About 15 years ago ( geezzzzz - hard to believe it has been that long!), I was traveling around New Zealand with my sister. I pretty much dragged her to everything adventurous we could possible do and one was cave diving to see the glow worms. It was a very cold, yet interestingly fun adventure but the one thing I remember was the delicious hot pumpkin soup and buttery toast we had after our tour.

Sadly though, my pumpkin soup will not go down with such memories with my family. Although, I thought it was good and it was simple and nutritious, I figured I would post it.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1Tbsp of olive oil

• 2 Tbsp of butter

• 1 onion, sliced

• 6 cups of pumpkin cut into larger chunks

• 3 cups of sliced potatoes

• 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

• pinch of nutmeg

• 1 tsp chopped and fresh tarragon

• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 to 2 tsp of lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up the oil and butter in a sauce pan. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes - stirring frequently.
2. Add the pumpkin and potatoes and stir well. Cover and let steam for approximately 10 minutes until the vegetables are almost tender. Don’t forget to stir!
3. Stir in stock, nutmeg, tarragon and salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes ( or until the vegetables are completely tender).
4. Let the soup cool and then pour into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Pour back in to the pan and add the milk. Heat slowly, add the lemon juice and adjust the seasonings if need be.
5. Serve the soup nice an hot!

Enjoy! and be well,

I used to make my dad’s instant coffee every morning, however, I did not have my first sip until I was about 24 ( due to a room mate who brewed a pot every morning). The smell intrigued me so I gave it a try with lots of milk and sugar. It wasn’t really my first choice in beverages until  I had kids! Once the kids arrived anything caffeinated to help me get through the long afternoons was much appreciated!

And really, coffee is not all bad for you and actually it has many health benefits. Moderation of course is the key and really a good cup a java is all you really need.

Well, now that I have been pretty consistent on my coffee sipping (every once in a while I will stop drinking and lucky for me I have no side effects), that I am beginning to get a little snobby with my coffee choices. And living in Hawaii, I am quite lucky to be living amongst some amazing coffee farmers.

I have recently discovered, Hawaii White Mountain Javaloha Coffee. It is smoothest, sweetest and loveliest cup of coffee, I have ever tasted. I am lucky because it is sold at our local farmers market but you can also purchase a bag from their site. I recommend you do for yourself or for someone you know who is a coffee lover.

Bring on the french press and be well,

I have never been one to add salt to my foods and actually I do not even have a salt and pepper shaker on our kitchen table. Although a  few months ago, I was eating at one of the local hotel restaurants and they served these yummy brioches with a side of butter sprinkled with pink salt. After one tiny nibble ( tiny because I was not positive that it was salt ) I became hooked.

Now I solely use sea salt in all my cooking.  It is much less refined than table salt ( less processing is always better), and it’s trace minerals give it its distinct taste and provides the body with some added nutrition.

There are many places that manufacture sea salts - from Hawaii to Cape Cod to France, however, I have yet to find the perfect one for me so if any of you have a sea salt you wear by please let me know!

Although sea salt has not been processed as much as table salt, it is important to eat it in moderation. It’s yummy though and just an extra sprinkle of it will surely to be enough to satisfy your taste buds.

Be well,

This recipe was a hit with everyone! And again, it fit my soup criteria of being extremely easy to cook.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Soup

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 skinless, boneless 6 ounce chicken breasts - chopped
• 1/2 TSP turmeric
• 1/4 TSP cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup creamed coconut
• 3 3/4 cups chicken stock, hot
• 2 TBSP lemon or lime juice
• 2 TBSP crunchy peanut butter ( I used smooth)
• 1 cup of egg noodles broken into small pieces
• 1 TBSP scallions
• 1 TPSP fresh cilantro
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Shredded coconut and fresh red chili to garnish ( I didn’t do this)

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and then the chicken and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes
2. Sprinkle the creamed coconut into the hot chicken stock and stir until it dissolves. Pour onto the chicken meat and add the lemon or lime juice, peanut butter and egg noodles.
3. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the scallions and fresh cilantro, season well with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer.
4. If you garnish; heat the shredded coconut and chili in a small dry skillet fpr 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cocnut is light brown.
5. Pour the soup into bowls and sprinkle with garnish.

This serves about 4 people and the whole pot was gone in about 10 minutes! Next time I plan to double and make the garnish.

Pumpkin soup is next..sounds great to me but lets se what the family thinks!

Be well,

I am on a crusade to cook up as many soups that look good ( great photos) and sound good  from, The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Soup. I began this crusade for many reasons….

• most important reason: they are simple to cook
• they are nutritious
• they are yummy
• everyone loves them in my family ( although Pearl is slightly picky)

The first soup I tried was the Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup. Ok, it sounded good to me because I enjoy the occasional nibble of blue cheese on my salads. But when I started cooking it up I started to think about the others in my family. At the last minute I almost threw in goat cheese instead of the blue cheese but I thought about the movie, Julie and Julia, and decided to stick with the recipe.

I should have gone with my instincts.

It was ok but the kids really truly disliked it ( I would write their comments but hmmm…they were not pretty).

My second soup attempt was, Pasta and Chick-Pea Soup. And it was a family pleaser!

Here is the recipe:

• 4 TBSP of olive oil
• 1 minced onion
• 2 minced carrots
• 2 finely chopped celery stalks
• 14 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 7 ounce can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2/3 cups of pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 cups of dried conchiglie pasta
• salt and pepper to taste
• shavings of Parmesan cheese to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the chopped vegetables. Cook over low heat ( don’t forget to stir) for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the chickpeas, cannellini beans, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes Stir in the purred tomatoes and water. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes
3. Add 2 cups of stock, the rosemary and salt an pepper. Bring to a boil and then smiimer for 1 hour.
4. Pour in the remaining stock, add the pasta and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes ( pasta is al dente!)
5. Remove the rosemary and serve with the Parmesan cheese.

I was telling a friend of mine this recipe and she thought some swiss chard, kale or spinach would be a great “colorful” addition. Brilliant, I thought. Next time I will definitely add it.

Be and eat well!

I wrote about how I like to look at food list..how they inspire me to buy and cook with foods that I may have forgotten.  I thought it might be a good idea for me to create my own list - my favourite, everyday foods. Once I started typing away at my list I realized it was quite big! I thought about categorizing but well….nah.

My favourite super nutrient packed and yummy foods!

1. avocados
2. fuji apples
3. blueberries
4. broccoli
5. almonds
6. red onions
7. tomatos
8. good olives
9. salmon
10. spinach
11. basil
12. cilantro
13. thyme
14. egg
15. goat cheese
16. brown rice bread
17. butter
18. olive oil
19. dark chocolate
20. licorice mint tea
21. coffee
22. cream
23. sugar ( for my coffee!)

*** these foods I readily have in my pantry or fridge***

The foods I would like to eat more of:

1. kale
2. swiss chard
3. cabbage
4. beans
5. more fruit - kiwi and such ( I am not much of a fruit eater except in my daily smoothies)
6. leeks
7. root vegetables: squash, pumpkin ( not potatoes though - not my thing)
8. seeds

I am sure I could think of more but for now, that is about it.

I try to purchase all my foods/produce from the local farmers and organic. I really feel that when I buy local and/or organic I am not only helping to keep my family healthy but also the planet.

Be well,

PS If you have any simple recipes to encourage me to eat more of the foods I want to eat more of, please send them my way!

I love cookies. Always have but really I only nibble on a few types…mostly chocolate chip and macaroons. Funny though, I have never baked macaroons before. So the other day, I decided to buy some coconut, find a recipe and bake up a batch.

Off to allrecipes I went, found the recipe below and got baking. For some reason I thought macaroons had no flour in them but this recipe called  for a little. I used spelt though with no problem. And I was quite surprised to see what few ingredients it did have and how simple they were to make ( and fast…although that is extremely dangerous for me!)

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/3 cups flaked cocnut
2. 1/3 cup sugar
3. 2 TBSP flour
4. 1/8 tsp salt
5. 2 egg whites
6. 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix and combine the coconut, flour, and salt. Stir in the egg whites and vanilla.
2. Drop a rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased ( really grease them because mine stuck) baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Merrin and I love these but we have decided to fiure out the best way to dip half of them in dark chocolate. That would be super yummy!

Be well,

I like these types of articles. Lists with foods we could be eating more of or ones not to be eating so much of. It encourages me to cook more of the super nutrient packed foods….like swiss chard which I love and so does most ( not so much Pearl) of my family.

Looking down the list, I see beets on the very top. Uggggg. I think my mom tainted me from beets for the rest of my life. I have tried  them in many different ways ( and if you have a recipe that you think I couldn’t resist, please send it!) but nope, I have never been able to eat them.

Next time I head to the market, I am going to get some cabbage and dried plums. Cabbage, I know will get eated and if I wrap up the dried plums in some prosciutto and baked them, I think my family would love it.

Bring on the new year with some new ( or more of) these great foods!

Be well,

This time Pearl is in Lucy’s kitchen learning how to make a frittata! Absolutely adorable these girls are!

I recently had a glance at the new Healthy Kids recipe page and it is amazing. I beleive it will go live sometime in January but I will keep you all in the loop.

Hapy Holidays and Be Well,

PS We will be up in BC this holiday season and cooking in the cousins house!

I spent Thanksgiving week eating a lot of food I normally do not eat..mainly wheat. Lots of stuffing, gourmet breads, pumpkin pie and lots of yummy more. The payback was quite clear and apparent though. I immediately began blowing my nose like crazy and started to feel a little sluggish. I have been tested over and over for celiac disease but I always come out with normal labs, however, I know my body does not digest wheat/gluten properly.

There are 100s of fantastic gluten-free blogs and websites out there to help all or any of you to begin taking gluten products out of your diet. It really is not that difficult..it basically goes back to a whole foods diet - veggies, fruits, meats and legumes. Usually people do not believe me when I suggest that gluten may be affecting their health. I ask people to test it out by  eliminating all grains ( except for rice) for at least 2 weeks ( 6 would be ideal) and then have a “party day” eating grains all day long and observing their bodies for 24 to 72 hours. Most people are very surprised to see the results.

Ok, back to gluten-free living during the holidays. Here is a wonderful blog, gluten-free girl and the chef, and they have recently posted a recipe for holiday cookies ( who can resist the holiday cookie!). Here is another blog for gluten-free recipes and one for raw foods.

Happy Holidays!

I have always loved chocolate but it wasn’t until my time working at a Swiss hotel in Boston in my late teens, that I truly found an appreciation for good quality dark chocolate.

Since my time working and spending summers in Switzerland, I only eat the good stuff, so yes I am a complete and true chocolate snob. And I have no problem being called that either. Over the years, I have been very happy to read about all the benefits of eating dark chocolate ( so now there were no excuses to my daily indulgences - it is good for me!) Dark chocolate ( with cocoa content of at least 65 or more %)  is full of flavonids which may help in reducing blood pressure, antioxidants to fight off those free radicals and plus many more healthy benefits.

I am not giving you all permission to eat a pound of chocolate, but what I am suggesting is that you might want to indulge in a small piece of rich dark chocolate during the holidays ( and maybe carry it through the new year!). At the moment, I am quite enjoying the brand called, Chocolove. I go for the simple - no nuts or berries. Perfectly yummy!

Be well,

Ok, I was browsing through some blogs and came across a blogger who posted this article. I love to spread good word, so here it is again. Also for a quick idea of the culprits, below is the list of foods that should never cross your lips.

1. canned tomatoes
2. corn fed beef
3. microwave popcorn ( I very rarely eat this as there is no microwave in our kitchen and really stove top popcorn is so much better and easy and fun to do)
4. non-organic potatoes
5. farmed salmon
6. milk produced with artificial hormones
7. conventional apples ( we only eat organic but I was surprised by this one)

What I truly love abut this article is that it gives you a great explanations with what the problem is, the solution and some budgeting tips.

Be well,

Fortunately I love the smell of rosemary .

In school, I would have a little vase full of cut rosemary on my desk. Rumours be told, that it was the herb of remembrance and during finals ( and just plain studying times), I figured I would try anything.

Now my daughter is approaching her decade long plus of school tests and finals, I decided to tell her about rosemary helping with memory. She wasted no time but to get outside to pick some for herself.  I loved watching her!

I decided to further my research on the benefits of rosemary and was surprised to read all of the symbolizms, traditions and medicinal uses associated with this wonderful herb.

Queen Elizabeth of Hungary used rosemary to ease her rheumatism and gout ( it is still used widely as a digestive tonic). She also mixed rosemary and lavender and it supposedly created such beauty that even despite her age of 72, she was ask for her hand in marriage with a 26 year old! The goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, was said to have given rosemary as a gift, so brides  began wearing wreaths of rosemary as a symbol of their fidelity.

I enjoy cooking with it as well. I use  when I am roasting a chicken, or with a potatoes and sea salt and a dribble of olive oil.

Be well,

When I was a kid the one thing I would never ever eat was a mushroom. Boy was I a silly girl! They are low in calories, full of favour and are truly an amazing nutritional power food.

There are so many to chose from and so many ways to prepare them that there is fungi wanting to be eaten by all of us!

I love to add them to soups to stuffing them with cheese to stir frying them with other veggies and serving with rice.

My personal favourites are the portobello (a meal in itself and full of potassium!) and the creminin (full of antioxidants and b vitamins!)

This website is a fantastic place to begin your journey of discovering the delicious mushroom. Look around the site, as it is clever and informative!

And if you have yet to watch Pearl and Zoe cooking up the yummy “Immunity Soup,” please do - it is full of mushrooms.

Be well,

I do love curry! And I am glad I do, but after reading this BBC article I realize that I might want to consider eating more of it!

Found in the yellow Indian spice Turmeric, you can find the magical phytochemical, Curcumin.  Past research has given accolades to Curcumin for its’ healing benefits for inflammation/arthritis and gastrointestinal symptoms. However, this BBC article  suggests that Curcumin may have more to offer…scientists have shown that it may  kill off cancer cells.

Ok then, back to  the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, famous quote,

“Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your food.”

Let’s research more whole colourful foods and see what else these foods have to offer. Or better yet, just eat more colourful whole foods! Have any recipes to share?

Be well,

I love them! They are full of nutrients,  a complete protein, there are many, many ways to prepare them and they are inexpensive!

I have to save I kinda cring when people tell me they only eat the white parts. In school, I remember learning the importance of eating the whole egg as they were made to go together - the white and yellow. The white may have the protein but the yoke has the majority of the nutrients.

My suggestion is to cook up some eggs in the morning for your kids - scramble them or whip up a quick omelet ( my girls like ham, cheese and Merrin likes it with tomatos) - it is fast, easy and will give the kids some sustained energy to get through the morning.

Tell me your favourite egg recipe. It will be great to get some more ideas for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Be well,

Pearl and Zoe ( not sure where Merrin was?) were in the kitchen again! This time they cooked up an Immunity Soup packed full of some powerful nutrients.

Take some time to check out their video and print up their recipe. It may come in handy this fall and winter!

Be well,

Yummy yum yum yum!!!!!

I was going threw some old Halloween magazines…you know trying to get organized for Pearl’s favourite holiday! and came across this recipe in a Martha Stewart Halloween edition.

She says  not use a can of pumpkin-pie filling but I did and it turned out fine. Since I did this though I did not add the pumpkin-pie spice mix. I also used organic ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour ( I used spelt)
• 1 TBSP pumpkin-pie spice
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 sticks of room temperature butter
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg ( I used what I had and it didn’t look so large)
• 1 cup canned solid-packed pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie filling)
• 12 ozs of chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Line bottom and sides of a  9 by 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 sides ( I always do this when baking cakes but when I baked these I just greased the pan.
2. Whisk the flour, pie spice, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then the pumpkin puree ( mixture may appear curdled). Reduce to low speed and beat in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spread into pan. Bake rotating pan halfway through, until edges begin to pull away from sides and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
5. Using parchment overhang, lift cake out from pan. Peel off parchment paper, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares. ( I just kept mine in the pan)

These were so delicious the next day nice and chilly from the fridge!

Enjoy,

I love how Michael Pollan is educating people about how our food ( at least in America) is grown, produced and consumed. His first book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, was a heavy, tough but highly informative read and most likely missing a very important demographic - kids ( this is my department - teaching kids about health with my series, Human Body Detectives). Now he has written  the same book but in a young reader edition. Brilliant!

In this edition, he has some real-food rules for kids ( but of course their parents too). I am not a fan of rules but these just make so much sense….away of living.

Here they are:

1. Don’t eat anything your great grandparents wouldn’t have recognized as food.

I love this! I sometimes talk to kids about acute and chronic disease and food, and how these things have affected us  - changed us - in the last 100 yrs or so. Kids are amazed with learning and understanding the evolution of acute to chronic disease and the evolution of our diets.

2. Don’t eat anything with more than 5 ingredients, or with ingredients you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce.

This is wonderful! Kids love to look at the ingredients and try to pronounce some of the words. I love kids being proactive and aware.

3. Don’t eat anything containing high-fructose corn syrup.

This is a good ingredient to have kids look for on labels. It will be a fast and easy lesson - it is in a lot of things!

This will definitely be a holiday gift to my kids ( and maybe many others!)

Be well,

I wanted to follow up on Warren’s Workshop with some more information. He will be in Waimea from October 9th  through October 11th with many lectures and cooking classes. Although I do not follow a macrobiotic diet, I think it will be a great opportunity to integrate more whole foods into my family’s diet.

Here is a link to the description on Facebook. I hope to see some familiar faces there!

Be well,

With school just around the corner, I thought it would be a great time to introduce my new discovery, Jonesy’s Allergy Cards.

An allergy card is a custom card created for your child with their name, birth date, allergies, EpiPen directions and your contact information.

To me, they seem quite essential if your child has any type of allergies from food to bees.

Jonesy offers 2 types of cards, one for a restaurant and one for play dates, that will escort your child wherever they are going.  Jonesy will help design a perfect card that fits your child’s own specific needs.

Please pass this information on to anyone you may know who has a child with allergies. It is really an inexpensive way to inform people about your child’s needs.

Be well,

PS Jonesy designs an array of beautiful cards (they do custom work as well), so take a minute and check out her site

The HBDs are at it again! At it in the kitchen that is! This month Merrin ( with the help of Pearl) are making one of their favourite snacks ~ Mochi. It is an easy snack, can be healthy ( depending on what you decide to stuff it with) and is gluten free ( I love that!)

So please go check them out on my site on the Healthy Kids page. Just click on the recipe card!

And watch for them next month as they ventured int a local restaurant to create something really fun and creative!

Be well,

A few months ago, I began to ponder the idea of taping the kids cooking favourite yet simple , healthy ( well sometimes!) snacks and meals.  I asked Merrin and Pearl about it and luckily they are always up for something new. At first we thought Merrin would film but now with a few videos done, we can see that being in front of the camera is where the action is!

You will find their creations by going to www.drheathernd.com and clicking on Healthy Kids. You will then see the recipe card ( above). You can watch their silliness and print up the recipe. We have some good friendly kid recipes coming up and we are even going into a local restaurant to create an adult entree into a kid entree!

Have fun!

PS while you are on the Healthy Kids page, listen to the HBD theme song!

I was very happy to read that Whole Foods Market is now participating two of their house brands in the Non-GMO project.

Let me step back a bit…

GMO stands for genetically modified foods.  It is the science of injecting the DNA of one species into another species to create plant, animal genes that do not naturally occur. This may allow for a perfect looking new species but we have no idea what the health consequences of this could have presently and in the future.

The Non-GMO project is a non-profit organization that is seeking GMO manufacturers to disclose their GMO products to the consumer. The FDA does not require this as of now.

I am all about consumers, patients, students…everyone really….to be allowed to have the resources to become knowledgeable and able to make their own decisions. I believe in this organization and will support it in anyway.

Be well,