I’m passionate about eating a healthy diet because I know just how much it matters. However, I get the sense that very few people want to be told to eat more fruits and vegetables. It’s disheartening given that we have a significant body of research to support the benefit of  choosing certain foods to eat to prevent or at least least reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and more.

If you have ever doubted the value of eating the right kind of food, I encourage you to watch the video I have to share from TED. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. You can find their amazing award-winning TEDTalks videos on the site: www.ted.com.

NOTE: This is a fairly long video (about 20 minutes). Be sure to watch until the end. You won’t regret it!

Does the research suggest we can prevent all cancer with a healthy diet? No, absolutely not. But it may greatly enhance the odds of staying healthy and reduce the number of people who are diagnosed with active cancer each year. That’s something worth taking to heart!

I’ve watched this amazing video more than once. I hope you will too. It gives me hope! I’m looking forward to when we can more accurately predict precisely which foods may provide the greatest benefits for better health. That day is not far off.

Quinoa is special! At least I think so. I was raised on quinoa, although at the time I didn’t even know it! An American by birth, I grew up in the land-locked country of Bolivia, high in the Andes Mountains. My family was living in Bolivia while my father was on assignment as a petroleum economist for the United Nations. I was a teenager at the time and not into cooking. How I wish I could go back now and explore the many healthful foods we ate!

Peruvian Quinoa Stew
(Serves 4)

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is native to Bolivia and Peru. It looks like a grain and cooks like a grain so it is commonly referred to as a grain. Botanically speaking, however, it is actually a seed of a leafy plant related to spinach. This special grain has nearly twice the protein of “real” cereal grains with fewer carbohydrates and some healthy fat! Unlike cereal grains it is a “complete” protein. That means it has all the essential amino acids present that your body needs to build lean tissue such as muscle.

Quinoa Paella
(Serves 6)

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 240; Fat: 6.6 g; Saturated Fat: 0.7 g; Carbs: 36.3 g;
Fiber: 6.7 g; Protein: 9.1 g

Quinoa is a good source of potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and magnesium. It is also a source of many vitamins including niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, B6, and Vitamin E. In addition, quinoa is gluten free.

The seeds of Quinoa are covered with a bitter tasting coating of saponins that act as a natural repellant to birds and insects. However, you have no need to worry. When quinoa is prepared for sale in the market place, the bitter saponins are removed. It’s still a good idea to rinse quinoa before cooking. Because quinoa does not have any gluten it is an excellent choice to include in the diet of anyone with gluten sensitivity.

Quinoa cooks up faster than rice. One part uncooked quinoa will yield 4 times that amount cooked. It can be used in salads, soups, stews, egg dishes such as quiche or frittata, and desserts. I’ve also found it makes a great hot cereal for breakfast along with some dried fruit, nuts, and fresh or frozen berries.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe
(Serves 4)

If you like nutty, chewy and nutritious, you’ll want to go make a bowl of this appealing breakfast cereal as soon as you can! It’s one of what may be hundreds of scrumptious recipes posted on the 101 Cookbooks blog. Do exercise caution however! Many of the recipes, although enticing, are not low calorie or necessarily healthy by any means!

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 314; Fat: 10.4 g; Saturated Fat: 0.9 g; Carbs: 47.5 g; Fiber: 7.8 g; Protein: 8.9 g

Quinoa Turkey Burgers with Easy Guacamole
(Serves 4)

When preparing this recipe/meal make sure you purchase extra lean ground turkey 99% fat free or you will have a good deal more saturated fat and cholesterol along with the accompanying unnecessary calories. Omitting the avocado would also reduce the calories but then you would forgo a good source of unsaturated healthy fat and other important nutrients avocado has to offer such as vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folic acid, and copper.

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 332; Fat: 11.7 g; Saturated Fat: 1.5 g; Carbs: 36.4 g; Fiber: 6.3 g; Protein: 20.9 g

[UPDATE: I've now made the burgers. They are good but I believe they would be better with less quinoa and more ground turkey. So the next time I make these I plan on including only half of the quinoa. That reduces the calorie count per burger to only 246 calories with the avocado/guacamole topping. Bun not included.]

With half the quinoa:

Calories: 246; Fat: 10.2g; Saturated Fat: 1.5 g; Carbs: 21.4 g; Fiber: 4.8 g; Protein: 18.4 g

Butternut Squash and Quinoa Frittata
(Serves 4)

What a great idea to add squash and quinoa to a frittata! I have lots of butternut squash ready for cooking from my garden. This recipe seems to be quick and easy to prepare. I can’t wait to try it!

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 287; Fat: 12.3g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Carbs: 30 g; Fiber: 4g; Protein: 16 g

Zucchini and Corn Taco Seasoned Salad
(4 servings)

This recipe calls for making homemade taco seasoning. To save some time, a packaged mix should work just as well. It also calls for using a cheese called cotija. Not being familiar with this cheese I did a little research. From what I have learned it is evidently similar to Parmesan cheese with respect to taste but looks to me like feta cheese. I would imagine either Parmesan or feta would make a suitable substitute for the cotija.

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 304; Fat: 8.1 g; Saturated Fat: 1.5 g; Carbs: 49.4 g; Fiber: 7.1 g; Protein: 10.1 g

Hope these five healthy low calorie quinoa recipes will get you started on cooking with quinoa. I plan on making the Quinoa Turkey Burgers and the Butternut Squash and Quinoa Frittata this week. I’ll be making the others as well as soon as I can! How about you?

I just finished watching one part of an amazing 4-part documentary series produced by the BBC on the concept of time. In this show, the second in the series, string theory pioneer Michio Kaku takes us on an extraordinary exploration of the meaning of biological aging.

He believes that many humans see life as precious because life is limited. He explores the idea that time seems to go faster as we age. Does it really or is it simply our perception? Then with further questions he asks whether our time here on earth could be unlimited. If so, would we want that?

If scientists are right, our biology is programmed for life but not for death. So in theory if aging isn’t programmed maybe it could be reversed. Part 2 of this series is an hour long but I found myself riveted to my computer screen watching every minute. I am fascinated by what scientists have learned and what research in the very near future may reveal.

From the programming of our genes to the influence of our mitochondria and the wear and tear of free radicals and more, I encourage you to watch this show if you would like to better understand the aging process. Enjoy!

Via: VideoSift