Easy Veggies Rice and Cheese Recipe

This is one of my favorite things to make!  It is simple and easy and nutritious.  The raw taste of the veggies just brings it alive.  Outside of cutting up some vegetables and steaming them and the rice, it is not a hard thing to make.  It takes very little time. So, here's what I do with my recipe and you of course can create it in whatever way works for you.

Sometimes I use a veggie chopper to chop the vegetables up, but tonight I just cut them up.  It all depends upon what you have and what you want to do. The veggie chopper really makes cutting vegetables up so easy.  There is no right way or wrong way to do this. 

Cook time for the veggies and rice was around 45 to 50 minutes, but of course that depends upon your steamer.

You can use whatever vegetables you wish to use.  Your favorite veggies are the ones that work the best.  Tonight, I used broccoli,  cauliflower, carrots, green pepper, red pepper, and snow peas.

Earthbox Vegetables Are The Best

Earthbox tomatoes at 57 days

Growing up, I didn't realize just how nice we had it with fresh vegetables from the garden.  What we could not eat during the summer, my mom canned and froze so we could eat all winter long.  In fact, for a long time I did not even realize that you bought fresh vegetables from the store.  I just thought everyone went to their cellar and got what they needed.

Yes, the big garden was usually a pain from the tilling, to the backbreaking planting, weeding, and harvesting.  When the weather was hot and buggy outside, weeding or harvesting the vegetables was the last thing I wanted to be doing as a kid.  Of course, I had no idea how much I would miss it one day.

Later in life when I was in college and beyond, I found out that vegetables in the stores did not match up to what I grew up eating.  They were either not ripe enough or the taste just wasn't as good.  The prices on some of these in the store for the quality is hard to comprehend.  Sometimes in our local grocery stores, it is hard to find produce in stock, let alone vegetables that are good quality.

Quinoa, Burger Crumbles And Veggie Dish

Here is a recipe of something I made for a meal.  It was just one of those moment creative dishes.  While it is nothing fancy, it did taste very good and was simple to make.  You can alter it in any form that you like, but to give some framework, here is the recipe for Quinoa, Burger Crumbles and Veggie Dish.

Quinoa, Burger Crumbles And Veggie Dish

Ingredients:

• 2 Ears of Sweet Corn
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Yellow Squash
• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Broccoli Head
• 1 Bag of Burger Crumbles (Morningstar)
• 1 Cup of Quinoa
• 1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (if desired)
• Spices (such as Pepper, Celery Salt or whatever you choose)

Directions:

Delicious Quinoa And Vegetables

Vegetables and Quinoa

Based upon a friend's recommendation, (Trevor Marty) we tried something that was very delicious tonight for supper. In fact, when we were in the store looking for it, one very helpful lady came up and shared how delicious it was and how much she liked it. She was so kind and gladly pointed us in the product she thought was the best one to buy.

Quinoa is a high protein grain that is delicious and wholesome. It is not hard to prepare and a half cup of it was plenty for two of us. It only took about 15 minutes to prepare and I did not add any flavoring to it. I just added 1 cup of water to the 1/2 cup of Quinoa and followed the directions on the package.

We took several different vegetables and cut them up, placed them in a frying skillet and cooked them in coconut oil. We used broccoli, asparagus, carrots, green pepper, yellow squash, and celery. Again, I did not add any flavoring or salt or anything. The only addition was the coconut oil.  Coconut oil is much better for you than butter, despite being high in saturated fat.

Most Diseases Are Reversible With Food

Did you know that most diseases are reversible with food? According to Jeff Primack, from QiRevolution.com, he has developed Food Based Healing Smoothies that have helped many people.

Just attempting to eat healthy is not enough because so often we either process, freeze or mutilate our food to the point of losing so many of the important nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Just because we eat frozen vegetables or processed foods with healthy things in it, does not mean we are eating healthy.

Fruits and Vegetables contain naturally occurring photochemicals which Jeff calls, the spark plugs of the immune system. Humans do not generally get enough of them. Phytochemicals hide in the cellulose fibers of seeds, stems, skins and rinds of the fruits and vegetables we eat.

When is the last time you ate the entire apple including the seeds, stems, and apple peelings? Do you realize that the best part of the apple is in the seeds, stems and skin? Or you ate an avocado with including the seed and shell? What about the cucumbers that you buy in the store where you normally peel off the skin and eat the inside? (granted a waxed cucumber is probably not the best thing and our food industry is determined to wax every cucumber sold or charge outrageous prices for ones they don't). Just think of the fruits and vegetables you eat and how much of the "good stuff" of these do you throw away?

What Jeff Primack teaches, is how to make a smoothie using a high powered blender (found on Amazon - Blendtec TB-621) and dumping in all the fabulous phytochemical rich foods. We've been doing this for almost two years and not only does it really (and I mean really) help digestion, but we don't get the colds and flu like everyone else is getting. In fact, I overheard a conversation the other week about how these two people had been through two or three rounds of a cold and flu and it was almost foreign to me what they were talking about. If I feel anything like a cold or flu coming on, the smoothie usually knocks it out so quick that whatever was hitting me comes and goes within a day at the most.

At first, I wasn't sure if I could drink the smoothies. They taste good but sometimes you get ingredients that have off flavors and then it makes it hard to drink the smoothie. Once I got accustomed to it, I really don't mind it at all. It is part of our routine in the morning and we have gotten the prep work down to a science now so that it is not hard to prepare the stuff to put it in the blender. Our biggest problem is living in an area where produce in the stores is sometimes difficult to find. Sad that this happens, but it is true so it makes it a challenge at times.

There are so many nutritional things out there from Green Drink Mixes to Juice Plus to NingXia Red to Healthy Chocolate and so many other things. I know all these places have their research and their success stories and so on and so forth. I'm happy for them. However, when you have to start spending considerable money each month on a processed product that you can only buy from certain places or through some Multilevel Marketing (MLM) system, the questions in my mind run over each other trying to get answered! Sorry, but I'm just not into buying a product that someone claims and regurgitates the claims that it is the best thing since oxygen was discovered!

With the smoothies, I am using natural food that I can buy at my local market or I can grow on my own. I put it in a blender for a couple of minutes and drink it. That is all the processing there is. There is no heating and cooling and pressing into a pill or powder. There is no freezing or bottling and letting it sit in a warehouse or on a truck. There is no wondering what is truly in the product because I can see with my eyes and with my hands, just what is going into what I am consuming.

Even if phytochemcials are not something I specifically know about, it is not hard for me to understand how eating whole, natural and fresh fruits and vegetables is very healthy for a person. We've all been taught that we need to eat our veggies, so it is not difficult to understand how beneficial this is. If you're skeptical, than why not put it to the test? What do you have to lose? After all, I don't make any more money telling you about this if you do it or you don't do it. I'm just passing along something that I do and have had very positive benefits from.

Here are some examples of specific foods for specific diseases.

Kiwi - Helps to reverse Asthma
Avocado: Helps reverse heart disease, plaque in arteries and losing weight
Asparagus: Naturally Reverse Cancer & Detoxification
Bitter Melon: Naturally Reverse Diabetes and Improve Blood Sugar
Reishi: For Reversing Heart Disease, Chest Pains, Asthma & Depression
Maca: For Energy, Better Sex, Menopause, Fertility

Take a moment to look at Jeff's website along with the videos that he has put up on YouTube. It will explain much more and will give you further insight into the healing smoothies. If you want to get the smoothie formula book that I use, see the image link below to purchase this on Amazon.


Further Reading
1) Food Based Healing And Smoothies
2) Smoothies, A Year Later
3) Qi Revolution - Jeff Primack
4) Food Based Healing Introduction

Blog Post & Images (c) 2/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Oprah And The Vegan Challenge Part 2

This is part 2 of a two part series. For the complete post, please read Part 1, Oprah And The Vegan Challenge.

In the past couple of years, my eating habits have drastically changed. At one time in my life, I would have never entertained the idea of eating a diet high in vegetables. For one, I thought that there was not enough protein in a diet such as this to fully sustain life. However, I have found out that there are ways to create vegetarian dishes that have adequate protein.

Also, I thought that if I only had vegetables to eat, that the taste would be boring, bland and not filling. I have since learned that the more vegetables I eat, the more my overall tastes improve and if the vegetarian dish is prepared right, it is more than enough for me to eat and fill myself up.

A few years ago, we had done a cleanse a few times called Inner Klean and one of the things I noticed was that I really did feel better after completing it. The biggest thing I noticed was that vegetables and food in general had a much better taste. In our country, we kill our taste buds with the sugar we eat, the sodas we drink and all the junk food we consume. On top of that, we are not fully in touch with our bodies and so we really have dulled our sense of taste.

From there, we started a couple of years ago doing Healing Smoothies that I heard about through the QiGong Seminars with Jeff Primack. I'm glad we did because I feel much better in life and I feel that I get a boost first thing in the morning when I have my smoothie. They have become a way of life for us and we very seldom go a day without having our smoothie. I believe they are helping me change the way food tastes for me and what I desire to eat. Plus, there is no better way to eat vegetables than to eat them raw and whole, not throwing away the skins or seeds which hold the good stuff.

After this point, I began to notice how milk caused a lot of physical distress for me. I have always liked milk and ice cream but physically I would feel awful after eating it. So as I began to quit drinking milk, eating ice cream and slowing down on how much cheese I ate. With time, I noticed that my digestive system was much more at ease. In addition to this, I noticed that my aversion to onions and garlic started to lessen a bit. So instead of getting violently ill after eating minute amounts of garlic and onion, I would be able to deal with the stomach discomfort by drinking some extra orange juice if needed. Now, I have replaced milk with Almond Milk for the most part while occasionally using some milk to cook with. However, the amount of regular milk I consume is almost next to none. I feel so much better that it helps make up for my desire to have ice cream and things like chocolate milk. Cheese is still something I cannot fully get away from because I love the taste of it so much.

Several months ago, some friends of ours came down and we managed to go the entire week eating vegetarian. I really didn't think we could do it but was surprised at just how easy it was. From there, I purchased the Vegetarian Family Cookbook which has helped me learn to prepare vegetarian dishes that are easy and delicious. Some of the vegetarian recipes in the world are so complicated that I have no idea where to find the ingredients, let alone prepare them. This cookbook makes it easy and I love it for that!

Right now, I'm not sure if I will ever fully be a vegetarian. I do like meat and the taste of it but much of that is even changing. However, when I do eat meat, the quantity is much less than I once consumed. At one time, I never would have thought that I would be enjoying veggie burgers or veggie dishes along with some of the stuff I now eat. Yet, I have made that transition slowly and in a pace that works for my body, while I am listening to my body.

I still have a strong weakness towards sugar and chocolate which is something I struggle with. There are things that I am doing to help balance that but so far, it is an epic battle that rages within me. I hardly drink sodas unless I am eating out somewhere. Most of the time, I drink several glasses of water water each day. If I fail to drink enough water in a day, my body and mind really feel sluggish. Fried food has been one I have stayed away from for many years and I still don't desire it much at all. Ground Beef is one of the things I no longer enjoy and so we often use the vegetarian crumbles for dishes. I could go on and on about the things that have changed.

The most important part is to get to know your body inside and out first! By making changes to your life through being body centered and focused, it will give you something to really ground your life in and empower yourself. As you listen to your body and allow your body to change at its own pace, the benefits of anything you do will come back many times over. All too often, we do not really stop and listen to our bodies or get to know them and yet we make decisions for them.

Whatever you do, make the decisions that you feel are right for you and check in with your body. Looking back, I can see the logical progression of the changes within me. Of course, if we are standing still in our lives and going through our daily routines as if this is normal, than we need to stop and evaluate life because we are missing so much. I constantly am challenging myself and often some feel that I need to fully "move on" or "let go" of things but if we are not evolving and growing, are we truly being human? I strive to be all that I can be and that for me, means going in and challenging every part of my body, mind and soul.


For Further Reading:
1) The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas
2) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 1 (posted 2/8/11)
3) Oprah.com Episode - Vegan Challenge
4) Food Based Healing Smoothies



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/7/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Oprah And The Vegan Challenge Part 1

I saw the episode of Oprah about the Vegan challenge to her entire staff on February 1, 2010. Actually a friend of mine that works for Cargill let me know that it was coming up. I must say, I felt it was very well balanced. Since I come from both sides of this issue and have experiences that most people do not, the show seemed like an open exchange of ideas. I do realize that no matter what is done or said, people on both sides are not always understanding of each other.

People who are vegetarian and vegan, most of the time feel that eating animals is ethically wrong. On the other side, those that produce animals for consumption feel that this is a valid part of the cycle of life and that without them, the world would go hungry. These are valid arguments on both sides. For me, I try to find balance. Of course, feel free to leave your comments, just keep them respectful. If they are attacking or negative, they will not get published. I'm very lenient about comments but I don't tolerate attacks or disrespect.

Raising animals or crops for production is not an easy thing. If anyone out there thinks it is, spend a day with a farmer and you'll quickly understand just how hard the work is. It is not something one decides today that they will be a farmer and start doing it. It is either in your blood or not because farming is not for most of the people in our country. Most would not last a week working on a farm. I'm not saying that too be harsh but it is a reality.

In addition to that, I often hear people say that farmers make too much money but again, most of the profit margins are so narrow that one tiny mishap or market fluctuation or legislative change could wipe out a farming operation. Even an environmental impact such as weather changes or storms could impact the health of the animals to the point where the entire farm could be lost. Making a profit is difficult in the best of years and almost impossible in the worst of years.

One of the things I see is just how difficult it is to find adequate supplies of vegetables and non meat products in the area I live in. Sometimes finding a fresh supply of vegetables is difficult and when I look at the amount of space in the local area grocery stores devoted to produce, it is relatively small compared to the junk type food that most people purchase. Of course we can drive 40 miles and buy stuff at organic markets but honestly, that gets way too expensive. I am trying to grow some vegetables during the summer but sometimes weather, bugs and time inhibits those ambitions.

I cannot help but think that if it is that difficult for me to buy good quality vegetables in my area, how would we feed the entire world if there were no meat products. If everyone had large gardens like they once did, I could believe that is a more likely possibility but to depend upon our food system to produce it for everyone, is just not realistic and feasible.

In addition, if vegetables became in high demand, the prices would surely rise. It is the law of supply and demand. There are many people in this world and in our country who care barely buy enough food to feed their family. Most of us never see this and we think that the people who are like that are just on food stamps. However, there are many that never get any assistance whatsoever and yet they struggle to feed themselves and their family. Most of us are very blind when it comes to this taking place right before our eyes.

I know first hand what it is like to go to bed hungry and go to school hungry as a kid. Sometimes all we had to eat was popcorn for a meal or sometimes a can of vegetables was all we had to feed a family of five. When I think back to the small amount of food we had to eat growing up, especially when I was just a few years old, I can hardly believe I made it this far in life. Even at one point in college, I was struggling during the summer and all I could afford to eat was some bread, jello, peanut butter and jelly. That's about it but yet no one around me knew or cared how badly I had it. It was a difficult month to get through.

In my mind, I feel a balance is more important than rigid beliefs from either side. However, I try to respect each side even though I don't understand the rigid beliefs. Each person of course has to make their own choices for what is right for them. As long as that person respects others who feel differently, than that brings balance into life.

Unfortunately, all too often, I have been met with gasps by people standing right in front of me as they find out that I eat meat. Because I'm a massage therapist and part of alternative medicine, it is often believed that I have to be a vegetarian in order to be an enlightened individual. Again, I really have no place with the rigid thinking and beliefs. If I wanted that, I would be attending the church that I grew up in. There is so much more to life than rigid thinking.

We all have so much to contribute to society and humanity that we need to focus more on helping each other learn rather than judging each other. This goes for both sides on this issue. If we stand opposed, how will the other side ever come to understand what it is that we feel is important. If we stand opposed, how will that help further the goals and ideals you find important in your life. We need to work together, listen with compassion and love unconditionally.

*****
Come back tomorrow for more on how I have actually been switching my eating habits and although I would not classify myself as a vegetarian, I am slowly shifting that direction.

Part 2, Oprah And The Vegan Challenge
*****


For Further Reading:
1) The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas
2) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 2 (2/9/11)
3) Oprah.com Episode - Vegan Challenge
4) Food Based Healing Smoothies





Blog Post & Images (c) 2/5/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Eat Healthy, Live Longer!

While surfing the internet news sites, I came across an article that links to aralifestyle.com . First thing you should know is that this is a site who's articles are sponsored by their advertisers. They state this in their "about us" page.

While they are free to do this, you have to take what is printed on their pages with some care. I can in no way validate the claims they make but any time an advertiser is sponsoring some article that is written, you have to evaluate what you are reading.

With that being said, there is some good information contained within the following article: The Secret To Looking Younger By Slowing Aging.

Here are some highlights from the article:

1) People who live longer eat better and generally eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables

2) The secret is in the antioxidants that help the body fight off free radicals

3) Free radicals happen when an electron is lost from an atom because of stress, toxins or normal metabolism.

4) Over times there can be decreased energy, memory loss, heart problems, weakened immune system and a short life span.

5) Antioxidants help restore the electrons to the cells.

6) In a study published May 5, 2005 in the journal, Science, Dr. Peter Rabinovitch at the University of Washington found that mice that produce high levels of antioxidants live 20% longer and have less age related problems.

7) Antioxidants are primarily in fruits and vegetables. Some experts suggest that we should be eating 10 servings a day instead of what the USDA Guidelines states. Of course, if you follow some of the examples on the USDA Guideline chart in the link referenced previously, you may not be any better off. Processed foods are not the same as whole foods.

While this article goes on to promote a product that you can buy, I will not be discussing that here. Personally, I'm not a big believer in products that you buy to make yourself healthy. Most of the things in these commercial products can be done right in your own home and with ingredients you buy in the store. There is no need to pay excessive amounts of profit to companies with claims a mile long that I feel are had to validate.

The one thing we do in our house is whole food smoothies with fruits and vegetables. I learned about this while at a Qigong seminar with Jeff Primack in Orlando, Florida. Outside of the more expensive Blendtech blender, we buy all the ingredients at our local supermarket. There is no special mix to buy. We've been doing this for over a year now and enjoy drinking our smoothies in the morning. To me, doing it in the way this is done is the best thing we can do for our long term health. For more information on this, please check out the following blog posts

1) Food Based Healing Smoothies

2) Smoothies, A Year Later



*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

From The Kitchen

Couscous Veggie Delight
© 12/15/08 Don Shetterly

A great vegetable and couscous dish.

Needed:
Large Glass Baking Dish
1 Box Couscous
2 10oz Cans of Cream Of Celery Soup (more or less to your liking)
2 (15oz) Cans Black Eyed Peas
6 oz container of Spicy Alfalfa & Radish Sprouts
11 oz Diced Squash
3 Medium Sized tomatoes
1 Green Pepper
Half of Celery Stalk
1 Head of Broccoli
1 Head of Cauliflower
2 Cups Cheddar Cheese


Directions
1. Cut up all vegetables (Cauliflower, Broccoli, Celery, Pepper, and Squash) and steam until softened.
2. Prepare couscous as directed on the box
3. Layer couscous in the bottom of the dish
4. Drain black eyed peas and layer over the top of the couscous
5. Dice tomatoes and layer on top of the black eyed peas
6. Spread the alfalfa sprouts on top of the tomatoes
7. Spread the Cream Of Celery Soup on top of the Alfalfa Sprouts
8. Spread steamed vegetables on top of the soup
9. Place the cheese on the top and spread out evenly
10. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.


Note:
You could substitute about any vegetables that you like for any of these. This just happened to be what was available and things that we liked.

This recipe in these quantities is enough for a baking dish the size of 4 Liters. Adjust accordingly to your needs or freeze the leftovers.


Servings: Makes probably at least 8 servings.