Recipe: Healthy Quinoa Chipotle Bean Chili

This delicious and healthy recipe is packed with protein, fresh veggies, and spices for a flavorful, hearty winter meal that will fill you up without derailing your New Year's weight loss goals! For less salt and more flavor, cook your own beans instead of using canned - it's easy - just soak in cold water with a pinch of baking soda overnight, then drain, rinse, and cook for about 40 minutes to an hour before adding to the rest of the chili ingredients.

Healthy Quinoa Chipotle Bean Chili
(Serves 4.)

Ingredients:

This recipe contains lots of fresh, healthy veggies like these. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp minced jalapeno pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried chopped basil
1/2 tsp dried chopped thyme
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tomato paste mixed with 3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (for garnish)

Directions:

1. If the quinoa is not pre-rinsed, soak the quinoa for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and drain well. (If you do not do this it could taste bitter when cooked.)
2. Heat the oil on medium-high in a Dutch oven or large soup pot.  Add the celery, both bell peppers, and onion, and cook stirring for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables soften a little.
3. Add the jalapeno and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the spices and herbs, and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the water, beans, tomato sauce mixed with water and quinoa, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked. 
6. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, taste and adjust for flavor.
7. Serve hot in big bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Southwest Cuisine In Your Slow Cooker

In a world where everything moves at such a fast pace, it’s nice to know that you can depend on a nice, home-cooked meal when you return from a long day at work.  In the world of southwest cuisine, there are many recipes that can be turned into a slow cooked delight.  The colors, flavors, and carefully chosen ingredients are what makes America's southwest cuisine stand apart from other regions.  What are some of the reasons for using a slow cooker for your southwest meal?  Let's take a look.

Timing

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We live in a world where everything seems to move at the speed of light.  This 'microwave' society has its benefits, but a good home-cooked meal is not one of them.  Between work, kids, and family events, we often feel we don’t have time to turn around much less come home and prepare a meal from scratch.  That’s where the slow cooker comes in.   With a small amount of preparation time, you can throw a bunch of ingredients together and leave the slow cooker to its own devices while you go about your day.  Then, at the end of the day, your family can all sit down together and enjoy a tasty meal.

Healthy

The slow cooker allows you to prepare a balanced meal that you may not otherwise have the time to do.  Also, you don’t have to add the extra cooking fat that you may use in other methods.  The slow cooker preserves the natural juices and flavors of the foods you are cooking and allows them to blend together to create a hearty, healthy meal.  Slowly cooking vegetables in their own juices means no more throwing nutrients down the drain in the boiling water. If you have a vegetarian in the house, the slow cooker works wonders for meat-free meals, as well. 

Save Money

You can also view the slow cooker as an energy saver.   It doesn’t take up nearly the amount of energy that it would to fire up the oven and have it going for hours.  And, since the idea of the slow cooker is to cook at a low temperature for a long time, slowly cooking and tenderizing your food, it’s also possible to buy cheaper cuts of meat.  Your slow cooker will produce tender, juicy, tasty meals out of the most humble ingredients.

(Photo credit: Tobyotter)

Versatile

Not only can you create well balanced meals in the slow cooker, but you can also make a wide array of appetizers, snack foods, and even beverages.  Hot dips and sauces, along with a variety of tiny bites are perfect in the slow cooker.  Shredded chicken  taquitos and mulled sangria are definite crowd pleasers that are easy to make and serve right out of a slow cooker.  Imagine preparing a snack or beverage the 'normal' way, then tweak it a bit and prepare it in the slow cooker instead.

When it comes to cooking southwest cuisine, we can see there are many reasons why the slow cooker should be put to work in the kitchen.  It saves time and money while making it possible to have a filling, delicious, and nutritious meal or snack waiting when we're ready to sit down and enjoy.

For some tasty Southwest recipes for your slow cooker, be sure to check back later this week!

Start The New Year Off Right - By Eating Well!

Most people make a New Year's resolution this time of year. Most will also break that resolution before the year gets too far underway. In fact, most people who are going to break their resolutions do so within the first week at some point or another! There is hope however if you are planning to eat healthier throughout the New Year. The trick is to immediately begin rather than putting it off until tomorrow or until you have emptied the Christmas goodies from your pantry.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are among the many people around the world who resolves that this next year is going to be the year that you take positive steps to reducing your weight and improving your overall health the way to begin isn't by loading up on carbohydrates and champagne. So out go the cake and bubbly and in comes the cabbage and corned beef (in small portions of course).

Begin the year by understanding portion size, the value of fresh vegetables, the idea that the meat isn't supposed to take up most of your plate, and the notion that dessert is a rare treat - not the anticipated ending of an ordinary meal.

These are outstanding beginnings. Not only do you need to rethink the way you eat for your New Year's Day festivities but also the way you prepare the foods you love. Unhealthy fat preparation methods using transfats and vegetable oils are out. In is the idea of using seasonings that contain no or very few calories and add savory flavor to your meals. Herbs and seasonings are a healthy cooks best friend because they help eliminate visions of blandness until your fitness goals are met and you've reached a state of maintenance in which a few more calorific luxuries are allowed.

Tasty Food Abundance in Healthy Europe (Photo credit: epSos.de)

Stop frying. The frying process adds simple carbohydrates and (usually) unhealthy kinds of fat to your cooking - and it can even change the very nature of the foods being fried, adding cancer-causing agents and other chemicals that cause accelerated aging. These are two things you want to try to eliminate from your diet all together. While I am not personally an advocate of removing all carbohydrates from any diet I do believe it is a good idea to switch, whenever possible and tolerable to more complex carbohydrates that are healthier to consume (see earlier blog posts for many tasty low-carb recipes). Fats should always be used in moderation, and stick with healthy minimally processed natural fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, and butter - like the Europeans use. If you're trying to cut back on fats, it is best to save their use for those times when it is a real treat rather than wasting them on well, dinner. Reserve the fats for fun food and rewards rather than squandering them on your regular meals.

Another thing you need to learn when cooking for the New Year's holiday and trying to keep things on a more healthy note is that bigger isn't necessarily better. This means that by sticking to the proper portion size you may avoid over eating and filling up. You do not want to leave the table full - you want to leave the table wanting a little bit more (not hungry but definitely not full). Most likely you'll find that you actually feel fuller a few minutes after eating, so if you really have to have more, wait 20 minutes first, and see if you're still feeling hungry enough to eat a bit more. Eating the proper portions reduces the risk of overeating and feeling bloated or stuffed later on. It also helps you understand what your limits are better and where you need to make cuts in your dietary habits, and can help you learn to recognize your body's signs that you are satisfied (they are definitely there, but most of us have tuned them out over the years).

Prepare for smaller meals rather than cooking one huge meal for New Year's Day and carry that eating ethic through the rest of the year with you in order to achieve optimal results. Food is the fuel your body needs to carry out its duties properly. The bad news is that far too many of us really enjoy food to the extent that we overindulge, which also prevents the body from working properly. You will need to work to discover what the optimal amount of food and calories is for your dietary needs but it starts by eating healthy one day and following up the next. New Year's Day is a great day to begin a new way of eating. Are you ready?

Keep an eye on this blog later this week and throughout the year ahead for tasty and healthy recipes and cooking ideas! And be sure to visit our website for some more helpful cooking from scratch resources.

Healthy Cooking At Home

When it comes to cooking healthy meals for our families, there is always some degree of dissention among the ranks. The good news is that there are lots of recipes that are very healthy, and still taste delicious, and are not that difficult to make.

Healthy cooking may sound difficult as most of us do not want to spend time planning and preparing meals that our families refuse to eat. At the same time, we want our families to be healthy so we feel compelled to learn new and improved ways of cooking healthy foods for our family to enjoy.

Cover via Amazon

With weight and nutrition being known as the culprit in so many health conditions it is impossible to ignore the importance of not only eating healthy ourselves but also of teaching our children the importance of eating healthy. One way to insure that your loved ones are in fact eating healthy is to make sure that you are cooking healthy and nutritious foods for them at home. This does not mean that you cannot enjoy the occasional calorie splurge or even that you shouldn't. The key to cooking healthy is learning to control portions and understanding the importance of moderation.

For those that are hoping to incorporate healthy cooking habits into their daily routines, there are more resources available than ever before in order to assist you in those endeavors. You can seek the services of a professional nutritionist, your doctor can offer advice, you can find all kinds of books on healthy eating, cooking, and living at your local library, and the Internet is an outstanding source of all kinds of information when it comes to leading a healthier lifestyle all around.

There are many books and magazines that are filled with recipes that encourage healthy cooking and eating habits. Whether you truly love to cook, or are just beginning to learn, there is no shortage of recipes that you can try out along the way. The really good news is that you can incorporate healthy cooking into your routine whether you are cooking for one or a household of ten.

Healthy Eating Pie Chart (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are many that will argue that cooking healthy food costs more than cooking the prepackaged foods that pack on the calories and additives. The truth of the matter is that when you compare the costs with the medical bills of the future for failing to do so, they seem rather slight by comparison. Not to mention that processed foods, if you count by weight and nutritional value, are often actually MORE expensive than fresh, healthy foods. Yes, organic food can cost more money. In many cases, that is a simple fact of life. However, by learning portion control and eating the proper portions, as well as taking advantage of local fresh markets and farm stands to purchase your ingredients, you just may discover that you are actually spending less as you adjust to the proper amounts of food you should be consuming in order to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

Cooking healthy isn't an overnight change; it is a lifestyle change that should be implemented one step at a time. You do not have to go into your kitchen and throw out every little thing that you deem 'unhealthy' - just try to not buy more of these items once they've been used. Make wiser decisions when purchasing fresh ingredients for food preparation and you will discover that you've made a vitally important step in the process of incorporating healthy cooking and eating habits in your home.

It's those small steps you take towards your goal of cooking healthy foods for your family that will matter far more than any giant leap. Before you know it you will find that you all have more energy and a better sense of overall health than you would have imagined before changing your cooking habits. If that isn't enough to encourage you however, you can always use the excuse to go shopping for new clothes after you drop a size or two!

Healthy and Easy Breakfast Ideas

Want to eat well and nourish your body without spending hours in the kitchen every morning? These breakfast ideas will help you get all the nutrients your body needs and take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Some may not be what you would consider "breakfast foods," but they all provide a great healthy boost of vitamins and nutrients to start off your day with energy and keep you going 'til lunchtime - and won't weigh you down and make you sluggish like a heavy, grain-centered breakfast does.

Image via Wikipedia1. Soaked Beans and Balsamic Salad

Soak pinto beans, black beans or lentils in water for 10 minutes, drain, add fresh water, then boil them until soft. The soaking "extracts" the chemicals that causes gas, resulting in a healthy, protein and nutrient-rich dish without the unpleasant effects. (May cook the day before and refrigerate, for a faster prep time in the morning.)

Sprinkle the beans with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a dash of oregano or dill for flavor.

Drain the beans and sprinkle over a nice green salad with a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

This breakfast is rich in proteins from the beans, rich in vitamins from the greens and also gives you healthy plant fats from the olive oil. (This also makes a great lunch, and you can substitute canned beans, drained and rinsed, to make it even faster.)

2. Fruit Salad with Yogurt

Cut up three or four different kinds of fruits. Add a cup of yogurt on top and mix - an extremely simple dish.

The fruits will provide your body with a boost of easy to use sugars to start the day off. It'll also provide a wide range of nutrients, like potassium or magnesium.

The yogurt contains many healthy bacteria that help digestion.

3. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice with Hummus and Pita

Fresh squeezed orange juice is rich in Vitamin C, among other things. It tastes great and will also give your body an energy boost. Orange juice is best squeezed right before consumption, as nutrients in the juice can deteriorate quickly when exposed to air.

Combine the orange juice with pita bread and hummus. You can pick these up at most grocery or health food stores.

Pita and hummus are very easy to prepare, as there's no cooking required (unless you want to make your own hummus the day before). All you need to do is heat it up and breakfast is served. Preparation time? Less than 10 minutes.

Image via Wikipedia4. Scrambled Eggs with Organic Cheese and Veggies

What breakfast list would be complete without eggs? Cooking scrambled eggs (or an omelet) with veggies inside is one of the healthiest and easiest ways to have a delicious breakfast.

The veggies in the eggs should be veggies that cook quickly, like spinach, mushrooms or onions. Avoid slow-cook veggies like eggplants or broccoli. It also helps to add a dash of spices or herbs to make the eggs more flavorful.

Top off the scramble or omelet with some organic cheese from your local health food store. You now have a protein-rich, whole food breakfast that's both fast and easy to make.

If you want the breakfast to be a bit more filling, add a couple slices of whole-grain (preferably sprouted) toast on the side.

These are four highly nutritious and easy to make meals. None of them take more than 30 minutes to make and will give your body all the minerals, vitamins and energy it needs to lead a productive day.