Chris Pedersen's Blog, page 12

6 Tips to Achieve Christmas Bliss

Do you find yourself in a state of frenzy during the Christmas season, whether its from being bombarded by commercialization or feeling the stress of getting a gift for everyone on your list? Here are some tips for calming your heart and re-adjusting your attitude this season.

#1 Approach the Season With a Sense of Gratitude
Be grateful for what you have—friends and family who love you. They won't stop loving you if you don't get them a gift. The gift of you may be all that's needed.

#2 Give a Gift With Meaning
Make up a coupon to give something of yourself (babysitting for your girlfriend with small kids whose budget has no room for babysitting). The list is endless.
#3 Take Time to Serve the Less Fortunate
There are plenty who are homeless and hungry during the Christmas season. Take time to schedule several hours on a service project to help those in need. You'll never feel more blessed than when you serve others.

#4 Keep Your Expectations In Check
Don't assume anything. Inquire, plan and be ready to grant grace at every turn. Slow down and let the frantic pass you by. Be gracious when you get the gift you think is… you fill-in here.

#5 Remember What This Time of Year Is REALLY About
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you—he is Christ the LORD.
Luke 2:11I wish you all a blessed Christmas always remembering that our gracious and merciful heavenly Father sent His only Son Jesus to be born a baby and then perish on a cross to redeem me and you from the penalty of our sins. And for that we celebrate Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Raw Cacao Cookie Dough Balls

I finally got some cacao nibs so I could make something with this healthy superfood. I told you about cacao in a Wisdom Wednesday post. It's the healthy form of chocolate.

Raw chocolate (cacao) is "off the chart" the highest of any food in antioxidants. Rich in minerals magnesium, iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium, copper, zinc and phosphorus. Cacao's complex nature and chemical reaction in the body allows the arteries and intestines to absorb more nutrients. It increases dopamine and other mood altering chemicals in the brain creating a sense of euphoria or bliss. Yeah, Baby! You don't get that from chocolate you picked up at the check-out stand.

The superfood nutrients are in the raw version of chocolate. Most are cooked away (except the minerals) when you heat cacao over 118° to make cocoa.


These little morsels of superfood are easy to make. Using the dry ingredients container for my Vitamix, I blended the rolled grains and cashews into a flour. Trader Joe's Organic Multigrain Hot Cereal is what I used. Use gluten-free rolled oats if you need to create a gluten-free dessert.

Raw Cacao Cookie Dough Balls
from The Earth Dietyield 1 dozen
category Dessertcuisine Healthy, Vegan ingredients2/3 C of rolled oats or mixed grains2/3 C of raw cashews1 tsp of vanilla or 1 vanilla bean, minced1 Tbsp of raw honey or maple syrup1/4 tsp of sea salt2 Tbsp of cacao powder (plus extra for rolling)2 Tbsp of cacao nibs
directions1. Blend the cashews and rolled grains in a food processor or blender to make a flour.2. In a bowl, add the "flour," vanilla, sweetener, salt and cacao powder. Mix to combine. Add more sweetener if desired.3. Add water if needed to make the mixture cookie dough consistency. Then add the cacao nibs and combine.4. Form the mixture into balls (~3/4 inch). Roll the balls in extra cacao powder on a plate to coat.5. Eat and enjoy! Keep in fridge.
notes: • Variations: Add almond butter, diced dried cranberries
Enjoy these little superfood nuggets any time. Pop one in your mouth and chew it up relishing the complex flavors. Bursting with nutrition, you can feel the energy and taste the yumminess.

What's your favorite chocolate dessert recipe?

Get a Vitamix Under Your Christmas Tree

When mentioning a wonderful smoothie I just blended using my Vitamix, I might hear a sigh from someone who doesn't have a Vitamix of their own. I've had one for about thirty years now. It's that good and well-built. I think everyone should have one. It's an investment in your health. The Vitamix makes it easy to mix up a fresh veggie and fruit smoothie chock full of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and more).

Now is a good time to get a Vitamix blender on your Christmas list. Wouldn't you like to wake up on Christmas Day, unwrap it then put it to work making a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie? Yum!
From December 2nd to December 31st 2014, when you purchase any model Vitamix, not only do you receive FREE shipping, but you also get a set of 3 spatulas specially designed to fit into every corner of the Vitamix container. These spatulas are slim and lightweight for easy handling and removing thick mixtures from the blades.

Click Here to Place Your Order
Did you know you can get a reconditioned Vitamix for as little as $259?


***PLEASE NOTE*** Within 30 days of making your purchase, a 3-pack of spatulas will be shipped separately to the same shipping address at NO COST. This special add on item will not appear on your order confirmation sheet—it will be processed separately.

What's on your wish list for Christmas?

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A Word About HealthCare

Tis the season. Well... not what you might be thinking. It's open enrollment season for health insurance sign-ups. Ads to that effect are filling up our email inbox and snail mailbox, and bombarding us while watching TV or listening to the radio.

Although I do have health insurance (the kind the ads are all about), I'm insured more securely by what goes on in my kitchen. Starting with what I add to my shopping cart and ending with what I put in my mouth.

And it costs me a small fraction of what the other insurance costs.

My friends at Food Matters echo what I've always said as we endure the groaning on and on over national healthcare. For great heath tips and related videos, including the film that started it all—Food Matters, check out foodmatters.tv.

While we're on the subject, can I just say... The term healthcare (used ad nauseam when referring to the Affordable Health Care Act) is complete misuse of the language. The more appropriate term should be Disease Management.

What are you doing to insure you are healthy?

Thanksgiving

Indian Dal Recipe

My niece Melissa is a modified vegan like myself. In addition to being a very talented young woman (budget world traveler, photographer, graphic artist and more), she loves to cook up new recipes from exotic places she been to. Both Melissa and her husband Jake like to cook. Recently she emailed her recipe for Indian Dal. I tried it... yum with a kick (adjustable to your liking).

Check out Melissa's website: http://rouxroamer.wordpress.com

Don't you love the cooking videos of the chef throwing the recipe together in a few minutes. She picks up containers with pre-measured and pre-cut ingredients and tosses them into the pot. So simple, right? Yeah! I want someone to measure and pre-cut all the ingredients for my recipe too. That's makin' it simple.
This Dal recipe is quick to put together except for the job of cutting up the cauliflower. I needed a sous chef for that part. Perhaps you can enlist the help of a little chef in training in your household.
Add onion, ginger, cumin, turmeric, red pepper, black pepper, garam masala and garlic to heated olive oil. Saute 5 minutes.
Add cauliflower and tomatoes and saute 5 minutes.
Stir in broth and lentils and bring to a boil.

Indian Dal
from Melissa Jonesyield 6 - 8 servings
category Main Coursecuisine Indian, Vegetarian
ingredients2 Tbsp olive oil1 medium onion, chopped2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled, minced3 tsp cumin seed3 tsp ground turmeric2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes2 tsp cracked black pepper1 tsp garam masala4 garlic cloves, minced4 C cauliflower florets, chopped/crumbled3 tomatoes, chopped1 32 oz carton of vegetable broth1 C dried lentils2 Tbsp fresh lime juice3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced3/4 tsp sea salt
directions1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.2. Add onion, ginger, cumin, turmeric, red pepper, black pepper, garam masala and garlic. Saute 5 minutes.3. Add cauliflower and tomatoes. Saute 5 minutes.4. Stir in broth and lentils; bring to a boil.5. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes or until lentils are tender. Let sit on warm until it thickens (if you like).6. Stir in lime juice, cilantro and salt.7. Serve 1 cup of Dal with 1 cup of cooked brown rice*, farro, quinoa or barley.
 *Add cinnamon, turmeric, ground cloves and ground pepper to the water when making the rice.
A couple of notes—adjust the heat by adding less or more red pepper flakes. To jazz up the flavor of the rice, add cinnamon, turmeric, ground cloves or pepper to the water when making the rice.

Do you have a favorite international recipe inspired by travel to another country?

Giving: A Show of Gratitude

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, we tend to look beyond ourselves and think about giving. Webster's Dictionary defines give : to make a present of... However, give is just a word with no feeling behind it. We add the emotion from something in our heart. A genuine attitude for giving might best be offered with gratitude: a feeling of appreciation or thanks.

Attitude is one of my roots of health and one way to improve your attitude is to show gratitude. Volunteer your time to the less fortunate. Giving to others helps us forget ourselves and our troubles. It tends to reinforce a thankful feeling within.

At this time of year one favorite family tradition has been to fill a shoebox with goodies and items for a child living in a third-world country who lives in dire circumstances and a seemingly hopeless situation. We accomplish this through Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse.
What is Operation Christmas Child?Through a simple gift of a shoebox filled with everyday items, we can share the love of Jesus with a child on the other side of the world. Pack the box with toys, school supplies, toothbrush, soap, etc. Add a picture of your family and even a letter to the child. A tracking code may be added to let you know the destination country of your shoebox.

In 2007 I volunteered at an Operation Christmas Child processing center in Southern California and learned that boys ages 10 to 14 are under-represented in shoebox gifts. From that point on we always pack a box for a boy in that age range.
The Dollar Store offers lots of great items to include in a shoebox. For an older boy, I always include duct tape. Having been to a third-world country, I've seen what the children create out of empty liter bottles, aluminum cans and string or wire. Duct tape can be creative magic for them.

In addition to a t-shirt, here's what we put in our box:

Need a bit of instruction? Maybe this video will help... or at least give you a chuckle:



What kind of holiday family traditions do you have for showing gratitude?

Fish Chowder

I'm a modified vegan—I don't do dairy (except occasional goat cheese and organic eggs) and the only meat I eat is wild-caught fish. When I found this chowder recipe, I got excited. This soup is delicious. You're going to love it.  Want something to warm your tummy this fall? Make up a double recipe so you have plenty to freeze for more than one meal.
Fish Chowder
from Whole Foodsyield 8 servings

category Soupcuisine Pescatarian
ingredients3 celery stalks, diced (plus leaves for garnish)
1 red bell pepper, chopped small1 small yellow onion, diced2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil1 C vegetable stock1/4 C quinoa flour6 C organic unsweetened plain soymilk6 medium red potatoes (~1 1/4 lbs) cubed1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme1 tsp sea salt1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper12 oz wild-caught white fish (mahi mahi, monkfish, etc) cut into 1" pieces1 C yellow corn (fresh or frozen)1/4 C finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
directions1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown (6 - 8 minutes).2. Add stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits until reduced by 2/3 (~2 minutes).3. Add flour and cook, stirring often (1 minute). Then whisk in soymilk.4. Stir in potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer until fragment, thickened and potatoes are almost tender (~7 minutes).5. Stir in fish and corn then cook until fish is cooked through (6 - 8 minutes).6. Stir in parsley and serve, garnishing with celelry leaves.
Give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it.

6 Steps to Avoiding Holiday Temptation

Here you are at the edge of the holiday season—staring down piles of leftover halloween candy or worse, sneaking pieces of your son or daughter's stash, while telling yourself you're saving them from eating too much candy.

You’ve told yourself you’re making the switch to healthier eating, but you see food all around you—tempting holiday food that you know isn’t good for you. What can you do to deal with the temptation?

You need a plan.

Start with your home—that will be the hardest—especially if your house is full of hungry grouches (I say this endearingly) who don’t see eye-to-eye with you on eating healthy.

Here are things you can do to make things go smoother.
#1 Don’t Have It in the House
Throw out unhealthy food with artificial ingredients, sugary snacks, cookies, candy, sodas and even juices with added sugar. This has been my get healthy credo for many years. You can hear the same advice from diet and health gurus like Dr. Oz.

Being a recovered sugar addict, I remembered having sugary cookies or dark chocolate (my favorite) in the house was a huge temptation. I would literally eat until I was sick and it was gone. Ask my husband.

So go ahead... throw out that halloween candy. It's okay!

#2 Have Healthy Snacks Available
Besides making sure you eat plenty of food at all your meals (remember, it's what you eat, NOT how much you eat), have healthy snacks available to grab for in between meals.

I have Cuties in a bowl on the counter from fall to late spring. Have apples, carrots, celery sticks or a small slice of whole grain bread with some almond butter.

#3 Be Prepared Mentally
Making changes can be demanding and it’s important to steel your mind each morning to stay the course. Pray for wisdom to make the right choices for the day and/or write an affirmation (I love healthy food and make healthy choices when eating) and put it where you will see it.

This process takes discipline.

Once you no longer crave all those bad things (it will happen), your body will feel better and those choices will become easier.

#4 Find an Accountability Partner
It may be as simple as having your spouse keep you on track, but realistically that rarely happens. Remember the hungry grouches? … That’s right, the spouse is one of them.

My husband was with me on the cancer-fighting diet. After all it was his idea (hmmm … keep that in mind). And he has reaped the benefit of losing weight he tried to lose for years without success.

Find a trusting friend that will regularly check in with you and encourage you to stay the path. Don’t do it alone.

#5 Keep a Food Diary
Many diet programs recommend this technique. It helps to see it on paper in your own handwriting. Comparing healthy foods to processed foods on the list (Tuesday snack: handful of almonds and raisons vs. Monday snack: microwaved hot pocket) helps you see the contrast. Healthy feed-the-body nutrients vs. empty calories.

#6 Tune-in to Your Body
As you change your foods, take careful note of how you feel when you eat healthy as opposed to eating any processed and sugary foods. Write the reactions in your food diary. This will help you to see and then remember what healthy food choices do for you. Be sure to take the long range effects into account. Don't cheat by noting that the candy bar or donut you ate gave you an energy kick when it actually kicked you to the curb an hour or so down the road.
Seared Ahi with Roasted Butternut Squash and
 Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad
I hope these recommendations help you through the holidays in your journey to a new way of eating and a healthy life. You'll look back and wonder why you ever ate those things that made you so sick and tired before.

Check The Daily Menu for a sample of what I eat in a typical day.

What helps you deal with holiday temptation? Scroll down to add a comment.

Avoiding Holiday Temptation

Here you are at the edge of the holiday season—staring down piles of leftover halloween candy or worse, sneaking pieces of your son or daughter's stash, while telling yourself you're saving them from eating too much candy.

You’ve told yourself you’re making the switch to healthier eating, but you see food all around you—tempting holiday food that you know isn’t good for you. What can you do to deal with the temptation?

You need a plan.

Start with your home—that will be the hardest—especially if your house is full of hungry grouches (I say this endearingly) who don’t see eye-to-eye with you on eating healthy.

Here are things you can do to make things go smoother.
#1 Don’t Have It in the House
Throw out unhealthy food with artificial ingredients, sugary snacks, cookies, candy, sodas and even juices with added sugar. This has been my get healthy credo for many years. You can hear the same advice from diet and health gurus like Dr. Oz.

Being a recovered sugar addict, I remembered having sugary cookies or dark chocolate (my favorite) in the house was a huge temptation. I would literally eat until I was sick and it was gone. Ask my husband.

So go ahead... throw out that halloween candy. It's okay!

#2 Have Healthy Snacks Available
Besides making sure you eat plenty of food at all your meals (remember, it's what you eat, NOT how much you eat), have healthy snacks available to grab for in between meals.

I have Cuties in a bowl on the counter from fall to late spring. Have apples, carrots, celery sticks or a small slice of whole grain bread with some almond butter.

#3 Be Prepared Mentally
Making changes can be demanding and it’s important to steel your mind each morning to stay the course. Pray for wisdom to make the right choices for the day and/or write an affirmation (I love healthy food and make healthy choices when eating) and put it where you will see it.

This process takes discipline.

Once you no longer crave all those bad things (it will happen), your body will feel better and those choices will become easier.

#4 Find an Accountability Partner
It may be as simple as having your spouse keep you on track, but realistically that rarely happens. Remember the hungry grouches? … That’s right, the spouse is one of them.

My husband was with me on the cancer-fighting diet. After all it was his idea (hmmm … keep that in mind). And he has reaped the benefit of losing weight he tried to lose for years without success.

Find a trusting friend that will regularly check in with you and encourage you to stay the path. Don’t do it alone.

#5 Keep a Food Diary
Many diet programs recommend this technique. It helps to see it on paper in your own handwriting. Comparing healthy foods to processed foods on the list (Tuesday snack: handful of almonds and raisons vs. Monday snack: microwaved hot pocket) helps you see the contrast. Healthy feed-the-body nutrients vs. empty calories.

#6 Tune-in to Your Body
As you change your foods, take careful note of how you feel when you eat healthy as opposed to eating any processed and sugary foods. Write the reactions in your food diary. This will help you to see and then remember what healthy food choices do for you. Be sure to take the long range effects into account. Don't cheat by noting that the candy bar or donut you ate gave you an energy kick when it actually kicked you to the curb an hour or so down the road.
Seared Ahi with Roasted Butternut Squash and
 Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad
I hope these recommendations help you through the holidays in your journey to a new way of eating and a healthy life. You'll look back and wonder why you ever ate those things that made you so sick and tired before.

Check The Daily Menu for a sample of what I eat in a typical day.

What helps you deal with holiday temptation? Scroll down to add a comment.