Welcome to Fresh Picks! August 2009, Issue #2
This is the newsletter for MarlaMeridith.com where I share fresh ideas to enhance and inspire our clean, healthy lifestyles.
Fresh Recipes: The recipe list is growing! In the past few weeks I have added a variety of great, clean eats from sweet to savory. The new posts include:
Marla’s “Cream Pie” Yogurt Parfait
These are easy, healthy, yummy recipes that require as few ingredients as possible. When we choose fresh, unprocessed ingredients the flavors present themselves better, so we need fewer ingredients!
Fresh Ingredient: Shady Maple Farms Maple Butter. This is pure, clean, creamy, decadent sweetness! A little goes a long way. You can add it to oatmeal, smear in a peanut butter sandwich, add it as the sweet layer to Marla’s Stuffed French Toast, add it to a protein shake or load up a spoon and savor each and every little lick! The lowest price I found was on-line at www.amazon.com.
Fresh Tips: Sprinkles! (no not the cupcakes!) It is always fun to sprinkle a little of this or that onto your meal. A little sprinkle goes a long way as far as flavor goes. Usually we reach for salt. There are so many other, creative ways to season your food without adding any calories. You can try dried spices or spice blends. Also, a little Parmesan or Romano goes a long way and gives a huge flavor boost with minimal calories. You can also add Japanese Rice Seasoning (Furikake) or Toasted Sesame (Gomashio) “sprinkles.”
Freshy Tip for the Kids: Healthy kid sprinkles! My kids love “sprinkles” of all sorts. They enjoy having interaction with their food, other than just putting it in their mouths. These little seasoning embellishments help to get them interested in their food! I actually have my kids convinced them that ground flaxseeds are sprinkles. (They also believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy!)
Put your sprinkle ingredient in a small bowl or shaker and let them sprinkle away. They can sprinkle ground flaxseed, cinnamon or ground ginger on their morning oatmeal or cereal. For lunch and dinner give them some shredded cheese, grated Parmesan or Romano, maybe even a dried spice like thyme or cilantro??? You will be amazed with how much they love being in control over this playful addition of flavor.
Fresh Online Marketplace: Pacific Mercantile Company If you can’t find the asian seasonings mentioned in The Rice Bowl recipe in your local market, you can search online at this market. Be very mindful of the ingredients in these seasonings. They often have MSG and artificial flavors. Always read labels and ask questions if you phone in your order.
Fresh Wears: Francie-Pants are truly genius!
Why is it that my daughter always practices her cartwheels in front of loads of strangers at places like outside my gym or maybe the grocery store??? Yes, it is great to have an audience, but along with the acrobatics comes waaayyy too much exposure of her undergarments. Hmmmmm, not cool.
Thankfully Francie-Pants has come to the rescue with a super hip, comfortable alternative to the standard “expose everything panty.” These cute silky, lightweight, “shorts” panties have a lot of coverage and come in fabulous print designs.
They fit really well without bunching and riding into all of those cartwheelin’ places. Yours truly is getting some pairs of these girlie undershorts for myself and my daughter…….the question is which prints to choose as there is a large tempting selection! Francie-pants are a great way for your little gal to have some discreet style under those uniforms that some will be wearing come fall!
Fresh Thought: Be mindful of each bite you put in your mouth. Take the time to chew your food. You will find you taste the flavors more and your overall satisfaction at the end of your meal will be increased. It is said that the slower we eat and the more we chew our food the better it is for digestion. Also, I have read multiple times that we actually consume fewer calories when we take the time to be mindful with each bite.
Fresh Read: Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
I came across this book this past winter in Telluride, CO. Heidi is an amazing natural foods cook and a genius photographer. Her style beams out of every photo and recipe selection. Her cookbook gives loads of definitions and insight into natural foods. 101 Cookbooks is vegetarian but you can always pair the recipes with your favorite meat, poultry or seafood selection if you wish. If you can’t make it to the gem of a bookstore Between the Covers in Telluride, you can order this book at www.amazon.com.
Fresh Blog: 101 Cookbooks
This blog is written by the above mentioned cookbook author extraordinaire Heidi Swanson. It showcases her travels, photography and of course recipes. She updates posts often (hmmmm, I don’t think she has kids, thus giving loads of time to commit to writing!)
Heidi has a clean, fresh take on life with a mindful eye and palate! Her blog and recipes are the perfect complement the MarlaMeridith.com lifestyle. Heidi has created a huge community that share her visions, let’s just say she is the perfect profile of where I would love to take my MarlaMeridith.com blog!
Fresh Clicks: Peace, Love and Momminess
For all of you local Orange County mommas! You will enjoy this well thought out, super fun website. “Peace, Love and Momminess is a lifestyle, an online magazine and an e-boutique line. It’s a space for Moms seeking more inspiration and less stress, more balance and less chaos, more joy and less pressure.”
Ahhhhhhh………Summer! It has been a great one. Wishing you all the best for the month of August!
Please Note: Please use your own judgement or the advice of your doctor to decide which ingredients and products are appropriate for you and you family. MarlaMeridith.com does not accept any responsibility for injury sustained as a result of following the advice or suggestions contained within the content of this blog.
Tnx for nice blog. It’s really interesting, I’m continue to read your blog and waitning for your next posts =).