 inch square baking pan, or double the recipe like I did, and use a 9 x 13 pan.  Line bottom of pan with foil, leaving an overhang on two sides to use as handles when you remove the entire pan of treats after they've baked and cooled.

2. Make topping: in a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt; add 1 cup flour and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form.  Refrigerate topping until ready to use.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat room temperature butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture.  Spread batter evenly in pan and sprinkle with berries, then chilled topping.

4. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes.  Cool completely in pan.  Using foil overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into squares.

Note: These are even more delicious on the second day.

In case you missed it, you could also throw some berries into

 these low-fat treats.

What berries have you picked lately and what plans do you have for them?

-Cassie

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Keep 'Cool' With Homemade Popsicles

I've been eyeing homemade cool treats all over the web...

Orange & Blueberry Pops

Three simple ingredients.  Perfect, right?

Yep, you guessed it--

Avocado Popsicles and Greek Yogurt with Blackberry Popsicles!

Via Cup of Jo

Plum Smoothie Pops

Strawberry Banana Pops

I know what I'm making this afternoon!

Want to search for the perfect popsicle?
Here are another 50 popsicle recipes from Growing a Green Family

and 176 (!) popsicle recipes from Laura's Best Recipes. 

You can get creative with your popsicle molds by using muffin tins,
individual baking molds, or cups and popsicle sticks,
or you can pick yourself up an actual popsicle mold.
I'd like to get my hands on one of these stainless popsicle molds. 

Want to be automatically entered into our first giveaway? 
Click on the 'join this site' button and follow 'Life, Naturally'.
You can get a second entry by following us on Facebook.
Details to come!

Have a great Wednesday,
 Cassie

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