Pampering4life Healthy Recipe: Green Bean Casserole

It's that time of year to give thanks and enjoy good eating but often times we over-indulged in foods that can lead to packing on the extra pounds. So, we decided to give our fans an extra treat. For the next couple of days to celebrate this beautiful holiday of giving thanks. We will feature a new healthy recipe to give our fans alternative ideas for the upcoming celebration. Be sure to follow us for the next few days so you can enjoy your holiday without the guilt.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1 medium sweet onion, (half diced, half thinly sliced), divided
• 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry, (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 pound frozen French-cut green beans, (about 4 cups)
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder, (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
3. Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole.
4. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cancer Free Your Health and Home

October is breast cancer awareness month and I feel this is a great time to give out some helpful tips on how to decrease your chances of getting breast cancer. Prevention is key.

1. Choose Organic When Possible- By choosing organically grown veggies and organically raised animal products whenever possible, you limit your amount of exposure to dangerous pesticides and hormones.

2. Rethink your Teflon- Consider using cast-iron or any non-stick cookware such as ceramic titanium or porcelain enameled cast iron that do not contain the chemical PTFE found in most non-stick products that emit carcinogens when heated.

3. No canned goods- The lining used inside canned food products are extremely high in Bisphenol A (BPA) a commonly used toxin used in the manufacture of cans, plastics and resins.

4. Choose wise when it comes to cleaners- Toxic cleaning products in your home drastically increase your cancer risk especially breast cancer risk for females who tend to use them most often. Women have been shown to absorb as much as five pounds of toxins through the skin each year. Try natural cleanser: vinegar, baking soda, & thyme oil.

5. Be careful with the beauty- If you use makeup on a daily basis, you could be absorbing several pounds of harmful chemicals through your skin each year. Most ingredients used in makeup, lotions and other personal care items are not tested and almost 1,000 common additives are know toxins.

The bottom line is to be careful of what you use inside and outside your body. Watch your environment by making sure that it's not only toxic free but stress free. Buy organic whenever possible! By keeping these toxins at bay you could possibly changed your dynamic to living cancer free. Always consult your license healthcare provider for annual check-ups which is your pro-active way to staying healthy.

Avocado: The super fruit

This up and coming fruit is making its way into many diets and new recipes and for good reasons too! The health benefits of Avocado are endless and not to mention they are delicious!

 

Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fat that is easily burned for energy. I know the word fat may scare some, but the monounsaturated fat is healthy for you! Foods that contain this fat lessen your LDL cholesterol, which is harmful to your body. Try to eat a whole avocado every day by simply adding it to your salad for example. This will increase your healthy fat and calorie intake without increasing protein or carbohydrate intake by saying putting chicken in the salad instead. Avocado is also very high in potassium and will help balance your vitally important potassium to sodium ratio.

Avocados are also very low in fructose, which is yet another bonus, and provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including:

·         Fiber

·         Potassium (more than twice the amount found in banana)

·         Vitamin E

·         B-vitamins

·         Folic acid

 

These super fruits are also said to be one of the safest fruits you can buy. Their thick skin protects the inner fruit from any pesticides. Most experts believe you do not need to buy more expensive organic avocados because of the little pesticide exposure.

 

Avocados have high fiber content as well. A typical avocado will contain both insoluble and soluble fiber, which makes it extremely powerful. Soluble fiber is great for appetite control. It has the effect of making you feel full, because it turns into a gel that sits in your stomach for a while when it comes into contact with water.

 

Introduce this green fruit to your diet and reap the bountiful benefits! Here is just one simple recipe to get you started.

 

Raspberry Avocado Salad with Honey Raspberry Vinaigrette

 

Ingredients:

Salad

•     2 ripe, Fresh Hass Avocados, peeled, seeded and diced


•     1 (5 oz.) package spring mix salad


•     1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, well drained


•     1/2 cup glazed walnuts, coarsely chopped


•     1/3 cup sliced green onions


•     1 cup fresh raspberries


•     Pepper to taste


Dressing

•     1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


•     1/4 cup raspberry vinegar


•     1 1/2 Tbsp. honey


•     1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard


•     1/4 tsp. salt


Instructions:

1.  To prepare dressing, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2.  Place the greens, oranges, walnuts and onions in a large bowl.

3.  Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

4.  Add avocados and raspberries and toss lightly.

 

Pampering4life Healthy Recipe: Spinach Apricot Salad

Ingredients

8 cups torn fresh pre-washed baby spinach
1/3 cup dried apricots, snipped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced or minced
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted        

                          

Directions

Remove stems from spinach, if desired. In a large bowl combine spinach and apricots; set aside.
In a 12-inch skillet heat oil over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic in hot oil until golden. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Bring to boiling; remove from heat.
Add the spinach-apricot mixture to skillet. Return to heat and toss mixture in skillet about 1 minute or until spinach is just wilted.
Transfer mixture to a serving dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve salad immediately.

20 Steps For Spring Exercise Motivation

We all have the days where we plan to work out and know that we should, but when it's time to lace up your shoes and go…You. Just. Don't. Wanna.

I have those days, too, but when I remind myself how GOOD exercise makes me feel, and how it will help me reach my goals, I generally suck it up and do it anyway. Getting started really is the hardest part. Once you get going, you're generally glad you did. And when it's over, you feel even better.

But some people have less willpower or dedication. Some give in to the temptation to skip exercise too easily. While that's fine once in a while, it can become a hard habit to break if you skip out on your workouts too often. Below take a look at some things you can do to spring forward to exercise motivation.

Keep Track of Your Progress
Remember to chart your progress, whether it's with a high-tech online tracker or an old-school fitness journal. Seeing incremental improvements, whether it's improved time, increased reps, or greater frequency of workouts, can boost your exercise motivation.

You are not Perfect
Be prepared and not feel like its either all or nothing. Taking small steps always reap bigger rewards. Trying to be a perfectionist when starting any no exercise plan will surely lead to burn out. If you miss a day or two of your workout its okay. Always keep in mind you have another day to make things right.

1. Do it anyway. (This was the most popular answer!)
2. Tell myself to go for 15 minutes. If I still feel bad or unmotivated, I can quit. I have yet to quit.
3. Ask a friend along to the workout it helps us both with accountability.
4. Do a heavy house cleaning (vacuuming, moving furniture, scrubbing) so I have a reason to work out.
5. Take a 10-minute brisk walk.
6. Take the dog for a long walk.
7. Force myself anyway and feel better for it.
8. Go to a yoga class. It gets me moving, and I always have fun!
9. I sit by myself for a few minutes and think about all the things I can't enjoy because of my poor health.
10. Work out anyway…then bask in the awesomeness!
11. Find something new to do! If you run then go for a swim or a bike ride. Maybe you are getting bored with the same routine.
12. Complain about not feeling motivated, then go do it, since I don't like hearing myself complain.
13. I drag myself to the gym anyway. Before I realize it, an hour is passed and I'm glad I went.
14. Post about your lack of motivation on Facebook, and get chewed out.
15. Do it anyway because this is for me.
16. Try to force myself to just do something for 1 minute (jumping jacks, squats, etc.). But usually I tell myself I will be happier that I did it instead of mad at myself for not doing anything.
17. Put on my work out clothes, lace up my shoes and go for a walk. Once I'm out and moving I find my motivation.
18. Remember a time when I couldn't work out, and how sad I was when I was heavier, and how I don't want to feel sad again!
19. Listen to some music—something with energy that I like. It's funny how the right music can make you move even when you think you don't want to, and it usually provides a mood boost, too (which is probably why I didn't want to workout in the first place).
20. Put my feelings aside and use logic and reasoning. My feelings then change after a good workout.

Easy Steps To Reduce Body Inflammation

You know that eating healthy can help you lose weight, but what you might not be aware of is that certain foods help reduce inflammation and infection in your body as well. Eating foods high in antioxidants, avoiding processed foods, drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly all help with the healing process by reducing inflammation in your body.
Eat foods high in antioxidants. Antioxidants improve circulation and digestion and also naturally reduce inflammation in the body. Many conditions and disease (arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, cataracts, high blood pressure, cancer, hypertension, birth defects, etc) can be avoided or improved by eating foods high in antioxidants 5-9 times a day. Here are SOME examples of foods that are high in antioxidants:
- strawberries
- blueberries
- raspberries
- blackberries
- grapes
- prunes
- fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, etc)
- broccoli
- papayas
- cantaloupe
- nuts (flaxseed, walnuts, etc)
- beans
- peppers
- beats
- asparagus
- sweet potatoes
- carrots
- pumpkin
- apricots
- tomatoes
- extra virgin olive oil
- dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

Basically eat foods (raw fruits and vegetables) that are bright in color. The more colorful the better they are for you.

Avoid processed foods (anything in a box or package and doesn't look like it just came from the farm!) - processed foods are not rich in antioxidants. Processed foods contain saturated fat, trans fat, refined carbohydrates and preservatives which actually increase inflammation throughout your body. Many processed foods contain white flour in them - be sure to avoid white flour altogether.

Drink plenty of water and avoid sugary drinks. Water keeps your body hydrated and helps with digestion. Green tea is a great source of antioxidants and a good option to sugary drinks (avoid putting sugar in the tea!)

Exercise regularly. Exercising for 30-60 minutes 3-5 times a week will help you naturally lose weight and reduce the amount of body weight exerting pressure on your joints and ligaments. Less pressure means less inflammation in your body.