Oh Happy Happy Holidaaaaays!

Are you having the best holiday ever? Did you eat treats? Did you spend time with your family?

Did you play outside? Did you go the movies? Ahhh, on the last and final days of our sweet, sweet holidays!

If the holiday season is full of feasting and indulging with plenty more to come here are some of my fave tips for pasta- one of my favorite foods.

How to Eat tons of Pasta and Stay Light on your Feet

• Ditch the cream sauce and use olive oil and herbs instead.
• Load your pasta down with vegetables. At least 60% should be veg.
• Make a better noodle choice - try using rice noodles or buckwhet soba noodles as opposed to heavily processed wheat pasta

Click this to try a low cal, low fat pasta recipe

Winter's Best!

Your January and February produce guide is more than just your root vegetables and squash. Just like the summer months, winter has its own colourful selection of dark leafy greens and fruits to add colour and flavor to.

Here are some of the seasons lesser-known fruits and vegetables:

1. Broccoli rabe - avoid bunches with yellowed leaves. cook as you would broccoli: sauteed, steamed, or stir-fried.

2. Citrus (oranges, grapefruit, clementines) -  store in crisper drawer for up to two weeks. Peel and eat out of hand, but can also use fresh-squeezed juice in marinades or sauces.

3. Kale - chop and use as a delicious alternative to spinach in all your dishes including soups and/or stews.

4. Pomegranates -  Pick ones that are heavy in weight, have shiny skin and are with out any blemishes.

5. Sweet Potatoes-- Choose potatoes that are uniform in size for even cooking.  Boil and mash, cube and saute, or slice into wedges and bake for friendly fries.

My MOTO: the more vivid and the brighter a fruit or vegetable is, the more nutrients and anti-oxidants it is going to have!

Something's Fishy !

New miracle supplements making outrageous claims promoting health and wellness are everywhere! Open a magazine, surf the web, or turn on the news. It is difficult for consumers to separate fact from fiction and billions of dollars are being spent for nutritional nirvana. However, your grocery store may have some magic waiting for you!

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fats needed for a variety of functions including brain function and vision.  In the current American diet, we consume very little of this type of fat and our fat intake is primarily animal fats, trans fats, and omega 6 fatty acids.

The best sources of of omega 3 fatty acids include cold water fish such as salmon, albacore tuna, cod and sole. If fish is not on top of your list as far as what to eat for dinner, you can get omega 3's from flax seeds or fish oil supplements are also a good choice.

For adults, increasing omega 3's may reduce mortality from coronary heart disease, have a positive impact on blood pressure, and reduce triglycerides.  Heart disease is a major cause of mortality in the United States so increasing your consumption of fish may become a valuable weapon in the battle against heart disease! American heart association recommends that consuming two fatty fish meals per week is an important part of your healthy diet.

For women planning to become pregnant or young children supplements may be a better choice as fish can contain unsafe levels of mercury.

Here is great recipe for you to try out!
Bon Apetit - Salmon

Hot soup for you...

Today's cold weather inspired me to cook some hot homemade vegetable soup. I never really follow a recipe of any sort, but always look into my fridge to see whats there. I call it "everything in the fridge soup". After checking the fridge I check my pantry for dried goods like rice, peas, beans, lentils, and decide what will go best for what I have picked out from the vegetables.

After gathering all my ingredients, I start making my stock, which is sauteing onions/leeks, carrots, and celery in a cast iron pot. Then I fill the pot with water and throw in all my chopped up vegetables with some dry rice and bring it to boil.Then I turn the stove down to a simmer for approximately 30 min.  The last step today was to throw in 1/2 bag of frozen peas and cook for another 15minutes. ( I usually use the last 15 min for any frozen vegetables that I am using). Don't forget to season with salt, pepper, and any other of your favorite seasonings

I love making these soups because they are always low calorie, high in fiber, filling and an easy way of getting vegetables in for me and my whole family!  Perfect for people counting calories and trying to lose weight.

Hint: If soup turns out to bland or needs more "kick"  try adding a drop of some hot sauce, a teaspoon of sour cream,  or sprinkle some Parmesan cheese. 

Are you having trouble getting pregnant?

Came across this today in my readings on Celiac disease. Well, we all know how good nutrition is so important in staying healthy and warding off certain types of diseases.  Celiac disease is associated with 2% percent of infertile women.  So if you are trying to get pregnant, you should talk about this with your doctor and try to eliminate celiac disease as a cause of infertility.

Here are some common symptoms associated with celiacs disease:

Infants and young children who have celiac disease are more likely to have digestive symptoms, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea (even bloody diarrhea) and constipation, and may fail to grow and gain weight. A child may also be irritable, fretful, emotionally withdrawn or excessively dependent. If the child becomes malnourished, he or she may have a large tummy, thin thigh muscles and flat buttocks.

• Teenagers may hit puberty late and be short. Celiac disease might cause some hair loss (a condition called alopecia areata) or dental problems.
• Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms. Instead, they might have a general feeling of poor health, including fatigue, bone or joint pain, irritability, anxiety and depression, and missed menstrual periods in women.
• Osteoporosis (loss of calcium from the bones) and anemia are common in adults who have celiac disease. A symptom of osteoporosis may be nighttime bone pain.
• Lactose intolerance (a problem digesting milk products) is common in patients of all ages who have celiac disease.
• Dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy, blistery skin problem) and canker sores in the mouth are also common problems in people who have celiac disease.

 Online link to Celiac disease


I thought this association was quite interesting and surprising to me, and wanted to share it with you all!

Run! Don't walk...

Run! Don't walk to Costco.  Just got back from there and bought a case of their pomegranates.  They are amazingly delicious as well as a powerhouse of anti-oxidants.  Sooo delicious!.

I also plan to juice some of them with my citrus juicer and get my kids to drink some! My husband asked me if they are also gluten free.  Hahahahaha.  LOA!