Avoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read moreAvoiding the Wintertime Blues with Healthy Eating
Yes, we’re all coming out of the Thanksgiving coma just about now. Our final days of turkey and stuffing leftovers are running thin, and it’s time to start bulking up for Christmas and New Year’s meals. Don’t forget all the sweets that need baking, and the candy that needs our tending (I’ve stashed half of my kids’ Halloween goodies just to help get me through the holiday stress!). STOP THE MADNESS. With short winter days not giving us sunlight added on to the food focused stress of the holiday season, we head straight for...
read moreTis The “Sick” Season
My son came down with croup a few weeks back, and I was surprised to hear the pediatrician ask what outdoor activities we had planned for the remainder of the day*. I was prepared to keep him bundled up in his bed and away from all other family members. I still kept him away from other family members, but we had fun in the cold, crisp air that day. Since we live in a cold and snowy climate, I started thinking about another element of a healthy lifestyle – exercise (Yes, that dreaded word). Now that we have finally made a turn around...
read morePreparing for Seasons Health Greetings
We mentioned reading that teens consume 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Good grief, Charlie Brown; we’re cringing!) Rachael Kettner-Thompson responded that her kids were good about steering clear of the sugar and drinking water, not soda. That is one awesome report! I’m hoping to raise my kids in a similar fashion, but Halloween kicked us back a bit and the following slew of holidays are poised to make it worse. We have started preparing ways to regulate the sugar this season. Here’s what I like to call my Holiday Prep List. ...
read moreHealthy Eating on a Budget in Winter? Let’s discuss.
Summer was good to me – farmer’s markets, fruit stands, gardens….I’ve heard from some friends that wintertime seems to break their bank when it comes to eating healthy, and since this is a new change of lifestyle, I’m a little afraid of switching back to my old habits this winter. I had to investigate different ways to keep up the healthy meals (that don’t require the loads of cream I like in my soups). There doesn’t seem to be as much in season (this might be blasphemous, but pumpkin for the 87th different recipe drives me...
read moreAgave Green Smoothies
One of the most popular ways to pack in a ton of nutrients into a single meal are green smoothies! A mix of fruits, liquid, agave, and kale or spinach make these a delicious way to get calcium, Vitamin K, and more easily digested iron. Adding agave nectar brings a touch of sweetness to your smoothie without the harmful effects of traditional processed sugars. We like to make these healthy smoothies for breakfast, but they’re great at any time of the day. Don’t forget about after-school snacks for the kids, a late night healthy...
read morePear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Xagave
On a recent trip to the northwest, my sister served me this pizza. We’d gone down to her town’s farmer’s market and found beautiful local pears and a vendor selling blue cheese. It’s the perfect season for pears; they’re at their most sweet and juicy right now. Sure, you could just cut your pears and drizzle with a little agave, but why not make a dinner feast? Serve this pizza along side a tossed green salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with Agave Pizza dough 2 small, ripe pears (or one large) 1/3 cup blue...
read moreSweetening Hot Cocoa with Agave
We saw our first snowflakes of the season last week! They didn’t stick to the ground, just flurried in the air, but soon enough snow will be piling up! This calls for a mug of hot cocoa sweetened with Xagave’s agave. It comes together in just a few minutes and you have a delicious treat with all the anti-oxidants of pure cocoa and the low glycemic properties of Xagave! Once you’ve tried homemade hot cocoa, you’ll never want to go back to the overly-sugary powders. Agave Hot Cocoa: 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup agave 3...
read moreCanning Agave Applesauce
All of the marvelous produce on farmer’s stands and from gardens has us thinking about canning fruits using Xagave agave nectar! I picked up some apples from a local orchard and have been planning on putting them up in glass jars for storage and great winter eating. Canning fresh fruit is a way to preserve inexpensive and delicious local produce at the height of freshness. Traditionally, people used processed white sugar to preserve and can fruits. Canning your own applesauce allows you to control the ingredients, especially the sugar level....
read moreCold Weather Health Habits Unveiled
I’m sure this is a shocking statement: we tend to eat more fatty foods in the wintertime than in the summer. Well, yeah! It’s cold outside. I need more padding to keep me warm, right? In advance of the weather changes just around the corner, I thought we could talk about how to keep up momentum on our healthy lifestyle commitments. As usual, I’m taking my small baby steps to continue generating a healthy lifestyle for my family. Here are my top three steps for winter recipes: Evaporated Milk. I’ve stocked up. I will be using this as a...
read moreMojito Magic and Other Mixed Drink Substitutions
We all have our weaknesses. My husband likes his beer and college football on Saturdays, and I like my mojitos – shaken not stirred. The problem is that there is a high volume of sugar content in most mixed drinks. This makes fitting them into a healthy lifestyle a little tricky. The sugar alone is enough to pack on those calories over a weekend. Let’s explore a few ways to prepare our favorite mixed drinks in a way that will cut back on the calories and sugar content. A “healthy” and delicious Cosmo? Yes, please: 5 oz....
read more