Category: Miscellaneous

FREE 3 Days to Health Seminar, Sept. 18, 19, and 20, 2011, 6:30 – 8:30 PM

If you are in the Reading, PA area Sept. 18 – 20, don’t miss this enlightening 3-day presentation by Chet and Bev Cook (BA, ND, CHC), Directors of the Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Centers.  Discover God’s simple, Biblical model for physical health and healing through lectures, video clips, food prep and sampling, juicing demos and more!

God designed our bodies to be healthy. Learn how to take control of your health by eliminating toxins and following the nutritional plan that God intended for us. Totally FREE, but space is limited, so please register today!

Location: Glad Tidings Church, 1110 Snyder Road, West Lawn, PA 19609

To register phone: 610-670-7504

Van’s Cafe, 448 Penn Ave. West Reading, PA 19611, 610-741-6466

Today the Reading Eagle did a nice piece on Van’s Cafe, the new Vietnamese restaurant in West Reading, so we had to go there for lunch to try it for the first time.  For those who are familiar with West Reading, Van’s is occupying the same space as the former Fire and Ice Cafe. The place is casual, the decor minimal, but clean.

I hope I can give it a fair review because my main thought about Van’s is that they won’t win any prizes for speed.  We went on our lunch hour, which was a mistake — don’t go there unless you are under no time constraints.  After sitting at the table for about 15 minutes we went to the counter to order.  I still don’t know if that is how you are supposed to do things there; some people did have a waiter come to take their order, but we and others went to the counter.  No one greeted us, seated us, or told us what to do (a simple sign “Please place your order at the counter” would have been helpful).

The food was very good and fresh.  They had a few vegetarian options.  We both ordered the Vegetarian Spring Rolls and Vegetarian Rice Noodle Soup (huge bowls) called Pho.  I don’t think the soup broth was vegetarian, however.  Service was very slow and disorganized. (I could see my husband’s blood pressure rising by the minute).  Our appetizer came out after the noodle bowls, and I don’t think we would have gotten it at all if we didn’t remind the server.  We were missing a set of silverware and had to hunt one down ourselves.  No one came to freshen our ice teas or offer water.  As we ate we saw people leaving and more coming in and standing waiting to be seated.  Tables weren’t cleared as new orders were coming out and there was nowhere to put them or to seat the people who were waiting for a clean table — Did I mention that the service was SLOW?

Prices at Van’s are all under $10.00, and the food is good.  Convenient parking is available in the rear. I am hoping that this was not a typical lunchtime at Van’s, and that they were just having an off day.  I would love to go back to sample their bubble tea, but I know my husband won’t be going next time.  With some people you don’t get a second chance.

Homemade Vegetable Wash (Spray or Soak)

I have to admit that it just breaks my heart to spend a big chunk of my food budget on veggie wash.  Those tiny spray bottles of veggie wash never seem to last long the way I use it, and plain water just doesn’t do the job for soaking leafy greens. Here are two simple solutions you can make at home with common household products you probably already have on hand. They cost only pennies to make and work really well.  (You should refrigerate the spray because it contains fresh lemon juice)

SPRAY:

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 cup water

SOAK:

1/4 cup vinegar

2 Tbsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. SPRAY: Put all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake gently to mix (it will foam). Spray on vegetables or fruit and allow to sit for 2-5 minutes, then rinse with cold water and dry.

2. SOAK: Fill a clean basin or sink with cold water. Add vinegar and salt, then stir until salt dissolves. Place vegetables or fruit in sink and allow to sit for 25 – 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and dry.

These ideas came from http://www.food.com where you can find even more great recipes and money-saving hints.

Vegetarian Food Prep: Make it Easy

One of the comments I often hear is that vegetarian cooking takes so long and is so inconvenient.  I agree. All that chopping, slicing, and dicing is time consuming, but YOU ARE WORTH IT, so take all the time you need to be healthy. Better health for you and your family starts in the kitchen.

I would like to share some things I’ve learned that make preparing healthy foods a little quicker and easier:

–First of all, PLEASE, don’t cook for only one meal.  It is just as easy to make 10 cups of brown rice as it is to prepare 2 cups, so make a big pot and save the leftovers for future meals.  If you won’t use it all this week you can easily freeze leftovers to use next week or even next month.

–The same goes for dried beans; make more than you need and freeze the leftovers. I like to freeze two cup portions in plastic freezer bags for use later.

–Cleaning and peeling vegetables is best done when you have a big chunk of time, but I like to peel a 5 lb. bag of organic carrots as soon as I bring it home so that fresh carrots are always available for juicing and recipes.

–Romaine lettuce also gets washed as soon as it hits the kitchen; separate the leaves and let them soak in the sink with cold water and a little vinegar while you put the rest of your groceries away.  After draining, roll the leaves in a clean dishtowel, put it in a plastic bag, and store in the frig until you’re ready to make a salad or sandwich.  You’ll be surprised how fresh and crisp it stays this way!

–Don’t be afraid to buy in bulk.  Raw tomatoes (whole, cored), raw peppers and onions (chopped), and raw peas and berries (whole, washed) can be frozen with little preparation, and can make individual meal preparation go faster if you have them on hand.

–Finally, considering how mind-numbing a task chopping, slicing, and dicing is, consider multi-tasking.  You can put the phone on speaker and still have both hands free.  Or, USE that wasted time in front of the TV — chop the vegetables you will need for tomorrow’s supper tonight while watching your favorite show.  You’ll be so glad you did this when you get home tomorrow after work, and all that meal prep is already done!

I hope these ideas to make eating for better health faster and easier are helpful to you.  If you have any other time- saving ideas, please share them!

No-Bake Granola Bars

I have been on a search for a good granola bar recipe for a long time.  They are nice to have on hand for lunches or a quick grab-and go breakfast or snack.  The price of granola and power bars in the supermarket is just going through the roof, and I refuse to pay so much for something I know is just a compilation of the ingredients I already have in my own kitchen.  Also, I like to know exactly what goes into the food I am eating, prefer organic, and cringe to read the long list of unidentifiable ingredients in most packaged products in the grocery store.

This recipe makes 12 – 16 good size bars.  They can be individually frozen or dehydrated if you prefer a crisper granola bar (I have found that dehydrating them is more successful if they are sliced thinner, so you will have more, but smaller, granola bars).  The recipe is very adaptable so feel free to experiment*.

Ingredients:

4 c. Old Fashioned rolled oats

1 c. raw sunflower seeds

1/2 c. chopped dates

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. raw honey

1/2 c. almond or cashew butter

1/2 c. almonds or cashews, chopped

2 Tbsp. tahini

juice of one fresh orange

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.  In a smaller bowl blend together nut butter, tahini, raw honey, and fresh orange juice; pour over dry ingredients and stir well to mix until it starts to hold together almost like cookie dough.

Press mixture into an oiled 8″x8″ pan and refrigerate overnight.  Cut into bars, individually wrap, and enjoy.  (May be frozen or dehydrated after cutting).

*You can play with these ingredients by substituting pumpkin or flax seed for half the sunflower seeds, use a different type nut, add some dried berries in place of half the nuts, etc.  It will still make a delicious granola bar, so be creative!

Zucchini Butter

Occasionally a recipe pops up right in time, such as this one — just when I have an abundance of garden zucchini to deal with.  I know many of you home gardeners are also looking for new ways to serve this versatile and prolific vegetable, so try this simple recipe.  I’m making right now.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/vegetable/recipe-jennie-cooks-zucchini-butter-121770

Freeze Your Tomato Harvest

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I grew up helping my mother can tomatoes the old fashioned way. We spent hours skinning the tomatoes in boiling water, sterilizing glass quart jars, and then processing the tomato-filled jars in a boiling water bath and waiting to hear the “pop” as each jar cooled and sealed. It was an all day project that most gardeners endured in order to enjoy the fruit of their labor during the long winter months.

Later, as a young wife, my mother-in-law taught me how to freeze fresh tomatoes. It still involved skinning the tomatoes in boiling water, and then slicing them into eighths. But, instead of the canning process, you just had to pack and freeze them in plastic quart containers. I thought this system was a real time saver, and did it that way for years.

Imagine my surprise when I learned just last year that there is a MUCH simpler way to freeze all the tomatoes we harvest from our garden, and now this is how I do it:

First, wash and core (cut out the stem end) your whole tomatoes.

Place the cored tomatoes on a tray with sides (leave a little space around each one — you don’t want them to touch) and place the tray in the freezer. (notice that you DO NOT have to peel the tomatoes). IMG_0177

When they are completely frozen (like the next day), put the whole frozen tomatoes in a gallon size plastic freezer bag, zip closed, and store in the freezer until needed.

When you are ready to use, simply remove however many tomatoes you need and hold each one under hot running water. The skin will easily slip off the frozen tomato. Then let them defrost just long enough to be able to slice or chop.

That’s it! You can easily fit this method of preserving your tomato harvest into even the busiest day and be satisfied with the results.

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Raw Banana “Ice Cream”

When it’s hot outside most people look for a cold treat like ice cream.  When I stopped eating dairy this created a problem because I really LOVE ice cream.   I have learned that frozen bananas make the best ice cream substitute ever.

It’s simple to make:  All you need are a Champion Juicer* and a couple of frozen ripe bananas. ( I like to wrap each banana in plastic wrap before freezing so they don’t stick together in the freezer.)  When you want a naturally sweet frozen treat simply run the frozen bananas through the Champion Juicer using the blank (not the screen).  What you will have is something that looks and tastes like soft-serve banana ice cream, but without all the negatives of dairy.  For variety you can add any frozen berries you desire.  This is also an inexpensive alternative to any sorbet on the market.

*If you don’t have a Champion Juicer you can use a food processor.  It doesn’t produce the same creamy consistency as the Champion so you may have to add a little rice or soy milk and some sweetener (the rice or soy milk will dilute the natural sweetness of the fruit).

Shop at Giant — they listen to their customers

Recently, while eating breakfast I noticed that my Silk Soymilk no longer stated that it was made from organic, non-GMO soybeans. I have used and depended on that brand for years, and was shocked that they had changed it. I contacted the Silk company and they told me that they did still make the organic, non-GMO variety, but my store had decided not to carry it. I immediately contacted the Giant on Van Reed Rd, and they were very responsive. Withing a week they had special ordered the “good stuff” from Silk, and you can find it in aisle 2 in the dairy case of their organic food section. So, I’m plugging the Giant for their excellent customer service, and urging everyone to patronize this store. If you want a specific product they will do their best to accommodate your request (even if they don’t understand it).

On the same subject: please be a label reader. Since this episode with the soymilk I have noticed that a lot of companies are no longer using organic ingredients  as they have in the past. Peace Cereal has quietly stopped using organic grains in their products. When I contacted them they said that the price of organic grains had increased threefold, so they decided to use non-organic ingredients and still produce a delicious product. I responded that there are already dozens of non-organic cereals on the store shelves, but I purchased Peace cereals just because they were organic — why should I buy them now?

Watch the labels closely. There is no bold print on the fronts of these packages proclaiming  “NEW and UNIMPROVED, MADE WITH 100% NON ORGANIC, GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS.”  Who would buy it? If you aren’t alert you may find, as I did, that some of your favorite foods are no longer as healthy as you thought they were, and you may be innocently feeding your body something you really don’t want.