Who doesn’t love granola ? Okay, put your hand down, Lol 😂. But for us granola lovers, here’s a keep it simple and a bit sweet easy recipe.
You can also find this recipe and others delectable pictures of yummies on my Instagram page Life with Lisa Washington:
Easiest Stovetop Granola: Maple Granola with Pumpkin Seeds: #nutfree
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup gluten free old-fashioned oats, not instant
1 tablespoon virgin-coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
A pinch of clove
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
1. In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, add seeds and oats. Toast for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the oats are golden and the seeds are fragrant, but not burnt. Add oil, maple syrup, molasses , vanilla, and salt, mix well to coat the oats. Cook 1 additional minute while string.
2. Remove from the heat and spread on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Allow to cool completely before adding to an airtight container.
It’s back to school and here’s an easy recipe that will be a go to for you and your family. I love making this for my family because it’s quick, healthy and fills their bellies. When school starts back we all are in the grind of life, adjusting to a new school year schedule. There are footballs practices, ballet rehearsals, music recitals and a thousand other things we have to focus on, so let dinner be one thing, you pour Love into, but not lots of time. But hey it can taste like it. 😉
Note: A short cut here for this recipe is to precooked the potatoes the night before or use frozen potatoes. I prefer to precook fresh potatoes the night before, fresh ingredients really does make a difference. If you do, cook them until they are mostly tender and not mushy. They will cook later in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4-5 Sweet Italian Turkey sausage links
10 medium red potatoes, cut in half
1 large yellow onion, sliced
3 bell peppers, any color, sliced into strips. I used what was in the fridge.
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Sea salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Add the red potatoes to a pot of boiling water, cook until mostly tender, they will cook in the saucepan with the sausage and peppers later. Drain and set aside.
*If you are using precooked potatoes or frozen, skip this step above.
While the potatoes are cooking, Poke each sausage a few times with a paring knife or fork (this helps release steam as they cook).
In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add sausages and brown gently and slowly. Cook for 3- 5 minutes, turning occasionally to gently brown on all sides. (They should not be fully cooked.) Once browned, remove sausages to a plate. Set aside.
Increase heat to medium high. Add onion and pepper slices. Toss to coat in oil and sear vegetables until slightly blackened, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add vegetable broth, to deglaze the saucepan, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to release bits. Simmer the vegetable broth until reduced by half.
Add Italian seasoning. Stir well to combine. Add sausages and the potatoes. Add salt to taste and gently toss. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until potatoes and peppers are soft and sausages are cooked.
Broccoli and Parmesan Cheese with a twist
This is a simple recipe, but it has a twist. Instead of using water to steam the broccoli you use vegetable broth. It gives the broccoli so much flavor. In a sauce pan add a bit of oil on heat the stove on medium heat . Toss in 2 cups of broccoli florets. Stir the florets around in the pan to help coat them with the oil. Add in a 1/3 cup of low sodium vegetable. Place the lid on top of the pan and allow to steam until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese on top, place lid back onto the pan to help the cheese melt. Serve immediately. Enjoy
Today I had the opportunity to do a television segment for Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta, because back to school is upon us and we want to give our kids a healthy start to the new school year. Well, I got you covered. Try out some of these recipes with your kids and see how going back school can be a fun and tasty experience for the whole family.
Here’s a few tips to get your kids into eating healthy:
1. Show the new ways to eat fruit and veggies: peanut butter on celery, hummus and red pepper slices, coconut milk with berries popsicle sticks
2. Get them involved in the process. Let them come up with healthy recipes ideas that incorporates more veggies .
3. Plant a garden.
4. Let them explore new fruits and veggies once a week. They don’t have to love it, just be open to trying new things.
5. Make eating healthy fun and not a chore. They are exploring and getting to know how to make good eating choices. So keep light.
Who doesn’t love sweet potatoes? Yes. Everyone does! Okay I just going to pretend that everyone does. The rest of you guys will be converted after this post! LOL.
So here it is, sweet potatoes are not only nature’s little candy, because they are super sweet, but they are loaded with nutrients. Here are a few benefits why you should eat sweet potatoes:
Stabilizes blood sugar levels.
They are high in antioxidants
Need a brain boost, sweet potatoes helps with brain function.
They also are known to help enhance you immunity
They promote vision health.
Need to drop a few pounds, they also help with weight loss.
I know you are thinking about trying them now, with those impressive health benefits, but if you are not totally convinced, check out these two awesome recipes. The recipes below are vegan and plant based, but you can add an egg to them to boost your protein, if you are vegetarian or eat meat. The best thing about both recipes is that you can get super creative.
Sweet potato toast is the new craze out there, if you are trying to cut back on the bread. I love this new take on toast. The toppings are endless, you can go sweet or savory.
Sweet potato toast is simple to make and you make several slices of the toast and keep them in the fridge for up to 7 days and pull them out when you need them and add your favorite toppings. Here’s the easy recipe:
Sweet Potato Toast
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
Sweet Potato Toast : Sweet ~ Almond Butter, Granola and Cherries Savory ~ Avocado, Smoked Paprika and Olive Oil
Instructions:
OVEN
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to help prevent sticking.
Peel the potato. This is optional. I peeled the the ends of the sweet potato off, cut the potatoes in 1/2 inch slices.
Bake until the slices are tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite toast toppings.
Store any leftover sweet potato slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. To reheat for an easy breakfast, just add to your toaster on the medium setting to heat up, remove and add your favorite toppings.
TOASTER
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, cut into 1/4 inch slices
Instructions
Peel your potato and add it to your toaster. It may take you three times to cook and toast the sweet potato completely. Every toaster is different, so you will know it is done when the sweet potato is tender and brown on the edges. Remove it from the toaster and add your favorite ingredients: nut butters, avocado, jams, jelly, granola, nuts, apples slices, whatever, you get creative.
Sweet Potato and Poblano Pepper Hash
Sweet Potato and Poblano Pepper Hash
Ingredients
1 large organic sweet potato peeled and cubed
1 small red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 poblano peppers, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow pepper, diced
1 cup broccoli pearls
1 cup of black beans
1 handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
a pinch or two crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 2 minutes until they begin to soften, add the sweet potato, broccoli pearls, salt, and crushed red pepper. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften. Add beans and cook for about 3-5 minutes until the beans are warmed up. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Top with cilantro and garnish with lime ( optional) .
How can you take 4 prepackaged vegetable skewers and make several meals?
What I love about using the skewers is they have all my favorite veggies, big plump portobello mushrooms, crunch red bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash and red onions. The first day I marinated them in a balsamic glaze with olive oil and herbs and paired it with a red quinoa vegan tabbouleh. The next day I took the two of the vegetables skewers and took off the vegetables and sautéed them in olive oil, herbs, sea salt and cracked black pepper. I put the veggies in a bowl, add kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, banana peppers and chickpeas. I added a little olive oil, balsamic glaze and toss. I chopped some fresh parsley over top and you have your second skewer meal. I took the last one and made a simple stir fry with eggs.
I had such a beautiful afternoon spending time with my girlfriend Sarah and talking about her amazing weight-loss using the keto lifestyle plan. She has lost 40 pounds using this plan. So in honoring of her big victory, I decided to make her my keto savory zucchini cakes.
We did a Facebook Live, where she was able to talk to about how the keto lifestyle plan has helped her live a more healthier way of living. It’s pretty fun, hilarious and educational, so check it out in my Facebook page under Lisa Washington.
Here’s the recipe. To find out more about to keto lifestyle Magic Pill on Netflix.
Keto Zucchini Cakes
Ingredients
• 1 pound zucchini
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt or regular sea salt or to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon savory south seasoning by Hillari Moon or herbal garlic no salt seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup grated Vegetarian Parmesan cheese, BelGioioso Cheese is Vegetarian
• olive oil for frying
Instructions:
1. Grate the zucchini on a box grater . Put the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with the teaspoon of Himalayan pink sea salt or regular sea salt. Mix the zucchini gently to distribute the salt and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the zucchini out with your hands and place into a medium sized mixing bowl.
2. Sauté the onions and garlic in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Remove from pan once the garlic is golden brown. Set aside to cool.
3. Add the eggs to the zucchini and the cooled onions and garlic mix together. In a small bowl, add the rest of the dry ingredients and stir together. Add them to the zucchini and mix thoroughly.
4. Heat a medium to large pan over medium – high heat. Pour in enough oil to completely cover the bottom surface of the pan. When it looks hot, stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil and check for bubbles. If the bubbles are moving quickly, then the oil is hot enough.
5. Stir the zucchini mixture one more time and dip a 1/4 cup measuring cup into the batter, level off. Dump the batter into the pan and gently push it into a flat pancake shape with the back of a metal spatula/flipper. Cook for three minutes adjusting the heat up or down as needed, then flip, cooking for another three minutes. Add more oil to the pan as needed to prevent sticking.
6. Drain the zucchini cakes on a paper towel before serving.
Okay, so my biggest client is my husband. He is in amazing shape… and the Oscar goes to his wife, that’s me, for making him delicious and healthy meals, everyday. Yes everyday, well almost everyday. Lol 😂
He went for his yearly annual and his doctor told him most everything looked awesome, just had to watch those carbs. Of course, I get a call, because my husband is serious about his health and he married his nutritionist.
“Honey, he says, I need to cut back on the carbohydrates, but how do I do that and still enjoy what I love to eat? ”
Well before we get to that, let’s look at Why Carbohydrates are good for us:
Here’s the deal on carbohydrates, first off they are our friends. We need carbs to function, they give us energy. They help fuel our brains, kidneys, heart, muscles and central nervous system. They help us fill full and assist in keeping our blood cholesterol levels on point.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, you should consume, at the very least, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of carbohydrates, which is 130 grams for adults, 175 grams for women who are pregnant and 210 grams for women who are breastfeeding. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, women should consume 25 grams of fiber on a daily basis, while men should consume 38 grams of fiber on a daily basis. Source:WebMD
If you have health issues, like diabetes or prediabetic this number can vary based on your doctors evaluation.
If you have diabetes, you should see a doctor or dietitian who can help you plan meals to control your blood sugar. Though your daily carbohydrate requirements are the same as those for someone without diabetes, it’s important to avoid eating too many carbohydrates in one sitting. The American Diabetes Association suggests that you should limit your intake to about 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates at each meal. SOURCE: WebMD
If you are just cutting back, I like to suggest 100 grams a day for weight loss. Substituting your simple carbs with more complex carbs, like brown rice for white rice, eating more fruits, whole grains and legumes. Eliminating simple carbs out of your diet, like sugary foods, white flour and white potatoes.
Also knowing how to count your carbs is very important. For example, multi grain bread may have 21 grams of carbs, but 4 grams of fiber, you subtract the fiber and you get a true number of how many carbs will be in that slice of bread. Got it?
Enough of the science, here’s some healthy substitutes I bought my husband that I know he will eat.
Popcorn instead of chips, is the big one for all of us:
The Special K bars have 11 g of carbs, the Dave’s Killer Bread, thin slice has 9 g of carbs, for breakfast he toast that and add a tablespoon of Nutella on it ,which is 10 g of carbs. The Smart Food popcorn has 11 g in 1 3/4 cups . We are cutting his desserts down to once a week, because we are not skipping on dessert. 🍮 . He eats some type of protein with each meal. The carbs gives him energy, while the protein builds muscles, skin, and hair. Both are needed in order to stabilize blood sugar and are best when eaten together.
So there you have it folks, my long answer to a question I think a lot of us are asking. Need more low car tips, just shoot me an email. Oh yes, I almost forgot, remember to Set the Table with Love.
Salads are what you make them, and if you are eating to boost energy and shed a few pounds, you may want to be more conscious of how you are making that ‘healthy salad”. Most people think to throw some lettuce in a bowl with a few tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and some type of dressing and you got yourself a healthy salad. Think again my friend. Don’t get me wrong, everything in that salad for the most part is good, but let’s look at it closer.
So, you are making a salad, most people go for just regular iceberg lettuce. Iceberg lettuce has no real nutritional value, just good ruffage. When picking lettuce the best rule of thumb, the darker the greens the more fiber, flavor and nutrients they will possess.
Now let’s talk about ingredients. If you are eating a salad as your main meal, which is a good idea, because you can incorporate, good protein, lots of fiber, good carbohydrates and good essential fatty acids all on one plate, if we are conscious of what ingredients you are choosing. A salad that will keep you energized and help you drop a few pounds, if eaten daily, with exercise and other healthy accompany meals would look something like this:
Green Avocado Salad
Greens:
Choose 2 to 3 greens:
romaine lettuce
arugula
spinach
kale
Mixed green Medley ( easier way to get several leafy green choices)
You can also add:
Cabbage or Radicchio
Fresh herbs:
Choose 1 or 2 herbs:
basil
parsley
mint
dill
Grains ( optional, but loaded with vegan protein and lots of fiber, just use a little, they are high in carbohydrates.)
Choose 1 grain:
Quinoa
Wild Rice
Farro
Bulgar Wheat
Protein
Choose 1 to 2 proteins:
Organic Chicken ( grilled )
Salmon, steamed or grilled, high in protein and essential fatty acids
Chickpeas, vegan protein and fiber
Eggs
Beans, such as lentils
Vegetables:
LET THESE BE THE MOST IN YOUR SALAD, LOAD UP!
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Cucumbers
Yellow Squash
Bell Peppers
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Celery
Peas
Olives
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Healthy Fats, for crunch
Nuts and Seeds of all kind that you can consume:
Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Sunflower Seeds, Chia Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds and Hemp Seeds .
Dressings:
Make your own and the healthiest dressings are one that are not creamy, but more in the vinaigrette family.
Simple and healthy dressings have these 4 key ingredients:
Acid~ Lemon Juice, Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar and White Wine Vinegar.
Emulsifierr ~ which is the ingredient that helps keep the first two ingredients from separating and keeps your dressing stable ~ Mustard, Greek Yogurt, Ground Flaxseed, Mashed Avocado and Honey.
Herbs and Flavoring ~ Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Dill, Cracked Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Chives and Honey .
In a blender add all ingredients, blend and enjoy. 🙂
Store in a glass airtight container in the fridge for one to two days, this is a very perishable item. Use it all in a day if possible.
So now you are educated about how to make an awesome salad that is loaded with everything your body needs. Now go out my loves and make the world a ” Happy Salad Place.” 🙂
Who doesn’t love a delicious scone? One of my favorite scones to bake is blueberry with a lemon zest icing. But today I was interested in something a lot more savory, so I decided to make these sun-dried tomato, olive and goat cheese scones. They are packed with so much flavor and you can have them for breakfast and lunch with a nice salad and soup combo.
The scone is super creamy, because of the goat cheese and also the buttermilk I used instead of using regular milk. If you want to make the scones vegan you can completely leave out the goat cheese and use a non dairy milk and vegan butter instead of regular butter.
The beauty of scones, is they give us an opportunity to take a biscuit and make it all fancy and add our favorite ingredients. Try different food combinations, like spicy scone with cheddar and jalapeños.
My next recipe prosciutto, walnut and fig scones with smoky gruyere or gouda. Hmm…🤔. You will have to wait and see until next time remember to Set the Table with Love.
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ngredients:
2 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder, aluminum free
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces (1 stick)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 organic egg
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes without oil, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, dried and chopped
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. I used a silpat it seems to brown better than parchment, if you use parchment, double of the sheets. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, pepper and sugar. Using two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Pour into mixing bowl and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the sun-dried tomatoes, the olives and the goat cheese. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead very lightly and form into an 8-inch circle. (Add a little more flour to the dough if the dough becomes too sticky to handle). Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute or so, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool down, enjoy them for breakfast with a poached egg and a cup or tea.
This is my month, because June 17, 2018 my husband gave me his kidney and my life was changed. I am so excited to celebrate national kidney month, bringing you kidney happy recipes. There so many amazing foods that actually help with kidney health, like eggplant, celery, cabbage, asparagus, red peppers and cauliflower. Eating foods that are high in water, actually helps keep the kidneys hydrated and flushed. Drinking clean fluids and getting the proper exercise is also a wonderful way to keep our kidney and other organs healthy and functioning at their best. Check out the blog for some awesome “happy kidney recipes”, like my sautéed cauliflower, tossed with herbs and drizzled with garlic oil and this low carb Gluten free Vegetarian Cauliflower Veggie Pizza. Happy National Kidney Month eat to your health. 🤗💕
Instructions
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