Summer...

Hi guys! don't you just LOVE this Pict! :)

I am trying to figure out the schedule for summer classes- summer is even more busy it seems!!

In the meantime here are some yummy recipes...

Ingredients

• 2 beef tomatoes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 50g risotto rice
• 2 spring onions , chopped
• 1 small courgette , chopped
• 50g chestnut mushrooms , wiped and sliced
• 250ml vegetable stock (such as Marigold)
• ½ tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
• 6 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp finely grated parmesan
• handful of rocket leaves

1. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and set aside. Scoop out the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes with a teaspoon, but be careful not to cut through to the base. Chop the pulp and keep the seeds, but discard the hard, central cores.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and tip in the rice. Fry gently over a low heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to stop the rice from browning, then add the spring onions, courgette and mushrooms and fry gently for 2 more minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to fan 170C/conventional 190C/gas 5. Pour in the stock then stir in the dried herbs, tomato pulp and seeds - the seeds will add fibre, and won't be noticeable in the finished dish. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed - add extra stock or water if necessary. Turn off the heat, tear the basil leaves into the pan and scatter with parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and stir well.
4. Put the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish and fill each one generously with the risotto. Replace tomato tops and bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes are tender. Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with a few rocket leaves on top. from bbcgoodfood.com

Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4 cups quick-cook old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

2 tsp flaxseed meal

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 large egg whites

2 tsp unsalted almond butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup chocolate chips- OR raisins or craisins or whatever you like

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.


2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.


3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond butter and vanilla.


4. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.


5. Divide batter equally into 16 mounds (about 1 rounded tbsp in size) and arrange evenly spaced on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2 1/2-inch circles. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2 to 3 days. From Clean eating

Veggie wraps

hen you roast aspaagus, bell pepper, and squash for this recipe, you’ll be making extra veggies and squash that can be added to salads, pasta, or rice dishes later in the week

1. Preheat grill or broiler. Toss together asparagus, bell pepper, squash, and oil on large baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Grill or broil vegetables 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning once.
2. Mash together beans, garlic, and chile sauce in small bowl until smooth.
3. Spread half of bean mixture over each tortilla. Top each with 3 basil leaves, 1/2 cup roasted vegetables, 4 onion slices, and 1/2 cup arugula. Fold bottom third of tortillas over vegetables, and roll up tightly, tucking in sides as you go. Cut wraps in half on diagonal. Serve immediately, or wrap each half in foil or wax paper, and chill until ready to eat.

From vegetarian times.com

Healthy and HomeMade~

Here are Some Fabulous Homemade Recipes for Scrubs and Such!!! So take Some time, fill the tub and RELAX.... ( PS I would kill for a vintage claw foot bathtub!!!)

These are Great for Mothers Day gifts- for an extraordinary mom you know or for yourself!! And of course since they are homemade- NO chemicals or preservatives and that makes them even better!! Homemade is ALWAYS better! :) Have a great Mothers day!!!

Breakfast for your Skin - (Oatmeal & Brown Sugar Scrub)

Exfoliates and is very moisturizing but doesn't leave a greasy feeling. Before you turn off your shower scoop a small handful of scrub into your hand. Rub gently onto your skin. Rinse.

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup ground oatmeal (not instant)

1/4 cup pure honey

3/4 to 1 cup (or to total saturation) Oil of choice- Jojoba, Sweet almond oil, olive, grapeseed, sunflower seed oil or avocado are great for ksin and also have their own healing properties...

1/4 tsp Essential or Fragrance oil of choice (optional) Vanilla works nicely. Though this smells great on it's own.

Mix the brown sugar & oatmeal together in a large bowl. Now add the honey. Drizzle the oil over the mix. Mix well. When all your mix is saturated and sinks to the bottom of the bowl and you have oil on top you're done. Add your essential oil or fragrance oil. A six or eight ounce wide-mouthed jar works nicely.

Lemon Sugar Scrub

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 TBS lemon zest (grated)

4-6 drops lemon essential oil

Yogurt Sugar Scrub

3 TBS oil

1 TBS yogurt

1 TBS white sugar

Because of the yogurt you only make this in small batches- enough for one use or you could make it a little bigger batch and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Honey Body Scrub

Honey 3/4 cup

sugar 1 cup

Sea salt 1 cup

Jojoba oil 2 TBS

Fragrance oil 3ml (orange & ylang ylang are wonderful combined with the honey)

Pour honey into medium sized bowl, then add sugar and stir to combine. Add the salt in increments, to adjust the consistency to your liking.. When all ingredients combine, add oils and stir well. This recipe is particularly long keeping as the lack of water discourages bacteria.

Honey and Lemon Sweet Sugar scrub

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey- unprocessed is best (

3 tbs jojoba oil- or oil of choice

lemon zest

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

3-4 drops lemon essential oil

A lot of people use this on their face- (and every where else) and claim it is great for getting rid of blackheads! open your pores first( with heat- hot wash cloth works great) then lightly rub in with finger tips- especially in t zone area. Leave it on your face for a couple of minutes then massage again in a circular motion while applying warm water and rinse off

ENJOY!

EaRtH DaY

Does EARTH DAY matter? Only if you want it to! Earth day is April 22nd and this year it is 40 years old- it is the most globally celebrated environmental event - join in all the fun things going on ( most FREE) and make some goals yourself- start recycling and reusing! Teach your kids to do the same- Read the LORAX to them! Plant a tree, start some seeds, Take a Nature WALK.... Instill in them a LOVE and deep RESPECT four our Wonderous EARTH- If you don't who will?

Earth Day Celebration at Ogden Nature Center

Saturday, April 17, 12-4

The entire community is invited to come learn and play! Earth Day is a day of education, celebration and action! This year's Earth Day Celebration is packed with new ideas for sustainable living, live entertainment, earth-friendly presentations, great activities for children, gardening, recycling, plants, and more. Children will love the water trailer and the rock climbing wall. Come learn and play!

Cost: $1 per person or FREE if you bicycle, walk or ride the bus!

Here are more Fun things going on in Ogden and SLC...

FREE day at Red Butte Gardens ( sat)

FREE day at the Museum of Fine Arts ( sat)

LOcal Borders are hosting a FANCY NANCY day- FREE ( sat)

( Not really earth day stuff but FUN nonetheless!)

In honor of Earth Month, The Salt Lake City Film Center is providing a chance for you and your family to come to the Gateway and see a free screening of Earth on Thursday, April 16th at 7:30 p.m. The event is free, and will feature a nature documentary from Disneynature. http://www.slcfilmcenter.org

• Bend in the River Earth Day Planting at 1030 West Fremont Avenue in Salt Lake City. This event is free and fun for the whole family from 8:30 a.m. – noon this Saturday, April 18th. Bring your own gloves, shovels and bottled water and enjoy a light breakfast followed by a weed removal and planting. Following that, a lunch will be served before a naturalist-led tour of the Jordan River. The Girl Scouts will be on hand to help host children’s activities. http://www.bend-in-the-river.org/

• Hogle Zoo is hosting a “Party for the Planet” event on Saturday, April 25th. Come explore the tropics of Hogle Zoo and be a part of the animal presentations, and learn about ways to keep our planet clean. Food, music and live entertainment will make this a fun event for the whole family. Visithttps://www.hoglezoo.org/events_experiences/events_calendar/04-25-2009/party-for-the-planet, for more info.

• Earth Week at the City Library. Pick up a take-and-make bird seed project at any city library, Monday, April 20th –Saturday, April 25th during library hours. Log onto http://www.slcpl.org for more info. Also ,check out your local libraries for other scheduled events.

• The Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City is having EarthFest featuring green vendors and live music on April 22nd. The event is free for all ages and open to the public. http://thegallivancenter.com.

• The Whole Foods Market at 6930 South Highland Drive is celebrating Earth Day with free bike tune-ups, a clothing drive for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Utah a seed planting activity and giveaways. The event is free for all ages and goes from 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on April 22nd. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com.

GO Green and HAve fun!!!

For All you KetTcHuP lovers......

It is NO secret that ketchup is full of high fructose corn syrup, sugar and a lovely smattering of MSG- mmm.... Tasty! :) How about making your own- it doesn't take long, has no added preservatives, TASTES better and is better for ya!! Here are a few recipes..

Ketchup

2 medium tomatoes

1 cup sun dried tomatoes soaked ( save soaked water)

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup water ( include water from sun dried tomatoes)

blend until smooth- makes about 2 cups

Or if you don't have fresh....

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in purée

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Purée tomatoes (with purée from can) in a blender until smooth.

Cook onion in oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 1 hour (stir more frequently toward end of cooking to prevent scorching).

Purée ketchup in 2 batches in blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Chill, covered, at least 2 hours (for flavors to develop).

Both recipes can stay in fridge for 3 weeks

HomeMade BRead

Easy to Make Great Whole Wheat bread!

Honestly it takes about 50 min from START to FINISH!! If I can make delicious moist bread anybody can- for some reason I am seriously yeast challenged- I have the hardest time getting things to rise- not sure why!!! BUT I can make this bread and it is delicious!!! Give it a try!

8 Cups hard red or white wheat (yields about 11 cups of flour)
1/4 Cup ground flax seed ( I add about 1/2-3/4 cup)
1 Tbsp Sea Salt ( or 2 tbs normal salt)
3 Tbsp Yeast
5 1/2 Cups Hot Water
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Honey
Separate the ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add to the wet ingredients in your mixing machine
With all ingredients added to your mixer, mix on level 2 for 8 min. It's a very wet looking dough so don't let that scare you. This is what makes it a very moist tasting bread!
After mixing the dough, Flour your hard surface and dump the dough out. A hard non porous surface is best. . Divide dough into fourths and scoop into your greased ( i used pam) bread tins.
Let your pans sit for ten minutes before baking.
Bake on the CENTER rack for 25 min. @ 350 degrees

YUMMY!!!

Here is a little info on why Wheat is much better then WHITE

This is what is LOST during the conversion of wheat to white ...

50% of all calcium, 70% of phophorus, 80 % iron, 98% magnesium, 75% manganese, 50% potassium and 65$ copper, 80% thiamin, 60% riboflavin, 75% niacin, 50% of pantothenic acid adn 50 % pyridoxine is lost. And to add on top of that White FLour is extremely MUCUs Forming- it goes in and clogs up your lymph system and organs and Bowels..

Wheat is stripped of everything GOOD and bleached with Chlorine Gas to make White FLour. The EPA identifies Chlorine Gas as a flour bleaching, aging, and oxidizing agent that is a powerful irritant, dangerous to inhale and lethal. This chlorine gas converts xanathine, a dough additive into a toxic substance called Alloxan. Alloxan is a byproduct of the flour bleaching process that result in the formation of alloxan in the flour.

WHo cares about Alloxan?- Well you should... When Genetic scientist want to study diabetes they give their rats ALLOXAN to GIVE THEM DIABETES- that is common knowledge alloxan gives you diabetes by destroying the beta cells in your pancreas... and in small amounts it is in ANYTHING that has white flour in it.. Our society EATS A TON of things with WHITE FLOUR in them- you do the math- a little can add up to A LOT. And if you haven't noticed the incidence of diabetes is sky rocketing- in YOUNG and OLD.

*Type 2 diabetes has always been an adult disease- because most the time it is dramatically influenced by diet and lack of exercise. In children it used it used to be 96 percent were Type 1 and only 4 % type 2, now in some places only 65 percent are Type 1 and a whopping 35% type 2 care.diabetesjournals.org/content/23/3/381.full.pdf

I am not saying it is the only CAUSE but it is definately a contributing factor!!! And I haven't even touched on what it does to your insulin levels...

The important point to take away is, beware of any processed food because chemicals are always used. And we simply don’t know what the long-term effects will be of ingesting chemicals, on top of chemicals, on top of more chemicals. Strive to stick to whole unprocessed foods that are as close to their natural state as possible

FYI- I was planning on doing a grains class this month but April is super busy so if there is interest I will try my hardest to get in the last week of April sometime -if not I will not do it until probably June or July SO if you are interested- LET me KNOW!!

and last but not least- I am doing an oil order- if you want something let me know by thursday night...

now go make yourself some yummy wheat bread!!

Use this NOT that!

First- sorry about the lines- they bug me too but I am not sure what to do about it- they randomly show up!

OK I could talk about this forever but what it comes down to is that there is ALOT of junk in your shampoos, conditioner, lotions, makeup soap etc.. That you don't know is in there- well it says on the label but you need to be a rocket scientist to know what it means- SO take some time look up all those long words you can't even say- you are in for a surprise- and a big enough one that might help you change. We all know about Sodium laurel sulfate- that is minor compared to what else is in there and the damage that can be done. So here is what my family is currently using- Yes it takes sometime to get used to the feel- they don't lather the same and honestly I didn't feel like I was cleaning my hair very good because I was so used to the lather but I was so wrong!!! My hair is cleaner, softer, shinier than ever- because all those other shampoos ( yes, even most the high end salon ones- check them) leave crap in your hair...

Burt's Bees Super Shiny Shampoo and Conditioner with Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Essential citrus oils and sugar beet extract combine with penetrating coconut and other natural oils to replenish, soften and improve manageability without weighing down hair.

Avalon Organics revitalizing Peppermint Conditioner Enriched with Babassu Oil Plus Vitamin E, Panthenol & Arginine. Revitalizes and moisturizes as Peppermint invigorates scalp circulation and Babassu Oil restores elasticity and strength. Check out these ingredients....... Ingredients: Certified organic mentha piperita (peppermint) leaf, gingko biloba and rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extracts (aqeous), certified organic helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, stearic acid, soyamidopropalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride, cyclopentasiloxane, emulsifying wax, certified organic orbignya oleifera (babassu) seed oil, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), bisabolol (chamomile), arginine (amino acid), babassuamadopropalkonium chloride, ethylhexylglycerin, sodium chloride, tocopherol (vitamin E), and certified organic mentha piperita (peppermint) leaf oil. Here is but a smidgen of info I have found. I was pretty ticked actually- I USED to use Pantene all the time- but look what they have to say... Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found a correlation between an ingredient found in shampoos and nervous system damage. The experiments were conducted with the brain cells of rats and they show that contact with this ingredient called methylisothiazoline, or MIT, causes neurological damage. Scientists at The University of Pittsburgh have indicated that some unborn babies could be at risk from shampoos and hand lotions containing Methylisothiazoline if their mothers use them during pregnancy. Which products contain this chemical compound MIT? Head and Shoulders, Suave, Clairol and Pantene Hair Conditioner contain this ingredient along with many other brand, body washes and lotions, Researchers are concerned that exposure to this chemical by pregnant women could put their fetus at risk for abnormal braindevelopment. In other people, exposure could also be a factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease and other nervous system disorders. The chemical causes these effects by preventing communication between neurons. Essentially, it slows the networking of neurons, and since the nervous system and brain function on a system of neural networks, the slowing of this network will suppress and impair the normal function of the brain and nervous system. These finding were presented December 5th at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting. AHH_ WHAT!!! I switched immediately- being great with child and all :)- I was so mad- why did I have to do my own research to find this out!!!! And when I did I found SEVERAL other studies done saying the same thing- not crazy biased studies ( you do have to be careful of those) but legit medical Journal studies... So take the time- you can plug any chemical into msds.com and it will tell you what is in it and the exposure risk.they have to be spelled EXACTLY correct so if you are having a problem pulling it up Google it and enter the specific chemical name along with "MSDS" in the search field will return MSDS results for the specific chemicals searched for. Another resource for researching specific ingredients is www.hazard.com/msds. There are hundreds of other chemicals in beauty products that are really bad for you so take the time.. It would take me days to list :) Here is a little more to fuel the fire in case you need a little nudge to check it out- A study done by Bionsen found that the average woman applies 515 chemicals to her face a day. Makeup, perfumes, lotions, mascara, and other beauty products all contribute to the toxic brew that is causing health problems for many women. The study revealed that the typical woman uses about 13 different beauty products a day. Most of these products contain at least 20 ingredients and additives, many of which can have a detrimental effect on the body and skin. You need to know not only what you put in your body but what you put on it! Anything you put on your body gets into your bloodstream...

Kids class...

The Healthy Kids Class is this month and I am so excited!

So many fun tips and tricks to share!

The class will be Tuesday, March 30th 6-7:30 pm and the cost is 25$. We will go over Nutrition a bit and additives, dyes, sweeteners etc - not as much talking in this one- more munching, tasting and making... Then I will make you a bunch of Yummy food and show you how to get your kids to WANT to eat it! That is the key- they need to want to because lets face it you really can't MAKE them eat anything. :) Besides it is much funner and makes for delightful meal times when they WANT to :).

There will be something for everyone... If you are ready to make big changes then I have a lot of great tips to help with transitioning or if you just want to take it slow I have great ideas for you too! And as always a recipe book and Lots of handouts!!! If you want to come let me know- you can leave a comment ( leave your email) or email me camwatson@comcast.net I need to know by the 27th so I can get groceries and handouts copied.

We will be sitting around the dinner table so the limit is 12 people-

and Come Hungry!!!!!

* By the way this delicious little treat- a little spin on mac n cheese

is on the menu- it Good and it's healthy!- you will not even believe how you make the cheese! :) oh yeah- if you have a fav recipe you want me to make healthier- let me know- I will do my best and maybe we can have a few on the menu!