Guilt-Free Friday: Sautéed Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, and Carrots with Melted Feta

Sorry for the long name.  Maybe I’ll just call it ABC Medley (Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and Carrots, in case you didn’t put that together… haha).  This was another one of those things that renewed my faith in my brain.  Kind of like the last Brussels sprouts recipe I created.  And this came out of my brain just out of the need to eat something for supper and use up some leftovers.  I was certainly pleased with the outcome!  I will be making this again, and again, and again!

It’s Easter this Sunday already… and we don’t have eggs colored or anything… and I’m not really sure when that’s going to happen because life just won’t slow down!  Thus the late Guilt-Free Friday post again…  I had every intention of getting this up earlier, but I had four back-to-back clients, errands to run, and when that was all said and done I had to take advantage of this gorgeous weather with my kiddo, so we played with plastic boats in the big puddle the snow left in our ditch.  I would share a picture of that, but I was too busy pushing a boat around with a stick to take pictures… sorry!  But here are some pictures from our snow day:

Frosty the Welding Snowman and his igloo!  Definitely got creative in the snow!  Yes he has a mustache.  And he looks like Justin does after a long day of welding...

Harlee wants to explore this igloo!

My snow bunny!  He loves this weather!

 And now for that recipe!

This is one serving, since I made this after I got home from work late and Justin’s on nights and Harlee already ate with his babysitter.  So just multiply this by however many people you’re feeding it to!

You will need:

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium-large carrot, chopped

6 Brussels sprouts, halved

6 asparagus spears, cut in 2-inch pieces

4 or 5 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dash of garlic powder

Dash of black pepper

2(ish) tbsp crumbled Feta cheese

Directions:

Sauté the carrots in the olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes (I let them cook while I chopped the sprouts).  Place the Brussels sprouts cut-side-down in the oil and cook for another 1-2 minutes (and cut up the asparagus while they’re in there).  Toss in the asparagus.  Dash in the garlic and pepper, and add in the tomatoes.  Stir the veggies to evenly coat with spices and evenly cook, for about 2-3 more minutes.  Add in the Feta cheese and stir until melted and coating the vegetables.  Serve and enjoy!

K is for Koagulate

Figured I’d end how I started – with poor spelling :).  But blood coagulation is the main thing vitamin K is good for, which is very important when it comes to our body’s natural ability to heal wounds.  But it’s good for way more than just wound healing, and studies are being done to reveal that this vitamin may have been a bit underrated.  Some of the benefits of vitamin K include preventing the calcification of arteries, cardiovascular disease, varicose veins, osteoporosis, certain kinds of cancer, and it can also help your brain’s health.

There are two different kinds of vitamin K – K1 and K2.  K1 is found in vegetables, mainly the green leafy ones like kale and spinach and collard greens, and also in brussels sprouts and broccoli.  It does its work from your liver and it’s the one responsible for healthy blood clotting and preventing the arterial calcification mentioned earlier.  It also helps your bones retain calcium, which is why it’s so beneficial in preventing osteoporosis.  K2 is produced by bacteria in your gut (remember that post?  If not I highly recommend you go back and read it – it’s one of my favorites and probably one of the most important and useful ones I’ve written thus far).  It’s the hardest for your body to absorb, though, and sometimes just gets passed on through your body’s elimination process.

Vitamin K1 is easy to get enough of through diet and eating those green leafy vegetables.  K2, however, is probably one of those to take in supplement form to ensure your body gets enough of it.  It should be taken with fat, as it’s a fat-soluble vitamin and that will aid its absorption into your body.  Freaked out about eating fat?  Well stop it, go back and read my post about fat, and avoid fake fats like margarine and canola oil (there’s not even such thing as a canola plant… where the heck does that stuff even come from??).  Vitamin K also works hand-in-hand with Vitamin D – together they ensure your body absorbs calcium properly, aiding in the prevention of such diseases as osteoporosis.

And that wraps up the Vitamin Series!  I hope some of your questions have been answered, and if not let me know and I can do some more research!  You know how I love research!  My apologies again for being late with these last two, and for slacking on your Guilt-Free Friday recipes.  As some of you may know, Justin and I are getting ready to build a new house in the upcoming months, and with him being on night shift now, I’ve been doing a lot of the prep work myself and therefore have had a lot on my mind!  I’m seriously going to write a post about the process of building a new home… it’s quite involved!!  Add that to my increasingly busy schedule at work (any of you who have tried to book a massage and got pushed off to 3-4 weeks later because I’m swamped know about this!) and caring for that adorable, active, curious little boy that’s been hanging out with us for the past 20 months (yes, he is that old!), I don’t have much room left in my life or in my brain to dedicate to my blog!  Which is sad sometimes, as I’ve grown to love my little corner of cyberspace… And, when I do have moments to spare, I find myself researching education options for natural health counseling, as thanks to this blog I’ve realized that all this passion I’ve got inside of me needs to be channeled out beyond just the blog!  Maybe when we’re done having kids and they’re off to school I’ll embark on that chapter of my journey.  In the meantime, allow me to nourish your minds through this blog and heal your body through my work! :-)

But don’t worry, I’ll do my best to stay active here so you don’t run out of reading material.  I have lots to say, after all!  I’ve been learning more about the use and benefits of essential oils which I’d like to share more with you, and I’d like to talk more about diet and nutrition as well.  Lots to look forward to!  Hope you all have been enjoying this snowy spring, and I’ll hopefully be back Friday if I get my act together in time.  Take care, everyone!


 http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02804/vitamin-k.html
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/26/this-could-be-even-bigger-than-the-vitamin-d-discovery.aspx
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/26/this-could-be-even-bigger-than-the-vitamin-d-discovery.aspx

Guilt-Free *Saturday* : Kale Chips

Look at me failing to get this post up on time again!  I had it all ready to go and everything, all I had to do was click "Publish", but no, I booked a few more clients yesterday and then we had to go and win the iPad drawing we entered at the St. Louis Home & Garden show a couple of weekends ago so I had to go pick that up.  Yeah, we actually won something!  We never win stuff like that!  It was sweet!  Although I already got an iPad last year... so it's not like we *need* one... but Justin thinks he needs one so I guess it all works out.  Harlee's been getting the most use out of it though - there are some fun apps for kids out there!  Anyway, that being said, I was not at my computer all day yesterday, and therefore could not click "Publish".  So here I am today!


Searching for something to dunk in dip that’s healthier than chips but more fun than carrot sticks?  Search no more, these crispy little snacks are yummy and totally customizable!  And super easy too!

Just start with a bunch of kale and tear the leaves into pieces the size you’d like for chips, careful to avoid the stem/rib or tough veins (just discard those – they become sharp and not fun to bite into once they’re baked).  Put the kale pieces in a large bowl.

Then toss with olive oil – I don’t have an exact measurement as it varies with how much kale you’re using, but just use enough to coat them all evenly.

After that you’ll want to season them.  This is where you get creative!  If you don’t feel like being creative, just sprinkle in some salt and pepper and leave it at that.  I love adding garlic powder as well.  Parmesan cheese is another idea.  You can make them spicy and add a dash or two of cayenne pepper, or go for a Mexican blend and toss them with chili powder.  Maybe try lemon and rosemary – just use your imagination and have fun!

Once they’re coated and seasoned, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Place them in a preheated oven at 275 degrees for about 8 minutes.  They should be turning a nice dark green, but probably still chewy at this point.  Flip them, pop them back in the oven and let them go for another 6 minutes.  Keep an eye on them – ovens vary.  You want them a nice dark green/borderline brown color, too brown and they taste awful, but not dark green enough and they’re chewy and kinda gross.   They should be nice and stiff and crispy.  Give the pan a shake – if they sound and look crispy while they’re sliding around against each other and they’re the right color, then they’re most likely done.  Store in a container and snack on them whenever you like!  I like them plain, but even better dipped in roasted red pepper or garlic hummus.  Yum!

E is for Enrichment

In many ways!

Sorry for the delay in writing.  How do you other bloggers with kids and jobs find time to write so frequently??  I write a lot of my posts in advance and still can’t manage to get them online!  I guess I’ll figure it out one of these days…  But this past week was super busy with work and Justin starting on night shift and getting ready for Saturday, which was the day we had the Red Bud Fire Department out to our farm to burn down Justin’s grandpa’s house.  That was a really cool experience!  It was kinda bittersweet, too… I honestly got a little choked up when the fire was started, and it was lit in Justin’s old room when he lived with Grandpa.  All kinds of memories surfaced from all the time we spent there when we first started dating, and I thought about all the many more memories that Justin has of growing up visiting that house.  But, as the fire grew, I thought more and more about how this meant we’re that much closer to building our new house, and starting on the next chapter of our lives, which I’m so incredibly excited about.

So, now it’s Sunday, Harlee is napping with Justin, who is catching up on sleep from his transition to night shift, and I’m working on getting back into the swing of things.  I’ve done more research for this post and the next, and also have some new recipes to share with you.  Let’s see if I can stick with this!

So.  Vitamin E.  I’ll be honest with you – this vitamin is the one I’ve known the LEAST about, up until researching it for this post.  I’m glad I’m doing this Vitamin Series – I’m learning a lot!  I knew it’s good for your skin, since the only place I’ve seen it so far is in creams and lotions – it helps protect against UV radiation which is good for prevention of skin cancer or early aging.  It’s also good for bone density.  But the benefits of Vitamin E aren’t just skin-deep!

Vitamin E is also protective against oxidative stress, which is caused by free radicals which can damage cells and even lead to disease.  It helps boost metabolism too by interrupting the development of carcinogens that are formed in the stomach.  It’s also anti-inflammatory, which is great for you if you suffer from arthritis, rheumatism, asthma, or any other inflammatory-related disease or disorder.

It’s great protection for artery walls, too, and prevents the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol which is what builds up in the arteries.  Vitamin E helps keep blood platelets from clumping together, which helps keep the blood thin and therefore reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Vitamin E has also been proven to help protect against many forms of cancer, as well as slow the progression and development of cancer, especially in the forms of gamma and delta-tocopherols which come from nuts, seeds, and their cold-pressed oils.  Unfortunately some researchers have tried to disprove Vitamin E’s health benefits.  They succeeded in discovering that it can actually CAUSE cancer… in its synthetic form.  Once again, I must reiterate, consuming fake crap and alternatives is just not good for you!  That being said, be careful if you decide to take a Vitamin E supplement – if it’s synthetic, it might give you the exact opposite of the effects you’re hoping for.

The best way to get Vitamin E is through diet.  Almonds, pine nuts, peanuts, and sunflower seeds are rich in Vitamin E, as are certain herbs and spices like basil and oregano, paprika, and chili powder.  Apricots, spinach, and green olives are great sources too.

And that concludes our lesson on Vitamin E.  Hopefully I'll see you Friday!

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/6-health-benefits-of-vitamin-e.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/vitamin-supplements/benefits-of-vitamin-e.htm

http://www.naturalnews.com/035780_vitamin_E_cancer_prevention.html

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/vitamin-E.php