But when you put the word “pan” in front of cake, all of a sudden it’s acceptable! That’s crazy. And if you put the same batter into a gridded griddle press, it’s called a waffle. Still bad, especially when topped with sugar.

The foods we eat for breakfast are all too often devoid of real nutrition.

Let’s take a look at why breakfast is such an important meal to get right.

Your day’s activities should determine your breakfast

Good nutrition contains a balance of real food ingredients. A healthful breakfast is important because it sets the tone for your day. But it’s not so simple as to what food is best for everybody. If you are a dockworker your breakfast should be different from that of an accountant. If you’re a cyclist you don’t want to eat the breakfast of a yoga instructor.

Four factors to satisfy your needs.

It all breaks down into a proper balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and calories befitting your personal needs.

People who exert a lot of energy burn a lot of calories. But don’t make the mistake of thinking carbs are the best sources.

Eating a breakfast full of carbs (which are really sugars) will make you crash later. Sleepy at around 2 pm? Think back to the pancake and syrup or chocolate chip muffin at breakfast.

What happened to America’s breakfast?

What did your grandparents eat for breakfast?

Somehow, Americans fell off the breakfast train with their food choices. Much can be blamed on marketing by sugary cereal makers, the dairy industry and the terrible food pyramid paradigm. Think more traditionally.

Breakfast may conjure up images of a bowl of dry cereal in milk. But you should know that there’s little difference between this choice and milk and cookies! Hidden sugars and dead food kill us slowly but surely.

A lot of what people now eat for breakfast would have their great-grandmothers screaming, “That’s not breakfast! That’s dessert!”

A few choices you may not have thought of

Don’t be afraid to have a radical breakfast. Forget the commercial cereals, muffins, and sugary junk. Think simple, nutritious and health-supporting to get you through your day.

4 Breakfast Ideas (organic ingredients, of course!)

1. Filet of fish, creamy polenta with butter and sea salt, and unsweetened yogurt with berries and an orange.
2. Organic locally farmed eggs: softly scrambled, poached or soft-boiled eggs with a side of seared greens (like book choy or chard) (in lemon and garlic) with grilled potato wedges. (You may want to bake the potatoes until soft the night before). Side of organic turkey bacon.
3. Turkey bacon, eggs, whole grain toast (buttered) with a side of creamed rice cereal and a grapefruit.
4. A burrito of black beans, salsa, cheddar cheese, rice, guacamole, grilled onions and mushrooms and seasoned with garlic, sea salt and cumin.

Be unconventional & eat for your health

Breakfast doesn’t have to be bacon and eggs or Rice Crispies and hormone/antibiotic-laden milk. If you’re worried about your weight, cut out the carbs, not the fats. And, remember that eating eggs does NOT raise cholesterol levels.

photo credits:
strawberries photo:  © 2005 Jacob
couple photo: © 1974 The U.S. National Archives

Primavera is the Italian word for springtime, making pasta primavera a favorite, light dish ideally eaten on your veranda overlooking the Tuscan countryside.

Here’s how to make this economical, quick dish organic-style. Basically, the recipe comes from that bell-italiana, Giada De Laurentiis, with an organic twist.

Ingredients:

• 3 organic carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 2 medium organic zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 2 organic yellow squash, cut into thin strips
• 1 organic onion, thinly sliced
• 1 organic yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 r organic ed bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup organic olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 1 pound organic farfalle (bowtie pasta) or you can use gluten free organic pasta
• 15 organic cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup organic grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite,. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

by Vic Shayne ph.D.

When I was a child I used to visit my grandparents’ house every summer. And it was HOT in Miami. To put out our fire, my grandmother used to go out to her lemon and lime trees, pick the fruit then mix up a batch of limonade (as she called it). The fresh fruit was fantastic, but there was one other thing that made it so great — no refined sugar. Grandma knew enough to use honey instead.

By the time I had my own family I started making my own version of a fantastic summer beat-the-heat drink using not only limes and lemons, but also green tea.

Here’s my Summery Green Tea Iced Tea Recipe:

1. Boil some filtered water (don’t drink the tap if it’s not filtered, because it contains fluoride, chlorine and other bad stuff)
2. Pour the water into a half-gallon pitcher
3. Add 2 Organic Green Tea bags and 2 Organic Black Tea bags
4. Squeeze in one organic lime or lemon
5. Add organic honey to taste

We already know that citrus fruits such as limes and lemons are full of vitamin C and other nutrients, but in the last few years, a stream of great scientific reports have been coming out about the health benefits of green tea.

Green tea’s antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. So drinking green tea every day is great for your heart and blood. It’s also good for your teeth, can reduce risk of stroke and slow prostate cancer and delay diabetes. And, a little lemon peel in your tea has been shown to reduce the risk of certain skin cancers!

This recipe is so easy to make, we usually just keep a pitcher of tea made and cool in the fridge as a refreshing and healthy drink to have on call!

photo via flickr by thebittenword.com

Cranberry Sizzler

In honor of the cranberry, I thought I would make you my version of what I call the cranberry sizzler.  This high impact drink contains frozen cranberries and gives off a lot of attitude.  The tartness  of the cranberries really wake you up.

Use Organic Ingredients

• 1 Cup frozen cranberries
• 1/2 Cup Apple slices
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Flax Seed
• 1/2 Cup Raspberries
• 1 Scoop of Protein Powder

Method

1. Add all ingredients to blender and mix until smooth
2. Pour into your favorite glass
3. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When blending frozen fruit it is best to put liquid at the bottom of the blender if possible to avoid the fruit from stopping the blender and getting stuck.  If you have a high powered blender you have nothing to worry about.

After developing a rather nasty rash and taking years to figure out my problem, I am now gluten-free. It’s a long story, but this rash was part of the problem. The other part was a faulty immune system that led to a number of food allergies. I made the mistake of going to a dermatologist who told me my problem had nothing to do with my diet. I fired him, because Nutrition has been my business for the past 20 years. I put myself on a strict gluten-free diet and my problem started slowly to abate. Reaching the seven-month mark, it’s gone.

Anyway, my diet does not, and will never again, include gluten.

Here is a recipe for nut cookies I came up with. It’s rather simple and clean and, like everything else I eat, does not contain much sweetener.

Get a small cuisinart and fill it with almonds, pecans and walnuts, add 2 T of organic maple syrup and a sprinkling of Celtic sea salt plus 1T coconut oil and hit the grind button. Next, grease a cookie sheet and, with wet hands, make small patties and press them down on the sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven at 320F degrees and watch until slightly brown.

Some variations include adding some gluten-free oatmeal and grinding it into a flour and/or using some Arrowhead Mills gluten-free baking powder. If you don’t have problems with chocolate, you can also add some organic dark chocolate chunks and go to town.

That’s it. I wish I had a photo, but I don’t. Just don’t eat too many at once, though you’ll want to, or you could wind up with a leaden stomach. This recipe is a variation of one that I got from my Argentinian amigo, Luis Gutman, a fellow in the fight against gluten. Gracias, Luis!

by Megan Spohn, Megan’s Munchies

I have been wanting to create a snack that satisfies my sweet cravings and provides me with some protein. I threw together some ingredients and created this soft and chewy cookie. These would be perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert!

• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbsp Hemp protein powder
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 cup organic mini chocolate chips
• 2 cups organic rolled oats

Pour the mixture into greased or paper cup lined muffin pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 quarts organic chicken broth or homemade stock
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 pound green beans, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound turkey cutlets, cut into approximately 1 1/2-by-1/2-inch strips

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In a large pot, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the onion and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Transfer half the soup to a food processor or blender and puree. Return the pureed soup to the pot and add the green beans, the remaining teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Simmer until the beans are just tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the strips of turkey. Cook until the turkey is just done, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Pumpkin Hummus

I love hummus! In the Fall, I like to make pumpkin hummus to spice things up a little bit! It tastes wonderful on pita bread and chips, but it also makes a great sandwich spread. I use the following recipe, but I substitute canned garbanzo beans.

USE ORGANIC INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups dry garbanzo beans
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
5 fluid ounces lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tahini [SESAME SEED BUTTER] paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Use sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place the garbanzo beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using.

Place the soaked garbanzo beans into a large saucepan and cover with several inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the garbanzo beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Once cooked, refrigerate the beans and liquid until cold.

Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Place the beans and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid into a blender, and puree until a smooth paste forms. Add the pumpkin puree, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Cover and puree again until smooth. Use additional cooking liquid as needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt.

From Megan’s Munchies