Sprouted Tortilla Dessert

Well, if you make a dinner, like the "Natural Burrito" and have leftover Tortillas, here is a quick yummy dessert to make.

1/2 tbsp. Coconut Oil (per tortilla)
Ezekiel Sprouted Tortillas
Cinnamon
Sugar
Berries

In a large skillet, melt coconut oil on medium/high heat. Cook tortilla until hard and starting to brown. Place onto a paper towel or paper bag (what I did) to soak up some of the oil. While still hot, sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar (more cinnamon than sugar :) to both sides. Plate and top with berries of your choice.

Natural Burrito

1 lb of grass-fed ground sirloin (check on-line for local farms to buy from)

1/3 cup diced onion

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp cumin (or more to taste)

2 cups cooked brown rice (organic)

3/4 cup salsa

1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped (organic)

1 tomato, diced (organic)

1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded (organic if you can find it)

1/2 avocado diced (organic)

Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted grain tortillas (found in the freezer section of Kroger's Natural foods department)

In a large skillet, brown the beef over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook until soft (about 4 minutes). Add cumin, rice, salsa, and cilantro. Stir. Reduce heat and cook for about 6 minutes on low.  On tortillas, add mixture and top with cheese (a small amount) more tomatoes, avocados, and more salsa if you want. 

The Ezekiel Tortillas are flourless. Ingredients: Organic sprouted wheat, Filtered water, Organic sesame seeds, Organic sprouted soybeans, Organic sprouted barley, Organic sprouted millet, Organic sprouted lentils, Organic sprouted spelt, sea salt. ..... So good for you!

Shrimp Orzo

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock (low sodium, organic)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (precooked if you prefer or want to save some time)
1 cup orzo pasta
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated pecorino romano cheese

Cook the pasta according to the package. Add some salt to the water, no oil. Once cooked, do not rinse, just drain the pasta. Place in serving dish.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat.   Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft (about 4 minutes). Add stock and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, part of the parsley (save some for garnish), oregano, basil, salt, pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly until the shrimp is barely pink (about 3 minutes). If you are using precooked shrimp, just cook until heated through.

Pour the shrimp, tomato sauce over the orzo. Top with feta cheese, remaining parsley and romano cheese.

Enjoy!

*Don't forget to choose all-natural and organic at the grocery store whenever possible!!

Adapted from www.preventionrd.com/2012/04athenian-orzo/

Vacation

Well, my wonderful husband took me to a resort for my 30th birthday this weekend. Great news! I had to eat out all weekend after not eating out at all for over a month, not great news! There weren't many places to choose from where we were, so we had to just make the best choices we could. One great surprise was that we found a hamburger place that raised their own grass-fed cows for their burgers. Yeah! The owner is a farmer. If you are ever in Paoli, IN stop in at Super Burger. 

We split oatmeal, fruit and an omelet each morning for breakfast.  The oatmeal was so filling that we were able to eat small lunches and snack on trail mixes, etc.  You may not be able to tell from this picture, but that bowl of oatmeal is huge!!!  (The toast did not get eaten)

Our exercise for the weekend, 18 holes of golf. Now I haven't played golf in about 5 years and we were playing on a pretty tough course, so let me just brag for a second... I parred 3 holes! This is one of them.  My husband of course played great! I did however beat him on one hole, this one, my favorite one. My small little victory.

Other than golf, I didn't do any more exercising. My body definitely needed time to rest after last week. So I made sure to get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water. Now we are home and headed back to the gym tonight. After all of that food this weekend, I will be hitting the treadmill pretty hard. It's time to start seriously training for a 5k.

Kids Lunch

Here is my kids lunch for today. Please excuse the artwork on the picnic table. :) The sandwiches are organic whole wheat bread, with organic low sugar strawberry jam, all natural organic peanut butter. The apples are organic, the chips are organic blue corn chips. The drinks I made in the blender using the rest of the cut strawberries, blueberries, and spinach with a cup of ice and 100 percent grapefruit juice. My son  is a picky eater, not with taste, but with texture. He will eat fruit if it is blended, mashed, dried, or juiced, but he will not eat it in it's whole form. So this is how he gets his fruit and veggies. In juice or smoothie form. At this point, whatever gets the food in him works for me. They LOVE Naked juices, so these homemade versions work great. If we are out and I'm not around the blender, we pick up any flavor of Naked juice. So, to sum it up, in this lunch they got : a serving of whole grain (bread) and blue corn chips, many servings of fruit: apples, strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit juice, a protein: peanut butter, a serving of veggies: (a small serving, but I did get some in) spinach and blue corn chips. The best part, they love it!

Oatmeal

One of the best things you can eat to start off your day is oatmeal.  Old fashioned oats or steel cut oats are your best option. Stay away from the instant oatmeal that is filled with sugars and artificial flavors.  Add your own flavors, there are so many options.  Use skim milk, or if you are lactose intolerant or just trying to cut back on your dairy, use almond milk. My favorite combo for oatmeal is: oats, organic milk, cinnamon, peanut butter, raisins, honey, flaxseed.  That has become my go to breakfast, especially on days I know that I'll need to stay full for a while. Oatmeal keeps your blood sugar stable longer than a lot of other breakfast choices. It has high levels of fiber the help us feel full longer and steady our insulin levels. (Master your Metabolism) The fiber in oatmeal is soluble fiber, which is thought to reduce blood cholesterol by binding with digestive acids made from cholesterol and sending them out of your body. When this happens, your liver has to pull cholesterol from your blood to make more digestive acids, and your bad cholesterol levels drop.  Fiber also protects from heart disease, and colon cancer by sweeping carcinogens out of the intestines quickly. It's a Super Food!!!
Here are some options to add to your bowl:
berries- strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
bananas
honey
cinnamon
peanut butter- all natural (only ingredient is peanuts)
almond butter (same)
vanilla
flaxseed
apples
nuts- walnuts, pecans, almonds

Here's my breakfast this morning. Yum!!!!

Snacks

Here are our snacks for the week. Watermelon, bananas (freeze), oranges, strawberries, apples, pineapples, celery, peppers, and carrots (all organic).  I've been cutting up fruits and veggies on Mondays. It takes about 30-45 minutes to cut it all. The apples (and pears) are dipped in lemon juice (thanks for the tip Krista) to keep them from browning.  Now if we want a snack, just go in the fridge and grab a handful. Or if we are in the mood for a smoothie, just grab some bananas and strawberries (and yogurt and milk) and you've got a quick smoothie.  We've been eating the veggies with hummus or salsa.  For the first time in a long time, I am no longer throwing away fruits and veggies at the end of the week. They are gone before they have a chance to go bad! There is no "do we have anything to eat?" or "I can't find a snack!" If you are single or just have too much to get through in a week, freeze half of it. Make sure you freeze it as soon as you get it home, washed and diced to keep as many nutrients as possible. Another way to cut down on your meal prep time during the week is to go ahead and chop some onions, peppers, etc. while you have your knife and cutting board out. Either freeze them or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Other fruits we have done are blueberries, kiwis, pears, mangoes, and raspberries.  The containers you see here are ziploc brand containers. I LOVE them because they all stack into each other and the lids fit both sizes. The lids also stack nicely. I've thrown out all other tupperware.  Now that your snacks are taken care of (and can be used as part of your meals), you can concentrate on your meals.

May 6-12 snacks: pears, apples, strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, kiwi. Plus I cut up a two lb bag of sweet peppers to freeze for dinners. Took about 45 minutes and I'm ready for the week! I also have hummus and greek yogurts in the fridge ready to be used as dips for these snacks. I'm not typically an organized person, so this feels good to have at least this done to make my life less crazy!