Instagram: Healthy(er) choices

The weekend is coming and I know for me, my clean eating diet may slip up some; all those Costco samples, eating out, chips (lots) and salsa at our fave Mexican place, movie theater popcorn, cocktails, ect.  The hubs and I have been really focusing on eating clean this year (for many reasons) and i like to document many of the choices we make on Instagram (follow me at #Jesshm28).  Click on the pictures to get to a post I’ve already done with the recipe (if no link is there then it means I’m working on the post still!). Also, there’s a couple great links for more information on some of these awesome foods! Happy healthy weekend!

1//Sprouted whole grain toast with avocado. Fabulous breakfast with healthy proteins and fats. Have raspberries on the side for extra antioxidant benefits.

2//Fish cakes with sautéed mushrooms (recipe com in ya’ll). Super delicious and healthy!

2//Tabbouleh salad (recipe coming soon!). One of my all time favorites.  Soaked/sprouted grains are more loaded with nutritional value then regular “whole grains”.

3//Spinach, tomato, feta omelet  (on my recipe to-do list). Protein-packed, vitamin loaded awesome way to start the day and not get hungry before 12 pm!

4//Mixed baby green salad with peppers, onion, and lemon infused olive oil dressing (recipe on its way). Light summer dinner that’s fast and easy, can’t beat that!

5//Sake Bloody Mary with veggie garnishes. I love bloody’s and veggie garnishes. Load this one up for a cocktail snack!

6//Anything Dip made with almonds, evoo and more. Great on toast, crackers and as a veggie dip.

7//Green smoothie made with whole foods. Great way to get your greens in the a.m. Green foods are super nutrient dense and loaded with awesome health benefits. Try getting them at every meal!

8//Health remedy “fire cider”.  Fermented foods are great sources of probiotics, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. I made this remedy in winter months to stave off colds/flu and it worked!

9//Cheese fondu served with fruit, whole grain bread, and veggies.  This is a treat (aka high fat)  so use healthy dippers like raw veggies and fruits.

10//Jalepeno-watermelon martini (alcohol can have benefits, hello-decreased stress- if used moderately, 1-2 glasses per day for a healthy person)

Detox Ingredient: Parsley + Fire cider recipe

When I did my cleanse a few weeks ago I learned that parsley is a super food and not just a garnish due to it’s unique components: volatile oils and flavonoids. The volatile oils help protect us from some carcinogens like those in cigarette and charcoal smoke while the flavonoids function as antioxidants protecting our cells from damage.  It is also a great source of vitamins C, A & K and the nutrients Iron and folate.  Vitamin C cancels out dangerous free radicals in the body therefore protecting us from all sorts of disease.  Vitamin A, aka beta carotene, is also an antioxidant that helps protect us from diseases like diabetes, colon cancer and arteriosclerosis (hey, I heart my heart!).

I’ve always loved parsley in tabouli but I’m going to start using it in salads, on fish, in stews and soups and in this: Fire Cider.  It’s a whole food remedy for colds and flu and helpful for allergies,  digestion, circulation and bronchitis.  I am an allergy sufferer so that is my main reason for making this.  The fire cider is incredibly tart and I only eat a spoonful once-twice daily.  I also eat it on salads as a vinaigrette with some olive oil.  Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients: apple cider vinegar (preferably organic)// 3 tbs horseradish root// 3 tbs grated/peeled ginger// one head garlic// small onion// 3 tbs fresh parsley// 1 C organic beets.

1. Blend all ingredients and pour into a jar.  Pour the apple cider vinegar to the top of the jar.  Label with the date  2. Refridgerate for 2-4 weeks and do not open it!  You can strain out the liquid and bottle it for use or I just use it all because it’s so good!  Be careful though if you have heartburn or stomach issues or take blood thinners because it might exacerbate these problems.  To our health!

If you want more info on fire cider and parsley, check out these sites:

http://www.herbaleducation.net/recipe-fire-cider.php (a little nutritional info + recipe)

http://www.food.com/recipe/Fire-Cider-Remedy-for-Cold-Flu-111755 (Fire cider recipe-not the one I used, but the main ingredients are similar)

http://www.delightedmomma.com/2012/11/how-to-make-fire-cider-all-natural-cold.html (this lovely blog is where I first learned of Fire cider)

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=100 (this site is great to learn all about the nutritional content of food, love it)

http://recipes.search.yahoo.com/search?p=parsely (tons of recipes that have parsley)

Green whole fruit smoothie

Did I mention that with this cleanse of no food, caffeine and alcohol are not to be consumed as well?  The caffeine part so far is the hardest. I had a dull headache the entire first day.  I even allowed myself a small cup of loose leaf green tea, but it didn’t help much if at all.  I did a work out and that DID help for a while.   My lunch smoothie today was inspired by V8 juice and it wasn’t very good:( so I started feeling sorry for myself when my husband made himself a spinach, feta omelet. So I’m getting out of the house for a while to get more ingredients to use, like a pineapple:) yay.

Here’s one of the recipes I made for my cleansing detox that is really good tasting: 3 C spinach// 1 C grapes// 3/4 C mango// 1/2 C blackberries// 1/2 banana // strawberry for garnish or just throw it in the mix
I’m really enjoying this cleanse despite the lack of caffeine (and my lunch smoothie).  Whole foods can only make you feel good and despite the funny colors, this tastes really good!

Sniffle Monster

That’s what my husband adoringly calls me during my frequent allergy attacksaround this time of year, the sniffle monster.  I couldn’t sleep past 5 am or so soI made myself some tea, blew my nose, read some blogs, blew my nose,  let the dog out, blew my nose…you get the picture.  I’m not a big fan of just relying on meds for relief so I’ve decided to take charge of my sniffle monster a and try some natrual remedies.

Here’s my ideas: 1. Actually use my Netipot.

2. From Webmd: use Quercetin.  “Found in wine and many fruits and vegetables, quercetin may work as a mast cell stabilizer. It helps block the release of histamine that causes inflammation.” Hmmm, drink more wine? yes please!

3. Buy and consume local honey (yum!)

4. Plug in my humidifier at night. The mist binds to allergens in the air and makes them fall so you don’t breathe them

.  5.  Invest in an air purifier. I should have done this before I shared my bed with 2 dogs!

6. Try this steam recipe: from Natural Allergy Remedies – How to Treat Allergies Naturally – Woman’s Day–3 drops eucalyptus essential oil, 3 drops rosemary essential oil, 2 drops myrtle essential oil and 2 drops tea tree essential oil. Tent a bath towel over the saucepan (keep your face just far enough away from the steam to avoid burns) and inhale deeply for 5 to 10 minutes.

7. Lots and lots of Tea!!
Do you have any allergy remedies that work for you?

My New Bike

Memories of riding my bike growing up takes up a huge chunk of space in the Childhood memories section of my brain.  I remember my very first bike with the banana seat and rainbows and training wheels; my dad pushing me alongside and letting me go until I toppled over onto the curb; the exhilarating moments when I would let go of the handlebars and just fly down the hill where my best friend lived; riding the 5 or so miles halfway around Lake Monona to my grandparents house and stopping for root beer floats, and the grueling last 5 miles after devouring the entire root beer float plus homemade cookies; riding every day in the summer to our public pool; going to the ice cream “Bait shop”,  the tiny beaches in my neighborhood, the local Deli “Kens Meat Market” for 50 cent malts that came with a small wooden spoon hidden in the lid.  It was how I got everywhere I wanted to go, and I did.  My bike wasn’t fancy nor did I have the gadgets some of my friends got like an old fashioned bell, a basket, a flag, spoke beads that clicked with each wheel rotation, reflecting lights.  I found all those rather annoying then anyways.  I liked my simple purple Huffy mountain bike when I was a teen; I was happy with it and all the places it took me.  Life was fairly uncomplicated and I found growing up to be a series of surmountable events.

I grew out of my Huffy and since age 16 when I got my first car I haven’t gone back.

Then I went to Pacific Beach in San Diego.  I fell back in love with bikes.

My husband and I barely even made it to San Diego, the trip we had planned on for about a year ago when our friends sent their Save-the-Date.  We just got married ourselves ( Big *smile* 6.30.12 )and hadn’t planned our honeymoon because, well, we were out of money and I was out of a job.  Longer story short,  I happened to find a Groupon the week before our friends wedding and very cheap plane tickets (I mean who ever heard of $118 tickets??) So we decided we would make this trip work after all.  Plus, it was my sister’s birthday and she and her boyfriend were flying to San Diego the same week and since we live 1000 miles apart this was a rare opportunity to spend quality time together.

Fast forward to the beach, I mean, those beach cruisers on the boardwalk!!  and those beach bodies..I’ve never seen so many healthy/in shape people in one place; certainly not in Dallas where we have like the third highest percentage of obese people or something crazy like that (see post on Weekend Gluttony).  It made me want a bike so bad! My mind was made up.

Instead of shopping for a new fall wardrobe (I’m home all day anyways!) I bought my hubby and I both bikes and I am so happy!   Not only is riding my bike going to be part of my fitness regimen but it is something we can do together which is very important to us both.  I’ve already ordered a bike basket so that I can ride to the grocery and pick up dinner items or treat myself with starbucks, a 3 mile ride away and part of my happiness plan to have less impact on the environment, more sense of community and to exercise more-perfect!