Oodles of Noodles

This blog is not for those who are "Carb loading"- so if that applies to you, you might as well get your running shoes on and go for your  run. Since I am carbohydrate intolerant I don't get to have pasta, rice or potatoes except on the very rate occasion and only if it is under certain conditions. Actually, to be honest, I pretty much stay away from them, they are not worth the discomfort when I do eat them. I will get my running shoes and run later, sans my wheat noodle,s but satisfied nonetheless.

For those of us who are cutting out white carbs but still love spaghetti sauce, here is a solution for you.

Step 1: Slice your zucchini into strips and lay then flat on your cutting board.

 Step 2: Use a sharp peeler to cut noodles. The thicker your slices of zucchini, the wider your noodles will be. If you are picky, keep them the same size.  Step 3: Steam them in a wire basket until still firm but done.

As easy as that and delicious! Here are some serving suggestions:

 Tilapia, sauteed veggies, steamed cauliflower and zucchini noodles.

Spaghetti sauce made with ground chicken or turkey is always a good option. Choose the unsalted tomatoes in a can if you don't have fresh Romano tomatoes.

Try it! 

Let me know what you think of this recipe by clicking here

Who needs soft serve anyway?

Thinking about my pre-sugar-free life, I realized that there were two things that seemed to be my staple binge foods. One was chocolate and one was ice cream or soft serve. Now, in my post sugar laden life, I can eat 100 % cocoa dark chocolate, or unsweetened chocolate and I don't EAT THE WHOLE BAR as I used to. Why? Simply because it was not the chocolate I was addicted to, as I had thought for most of my life, it was the sugar in it. Take out the sugar and pure chocolate is not a trigger anymore.

So then we come to soft serve. Well, let me clarify that I used to eat ice-cream in secret (as sure sign of addiction is when you binge in secret) and so on my journey along the sugar free road I wondered whether I would miss it. Once I tried the soft serve that was sweetened with Malitol and as good as it tasted, It was not good for me. Why? It was artificially sweetened, true, but the rule of thumb is this:
If you can't stop thinking about it and obsessing about it, planning detours to get it, then it is not for you. This a repeat of the addictive behaviour associated with sugar. This is what I was doing with the malitol ice cream and I knew it was a slippery slope. Having identified the negative behaviours, I have learned to recognize them now that I am living a sugar free lifestyle.

Was I going to never again have ice cream or soft serve? Well, for a while there I thought I might have to, but then I discovered Banana Mint Dessert. Wow, I was in sugar free heaven! And there was no crazy sugar high or trigger to binge and over eat so I was content to have that as my occasional treat. No sugar added and certainly refreshing with the addition of the mint. Yes I know there is a certain amount of carbs and natural sugars in bananas, but bananas are good for you and having them once in a while, is not going to cause weight gain. To check out the virtues of frozen bananas, click here.

Then Doris Romano, a nutritionist and a dear friend (and someone I am so excited to be working with in the future) sent me a link for Banana Hazelnut Ice cream! You can read the original recipe and blog here. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand so as per usual, I modified the recipe to fit what I had in my kitchen.

 

 

 

Chocolate Banana Almond-Hazelnut Soft Serve

( 2 - 3 Servings)

Ingredients:
3 Frozen Bananas
2 -3 teaspoons pure, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of Almond and Hazelnut butter
Coconut Oil - just a drizzle.
 2 - 3 teaspoons of unsweetened almond milk ( or as needed just to get it going)
Pinch of Sea Salt

Method:

1. Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Serve immediately with your choice of chopped nuts or garnish.

WARNING: You will find yourself REALLY wanting to lick the bowl. 


Melony Teague is the creator and founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" workshops and seminars.
For more information click here
To attend our official launch click here.

Beat Cold and Flu Season

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There may not be a cure for the common cold, but there are certainly things you can do to prevent as well as recover faster. One of the things that you can do it have hot tea and hot drinks to elevate your body temperature. Viruses do not like this kind of environment and it is a good thing to do particularly if you have a sore throat.

According to Pat Crocker, Author of "The Smoothie Bible" Some ideas to help prevent a cold is to have plenty of lemons, onions, citrus, fruits and carrots, as well as herbs such as echinacea, elderflowers and elderberries as well as garlic, ginger and licorice. Peppermint was also included in her list. I would not advise just dumping a whole lot of these herbs together and having them without guidence, for example, if you are pregnant limit your intake of partley to 1/2 teaspoon per day. If you have high blood pressure, avoid licorice. To purchase her book, (for a limited time it is less than $10 Canadian dollars) The Smoothie Bible, you can click here. 
According the the author, Basil is an antispasmodic, soothing digestive, antibacterial, antidepressant and adrenal gland stimulant. She recommends using 1 - 3 leaves for each cup of smoothie. It is used to help indigestion, stress and tension headaches. And you thought it was only used for Pesto!

I came up with my own version of the cold fighting smoothie, although inspired by Pat.

Here it is:

By Melony Teague

Mango and Basil Cold Buster

4 Basil Leaves, washed
1 small knob of fresh ginger
8 - 10 cubes of frozen carrot juice*
2 cubes of frozen spinach,
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup Fresh Mango juice
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 apple, cored and cubed 

Blend these together in a blender and enjoy!

Part of the prevention process is getting enough rest and not letting yourself become run down. Enough rest, sleep and exercise will help your immune system avoid succumbing and if you do get sick, if you take care of yourself, you will recover quicker.


By Melony Teague
www.melonyteague.com 

To subscribe to my consolidated newsletter, Click here

Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.

The Time to Set the Scene is NOW!

You walk into a room and there is a fire blazing in the hearth, a comfortable chair is beckoning and there is a throw draped over the arm of the chair. What does a scene like that make you want to do? If you are like me, it would be to put on some relaxing music and either curl up with a good book, (in my case it would either be a novel or a recipe book) or cuddle with husband and children while we chat. The scene was set, and it evoked a response. The scene is inviting and relaxing and somewhat sentimental.

It is time to set the scene for a new year ahead now that school has resumed, students are back at it and University students have concluded orientation week and are coming to terms with the reality of going to classes and actually studying while on campus. Who knows, perhaps they will learn something? Has the scene been set for learning? Let us hope so.

You want to exercise more, you have good intentions to be more active. Or you have a goal you want to reach, you want to do 12 push-ups in a row without collapsing, or you want to be able to do "the plank" for 3 minutes or perhaps you simply want to go for a walk on a consistent basis. Perhaps you are training for a half-marathon? Whatever your goal, it requires some structure. Do you work out in a crowded basement while tripping over furniture, toys or boxes to get to the treadmill? Are your dumbbells half buried under piles of stuff? Do your children interrupt your treadmill time? Do you have to drive through a maize of construction to get to the gym which only causes you to become stressed?  If so you have not set the scene for success. First of all safety is an issue,  (so no tripping over stuff to get to gym equipment, please make space for safe exercise) and secondly if the thought of going to your workout space is not appealing, you are less likely to do it! The only exercise that works is the one you WILL DO.

What emotion does the idea of your chosen form of exercise evoke? Are you excited and rearing to go. Is your space uncluttered and inviting? Have you planned your time slot and guarded it against the instances in life where circumstances threaten to steal away your "me time"? Is your schedule overloaded and so you are trying to squeeze in too much?

If not, there are two things we need to address:

1. Setting the scene

2. The Force of Habit.

SETTING THE SCENE:

When I train at the pool, the scene is set, I have the pool, my coaches, the pace clock and my fellow swimmers. I put my swimsuit on and my body knows what to expect when I walk onto the pool deck.

In the same way, whether you are working out elsewhere or at home, take note of the scene that has been set. Do you associate your environment with positive, healthy activity or do you think of it is a negative way? If you exercise out of guilt for the brownies you ate (unless they are these) then you will work out in an aggressive, stressful way almost as a means of punishment. These emotions will release stress hormones, adrenalin and then in the long term cortisol which inhibit weight loss. If you are going to the gym with this attitude, you may just be sabotaging your efforts. Set the scene in your mind for an enjoyable workout, an invigorating run, and you will be benefiting both body and mind while you go ahead with your exercise.

THE FORCE OF HABIT:

Do you get up in the morning and have to remind yourself to get dressed and brush your teeth?  I have to do this to my 8 year old, but as a "grown up" it has become habit, (Thanks to my mother!)I no longer need reminders. In the same way, people who are active do not need to remind themselves that they HAVE TO work out, it is just something that they do, part of their life, just like brushing their teeth is. Just like my 8 year old, it may take a bit of reminding and training to get into the habit in the beginning, but once you have formed the habit you have the benefit of the "force of habit" working for you. A word of warning though, if you repeat bad habits, then you have the force of habit working against you. If stopping at dairy queen on the way home from the gym is a habit, I suggest you take a different route home and substitute that destructive habit with something positive like a steaming cup of peppermint tea when you get home.

For example, when I hop into the pool for a training session, I automatically do a warm up swim, just out of sheer force of habit. It would not occur to me to do anything differently. It is a habit. I don't have to talk myself into it, or think about it, my body just knows what to do. In fact it is quite liberating because I don't have to think about it and my mind can wonder and think about other things while I swim.

Now if I were to use this same force of habit in other areas of my life, it would make the task I am trying to accomplish easier, and let me tell you a secret, we only put off doing things because the THOUGHT of doing them is more unpleasant than the actual task, and the FEAR of doing it, or not doing it right, is more real to us than the actual exercise. So keep in mind, that Nike really was onto something when they said:

JUST DO IT!

By Melony Teague
www.melonyteague.com
To subscribe to my consolidated newsletter, Click here

No Beans about it, It's tasty!

On a rainy day following a nice hearty chicken and quinoa soup I followed it up with a delicious, flour-less cake. The secret ingredient? You guessed it: Garbanzo beans or Chick peas. (For nutritional information of these unassuming little beans, click here) Garbanzo beans, or otherwise called Chick peas are usually eaten in salads or as hummus. Both of these options I love, but I bet you never tasted them like this.

Now, I certainly could not put it in front of my children and say, "Here is a nice slice of chick pea cake." They would have decided that it was yucky followed by taste tests which include dramatic cringes and faces pulled in very creative, disapproving ways.

My daughter did not like it as much as the Black bean brownies, and my son liked it MORE than the black bean brownies, either way, there is no other way I can get a bean of any sort into their mouths. ( Other than making Black bean brownies) They eat it with a little bit of Vanilla Ice Cream, but my husband and I ate it with English Double Devon cream. Yes it is full fat, but it is the ONLY thing without any sugar added. Since we are having the cake as a treat, once in a while is not a huge deal. I served it with sugar free strawberry puree and a small chunk of 90 % Dark Chocolate. For those who are recovering sugar addicts, this will do the trick. I developed a sugar free recipe and there is one for those who can tolerate sugar well without losing control. This cake is full of fibre and protein and although it feels like you are cheating, it is full of good nutrients. For a VEGAN option, substitute the eggs with ground flax seed and hot water. For each egg you need 1 Tbsp ground flax and 3 tablespoon hot water. Click here for more instructions and information. And instead of the Devon cream, use organic canned coconut cream.

This cake is gluten free and sugarless.
*See optional substitutions for those who can tolerate sugar.

Chocolate G-Bean Delight
by Melony Teague

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
4 Organic Eggs
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
5 tsp Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt


6 - 8 Pitted Honey Dates and 4 tsp Coconut Sugar*
( Or substitute 3/4 cup sugar)

Method:

1. Line a 8 inch pan with parchment paper and spray it.
2. In a food processor blend the beans and dates with the coconut oil and eggs until smooth.
3. Add Cocoa powder and Vanilla Extract.
4. Add Baking Powder and salt and when smooth scrape out into lined and sprayed pan and smooth the batter to make it level. The mixture will be dense.
5. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Do not over bake.When done cool on baking rack for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve. IF there are leftovers, store in airtight containers or freeze. Allow to cool fully before packing away the leftovers and try not to eat another bite!

Serve it with a chunk of 90 % Dark chocolate or sugar free unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.
( For the antioxidants of course. Dark Chocolate is a super food after all!)

Here comes the part that you just don't have to tell anyone.
For the strawberry puree I used organic baby-food that was well chilled. It comes in a jar and is sugar free, could not get easier and it really is very tasty. Please check the labels to make sure no sugar has been added.

In fact, if you prefer you could serve it with Organic pear and black currant puree too. Your choice.

If you are still not satisfied, drizzle some nut butter over the whole thing and enjoy!

Either way you choose to garnish this delight, it is best served after a light meal, like soup or salad.

Note: If you have already cut down on your sugar intake you will find the sugar free version amply satisfying and sweet. My husband on the other hand had not been cutting down on his sugar and to him, not having his taste buds cleansed and adjusted, it was not sweet enough.

If you are in the same boat as he is, I suggest you start off making it with sugar and each time cut down on the amount of sugar you add and increase the dates.

This is definitely a winner in my home and I will be making it more often along with the black bean brownies.

 By Melony Teague
www.melonyteague.com 

To subscribe to my consolidated newsletter, Click here

Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children. She is a Master Swimmer and dabbles in running occasionally, as long as it is on the treadmill where she can multitask while doing so.

No beans about it, this tastes like heaven.

On a rainy day following a nice Hearty Chicken and Quinoa soup I followed it up with a delicious, flour-less cake. The secret ingredient? You guessed it: Garbanzo beans or Chick peas. (For nutritional information of these unassuming little beans, click here) Garbanzo beans, or otherwise called Chick peas are usually eaten in salads or as hummus. Both of these options I love, but I bet you never tasted them like this.

Now, I certainly could not put it in front of my children and say, "Here is a nice slice of chick pea cake." They would have decided that it was yucky followed by taste tests which include dramatic cringes and faces pulled in very creative, disapproving ways.

My daughter did not like it as much as the Black bean brownies, and my son liked it MORE than the black bean brownies, either way, there is no other way I can get a bean of any sort into their mouths. ( Other than making Black bean brownies) They eat it with a little bit of Vanilla Ice Cream, but my husband and I ate it with English Double Devon cream. Yes it is full fat, but it is the ONLY thing without any sugar added. Since we are having the cake as a treat, once in a while is not a huge deal. I served it with sugar free strawberry puree and a small chunk of 90 % Dark Chocolate. For those who are recovering sugar addicts, this will do the trick. I developed a sugar free recipe and there is one for those who can tolerate sugar well without losing control. This cake is full of fibre and protein and although it feels like you are cheating, it is full of good nutrients. For a VEGAN option, substitute the eggs with ground flax seed and hot water. For each egg you need 1 Tbsp ground flax and 3 tablespoon hot water. Click here for more instructions and information. And instead of the Devon cream, use organic canned coconut cream.

This cake is gluten free and sugarless.
*See optional substitutions for those who can tolerate sugar.

Chocolate G-Bean Delight
by Melony Teague

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
4 Organic Eggs
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
5 tsp Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt


6 - 8 Pitted Honey Dates and 4 tsp Coconut Sugar*
( Or substitute 3/4 cup sugar)

Method:

1. Line a 8 inch pan with parchment paper and spray it.
2. In a food processor blend the beans and dates with the coconut oil and eggs until smooth.
3. Add Cocoa powder and Vanilla Extract.
4. Add Baking Powder and salt and when smooth scrape out into lined and sprayed pan and smooth the batter to make it level. The mixture will be dense.
5. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Do not over bake.When done cool on baking rack for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve. IF there are leftovers, store in airtight containers or freeze. Allow to cool fully before packing away the leftovers and try not to eat another bite!

Serve it with a chunk of 90 % Dark chocolate or sugar free unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.
( For the antioxidants of course. Dark Chocolate is a super food after all!)

Here comes the part that you just don't have to tell anyone.
For the strawberry puree I used organic baby-food that was well chilled. It comes in a jar and is sugar free, could not get easier and it really is very tasty. Please check the labels to make sure no sugar has been added.

In fact, if you prefer you could serve it with Organic pear and black currant puree too. Your choice.

If you are still not satisfied, drizzle some nut butter over the whole thing and enjoy!

Either way you choose to garnish this delight, it is best served after a light meal, like soup or salad.

Note: If you have already cut down on your sugar intake you will find the sugar free version amply satisfying and sweet. My husband on the other hand had not been cutting down on his sugar and to him, not having his taste buds cleansed and adjusted, it was not sweet enough.

If you are in the same boat as he is, I suggest you start off making it with sugar and each time cut down on the amount of sugar you add and increase the dates.

This is definitely a winner in my home and I will be making it more often along with the black bean brownies.

By the way, if you would like me to post the Hearty Chicken and Quinoa Soup Recipe, email me at info@melonyteague.com