This has become one of my favorite salads that is like a meal on it’s own.
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah)—a tiny little seed with an ancient history—packs a big nutritional punch: It’s high in protein and nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties, which is likely why it sustained people in South America’s Andes mountains (where quinoa grows best) for so long. Quinoa has a mild, slightly vegetal flavor and cooks up fluffy, like couscous, but is still slightly crunchy. In this recipe we mix it up with healthy greens, nuts and a bit of dried fruit for a fulfilling and nourishing salad that will make a perfect lunch.
Ingredients
1 cup cooked quinoa (see directions on package). You can also use a mix of sprouted brown rice.
½ cup each of the following: chopped kale, broccoli, cabbage, grated carrot (optional).
Add to your liking about ¼ cup of roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, sundried tomatoes, chopped kalamata olives.
Preparation
1. Using fine-mesh sieve, rinse quinoa well (if the quinoa isn’t pre-rinsed). In small saucepan, combine quinoa with 1-3/4 cups water or chicken/veggie stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is translucent and all of the water has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove pan from heat; with fork, fluff quinoa. Let cool slightly. Gently stir in cranberries.
3. Mix into a large bowl all ingredients together.
4. For the vinaigrette, whisk together orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice and ginger. In thin steady stream, gradually whisk in oil. Whisk in salt an pepper.
5. Gently toss salad with vinaigrette until well coated. Top with shredded cheese of your choice.
Citrus Ginger Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp (15 mL) grated orange zest
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh orange juice
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp (5 mL) grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch each course sea salt and pepper
Of course this vinaigrette is only a suggestion – one of many. Lemon poppyseed and sesame ginger are also excellent. Adding blueberries is nice too, especially in summer.
Add corn & canned, rinsed black beans for another version
Do you have a favorite Quinoa Salad Recipe you’d like to share?
Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.
Love – a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. – unknown
Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart. ~Kay KnudsenDon’t forget to eat lots of chocolate.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet – Romeo and Juliet ( Juliet argues that the names of things do not matter, only what things “are”).
Product Review – Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream
I’ve used the cleansing milk and now I’m addicted to this product. It smells like……roses!
Soothes and protects
A rich, luxurious daily moisturizer. Soothing roseingredients nurture and renew sensitive, dry and weather-damaged skin. Protects skin against dryness and soothes red, irritated skin and couperose.
Protects the delicate outer layer of the skin against dryness and irritation
Avocado oil with extracts of rose petal and rose hip soothe and renew red, irritated, sensitive skin
Seals in moisture to help prevent dryness
Thirty rose flowers go into each tube of Rose Day Cream.
Used as directed, Rose Day Cream lasts approximatley 3 months
Dr. Hauschka has been in existence since 1967 and has gained an impressive celebrity following, including Julia Roberts, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Jack Nicholson, and now The Girl who would be King.
Hollywood Tips you want to know:
Actress Julia Roberts, plagued like many of her colleagues by stressed skin due to having to constantly apply and remove make-up, discovered Dr. Hauschka’s Rose Cream in her make-up artist’s cosmetics case. She swears by the cream because it stimulates the skin’s own resources and does not cause allergies. When Julia Roberts was asked, yet again, at a press conference what was behind her radiant complexion, she whispered into the microphone: ”Dr. Hauschka.” And soon Cate Blanchett was bathing in Dr. Hauschka’s lavender bath oil, Madonna underwent a two-hour Dr. Hauschka treatment in the chic New York Sanctuary Spa, and the whole world wanted the rose cream. At Sephora in New York, it is to be found right next to the Kiehl products.
The special thing: Most of the medicinal plants used are not only grown under strict organic conditions in the company’s own garden, they are also processed according to an 80-year-old recipe which respects nature’s rhythm: light and dark, movement and rest, heat and cold.
Shhhhh….Here is a short list (so I’m told) of who uses what:
Stars that love the entire Dr.Hauschka line include:
Annette Bening
Elle Macpherson
Julia Roberts
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Naomi Watts
Rebecca Romijn
Robert Downey Jr
Other celebs covet particular products. They include:
Celebrity / Product
Amy Poehler – Lavender Body Oil
Brad Pitt – Lip Care Stick
Chloe Sevigny – Neem Hair Oil
Jennifer Aniston – Moisturizing Day Cream
Katie Holmes – Cleansing Cream / Facial Toner
Keri Russell – Neem Hair Oil
Kerry Washington – Rejuvenating Mask
Kirsten Dunst – Blackthorn Body Oil
Madonna – Rose Day Cream / Facial Toner
Martha Stewart – Regenerating ProductsNicole Ritchie – Neem Hair OilNicole Kidman – Neem Hair Oil / Rose Day Cream
Nora Ephron – Lemon Bath
Rachel Hunter – Normalizing Day Oil
Rachel McAdams – Rose Day Cream
Rosie O’Donnell – Rose Day Cream
Vivienne Tam (designer) – Revitalizing Eye Cream
How About You – Have you tried any of these products? If so, which do you personally recommend?
A perfect Valentine’s Day treat with a balance of sweet & salty in very bite. If you love a great chewy chocolate chip cookie then this recipe isfor you.
This is better than the average chocolate chip cookie recipe because of a few changes to basic ingredients. The sugars are a combo of organic brown, *coconut and cane. Usually I don’t add any nuts but this time I added some chopped macadamia nuts for deliciously added crunch. Then some extra vanilla in the form of pure vanilla bean paste and sprinkled the tops of each cookie with lavender sea salt just before baking (but any sea salt is good). My hand mixer wasn’t working properly which resulted in having to manually mix most of the ingredients….which turned out surprisingly good (as over mixing is not recommended especially when adding dry ingredients).
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature (try using one stick of unsalted & one salted).
1 cup sugar (I like using a combo of organic cane and coconut sugar). *Coconut sugar is more nutritious and lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar.
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ tsp pure vanilla bean extract (optional)
2 large eggs
2 cups of chocolate chips or chunks (try using a combo of the best quality you can find of bittersweet, milk, semi–sweet & white). *I drizzled some melted dark chocolate over top for added punch (optional).
Go Nuts: ½ – 1 cup (depending on how much you like nuts) of finely chopped walnuts, pecans or *macadamia. (optional)
Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling on top.
Directions
Center one of the racks in the oven; preheat to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Working with a stand mixor (preferable fitted with a paddle attachment) or hand mixor in a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed for about 3 minutes until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Reduce mixer to low; add dry ingredients in three portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated (don’t overmix). By hand or with rubber spatula mix in chocolate and nuts. Spoon dough in slightly rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake cookies rotating sheets and switching position from top to bottom at the midway point (about 8-10 minutes is halfway), or until they are brown and the edges are golden in the center. They may still be a little soft in the center, and that’s fine. Remove from oven and allow cookies to rest 1 minute, then carefully transfer them to racks or cookie tray to cool, using a wide metal spatula. Repeat with remaining dough, cooling baking sheets between batches.
The cookies can be kept in a sealed container for about 4 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to two months.
TIPS:
1) all recipes call for unsalted butter at room temperature. I keep the butter cold in the fridge until a short time before mixing and cut it into little cubes. Apparently Mrs. Fields makes her cookies like that so now I do too.
2) Rest dough before baking by leaving batter in the fridge for up to 24 hours. It allows the flavors to meld and the sugars to become more like molasses. You can also freeze half or all of the batter.
3) Use a lower temperature and leave them cook a bit longer than recipe calls for (if it calls for 375F, use 350F. If it calls for 350F, use 325F).
4) Never place your batter on a warm cookie sheet. Instead, let it cool between batches. A hot sheet causes the dough to melt before it goes into the oven, which tends to uneven baking, compromising the texture.
5) If your cookies are a little too crispy you can always put a piece of bread in the cookie tin – this will help soften them.
An Authentic Chinese New Year Sky Lantern Festival was held at Spanish Banks, Vancouver on Friday, February 7th.
Images
In parts of Asia, the festival is typically celebrated on the 15th (last) day of the Chinese New Year period to mark the end of the holiday.
Some of the lanterns are works of art, in the shapes of animals or painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legends and history.
According to one of the most common legends, the origins of the Sky Lantern Festival dates back more than 2,000 years when Chinese villagers were forced away from their homes by raiders. Village watchmen would use small “hot air balloons” as a signal to inform those who had taken refuge that their homes were now safe to return to.
Falling on February 14th, 2014, the Lantern Festival marks the last day of the Chinese New Year season. Traditionally, the Lantern Festival is a day for lovers. In the past, it was the one day of the year when a woman could come out – chaperoned, of course! – and be seen by eligible single men. In the days when women’s feet were bound, it was often the one time when she could appear in public with unbound feet. Of course, these restrictions no longer exist, but there is still a hint of romance in the air at the Lantern Festival celebrations.
These days, the mass release of the lanterns is a symbol of peace and good fortune. People are also encouraged to write messages on the lanterns and hope that their wishes come true. The largest of such celebrations is in the town of Pinxi, Taiwan (one hour away from Taipei) where millions flock to each year to release and watch the ascension of as many as 100,000 lanterns.
We have A NEW HOLIDAY! Any holiday is great but this is the second time since last year that British Columbia will observe FamilyDay (Monday, February 10th) as a statutory holiday. One of the reasons for introducing Family Day (after all we have mother’s, father’s and grandparents day) was that there was too long a gap between New Year’s Day and Good Friday which when you stop to think about it – is way too long to go without taking another day off.
I woke up one morning thinking about wolves and realized that wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack. – Jodi Picoult
I don’t care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching–they are your family.” ― Jim Butcher, Proven Guilty“There is no such thing as a “broken family.” Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.” – C. JoyBell
Family doesn’t always depend on blood. Family members can be your best friends, and best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.”
Enjoy your day whether you decide to stay home and play games or go play outside – just do it together. If you don’t live in the same city make sure to catch up by phone or skype.
If you’re feeling exhausted is it because of a low Iron count or something else? How can you be sure that you’re getting enough?
You might be surprised to learn that low iron is the most common nutritional deficiency in the U.S. Almost 10% of women are iron deficient, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Let’s look at why iron is so important to your body, what can happen if you’re not getting enough of it, and when you need to take an iron supplement.
WHY DO YOU NEED IRON?
Iron is an essential mineral. “The major reason we need it is that it helps to transport oxygen throughout the body,” says Paul Thomas, EdD, RD, a scientific consultant to the National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements.
Iron is an important component of hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to transport it throughout your body. Hemoglobin represents about two-thirds of the body’s iron. If you don’t have enough iron, your body can’t make enough healthy oxygen-carrying red blood cells. A lack of red blood cells is called iron deficiency anemia.
Without healthy red blood cells, your body can’t get enough oxygen. “If you’re not getting sufficient oxygen in the body, you’re going to become fatigued,” Thomas says. That exhaustion can affect everything from your brain function to your immune system’s ability to fight off infections. If you’re pregnant, severe iron deficiency may increase your baby’s risk of being born too early, or smaller than normal.
Iron has other important functions, too. “Iron is also necessary to maintain healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails,” says Elaine Chottiner, MD, clinical assistant professor and director of General Hematology Clinics at the University of Michigan Medical Center said in an email interview.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE IRON DEFICIENT?
“People often don’t know they have anemia until they have signs or symptoms — they appear pale or ‘sallow,’ are fatigued, or have difficulty exercising,” Chottiner says.
If you’re low in iron, you may also:
Feel short of breath
Have a fast heartbeat
Have cold hands and feet
Crave strange substances such as dirt or clay
Have brittle and spoon shaped nails or hair loss
Sores at the corner of the mouth
A sore tongue
Severe iron deficiency can cause difficulty in swallowing
HOW MUCH IRON DO YOU NEED?
How much iron you need each day depends on your age, gender, and overall health.
Infants and toddlers need more iron than adults, in general, because their bodies are growing so quickly. In childhood, boys and girls need the same amount of iron — 10 milligrams daily from ages 4 to 8, and 8 mg daily from ages 9 to 13.
Starting at adolescence, a woman’s daily iron needs increase. Women need more iron because they lose blood each month during their period. That’s why women from ages 19 to 50 need to get 18 mg of iron each day, while men the same age can get away with just 8 mg.
After menopause, a woman’s iron needs drop as her menstrual cycle ends. After a woman begins menopause, both men and women need the same amount of iron — 8 mg each day.
DO YOU NEED TO TAKE AN IRON SUPPLEMENT?
If your iron is low, eating a diet that is high in iron-rich foods such as fortified cereals, red meat, dried fruit, and beans may not be enough to give you what you need. Your doctor might recommend that you take an iron supplement.
Prenatal vitamins usually include iron, but not all prenatal vitamins contain the recommended amount. Check with your doctor before taking any supplement.
While you are taking iron supplements, your doctor should test your blood to see if your iron levels have improved.
CAN IRON SUPPLEMENTS CAUSE SIDE EFFECTS?
Iron supplements can cause side effects, usually stomach upset. Adding extra fiber to your diet can help relieve this symptom. Starting with a low dose of iron and then gradually increasing the dose to the daily recommended amount may help minimize side effects. If your iron supplements are bothering your stomach, your doctor can adjust the dose or form of iron you use. You can also try taking the supplements with food.
Getting more iron from you food– pair up foods rich in vitamin C (like broccoli) with souces of iron (chicken stir-fry for example) to boost the iron your body is able to absorb.
My preference is salmon with quinoa & veggies.Liver is a great source but I can’t stomach it anymore. My mom used to force us to eat it as kids.
How many of you take supplements?
Taken from WebMD.com
**Don’t miss listening to “Transforming Health” with host Brad King for the most evocative and informative up-to-the-minute interviews with leading health professionals – Live every Wednesday @ 12PM-PST/3PM-EST on VoiceAmerica.com – #1 internet radio station in North America.
It may sound crazy but I’m starting to realize the value of keeping a few on hand.
Preventing shoe crush – Why deteriorate the backs of your shoes by sloppily slipping your heel in? Shoe horns are great because they protect the backs of your shoes and make it easy to get into snug slip on dress shoes.
A lot of people do not appreciate how important a shoe horn is. I was one of those people until recently when I tried to slip into my old loafers without the help of my horn (which was nowhere in sight) and the heel got all crunched up. Shoe horns have been around forever and most people have one but never use it.
this one resembles a golf club
If you don’t use a shoe horn then there are two ways of putting a shoe on. 1) You can either, stick your finger in to the back and pull it on to your foot, stretching the shoe, or you can go for the worst of all options and 2) try to put your shoes on with no hands (my loafer style), sliding your feet in and crushing the counter as you do so. Both ways are going to cause damage to the counter. This is actually very serious and no good for the health of the shoe.The counter is extremely important for the structure of the whole shoe, if it is damaged and loses its stiffness then the whole shoe will lose structure and no longer fit correctly or offer good support. A firm counter supports your heel and arch and reduces over-pronation. Pronation being the flexing of the ankle. Over-pronation stresses the tissues around your ankle and foot which will lead to various foot conditions including flat feet and heel pain. Doesn’t sound too sexy does it?
Now I believe having at least one shoe horn handy by the front entrance should be mandatory and especially if you ask people to take off their shoes before entering your home.
TIPS:
Did you like going down slides as a kid? Well with a shoe horn your feet can go down a little slide every time you put your shoes on.
Gentlemen love them.
The metal ones are the best because they will last forever and have the added advantage to open your paint tins or beer bottles.
I like these elegant long versions in a fashionable color – so you can stand while putting shoes on. You can match them to your shoe color.
seen on Denman St. – Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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