Tag Archives: featured

7 Anti-Aging Foods

I saw an article at Sharecare.com about seven foods they refer to as “anti-aging powerhouses.” These foods may also help cut your risk of heart disease and cancer when incorporated into a healthy diet. So if you’re interested, here’s a condensed list of the seven foods–you can visit Sharecare.com for more details!

Berries–They lower your disease risks and also help prevent memory loss. Eat 1 cup of any kind of berries, fresh or frozen, at least 3 times a week.
Salmon–A good source of omega-3 fatty acids, it helps fight heart disease and is also good for your skin. The article recommends having two 3-ounce servings per week.
Nuts–Although they’re high in fat, it’s heart-healthy fat; and nuts are also good sources of protein, magnesium, and B and E vitamins. Eat a 1/4 cup serving of almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans up to 5 times per week.
Dark Leafy Greens–Spinach, romaine lettuce, collard greens, kale, and chard are good sources of fiber, vitamins C and K, folic acid and lutein. They also contain lots of vitamin A which helps keep your skin soft and supple. Two servings per day are recommended–and a serving is 1 cup cooked greens or 2 cups raw greens.
Whole Grains–Referred to by Sharecare as a “nutritional powerhouse,” whole grains–like brown rice and quinoa, to name a few–can help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. Try for 3 to 6 servings a day. A serving might be one slice of whole-grain bread, 1/2 cup cooked grains, or 1 cup whole-grain cereal.
Yellow and Orange Vegetables–Think carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and other deep yellow and orange veggies. They can lower your cancer risk and help protect you from colds, infections, and sun damage to your skin. Two 1/2 cup servings a day are recommended.
Yogurt–Plain, low-fat, or nonfat…all are good sources of B vitamins, protein, and calcium. Look for yogurt with active cultures–probiotics–which also help fight against disease-causing germs. Have at least 4 cups a week if yogurt is your main source of dairy.

Hope this is a helpful reminder for you to work these into your diet! I like all the foods on this list, so I just need to remember to eat enough of them each week. Do you eat many of these healthy foods already?

Every Flower

4 Replies

We…see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades.

OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874-1917)

Linked to Inspire Me Monday at Create with Joy.

Banana-Zucchini Bread

26 Replies

If you were to guess what Banana-Zucchini Bread would be like, you’d probably say it would be moist, because it has both zucchini and bananas in it, after all. And you would be right–about this recipe, anyway. It has the perfect moist texture—not overly moist, but just right.

Continue reading →

Deviled Egg Potato Salad

17 Replies

Two of my favorite summer foods are deviled eggs and potato salad. So why not put them together? I decided to try that out, and found that this Deviled Egg Potato Salad is soooo good! The deviled egg mixture is so yummy with a sprinkling of paprika on top and the potato salad is a creamy mustard-style salad that goes perfectly with the taste of the deviled eggs on top. And there are some eggs mixed into the potato salad too, giving you lots of delicious deviled egg flavor.

I tried a new mayonnaise in this recipe which was really good–JUST MAYO from Hampton Creek, a company on a mission to make healthier food affordable. This mayonnaise is made with healthy ingredients like non-GMO expeller pressed canola oil, filtered water, lemon juice, white vinegar, and a touch of organic sugar, pea protein, and spices. So it’s great for people with soy and egg allergies, since it’s egg-free. But you’d never know–it has such a rich taste and creamy texture. And of course it is cholesterol-free too. This mayo also comes in several savory flavors: Chipotle, Sriracha, and Garlic. You can visit the Hampton Creek site to find where it’s available at stores near you.

I’m having a giveaway which includes samples of Hampton Creek Just Mayo, Just Mayo Sriracha, and Just Mayo Garlic, plus a handy little hat with the Hampton Creek logo on it. See the end of the post for details on the giveaway!

Going back to the Deviled Egg Potato Salad, this would be a great dish to make over Labor Day weekend, especially if you are planning on having a potluck or picnic! This dish is definitely not cholesterol-free like the Just Mayo is, but at least this mayo doesn’t add any additional cholesterol, for those of you who have to watch that. And if you just want to make a basic egg-free potato salad, follow the directions for the POTATO SALAD part of this recipe, leaving the hard-boiled eggs out.

DEVILED EGG POTATO SALAD by NancyC, adapted from CDKitchen

Makes about 10 servings

EGGS:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (you will need a total of 9 hard-boiled eggs; see the rest of the recipe below)

1 teaspoon minced dill pickle (or you can substitute sweet pickles)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1 dash salt

POTATO SALAD:

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/3 cup yellow mustard

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shredded or finely chopped dill pickles (or you can substitute sweet pickles)

1/2 Tablespoon dill pickle juice

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

6 cups boiled potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) and cubed

3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika

Cut 6 of the 9 boiled eggs in half; remove yolk (save the other 3 eggs for the potato salad mixture). Place yolks in medium bowl and mix with pickles, mustards, mayonnaise, and salt; stuff the 6 eggs with the yolk mixture and set aside.

In large bowl, blend the onion, mustards, salt, pickles, pickle juice, and mayonnaise. Then stir in the cubed boiled potatoes, and add in the remaining 3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped, last.

Spoon mixture into large serving bowl (or keep in your large mixing bowl if you want to serve the salad from that). Top with paprika, sprinkling evenly over the salad, and arrange deviled eggs around the top of the salad in a circle for garnish (you can top the deviled eggs with a little paprika too, if you want).

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED–Congratulations to Cheri, who made comment #8, which was chosen randomly as the winner!

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY: If you’d like to win three (8-ounce) containers of JUST MAYO (one each of Regular, Garlic, and Sriracha flavors) plus a black cap with the Hampton Creek logo, leave a comment on this blog post between now and Wednesday evening, August 27, at 8 p.m. (CST). The random drawing will be made from the comments on this post only! The winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org and announced later on Wednesday evening, August 27 on this post. Winner will be notified via email (if winner does not respond in 3 days, I’ll do another drawing). Giveaway is limited to readers in the Continental U.S. and Canada.

First Entry: Leave a comment on this post–it would be great to hear if you are a deviled egg or potato salad fan!

One Bonus Entry: If you are a new or existing follower or subscriber, you may leave one extra comment telling me the way (or ways) you follow.

Note: if your comment doesn’t show up right away, it just means I haven’t had a chance to approve your comment yet–I approve all comments because of spam comments that sometimes come through!

Berry Walnut Granola

26 Replies

I am a big fan of granola, and I prefer homemade–I think it tastes so much better! I’ve posted several recipes for granola bars, like Crunchy Honey Almond Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate Granola Bars, and chewier Granola Bars. I’ve also made an unsweetened Cranberry Raisin Nut Toasted Oat Cereal. So I thought it was about time I posted a granola cereal recipe that I like making. It’s sweetened with honey, shredded coconut, and a mix of dried berries. You can serve it with milk or Greek yogurt in the morning and it’s great as a snack, too! This recipe makes A LOT of granola, so you can halve it if you want to make a smaller batch.

BERRY WALNUT GRANOLA by NancyC

Makes 16-18 servings

6 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (or substitute pecans)

1 cup wheat germ

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes (shredded coconut)

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower kernels (or use roasted kernels but add them to the mixture after baking)

2/3 cup non-GMO canola oil or light olive oil

1 1/4 cups honey

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups dried mixed berries (I used a mix of dried cranberries, cherries, and blueberries)

parchment paper for lining pan

Adjust oven rack to middle of oven. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Line a 13 x 18″ rimmed baking pan with parchment paper; set aside (or use two rimmed 10 x 15″ cookie sheets).

In a very large bowl, stir together the oats, nuts, wheat germ, coconut flakes, and sunflower kernels.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, stir together the oil, honey, and cinnamon; heat in microwave for 30 to 40 seconds, then stir until well-blended.

Pour honey mixture over oat mixture in large bowl, stirring to coat evenly. Spread mixture in an even layer on the lined 13 x 18″ pan.

Bake at 325˚F for 20 minutes; remove from oven, stir mixture (so it will bake evenly), then return to oven for another 20 minutes–for a total baking time of 40 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in the dried mixed berries. Let granola stand until cooled, then stir again to break any large clumps. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.