Category: Blog

I just tried this again to make sure it is all working well, and Ben loved it, again. I myself have gotten quite a few lunches and dinners out of these two delicious entrees, and I’ve saved myself a lot of time and dishwashing at the same time.

http://orangetreelane.com/recipe/rl/_black_bean_burritos_paired_recipe/

http://orangetreelane.com/recipe/rl/tasty_turkey_chili/

Here is a suggested timeline for using the two recipes. Of course, do this however works best for your family, but it might spark some new ideas.

DAY #1
a) Print both recipes and buy ingredients. If you make an account on orangetreelane.com, then you can look at the recipes in the grocery store if you forgot to make a list.

b) Try to do the prep work (cutting vegetables) listed for the Black Bean Burritos ahead of time if you will be gone all day.

c) Make the burritos saving half for the chili. (Freeze some of the burritos if you like for later. Ben just got them in his lunch for a few days.) I don’t eat tortillas very often, so I just had the filling with some other vegetables as well for dinner.

DAY #2

a) Try to do the prep work for the Turkey Chili, then make it, adding the leftover burrito filling, when you are ready to cook. This makes a big pot, so again, you could freeze part and have it later over rice, or with a green salad.

http://orangetreelane.com/recipe/rl/_black_bean_burritos_paired_recipe/

http://orangetreelane.com/recipe/rl/tasty_turkey_chili/

Our life is about to change; drastically. Breakfast at 6:15, healthy and durable bag lunches ready by 7:00, and then they are probably going to still want dinner at night too! I knew there was something more than just sleeping in that I like about summer. But this year, I am resolved to bring some order to my daily chaos in the kitchen. First of all, I am going to plan ahead (gasp) for more than just dinner, and have those ingredients waiting for me so I can do more than just hope something is in the refrigerator when I roll out of bed. Next, in my planning I am going to save time by finding ways to make last night’s dinner into tomorrow’s lunches.

Ultimately, I want to make lunches that will:
1) taste good
2) keep their shape in a backpack
3) won’t kill anyone after being in a warm locker for a few hours and
4) give good nutrition and steady energy throughout the day.

REDUCE SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES
One trap that is so easy to fall into when preparing bagged lunches is to rely on lots of ready made, kid approved simple carbohydrates like juice, pretzels, white bread, sugary treats and crackers. We want life more simple, but carbohydrates are better for us when complex because they provide healthier digestion, better fuel for energy and more vitamins and minerals. Think unprocessed whole grains and fruit”¦whole wheat bread or tortilla instead of sourdough for your sandwich, spelt angel hair pasta rather than regular noodles, whole wheat pastry flour in the pancakes, whole pieces of fruit instead of fruit juice, and quinoa, couscous, or wild rice instead of white rice with dinner.

COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES SUSTAIN ENERGY LEVELS
While the starch in complex, whole grain carbs will eventually end up as glucose blood sugar like processed grains and sugars, it will happen more slowly and evenly because the complex carbs in whole grains take more time for your body to take apart than simple sugars, and the fiber helps even more. This slower digestion eliminates the spike and then fall in blood sugar levels that accompany the digestion of carbohydrates without fiber. Instead of a rush and then crash in your energy level, complex carbs provide energy that is more constant and even as the digestion moves steadily along at a slower pace. And don’t forget, that ever present piece of fruit next to the sandwich (or whatever) has fiber along with its carbohydrates to slow down digestion just like a whole grain does, so don’t replace it with anything that has been processed (has packaging basically). (1)

BEANS ARE MAGICAL…NOT THAT!
Beans are another secret weapon that you should have in your kitchen at all times in order to make dynomite lunches. Besides being cheaper than almost anything else in your cart, beans are very rich in complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. For instance, one cup of kidney beans provides 30% of your recommended daily allowance for protein, 45% for fiber, 28% for iron, 42% for vital trace mineral manganese and 57% for folate. Then there are the good amounts of phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B1 and vitamin K also hidden in this one particular mighty bean. (2) In addition to all that, they survive better than meat without refrigeration and are key players in popular entrees like burritos and chili.

SOAKING
Try soaking dried beans in water overnight to greatly reduce cooking time, help break down naturally occuring indegestible sugars, and eliminate a great deal of the phytic acid which blocks absorption of nutrients. I soak then sometimes for a few days, then rinse well and simmer in clean water. I’ve also started experimenting with letting the beans sprout because this greatly increases the beans’ nutrients! (3)

If you have some great ideas for healthy and durable lunches, please send them along..I would love to hear your input and then share some with everyone. We’re all in this together, remember?

Good bye freedom. Hello structure.

(1) http://www.prevention.com/11fixesforinstantenergy/list/1.shtml

(2) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=87

(3) http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-to-eat-sprouts.html

Let’s play a guessing game. There is a fruit dripping with the sweetest tasting of all anti-oxidants. In days past a sailor returned safely home would place this fruit on the front porch as a symbol of welcome and celebration. Fashionable hostesses would serve this exotic fruit or display it prominently as a kind of status symbol, and eventually its form worked its way into the decorative carvings on furniture or in fabric designs. Any ideas? The best part about it is that 1 cup provides 131% of the vitamin C you will need for the whole day. (1) The free radicals which damage cellular DNA, causing cancerous tumors and premature aging now start to run for their lives, and all the while you just sit there chewing with a smile on your face because this fruit is better than any sweet treat around!

That last clue about the furniture probably gave the royal pineapple away because we certainly don’t see bananas and strawberries carved in wood very often. What used to be so exotic and difficult to acquire is now yours for the taking now that it is in season and so reasonably priced. I have enjoyed a few of them lately and I’ve found its hard to stop eating them because they are so good, and especially when fresh like they are now.

Another wonderful benefit of pineapple is the imbedded enzyme bromelain. This enzyme is useful for digesting protein, and can even be purchased as a supplement for that very reason. I’ve used it myself after a meal and it provided instant comfort.

This week the Almond Crusted Chicken was as delicious and moist as ever , and I served it with fresh cut pineapple and broccoli rabe simmered in broth and seasoned with butter, onions and a healthy dose of cheesy tasting nutritional yeast. That was a surprise hit by the way.

Since the recipe is paired, I had plenty of delicious chicken left over for amazing tacos, and even more to slice thin and put in sandwiches for lunches. Pineapple can be found in the two side dishes Tropical Fruit Salad or Spring Slaw. I hope you will try using the menu and shopping list provided on the site because it is so amazingly convenient to print it out, buy all you need from the organized list, and then have it ready for whenever you choose to make it. Using a paired recipe like the chicken this week is another efficient time saver.

If you’re in the neighborhood and see a pineapple on the front porch, come on in and stay awhile. Since I saved so much time using the handy Orange Tree Lane menu and shopping list, I might just make you cup of tea while dinner is baking.

(1) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=34

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither Orange Tree Lane or any of its affiliates take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.

Ever wondered what is the best thing you have EVER cooked? I was informed by one of my sons today that he had picked my best. We calculated that I have made somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 meals for him. (Yes we were feeling very lazy about calculating exactly. It was something like 3x 365×18, minus meals out.) So, the winner is SUPER NACHOS”¦what would you expect? What I like about making them is that they are as easy as layering things on a jelly roll pan, and you can make two or three pans of it without much extra effort. Now that I know these are the plat prefere”™ I”™ll make them more often!

Making them with the ground beef or turkey is also a great way to get some vital vitamin B12! Found only in meat and animal by products, B12 is necessary for the building of red blood cells, and red blood cells take oxygen to all parts of your body so that you can live. Anemia is the absence of a sufficient number of red blood cells, meaning less oxygen in the blood, and therefore problems like loss of energy. (1) Vitamin B12 deficiency is hard to find where people have access to meat, eggs or milk, and anyone who decides to limit or eliminate these will need to supplement.

WHERE TO FIND B12
The recommended daily intake is 2.4 mcg (micrograms) for adults, and about half of that for young children. (2)

Beef Liver (1 slice) 48 mcg
Clams (3 oz.) 34.2 mcg
Top Sirloin (3 oz.) 2.4 mcg
Cheeseburger (double patty) 1.9 mcg
Fortified breakfast cereal 25% of DV 1.5 mcg
Milk (1 cup) 0.9 mcg
Egg 0.6 mcg
Chicken Breast (1/2) 0.3 mcg

STORES IN LIVER
All sources are obviously not B12 equal, but more good news is that this particular water soluble vitamin can be stored in the liver for a very long time. Therefore, you could eat one slice of liver and be good to go for awhile. Ok, maybe that won”™t happen, but at least you can see from the chart where to to get what you need.

Forgive my corniness, but even though I have fond memories of growing up in the cool seventies, I”™ve never wanted to B12 again. Yet if I remember correctly, SUPER NACHOS would probably been one of our fab favorites for Stayin”™ Alive! Right John? (See bro in picture above.)

(1) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anemia/DS00321/DSECTION=causes
(2) http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12/

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither Orange Tree Lane or any of its affiliates take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.

I went to Costco today to find engine oil and noticed they do have some really good looking food. I used to buy things there, but I really struggled to find something I wanted. Why? Because I am fighting the forever battle to get quality ingredients, not just calories. You may call me a food snob, and I guess I have become just that. But before you think that I live on seeds and nuts, let me assure you that chocolate is my most favorite food group followed by breadbutterandjelly. I eat grass fed red meat once a week and would eat cheese in great amounts daily if my stomach could take it. Since their prices are so good there I was really looking for quality meat, meaning grass fed beef, or wild caught fish.
I found ORGANIC ground beef for 4 something a pound, a decent price, but ORGANIC does not mean grass fed, just fed organic corn and soy. Farm raised fish are also fed corn and soy, and there was plenty there at great prices, but the wild caught, smoked salmon was more than $15 a pound.

Sometimes the quest to find quality, affordable ingredients seems like an uphill battle! If you are in this venture with me, do you think we should lose heart? Absolutely not. Find your stubborn streak and employ it! My mother used to call me rubber face because when I set my mind to something my botttom lip would jut out and there was no changing my mind. It’s not always the best way to be, but in this case I don’t think there is any other way to get natural and healthy food.

I’ve been talking about inflammation a lot this all month, and did I mention that it is reversible? Reversing internal inflammation is one of the reasons I don’t give up my search. Let take fats for instance; some cause inflammation while others prevent it.

HYDROGENATED OIL INFLAMES
Remember that your immune system is trying to protect you from invaders, so it starts the process of inflammation whenever something foreign is detected.
Hydrogenated oil is foreign to the body because it has been altered at the molecular level, and therefore it causes an inflammatory response. It is the fat used in commercially baked goods and almost all processed foods, and is therefore easy to find and avoid.

SOLUTION:You can fight this battle easily by cooking and baking more things for yourself using natural, healthy oils and fats. Many health food grocery stores sell every kind of baked good you could want without hydrogenated oils, and I have even found some at the larger grocery stores by reading labels. I remember I had to get tortillas at Henry’s, but I did find some sandwich bread at Albertsons with non hydrogenated oil.

OMEGA-6 INFLAMES
Another oil that causes inflammation is omega-6 oil, which is found abundantly in vegetable oils; corn, soybean, sunflower, and safflower. Omega-6 is not bad in and of itself, but our bodies are designed to use an equal balance of the polyunsaturated oils omega-6 and omega-3. Unfortunately, our modern diet is rich in vegetable oil and poor in omega-3 rich oily fish like salmon, flax seeds and walnuts, and this has created a very unhealthy ratio of about 20:1 of the two oils in most of us. (1) This unhealthy balance also triggers inflammation.

SOLUTION: When baking pancakes, cookies, or something like banana bread at home, replace the vegetable oil with an equal amount of olive oil, or combine the olive oil with some apple sauce. Trial and error will teach you the right combinations, or the Orange Tree Lane baked goods are all made without vegetable oil and the right balances have already been found.

SOLUTION: Eat oily, wild caught fish like salmon or sardines more often, and to learn to include ground flax meal in baked goods and flax oil in dressings and sauces because these ingredients are rich in omega-3 oil. (Now you will understand why so many OTL recipes include fresh ground flax meal and walnuts whenever we get a chance!)

FISH OIL MOST POWERFUL
Fish oil is the greatest concentration of omega-3 oil that you can get, and a daily supplement will help get your balance right again, thereby reducing inflammation. But there is a concern about mercury contamination in our oceans, which in turn gets into the fish who live there. That is why fish oil supplements are such a valuable asset to our health. They come in pill or liquid form, and if you read the labels carefully, you can find brands which purify it from all toxins, chemicals, and metals which get into the fish meat.

Adding fish oil and eliminating vegetable oil from you diet may be the most powerful change you can make to restore balance between the oils, omega-6 and omega-3, to reduce inflammation. (2)

REVIEW

Say No to:
– hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil in processed or commercially baked foods
– concentrated vegetable oils like corn, soybean, sunflower or safflower

Say Yes to:
-grass fed beef which has 2-4 times more omega 3 fatty acids than grain fed http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
– non-hydrogenated foods you find by reading labels and shopping at a health food grocery store, or making your own
– a daily fish oil supplement
– flax meal and oil, and walnuts

I hope you will see your local health food grocery store for PURIFIED fish oil supplements and to discuss a typical dosage for you. Costco may have some, but I didn’t get all the way over to that corner. If you do, look for “purified” on the label!

OTHER INFLAMMATORY FOODS- sugar, dairy, alcohol, white flour, artificial sugar and additives, stress

PS- If you are trying to figure out why I posted the picture of a baby porcupine with this post about inflammation, the only thing I can say is he is too cute for words and I couldn’t help but share. He has nothing to do with inflammation unless you consider getting poked multiple times by porcupine quills…I guess that could do it!

(1) & (2) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/review/review_winter_05/endoplasmic.html

Good Reading: http://www.cbn.com/health/naturalhealth/drsears_wellness.aspx

http://www.supplementquality.com/news/fatty_acid_structure.html

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither Orange Tree Lane or any of its affiliates take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.

I”™m going to be perfectly fair here; no exaggerating to make a point, no casting things in the most negative light for the sake of drama. But there is a proverbial “elephant in the room” that we just have to address head on. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of Americans don’t get the recommended two servings of fruit a day; three-quarters miss the target for vegetables. (1)

If that”™s how we eat, guess who is watching and taking notes? “If busy parents throw a frozen pizza in the microwave”, says Dr. Charles Clark, professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, “that’s a bad meal that sends a bad message,”(2)

What did you eat yesterday? Can”™t remember, well I can”™t either so let”™s just imagine what A.A. (Average American) would eat in a day. BREAKFAST: bowl of cereal, about ½ banana cut up on top, 8 oz. of orange juice MIDMORNING SNACK: granola bar or half a donut LUNCH: sandwich with bread, lunchmeat, maybe a slice of tomato or some lettuce, apple, chips, sweetened coffee…

DINNER: baked chicken, French bread, side serving of green salad, cake for dessert, and maybe some alcohol of some sort. Have I been fair?

Now let”™s consider the fruits and vegetables of A.A.’s diet: The USDA recommends 2 c. of fruit daily. A.A. almost made it with his apple, juice, and half banana. A.A.’s 1 c. of salad ,(iceberg doesn’t count) and sandwich tomato don’t come close the 2 1/2 c. goal of dark green and brightly colored vegetables. Am I exaggerating? Did I get this right, or even close?

Even Oprah has a strong message about our produce intake. “Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the most important dietary habits you can adopt to prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension and to manage your weight. Vegetables in particular will cost you little in the way of calories while offering huge health benefits.” (3)

Here at Orange Tree Lane we go by the mantra, “Half the Plate, Feel Great.” Half the plate with produce that is. You can get started on that using the three recipes on the menu this week because each one includes a healthy portion of vegetables. I also cut up fresh vegetables to snack on before dinner while I am finishing up, and that is a great way to get more without even realizing it. Today we had crispy sticks of jicama and small, sweet carrots before and then during dinner.

This week remember to evaluate your own meals and see if half of your plate is filled with fruits and vegetables. If it is, you’ll be surprised how many other things you don’t eat because you are busy eating so much produce, and that is good for every waistline!

Molly
Test Cook and Research Specialist for Orange Tree Lane

“Studies have shown that children who learn about proper nutrition and the reasoning behind healthy choices are less likely to be overweight in adulthood.”
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=10431

(1) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130432584
(2) http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w_DietAndFitness/junk-food-makes-half-kids-calories/story?id=11767886
(3) http://www.oprah.com/health/Four-Weeks-to-Healthy-Eating

Let’s say the K in “OK” stands for vitamin K, but then what would the O be…octomom, orangutang, obliterate? Don’t laugh, those were the first three O words that came to mind. None of the above. K stands for vitamin K, but I’m pairing it with the O in OK so that you will remember that vitamin K and Osteocalcin (protein “O”) work together as a team to build your bones. Protein O’s job it is to build the frames that calcium fills, and this is our bone mass. But protein O is completely dependent upon Vitamin K in order to do its work, and so there you have it, Team O.K. You don’t have to worry about protein O because it is readily available, but vitamin K must be consumed in order to be adequately present in the body.

UNEMPLOYED “O”S
Someone could take a sample of your blood and find lots of these O guys just carousing around your blood stream not doing their job. That would mean that you have not been eating enough Vitamin K rich foods, and protein Os are just riding around the bloodstream because they are unemployed. But when Vitamin K is present, it first gets the Os going on their job, and then recruits and sticks the mineral calcium into the framework built by the Os. If you are a parent, or have supervision responsibilities of any sort, this must be sounding very familiar. (1)

75% OF AMERICANS HAVE THEM
It is pretty common knowledge that our bones build density up until our mid 20s, and then we strive to maintain what we have for the rest of our lives. But a shocking seventy-five percent of Americans have idle protein Os surfing through their bloodstream because they simply do not have enough Vitamin K to activate them.(2)

WHERE TO GET MORE K
The two natural forms of Vitamin K are found in abundance in green vegetables like collard greens, broccoli, kale, swiss chard, spinach, parsley, other foods like olive and canola oils, fermented soy, and animal products like egg yolk, some cheeses and chicken. The general consensus from various studies is that we need at least one serving of green vegetables every day, or more specifically, “an individual would need to eat a little more than 1/2 cup of chopped broccoli or a large salad of mixed greens every day.”(3)

K IN THIS WEEK’S MENU
So are you part of that 75% who have something to worry about, or are you in the group of 25% who are investing in their bones today for payoffs tomorrow? This week’s menu is packed with vitamin K brought to you by broccoli, cabbage, spinach and kale.

Remember that small changes eventually add up to real changes that are healthy, so if you don’t presently eat a lot of dark green vegetables, make it your goal to eat at least one extra this week, O.K?!

Molly

See http://dannademetre.com/_blog/Growing_Young to read more about growing older and healthy BONES.

1) http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_aas_01.htm

(2) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamin-k/index.html

(3) http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminK/

I threw another thick blanket on top of my comforter this week and snuggled under it feeling like the most blessed person in the world to be able to shut out the stinging cold front that has taken over our usually balmy, Mediterranean weather. In the kitchen I have just wanted to make something that would come out seaming hot from the oven or under the lid of a cast iron skillet on the stove above. Most of us are used to getting our daily greens from a fresh salad, but how often have you tried the insanely nutritious, darker and heavier leaves like kale, collard greens and chard? This blistery week I made a casual challenge to myself to use them in some way every day, and I think I made it! What do the taste testers have to say about that you ask? They are indeed three regular, hamburger loving teenagers and one active adult male who likes the usual fare!

I realize that those of you who are starting from scratch here may face an incredible amount of resistance when you start cooking unfamiliar vegetables. Unfamiliar desserts is one thing, but collard greens!!!?! Luckily I started this bunch on pureed spinach when they were in their high chairs, and my husband used to eat it out of a can in his starving student days. For me it has been a journey of discovery that started a few years ago. Like you have heard me say before, this is one unique excuse to use covert tactics, which I do, so here are three suggestions for getting more greens in your diet in a variety of ways.

1) The picture above is for advanced green eaters because you see a lot of it and pretty big chunks at that. I usually cut it very fine and slide it into meat dishes like One Dish Tamale Pie or Spicy Chicken mango Dish, so if your eaters are beginners, that would be more of the place to start. To give you a vision for the future though, the dish above is a flexible mixture of ingredients you might already have.

* FIrst you saute some onions and vegetables that take the longest to soften. In this case an onion, a bell pepper, 4 unpeeled carrots and the diced ribs of the green leaves.

* Second, after they have softened with the lid on, push them to the sides and place 1 lb. of ground meat in the center. Pile the leaves on top and replace the lid.

* Third, after the meat is no longer pink inside, its time to add some savory flavors like a few cloves of crushed garlic and a tablespoon each of apple cider vinegar and soy sauce.
Let it simmer on low until the leaves are softened and stir all together.

2) Another way to get the greens in your diet is to juice them for drinking and then use the fiber for baking. I have just been discovering this wonderful, time consuming process, but I must say, it gets easier every time. I have a few recipes so far using the fiber, and you can find them by entering “juicing” or “fiber” in the search box on the recipe page. I’m going to keep experimenting with this because the benefits are so many…1) a great use for the fiber, 2) more fiber in my baked goods, 3) green vegetables in my baked goods, and 4) less grain in my baked goods. This week I adapted Chocolate Breakfast Bread into Vitality Brownies. I used only 1/2 c. of chocolate chips, but you could certainly use a whole cup and or put some frosting on top of the brownies to sweeten them up even more. It will be trial and error to see what you can get away with and still have them eaten at your house. A few of mine won’t try them, but at least the rest of us have a healthy treat waiting for us on the cake plate!

3) Now that I have learned to season them pretty well, my taste testers who won’t touch a “brownie” with vegetable fiber will still eat forkfuls of these greens from a bowl. Like I’ve said before, I make Fish and Greens every few weeks, and the way those greens are prepared by simmering in broth is how we get the most greens. For flavor I will add any combination of feta or blue cheese chunks, chopped, nitrate free chicken sausage, sun dried tomatoes, delicious olive broschetta topping from Costco, green apples and raisins or a healthy dose of nutty tasting nutritional yeast.

Cooking more healthy, dark greens is a way to show your love to those you cook for and to care for yourself as well. Since every journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, don’t be overwhelmed, just take one of these three as your first!

A book from a friend has caught my attention because it’s wisdom is as old as the hills, and just as solid. A woman who experienced the tragic death of her little sister when young finds herself with six of her own, but still unable to experience true joy in life. Her introspective journey takes her to the healing realization that happiness and joy don’t lie around the corner waiting for her in a perfect life yet to come. Rather, it already exists right under her nose when she begins the habit of practicing thankfulness for all that she already has.

Thankful for the iridescent soap bubbles hanging onto the dirty dishes, or the silhouette of birds flying across a sky splashed with leftover lights, watching two children laugh with each other, or a very old man in the grocery store laboring to find the perfect greeting card. This practice of constant thanksgiving connects her thoughts more closely to the here and now, helps her to appreciate the moment rather than letting it pass without noticing, and becomes a way to commune moment by moment with the One she is thankful to. Sound good?

I still haven’t put all my little gifts away because there has been so much company, food and relaxation to enjoy, but truly, the gift giving season never needs to end with the freedom to practice an attitude of gratitude all year long. Gift #1- a precious friend who gives great books, Gift #2- driving down Espola Road with the large trees lining both sides of the road, Gift #3- sunlight reflecting on a white blanket, Gift #4- my whole family wanting to drink vegetable juice. See how easy it is? I just started today and I feel like I could go on and on being thankful for things I don’t usually stop to notice.

If you are thankful for your family, I want to inspire and encourage you to learn ever more healthy ways to feed them. Like me, I know you will be shocked and amazed how good once considered “strange” vegetables like a big lump of yellow spaghetti squash can taste when you learn to how to cook and season them creatively. Reluctant vegetable eaters can be won over with creativity and persistance! It helps too if there isn’t much else for them to eat as well so they just find themselves trying it out of desperation. I’ve learned not to weaken that desperation with cop-outs like garlic bread or noodles anywhere nearby. I’m learning more every day how to have vegetables present in one one pot after another so that I wear them down and wear them out with my tenacity. Well, you do have to make it taste good too, but that is exactly what I am attempting to do and share over here at Orange Tree Lane.

I am a little fixated on spaghetti squash at the moment because I am discovering it like a new pot of paint to make beautiful things in new ways. Just the other day I pierced one through six times, baked for an hour at 350, then scooped out the “noodles”. I tossed them with butter, feta cheese, sundried tomato paste and diced parsley, then spiced it with some garlic salt, dash of red pepper and generous amount of Italian seasoning. There was just about a cup left over, so the next day that went into soup broth today along with carne asada leftovers and sauted vegetables from the crisper. For more flavor I added onion soup mix for seasoning and about a cup of leftover guacamole. Every last bite was devoured by the Orange Tree Lane taste testers and I smile just to think about it because it is so good for them.

Join me in being purposely and tenaciously thankful, and join me this year in wearing out your families’ resistance to vegetables by finding wonderful, delicious ways to make them taste good.

Happy New Year to everyone from all of us here at Orange Tree Lane… may it be filled with thanksgiving and vegetables in abundance!

It’s squash and gourd time again…and you thought it was just time to shop! We’ve seen the pumpkins come and go. Did you eat any, or did you just let the fall colors get you in the holiday spirit? Frankly, I think that overly large vegetables wearing armor, like pumpkins, and butternut or acorn squash, can be a bit intimidating to the busy, microwave popping super moms of today. Because of my competitive spirit, it is my pleasure to tell you that they can be conquered, and they are well worth the fight because of the many, healthy treasures stored inside.

One of those treasures inside is vitamin A in abundance. This multi talented vitamin is important for healthy eyes, skin and immune system. It is used to build and repair tissue, but it can also be used like a knight on a shiny white horse to swoop down with its sword to annihilate the freedom of free radicals. In other words, it is one of the few known micronutrients which stops destructive atoms (free radicals) before they can damage cells.

So A it is a builder of things like eyes, and its source, beta carotene, is also a radical fighter. Picture a carpenter with a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other. Obviously we need this guy on our side in the campaign to protect and advance our health. Where can you get some? Well, liver for one, but I prefer dark colored vegetables or fruit like carrots, butternut squash, cantaloupe, and the dark green leafy vegetables like kale and collard greens.

Getting into one of these vegetables may be what keeps you from cooking with them, and if that is the case, here are some good ideas to help you over the hurdle. First of all, many stores now carry trays of cubed butternut squash already freed from its armor and ready to just dump in pan for cooking. That is the easy way to go, but I can testify from experience that going from a hard shelled squash neophite to a savvy slicer is not such a hard journey if you will just give it a chance. I have a video showing how to take apart a butternut squash, and if you can follow it and practice a few times, every other squash will be a piece of cake. BTW, I buy butternuts which are as straight as possible, more like vitamin capsule shapes than one with big hips. With these you can easily ditch the vegetable peeler that you see in the video and cut off the ends, rest it on a cutting board, then cut down from the top to the bottom with a sharp knife to remove the skin in strips. Then I cut it in half right where it starts to show some curve because that is where the seeds are. Watch the video to see what to do then.

Some other great sources are spinach, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, orange colored squashes, cantaloupe, and red bell peppers. I hope you take the time to learn how to get to all of this great nutritious vitamin A to benefit your eyes, skin, and your immune system!

This week’s menu features Butternut Stir-Fry and Sweet Potato Pie to get you going. And then for the morning, Cranberry Breakfast Soup Smoothie for breakfast features cranberries, spinach and carrot juice, more colorful suppliers of vitamin A.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-a/ns_patient-vitamina
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4452