Tis the Season to be Healthy

First Thanksgiving, now Christmas, then New Years. It is that time of year to get nice and round and then once January is over, hit the gym like crazy. Here are some tips to have a healthy holiday dinner that everyone can live to enjoy.

1) Try baking the meat in a wire rack, this allows the extra fat on the meat to drain off.

2) Try not to use salted peanuts. Instead, use raw nuts like walnuts, almonds and cashews. They are healthier in terms of providing protein, minerals and the healthy kind of fat.

3) If you make mince pie, try to make it open-top to cut down the calorie count by half.

4) Check out what vegetables are in season and make great side-dishes. Not only will this save you money but also throw some nutrients in the mix instead of just inhaling ham and beef fat.

5) If you’re going to bake apple pie, use fresh apples from your local market instead of the waxed ones bought in stores.

6) Speaking of apples, have some fruit around the table as a healthy snack and appetizer while the kids are waiting for the meal to cook. You’d be surprise at how a small change can make a big difference

7) Of course, a clean kitchen is a healthy one. With flu going around, make sure you wash your hands often and also the surfaces of what you use to cook on. You don’t want everyone catching the same cold because of the lack of cleaning.

8) Drink water of course, avoid the sugary soda. Wine for the adults along with the meal is fine, it is a healthier option than beer.


Fun fact: We use Douglas Fir as our Christmas tree because it is known as the Evergreen tree. Christmas originally was celebrating the birth of Jesus and the Evergreen tree is known as the tree of life because of its ability to stay green all year long regardless of the weather.

Published by: Susana

NATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy holidays to all, I hope your Thanksgiving was as satisfying as mine was. In light of the winter season I wanted to share one of my absolute favorite Native recipes “Wild greens and flowers salad”. This salad has a very savory flavor that is rooted in the vinegeret. This salad is so natural and gourmet that it could be just for one or for a dinner party.

Recipes:

1 cup watercress leaves and tender stems
1 cup baby spinach and tender stems
1 cup arugula
½ cup tender nasturtium and violet leaves and flowers
1 ½ tablespoons of honey
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sunflower or corn oil
2 teaspoons fresh chopped mint
Salt and Pepper
Serves 4 - 6

Rinse greens and flowers, make sure it is clean and pat dry. In a salad bowl, combine honey and vinegar. Gradually whisk in oil. Add mint and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Add greens and flowers and toss gently. Serve immediately

Healthier Future

Over 160,000 stood up for child nutrition and the Congress signed into law the first significant improvements to child nutrition and school lunches.

Say goodbye to the school lunches that cause diabetes and eventually lead to obesity. We are one step closer to providing a better and healthier future for kids.
Make no mistake that just because this law has been passed doesn’t mean that we can rest now. This is just one step closer.

Published by Susana

Giving Thanks, For Why??

Thanksgiving is OVER. I had a great thanksgiving thank you for asking. I am still eating leftovers from last Thursday. I know we are all ready to hit the gym but you might as well do it after the winter holiday meals and drop that weight all together.
I am here today to give you a history lesson. Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? In school they teach us that the pilgrims came over to America, settled down and shared their meals with the Native Americans. Where did these Native Americans come from? I don’t ever remember the history books telling us that we came here and took land that was not ours.

Native Americans were already settled all over America before Columbus even thought about the idea that the world is round. What happened to them? Good question, I’m glad you asked. When some Europeans came over to escape from prosecution from the British, they brought their diseases with them. Within three years of the Mayflower arriving, the plague that was brought over whipped out between 90 to 96% of Native Americans. People were dying by the masses and they were unable to handle so many corpses that survivors were forced to abandon their village and move to other neighboring tribes. Since these Native Americans have been exposed to the infection, while they moved, they also brought the diseases with them into the other tribes and infected that village as well. This left the land empty for the Europeans to be able to colonize.

What comes to mind when you think of corn? I was taught that Squanto taught the settlers who came here how to farm corn among other things. It’s a nice story to tell the kids. Squanto actually was kidnapped and forced to teach the Europeans how to farm. Not such a nice story after all huh?

There is plenty more information that you can get from this book called “Lies My Teach Told Me” by James W. Loewen. My friends and I got this joke that says Thanksgiving is actually Thanks-taking.

Don’t get me wrong, we are celebrating togetherness and that is the most important thing. I just think the story behind why we are celebrating togetherness needs to change in the history books because we end up idolizing and celebrating people for the murders they commit. Just look up the history first before you decide to celebrate something that our teachers tell us to be true.

Published by Susana