From Health Warrior Recipes

Bon Appetit

Society is constantly on the go. We move fast and we want things convenient.  Which got us thinking about how this fast-paced everything convenient world is affecting our children’s health and wellness?

Far too many times, I have seen students come to school with a hand full of junk.  Chips, honey buns, pop, candy bars, you name it. They would gobble down some of their unhealthy snacks for breakfast. The rest they would save for lunch.

The convenience store was their after school supermarket as well. A friend that would feed them until their parents got home from work, school, or both. Not knowing how to pick healthier foods from the corner store, they once again turned to chips, pop, and candy for dinner.

Knowing this, we thought it would be a great idea to show them how to make healthier choices from their local convenience store.

So, Mark and I visited corner stores all around metro Detroit to see what healthy options were available for children. We discovered that the majority of them sold the same foods.

 Here’s a list of those foods:  Bread, both white and wheat, eggs, tuna, salmon, ramen noodles, baked beans, canned peas, canned green beans, canned mixed vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, mushrooms, tomato soup, fruit cups, mackerel (surprisingly), sardines, pickles, Simply Orange juice, and pasta sauce.

They also had bacon, sausage, and baloney, however, the goal is to teach them healthier options beyond what they may be used to.

After categorizing the list of foods available at convenience stores, we decided to put a few go-to meals together for children whose only option for feeding themselves is eating at the corner store.

Some meals may be out of a child’s comfort zone, but that’s the whole point! 

Breakfast: 

Baked beans, eggs, and wheat toast

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Salmon sandwich with orange juice

Egg sandwich with orange juice

Lunch:

Tomato soup with toast

Tuna or salmon sandwich with a pickle

PBJ

Dinner:

Tomato soup with green beans

Ramen noodles with a can of mixed veggies

Salmon, mackerel, or  tuna sandwich with a pickle

Ramen noodles with peas and mushrooms

Snacks:

Fruit cup

Sardines

I think it’s time for us to teach our children how to choose a healthier lifestyle, no matter where they have to eat. The rise in obesity, diabetes, and depression is too alarming. We are what we eat.  Let’s help them know better SO THEY CAN DO BETTER!

Make Your Own!

I used to be a die-hard store bought protein powder connoisseur. But it can be expensive and you really don’t know who processed it or where it was processed.  So I just make my own delicious protein shakes! This one has hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds grounded into powder, walnuts, no strain homemade almond milk, unsalted unsweetened sunflower butter, a date, and cacao. I’m at the age where I have to keep my metabolism in check and this protein dense shake helps me. You’ll never hear me say I’m too old to do this or that. Off to the trails with Ginger and Zen! Breathe with the flow of life…
Image result for protein shake pictures

Recipe:

1 cup of  almond milk

1 tsp of Cacao powder

2 tbsp of  hemp seeds

1 tbsp of walnuts

2 tbsp of  unsalted unsweetened sunflower butter

2 tbsp of pumpkin seed powder

1 Medjool date…don’t forget to take the pit out

Place all the ingredients in your blender, blend until smooth, and Breathe with the flow of life!

Mouth Watering Warm Season Go-To Meal

I made this raw Pad Thai and it was So good! My mouth was watering from all of the flavors. I played around with it to suit my taste buds. It was one of those recipes that I didn’t think was going to be so delicious. My body was pleased with the outcome. How did you feed your body today? Leave a comment and share your Health Warrior skills!

Raw Vegetable Pad Thai

  • 1 large green zucchini
  • 1 large yellow zucchini
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 cup red cabbage (100g)
  • 1 cup bean sprouts (100g)
  • 1 green onion
  • 1 tbsp cashews, crushed

Spicy Sauce

  • ¼ cup raw almond butter (60g)
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
  • ½ lime juiced
  • 1 tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 dates
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 3-4 tbsp water
Instructions
  1. Prepare the spicy sauce. Add the raw almond butter, Nama Shoyu, lime juice, ginger, garlic, dates, red pepper flakes to the blender and mix until smooth. Keep adding more water to thin the sauce if it is too thick. I omitted the Nama Shoyu.
  2. To make the vegetable noodles: spiralize the zucchinis and carrot with a spiralizer or cut them into thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Slice the cabbage into strips with a chef’s knife. Add the veggie noodles to a large bowl and top with bean sprouts. I used kelp noodles instead.
  3. Pour the spicy sauce over the vegetable noodles, or in my version, kelp noodles,  and toss.
  4. Sprinkle thinly sliced green onion and crushed cashews over the pad thai to garnish.

Small but Mighty!

Spicy microgreens with homemade avocado and artichoke dressing. Microgreens possess significantly higher nutrient densities than mature leaves. You can grow them outside or inside, with the right tools. I can’t say enough about these little green goodies! I can feel the nutrients flowing through my body every time I eat them. Cheers to microgreens! #mustard #arugula #radish #amaranth #eatclean #vitamins #vegetables#medicine #healthy #nutritionishealth#healthiswealth #yourtemple #antioxidants#immunesystem #energy #mtbecker#livegrowsustain #share #receive

Perfectly Pickled

Pickled Burdock root is not only delicious but bursting with nutrients! This root is known to detox the blood, defends your body from diabetes,  heals skin issues from acne to psoriasis, combats cancer and it gives your hormones a natural boost. I could go on and on about this root!

I plan on pickling more this growing season. I went to an Asian grocery store to find these, but I am going to grow my own. The recipe is so simple(see below). I kept mine raw but you can also cook them before pickling.  You can eat them alone or add them to some greens as a salad.  The pickling process creates probiotics, which is an added healthy bonus.  Have you tried pickled Burdock root?

PICKLED BURDOCK

Ingredients:

  • 8oz peeled burdock root, sliced into 1/4 in coins or like pickles
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider vinegar
  • Aromatics, like garlic, herbs, etc

Method

  1. Place the sliced and peeled burdock in a pot with the water and salt.
  2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer with a cover on to prevent water from evaporating for about 15-20 minutes, until the burdock root has the texture of a cooked artichoke, soft and yielding, it will still have a slightly firm texture, it’s ok.
  3. Add the vinegar to the burdock when it is cooked through, cover with wax paper, sealed with a mason jar ring(see my picture), and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I love making soup in my blender! It’s so easy, packed with nutrients, and delectable. These days a warm bowl of creamy soup is all my body needs. Check out the recipe below and let me know what you think if you decide to wrap your taste buds around all these spices.

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen butternut squash..you can use fresh but I said this recipe was easy!

1 can of Thai Kitchen unsweetened coconut milk or 1 cup of vegetable broth if you prefer not to use coconut milk

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. of mild curry powder

1/2 tsp. of cinnamon

1/2 tsp. of ground cumin

1 tsp. of coconut oil or 1 tsp. or 1 tsp. of olive oil

Pinch of Himalayan salt and pepper..more to taste when you heat it up

Place all of your ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.  If you prefer a thinner consistency, add 1/2 cup of water.  Place soup in a saucepan on low heat. Or if you have the option to make soup with your blender, DO IT!  Stir occasionally, adding more spices if necessary.  Let simmer for 10 minutes and that’s it. I added a few red pepper flakes. But toasted pumpkin seeds are also tasty.

Breathe with the flow of life!

Eating Consciously

B.A.S. (Big Awesome Salad) for lunch! Spring mix, arugula, portobello mushrooms, cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes, and kelp noodles. I forgot how good I feel when I consciously eat more raw foods. My energy is through the roof! I can’t live without my greens. For real, for real. Your body doesn’t have any other choice but to feel good when you are living a nutrient-dense lifestyle.  What’s your current health and wellness lifestyle?

The Importance of Food Combining

Making great tasting juice is beyond just juicing!  Food combination is the key to optimal nutrition and taste.  All of the recipes in Fresh Pressed Yoga are based on a common principle-that the nutrients, when brought together, complement each other.  Basically, each impacts the action or absorption of the other.  A symphony of love and well-being is created within your body.
The key is to enhance absorption at all times! Awareness of the various elements of each meal and snack can bring improvements to most daily eating lifestyles. Try eating a lentil salad or mixed legumes with avocados to provide a mix of B vitamins, fat, and folic acid. Understanding absorption is an important aspect of good nutrition.  Learning how to combine certain foods can help you raise your level of nutritional health.

Nutrition is Health and Health is Wealth!

BREATHE WITH THE FLOW OF LIFE