Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Atria Del Sol National Nutrition Month Seminar

We had a great time hanging with our friends at the Del Sol Community today. Merrily & Jane provided a nutrition talk highlighting the first 3 of the Natural Way steps. Denise, Director of Food Services, provided us with a fantastic lunch spread that was enjoyed by all.

(Raw) Quinoa Tabouli Salad

Quinoa

2 cups white quinoa, rinsed well
4 scant cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Rinse Quinoa & drain. Bring the quinoa, water and salt to a boil in a large thick-bottomed pot. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa opens up revealing a little spiral and is soft and pleasant to chew. If there is any remaining liquid at this point, drain it off.. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool.

Optional RAW Quinoa directions

To sprout the seeds, soak quinoa for overnight or at least like 4 hours. drain soak water and let sprout for several hours. rinse if sprouting longer than 3 hours. tails should grow pretty quick. it’s ready when tails sprout.

Tabouli Salad

2 cups Quinoa
1/2 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced mint leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1 tomato, diced
1 cucumber, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste
Pinch allspice

Add the Quinoa, chopped vegetables & herbs and toss to mix. Combine Olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and allspice and add to the mix. Serve & enjoy.


Red Pepper Hummus

2 red bell peppers

1 tablespoon Mary-Ann'sOrganic Garlic Salt

3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 15oz can drained)

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)

2 tablespoons cummin

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt & black pepper

Roast the Red peppers & garlic, turning occasionally in a pot on the stove, on the grill, or in the oven until completely charred about 10 minutes.

Place the garlic, peppers, chickpeas and lemon juice in a food processor or blender process until smooth. Add the tahini sauce, and cumin. Process until smooth. (Tahini sauce will thicken the mixture.) Season to taste w/salt & pepper. Set aside (serve at room temperature).

Grilled Vegetable Pitas

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 roasted garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ tablespoon chopped fresh mint, or 2 teaspoons dried

1 medium size eggplant peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick

1 sliced zuchinni

1 onion sliced

1 green bell pepper sliced

1 yellow bell pepper sliced

1 orange bell pepper sliced

4 pita pockets

Prepare a medium hot fire in the grill with a lightly oiled vegetable grill rack in place.

Combine the olive oil, garlic, and mint in a small bowl. Brush on the eggplant. Combine the zucchini, onion and pepper in a large bowl. Add the remaining live oil mixture and toss to coat. Cut the pitas in half to form 2 pockets and wrap in foil. Grill the vegetables turning occasionally until tender and grill marked 10 to 15 minutes for the eggplant slices 8 to 10 minutes for the zucchinin, onion and pepper. Warm the pitas off to the side of the grill turning occasionally

Serve the warmed pitas hummus and grilled vegetables at the table and allow diners to assemble their own sandwiches.

Baked Apples

4 apples

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts

¼ cup Agave Nectar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ Raisins or currents

1 tablespoons butter


1 Preheat oven to 375

2 Wash & slice apples removing core & seeds. Keep the skins on.

3 Place sliced apples in a baking dish

4 Combine the walnuts, raisins Agave Nectar & cinnamon in a small bowl & mix well. Pour the mixture over the apples and coat well (toss apples in mixture).

5 Dot the baking dish with pieces of butter

6 Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until apples are tender.

Optional

2. Wash and cut apples in half lengthwise.

3 Using spoon, remove and discard cores, making at least a 1-inch indentation in each apple half.

4 Arrange apple halves, cut sides up in baking dish. If needed, cut thin slice off bottoms to keep halves from tipping.

5 Fill each apple half evenly with raisins mixture. Dot with butter.

Friday, March 13, 2009

March is National Nutrition Month

***FREE LUNCH***GREAT INFO***

On Wednesday, March 18 at 1 pm, Merrily and I will be giving a seminar in honor of National Nutrition Month at Atria Del Sol, a senior living community.

This is a great opportunity to be freshly inspired to eat well and stay connected to the Natural Way community.

Please bring any seniors in your life, or any older children you would like to get inspired about healthy eating! We will cover conditions such as sugar cravings, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, GERD, IBS and Crohn's disease.

Here's the info:

Atria Del Sol
23792 Marguerite Parkway
Mission Viejo, CA
Ph. 949-458-1176

Friday, March 6, 2009

Womens Wellness & Health Retreat

Come and rediscover your passion for living! Join best selling author, Mary-Ann Shearer, for two days of relaxation, restoration, and inspiration. Embrace nature, partake in gentle adventures and spend quality time in reflection.


This retreat is located at the “Resting Place;” a lovely cabin provided for alluring getaways nestled in the tranquil mountains near Lake Arrowhead. It is the ideal setting for a weekend focused on health and wellness.


Spend two nights and two days engaged in health seminars, bonding with like-minded women while taking, walks, hiking, stretching and learning Natural Way gourmet food techniques. Relax, replenish, and reconnect to what matters most.

Package includes:

Morning Devotions/Inspirational Sharing

2 Nights Accommodations

Mind/Body Fitness Instructions w/Certified Pilates Trainer

Life-changing Cooking Demonstrations by Mary-Ann Shearer

Seminars Topics: Overcoming Depression & Mental Issues, Proper Hormonal Balance, Graceful Aging, Perfect Weight & Taking Control Over Your Life’s choices

Personal Health Screenings with Mary-Ann for an additional cost of $50.00

Massages with Isabella - $45.00/hour

You will come away from this weekend empowered with your choices for healthy living, increased energy levels and the peace of mind to live out the Natural Way lifestyle effortlessly.

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity for a relaxing and life-changing getaway!


Register Now! Retreat limited to 12 women.

Registration due by April 11th, $350 per person.

After April 11th, $375 per person.


For Reservations please sign up online at www.cestnaturelfoods.com

Contact information: Jane Pamphile, 949-230-4924, jane@cestnaturelfoods.com

Merrily Bright, 949-939-9344, merrilybright@yahoo.com


Sunday, March 1, 2009

February 09 Cafe Update

A great evening was had by all at our February Natural Way Cafe! Our monthly theme was breakfast so breakfast we did enjoy.

Our goal was to gather as many ideas for incorporating 1 fruit meal a day (and some tasty alternatives that work as treats).

As with all our events we began w/a "Raw Before Cooked" item (which gave us the leeway to enjoy & more easily digest a cooked meal). Here is a list of items enjoyed and suggestions to enjoy

-Cut up Apples (fruit) dipped in Cashew Cream dip
-Bowl of seasonal fruit topped w/Cashews or Cashew Cream
-Brown Rice Cereal served w/Banana Milk
-Natural Way Yogurt (seasonal fruit)
-Smoothie Popsicles
-Berries & Cream or
-Berries & Cashew Cream (get your protein)
-Smoothies

Optional Breakfast Items
-Vegan & Gluten Free French Toast topped w/maple syrup or fruit syrup or fresh fruit
-Breakfast Quinoa
-Tofu Scramble
-Buckwheat Pancakes
-Gluten free (& Vegan optional)Banana Bread (blueberry, cranberry, pumpkin...)
-Gluten free (& Vegan optional) Muffins
-Home Style Potatoes

Trying to Avoid Caffeine?

Coffee/Tea Substitutes
-Teeccino (some people cut it w/half coffee - weaning process)
-Roma - Barley Coffee
-Fresh Ginger in hot water
-Fresh Mint leaves in hot water
-Fresh Berries in hot water

Recipes for some of our items enjoyed!

Breakfast Quinoa (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking, pg27, O'Brien)
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1/2 cup oats or quinoa flakes
1/2 cup chopped peaches
2 tablespoons blackstrap molases or agave nectar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup chopped dates, raisins, or currants

Place the quinoa in a saucepan w/the water & bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until done, about 10 minutes. Add the oats or quinoa flakes, peaches, molasses, chopped nuts, and chopped dates, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Serve hot.

French Toast Sticks (see November 1, 2008 post)

Banana Milk
1 banana
Water (start off with a 1/2 cup)
optional 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or 1/2 Vanilla Bean

Place all ingredients in the blender. Add water as needed for desired consistency.


Natural Way Yogurt
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup fresh fruit
Agave Nectar (add till desired sweetness)

Place all ingredients in the blender until smooth. Chill the mix in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours before serving.


Cashew Cream Topping (Mary-Ann's Recipe Book 1, pg 26, Shearer)
1 cup cashew nuts
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp raw honey
pinch of nutmeg

Grind the cashew nuts to a fine powder in a food processor/blender. Transfer to a bowl & add the rest of the ingredients. Use as a dip for acid fruit or dilute w/filtered water to make a shake & drink slowly.

Natural Way Cafes are held on the last Saturday of every month at 5:30pm.