Meredith Mitchell – Page 40 – McKinley Grapevine

Chicken Noodle (or rice) Soup

December 17, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

Chicken Noodle Soup with Dill

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chicken_noodle_soup_with_dill.html

From EatingWell: Winter 2004, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004)

Chicken noodle soup is undeniably comfort food for many people (especially when they’re not feeling well) and this version gets a healthful update. Whole-wheat egg noodles add fiber and nutrients and reduced-sodium chicken broth cuts the sodium. By all means use homemade chicken broth if you have it.

6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

10 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 medium carrots, diced
1 large stalk celery, diced
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces whole-wheat egg noodles, (3 cups)
4 cups shredded cooked skinless chicken breast, (about 1 pound; see Tip)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Preparation

Bring broth to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, ginger and garlic; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegetables are just tender, about 20 minutes.
Add noodles and chicken; simmer until the noodles are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice.

Nutrition

Per serving : 267 Calories; 4 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 1 g Mono; 90 mg Cholesterol; 18 g Carbohydrates; 38 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 329 mg Sodium; 330 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Tip: Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan and add lightly salted water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.

Guilt Free Comfort Foods

December 17, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

Hi Everyone!!

This last weekend many of us got the shovel or snow blower out for the first time this year 🙂. This cold, snowy weather can make you want to hibernate in front of a warm, crackling fire with a cup of hot chocolate or some other delicious comfort food. I hope you all have the opportunity to do so and I want to provide you with a list of 5 comfort foods that are healthy choices and totally satisfying! Hot cocoa just happens to be one of those delicious comfort foods so I’ll start there 🙂

1. Hot Cocoa: There’s only 8g of sugar per serving and contains a healthy combination of carbs and protein. If you want to make hot cocoa from scratch, use plain cocoa powder (0g of sugar/tbsp) and milk of your choice. Now, the next step I just learned about this weekend from a really cool mom! Melt down some semi-sweet chocolate and dip your spoon so it’s covered in chocolate and place it in the fridge or freezer to harden (dip it a 2^nd time if you would like). Then dip it into your cocoa and stir it to sweeten. You could also add a dash of cinnamon. According to research in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, adding a dash of cinnamon boosts your treat’s health benefits—it contains compounds that keep insulin out of the blood stream and from storing fat.

2. Chicken Noodle/Rice Soup: When you eat soup, you generally eat slower either because of the temperature of the soup or the size of your spoon J. By eating slower your body has time to notice feelings of fullness. It also provides a balanced combination of fat, protein and carbs. Try this recipe with noodles or rice: http://www.eatingwell.com/print/4466.

3. Pot Roast: Really?!? Yes! When you consume protein, your body has to work harder to break it down and use it for energy, which results in more calories burned during the digestion process. Also, as we all know, protein supports our lean muscle mass which we all want to hold on to! You still need to watch your portion sizes and the amount of GRAVY you use if any J. Here’s a delicious pot roast recipe with root vegetables: http://www.health.com/health/recipe/print/0,,10000001144126,00.html

4. Oatmeal: You can use steel cut oats or gluten free oats. Oatmeal is a great way for you to get your fiber which makes it another food that will keep you fuller longer! If you have the opportunity to make your own from scratch, you can control the amount sugar in your oatmeal. If not, here are some healthier instant oatmeal options:

~ Kashi Go Lean Truly Vanilla Hot Cereal: https://www.kashi.com/our-foods/hot-cereal/kashi-golean-truly-vanilla-hot-cereal

~ Glutenfreeda Instant Oatmeal Natural: http://www.vitacost.com/glutenfreeda-instant-oatmeal-natural-6-packages?srccode=cii_328768002&cpncode=26-280890336-2&csrc=PPCBPA-[sku]#nutritionFacts

5. Chili: Another food with a great source of fat, protein, carbs and fiber. Chili also packs a hefty punch when you use cayenne, chili peppers, and jalapeños. Capsaicin is the compound that gives these peppers their heat which causes some to sweat and can also help torch some fat!! Vegetarian Chili: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=72508&origin=detail&servings=8&metric=false

Buffalo and Black Bean Chili: http://www.eatingwell.com/print/278230

Stay cozy this winter and enjoy!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

Busy, Busy, Busy…

December 4, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

Busy, Busy, Busy…

I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend! Now life gets busy with shopping for the perfect gifts, preparing for more family get-togethers and festive parties. How do we fit everything in without kicking exercise off the “To Do” list. Hopefully you choose to maintain the same routine you had before Thanksgiving, but, if there are days where you just can’t fit it all in OR you don’t currently exercise and would like to start, here’s a simple solution.

I know some of you already do this from time to time, so use this as a friendly reminder and kudos to you! When you’re watching TV… do push-ups, planks or crunches during every commercial. If you’re watching a movie or reading a book, do the exercises every 20min for 3min. Here are two examples of what your routine could look like:

Just starting out? Cycle through the following:

1. 5 Push-ups

2. 00:30 plank

3. 10 crunches

Workout regularly, just couldn’t fit it in today? Cycle through the following:

1. 20 Push-ups

2. 01:00 plank

3. 20 crunches

Think about it. If you do 5 push-ups for every commercial cycle (and there are at least 4) you’ll be up to a minimum of 20 push-ups daily!! How cool!? You can stay on track with your workouts and do all the fun stuff this holiday season!! Woohoo!!

Have a great day 🙂

Tasty Thanksgiving Recipes

November 26, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

Hi Everyone!

Thanksgiving is just days away and I’m already getting excited about the feast! Below are some delicious recipes that are healthier than the traditional side dishes but still use some of the traditional ingredients. Enjoy 🙂

Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale
~ http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_82488_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
~ http://detoxinista.com/2013/09/vegan-pumpkin-bread-gluten-free/

Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
~ http://lesliedurso.com/2012/11/quinoa-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/

Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing with Chestnuts, Leeks, and Chanterelles
~ http://www.bojongourmet.com/2013/11/gluten-free-cornbread-stuffing-with.html

Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower Parmesan Gratin
~ http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2012/11/roasted-broccoli-cauliflower-parmesan-gratin/

Deep Dish Apple Pie (This is not a mistake, check this recipe out! Traditional pies have 30g of fat per serving and this one only has 10g of fat…WooHoo!)
~ http://www.eatingwell.com/print/6303

Fudgy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies {flourless, gluten free, vegan}. Paula B. made these the other day and gave me one to try….they tasted so good! If you like peanut butter cups, this is the perfect treat for you!
~ http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/10/fudgy-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-brownies-flourless-gluten-free-vegan/

Enjoy!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies

November 19, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/328340629054524773/?e_t_s=pin-text&e_t=6a159b07c35d486394f51922db8f1d83&show_reg=True&invite_code=af372904168726ed1ad6678edc0a54dd&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share_pin_not_user

What you thought was an allergy, might not actually be one…

November 19, 2013 Meredith Mitchell

Hi Everyone!!

Have you ever felt sick, had a hard time pin pointing what might be the cause so you start looking up your symptoms online to give yourself a self diagnosis? Most likely we have all done this just to avoid a trip to the doctor. There’s a lot of great information online BUT I don’t think you should substitute a doctor’s consultation, for the information you find on your own…I think you should do both.

Sherrie Ngo shared an article with me a couple weeks ago that I wanted to pass along to all of you.
http://www.today.com/health/allergy-myths-busted-guess-what-you-didnt-know-about-gluten-8C11545200

In the article, Dr. Stukus an allergist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Ohio State University, separates fact from fiction in the cases of 5 well known allergies (or at least what we thought were allergies). Dr. Stukus blames the internet for the widespread misinformation about allergies. I would encourage you to read the whole article but I wanted to highlight one of the myths. Gluten. According to Stukus, a gluten allergy does not exist! The only three disorders that can be attributed to gluten are celiac disease, wheat allergies and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Wheat contains gluten, so if you have a wheat allergy it’s very easy to assume you have a gluten allergy when in reality you may not.

More and more restaurants are offering a gluten free menu and grocery stores are offering more gluten free products. This is great news for those with celiac’s disease. However, if you do not have celiac’s disease, it is not necessarily healthier for you to switch to a gluten free diet according to Peter H.R. Green, MD, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. Green tells WebMD “unless people are very careful, a gluten-free diet can lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber”. Click the link below to read the whole article. It’s very interesting and a quick read.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/truth-about-gluten?page=1

Here’s the bottom line. If you have celiac’s disease you need a gluten free diet (I know you already know this). If you do not suffer from celiac’s disease, you should eat a balanced diet with whole grains, fruits, veggies, protein and healthy fats. Unless you have been medically diagnosed with a condition such as lactose intolerance or celiac’s disease, I don’t think you should completely cut anything out from your diet. It is possible you might need to cut back on something, like sugar, but you do not need to cut sugar out completely. Let me be clear. If you cut pop out of your diet, I am not suggesting you add pop back into your diet as sugar is found in a variety of other healthier sources 🙂

Have a great day!!