Asian Style Veggie Pancakes
Asian Style Veggie Pancakes
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup flour I used 1/4 cup almond flour and 3/4 cup lupin flour
- 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of Bragg's aminos
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil for pan frying or nonstick pan
- *Almond Cheese Optional
- Leftover veggies used:
- 1/2 cup purple cabbage
- 1/2 cup white cabbage
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- *large handful arugula Optional
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- *1 jalapeño Optional
Instructions
DIRECTIONS:
-
Combine ingredients and fry in a pan till done. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
"I had some leftover veggies so I decided to make some savory Asian style veggie pancakes for breakfast. I added some Almond cheese too because I love cheese.
Great for leftover veggies and makes a big batch so you can freeze and save for later! Use whatever veggies you like basically. This took like 15-30min to make the batter and pan fry all the pancakes but you could just wrap up the batter in the fridge and cook more later on.”
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup almond flour and 3/4 cup lupin flour)
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of Bragg’s aminos
Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil for pan frying or nonstick pan
*Almond Cheese (Optional)
Leftover veggies used:
1/2 cup purple cabbage
1/2 cup white cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
*large handful arugula (Optional)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup mushrooms
*1 jalapeño (Optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine ingredients and fry in a pan till done. Enjoy!
4 Healthy Ways To Eat Chocolate
Chocolate is one of life’s guilty pleasures.
But do you really have to feel guilty about eating this delectable treat?
Not always, especially if you eat the right kind and amount of chocolate. Chocolate’s bad reputation comes from the high caloric, sugar, and fat content.
But phytochemicals found in chocolate have also been found to benefit the heart and potentially provide protection from infectious disease and cancer. Metabolic and psychological benefits have also been reported.
Chocolate’s History in Medicine
In 18th century, chocolate was used as a nourishing, therapeutic, and aphrodisiac substance. It was used to help address weight loss, lung and muscle diseases, hypochondria and hemorrhoids.
Chocolate has an interesting history. The earliest known use of cacao was traced through 5,500-year-old ceramic pots in Ecuador. Shamans used the pots containing cacao markers to prepare hallucinogenic concoctions. Then it was used as a currency, a prized drink among the royalty, and as religious offerings.
When Is Chocolate Beneficial For You?
Chocolate’s benefits comes mainly from its cocoa content. The more cocoa it contains, the more beneficial it is for you.
The beneficial effects of cocoa are attributed to its antioxidant properties. Cocoa has more phenolic antioxidants than most foods, with flavonoids dominating the antioxidant activity.
These flavonoids in cocoa can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, cancer, heart disease, and mental disorders. There is more evidence now that flavonoids do help in preventing diseases. High-flavonoid foods, including berries, tea, apples, and onions are linked to less weight gain, although the calories in chocolate may counteract this benefit.
With these benefits, you have good and valid reasons to keep this mood-enhancing comfort food in your life.
4 Healthy Ways to Eat Chocolate
Here are a few healthier ways to eat chocolate so you can keep it in your life:
- Add raw cocoa powder or cocoa nibs in your smoothies or recipes. These don’t have sugar, combined with the natural sweetness of berries, your smoothie will taste amazing.
- If you eat small squares of dark chocolate, start slowly increasing the percentage of cocoa in the bar. The higher the cocoa content, usually the less sugar it will contain. Almost anyone can learn to savor and enjoy 90% dark chocolate bars or even higher with time.
- Just like fine wines, you can develop a taste for the more bitter chocolate in higher percentage bars. Developing this appreciation helps in other parts of your diet, too. Bitter flavors usually have health benefits.
- Don’t chew chocolate! I know it sounds strange, but one small square can slowly melt in your mouth for around 5 minutes or so. Savor the chocolate flavor will also help curb your cravings.
If you don’t like dark chocolate because of its bitter taste, you can try bars like Lily’s Chocolate that is flavored with stevia and erythritol. The problem with this though is I find that most people tend to overeat them (myself included). Others also get some gastric distress from those sweeteners.
I really believe that most people with minimal weight problems can learn to appreciate dark chocolate that has only 1 to 3 grams of sugar per square.
Make sure it is not chocolate processed by alkali. This gets rid of a lot of the beneficial compounds found in chocolate. It will say that on the label.
What creative things have you done to keep that chocolate treat in your diet?
To Your Health!
9 Tips to Stay Healthy While on Vacation
Back to business. How do we keep our Every Day festivities healthy? Heck, how does one keep healthy while on vacation? I’m so glad you asked!
Whenever I plan to go on vacation or travel for that matter, I plan ahead. Here are my top tips for keeping in shape while still enjoying your time off.
1. Meal Prep.
For those truly dedicated, you can meal prep and take your meals on the road. If it’s a very long road trip, reload your cooler with fresh ice from time to time, or get the type that can plug into a car a/c adapter.
2. When traveling, get a hotel room that offers a microwave and a mini-fridge.
Booking a room with these features means you are trying to make a commitment to staying on top of your health goals. You can stop and shop for food on the road or before you check-in.
- Try and get in a workout.
See if there is a gym nearby and if you can get a day pass if you do not belong to a gym that is nationwide. Or, book a hotel with some cardio equipment. Weights are awesome if they have that option. Or pack a pair of resistance bands so you can get in a full body workout anywhere. The minimum I want you to do? Get in your 10k steps. I know I talk about this all the time. It’s free, it gets you moving, it keeps your cardiovascular health in check. Another thing you can do is plan a fun activity that takes you on a hike, a bike ride, or some sort of activity that gets you moving.
4. Didn’t have time to meal prep? Then make good decisions.
With smartphones, it’s really easy to find a restaurant’s menu and nutritional information for chain establishments when on the road. Commit to what you will eat before walking in and placing your order. You can also find grocery and convenience stores along the route and get a salad to go or find a bunch of other pre-packaged fruits, veggies, eggs, and other options. You just need to look for them.5. Don’t forget to eat.
When we are traveling, enjoying a hike, or when we’re on a long adventure, we push our meal times out. While that works for some, it can cause the hunger monster to come out, which can lead to over-consumption of calories. Keep a healthy snack on hand like a handful of nuts, or a piece of fruit like an apple. Pair it with a protein if you can. It will hold off the hunger and keep you level.6. Stay hydrated.
Yup! I mean water and teas. When we get dehydrated, cravings set in. Making sure you get your daily intake of 8 glasses a day – more if you workout – will help keep you full, happy, hydrated, and keep the snackcidents at bay.7. Get enough sleep.
We try and pack so much in when we go on a trip, that we can be exhausted when we return. At times, we feel like we need a vacation from our vacations. Who does that? I’m guilty! I have stayed up late, ran myself ragged, you know, the usual stuff. Make sure you get enough rest. That way you won’t overdo the caffeine, you will more likely make better decisions, and enjoy your trip. I get downright crabby if I am not well rested. What fun is that?8. Share the health.
Attending a get-together? Bring a dish that is healthy that you truly enjoy, and make enough to share. Heck, if you want, bring two! You will enjoy your own meal and stick to plan.9. Don’t forget to enjoy.
I realize…it’s vacation, celebration, time off, whatever. Taking time off helps relieve stress and recharges your mind. Indulge here and there, but don’t make it the entire time. You’ll feel better by staying on track going back into your normal routine, and your body will thank you!
Tasty seasonal produce list
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the main things missing in most unhealthy diets. But if eating these items becomes a treat… you’re more likely to stick to it. And when you do, they will start replacing calorie-dense foods in your diet, making it easier to slim down. Listed are the freshest, most in-season produce on the market right now. So grab a pencil and paper and start making your shopping list. Enjoy! 🙂
Apricots: Delicious raw when ripe, but if you have trouble finding perfectly soft apricots, try grilling slightly underripe fruit to bring out the sweetness. Serve with a little plain yogurt and bittersweet chocolate for a great dessert.
Fennel: This earthy plant tastes faintly like licorice, and it’s delicious with seafood. Try tossing it in olive oil and roasting with orange zest and onions for a great side dish.
Jicama: This vegetable tastes a bit like a rm, less-sweet pear… and looks a little like a potato. It’s sturdy, so it’s great for dips like hummus, guacamole, and caramelized onion dip.
Blueberries: Delicious as a quick snack, blueberries Consider tossing them into a salad or even a stir-fry for an addictive punch of sweetness.
Garlic: Available all year round but especially fresh and pungent in the late spring. Look for tight heads of garlic with no soft spots, and the paper outside still intact. And if you see garlic with purple streaks, that’s a good thing! Try roasting your garlic in the oven until golden brown and soft to mellow out the pungent flavor.
Mushrooms: If you see fresh mushrooms, pick them up immediately – when they’re in season, the flavor is incredibly earthy and rich. And any mushroom works beautifully sautéed in a hot pan with olive oil, sea salt, and a little thyme – just make sure the pan is hot and don’t over ll it.
Parsley: More than just garnish on your plate. Parsley (especially ultra- flavorful Italian parsley deserves to be treated like a vegetable in its own right. Finely dice parsley and toss with beans, brown rice, and tomatoes for a flavorful treat, use it to make pestos, or chop it into a salad.
Strawberries: They’re so good on their own that you really don’t need to do a thing to strawberries, but if you end up with an underripe batch, here’s a tip: slice them thin and sprinkle with the juice of an orange and a TINY bit of almond extract to highlight the natural sweetness.
Turnips: This root, gets mistaken for a radish, are earthy and delicious when simply roasted. They’re also a delicious stand-in for potatoes. Just steam them and mash with a little butter.
Mustard Greens: Kale’s peppery cousin, mustard greens are delicious sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and raisins. They also work as wraps, cooked into soups, and thinly sliced into stir-fries.
Rhubarb: This sour stem is unusual, in that it’s mostly used in sweet dishes, and it’s a classic with strawberries. Dessert aside, it’s delicious pickled, roasted with onions and carrots, and shaved thin over a salad with a little goat cheese.
Apples: Apples are just beginning to come into season this month – especially the sweeter varieties, like sugar apples, gala, honeycrisp, and Jonagold. You can definitely bake with apples – and with sweeter varieties, you don’t need to add much sugar – but they’re also wonderful tossed into a salad with bitter greens, like kale or mustard greens.
Artichokes: They’re all over the farmer’s markets here in California, which means they’ll be hitting the rest of the country soon. You can eat whole artichokes by pulling o the petals, and scraping the meat o each one with your teeth… but personally, I like artichoke hearts, the fleshy inner part of the vegetable. They’re good pickled, shaved into salads, or sautéed.
Brussels Sprouts: One of my favorite cruciferous vegetables, brussels sprouts look like mini-cabbages, and they’re easy to cook… just don’t steam them to death or you’ll get that sulfury “fart” flavor. I suggest sautéing or roasting until the edges are crispy and the centers are tender.
Cauliflower: It’s available all year round, but fresh, farmer’s market cauliflower is especially good this time of the year. Not everyone’s a fan of the texture, but there are ways to disguise that, such as roasting until crispy, or mashing like potatoes.
Chard: This leafy green is more tender and less bitter than kale, but still packs a big nutritional punch. Use it sautéed with garlic as a simple side dish, or cut it into ribbons and use in a salad or slaw. Main ingredient in “KracK Juice” See recipe.
Delicata Squash: Some of the first of the fall/winter squash, these small, ribbed squash are delicious sautéed or roasted – I’m partial to roast delicata squash in salads. Since the skin is so thin, you can even eat the skin rather than spending time peeling it.
Ginger: Another one you can and all year, but in late summer/early fall, ginger is especially potent and pungent. Look for ginger roots with thin, almost wet-looking translucent skin for the most flavor.
Grapes: If you see grapes at your local farm stand or farmer’s market, stop and get them – because they’re NEVER more flavorful than they are right now, especially sweeter varieties like moscato. Use them as a snack, or try tossing them into your favorite salad for a sweet kick.
Pears: Pears are just starting to come into season, especially fragrant Bartlett pears, often described as having the ideal pear flavor. Look for golden yellow skin if you want a sweet pear, or green skin for a tart, crunchy fruit. And remember – pears must ripen at room temperature!
Prune Plums: These dark purple, oval-shaped plums have a soft, almost jelly-like skin and delicate fresh – they’re best eaten raw, or slow roasted, and they make a very favorful jam.
Wow! That’s a lot of tasty, nutritious food. And now, we need to put it to good use… as FUEL.