I am continually surprised and delighted by the quality of important information one can come across on the web. However having said that, actually sifting through an overwhelming amount of useless communication is a little bit like looking for a needle in a haystack! So I hope some of the great pieces I came across in the past week or so may support you in your journey to achieve better health and wellness.
A topic near and dear to my heart is any news or tips on how to keep my brain healthy as I age. Having my beloved father be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s before he passed away a few years back made me take a closer look at my own situation. I came across several great articles that give me hope I am doing many of the right things to stay healthy. I also learned a few new ideas.
47 Ways to Fine Tune Your Brain is my top pick for a wow! article. Lots and lots of good tips. Hopefully, like me you will find one or more ideas you hadn’t thought of before.
A couple of other shorter but good articles about brain health include:
Seven Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp
6 Foods to Increase Your Brain-Power (Will a certain handful of foods increase your brain function? The six foods in this list may or may not be the best or certainly the only foods that are important for your brain but I would put them at or near the top of any list I might make. Also included is a short list of the kinds of foods that may detract from brain health.)
On another note, if you enjoy exploring new recipes without spending a long time surfing the web, I think you’ll like a new recipe site online called recipe.com. This new site will incorporate some of the best recipes from Better Homes & Gardens, EatingWell.com, Fine Cooking, the Food Channel, and more all in one place. Be sure to check out the healthy cooking options and the cooking how-to information. Nice! Any drawbacks? The site seems to require registration and parting with your email address to access some of the content.
If you or anyone you know has recently decided to become a vegetarian you might want to take a look at What Makes for a Healthy Vegetarian Diet? Included with this short article written by a dietitian, are some links for helpful resources.
My last recommendation for a good read is one of the best on this list. If you need some excellent tips on ways to save money at the grocery store you will love 10 Specific Ways to Cut Your Food Budget . Even if you are a seasoned pro with budgeting your food dollars you might learn something new!
These articles are worth your time.
Have a great week!
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!
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
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?
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