Tasty Bites: Mission: Meatless

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

One of the reasons we haven’t embraced meatless meals in the mainstream is because so many people are disappointed that the end result doesn’t taste like meat. We haven’t learned to enjoy the taste of a good healthy protein without meat. That’s understandable, as most of us grew up with meat as a main course.

This is a tasty sandwich that I hesitate to call a burger. It’s meatless, and not intended to be a meat “taste-alike.” It’s just a sandwich. The combination of rice and beans makes a complete protein and the variety of ingredients as well as the seasonings gives it fabulous flavor. It’s loaded with fiber and very filling.

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Tasty Bites: Not Your Daddy's Parsnips

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

I loved my dad’s butter-fried parsnips growing up. They were the only vegetable I’d eat. Since I’ve strayed from using Dad-amounts of butter, I haven’t had a parsnip in 25 years. It was time.

We tend to give butter a bad rap because it contains so much saturated fat, but a little won’t hurt you and it adds a lot of flavor to foods that are naturally bland. I’d much rather indulge in a pat of real butter than something from a plastic tub full of ingredients and chemicals that I can’t pronounce.

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Tasty Bites: B is for Breakfast!

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

There are eight B vitamins, usually referred to as the B-complex vitamins. B vitamins play an important part in the health of skin and mucous membranes, including hair, mouth, and eyes. Folic acid is a B vitamin and proper intake is essential for women to avoid certain birth defects. B vitamins also aid in the function of the nervous system by the breakdown of fats and proteins, and play important roles in heart health, circulation, and immunity. No one B vitamin does the trick – they work their magic when they are consumed together.

Deficiency in Vitamin B can lead to insomnia, memory loss, numbness and tingling, and a host of other symptoms. A well-balanced diet will ensure proper Vitamin B intake, but some people, including the elderly and people under excessive stress, need supplements. Check with your doctor if you think you may be deficient in Vitamin B.

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Tasty Bites: Vitamin C and Orange Julius

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, has a wide range of benefits to health. Studies have shown it has infection-fighting properties, and it can prevent damage to body cells. People rush to get Vitamin C at the first symptoms of a cold, and it certainly can’t hurt. Vitamin C acts like an anti-histamine, and can relieve symptoms. Before antibiotics, nutritionists promoted eating foods high in Vitamin C as well as other nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables to fight disease. Certainly people who have a higher intake of nutrient-rich foods have a higher infection-fighting ability.

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Tasty Bites: Enter The Green Monster

By Candy (Steele the Day)

Yesterday I sent what I thought was a helpful link to an article to my youngest son who works out very hard nearly every day. It contained a recipe for a good post-workout refueling shake full of nutritional goodies written by Matt at No Meat Athlete.. My son’s response?

“I’ve never heard of most of that stuff.”

OK, so I went overboard with a recipe containing selba, sprouted buckwheat, chlorella or spirulena powder. I just love Matt’s site and the article gave some great advice, but in all practicality, it was time to apply the KISS principle if I was to convince someone to not eat fries and a soda after a workout.  So I told him to make a Green Monster.

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