Whether you are a lover (or a leaver) of leftovers, they are a part and parcel of the holiday season. I confess, I am often on the “leaving” side- my refrigerator has often been where unfinished food goes to expire. This year, however, I struck upon a new approach that has me reconsidering my position.

Post feast-days, I tend towards simple fare- quinoa, veggies, rinse and repeat. This can, as you may well know, get somewhat uninspiring. Enter the leftover lamb and sauce from Thanksgiving, however, and simple fare gets a lot more exciting. (I imagine this would work just as well with turkey, chicken, beef, et al.)

In 30 minutes or less, here is how to get a few more miles (and a tasty meal) out of your excess:

(Serves 2)

• Add 2 cups quinoa and 4 cups water to a pot, bring to a boil
  •  if you have any leftover juices, use this instead of/as well as water for a richer result
• Fill a pan with enough water to cover a bundle of asparagus (or broccoli, if you prefer), bring to a boil

While you wait:

• Rinse and trim your asparagus- I go with the snapping method, myself
• Slice or press 2 cloves of garlic, set aside
• Slice 2 shallots, set aside
• Prep your meat, make it bite sized (this may involve removing it from the bone, cutting it into small pieces, etc.)
• In a small pan on low heat, add roughly 1 tbsp. olive oil
  •   if your meat is on the drier side, adjust oil to taste
• When the quinoa pot boils, lower flame to medium, let simmer for 15 minutes

Next up:

• Add shallots and garlic to the heated oil, let cook until shallots are soft, and then add meat.
• Add asparagus to pan of boiling water, remove when the stalks have brightened up, a minute or less
• Remove asparagus to strainer, rinse with cold water
• Plate asparagus, serve with olive oil, lime juice, sea salt and pepper
• Remove meat from heat, check quinoa- it should be just about done.
• Serve quinoa with your dressed up leftovers alongside asparagus
• Enjoy!

If you’ve been invited to a party or dinner this holiday season, you will definitely want to say “thank you” by bringing a host/hostess gift.

A host/hostess gift doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. It’s simply a way to show your appreciation to someone who was thoughtful enough to include you in their holiday plans.

It’s certainly easy to pick up a bottle of wine or flowers on the way to your event — and when pressed for time, I’ve done this very thing. But wouldn’t it be nice to have something more personal to give?  Try the quick idea below. It’s sure to give a warm welcome to your next party arrival.

Cute And Quick Host/Hostess Gift Idea

You’ll need 3 things:

1- edible item such as a bag of coffee or tea, homemade banana bread or cookies, a bag of gourmet chocolates, a bottle of gourmet olive oil, a jar of gourmet jam or preserves, etc;

1- beautiful kitchen or tea towel — either holiday-themed or to match your host/hostess’ decor;

1- small item that matches the edible, such as a coffee scoop, wooden spoon, mug, tea infuser, pretty serving spoon, pretty butter knife, etc;

-Ribbon to match your towel.

How To: Wrap edible (such as a bag of coffee) in towel by setting edible in the center of the towel and drawing up the sides to make a sort of pouch. Tie ribbon around towel to hold ends together. Fluff ends out so that they look open. Tie ribbon around coffee scoop, etc, then tie a large bow around top of towel. Add additional ribbon to finish, if desired.

Tips:

-This is a great make ahead gift.  You can pre-purchase bags of coffee or tea, towels, ribbon, etc and have on hand for a quick gift for a last minute invitation.

-If using homemade items like banana bread or cookies, first put them in a cellophane bag for storage and to preserve freshness.

-You can personalize it! The best thing about this gift is that it can be personalized any way you want. Almost anything — from a bag of coffee to a loaf of crusty french bread —can be the center of your gift

-You can add extras to this gift as you like, such as a beautiful canister to hold the coffee, tea, or chocolates. Or instead of the coffee scoop, tie on a set of measuring scoops, or a beautiful wooden spoon. You could put a bag of coffee inside a mug and wrap with a kitchen towel. You could even include a gift card to your host/hostess’ favorite coffee house or tea shop, too.

-Get creative!  Make your own stamped tea towels for an extra-extra personal touch!  Find a great tutorial at Centsational Girl.

Don’t let holiday invitations catch you off guard.  With this easy host/hostess gift idea, you’ll always be ready to party!

“… Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

(The Red Queen to Alice in Wonderland)

While the Red Queen was not someone I would especially like to emulate, the practice of being open to ideas that appear to be impossible is a good one.

There is something exhilarating about travelling into the unknown and realizing that what once seemed far fetched or like magic, is really just bits and parts of understandings we haven’t quite strung together yet.

Every day I try to wrap my head around the idea that we live in a globally connected world where available solutions and knowledge could actually catch up with and overtake our problems, leaving only the question of how we will choose to focus our expanding knowledge. Feeding the world is not impossible. It’s a problem. Living well on a healthy planet is not impossible, it’s a challenge.

I know I am old, but it wasn’t that long ago that Captain Kirk on the Enterprise asking the computer questions (and getting instant answers) was science fiction. Not only did we not have verbal technology for that 20 years ago, we didn’t have information storage. Now we have devices like “Echo.” A cylindrical bit of sorcery that can sit quietly anywhere in your home waiting to answer questions on any subject, at any time, from a seemingly infinite storage space in the cloud.

As we are recreating our world at an unprecedented pace we need to keep asking what kind of world we want to create. What is “enough?” And more importantly, what do we compare that to? How many species or people matter? Where will we go for answers and what will we do with them once we find them?

Meanwhile, here is a book that holds out the seemingly impossible hope, that if we take the time to examine the world we have been given, we might discover that the answers have been with us all along.

The book is called : Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World by Paul Stamets.

Stamets offers mushroom based solutions, or possible solutions for everything from Termites, to HIV, and proposes that perhaps our best shot at survival is protecting and cultivating all life on our planet. It is a hopeful look into the future and a surprising look back at where we have come from.

If you are looking for reasons to believe this season, here’s a fun place to start. The book is available online and the YouTubes are short and inspiring. At the very least it will change the way you look at the earth beneath your feet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYOHACVFUqk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbGRMj9tP5M

https://decroissons.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/paul-stamets-mycelium-running-how-mushrooms-can-help-save-the-world.pdf

http://www.namyco.org

If you don’t know what “micronutrients” are, you should!

They’ve been called the “magic wands” that allow our bodies to make enzymes, hormones and other necessary things needed for functioning.

And like their name suggests, we only need tiny amounts of these nutrients to be effective. While you can take supplements to add them to your diet, they are best obtained from whole food sources. Some micronutrients need to be replenished daily, and some are only needed in trace amounts.

Even though we may only need small amounts of these “magic wands,” the consequences of not having enough can be very detrimental to our health.

Now since these essential nutrients are found in foods, you may wonder why it’s even an issue. I mean we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with plenty of snacking in between, right?

Well, one big reason why we have these “nutrient gaps” is because the foods we eat are processed to the point of being mostly devoid of nutritional value. And “fortified” foods don’t make up that gap, either.

These micronutrients, as a rule, aren’t nearly as “mighty” when altered as they are in their natural state, where their effectiveness is supported and enhanced by a lot of other trace substances – many of whose roles aren’t even yet understood by science.

If you want to get an idea of how mighty micronutrients work together in concert, try imagining them as separate instruments in a symphony orchestra, each assigned an essential part in playing the musical composition.

Think of all the coordination and timing that takes place among strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion, even under the guidance of a conductor.

Now, imagine some of those instruments being removed from the orchestra. Things wouldn’t sound quite the same, now would they? The composition might still be distantly recognizable, but it would hardly represent what the composer had in mind.

So what we might think of as a well-orchestrated meal, might actually be one that can still fall short on a great many essential nutritional notes.

The result is a subtle, but significant loss of what was once called “food value.” So in an interesting twist, while we’ve “supersized” our diets, our food has been downsized in nutritional content.

Stay tuned next for some examples of these mighty micronutrients, and the foods they’re best found in.

We know that time spent in front of the “screen” is related to increased obesity.  It is commonly called “sit time” … and … compared to “fit time”  …. well there is no comparison.  Physical activity burns calories and improves health in many different ways. The Harvard School of Public Health published a great review on the problem.  But, does screen time affect more than just the calorie burn and the health benefits of physical activity? Apparently so …

A study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at screen time with teenagers and the association in the types of foods eaten.  This study only looked at the eating of “foods of low nutritional quality” (FLNQ) as it related to total screen time  … from television, electronic games, and/or DVDs.  FLNQs included sugar or high-fructose sweetened beverages, fast food, sweets, and salty snacks.  The study also looked at the effect of increased eating of FLNQs and changes in fruit and vegetable consumption.  Over 7,000 teens were followed over several years.  The results?  The amount of “screen” time directly correlated with increased intake of FLNQs and decreased intake of fruits and vegetables!  The more the screen time, the bigger the problem.  The study conclusion  –  “Increases in screen time were associated with increased consumption of foods and beverages of low nutritional quality and decreased consumption of fruits and vegetables.  Our results caution against excessive use of screen media ..”

So, as parents, does this mean no more screen time for our teenagers?  Good luck on that strategy!

Yes, it is good to try to limit screen time.  It is also good to try to limit foods of low nutritional value.  Heck, you are reading the Wild Oats blog, you already know that!!  How about providing higher quality snacks and beverages?  Wild Oats cookies are a must!  The Honey Wheat Mini-Pretzels are a good choice too, or the popcorn or any of our healthy snacks.  Starting with snack foods of high nutritional value and then adding fruits and veggies wherever and whenever you can will make a difference.  Limit “sit time”, encourage “fit time”, love your teenagers, and make it easier to choose healthier foods.  Electronics for Christmas!  Better health for the New Year!