If cauliflower had a resume it would read like a NASA rocket scientist.

It’s one of those superfoods that almost sounds too good to be true. It’s good for your heart, can improve your blood pressure, help kidney function, and contains numerous anti-inflammatory nutrients. Inflammation is now thought to be a significant trigger of diseases of all kinds. So reducing inflammation is vital to good health.

Cauliflower also shines in the vitamin and mineral department. It’s a great source of vitamins C, K, and a bunch of B vitamins, as well as fiber, potassium, magnesium and manganese.

And it’s a valuable cancer fighter, too. One the compounds in cauliflower, sulforaphane, has been found to inhibit the growth of breast and prostate cancers.

So it’s obvious that this mild-mannered vegetable is one all of us should be eating a lot more of.

But, as I mentioned in my blog about healthy eating, what we know we should do, and what we actually do, are often two different things!

And that’s my new mission this year – to find as many ways as possible to say “in with the good,” and really meant it! And eating more cauliflower is on the top of the “good” list.

If you buy a whole head of it (especially those giant ones I’ve been seeing in the store), it can be a bit intimidating. So here’s a great way to not only cook that cauliflower, but make it so delicious that everyone at your table will be asking for seconds!

Amazing roasted cauliflower recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower
  (Note: Avoid the super-big heads as they take too long to make, the outside can burn before it’s soft in the center and some won’t even fit in your oven!)
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon Wild Oats organic crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon Wild Oats organic garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix all the spices and lime juice into the yogurt. Rinse your head of cauliflower, shake the excess water off and remove all the green leaves. If the stem is poking out, trim it off so your head of cauliflower will “sit” in a baking dish.

Place the cauliflower in your baking dish and “paint” it with the yogurt/spice mixture. Spoon it, brush it, finger paint it on – whatever works. The idea is to coat that cauliflower head with our yogurt as if it were a canvas.

Bake at 400 for around 30 minutes or until it’s soft.

When done, your masterpiece will be brown and bubbly, and the cauliflower will be soft in the center.

Serve by cutting into slices.

Cut any leftovers into slices so it will be ready to eat the next day. And then you’ll have no excuse for not eating more of this amazing vegetable!

Winter is a great time for greens. And I’m not talking beet tops or the six dollar bags of mixed greens you get at the supermarket or in the frozen food isle. I’m talking excitingly fresh, crunchy, delicious, super nutritious – sprouts. If you haven’t tried them or have tried them in the past and fallen off, now is a perfect time to start sproutin’! You don’t need anything fancier to get started than a jar or a sieve, but if you want more specific tools to do the job there are plenty out there.

One of the nicest things about sprouts is that there is no dirt required. It’s about the cleanest thing you can do in the kitchen besides dishes. If you want to grow something like wheatgrass for juice, that’s more complicated, but for simple eating, there is a long list of vitality chocked seeds that can cover your plate with no mess in as little as three days. All you need is water, a container, and a space on your counter.

Sprouts have been cultivated and consumed by humans for at least 5000 years, – and the tools and availability just keep getting better. When we started sprouting mung beans back in the 60’s to save money, I thought the little plastic caps that fit on top of the mason jar, with varying sized holes was a major appliance. Now there are stacking trays and mats and all kinds of other paraphernalia to make it easier and more efficient.

If you have never grown sprouts mung beans are a good place to start, because they’re mild and you can use them both fresh and in stir-fry. Another easy and really great seed to sprout is alfalfa. I’m pretty sure every sandwich is better with alfalfa. Turkey, cranberry, avocado and alfalfa is the best ever post holiday snack or sandwich. You don’t even need bread, just roll it up!

Broccoli sprouts are another one that is well worth the effort. Possibly the most popular sprout in the US, they are mild, bright, inexpensive and contain 50 times the amount of sulfurophane found in the same amount of mature broccoli by weight. You get as much antioxidant value in 1 ounce of Broccoli Sprouts as you would if you ate 3 pounds of fully grown Broccoli, according to Johns Hopkins University. Three tablespoons makes three cups, so it costs just pennies for a serving. Less expensive than any vitamin or supplement on the market, far more beautiful, more fun, and a lot more tasty!

Sprouts are a living, enzyme-rich food, that is naturally low in calories. Their vitamin A content will usually be double that of their grown counterpart, various B group vitamins will be 5 – 10 times higher in concentration, and vitamin C will increase 5 – 10 as well. According to Grow Youthful, the protein content of sprouts becomes easily digestible, and rich new nutrients such as enzymes and phytochemicals are created. They also contain significant amounts of bio-available calcium, iron and zinc. So, what are you waiting for?

Here is a quick link to a “make your own” sprouter, so you can get started. (Just like the good old days!)

Do get organic seeds, I can’t even imagine what the concentration would be of toxic stuff in seeds grown with pesticides. Use absolutely clean utensils, jar and lid etc. Rinse thoroughly before soaking and rinse well when you do rinse beans or seeds. Alfalfa though a favorite should not be eaten daily.

Here is a partial list of just some of the seeds you can get from Sprout People. Enough choices to keep you busy for the entire New Year if you like!

Bean Sprouts

• Adzuki Beans
• Mung Bean Sprouts
• Bill Jump Pea Sprouts
• Green Pea Sprouts
• Marrowfat Pea Sprouts
• Speckled Pea Sprouts
• Yellow Pea Sprouts
• Carnival Pea Sprouts
• PeaBanzo Sprouts
• Peanut Sprouts
• Peasant Mix
• Pinto Bean Sprouts
• San Francisco Mix
• Soy Bean Sprouts
• Spring Garden Sprouts
• Sweet Pea Mix
• Pea Shoots

Brassica Sprouts

• Organic Broccoli Sprouts
• Green Cabbage Sprouts
• Red Cabbage Sprouts
• Hot Squared Sprout Mix
• Red Russian Kale Sprouts
• Long Life Sprout Mix
• Radish Sprouts
• Tatsoi Sprouts
• Mustard Greens

Earth Easy has a nice list of types of sprouts, how they taste and what they can be used for.

Fresh-greens-in-winter-how-to-grow-sprouts-at-home/

Sprout People seem to be exactly who they say they are! Enjoy!

Growing-sprouts/sprouting-instructions/

Did you know that the #1 New Year’s Resolution is “to lose weight”?  I thought you did!  A new study shows that stress during the 24 hours before eating a high-fat meal slows metabolism.  Whoa, that’s not good!

When it comes to either losing weight, or maintaining a healthy weight, there are many factors that will make a difference.  At the very foundation is the concept of “calories in, calories out” … which is a catchy way of saying that if we eat more calories than we metabolically burn, we will gain weight.   If we want to lose weight, we need to eat less calories than we burn.

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) reflects the number of calories you burn just being alive. Want to know your BMR? Here’s an example, Laura, a 30 year old woman who is 5’5” and weighs 120 lbs will have a BMR of 1,341 calories.  Any level of activity will increase her calories burned.  The amount of calories actually needed is determine by using the Harris Benedict Equation.  If we are sedentary (total couch potatoes), we multiple our BMR by 1.2 to get our daily calorie need.  In our example, that number is 1,609 calories daily for Laura to maintain her current weight.  If Laura adds even light activity, she would burn more calories and her requirement goes up to 1,852!  Moderate exercise brings it up to 2,078!  The more activity, the greater the calorie burn.  The greater the calorie burn, the more food you can eat and not gain weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.  If you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight.

OK, so on to the study.  This was done through Ohio State University’s Clinical Research Center, and included women only.  The purpose was to look at the effect of stress during the 24 hours before eating a high-fat meal and the amount of calories burned during the 6 hours after the meal was eaten.  All the women were given 3 standardized meals the day prior to the test day and were instructed to eat nothing for 12 hours before the “test meal” which was very high in fat (58% of calories from fat).  All women ate the entire meal within 20 minutes.  The study found that those women who reported one or more stressors (like arguments, work-related pressures, trouble with children, etc.) during the 24 hour period before the test meal burned less calories than the “no stressors” women.  The difference was calculated to be 435 calories per day less for the stressed gals.  That equates to almost 11 pounds of weight gain per year!!!  Oh No!!

OK, so, stress slows metabolism, at least in women.  Stress eating is often high-fat.  Gaining weigh just because we are stressed will only add to our stress!!  Oh gosh  …

Here are a few smart tips:
●   Don’t get stressed (yeah right).
●   Don’t be a stress eater (well, at least try).
●   Have low-fat, healthy foods easily available for you to grab when feeling stressed (that’s not hard).
●   Increase your physical activity to burn more calories (that’s a great idea, you just need to find the time and the motivation).

Look, we all know the stress that we are under.  I hope we can keep it manageable, for lots of health reasons.  If we want to achieve or keep a healthy weight, we have to find ways to balance “calories in/calories out”.  I think I’ll grab an organic apple and some low fat cheese and take at 20 minute brisk walk!  Want to join me?

Additional Resources:

The brain-tongue connection in stress eating

Why organic apples

I look forward to the Christmas greetings I get each year. And because I’m now receiving more e-cards and fewer traditional cards, the cards I do receive seem even more beautiful and sentimental. Many of the cards are truly keepsakes, and I began to wonder what I might do with them after Christmas other than throw them in a box in the attic. I came up with a few ideas for using old Christmas cards, and though I’d share them with my readers.

8 Bright Ideas For Using Old Christmas Cards

Frame them. Framed cards make lovely decor for your home. My husband’s uncle is an artist, and each year he sends a different, handmade and numbered card. I’ve kept all of them and am framing several of them. They will make wonderful Christmas decorations next year. Some are beautiful enough to leave out all year. And, if you get a greeting card with a family photo on it, why not frame it? This way you have an up-to-date photo of your loved ones. You can also frame Christmas cards just because you think they’re pretty. What about framing a snowy winter scene, or a sweet floral card?

Make a bookmark. Trim a Christmas card into several rectangles and use as a bookmark. Write the date and an inspiring message on the back and share them with friends.

Start a keepsake memory book. Each year, paste or tape cards into an album. Make notes about the cards or about the loved ones who sent them. In just a few short years, you’ll have a scrapbook to remind you of all that’s happened over the years.

Create votive candle holders. Collect small glass jars such as baby food jars, jelly jars or votive holders you already have on hand. Cut strips from your old Christmas cards and use to wrap around the outside of the jars. Be sure to leave some space at the top and bottom of the strip for the candle wax and flame. Or, cut small shapes such as stars or circles from the cards and glue in a pattern around the jars. Gold, silver or glittery cards look especially pretty.

Make scented sachets. Simply glue the bottom and side edges of a card together.  When dry, fill the “envelope” with a small amount of potpourri (or a cotton ball sprinkled with your favorite essential oil).  Using a hole punch, make two holes on the top edge, tie together with a pretty ribbon.  If you leave a loop in the ribbon, you can hang the sachets on door handles, coat hooks or radiators. Your whole house will smell wonderful.

Make Gift Tags for Next Year. Cut out pictures, and using a hole punch, make a hole at the top of each card. Tie with ribbon or string. Store for use next year.

Make thank you notes. Cut shapes from cards and write your thank you notes on the blank side. Especially cute if you received a gift from the person who sent the card, and a great way to help kids remember to send their thank you notes.

Make handmade cards for next year. Cut cards in half, leaving the blank side. Fold in half again and use as a small card to write greetings on for next year. Or use the entire blank side as a post card.

These are just a few ideas to help get you started. I’ll bet you think of some great ideas of your own, too.

The New Year is underway, and our resolutions are less than a week old. With the revelry behind us and a new week beginning, Monday is the perfect time to check off a delicious green juice from your to-do list. In fact, you may be able to check off more than one item- juicing is an excellent way to make use of any recently forgotten or slightly wilted greens hiding in your fridge, reducing food waste. So pull out your veggies and fruits and let’s get started.

There are a nearly endless variety of juices to choose from- everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Dr. Oz have recipes to share- but the basics remain the same: grab some greens and a juicer and experiment with your favorite taste profiles. Prepare to be amazed by the sheer volume of veggies you are getting the benefits of as you turn a mountain of greens into a pitcher of juice.

My favorite green juice:

Serving Size: the below produced 4 cups, adjust to suit your serving needs, the below produced 4 cups.

• 4 green apples
• 1 bunch romaine lettuce
• 1 bunch kale (lacinato)
• 1-2 bunches celery
• 1-2 small cucumbers
• 1 bag spinach
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 chunk ginger (roughly 3-4 inches)
• 1-2 whole lemons (peeled and seeded)

Now, sit back and sip merrily, knowing you’re getting abundant nutrition along with that refreshment.

Wishing you luck with all your goals and dreams for the New Year!