Healthy Easter Fun

With Easter comes the usual treats, most often Peeps and chocolate eggs along with jelly beans. These are fun and colorful however they're full of refined sugar not to mention empty calories. They're only filling the plastic eggs not your little ones' tummies. What to do ,Make your Easter egg hunt healthy.

Instead of filling the eggs with candy, think fruit or even veggies. If there's no allergy problem then, think about putting in berries such as strawberries and blueberries. Blackberries can be fun too as long as their not too sour. You may want to try raspberries instead Grapes are another fun fruit to tuck into the plastic eggs. You can add one kind or two for variety. There's enough sweetness to satisfy those little sweet tooths but enough goodness to satisfy mom and dad.

Veggies are another fun item to add to eggs.Make sure, like the ,fruit, that they're organic. Try baby carrots (perfect for all those faux bunnies out there) along with broccoli and cauliflower florets. Pepper strips may dry out so try cherry or grape tomatoes instead.  Dried peas or even salty edameme can also be used for some exotic and exciting tastes.If you cna fit them, add two sorts  of veggies for fun

Make your Easter egg hunt healthy this year by subbing in fresh fruit and veggies instead of candy. The hunters will definitely benefit from this burst of natural goodness. There won't be that hyper activity and all around, everyone, including the folks will feel better.

Going To The Grain

Grains are one of the most important elements of a good diet. However not many people incorporate them into their diets. Why is a good question. They can be made into several tasty dishes that are nutritious and support our body's needs. Not only that, there is a wide variety to choose from and throw together with some veggies and meat to create a healthy lunch or supper.

Whole grains or seeds contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed,They can range from the lesser known amaranth to the ever popular wild rice. In between are the more common, corn, rye and barley along with teff, triticale  sorghum and triticale. grains can be used as fillers or even stuffing. For some such as the rices and millet, they can be incorporated  into puddings and even cakes for dessert.Grains are always a plus for any diet. You can reduce heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer along with obesity.

If you're new to cooking with whole grains then start with simple recipes. Stuffed peppers are always easy and a fun dinner treat. Stuff with rice or quinoa along with tomatoes  Quinoa can also be made into stuffing as well as tabbouleh. Try rye in soups or breads .Barley is always good in soups but it can also be used in risottos and chilis. For mores exotic dishes use the grain from North Africa , amaranth can be eaten like popcorn, or cooked like grits.Millet , another good for you grain, can be made into a light ,fluffy pilaf or baked into healthy biscuits , muffins and breads.

Discover the goodness of the different grains out there. They can be easily made into tempting and tasty dishes. Try one or two to wet your feet or all of them  for a better diet.

A Happy Healthy Cookbook

Some would think it would be hard to live on a whole grain, gluten free diet. That is farther from the truth thanks to a new cookbook. The author, , renown for her wholesome and healthy cookbooks, Jill FInlayson, has come up with a whole batch of  tasty and good for you dishes. These range from breakfast to desserts, from snacks to sides to whole meals. This is the perfect must have for those who want to eat healthy witohut giving up flavor.

The book is entitled The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grain Cookbook by Robert Rose Publishing. It is not only a comprehensive cookbook but also a great guide for grains; Ms.Finlayson explains what grains such as millet and sorghum are along with their history. All grains, whether as unusual as Job's tears (a sort of millet) to the common (oats) also have storing tips as well as nutritional data. This helps in choosing what dishes to make as well and how healthy you want to go. She also has a few pages solely on the benefits of a gluten free diet, such as it helps protect against certain cancers as well as heart diseases.

Just when you think this is going to be a purely tasteless recipe book,think again.Ms. Finlayson has some excellent recipes for every meal. Start the day off with her hot amaranth cereal. She has pancakes,both the buckwheat type and blueberry wild rice ones. For dinner or even lunch try her turkey chili made with turkey. There are also jambalaya  along with the spicy Indian beef biryani.  She also has a brown rice risotto and a gluten free pizza crust, The desserts range from a simple brown rice pudding to   wine soaked cornmeal cake. Health food, no , healthy food and perfect for any gathering from a family dinner to party, yes,

Please go and buy this newest creation from Jill Finlayson, You'll not only kick your white flour dependency but eat much healthier too. Best of all you'll be introduced to a variety of amazing recipes that are sure to be family favorites as well as classics.

Passover:New And Traditional Foods

Passover is starting soon and with it the special recipes that have been handed down. The holiday is celebrated all over the wold and with that come international recipes.Cooks , well versed in the tradition can change It up a bit. Novice ones can fall back on the traditional but traditional with a twist.

Both Elaine Scolino and Melissa Clark touched on this yesterday in Wednesday's New York Times Dining section.Ms. Sciolino lives in Paris and creates a French styled seder for her husband (she is Sicilian and Catholic) Instead of the usual chicken fat or schmaltz she uses duck fat. The matzoh is  infused with orange and wine ,w hile the noodles are made from potato and egg. She is able to buy ground almonds because the French sell them in their marketplaces.. Here she makes ossobucco and a Sephardic Jew tradition rice (the Ashkenazis ban it completely from the Passover table.)If you;re not too much into tradition, you can try this as well.

Melissa Clark goes for the traditional by making use of Manishcwitz Wine, a jammy port like brew. The wine has been standard for generations here in the States. It is primarily used in haroseth , a loose paste  made with chopped apples, walnuts and cinnamon, She takes it  a step further with an endive salad with relatively the same ingredients. To this she adds the walnuts but coats them with a bath of egg white and cayenne mixed with the Manischewitz for bite and sweetness..

Passover seders have always relied on the traditional. However it's nice to experiment or add from other tables, It makes for an interesting meal , not to mention an interesting palate.

Holiday Ham Guide

ham is the main subject of any table preparing for Easter. it is usually the staple of the dinner.Yet many traditional sit downs are ruined by a bad.ice of meat.The solution is finding the right joint for what you can plan and manage. It was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section.The pics was. Written byJuliaMoskin,one of the to pros of cooking and culinary food writing. her article will guide readers through the intricate maze that is selecting a holiday ham. Most people buy what is known as"city hams" which are hams that have been only brined with water and salt.This produces a wet cured, lightly smoked pre baked ham.However these may not come up to par.Most tend toe dry not juicy and require a lot of liquid ,whether itbe pineapple juice or ginger ale to give them a chewier, more palatable texture. Ms Moskin recommends going for country hamsThese are tremendously more expensive(think five pounds at $245dollars for some of the more gourmet ones) however the taste is worth it. A country ham is one that has been lovingly cured with real wood smoke and pure maple syrup.The pigs all have been pasture raised too and produce a better taste.Still most of these natural ones need to be soaked for a few hours as do,the city hams to allow for tender meat You can try her mother's remedy of also braising the meat for two hours in wine and water with a follow up trip to the oven.This produces a lovely ,crisp skin.,especially with a glaze of mustard and b town sugar,along with a coating of breadcrumbs. Holiday hams needn't be a headache.You can go for the city which will require more work.You can also try the country hams, better flavor but more money.Either way you'll have a tasty Easter dinner.There will be some bother but again, it's worth it.

How Sweet No Sugar

It's been a part of our lives since infancy. We craved it as children , the addiction well lasting into our teens and adulthood.What is this ruinous food? sugar! pure and simple. the white stuff has been a part of our lives since we first learned to walk and talk.There is always candy around and treats laden with it.The problem is that it not only rots our teeth but ruins our immune system and plays havoc with our cholesterol .It's tough to get off it because it's like that other white powder - cocaine.What you can do is go for substitutes.Want cookies? Then try Kashi's different types made with evaporated cane sugar. Make your own soda with a carbonator and freshly juices. Even look into using Stevia and bring it with you when you go for coffee. Once you start weaning. Yourself ,then try to cut down on cakes and cookies, eventually eliminating them all together.Breads fall into this category as well as do crackers.You can switch over to whole grain breads if you want be keep this to a limit.Go back to occasionally snacking on fruit however ,be wary.Even though they are good for you ,they do turn into sucrose and glucose. try to sub in carrots which are naturally sweet into a dessert or snack.Some herbal teas suc as chamomile have a certain, slightly sugary taste to them.Try a hot or iced glass of it to satisfy those sugar cravings. Yes, sugar is sweet but it's also bad.Try to curb those cravings or at least wean yourself off them.You'll feel better and look better.What can be better than that.

A Deep Cleansing Diet

We're always told to take deep cleansing breathsDoing such refreshes us, calms us down and even prepares us for a restful night of sleep.However we can do the same with our diets and our lives.There are several cleansing diets out there.Theynot only improve our lives but our diets as well. Cleansing diets require a great deal of discipline.Some last only last for two weeks,some last for longer usually a month.It is rigorous where you have to give up all the bad but yummy stuff.Gone are any kind of meats,candy,dread, salt ,soda, along with anything dairy.The food also has to be raw and it"s mostly a raw veggie mix.Water is the only allowed beverage along with decaf teas and coffees.The water used should be filter and drunk from on BpA bottles.This last means that they're made without the chemical Bisphenol A , a xenon estrogen that can screw up your hormone system. whoever is issuing the diet will prescribe a series of supplements to fill you up on fiber and minerals. is a cleansing diet for every one? That depends on the person and his or her willpower. as someone going through this diet bright now, I have to admit it is tough. You can fall off the wagon.Let's face it, a chunk of forbidden bread and butter or even a forkful of breaded tilapia is heavenly after a few days of going without. I am appreciative of all the chemicals and bad stuff leaving me. according to the administrator , most of the inflammation will leave my body. I will feel better and I will be more cautious picking up old food habits like soda, and cookies.Most of my diet is already heathy, with eating brown flour and forgoing fried foods.This will keep me in tune though with making the internal better. Are you up for a cleansing diet? if you're concerned about your health and diet ,you will. it's a good way of Making the right choices.