Parsley Soup

Most people think of parsley as a garnish but there are amazing benefits to this amazing plant. Parsley is loaded with anti-oxidants, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Amazingly it also contributes to a healthy immune system and heart. That said, how many of us eat enough parsley to actually support these health claims. Well I adapted a recipe from Thegardenofeaden.blogspot.com (with several tweaks) that calls for a substantial amount of this herb.

We LOVE homemade soups in our home accompanied with homemade bread. Simmering soup bones for a nourishing, gelatin and mineral filled broth is a standard fare at the McQuivey's. The minerals and gelatin in the soup not only allow for easier digestion and assimilation but provides a RICH and INCREDIBLE flavor to any dish. If you don't have homemade broth you can always substitute. This recipe calls for A LOT of parsley but spouts A LOT of flavor, too.

Serves 8

2 1/2 T. butter or beef tallow

2 medium onions, diced

3 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped

5 stalks celery, sliced

9 OZ parsley

4-6 oz spinach (optional for bulk)

3 T. flour

2 quarts beef/chicken broth

1/4 -1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt to taste

In a large stock pot melt butter. When starting to bubble add onion, garlic, celery and parsley. Cook until very wilted. Add four and stir for 2 minutes. Add broth. Bring to a simmer and add pepper flakes. Simmer 25 minutes. Cool slightly then blend with a hand mixer. Salt to taste and... ENJOY....Yummy!

March/April classes

Nutty for Nature cooking classes are back in March and April! I will be offering a series of 4 cooking classes. All classes will be on Wednesday evening and start at 6pm. We will focus on a healthy household. From preserving food to cleaning up, you will learn about the benefits of using holistic ingredients to take care of your food, you house, and yourself.

Class Titles & Dates:

March 7th - Canning - Learn the basics of how and what to can. Most people are intimidated by pressure cookers but with a little "know-how" you'll be able to can a variety of foods.

March 14th - Dehydrating - By dehydrating fresh, leftover or sale foods they will last longer and take up much less space. Imagine soups and chilies to go by just adding boiling water.

April 4th - Home Cleaning Supplies - Most people unintentionally buy and use severely toxic chemicals. I'll show you how to MAKE your own that aren't harmful, cheaper and work just as good, if not, better.

April 11th - Skin care - Our skin is the largest organ we have and absorbs everything we put on it. Doesn't it make sense to NEVER put anything ON your body that you couldn't put IN your body. I will show you how to NATURALLY take care of skin and make moisturizer and deodorant.

Cost will be $10 per class or $35 for all four classes if paid before March 4th. You can reserve your spot in the class by emailing jamileemc@hotmail.com

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

plan your success....

I am frequently getting comments regarding my MOTIVATION to get stuff done. So, i thought I'd share with you MY way of making sure I get the important things done. I am a list person and have always been. So I am going to share with you MY list but feel free to add in and adapt it to your life, goals and availability. This isn't ALL I do but it's my priorities. Then I get to do the fun stuff and surprise my family. I've started to run these off every Sunday with the small adaptations for the next week. These aren't written in stone but it makes sure I get the cleaning done, my exercise and personal goals. Good luck and Here Goes...

**Monday

___scripture study/prepare FHE (family night is on Mondays for us)

___laundry/bake

___Piano Lesson

___BYU study course

___exercise--Focus: Butt, legs & abs

___15 Min. Cardio (walking, running, biking, Zumba, jump rope, trampoline, etc)

___20 squats

___20 lunges

___20 dead lifts

___20 can-cans

___20 double legs lower/lifts

___4 sun salutations

___5 minutes meditation

**Tuesdays

___scripture study

___piano

___call Grandparents/parents to check in

___clean bathrooms

___fold and put laundry away

___exercise--Focus: Arms and chest

___15 min cardio

___Chest presses 5 lb. weight

___20 chair dips

___40 bicep curls (20 ea.)

___5 sun salutations

___5 minutes meditation

**Wednesday

___scripture study

___piano

___Dust & clean windows

___family history

___exercise--Focus: Back and shoulders

___15 min. cardio

___25 jumping jacks w/ 1-3 lb weights

___20 lateral raises w/ 3lbs

___20 front raises

___20 shoulder presses w/ alt. leg lift

___3 sun salutations

___5 minutes meditation

**Thursday

___scripture study

___piano

___send a thank-you card

___ organize a space

___sewing projects

___practice Spanish

___Grocery list

___exercise--Focus: Butt, legs and abs or zumba

___15 min. cardio

___30 donkeys (15/leg)

___15 squats

___Bridge with chair counting

___40 bicycle abs

___5 sun salutations

___5 minutes meditation

Friday--

___scripture study

___piano

___floors (sweep and mop kitchen vacuum house)

___scrapbook

___Grocery shopping

___exercise--Focus: The 100 workout

___100 jumping jacks

___90 crunches

___80 squats alt wide/narrow

___70 leg lifts (pilates arc)

___60 jumping jacks

___50 bicycle abs

___40 squats att wide/narrow

___30 leg lifts

___20 jumping jacks

___10 min. cardio

___5 min meditation

___1 sun salutation

Saturday

___prepare primary stuff

___prepare dinner for Sunday

___Clean for Sunday (Chore switch for kids)

Sunday

___Write in journal

___ review schedule for next week with family

Preparation is half the victory...

“To be prepared is half the victory.” Miguel De Cervantes

By Jamilee McQuivey

At the start of each year, month, week or day most of us will start “getting in shape”, “eating better”, or “starting a diet”. As I, myself, have struggled with weight I started thinking and asking “what has made myself and many other’s successful?”. I found a common component for those wanting to lose weight, eat healthier, get in shape, etc. It’s preparation!!!!

Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the ax.” So our question is…”how can I sharpen my axe?”

1) Observe: Watch and journal yourself for a week. Don’t try to eat better. Eat normally and journal it (I’ve kept a couple 3x5 cards in my pocket for convenience and ease). Write down when you feel stressed and what you did to feel better. Write down when you exercised: how long, what you did, how you felt, what you liked/disliked about it, what would make it better. Think about why you want to make these changes. Are they your reasons or someone else’s? Write down what YOU think is important. This Phase is crucial for determining weakness, snags, and goals for long term success.

2) Realistic expectations: Stay away from numbers. “I want to weigh what I did before I got married or became a mother” is not always reasonable or realistic. Your lifestyle is different. Your goals and body have changed. Using phrases like “I will be comfortable with my body this year” or “I will have no fears of swimsuit season this year” will encourage you to really work on all the aspects of health and fitness. Focus on self-concept and acceptance, healthy eating habits, increased energy, less stress, etc. All of these will affect you positively or negatively. YOU CHOOSE!!!

3) Create a plan: Most often it is hard to make wise eating decisions when you are starving, standing in front of the refrigerator, deciding between making yourself a health conscious meal or poppin’ in a microwave pizza. Plan your weekly meals. I mean know what’s for breakfast, lunch AND dinner with 2 snacks. Most everyone focuses on a healthy dinner but by the time they have gotten there they’ve neglected the first two meals and now they are craving, starved, and tired by dinner.

a) make a meal plan

b) shop for the week in advance (this also saves $$$)

c) plan for emergency snack cravings

d) make your meals ahead of time especially if you know your weeks going to

be crazy (on Sat. or Sun.) and freeze them

e.) Cut all of your vegetables and ahead of time and store them in

plastic containers or ready to take baggies for snacking, salads, etc.

f.) Buy a large container for water and make a goal to drink one full one every

3-4 hours. This will reduce cravings, help digestion, etc.

g.)Pack your food (lunch, snacks, ets.) the night before.

h.) find someone who will hold you accountable, give feedback and

suggestions.

i.) determine from your journaling what snags, frustrations, stresses, or

events might happen to deter you from these goals and plan ahead.

Today’s preparation determines tomorrow's achievement

4) Execution: This is when you put everything into practice. This is when you are vulnerable too. Start with one day. Revel in your success then focus on day two. Work your way slowly, creating habits, a way of life. The difference between those who are long-term successful and those who aren’t is simple: One created and lives the lifestyle the other tries it out once a year or month. It’s okay to “fall of the wagon” every once in a while. GET BACK ON!!!

5) re-evaluate when necessary: Feel free to change it up & make it your own. Make it FUN!!

Pumpkin dessert

I love pumpkins whether its dinner or dessert. Every year I buy pie pumpkins and try to make something new. This is new a new one for me. I got the idea while researching. There are a lot of similar recipes online but they call for unnecessary sugar or use methods that didn't seem as easy. This will take a couple hours to make BUT most of it is just baking time. Prep time is about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

1 medium sugar pumpkin or 2 small pumpkins, washed

5-6 granny smilth apples, cored,and chopped

1 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained

1/2 cup broken walnuts opt.

1 TBSP ground cinnamon

1 TBSP ground nutmeg (preferrably fresh ground)

2 TSP fresh grated ginger

1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:

Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Place cut side down in a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes or until soft. Cool for a few minutes.

With a metal spoon, scrape out the cooked pumpkin, leaving a 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick shell. Stir together scraped out pumpkin, apples, pineapple, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Spoon mix into the pumpkin shell. Cover with the top. (At this point you can put it aside to cook later when you are ready) Bake in a preheated oven at 400-degree F oven for 45 minutes or until the filling is hot. Serve plain or over vanilla ice cream.

Greens Pizza...delicious AND healthy

One of our favorite meals at our house is homemade pizza. It's so easy and there are so many versions that we never get sick of PIZZA! About a week ago I came up with another version. Dark leafy greens are so nutritious but can be a challenge to add into the diet. Well, I made a small pizza with this topping (because it was an experiment) when I should have made more. It was a hit with everyone...It may seem a little involved but it's not.

Here goes:

1 medium precooked sourdough pizza crust (or other of your choice)

12 ounces chopped chard

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp fresh grated garlic clove (or more if you like)

2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup dried tomatoes (I dried from the garden)

3-4 Tbsp water

Feta cheese

In a medium pan put greens, water to cover and salt. Simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a pan on low gently heat oil and garlic. allow to infuse for 3 minutes. Add rosemary, pepper and tomatoes. Toss together. Add water and cover. When greens are done strain and press water out. Add to tomato pan. Toss together and keep over low heat until water is absorbed. Spread on pizza crust. Top with feta cheese and bake in a 450 degree oven 7-10 minutes until done.

Olive oil is a healthy oil. We should all know that we need generous amounts of HEALTHY fats in our diet every day to aid in weight loss, help hormone regulation, encourage healthy heart function, and in reducing cancer.

Garlic has been used for centuries as a medicine that helps fight infection and helps clean the blood.

Dark green leafy vegetables are, calorie for calorie, perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, among many other effects. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fats.

So you see, pizza can be tasty, filling and nutritious. Enjoy!

Mmmm, Mmmm, Miso soup!

Miso soup is a wonderfully nourishing soup that has been consumed all of over the Orient for over 2,500 years.

What is miso? It is a fermented soy bean past that is so delicious and good for your health. Many people will have a bowl or cup of miso soup before their meal to help digestion and increase meal nutrition. Below is a list of SOME of the benefits of miso

1. Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

2. Stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach.

3. Restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines.

4. Aids in the digestion and assimilation of other foods in the intestines.

5. Is a good vegetable-quality source of B vitamins (especially B12).

6. Strengthens the quality of blood and lymph fluid.

7. Reduces risk for breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.

8. Protects against radiation due to dipilocolonic acid, an alkaloid that chelates heavy metals and discharges them from the body.

9. Strengthens the immune system and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

10. High in antioxidants that protects against free radicals.

(Taken from www.care2.com)

I love having miso when i start to feel like I'm getting sick, when the weather changes or need something quick. At Wal-mart I buy the little bead containers and fill them up with this recipe, then just add water. it's great on the go and you can make it a light broth OR a filling soup.

1 Cup hot but NOT boiling water water

1 TSP white miso

¾ TSP fish sauce

1 clove of grated garlic

¼ TSP tamari

Optional add-ins (in small amounts):

Fresh Ginger juice to taste

Crushed arame (seaweed)

Pressed tofu

Cooked brown rice

Fresh or frozen peas or carrots

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy.

On the GO:

Combine all ingredients BUT water in a small container. When ready to enjoy add ingredients to a cup of warm water and stir for an instant, nourishing soup

So, there's the Yummy recipe. There are a few ingredients that I was skeptical about eating, like fish sauce, but it makes all the difference in the taste. Trust me I DON'T LIKE FISH FLAVOR.