Incorporating More Raw

So I realized that I haven't posted on my blog in awhile. The summer months have just flown by and it's August already! This has been a very hot summer for everyone it seems. I've recently watched two documentaries, Food Matters & Food Inc. This has really opened my eyes to where we get our food, how this food can affect our bodies and how it is all processed. It was quite frightening. 


After watching these documentaries, my husband and I are trying to make a conscious effort in changing our diet even more than we already have, such as incorporating a more raw vegetable diet if possible. There are so many beneficial health reasons to doing this. 


Because of this hot summer day, I decided to start of my new raw quest with a healthy Raw Zucchini Salad inspired by Suzanne Somers for lunch. As Suzanne says, "It's fresh. It's crunchy. It's fabulous." I tweaked it by adding sliced cherry tomatoes and shaved Asiago cheese.


Naturally Me,


Diana


Ingredients
1 Green Zucchini
3 Tablespoons of Extra olive Oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese shaved**
Asiago Cheese shaved **(Added this because I had some on hand and figured why not, but ingredient is not necessary)
Fresh Green lettuce ( I used Romaine & Green Leaf) chopped
**Block cheese that I bought in specialty cheese aisle that I freshly shaved myself with cheese grater. You can shave the cheese with knife as well if you don't have cheese grater. These cheeses may cost a little more but they last a long time.


Remove ends of Zucchini. Cut in half then cut each half into long strips. Cut into bite size pieces. Wisk together in bowl Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Salt & Pepper to taste. Add more lemon juice to taste if needed. Mix in tomatoes, Zucchini and shaved cheese. I didn't gauge how much shaved cheese, together maybe roughly a quarter cup more or less. Mix well. Place greens on serving plate and add Zucchini mixture on top. Enjoy!

Yes Soup For Me Please!

So I absolutely love the organic vegetable co-op that I am a member of. Lisa the owner and her family have become like family to me. Me, my daughter, My friend Sharron and her daughter Emily look forward to our weekly travels there on Saturday to get our fresh organic yummy vegetables for the week. There is always goodies for us to try. Since I've been going to the co-op, I have learned about new vegetables that I've never heard of before and have been experimenting with them at home. I love trying new things! 


Recently part of our co-op choices included vegetable bags with a recipe for various dishes. This week I chose two soup bags and made one of them tonight. It was so yummy! Of course I had to tweak it to reflect more of what I love in soup. I've learned to use what I have on hand, which lately has been a lot of vegetables. This dish could easily go vegetarian by eliminating the meat. So thank you Lisa for the inspiration for this soup. It was a yummy hearty family hit! 


Ingredients
1 ear of corn (cut off of the cob)
2 carrots
5 Yukon Gold Potatoes (you can use whatever potato you have on hand)
10 Purple okra (or regular okra)
1 Yellow Squash
5 Mushrooms
2 Green Onions 
1 Garlic clove minced
1/2 lb Ground Beef (I used Ground London Broil) You can use whatever meat you would like instead of beef.
4 1/2 cups of Beef broth
1/2 cup of Ketchup (I use ketchup that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup)
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (I used 1/4 tsp)
Salt/Pepper (I used 1/8 tsp of Himalayan pink salt)


Chop all of the vegetables into bite size pieces. Brown Ground Beef and drain. In soup pot add Beef Broth and ketchup and let it come to a boil. Add beef, veggies and seasoning. Add Salt, Pepper, and Creole Seasoning to taste. Simmer on low for 1 hour. Enjoy!!


Naturally Me,


Diana

Blueberries Anyone?

So this time of year in Florida is great for Blueberry picking. I just loathe buying blueberries in the store knowing that if I wait, I can pick them myself. If I pick them myself they will be fresher and bigger than what's being sold. So this year I set out on a mission with my friend and we went blueberry picking at my friend's brother's blueberry farm. At the time we picked the blueberries, the price was $4 a pound. Which by looking at my inventory afterwards, was an awesome deal!! In stores they were charging if your lucky and it was on sale for $2.50 for itty bitty blueberries in a quart.

My friend and I were were overjoyed to see the huge blueberries just waiting to be picked and brought home to be devoured. I bought 5 pounds worth and was just amazed at how wonderful they were. I did freeze my overstock so that I could use them in blueberry smoothies or other yummy recipes later on. I was told that blueberries shouldn't be rinsed before frozen or if they are to dry them completely before freezing them.

I have been savoring my last fresh batch of blueberries in my fridge and needed a healthy option for baking. Needless to say, I found this recipe and tweaked to make it even more healthy. Thank you Martha who posted this on Simple Nourished Living The result was fantastic and oh so good!! Even better with a little pat of butter when the muffin is warm. So enjoy a little bit of comfort with this yummy muffin.

Naturally Me,

Diana

A Healthier Blueberry Muffin

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (Because I used Himalayan pink salt I used 1/2 tsp)
3/4 cup Stevia (you can use Agave Syrup as well but I chose Stevia)
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups buttermilk (I used buttermilk in can diluted with water)
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup milled flax seeds (optional- I just happened to have some on hand)

Directions
1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan or use paper muffin cups which I will use to help avoid a messy cleanup.
2. In a food processor or blender, pulse the oats until they resemble coarse meal.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, flax seed, baking powder and salt until well combined and then set the bowl aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the stevia, eggs, applesauce and vanilla until well blended.
5. Add the sugar/egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended and then gently stir in the blueberries.
6. Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups of the muffin pan.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 23 minutes.
8. When they are done, remove pan from the oven and let muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer them out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool.

A Hard Day's Work Meal

I have one of the best husband's in the world. He works so very hard and takes such good care of his girls. He really is my best friend. So when I spend as much time as I do planning and preparing meals, it's not only because I love to cook, but my own special way of giving back to the man that gives us so much. We work quite well as a team. I think we balance each other so well. We will be celebrating our 14 year anniversary next week. The Dynamic Duo. So for tonight's dinner I made a T Bone steak, Japanese Sweet Potatoes, Salad, Homemade Ranch Dressing, sauteed mushrooms and fresh corn on the cob. This is one of the dinners we tag team on. I get everything prepped and he grills it. Granted I can use the grill if I needed to,  but this is a way for us to cook together. Plus, he's great at it. It's a guy thing. So here's the recipes/pics for tonight's dinner.

T-Bone Steak- seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning and grilled to desired temperature.

Japanese Sweet Potatoes- My family loves these. They are so creamy inside and have no strings. It has a light cream coloring on the inside. Stab potatoes with a knife throughout and microwave approximately 8 min turning halfway through. 

Salad- Okay I am known for my artistic salads. Look out if you ever go to Sweet Tomatoes with me. My salad overfloweth. I love everything and anything in my salad. I use whatever looks good and what I have available at home. Tonight I used Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, orange tomatoes, cucumbers, red & yellow peppers, sweet onions, radishes, broccoli, sunflower & pumpkin seeds.

Homemade Ranch Dressing-

• 1/2 cup Mayonaise

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup buttermilk  - I used the can buttermilk diluted with water
• 1 clove of garlic mashed
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and Pepper - I used Himalayan Pink Salt but you can use whatever salt you have

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until serving time to let flavors develop. Enjoy over salad. Thank you to Lowfat Lifestyle for the recipe that I tweaked a little. 

It was so much better than eating out and definitely alot heathier! 

Sauteed Mushrooms

8oz of mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

1 Tbs onion- tonight I used sweet onion

1 Tbs of Red Wine Vinegar

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Circle the pan three times with EVOO. Over medium heat sautee garlic and onion in EVOO til lightly browned. Add mushrooms, seasoning and red wine vinger. Stir until mushrooms have softened. 

Naturally Me,

Diana

Beef it's what's for dinner, well a snack rather...

So I noticed that I haven't put any meat recipes on my blog. As I said before my dad is from Oklahoma.  I spent a good portion of my childhood there because of family and my dad being stationed there. Yep, I'm an Air Force Brat. Cows in Oklahoma are much different than those in Florida. They look like true cattle and not like anorexic cows. So needless to say I love beef. You can take the girl out of Oklahoma but you can't take Oklahoma out of the girl. A friend of ours that my husband used to work with makes beef jerky all the time. He was so kind as to give me his recipe for it. This beef jerky is always a big hit at our parties and gatherings. So here is the recipe:

2 pounds of Ground London Broil (I usually buy London Broil when it's on sale buy one get one (bogo) free and have the butcher ground it for me to save on $$$)
2 packets of Nesco beef jerky seasoning
2 packets of Nesco beef jerky cure
13-14 seeds from Large dried chilli pepper (I usually find it in the Latino food aisle)
Dehydrator
Jerky gun (I use the flat tip but you can use round depending on your preference for jerky)

Mix London Broil, seasoning and chilli pepper seeds until well blended. After well mixed, fill jerky gun and squeeze out strips onto dehydrator trays. I use my Nesco Dehydrator and set the setting to the highest at 155 for 4 hours and Walla! Homemade Beef Jerky!

Positively Me,

Diana

Mixin' Cultures

So I consider myself a half breed. I'm half Thai and half American. My mother is from Thailand and my father is from Oklahoma. I'm very proud of my heritage on both sides. I've always believed I had the best of both worlds way before Hannah Montana came into being. I can remember my mom making 2 meals for dinner every night. One for her one (Thai) for my dad (American). I would generally eat whatever sounded the best that night. It's because of how I was raised that I appreciate all the various foods that different cultures make. I will be posting more on Thai dishes at a later time. Today's dish is a mixture of two different flavors that I love so much, guacamole and hummus. Thank you to Ali's Blog "Give Me Some Oven" for her recipe Guacamummus. I changed the recipe just slightly and it came out wonderful and was a big hit with the family. Hope you enjoy my version!


Naturally me, 


Diana 




Guacahummus- 


1 ripe Avocado cut into chunks
1 can chick peas drained
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1/4 cup red onion chopped
1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lime squeezed
2 garlic smashed
1/4 up Fire Roasted Tomatoes 
2 Tbs Tahini
1 tsp of Cumin
1/8 tsp of salt (I used Himalayan pink salt but you can use regular salt more or less depending on taste)






In food processor (I used a blender since I don't have a food processor) combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Serve with cucumber, crackers or use as a spread on sandwich. I made a breadless sandwich and put this spread on it. It was great!!

Comfort

So I recently learned of my close friend being newly diagnosed with breast cancer. She is the 3rd person in just a couple of weeks of my friends and family who have been newly diagnosed with some form of cancer. It's scary how quick these illnesses creep into our lives and rock our world. All I can do is send my loved ones Positive Healing thoughts and prayers that they will find the strength within to fight these cancers. What this news has also done is strengthen my belief in creating a natural healthy environment for my family as best I can. My family and I are worth sacrifices such as giving up sugar because of the dangers that it can cause. So as I process my way through all this information, I felt like I needed a bit of comfort food. So today's breakfast, well actually lunch, was Slow Cooker Oatmeal that I cooked overnight so that it was ready first thing in the morning. It was like waking up to a warm hug. 


Positively Me,


Diana


Slow Cooker Oatmeal


1 Cup Steel Cut Oats (you can get them in bulk food aisle of natural food store. I paid .99 a lb at Richard's Foodporium)
4 cups of Water
1/2 cup of Half & Half
1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
Slow Cooker Liner- Not necessary but made it alot easier for cleanup


Heat oven to 375. Toast oats in oven for 15 min to help bring out nutty flavor of oats. Line Slow cooker with Slow Cooker liner. Add toasted oats, Water and Half & Half and Vanilla. Turn Slow Cooker on Low and cook for at least 8 hours. Stir well prior to serving. This will make at least 3-4 servings. I added 1 packet of Truvia for a single bowl of oatmeal. You can use Stevia, Truvia or Agave syrup to help sweeten the oatmeal. If I have blueberries on hand I add them to my oatmeal. You can add whatever fruit or nuts you would like. Enjoy!! 

Going Green

So now that I've become more of an Earth Mama, I have been recycling as much as I can. Luckily, our garbage service has recycling days every couple of weeks so we recycle our plastics, aluminum & glass. We live close to the elementary school that recycles paper and gets money in return for their weight of recycled material. We take our paper there so we are giving back to the school as well as the earth. After I am done using my juicer, I use the leftover pulp to fertilize my garden. I do this with my coffee grounds and other organic material. I recently learned that baking soda is a natural ant killer. I haven't had a problem with the ants after I sprinkled baking soda in my garden. So as I think of green (which happens to be my favorite color) tonight's vegetable for dinner is grilled zucchini.


Naturally Me,


Diana


Grilled Zucchini


1 Zucchini halved from top to bottom
Olive oil
Pepper
Salt (tonight I used Himalayan Pink Salt)


Coat both sides of each slice of zucchini with olive oil. Sprinkle pepper and salt. If using Pink Salt use sparingly as a little goes a long way. Grill for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway. Enjoy!

Reflection

As I sit here drinking my Beet, Cucumber & Pineapple juice, I can't help but reflect on how far I have come in the last few years. I have gone from Biscuits and Gravy to a fresh organic veggie mentality. It's amazing how this transformation has given me strength in so many ways. I feel healthier, stronger,   sexier and just empowered overall. It's been a slow gradual transition but truly a rewarding experience. Day by day, I learn new things and try to fill my soul with happiness.


I am truly thankful for the support of my family, friends and Dr Scott for helping me get my life back on the right path, naturally. My husband has been there for all of the ups and downs through our almost 14 yr marriage. I am blessed that he is my partner in life and that we have our beautiful daughter to make our family complete. It is their love and support that helps make my life rewarding, fulfilling and worth fighting my dis-ease for. 


Naturally Me,


Diana




Beet, Cucumber and Pineapple Juice


1/2 Fresh Beet or small beet cut to fit juicer (preferably organic)
6 inches or so of Cucumber (Preferably organic)
About a cup of fresh chunks of Pineapple 


Juice all ingredients in juicer. I did mine on low speed with the machine I have.    
Enjoy! I serve mine in one of my special wine glasses to really enjoy it. 

Frittata anyone?

So I had made a veggie frittata on Sunday for my breakfast on Monday. My husband tried a sample of it and told me that it was awesome and would like it for dinner one night. So tonight was Frittata night at the house for dinner. I made two different ones for us. Kayla had ham, mushroom and Mexican blended cheeses. Kevin and I had our frittatas with mushrooms, swiss chard, red onions, green peppers, red peppers, garlic & goat cheese feta. They both came out sooo scrumptious! Kayla said it was the best first frittata she's ever had. :) So this is my version:





2 eggs + 2 egg whites
1 garlic clove minced
1/8 cup red pepper diced (more or less to your taste)
1/8 cup green pepper diced (more or less to your taste)
1/8 cup Red onion diced or less (to your taste)
few crumbles of goat cheese feta or other favorite cheese
3-4 mushrooms sliced and then cut in half
1 cup of fresh chopped spinach or swiss chard
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil


In an oven safe skillet/frying pan sautee olive oil and garlic over medium heat for 2 min. In small bowl beat eggs until frothy. Add red & green peppers, onions, mushroom. Sautee for about 5 min and add spinach or swiss chard. Sautee until cooked down. Pour egg mixture over veggies. Cook over medium heat until frittata sets maybe about 5 min. Add goat cheese crumbles. Remove from stove top and then broil until fully cooked. Roughly about 5 min. I used the bottom rack so I wouldn't burn the eggs. Enjoy!


For Kayla's Frittata I used:
2 eggs + 2 egg whites
2 Tbs of olive oil
2 slices of ham cut into bite size pieces
3 mushrooms sliced and halved
handful of Mexican cheese


Sautee the mushrooms and ham with olive oil until the mushrooms are soft. Add egg mixture. Add cheese. Cook over medium heat until frittata sets maybe about 5 min. Remove from stove top and broil until fully cooked. 

About Me

Well I decided to start an online blog for a few reasons. I was newly diagnosed with MS last year and have made a huge transformation in getting myself from unhealthy to healthy and even 45 pounds lighter within a year. I have done so as naturally as possible through the wonderful support of my holistic physician, Scott Damanti, DC of the Natural Health Improvement Center in Tampa.  I have often shared tips, recipes, ideas and other things that have made me healthy with my friends, family & co-workers. I also love to cook, take pictures and be as thrifty as possible. So my blogs will incorporate a lot of these things in hopes of sharing some of my knowledge with others to live a healthier lifestyle.


It's amazing how much of an Earth Mama I have become without even realizing it. I now try to be as organic as possible, even when I garden, when before I really couldn't care one way or another. I was never taught the true importance of food and how it affects our wonderfully complex bodies. I always ate whatever I wanted, never really truly knowing how it could affect my health. 


Some would look at MS being this horrible thing to be diagnosed with. Yes it is a dis-ease, but it is because of this diagnosis that brought me to my wake up call that I needed. It was way past time to pay attention to my body and change what I was doing and do it as natural and safe as possible. I have done so willingly and feel stronger and better that I have in my life. I have a beautiful family whom I love very much. Not only have I made these changes with my eating habits with myself, but with both my husband and my daughter. Having this support system made a huge difference in our overall health. 


Lastly, I am a huge believer in the Power of Positive Thinking. This belief has helped me overcome many obstacles including my diagnosis. I live my life with this belief and try to spread my positivity as frequently as I can. I will be sharing this energy through my blogs. 


Positively Me,


Diana