Easy Oat and Protein Muffins

Everyone should have a simple base muffin recipe in their arsenal – this is a good one. The use of a high quality protein flour mix goes a long way to ensuring breakfast fuels you through to lunch and keeps you focused and tuned in to whatever you are up to. Add what you like into the mixture – just try and make it something nutritionally worthy to your day*.

These are an excellent “take on the plane” snack/meal as well!

Base Ingredients
• 1 cup 2% organic milk**
• 1 cup quick cook organic oats
• 1 free range egg
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 cup mix kamut/quinoa flour
• 1/4 cup organic liquid honey
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla

**if you are dairy intolerant substitute coconut milk.

Optional Ingredients
1/2 cup mix raisins and raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup mix dried cherries and organic dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup mix chopped up dried apricots and toasted flaked coconut
1/2 cup diced pineapple and toasted flaked coconut*
1/2 cup organic raspberries or blueberriesContinue reading→

Breakfast, Snack: Sugar-free Banana Bread

The key ingredient to this recipe is 3 very ripe bananas. Most of us have them close by, looking one step away from being useless. Today, they are your best friend. Marinating the raisins adds a nice citrus element to the bread – especially the day after baking.

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe large organic bananas
• 1/2 cup of liquid organic honey
• 3 tablespoons light olive oil*
• 1 large free-range egg
• Olive oil spray (or other equivalent)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups of organic whole-wheat flour**
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• ½ cup mix organic orange juice and filtered water
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon of organic cinnamon
• 1/2 cup organic raisins* *

*Olive oil in a lighter form can be made by substituting ½ teaspoon water with the remaining 2.5 tablespoons required in the recipe. **Using whole wheat flour is important to get the nutritional and baking results this delicious recipe provides. ***Raisins are wonderful in here, but if you really want accolades try a mix of organic chocolate chips and raisins!Continue reading→

Food as Medicine: 5 Foods to Boost Your Immunity System

Instead of vitamins, how about adding one or two of these foods into your daily intake? Now that is an easy plan to keep the flu and cold away all winter long!

Yoghurt

A study from the University of Vienna in Austria found that eating 6-7 ounces of yogurt a day naturally boosts your immune system and helps to protect from getting the flu and other infections. The live active cultures (or probiotics) found in yogurt, are healthy bacteria that help keep the stomach and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs. We recommend organic Greek yoghurt – buy it plain and add a little organic honey for sweetness or tossing in a few fresh organic berries.

Quinoa

Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. In addition, quinoa is rich with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. Organic is best.

It is important to rinse quinoa well before cooking to remove the bitter residue that coats the seeds.

Mushrooms

According to Prevention Magazine, all mushrooms, but especially Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi mushrooms, contain over 300 compounds that stimulate immunity by helping to escalate the production and function of infection-fighting white blood cells. There is also newer evidence to support mushrooms as a weapon in the fight against breast cancer. Organic varieties offer your best ammunition.

Lemons

Dilute lemon juice with warm water to create a highly effective anti-bacterial gargle for mouth ulcers and sore throats. Lemon juice added to water also acts as a blood purifier, a natural diuretic and liver tonic that aids in digestion and decreases the amount of phlegm produced by the body. Buy a bag of organic lemons weekly.

Apples

Packed with vitamins and nutrients, apples are a fantastic source of antioxidants that aid in neutralizing free radicals and help to prevent cell damage. Although they’re not as well known as the orange for high levels of vitamin C, apples contain phenolic acids and flavonoids that have the antioxidant protection equivalent to taking 1500mg of straight vitamin C! We cannot stress the importance of buying a bag of organic apples weekly.