Chia Seed Pudding

This recipe has been inspired by nuts.com, wherein I came across a variety of post-workout snacks.Being a physical therapist, I understand the importance of working out and eating healthy . A healthy balanced diet goes hand in hand with a regular exercise regime to give one a healthy body. You can read more about the exercise portion below under " tip for healthy living". Coming back to diet, it is important to eat the right kind of food at the right time.  Frequent small meals are recommended to maintain a steady blood sugar level and to prevent binge eating. It is important to make sure that every meal has some protein in it. Proteins keep us from getting hungry as it takes longer to digest. Protein is needed for growth and regeneration of the body tissues. It is also needed to build muscles. Today, I am sharing with you a recipe that would make for a great way to start the day, or used as a mid-day or a post-workout snack to refuel your day. It could also make for a healthy guilt-free dessert. This is perfect for those who want to lose weight and even diabetics( as long as they don't add any additional sugar/sweetener into it). 

Dietary protein comes mainly from non-vegetarian sources. There are fewer vegetarian sources of protein and only  a handful of them are complete proteins. Proteins are made up of 20 amino acids, 9 of which our body cannot produce and therefore need to be sourced from our diet. Although lentils and nuts are great sources of protein, they are not complete proteins, that is why they are usually paired with grains ( eg: idli-sambar, rice & beans, Hummus& pita). The handful of vegetarian sources of complete protein are soy, quinoa, buckwheet, hempseed and chia seeds. 

Chia seeds are native to central and southern Mexico and Guatamala. It is used in south American countries as part of their regular diet, due to it's nutritional value which provides them energy for their hard work in the fields. Chia seeds are not only a great source of protein and vitamins, they are the best plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids. You can find more information about chia seeds here.

Being predominantly vegetarian, I am constantly striving to include protein in my diet. Chia seeds are a great source of protein for vegetarians, providing 4 grams of protein for 2 tablespoons serving ( recommended). I have always added Chia seeds into my daily oatmeal,  into my smoothies and salad dressings, but had never made a pudding out of it until my co-worker introduced me to it. She is a health-conscious person who works out regularly and eats healthy. She has been making this pudding for a while now and uses it as a mid-day or post-workout snack.  When I tried it, I fell in love with it! It was light, yet filling, making it a perfect snack! I then had to make it for myself. My co-worker had also shared the original source of the recipe with me, which you can find here.The original recipe calls for plain unsweetened almond milk, plain Greek yogurt. I had some flavored coconut yogurt  and  some plain Greek yogurt that I wanted to finish.

I decided to make the pudding using it. I mixed 1 cup of Greek yogurt with 1 cup of coconut yogurt and 1/4 th cup and 2 tbsp chia seeds.

I decided to bring it to my friends at a gathering that we were having. When I took it out of the fridge to bring it with me, I felt that the pudding was too thick. I then decided to add another cup of plain coconut yogurt to make it a little thinner and it worked. The best part, my not-so-healthy eating friends also enjoyed it. The only fruit I had on hand were strawberries and therefore that's all I used. You could top this pudding before serving with any topping of your choice: fruits of your choice & nuts of your choice if you wish!

The making of this pudding is also very versatile. You could make it vegan if you wish by using almond milk/ soy milk/coconut milk/ soy yogurt/coconut yogurt if you wish. Or you could just make it with regular milk and yogurt. I used Greek yogurt to increase the protein content of my snack. You could make it sweetened or unsweetened. When made unsweetened, it makes for a great snack for diabetics as well. If you wish to sweeten it, you can sweeten it with healthy sweeteners like maple syrup/honey/agave or with regular brown sugar/sugar.I chose to make it healthy and used honey. You could even drizzle honey on top before serving  instead of mixing it in.

The beauty of this recipe is that it is just mixing of a few ingredients together and putting it in the refrigerator. You could make a batch on Sunday night and take them a little everyday , topped with freshly cut fruits to eat at work or after your work-out. Do try this, you might like it, just the way I do! Yes, the texture does take a little getting used to! Then again, I love textures in my food.

Servings: 4-6 ( one cup each)

Ingredients :

Plain/ flavored Greek yogurt: 1 six-oz cup
Plain/ flavored Coconut yogurt: 2 cups ( any yogurt can be used)
Chia seeds: 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp
Vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp
Salt: a pinch
Honey/maple syrup: 1 tsp ( optional)
Strawberries: 4-6 , one sliced strawberry per cup.
Nuts of your choice: 1 tbsp, chopped ( optional)

Method:

Add the chia seeds, yogurt, salt, vanilla essence to a bowl. Use a whisk/ big spoon and mix thoroughly.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 3-4 hours minimum.

When ready to serve, using a whisk, mix it once thoroughly to make sure there are no lumps.

Serve in bowls the desired amount ( around 3/4 cup per person).
Top it with sliced fruits of your choice. In my case, strawberries.

Garnish with chopped nuts if you wish.

Enjoy! 

You can find more post-workout  healthy snacks and high protein snacks  by clicking on them.

I am bringing this healthy snack for all my friends to try at Throwback Thursday#36, Fiesta Friday#117 and Saucy Saturdays#42! The co-hosts this week are two excellent bloggers, Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Scarlett @ Unwed Housewife

Cooking made easy:

This pudding can be adjusted to your desired consistency by adding some kind of milk to the mixture.

 If you are wary of the chia seeds, a good place to start would be with a little bit of chia seeds and use Greek yogurt so that you still have a protein-rich snack. As you get used to the texture, you can increase the amount of chia seeds used.

It is a good idea to serve this pudding with fruits that are sweet and not use much of the sweeteners to sweeten it.

Tip for healthy living:

When one decides to exercise, choosing the right kind of exercise is just as important. There are 2 types of exercise: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic  exercise is low-impact activity that you can do for a long period of time. Some examples are walking, jogging, cycling and swimming. Anaerobic exercises are those that are high-impact or strenuous and  can be done for only short duration. These  include sprinting and lifting weights.  If your intent is to loose weight, you need to do aerobic exercises. If your goal is to build muscle, you need to focus on anaerobic exercise such as lifting weights. Regardless of your intent, the best exercise regimen is one that makes you do a combination  of aerobic exercises and lifting weights. When you build muscles, they burn energy even when you are not exercising and this helps accelerate loss of weight. 

References:
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/05/13/getting-fit-doesnt-mean-killing-yourself.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-sarokin/best-exercise-programs_b_4158115.html
http://www.webmd.com/diet/truth-about-chia
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/12-complete-vegetarian-proteins.html

Food for thought:

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions. Leonardo da Vinci

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Guest post series: Quinoa-Beet Patties by Preethi Prasad

I hope all of you enjoyed Sushma Mallya's Dahi Bhendi/ Bhendi Sasam last week. This week we have a very enthusiastic, health-conscious, innovative, new kid on the block ( of blogging world) Preethi Prasad from Preethi's Cuisine. She hails from Bangalore and has been residing in Singapore since 18 years.

Like many of us, Preethi is a working mother. She has two boys ages 16 and 11 who love to eat! While Preethi has always cooked as a hobby, she started actively cooking and experimenting with food a couple of years ago. She then wanted to document and share her experiments in the kitchen with others. With this intent, Preethi's Cuisine was born. Her blog is turning one on . I wish her much success! She has many healthy and innovative recipes on her blog. Do visit her blog Preethi's Cuisine for all the yummy recipes.

Today, Preethi is sharing with us a delicious recipe of Quinoa & Beet Patties. Preethi says: "These yummy patties are loaded with the goodness of Quinoa and other multigrains and beetroot. It is easy to make and can be used in Burgers too".

Servings: makes 12 medium-sized patties

Ingredients:

3 Beetroots 
2 Potatoes 
1”Ginger
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup Quinoa cooked in Vegetable stock 
1.5 Tsp Garam Masala
2 Tbsp Gram Flour/ Besan
1 Tsp Chilli Powder
Salt to Taste
1 Tsp Jeera
1 Tsp Chaat Masala
1 Cup Multigrain Powder( A mix of roasted and powdered Green Gram ,Flax seeds and Chia Seeds)
1 Green Chilli
Finely Chopped Coriander

Method:

Pressure cook Beets, Potatoes, green chilli,Ginger and Garlic with 1 glass of water for up to four whistles. In case the beets are not fully mashed, blitz once in a blender to get a fine paste. 

Put all the boiled veggies in a wide bowl without the stock .

Use the Vegetable stock to cook Quinoa as per the instructions on the package.

Add all the masalas( spices),  besan, coriander, jeera,multigrain powder and salt to the boiled veggies and mix well. 

Take a small quantity of the mixture and give a round shape. Repeat this process for the balance mixture.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan. Smear a teaspoon of oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the round patties and cook on both sides with a teaspoon of oil.

Enjoy these yummy patties with green chutney!!!!

I am bringing this lovely dish of Preethi's for all my friends to try at Throwback Thursday#36, Fiesta Friday#117 and Saucy Saturdays#42! The co-hosts this week are two excellent bloggers, Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Scarlett @ Unwed Housewife.

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Comprehensive Primary Charade +

The most powerful persuasion tool in enlightened human society is language. The most powerful manipulation tool in any human society is language. Whereas in ancient times the pen was considered mightier than the sword, now the keyboard can be said to be mightier than any weapon of mass destruction, and nobody is mightier than the government of these United States. When our government wanted to strip citizens of privacy, it passed the Patriot act, because no one could oppose patriotism after 9/11. When it set out to facilitate corporate procurement of foreign slave labor, it enacted a set of XYZ Free Trade agreements, because this is the land of the Free. When it decided to ration health care services for the middle class, it put in place the Affordable care act, because we are all broke. Now that the U.S. government has decided to do away with the medical profession, it is feverishly rolling out Comprehensive primary care initiatives.

Comprehensive primary care is not a fuzzy, in the eye of the beholder, type of concept. Perhaps the most celebrated primary care advocate in recent times, Dr. Barbara Starfield, defined comprehensive primary care as “dealing with all health-related problems or interventions except those too uncommon to maintain competence”, where “common” means “encountered in at least one per thousand patients in a year”. The term comprehensive is an adjective intended to describe the spectrum of problems addressed in primary care without referrals to outside specialists. Comprehensive primary care is what country doctors used to provide to their patients from cradle to grave, and some still do. Comprehensive primary care is what family medicine was supposed to be all about, but it rarely is.

Taken at face value, encouraging primary care physicians to practice at the top of their license (to use a dumb cliché) sounds like a welcome nudge (to use another dumb cliché) towards longitudinal, high quality, relationship based, and lower cost health care.  Comprehensive primary care should mean treating most patients in house, expanding the spectrum of primary care procedures, and avoiding the often disastrous descent into specialty, sub-specialty and invasive care that may add nothing to ultimate outcomes, except grief accompanied by hefty price tags. It also means a return to having one’s personal physician in attendance if and when hospitalization is needed, replacing random hospitalist care and rendering specialty care a truly consultative service in most circumstances.

Unfortunately we cannot take anything our government says or does at face value. Back in 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative. Medicare in collaboration with private insurers invested funds upfront and increased ongoing payments to primary care physicians who provide comprehensive care to their patients. There was only one small problem. The CMS redefined comprehensive care to mean the usual and customary concoction of patient engagement, coordination, risk management, same-day access and quality measures, sprinkled with technology fairy dust.

In what must have been a seismic shock to CMS experts (just kidding), the latest evaluation of the CPC initiative, concludes that very little, if anything, has been achieved during the first two years of this sprawling program. The study, commissioned and funded by the CMS, found that neither utilization nor overall costs were favorably impacted by this type of “comprehensive” care. As to “quality”, the study measured a handful of processes (i.e. timely diabetes testing and such) as surrogates for outcomes and found no changes there either. The net cost/saving analysis did not include the initial hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the CMS on consulting services for rolling this particular initiative out. The CMS evaluators concluded their analysis expressing hope that future studies of this ongoing initiative may be helpful to policy makers.

And as is always the case with CMS initiatives, when something is shown not to work as intended, the next step is to double down and do more of the same. One day before the CPC evaluation was published, the CMS announced a brand new, bigger and better, CPC+ initiative. Presumably the + stands for an increase in the size of the initiative, or alternatively, an increase in its comprehensiveness. So let’s count the ways….

Comprehensive Risk+

Risk is the new compassion. All these initiatives, programs, reforms, transformations, innovations, that you see floating around, are intended to train doctors to view patients as risks. All the technology flooding the health care market right now, with much more to come, is aimed at reducing every single patient walking through your door to a risk number. You have a 4.5 at 10am and a 2.0 at 10:30. Risk score will not become the sixth vital sign. It will become the only vital sign, the wonder measure that simplifies health care to something a third grader can understand. You want to pay doctors for value instead of volume? Pay them for reducing their risk scores. We can’t really measure processes or outcomes, but we can measure financial risk, a.k.a. value, or rather lack thereof, and by incorporating big data from all sources, we can calculate risk scores to the second or third decimal place.

Average risk scores for your assigned population are an okay indicator of the value you provide, but can be misleading. A better indicator would be the size of risk percentile groups. For example, on a scale of 1 to 5, if you have no patients above 4.5, and only a handful above 4, you are an excellent value provider. If you can reduce the number of above fours next year, you’ll get a big fat bonus and a whole bunch of stars in some public provider directory, which is a great thing too, because sick people (who are not stupid), will quickly figure out that they need not apply for appointments with 5 star doctors. So you have this virtuous cycle going on now. Eventually the 4.5 and above population will dwindle out by natural attrition (maybe 5’s should be flagged as auto-DNR…) and your historical propensity to inadvertently get in trouble will plummet.  

To the immense delight of pundits everywhere, health care will become more like flying aeroplanes. You, and your computerized team, will run through standardized checklists before anything is done for a patient. If the slightest risk is identified, you get a new aircraft. Only perfect planes ever leave the runway. Only perfect patients get medical care. And health care will become more like the banks too. When you want to buy a car or a house, all that matters is your credit score. If your credit score is good, you get good financing. If your credit score sucks, you get bubkes. You only get a bank loan if you can prove you don’t need it in the first place. Health care will be similarly reserved for the healthy. As to CPC+, you can’t get a dime from anybody unless you slap a risk score on every single patient, which brings us to the next epiphany.

Comprehensive Finance+

More than anything else, CPC+ is a master class in finance. The CPC+ initiative offers two distinct financing tracks, one for less technology savvy beginners and one for savvier participants. Whereas currently you get paid a certain number of dollars per service, with CPC+ Medicare will be providing three distinct payment streams, with the third one signaling the way of the future:

• Fixed care management fees commensurate with patients’ risk scores and ranging between $6 and $100 per patient per month, which must be used to hire more people, buy technology or pay for training.
• Performance-based incentive payments ($2.50-$4 per patient per month) will be paid prospectively (before performance is measured) in full, but will be subject to partial recoupment if the practice fails to meet a predefined threshold score for quality and cost/utilization measures. For practices that fall under a predefined minimum score, performance-based payments will be recouped in their entirety.
• Technologically advanced practices can select to have a portion of their estimated Medicare fee-for-service revenue made payable upfront as well, followed by reduced payments on ongoing claims. The maximum upfront payment is 65% of historically estimated E&M services, and this bulk payment will be marked up 10% (for an overall gain of 6.5%). This upfront capitation is subject to reconciliation on the other side and to recoupment if your patients increase use of outside primary care services, such as the much encouraged retail clinics.

But wait, there is more… The CPC+ is a multi-payer initiative and all participating commercial payers are free to devise their own payment schemes. A practice could easily find itself juggling half a dozen payment methodologies, with dozens of splintered revenue streams, each with its own rules, idiosyncrasies and accounting systems. Not only you have to continue submitting claims as before, but Medicare will eventually require documentation of previously non-billable activities (e.g. phone calls, portal messaging) and categorical proof that all the funds bestowed upon you are used as Medicare wants you to use them.

Yes, you read that right. The CMS, which is a government agency, will not only decide how much to pay you (or if to pay you), but also what you are allowed to do with those payments, which are essentially provisional and subject to recoupment on a whim. Why? Because aversion to loss, is a much more powerful motivator than desire for incentives when mindless conformance and subservience are the ultimate goals.

Comprehensive Acquaintanceships+

As was the case with CPC and practically all health care reform initiatives, CPC+ is encouraging, nay demanding, that the inconveniently personal one-to-one patient-doctor relationship is broken up and replaced by less intense acquaintanceships with care team members. There are good reasons to change the relationship model in health care. First, patients must be rendered receptive to a constant barrage of messaging regarding prevention, compliance and frugality, which is something you want to delegate anyway. Second, and the CPC+ proposal specifically suggests this, you can take on more patients if you don’t have to actually care for them. Third, the more random people you can have buzzing around each patient, sending messages, checking dashboards, managing lists, and conducting meetings to discuss all of the above, the more comprehensive the entire thing appears to be.

One of the few measurable successes of the CPC initiative was a 3% reduction in primary care visits, attributed to the “comprehensiveness” of “wrap-around” electronic and ancillary services. Same amounts of referrals and specialty services, same levels of inpatient and emergency services, and markedly less interaction with one’s personal physician. This is how the CMS defines comprehensive primary care. I know what my thoughts are, and I see how practicing docs feel, but sometimes I wonder what Barbara Starfield would have said about this inexplicable charade…

Unity Farm Journal - Fifth Week of April 2016

Unpredictable New England weather continues - we’ve had temps in the 70’s and temps below freezing.   Hard frosts are tough on new leaves and buds, so we’re assuming the fruit tree crops will be diminished this year.    We’ll hold off on hoop house planting of our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants until the first week of May.  Although we may have cold weather in May, the soil temperatures of the hoop house are likely to be sufficient to support cold sensitive plants.

We’re continuing our Sunday morning lettuce harvest ritual.   This year, we’ll be able to sell about 500 heads of Boston, Bibb, and Romaine from our hoop house.

This week we submitted our Organic Certification application that includes all the data we need to seek approval for the “USDA Organic” symbol to appear on our mushrooms, fruits, and vegetables.   In the upcoming weeks, we’ll have an unannounced inspection of our orchard, hoop house, and mushroom growing yard.   Organic growing requires use of materials that appear on the  Organic Materials Review Institute lists as well as use of organic seeds/seedlings.    We believe we’ve done everything right to achieve certification, but the inspector will let us know soon.

The alpacas and llama get sheared on May 4, and aftewards they’ll be itchy.   Think of giving your wool sweater a haircut.   A nearby sweeping company donated a 6 foot sweeping wheel and we mounted it as a scratching post in the female paddock.   Here’s the new alpaca back scratcher ready for action.

It’s Spring and our outdoor activities mean more exercise and better fitness.    At Unity Farm, we do a variety of strength building exercises.

Here’s an example of farm Yoga - we call it “The Downfacing Pig”

Some pursue Pilates but on the farm, we prefer Piglates  - stretching while rubbing two pig bellies simultaneously.   Very challenging.

This weekend, we’ll bottle 30 gallons of Honey Lager and plant all our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in the beds we’ll empty of winter letttuce.    Next week I have to be in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Houston for various speaking engagements, so Kathy will be running the farm alone.    I’ll be back on Friday to help finalize all the final preparations leading up to my daughter’s wedding on the farm at the end of May.

The MACRA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

This afternoon, the MACRA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was released.  I'll publish a comprehensive analysis of the 900+ pages next week, but in the meantime, a few thoughts.

The major ideas are:

*The ONC 2015 Certification Rule applies to all technology used to satisfy MACRA requirements

*Meaningful Use is being replaced by a more flexible construct that is tailorable to specific workflows and specialty practices

*Quality Measures can be selected by each practice to be relevant and aligned with their goals.

This NPRM applies to physician practices only, not hospitals, so we do not yet have clarity on the future of Meaningful Use for hospitals.

Many of the concepts are good - reducing documentation burden, enabling flexbility, focusing on outcomes/quality, engaging patients in novel ways, and emphasizing connectivity/interoperability.

However, the use of  the ONC 2015 Certification Rule is probably not a good idea.      The 2015 Rule is a kitchen sink of standards, many of which are not ready for production deployment.   The Rule is an example of regulatory overambition - instead of narrowing the scope to specific goals or workflows, it includes a cornucopia of use cases unrelated to Meaningful Use.    I highly recommend that we use the Standards Advisory concept to provide a constrained list of standards  but then let vendors innovate as needed to support the workflows desired by patients, clinicians, and hospitals.   Using the 2015 Certification Rule as written will have 3 bad consequences:

*The burden of certification will consume  developer resources that could be used for innovation
*The standards listed in the certification rule have varying degrees of maturity and we'll be setting in concrete some technologies that should not be used
*The certification rule did not envision the kinds of products or services the private sector would develop 2016-2018

I applaud a focus on outcomes and quality.  Meaningful Use has run its course and achieved its goals.   It needs to be replaced.     Along with replacing Meaningful Use, let's rethink the certification concept too.     More to come next week!

Being a Cancer Treatment Partner

Recently my wife was asked to advise one of our friends about the process of cancer treatment.    As I wrote in my 2011 post about our family's experience with cancer, the treatment involves everyone close to the patient.   Here are Kathy's notes for families of cancer patients, which I post in the hope that they will help others.

"I promised  to pencil out tips for how you can best serve as a cancer treatment partner.

Here is a great resource to read on the general way to help.

At the treatment planning visit, you should take notes so the patient can remember things later more clearly. Also, if you have a list of questions the patient specifically wants answered, you can remind her of them if she forgets to ask her doctor.

You will want the details of the final staging results, but  have found that it is not useful to focus too hard on longevity curves and results because your individual case will follow its own course. You already take the diagnosis seriously.

Confirm the details of the radiation plan.
Ask what the side effects are.   Long term risks.
Confirm the details of the chemotherapy plan.
Do you need a port?
Ask what the side effects are of your chemotherapy. Long term risks.
Do you need to look at clinical trials?
Ask about the specific drugs used for the supportive/palliative part. Palliative is the word to define the pain relief team and elements that relieve any discomfort you have from the tumor or the therapies.
Is there anything you should not take while on their treatment (like ibuprofen or any other prescriptions, or food/vitamin)
One of my own chemo therapies involved intravenous Benadryl so I could not drive myself home during that one. So ask if there are any guidelines for your specific treatment.
Ask about any risks of neuropathy (numbness in hands and feet) from chemotherapy, and what dialog or change in treatment plan they expect if you should experience neuropathy. Ask about any plan or need to boost white blood counts with therapies such as Neulasta. Connected to that is any discussion of increased risk of catching viruses or infections due to a suppressed immune system.
If you have questions about surgery and why they do not recommend it - simply ask why they find it to be not recommended in your specific case.
Ask about alternative and supportive therapies (nutrition/massage/etc)

After this initial treatment, what tests will be performed to evaluate the degree of remission?
What are the current tumor and post treatment impacts on function?
Are there ongoing post treatment medications you will have to take. Six month, one year followup plan, and beyond.

 Only use a second opinion if the treatment plan does not align with your own comfort zone or desires."

Fitness Goals Are Meant to Be Maintained

Reaching your fitness goals is an accomplishment to be praised.  Are you maintaining them is the question?  Fitness is not meant to be a temporary fix to get into a bikini or attend a wedding.  It's a lifestyle of health and wellness.  Sure, you will rock that suit and look good in those pictures but is that all fitness means?



True fitness success is when you live it daily.  Healthy foods are being consumed consistently and exercise is part of your normal routine.  In fact, getting off track for too long will make you feel like crap.  Fitness becomes a priority and excuses no longer get in the way.  You refuse to return to being overweight, sick and nearly dead.  You get the point.

I've seen too many people succeed at reaching goal weights, reduced body fat and improved health and throw it all away.  The belief system we can get away with returning to a few old habits snowballs.  The purpose of dumping old ways is to learn and keep new and healthier methods.  This is lacking and maintaining our health is suffering.

We need to focus not only on reaching our fitness goals but keeping them for life. Life is the event we are getting in shape for not bikini season.  Forget the clothes and stand naked in front of your mirror.  This will let you know if you're doing a great job of maintaining your fitness. I'm not talking about body and skin changes naturally occurring with aging.  We all know the difference and also if we're not living a healthy life.





We show outwardly how we live inwardly.  Not recording in your food journal thinking your body doesn't know is craziness.  Your body keeps the most accurate record of what you're eating and drinking.   Reaching fitness goals is possible because you have done it and maybe more than once.  Instead of having to repeat getting back and shape, why not just stay in shape.  Real talk all in fitness love.  Be well and Stay Healthy!

About.com has launched it's stand alone Health Page - Verywell!

"Think of us as your friend who also happens to be a doctor. Or personal trainer. Or dietitian. Verywell is your source for reliable, understandable information on hundreds of health and wellness topics that always keeps the reasons you come to us in mind.

Know more. Feel better."

Darla Leal, Stay Healthy

Enjoy my Sports Nutrition articles at Verywell and start reaching and maintaining your fitness goals for life!

Read My Articles at Verywell

Mixed Lentil Penne (Bean pasta); gluten free; Meatless Monday

When Meatless Monday reached out to me about trying out Bean pasta from Modern Table Meals, and coming up with a nice and easy recipe, I jumped at the chance! Why? Because, a) I am an ardent champion of the Meatless Monday campaign. I believe that they are doing a great job worldwide promoting vegetarian eating and thereby healthy eating! Vanessa Protass  is just awesome! b) I don't eat regular pasta as I avoid gluten in my diet. Therefore I was very excited to try a gluten-free pasta!

The package from Modern table came a few days later with two packs of Mixed Lentil Penne, a pack of wooden cooking spoons and a nice tote bag.

I must tell you guys that I was not at all disappointed with the Mixed Lentil Penne from Modern Table Meals.

It looks like regular pasta, it cooks like regular pasta and it tastes like regular pasta! No, No. It is not just me saying this. I had some friends over for dinner when I made this particular pasta dish and they couldn't tell me that it was any different!In fact, they didn't even know that it was not regular pasta until I specifically mentioned that it was bean pasta. It is also light and does not make your stomach feel heavy and bloated . The best part: it is loaded with protein due to the lentils present in it, so you could just toss it with some veggies and a nutritious dinner/lunch is ready!

Do try this quick and very easy recipe! You will not be disappointed . Also, it is a great way to sneak in protein and veggie into your kid's and your tummies!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Modern table mixed lentil penne pasta: 1 package
Water:
Broccoli florets : 1 small bunch ( around 2 cups)
Endamame: 8 oz pack, ( peeled and shelled,ready to cook)
Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Butter: 1 tsp ( skip butter if vegan)
Garlic: 6-8 cloves, minced
Capers: 1/4 cup
Olives, chopped: 2 tbsp ( any olives may be used, I used black olives); optional.
Dried Italian seasoning: 1 tsp
Freshly ground black pepper: 1 tsp
Salt: as per taste

Method:

Boil water with 1/4 tsp salt,  in a big pot/ saucepan. When the water comes to boil, add the penne in and cook for 8-9 minutes or until al dente. Drain and keep aside. Reserve the water.

Boil the same reserved water. When the water comes to boil, add Endamame  and cook for 2 mins. At the end of 2 mins, add the broccoli florets and cook for another 2 mins. Drain and keep aside. Reserve 1/4 cup of the drained water.

Heat a sauté pan or skillet on medium heat. Add the butter, oil and minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for a minute until aromatic. 

Add in the vegetables, the capers, the chopped olives, the herbs and the reserved 1/4 cup of pasta water. Let it come together for 10 seconds. 

Now add in the  cooked pasta. Toss it all together.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this very healthy meal for all my friends to try at Throwback Thursday#36, Fiesta Friday#117 and Saucy Saturdays#42! The co-hosts this week are two excellent bloggers, Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Scarlett @ Unwed Housewife.

Cooking made easy:

One of the things I like to do while making pasta/noodles is cook the veggies with the pasta. Depending on the amount of time required for each one, I add it one after the other. In case of the above dish, the pasta requires to be cooked for 8 mins, the Endamame for 4 minutes and the broccoli for 2 mins or less. So, I would start with boiling the water with salt, add the pasta and keep the timer for 4 mins. At the end of 4 minutes, I would add the Endamame and cook for another 2 minutes, at the end of which I would add the broccoli florets and cook for another 2 minutes. When it is done, drain it all together.

Tip for healthy living:

Reduce the oil/ butter content in pasta dishes and make it healthier. You can still have a pasta dish that is not dry by adding some of the pasta water reserved while draining the pasta! This makes the pasta creamy and delicious!

Food for thought:

To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance. Buddha

Guest post series: Bhenda Sasam ( Crispy Okra in a spiced yogurt sauce) by Sushma Mallya

The month of April is extra-special! It is my birthday month! This week is my birthday-week! Guess how I am celebrating??

 I am going away on a vacation next week since we are having Spring Break! Yay!! I am also celebrating my birthday by starting " the guest post series" which I have been planning for a while now! I am so happy that it is finally coming to fruition! As part of this series, you will be seeing healthy, quick and easy recipes from a variety of food bloggers: some new and some who are already established! It is going to be a nice mix! The guest post will be featured every Friday of the month. They will be accompanying me to many parties! It is going to be so much fun!! I am so excited!!

If you are interested in writing a guest post for my blog: Su's Healthy Living, please reach out to me at sushealthyliving@gmail.com. The criteria for the recipe is that it has to be healthy, quick and easy to make!! That's not too much to ask is it??;)

I am beginning this series with a guest post from a very good friend from the blogging world: Sushma Mallya! She blogs from Authentic Food Delights. She is one of the nicest, unassuming people that I have met in the blogging world. Believe it or not she has had her blog for 8 years now! Way before all the rat race that is going on today! She is a mother of two beautiful boys. Her blog started as a way to document all the recipes that she learnt from her mother, mother-in-law and friends. When she is not churning up delicious dishes in her kitchen, she immerses herself in her other passion, which is painting and sketching! Her creativity and artistry is evident in her food photography! Her blog has a myriad of recipes, mostly traditional Konkani recipes and a few fusion recipes. She has been residing in UK for the past 13 years. Do check out her blog  Authentic Food Delights for more amazing recipes.

Today she is sharing with us a recipe that she learnt from her mother: Benda Sasam ( crispy okra in a yogurt-based sauce). This is a very quick and easy recipe that is healthy too!  This dish brings along a variety of textures and flavors with crispy okra in a delicious spiced yogurt sauce.

Servings: 3-4 people

Ingredients

10-12 ladies finger (bhindi) (cut into thin slices )

2 tbsp cooking oil

For Masala

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut 

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

3-4 green chilli (adjust according to your spice level)

1/4 cup Thick curd /yogurt 

salt to taste

For tempering /tadka

1 tsp ghee + 1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Jeera

1/4 tsp urad dal

1 red chilli broken into bits 

1 sprig of curry leaves 

Method 

• Wash Bhindi and pat it dry . Cut Bhindi into thin slices and keep aside. Then take a non stick pan add oil then add ladies finger and fry till v crisp on a low heat and keep aside. ( This can be made well ahead of time and mixed at the time of serving).

• Grind coconut, green chilles, mustard seeds,  yogurt and grind to a fine paste. Add water to thin it to the desired consistency.
• Take it out in a container. keep aside.

• Now Prepare the tadka ; Heat a non stick pan add in ghee and little oil then add in mustard seeds. Jeera, Urad dal, when it starts spluttering add red chilli, fry add in curry leaves.
• Pour this tempering /tadka over the ground paste (NOTE: There is no heating in this type of curry ).

• Add in fried bhindi at the time of serving (so that it stays crisp). Then serve it Garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves . Done it's awesome with Rice ...YUMM !

I am bringing this lovely dish of Sushma's for all my friends to try, at Throwback Thursday#35, Fiesta Friday#116 and Saucy Saturdays! Angie's co-hosts this week are Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Cynthia @ eatmunchlove.

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!