Recipe Weekend: Live, Eat, Cook, Healthy by Rachel Khanna

Continuing our 90 Day Blogger Challenge, 

I wanted to share a book, that offers some wonderful advice for a healthier living!

Synopsis: Beautifully rendered with gorgeous food photography from all over the world, Live, Eat, Cook Healthy takes a personal approach to nutrition for balanced living. It explains how to assess your lifestyle and eating habits, and identify whole foods to feed your body what it truly needs.

More than 130 recipes include traditional cuisine of France, India, South Asia and the Mediterranean; Rachel travels the globe, discovering food markets and the dietary benefits of food from cultures around the world. Recipes—from breakfast to desserts—include French Soupe au Pistou; Chickpea and Vegetable Tagine; Sticky Date Cake; and Singaporean Laksa Noodles.


Review: While not actually sent the whole book for review, I received enough to be able to make a review of the book and recommend it! If you are looking to make changes this year in how and what you eat, for a healthier living, Rachel has more than enough tips, ideas and recipes to get you started!


To Rachel, a Blanced Life, is one that is aware- about the foods you need, that are specific to you, about your environment, and the needs of those who rely on you. She gives you info on how to assess your lifestyle and eating, and how to feed your body what it actually needs, versus what you are being 'told' to eat. There are 2 main areas where we all have problems:

1. 70% of the calories in the American diet are from processed foods. Think about that for a minute- 70%.  And we wonder why as a society we are so unhealthy? From processed breakfast cereals to highly refined grains in bread, pasta and rice, we are surrounded with foods that are no longer “real”, that have NO nutritional value, and deplete our body of important nutrients, that we need. We need to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, wild-caught fish, free-range poultry and eggs, and grass-fed meats. 
2. Besides processed foods, sugar has become so refined, it has no nutrients and depletes the body of nutrients, because it is so hard to digest.And if you go check the labels of most processed foods, you will be amazed at HOW much sugar is in them! Did you know that sugar (as well as  white flour, pasta and rice) causes blood sugar levels to rise very rapidly, giving you bursts of energy that are quickly depleted and need to be replenished with more sugar? It's a never ending cycle that can lead to diabetes or hypoglycemia, because the pancreas becomes unable to regulate insulin levels.

Rachel provides an excellent chart of herbs and spices that actually HELP our bodies heal and be strong! Did you know that cayenne pepper (a staple in Cajun cooking) helps stimulate blood flow? or that Cinnamon aids in insulin regulation and blood clotting? How about parsley? A great source of Vitamin C, it is also a diuretic and helps digestive issues as well! 

These types of things are what Rachel says is knowledge- about what we are putting in our bodies, and if it helps, or hurts them. If you want to make healthy changes, check out this book for some great info and ideas on how to do so.

This is one that is popular with her kids, and perfect for a busy mom to make and have for her kids to eat during the week! In fact, assembling the ingredients is harder than making the muffins! And most of the ingredients are available at most grocery stores nowadays- just check the organic/gluten free area for the almond flour and cane sugar.


Oatmeal Muffins with Berries

Ingredients:

2-1/3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup Sucanat or organic cane sugar
1/2 cup maple sugar
2 Tbsp. oat bran
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup hot (boiling) water
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries,cranberries, raspberries or blackberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter (or line with paper liners) 16 muffin cups.
2. Combine oats, almond flour, walnuts, Sucanat, maple sugar, oat bran, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
3. Stir in buttermilk, butter, egg, and vanilla just until blended, and then stir in boiling water.
4. Fold in berries.
5. Pour batter into muffin pan, filling the cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
6. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins to the rack to cool completely.

About the Author:  With a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Columbia University, Rachel subsequently completed a Diploma in Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. She then opened an organic catering business, Tiffin Organic Dinner Delivery Service,  in Greenwich Connecticut. Continuing her education, she received training as a Health Counselor at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and certification in Food Therapy at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York. Rachel says she became a health counselor to fulfill hergrowing passion of working with children and families, to improve their health and to make a positive impact on their lives, perhaps a result of raising four children of her own.You can find out more about Rachel at www.liveeatcookhealthy.com


Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book preview, free of charge, from Booksparks PR, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it


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