Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Bean Soup

My garden has beautiful stalks of Swiss chard growing. Luckily, the Vegetarian Times placed a delicious sun-dried tomatoes and Swiss chard recipe this week. With a little tweaking to match what I had in my garden and kitchen, I made a delicious soup with swiss chard, tomatoes, LOTS of fresh herbs and garbanzo beans. Here's the happy outcome!


Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Bean Soup


2 TB olive oil
3 cloves of garlic (or 1 TB)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 med carrots, coined
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz. cans tomatoes
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/2 bunch of Swiss chard (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp thyme, chopped
1 cup of basil, torn


Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot on medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Let it cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and rosemary. Let it cook for 15 minutes until onion is transparent. If it needs more liquid, add one cup of the vegetable stock and let simmer for the 15 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetable stock, one can of tomatoes, and the garbanzo beans.
Place one cup of the soup in a blender and blend till smooth.
Add the blender contents, Swiss chard, and thyme into the stock pot. Stir for 5 minutes until the Swiss chard cooks down.
Take off heat and stir in the basil.


All finished! I like to put a dollop of Greek yogurt on top and serve with a crusty whole grain bread. Yummy!!




Nutritional Information:


Swiss Chard is a good source of Vitamins A and C, both powerful defenders against cancers. It is also a good source of minerals like iron, needed to boost immunity and help fight fatigue. Many people feel exhausted all the time. They do not realize it is due to low iron in the body and that an increase in this mineral could alleviate their fatigue .
Swiss Chard also has calcium, magnesium and potassium, all needed in controlling a good blood pressure.


It is that time of year when Swiss chard abounds. Why not pick some up today and make a quick, easy dinner for you and your loved ones. Let me know if you do!




Cheers to Chard!
DandelionHeart

We Are All Going To Die Sometime....

"It doesn't matter." "We are all going to die sometime." These two sentences make me cringe when I hear them spoken, and unfortunately, I have heard them often.

What bothers me the most, is that it's always the 'healthy' that speak these words. The ones whose health has not quit on them and who take it for granted that smoking, drinking, and eating whatever they like will never affect them. They can not imagine themselves bent over in stomach pain, cancer-ridden, arthritic, with fibromyalgia, or diabetic. Yet according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 out of 10 Americans will die from a chronic PREVENTABLE illness. These diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and strokes account for 50% of all deaths every year. In 2005, 1 out of every 2 Americans has a chronic illness that keeps them from performing one or more daily activities. Diabetes is the number one reason for kidney failure, amputations, and blindness for ages 20 to 74. Clearly, we are doing something incredibly damaging to our bodies. What is it? Does nature just pick someone and pull the trigger? I know with these kinds of statistics it is easy to give up, say it doesn't matter, and allow our culture to carry us away into chronic disease land. One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Andrew Saul of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, he said, "The only way to win, is not to play."

Lifestyle changes are difficult at first. Many people around you will tell you what you are missing out on - burgers, fries, sugar, cakes, chips, donuts, etc. - without ever considering your life at hand. You will feel exhausted by our culture of endless chemical food options. Walking into a grocery store will feel like walking into the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with tempting neon-blue cakes, orange colored sugar drinks, purple cookies, and every other brightly unnatural colored food to tempt your eye and stomach.

However, if you keep going....keep slowly building resistance and saying, "NO", one whisper at a time, within a few short weeks that "no" whispered with little strength will become a "NO" spoken with strong resolution and determination. You will feel the difference in your heart and body. In choosing whole foods, foods that your grandmother or grandfather would recognize, your body will know how to quickly respond. It knows what to do with an apple. It breaks it down and feeds the cells. What does it do with chemical-laden, sugary, fat globules called apple cinnamon stripe cookies? The body is well trained on what to do with a consistent diet of processed, overly salted, high fat foods- Store them! But what happens if you UP the nutrition you send down your throat? All of the sudden, the body wakes up! Little cells that have been starved for the micro nutrients in fresh foods get shocked! The vitamins and minerals that the body has been craving from fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains begins to change the inner environment for your cells. Just once, do not think of your tastebuds when you eat, think of the tiny cells that you are caring for. There are MILLIONS throughout your body and each one needs fresh water and fuel to work efficiently.

Today, give your cells what they need. Drink plenty of fresh water and choose healthy greens, fruit for desserts and whole grains. You are worth the work and your body will reward you with less pain and more happy days.

Are we all going to die sometime? Yes, we will. But not all of us will die in our 40's, 50's or 60's from debilitating and cruel degenerative diseases. Let's up our chance of being in the 50% percent that lives vibrantly into old age with more painless days than painful, more smiles than tears, and more family around us than gone. Take charge of your health and choose to live each day to the fullest!

Wishing you Love and Life!

DandelionHeart

Carrot Banana Sugar-free Muffins!

In trying to clean up my diet, I am cutting back on sugar. Sugar is so addicting it takes time to kick, so I am going easy on myself and looking for alternative ways to sweeten my life. My dilemma started with all the carrot fiber left over from juicing. What else can I do with it besides composting? I decided to cook up some carrot banana muffins and let the bananas be the sweetener. They turned out delicious and they are nutrient rich, so it's not a waste of calories or mindless eating!

Carrot Banana Muffins

2 cups spelt flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 TB cinnamon

4 ripe bananas

1 duck egg (or 2 chicken)

1/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/8 cup flax seed, milled

3/4 cup carrots, shredded

1/2 cup walnuts

1. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

2. In a blender, combine bananas, egg, vinegar, oil, and almond milk

3. Transfer blender contents into the flour mixture

4. Fold in carrots, walnuts and flax seed

5. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin tins or well-greased tins.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

Makes 10 Large muffins

Nutritional Tidbits:

Spelt is a cousin to wheat flour but has a nuttier and sweeter taste. You can substitute spelt flour for most recipes that call for whole wheat flour. If you are worried about heart disease, try using spelt flour in baking since it has more niacin than other whole grain flours. Niacin is essential in heart health and helps to reduce platelets from clumping together and causing blood clots. You can think of niacin as little hydroelectric power plants in your body! They help living cells generate energy from food.

If you are worried about the coconut oil in this recipe, or if all you've ever heard was to stay away from it, I have provided a link from Dr. Mercola below to show how trans fats are what's killing us and NOT saturated fats. It is only one source from many, explaining the new studies on heart disease. Coconut oil helps with supporting our thyroid and our heart. These are very well documented benefits and deserve to be studied further.

http://products.mercola.com/coconut-oil

Surprise! Coconut Oil Is Also Good For Your Heart...

FACT: Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the U.S. And heart disease is often a silent killer. The first sign of cardiovascular disease is commonly a heart attack, and sadly, over one third of heart attacks are fatal.

And despite the propaganda, the truth is this: it is UNSATURATED fats that are primarily involved in heart disease, not the saturated fats, as you have been led to believe. As you saw earlier, countries that subsist on a coconut-based diet appear to enjoy good heart health.

The U.S. Department of Health and the FDA estimate that artificially hydrogenated trans-fats -- the type found in fast food, processed foods and your favorite pastries -- are ultimately responsible for a huge number of fatal heart attacks every year. These dangerous unsaturated fats are the ones you should ban from your diet, not naturally pure coconut oil, which is a better alternative because it contains very few fats with highly perishable double bonds -- and also has NO TRANS-FATS.

Plus, those commonly-used polyunsaturated fats encourage the formation of blood clots by increasing platelet stickiness. Coconut oil helps to promote normal platelet function.

(excerpt from his page)

As you can see, these muffins are nutritious and yummy! They allow the carrots and bananas to be the sweetener and are perfect for a quick morning breakfast. They are loaded with fruit, nuts and flax seed, which has 2600 mg of Omega-3 oils per serving!

You can always add a touch of honey to the muffins as you eat them, if you are still getting your sweet tooth under control. Over time, you will crave less and less sugar and find most baked goods too sweet for your liking. These muffins will become one of your favorites!

Happy Eating!

Dandelionheart

Juice Glorious Juice!

If you have ever tried to feed a child, spouse, or yourself 5-9 servings of health-protecting fruits and vegetables a day, you know it can seem impossible at times. This is why I decided to try a new plan- JUICING!

Juicing has become an incredible way to consume huge amounts of fruits and veggies everyday without much effort. It floods the body in nutrients and helps wash out harmful toxins. If your cells have any mineral deficiencies the juice will quickly correct it. A diet high in sugar, processed foods, and too much red meat causes inflammation in our system and increases pain throughout our bodies. Juicing with fresh, organic vegetables and fruits feeds the cells and they calm down, or de-flame!

Juicing has been shown to help fight diseases and promotes a strong immune system. Since the juice is fiber-free it is rapidly absorbed and goes to work within minutes- healing, energizing, generating health!

One of my favorite mixtures is carrots, apples, and beets with greens. You will notice a difference in less than a week if you start to juice a couple times a day. Your energy will be boosted and your mind will be clearer thinking. How else can a person take in 5-10 pounds of vegetables a day without a massive amount of work?

Sunshine Energy Drink

4 large carrots

1 apple

2 celery stalks

1 beet

1/2 cup beet greens

Wash and chop vegetables. Send through juicer, alternating greens with harder vegetables.

That's it! So simple! This is a VERY rich drink and if you are not used to the taste of vegetables, you might want to leave the beets and greens out for the first week. Slowly, your taste buds will get used to the bitters and begin to crave these flavors more and more.

The taste buds do get used to a diet high in fat, sugar and salt. They must be given enough time and exposure to develop an appreciation for vegetables and salad greens once again. If it has been awhile since you had large amounts of vegetables, it might take upping the apples in the juice for the first few weeks. This will sweeten the flavors and make them more enjoyable until the taste buds for bitter or pungent flavors are revived. After a few weeks of regularly juicing greens, you will enjoy it thoroughly!

Cheers to Juicing!

DandelionHeart

Carrot Apple Quinoa Salad

In search for something light and easy to prepare for dinner tonight, I looked toward my huge jar of Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) sitting on the shelf. Quinoa is a nutritional athlete. Considered a "superfood" because it is one of the best vegetable sources of protein available, in fact, it is a complete protein! It has all the essential amino acids needed for a healthy body. A known prebiotic, it stimulates the growth of good bacteria in our guts, and for those who are watching gluten, Quinoa is gluten-free! One way to add it to your diet is to substitute it for traditional rice. If you are looking for a quick dinner but one that is nutrient-dense, try this salad!

Carrot Apple Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 pat of butter

1 large carrot, diced

1 apple, diced

1/2 cup Brazil nuts, chopped (or any other nut)

1/4 parsley, chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

1/4 olive oil

1 tsp garlic, minced

pepper and salt to taste (optional)

Place large stock pot on stove bring water and butter to boil. Upon boiling, lower heat and stir-in quinoa. Place lid on pot and let sit for 8-10 minutes till water is absorbed. Fluff with fork and place in a large serving bowl.

Add diced carrot, apple, nuts, and parsley to the salad. Toss.

In a small bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and pepper and salt. Pour over the quinoa. Mix well.

That's it! Now you have a very easy, super nutritious and light dinner for any day of the week. This recipe is one you can throw together quickly and take with you to any potluck. Feel great, knowing that you gave your body a load of iron, magnesium, folate, zinc, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine and much more: the raw materials needed to maintain health and feel great!

Eat, drink and Be Happy,

From My DandelionHeart to Yours!

Fragrant Orange Swordfish

Tonight, I am sad. In my opening profile box you will see that it says "starting down the real food path" and that inevitably means mistakes along the way. I was at Whole Foods yesterday and decided to buy swordfish. In trying to up my omega-3 consumption and knowing that swordfish is loaded with vitamin B12, I thought it would make a great substitute for a chicken recipe I have. So today, I prepped and marinated the fish for 3 hours, took my pictures to blog it and in writing my storyline, read of the dangers of eating SWORDFISH!

What? Swordfish....Oh NOW, I find out! How incredibly sad it is that we have to worry about our health from the very oceans that should bring us health and vitality. The readings stated that the primary source of methylmercury in fish is industrial pollution. Snow, rain, and water runoff goes into our streams, oceans, rivers and lakes and eventually finds its way into our oceans. It is a fact that the weekly amount of industrial chemicals and runoff from cities dumped into our waterways amounts to more than the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989. EVERY WEEK! Even now, the Gulf of Mexico spill is polluting our oceans more than we have ever imagined possible. We should all be weeping at the thought of thousands of animals dying, our future ability to feed ourselves and our families diminishing before our eyes and for our coastline under such severe environmental attack. How little did I know, that tonight I would be writing about our ocean's pollution and not a delicious swordfish recipe. Forgive me for my sadness and ranting but my heart feels the profound loss that we face due to our own industrial and polluting ways.

Here is my recipe and original post. I would no longer advise to make it. But I did not want to pass up such beautiful food pictures.

Original Post:

In trying to incorporate more fish in my diet for the benefit of gaining more Omega-3's, I took a delicious chicken recipe and substituted swordfish fillets. It came out gorgeous and amazingly good! This is one recipe you could serve to company and everyone will love it!

Fragrant Orange Swordfish

4 pieces Swordfish

3 organic oranges (will use the zest and juices)

1/4 cup honey

2 TB cilantro, finely chopped

3 TB soy sauce

2 TB olive oil

2 TB garlic, minced

1 tsp of cornstarch

pinch of turmeric (optional)

Place the swordfish in a 9X9 pan.

Take a peeler or zester and scrape off the zest of all three oranges. Chop the zest finely and place in a bowl. Add the squeezed juice of the oranges, honey, soy sauce, cilantro, olive oil and garlic, mix well. Pour over the swordfish and let marinate from 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place swordfish in oven for 25 minutes.

Use tongs to remove the fish to a platter. Pour the juices through a strainer. Add a tsp of cornstarch and a pinch of turmeric to the sauce. stir and let thicken for 10 minutes.

Pour sauce over the fish and serve. I like to place it on top of rice with a side of steamed green beans!

This dish is filled with health boosting nutrients. Swordfish is a rich source of blood-building Vitamin B12 and niacin. It is low-fat supplier of Vitamin B6 and Omega-3's. Enjoy every minute of it!

So much for the original idea, and just in case you were wondering....we ate the swordfish and allowed our systems to take the hit. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, along with all the work. A conscious hit is far better than the endless unconscious ones we take every day. The ones that go without notice and over time build a future of physical pain and illness. Tomorrow, I will be gentle on my system and choose healthy, fresh chemical-free food to help my body rid itself of any toxins it may have encountered tonight.

Is all this worth thinking about? I say, it is. Our fish are dying, our children are getting poisoned and the health of our oceans are deteriorating before our very eyes. Let us try and change one step at a time.

Saddened by the condition of our world tonight. May we all do better tomorrow,

DandelionHeart

Wild Mint Room Freshener

When my husband was finishing his dissertation, he would become mentally exhausted and stressed out but had to continue his demanding timeline and workload. After reading the benefits of peppermint oil, I purchased a small bottle of it. He began carrying it in his backpack. When he was completely mentally tired or before any big tests, he would take the small bottle out and breath it in deeply. This simple act sent new stimuli to his brain. It helped him feel less stress and improved his mental stamina. I will never forget this experience or the benefits of breathing in the oil. It was such an easy way to help him with the daily stress of life and it worked!

Nowadays, when I clean my house I want to refresh the air around me. I think about lighting my candles, and while smelling 'good', can actually fill the air with harmful chemicals and make my lungs work harder at keeping the air clean. Yuck! Now what?

...Mint! I have a patch of wild mint growing in my backyard! The patch was healthy and I cut a large handful from it. I placed it in a sauce pan of water and set it on the stove to boil. The whole house was filled with the delicious smell of mint. It was just what I needed to feel revived and ready to clean! It felt great knowing that I could throw away polluting candles, plug-ins and sprays and send fragrance threw my house naturally!

Luckily, the health food store has a ton of different essential oils that make it possible to change the scents regularly! Jasmine in the air is one of my favorites, so far, and a little goes throughout the entire house.

Who knew the mint patch in my backyard could enhance my life so easily just by giving it a thought!

Interesting trivia for the history of Mint Aromatherapy:

The British Medical Journal in 1879 wrote that smelling menthol, (the main component in peppermint) relieves headaches and nerve pain. It became hugely popular to have a menthol cone in the home that would evaporate and fill the air with the smell of mint! Scientists agree that peppermint oil can help improve concentration and help us stay awake and alert.

For more interesting reading on using mint to relieve pain check out:

http://www.physorg.com/news75385697.html

Here's to Happy Smelling!

Be Well,

DandelionHeart Opening For You

Chicken of the Woods- The original recipe!

Today was my lucky day! Simply driving down the road past a local wooded, area in our neighborhood, my husband spotted a Chicken of the Woods Mushroom. This was a spectacular find!

We immediately pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out and started pulling the gigantic mushroom up at its root. The whole thing weighed about 6 lbs! After throwing it in an ice cooler when we arrived home, I got to work at creating a quick, easy and healthy stir-fry.

Chicken of the Woods Stir-Fry

1 lb mushroom Chicken of the woods, cleaned, chopped

2 TB Oil (I used olive oil)

1 cup rice

1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables

5 oz. water chestnuts (optional)

frozen peaches (optional, can substitute mango or pineapple)

Sauce:

1 Tb sesame oil

1 Tb chopped ginger (1 tsp dried)

1 Tb minced garlic

2 TB chopped scallions

1 1/2 Tb cornstarch stirred into 1/3 cup water

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp mongolian fire oil (or any chili oil)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Prepping the Mushroom:

Cut off a portion of the mushrooms and slice into sections. Carefully wash each section under water. Examine each section of mushroom for decay or bugs. Discard any pieces with decay or dark spots.

In a large stock pot add the 2 TB oil. Place the mushroom into the hot oil and stir.

If it is getting too dry, add 1/4 water as needed. Cook mushroom for 15 minutes on med. heat, stirring occasionally. Turn mushroom down to low heat and let sit on stove, while rest is being prepared.

Place 2 1/2 cups of water in another pan, add 1 TB butter bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add 1 Cup Rice and 1/2 Cup frozen vegetables. cover and do not lift lid for 15-20 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. If rice isn't as tender as you like, add 1-2 TB water over the top, cover and return to heat for 5 more minutes.

Sauce:

In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil, ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, fire oil, and cilantro and stir. mix together the water and cornstarch until dissolved. Pour both mixtures over the mushrooms and saute. Add a few frozen peaches and the water chestnuts.

Sit back and enjoy the fruit of your labor!

Nutritional Facts:

Chicken of the Woods has no poisonous look-alikes. It is a common and widespread mushroom. The flesh is white with bright orange and pale yellow colors. It tastes very much like chicken without all the grease! It even has the the same texture as chicken, looking like muscle fibers as you slowly tear it.

To learn more: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Mushrooms.Folder/ChickenMushroom.html

Mushrooms are nutritional superstars. According to a 2009 study in the international Journal of Cancer, eating as little as two mushrooms a day- even the everyday white button- could cut your risk of breast cancer by 64 Percent! Mushrooms are brimming with protein, B vitamins, selenium, potassium and has antibacterial properties to help the body fight foreign invaders.

http://mushroominfo.com

Whether you find a chicken of the woods mushroom or go past the button mushrooms at your local store, think twice before you leave them behind. Mushrooms can add nutritional punch to your life!

Wishing you optimal health,

From DandelionHeart to Yours!

Cashews or Prozac?

Today, I finished watching FoodMatters and feel invigorated. Invigorated that everything we need to be whole, healthy and free of disease is all around us. One of the most spectacular bits of information received from this movie was from Dr. Andrew Saul. He stated that two handfuls of cashews a day, gives one the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of prozac. Cashews? Really???

Wow, imagine something so easy and so inexpensive (compared to a prescription medicine) that has the ability to do what Prozac does without SIDE EFFECTS!

We need to hear Hippocrates's words time and time again.

"LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE, AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD"

Why is it so easy for us to believe that a 'pill' has all the answers inside its tiny capsule and not an organic, fresh foods diet? They both go in through our digestive track and feed our cells something. One choice might be a green-colored pill, but is it not a form of food going into your mouth? Not one cell in our body is made out of a drug. Yet, fruits and vegetables contain all the raw materials to build up our health and feed our cells. Feed the cells and they will heal themselves. We need a multitude of vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat. We can not remain deficient in building materials by eating a diet low in vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, vitamin E, selenium, zinc, iron and more, and expect to pop a pill and have our mind and body healthy again. Pills treat symptoms, which is great in crisis-prevention, but not great in chronic illness. FOOD treats the root cause. So just for today, I encourage you to drink more filtered water, eat more fruits and vegetables, and feel satisfied that you fed your body what it needs to build and thrive on. If not today, then when?

And, just in case you are feeling depressed along with low energy, why not try the two handfuls of cashews a day, that Dr. Saul has watched work time and time again? What have you got to lose but depression? I truly believe that given the right vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, your body will know how to heal itself. It is a God-given right to be strong, healthy, and vibrant. We have everything we need in nature to feed ourselves properly. It is important to remember the rule: If our grandmothers wouldn't recognize it as food, DON'T EAT IT!

We have been marketed to death and it is time to take back control for our lives. We are still free to decide what type of foods we will put into our bodies. The saying is not a lie: We are what we eat. Let's eat vibrant, healthy life-sustaining foods and allow them to jump start the God-given healing mechanism inside each of us.

Wishing you the best,

DandelionHeart

Polenta me Please!

MMMM....Polenta. Even the word brings me comfort. When you can make one as hardy as my recipe, you will need nothing else but your friends. It is a great meatless meal and it's quite delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Black bean, Tomato Basil Polenta

4 cups Stone-ground Cornmeal

6-7 cups Water

2 tsp Salt

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Onion,finely chopped

fresh Basil leaves or 1 tsp dried

2 cups Black beans

2 Tomatoes, chopped

In a bowl, measure out 4 cups cornmeal set aside. In large pot, bring 6 cups of water and salt to a boil. slowly add cornmeal, stirring constantly with a whisk. (add the last cup of water, if it is getting hard to stir) Lower heat and continue to stir until liquid is reduced and polenta is thick and it comes away from the sides of the pot.

Stir in cheese, black beans, tomatoes, onions and basil.

Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 60-90 minutes till set.

I like to serve this with a nice salad and warm tomato sauce poured over the polenta!

So easy and SO good!

Nutrtional Tips:

Stone-ground cornmeal keeps more of the corn's hull and germ, which contain more fiber and nutrients, like Vit E! Keep your Stone-ground corn in the refrigerator to keep it fresher longer and to protect its nutrients.

I like to use Bob's Red Mill 100% Whole-Grain Cornmeal.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/medium-grind-cornmeal.html

Stone-ground Cornmeal is an excellent source of iron, magnesium, and phosphorus, zinc, copper, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B-6. All very important elements to protect our bodies and build a foundation of good health!

From my DandelionHeart to Yours,

Eat Well!