Chia gel

I was making dinner and realized I forgot my morning chia seed dose. I added the gel to my dinner, and it worked out very well. The seeds were moderately visible and there was very little difference in texture...much better than if I had taken a tablespoon of pure seeds and added it to the entree.

Updating...

Okay, this is going to be a weak update.  I have no pictures prepared.  However, I can say that I'm still using the chia seed.  It was featured again on Dr. Oz somewhat recently.  I was SO EXCITED.  I'll have to look for the clip on his website and put it up here.  He was basically talking about how it was good for keeping you feeling full and kind of off-handedly mentioned that it was good for your heart as well.  But I can say that I had to have a full physical in August, and my doctor was really impressed.  I don't have numbers on my cholesterol and blood pressure etc. from previous physicals to compare, but I know that before this August she always commented that she can tell I work out and I'm healthy.  This time, she actually said "wow" twice, and she said it like she meant it.  Apparently, my triglycerides were fantastic.  So take that anecdote for whatever you think it's worth.

I regret to report that I actually have not been working out much since the semester started.  I feel very stressed and crunched for time.  I haven't made my hearty breakfast soup much either, so I'm pretty much counting on improving the quality of what I'm eating and how I'm exercising in December.  This is not a good trend.  Although, I finally got to the point where I said I have to stop all homework no matter what at 10pm, so I am getting a decent amount of sleep.

Choffy.  More on that later.  :)


Carolyn

We will update the blog THIS WEEK!

I don't have much to say about healthy things - except that I've been eating a lot of oatmeal lately and hope to participate in a half marathon in February. The oatmeal, while I prefer to soak it overnight (although 24 hours is better) to neutralize phytic acid which impedes nutrient absorption, I sometimes just cook in the morning. It is so fast! I always thought it would take a long time; it doesn't. And I eat it with brown sugar and walnuts - and think of oatmeal mornings at Trinita. OK, I never actually at oatmeal at Trinita before this summer, but whatever. I had so many Trinita firsts this summer: oatmeal, BINGO, Spanish-speaking children, buying cigarettes for the families, I'm sure there were more.

I need to go ahead and register for the half marathon. Now, I do not plan to run the entire thing, or maybe even any of it. You just have to be able to maintain a 16 minute mile pace. I can do that walking. It's at Disney. I have no idea why it sounded like a good idea - but now I'm kind of excited for it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/greek-gazpacho-recipe/index.html

This is something I'm really looking forward to making when I get back to NOLA next week. It sounds so cool and delicious, not to mention full of veggies. A perfect end of summer treat.

Carolyn and I were talking about coming up with different things that we can write about weekly on the blog regarding food, health, etc.

I frequently read www.kitchenstewardship.com and Katie, the lady who owns the blog, is completely on our same wavelength - plus has an EXTENSIVE blog about it. You may want to check it out. I'm interested in learning more about soaking grains - but I'm also going to try to eat "nothing white" once I head back to school so I'm not sure those who go together.

Speaking of Trinita and health and being crazy.....

I am just wondering what food errors are being made in the middle room???? Are there Little Debbie Nutty bars by the thousands??? Are there endless M and M pretzels being consumed??? On the upswing, there must be fruit around because of the theme.

I, myself, just bought a half gallon of butter pecan. This is a really bad thing. The good thing is that it is all natural......lol Well, that doesn't help when I finish a cone and then go back for a little more and a little more. Oh well. It's summer.

:)

The Soup of Champions (etc.)

I'm pretty excited because, as of last night, I have now successfully made the soup of champions twice!  And I find it delicious!  I actually really like it.  But, who doesn't like chicken broth?

So to make it, I put two cans of Swanson chicken broth in a pot and start to heat it up.  I chop up some carrots and put them in when the broth starts to boil.  Then I set the timer for 30 minutes.  When I start the time, I also put whole wheat pasta into a second pot (of just water) that I've brought to a boil.  That cooks for ten or eleven minutes.  Then I strain the pasta and use that pot to cook up some quinoa.  This is like the heartiest soup I've ever had.  Oh yes!  And the spices.  I put in 3 or 4 teaspoons of the Bob's Red Mill spice mix, which seems to be mostly chili and then some other spices as well.

Even though there is a lot of salt in the broth, I am considering this a healthy meal.  I really like eating it in the morning, because I can just take the pot from the fridge and put it on the stove to heat up.  There's no actual preparation.  I am thinking of trying to put more vegetables in it.  Does anybody have any suggestions?  I absolutely will not put in any kind of bean or pea.  But maybe lentils.  

On a different note, I started using a new bar of Tom's bar soap.  It's from their new line (which I was reluctant to try but had to since I couldn't obtain any bars from their old line) and it's the exfoliating bar.  I really like it.  I tried some other bars from their new line that I felt indifferent about, but I really like this one.  I don't know if it will work out in the winter, but for now it's excellent.

Chia seed!

My mom is on medication for high blood pressure and of course, I want her to get into the chia seed thing.  She absolutely will not eat a food that she doesn't like the texture of, even if it was mixed in something else.  FORTUNATELY, a store less than an hour from my house (runningfood.com) has made some gel tabs from chia oil.  Of course, this won't have the fiber of the seed, but it still has all the omega 3, 6, 9's.  We have commandeered a jar and she's promised to start taking them tomorrow.  So we'll see!  They also make a chocolate smoothie mix from micro-milled chia seed, which I might try.  Except...I don't know how to make a smoothie.  How do you do it?  Do you need a blender?  Or fruit?  What do you think would happen if I just mixed the stuff with ice cream?

Carolyn

I may be blogging alone these days.....but..

Hooray!
I finally made a good muffin! I made it with my Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour. I added 2 eggs, flaxseed meal (to substitute for xantham gum), baking powder, bananas, apricot jam, and local honey. Really tasty.....for a change!