BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER SALAD

It's Memorial Day weekend. Time to get the grills ready and begin the cookout season. Salads are always good for any cookout. One of my favorites is broccoli and cauliflower salad. I love broccoli and cauliflower raw, cooked, roasted... it doesn't matter. I just love it! A local restaurant, Cattle Rustler's, has a great salad bar and my favorite item in the whole restaurant is their broccoli cauliflower salad. It is delicious.

Here is my version of broccoli cauliflower salad. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Nutrition facts: Anti inflammatory properties in broccoli, cauliflower, onion, olive oil, apple cider vinegar & pepper.

Protein & calcium in Greek Yogurt. 

Fiber & antioxidants in broccoli, cauliflower & raisins. 

Broccoli helps lower cholesterol, has Vitamins C, D, A & K.

Cauliflower has beta carotene, Vitamins C, K & B6.

Onions are rich in polyphenols, flavonoids & quercetin which make them very heart healthy. Help lower cholesterol & blood sugar, helps prevent blood clots & increases bone density. Also has Vitamins C & B6. 

Raisins have boron for strong bones and help protect eyes from macular degeneration.

BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER SALAD

1 head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces  (or 2 bags of precut broccoli & cauliflower)

1 head of cauliflower, cut into bit size pieces

½ red onion, chopped

½ cup raisins

DRESSING

¾ cup Mayo with Olive Oil

¼ cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp orange juice

¾ cup Stevia or Ideal

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper or Louisiana Hot Sauce

Add all dressing ingredients to small bowl & whisk together until completely smooth. If dressing is a little thick, add a couple of teaspoons of milk to thin it out.

Place broccoli, cauliflower, onion & raisins in a large bowl. Pour dressing over veggies & mix until thoroughly coated.

Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving, preferably overnight. Taste better the longer it sits.

OPTIONS – For extra flavor you can add a few pieces of crispy crumbled bacon, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, walnuts or pecans.

 Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. 

EATING TO LIVE, NOT LIVING TO EAT

Lori 

TIFFANY'S GRADUATION & SCRUMPTIOUS SPINACH DIP

I am an introvert. I really don't like parties or being around a lot of people. But, God has blessed me with an abundance of wonderful friends and the best church family that anyone could ever dream of. So, I go to lots of parties, dinners & fellowships. Party food is my favorite kind of food. Little bite size nibbles of deliciousness. One of my favorite go-to recipes for any get-together is Spinach Dip. I always keep the ingredients on hand in case something comes up at the last minute.

Last Saturday, my daughter in love graduated from college. She is not only beautiful, but she is incredibly smart. She made straight A's in college which is a great accomplishment, but an even greater accomplishment since English is not her native language & she has only lived in the United States for a few years. I am so proud of her and so blessed to have her in our lives & as part of our family.

Tiffany's brother, Kevin, is graduating from High School this year also. So, their parents threw a party for the both of them after Tiffany's graduation. I made my Spinach Dip, but instead of serving it with crackers decided to serve it in wonton cups. I took wonton wrappers, put them in mini muffin tins & baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They made cute crunchy little bowls to put the spinach dip in. I did not put the spinach dip in the bowls until right before serving so the bowls would not get soggy.

The only "bad" ingredient in this recipe is the sour cream and you can use light sour cream to make it less fat. Spinach is loaded with good nutrition. Did you know that spinach has protein? I didn't until I was looking up the nutritional data for this post. It is really low in calories, high in fiber, iron and Vitamins A, C & K. Also has Vitamin E, B6, folate, beta carotene, calcium & magnesium. And is very beneficial for colon & liver health, as well as being anti inflammatory. No wonder Popeye got super powers when he ate spinach!

Most people make spinach dip with vegetable soup mix, which is good, but not quite flavorful enough for me. I LOVE garlic! Using the Savory Herb & Garlic Soup Mix makes this spinach dip so much tastier. 
 

SPINACH DIP

1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed & drained)

1 – 16oz container of sour cream
1 small can of water chestnuts (chopped)

1 package Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic soup mix

 

When spinach has thawed, squeeze out excess water.  Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and refrigerate for several hours before serving.  Letting it sit in the refrigerator for awhile allows all of the flavors to blend together better.

Serve with your favorite crackers. Delicious served in a bread bowl. The round Hawaiian bread is our favorite. Or you can skip the crackers & bread & just serve in wonton bowls.

For the wonton bowls - I used a package of 60 wonton wrappers and doubled the spinach dip recipe. It was exactly enough dip for 60 little bowls.

Eat your spinach. You will be glad you did.

Lori

BERRY VANILLA TRIFLE, ALMONDS & OMEGA 3'S

I do not claim to be a nutritionist. I am only sharing the information that I have found that has helped me this last year on my journey back to health. I am not where I want to be, but praise God, I have come a long way in a year's time. This time last year my liver was failing, my blood sugar & blood pressure were high, cholesterol was high and arthritis had taken control of my entire body. I was in terrible pain 24/7. I got through work everyday, but would go home & not be able to move & literally would cry myself to sleep because I was in so much pain.

Now, a year later, taking NO DRUGS, my cholesterol is perfect, blood sugar & blood pressure is perfect, liver is healthy and I can walk, even jog with minimal pain. I'm not going to lie & say I am pain free. I have permanent nerve & joint damage & bone spurs. But I CAN MOVE & I enjoy it! I even started exercising a couple of months ago. I bought a Malibu Pilates Chair. I keep it in the living room so I can exercise while Kevin is on the dialysis machine. I am feeling better & stronger than I have felt in 15 years. And NO DRUGS!! It is amazing how good & strong you can feel when you focus on eating the foods that God put on the earth for us to eat & stay away from processed foods. 

I have found that eating an anti inflammatory diet is the key for me. Which is lots of nuts, eggs, green veggies, fruit (berries & pineapple especially), beans, whole grains, avocados, etc. I probably eat more meat than I should, but I love meat & being from Oklahoma, I love beef. I eat very little sugar, white flour & processed foods. I eat a handful of almonds (no salt, no oil) everyday as well as put almond milk in my coffee. Almonds are an amazing superfood. They are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which makes them anti inflammatory. Almonds have fiber & 1 cup has 25% of our daily calcium &125% of our daily Vitamin E (which is a powerful antioxidant). Our bodies do not produce Omega 3 fatty acids, but they are essential to good health. Our only source of Omega 3's is through food. Omega 3's are needed for healthy cells, brain & nerve function. The best sources for Omega 3's are fish and nuts.

I am trying to use almond milk more. Lately I have used it when baking & am very pleased with the results. Here is a comparison of cow's milk vs. almond milk: 

Almond milk - 1 cup = 30 calories, 2.5 g fat, 1 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 0 sugar, 1 g protein

Skim milk - 1 cup = 130 calories, 0 fat, 18 carbs, 0 fiber, 18 sugar, 10 g protein

1% milk - 1 cup = 120 calories, 2.5 g fat, 15 g carbs, 0 fiber, 15 sugar, 10g protein

2% milk - 1 cup = 130 calories, 5 g fat, 13 carbs, 0 fiber, 13 sugar, 9g protein

whole milk - 1 cup = 150 calories, 8 g fat, 11 carbs, 0 fiber, 11 sugar, 8g protein

Notice that when the fat is taken out, the sugar & carbs go UP. Almond milk is great for people with dairy allergies. Vitamin D is also added to almond milk. And there are no hormones or antibiotics in almond milk like there are in dairy.

Last weekend was my Mother in law's birthday. She loves strawberry shortcake, so I tried to "healthy it up" a bit. My friend, Lana, suggested layering the berries with vanilla pudding which sounded very tasty. So I made a trifle with a sugar free homemade vanilla pudding using almond milk. I did 1/2 almond & 1/2 dairy, but next time I will use only almond milk. The pudding turned out sooooo delicious! I hope you enjoy!

SUGAR FREE BERRY-KIWI VANILLA TRIFLE

2 pints of fresh strawberries, sliced                                                          

3 kiwis, peeled, sliced & halved

1 cup blueberries                                    

1 cup Stevia or Ideal

¼ cup orange juice

Place all ingredients in a bowl & mix together making sure that fruit is thoroughly coated in Stevia. Cover & place in refrigerator. You can make this the night before & it will be juicy & delicious. But, it will still be good if you don’t.

VANILLA PUDDING

¾ cup Stevia or Ideal

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 ½ cups Almond milk  (YOU CAN OMIT THE DAIRY & USE 3 CUPS OF ALMOND MILK)

1 ½ cups milk (I used 1%)

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 tablespoon butter

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

1)               In a medium saucepan, combine sugar & cornstarch.

2)               Stir in milk. Cook & stir over medium heat until thickened & bubbly.

NOTE: It’s going to take awhile, but I promise, it is worth it.

3)               Remove from heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into egg yolks.

4)               Add egg mixture to milk mixture in pan. STIR CONSTANTLY until mixture comes to a GENTLE boil.

5)               Turn off heat. Cook & STIR 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

6)               Stir in butter & vanilla.

7)               You just made completely from scratch, no processed ingredients, sugar free & healthier vanilla pudding.

8)               Delicious warm or cold.

9)               For this recipe, you will want the pudding chilled.

In a trifle bowl, spread a layer of fruit on bottom. Spread a layer of pudding over fruit, then another layer of fruit over pudding and so on.

OPTIONS:  You can tear angel food cake into chunks & layer it under the fruit. You could also top with slivered almonds or shaved chocolate or toasted coconut or whipped cream.

IF IT DIDN'T GROW, CRAWL, SWIM OR WALK, EAT IN VERY LIMITED AMOUNTS. 

EATING TO LIVE, NOT LIVING TO EAT. 

Blessings to all, 

Lori 

Anti Inflammatory Sugar Free Cole Slaw

Southerners eat a lot of cole slaw. And they like their cole slaw sweet. I admit that I used to like mine that way also. I love cole slaw, but can't eat it at most restaurants because a lot of people put celery or celery seed in it. YUCK! One thing you will never find in this blog is a recipe with celery or celery seed. Just saying the word makes me nauseous. As a matter of fact, I just call it "The C Word". Ewwww.

Ok. Back to happy thoughts. Cabbage is so good for us. But Southerners have a knack for taking a food that is healthy and turning it into something that is very unhealthy. Most cole slaws have lots of sugar and if you buy a bottled dressing, it most likely will have high fructose corn syrup, preservatives & other chemicals in it. So, I have taken out the sugar and tried to increase the nutritional value, but still have a tasty cole slaw that Southerners would eat.

It takes about 10 minutes to make this recipe. It is really so simple that anyone can do it. Instead of grabbing a pre-made cole slaw at the grocery store or buing a bottle of slaw dressing, try this. You will feel better knowing that you ate something that was good for your body instead of loading it up with sugar & chemicals.
FYI - Cabbage, apples, apple cider vinegar, olive oil  & cayenne pepper are all anti inflammatory.
Cabbage has more Vitamin C than oranges, plus fiber, antioxidants, iodine & Vitamin E.
Apples have lots of fiber, flavanoids, polyphenols, Vitamins C & A, iron, potassium & folate.
Apple Cider Vinegar is anti bacterial, anti fungal, increases metabolism, detoxes the liver, has potassium & magnesium.
Greek Yogurt has protein, calcium & acidophilus.
Cayenne pepper increases metabolism & lowers blood pressure.

ANTI INFLAMMATORY SUGAR FREE COLE SLAW

2 bags of shredded cabbage & carrots (cole slaw mix)

½ onion, minced

½ apple, minced (any type of apple will work)

DRESSING

¾ cup Mayo with Olive Oil

¼ cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

¾ cup Stevia or Ideal
1 tsp garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper or Louisiana Hot Sauce

Empty one bag of cole slaw mix, onion & apple into LARGE bowl. You need a LARGE bowl in order to mix everything up well. It will fill up a large bowl & look like a lot, but after it sits for a few hours or overnight, it shrinks way down.

Add all dressing ingredients to a small bowl & whisk together until completely smooth. If dressing is a little thick, add a couple of teaspoons of milk to thin it out.

Pour dressing over cole slaw mix & mix until thoroughly coated. Add the remaining bag of cole slaw mix & mix until all is thoroughly coated. The dressing thins out & the veggies soak it up the longer it sits. It might not look moist enough today, but tomorrow it will be plenty moist. And if not, you can always add a little milk or make 1/2 batch of dressing & add to it.

Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving, preferably overnight. Taste better the longer it sits. 

EATING TO LIVE, NOT LIVING TO EAT. 

Lori 

when dialysis machine crashes

Well, tonight was a first since starting home dialysis in August 2010. I got Kevin all hooked up to the machine and got his vitals & machine numbers all written down. Then usually it is 15 minutes until the alarm goes off & I have to take his vitals & machine numbers again. Then every 30 minutes after that. However, after about 10 minutes, the alarm goes off. I check the screen & it is a RED 610. FYI - Red is bad, yellow is cautionary.We are used to alarms, they are part of life with dialysis, but we have never seen 610 before. I try rebooting the machine & it wouldn't let me. I turned the power off & back on. It tried to power back up, but then back to RED 610. After 3 attempts, we tried to call dialysis nurse & got no answer. So we called NXStage, the dialysis company. Of course, it is like talking to any support desk. I got a foreigner that wants to read from a computer screen.

During dialysis a pint of his blood is out of his body until the very end when we use the machine to push his blood back to him. We were taught in dialysis class & it is in all of our manuals that you only have a few minutes to get his blood back to him before it clots off, then you lose all of the blood that is in the machine. So, it's been awhile now & the support guy wants me to keep going through all of the same steps that I've already done 3 times. I notice that Kevin's blood is getting pretty dark, so I know that I need to get his blood back to him as soon as I can.

I tell the guy to just tell me what RED 610 means! He finally says that it is a machine pump failure. Really!? Why couldn't you have told me that 10 minutes ago!? I told him that I am just going to get his blood back to him now & forget it. Then he says that he will send a new machine tomorrow. Great! Thanks!

I got all of his blood back to him. And for now all is good. Except, he did not get the dialysis that he needed tonight. In order to keep feeling good & keep the toxins from building up in his body, he has to do dialysis 6 days a week. He has had a fishing trip with his buddies from church planned for several weeks, so was planning on using tomorrow as his night off. If he goes 2 days without dialysis, he swells up, chest starts hurting & he gets really tired.

Most dialysis days are not this dramatic, thank goodness. He has been on the transplant list for a year now. He is an O blood type, which has the longest waiting list. We still hold tightly to our faith and know that God has a plan and when the purpose of that plan is revealed, we know it is going to be spectacular.

Lori

Italian Cheesy Bread

I don't know anybody that doesn't like cheesy bread. It's great with pasta or a salad or as an appetizer. It is so simple, yet so delicious. Topping with fresh chopped herbs really puts it over the top. I hope you try it & enjoy.

I also sprinkle a little garlic powder over the crust before the Italian Seasoning. BUT, you have to be careful not to use too much. Too much garlic will make the whole dish bitter & inedible. 

HEALTHIER VERSION - use an organic or whole grain crust or pita bread. Since I don't eat white bread anymore, I use whole grain pita bread & it is just as delicious. When using the pita, I follow steps 1-6 then put in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
 

ITALIAN CHEESY BREAD

1 refrigerated pizza crust

2-3 cups of shredded Italian cheese

1 medium tomato – chopped

Olive Oil

McCormick Italian Seasoning

Chopped fresh or dried parsley

Chopped fresh or dried basil

1)               Spread pizza crust onto a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

2)               Drizzle olive oil on crust.  Using a pastry brush or your hand, spread olive oil all over crust.

3)               Sprinkle Italian seasoning all over crust.

4)               Spread Italian cheese onto crust being sure to cover completely (otherwise it’s not cheesy bread).

5)               Add chopped tomato on top of cheese.

6)               Top with parsley and basil.

7)               Bake according to directions on pizza crust.

8)               Cut into squares & enjoy!

Party food - mini cheesecake bites

It is only April and this year has already been full of parties, showers & weddings. My friend's daughter had her Sweet 16 party a couple of weeks ago. They allowed me the privilege of preparing food for the party. I only have sons, so I am used to doing "guy food". My boys & their friends like meatball sliders, taco cheese dip, sausage balls, barbecue, etc. I decided it was best to stay away from messy foods & wanted to keep it simple with bite-size foods they could eat with their hands. Since we are in "party season" with graduations, weddings, etc. I thought I might share some quick and easy party food recipes with you. They are not healthy by any means, but sometimes we all need to indulge and party.

The menu was ham & turkey wraps, crackers & cheese logs, garlic cheesy bread & mini cheesecake bites.
Each of these recipes are very easy and make a beautiful presentation. I will post the other recipes in separate posts so they are easy to find. Please let me know if you try them and if you liked them or not.

I didn't get a great picture of these, but I can tell you they are very pretty and yummy.

MINI CHEESECAKE BITES

 

2 – 8 ounce blocks cream cheese (ROOM TEMPERATURE)

2 – 7 ounce jars marshmallow cream

1 – 8 ounce tub Cool Whip

Nilla Wafers (or Oreos)

 

1)     Beat cream cheese & marshmallow cream together.

2)     Fold in Cool whip

3)     Place a Nilla Wafer in mini muffin liners

4)     Spoon or pipe mixture onto Nilla Wafers

5)     Place in refrigerator for a few hours to set up

Makes about 60 mini cheesecake bites.

NOTE:  I add strawberries, blueberries, maraschino cherries and/or kiwi on top. I also like to drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

Other additions could be: toasted coconut, slivered almonds, etc. Make it your own. Add whatever toppings you like. 

For Easter, green coconut would be pretty on top with a couple of jelly beans.

For July 4^th or Christmas, red or green coconut would look great and of course, strawberries & blueberries for July 4^th would look great also. 

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