11/22/2022
Another wonderful day in the kitchen yesterday, I hope you are all enjoying your food so far. I've been thinking - every time I mention that I am hosting Thanksgiving, I get the look. You know, the one that says "oh man, that sucks!". And of course for me, this is my job so perhaps it's not as stressful for me as it is for someone who doesn't love to spend time in the kitchen but hear me out - what if we somehow changed our mindset about the stress involved in the holiday planning and shifted to gratitude - which is exactly what this holiday is about! What if every time you felt that stress creep in, be it shopping or eating or all the chaos that ensue with the holiday season, you stopped and replaced that thought with a thought of gratitude? Just some good for thought ;-)
I know I say it every week, but THANK YOU. Without you, my life would look and feel a lot different today. Today, I am grateful to each of you for many reasons and I hope you can taste the love in the food I sent your way. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!
This week's "food for thought":
Did you order the taco bowl and are wondering what that unlabelled box with butternut squash is for? I forgot to put it in the taco bowl, so now you get to add it yourself! Or...
That taco bowl is pretty hefty even without the squash. Maybe save it and add it to another meal - a salad? sandwich? on top of a burger? No idea should be squashed here, the sky is the limit!
Taco bowl can be eaten cold or hot!
Soup for breakfast. Try it. It's a thing.
This week's salad is probably my favorite meal. Bursting with so much flavor plus all of the protein, carbs, and good fat you need for a healthy, balanced meal.
You can definitely eat your frittata right out of the fridge but if you throw it in the toaster oven (covered) for a few to heat it up, I think you'll see the best results. Try adding some avo and everything seasoning to this one. One of my favorite ways to spice it up at home.
Weekly Fun Food Fact
Did you know that eating a few small servings throughout the day of fermented foods is actually the most effective way of consuming your probiotics?
I keep a wide variety of fermented foods in the house and try adding them to all sorts of meals.
Favorites: kombucha, kraut (different types of veggies can be made into kraut), fermented onions, kefir, Cocojune yogurt, kimchi, sourdough!, tempeh.
Fermented foods are important because they contain probiotics which are the "good germs" that are beneficial not only for good digestion, but have major effects on everything from your mood (And mental illness!), how you sleep, ability to fight colds, to preventing cancer!
When we refer to your gut, you might often hear the term "microbiome" which is basically this beautiful lush rainforest we create by eating all the different plants!
Did you know that cancerous tumors have their own microbiome and the greater the diversity in that tumor the more responsive that tumor is to treatment?
Try this:
Some ways to add fermented foods to your diet: kombucha or yogurt (I use plain, unsweetened, coconut milk yogurt with live cultures) to your smoothie, but kefir is another great option. Add kraut to your soup or your burger. Kimchi in your eggs (in this week's frittata!). Crackers and kraut as a dip. Honestly, I could go on for days but you've got better things to do like go eat some fermented foods.
Don't like it? Keep trying it in different ways!
Happy Thanksgiving!
XXX