Total Health Counseling

Mulligatawny Soup – Warm up with Veggies of the Season

October 1, 2013/in Beneficial Foods, Recipe /by phiggins

When Fall season comes around, all I can think of is soup oh and apples, pumpkin, and Halloween too! This week I planned out a few soups and took out the a very cool soup cookbook.

We tried Mulligatawny soup quite a while ago and it was time to bring it back. Reminds me of that well known Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi. Mulligatawny soup is one of the recipes that Elaine got the from armoire and was ready off at the end of the episode. I was excited to try this soup for the first time a few years ago, and now I’ve got my own version to share with you!

But first, a snipet from that infamous show:

Ingredients:
1 + 1/2 cups each chopped onion (1 medium) and tart apples (2 small-medium)

1/2 cup each chopped celery (2 stalks), red bell pepper (4 baby sweet bell peppers)

1 cup chopped carrots (15 baby carrots or 2 whole carrots)

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

1 Tablespoon Organic olive oil

Spices: 1 Tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice, dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon sea salt + 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

28 ounces chopped or diced tomatoes ( I used Pomi brand)

1 pound chicken breast, boneless

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

Serve with cooked brown rice or millet

Method:

1. Chop veggies (you can do this the night before to save time)

2. Heat soup pot or French oven on stove top, I own a 5-Quart Fontignac French oven soup pot. Add olive oil then add veggies (stir to coat veggies in oil), sauté at medium to medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until veggies soften.

3. Add spices: curry powder, chili powder, allspice, thyme, sea salt, black pepper. Stir and coat veggies with spices.

4. Add remaining ingredients: pour in chicken stock, water, chopped tomatoes, and chicken breast.

5. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer covered for about 20 minutes to allow chicken to cook thru.

6. Remove chicken from soup pot, place on a cutting board and shred, then add back to soup pot.

7. Taste soup broth (carefully since it’s really hot) and adjust seasonings to taste before serving.

8. Sprinkle with either fresh chopped parsley (my preference) or shredded unsweetened coconut (Heman’s favorite).

9. Enjoy!!

For 30 healthy recipes plus my 3 favorite desserts:

https://www.totalhealthcounseling.com/work-with-me/

I created this e-cookbook with yummy and healthy recipes you can make quickly on weeknights, have snacks for on the go and serve up at parties! Please check it out, I know you will enjoy them too! XOXO

Save Big At Sustainable Bedner’s Farm

September 13, 2013/2 Comments/in Beneficial Foods, Local, Recipe, Review, Tips /by phiggins

I love a good bargain, but when it comes to my health and the health of my family, I can only bargain so low – that I why I skip on processed foods, they are so expensive! Good thing we have a local farm with fresh produce that is grown in a SUSTAINABLE way. I spoke with the owner at Bedner’s and he told me they have not used pesticides or herbicides for 4 generations!! How wonderful is that :). I was beaming with joy when he told me! He said to get certified organic, they would have to shut down operations and the cost of their produce would be much higher. I’m glad he chose to stick with being a SUSTAINABLE farm and not organic.

This week I went to Bedner’s and spent $35 on SUSTAINABLE and local produce!! This is what I got:

· 3 Baby bok choy, 3 large carrots for juicing,

· 2 macintosh apples, 5 organic gala apples ,

· 2 barlett pears, 2 bunches of beets,

· 2# bag onions, 1 bunch kale, watercress, cilantro,

· 4 lemons, 3 limes, 4 red bell peppers, 4 Georgia peaches,

· 2 bunches asparagus, 2 haas avocados, dried dates.

This much produce from the grocery store would have cost twice as much or more.

Bedner’s Farm located on 441 in Boynton Beach

10066 Lee Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33473

http://www.bedners.com/index.html

I was excited to whip up some good eats with my farm fresh produce. This colorful delight below is my Superfood Salad, made with: watercress, red bell peppers, avocado, pumpkin seeds, and goji berries. I topped it off with lavender vinegar from The Ancient Olive in Delray Beach for an antioxidant rich lunch!

Super Food Salad Recipe

2 cups Watercress (or dark leafy greens of choice), washed and chopped

1/2 cup Red bell peppers, washed and chopped

2 Tablespoons Pumpkin seeds

1/4 Avocado, diced

1 Tablespoon Goji berries

Method:

1. Wash and chop vegetables.

2. Arrange on plate watercress, bell peppers.

3. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, avocado, and goji berries.

4. Drizzle with high quality balsamic vinegar.

5. Enjoy!

Tips for Eating Well + Saving Money

· Shop at your local farmers market

· Buy fresh produce that’s in season – it tastes better and will be on sale!

· Create a fresh salad with your favorite market produce

· Skip the processed/packaged foods and make your own snacks with nuts, seeds, berries, yogurt. Homemade granola bars or pumpkin bars, Heman’s favorite are posted on my website. https://www.totalhealthcounseling.com/2012/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-squares/

· Cook up a whole chicken, use leftovers to make chicken salad, make homemade chicken soup with leftover chicken bones (much cheaper than broth at the store, freeze leftovers)

· Make large batches of soup or chili, freeze leftovers or bring for week day lunches

· Enjoy! Full and happy bellies for all :).

If you wanna learn the exact way I plan out healthy meals to save money. Schedule a Jump-Start session with me. You’ll get my new Yummy Good Eats Cookbook “30 days of inspiring recipes, transform your health in 30 simple days”, personalized notes, handouts, and a clear plan on how to jump-start your health with yummy good eats!

This plan is how I live my life. Thank goodness for having a plan when you have family and need to save money.

XOXO,

Pam

Cacao Love Birthday Cake

September 3, 2013/2 Comments/in Recipe /by phiggins

September is my birthday month and up until my birthday, I am planning out my birthday cake every year. The store bought cakes won’t do. I have food allergies and eat gluten free and dairy free so I have to create my own. This version includes bean flour to make it grain free plus organic cacao I picked up from Bedner’s local farm a few weeks ago – my new obsession and coconut oil, another favorite of mine for baking or just eating by the spoonful.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Garbanzo and Fava Flour

3/4 cup Turbinado sugar

1/4 cup organic cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons ground flax meal

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar (I like Bragg’s)

4 Tablespoons applesauce PLUS 2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 cup water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift flour, sugar, cacao, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flax meal together into a medium size bowl.

3. Add in wet ingredients: vanilla, cider vinegar, applesauce, coconut oil, stir then add water last. Mix well to combine.

4. For mini cupcakes, put 1 Tablespoon batter into each mini cupcake tin. For regular size cupcakes, put 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake tin.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes (mini cupcakes) or 30 minutes (regular size cupcakes) or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

6. Cool completely, then frost with your favorite icing (see suggestion below).

Divine and chocolately, just the way a birthday cake should taste!

Cacao Love Frosting (vegan)

I love frosting, but the junk they sell at the store is less than appealing. Too many chemicals and an imminent belly ache for me.

Instead I created one with my favorite cacao and coconut oil!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Organic cacao powder

1/4 cup Organic coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoon raw honey, add more if you like it sweeter

Add ingredients to a small bowl and stir until well combined. Chill until ready to frost cupcakes.

What is you favorite kind of birthday cake? I grew up eating yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Now I go for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Yum!

Why I Was Doing Shots in Delray Beach

August 21, 2013/2 Comments/in Local, Product, Recipe, Review /by phiggins

(Pictured: My Brother-in-Law Andrew, My Husband Heman, and Me)

New store The Ancient Olive opens up in Delray Beach! Taste several gourmet and organic flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We tried many kinds of wonderful olive oil and balsamic vinegar – now these are the kind of shots I can get excited about! Located on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach, this is the third store of The Ancient Olive. We were warmly greeted and invited to taste as many flavors as we wanted. A few of my favorites: Cranberry-Pear Balsamic, Espresso Balsamic, Garlic Olive Oil, Persian Lime Olive Oil, Chocolate Balsamic, Blood Orange Olive Oil. So many great flavors!! We sampled a few suggested pairings as well and decided to purchase the Persian Lime Olive Oil and Lavender Balsamic Olive Oil. This flavor combo is particularly great for marinating fish as suggested by shop owners. The deeper flavors of vinegar such as chocolate and espresso are great for marinating steak.

(Pictured: Brother-in-Law Andrew and Future Sister-in-Law Katie)

Katie and Andrew enjoying shots of Cranberry-Pear Balsamic vinegar which they ended up purchasing. This was one of my favorite vinegars too, so good you could just drink it Smile

(Pictured: Andrew, Katie, and Heman)

Several containers filled with lovely olive oil and vinegar to check out!

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Tons of gift options for the cook! They also offer cooking demos and classes, sign up at the front counter for more info.

At home the next day, I was excited to try the new flavor combo we bought:

Organic Persian Lime Olive Oil + Lavender Balsamic Vinegar

We marinated fresh mahi filets in this amazing oil and vinegar combo.

I also sliced up onions from Bedners Farm on 441 to grill along with baby sweet bell peppers.

Heman grilled the fish 18-19 minutes on medium heat on the grill and the veggies for about 15 minutes.

Mahi salad with veggies for me.

Mahi fish tacos for Heman with Organic corn tortillas, cilantro, avocado, and salsa.

Stop in The Ancient Olive on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach to do some shots of Organic Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar! We will return soon with our empty bottles; receive $1 off purchase when you bring back empty oil and vinegar bottles (way to recycle and reuse!). We’re looking forward to our next flavor combo to bring home and cook with soon!

The Ancient Olive

514 East Atlantic Ave (Across from The Colony Hotel)

Delray Beach, FL 33483

561.266.1099

http://www.theancientolive.com/

https://twitter.com/theancientolive

Mango Chicken Featuring Mom and Me Jams {Mango Jam}

August 8, 2013/in Local, Product, Recipe, Review /by phiggins

Ever since I heard about the new West Boca Raton Green Market, I’ve made it there almost every week to seek out delicious foodie finds. I spotted Katrina, the owner of Mom and Me Jams with her wide selection of colorful and homemade jams. Chatting with Katrina about the jams, I learned that everything is tripled sterilized and made fresh on a weekly basis – take that Welch’s grape! She had me at homemade, preservative free, family recipe. Now that’s made with love and doesn’t food made that way taste so much better!

I sampled a few flavors by the spoon and was thrilled by the idea of mango jam, who would have thought to make this? I’m so glad she did!

I could have put in on toast or oatmeal, but I craved something savory for this sweet delight. A sweet and savory dish was born.

Mango Chicken and Sweet Potatoes over Spinach

This one pan dish pleases a crowd. I made it for my mother-in-law and her mother when they came into town then I made it again tonight. It’s delicious and satisfying, I even took my mother-in-law to the green market last Sunday and she picked up a jar of her own. Now she can recreate this back home in her kitchen too.

All Mom and Me Jams come in this adorable jar sealed with pretty cloth and a ribbon!

Ingredients:

1-2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large sweet potato or garnet yam, chopped

1#-1.5# chicken breast, cut into cubes

3 Tablespoons Mom and Me Jams {Mango Jam}

sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 cups fresh spinach per plate, optional to enjoy with cooked dish

Method:

1. Chop onion and sweet potatoes.

2. Heat pan to medium then add 1 Tablespoon coconut oil. Coat pan with coconut oil then add onion and potatoes.

3. Stir onion and sweet potatoes in pan to coat with oil, then turn down heat to medium-low and cover.

4. Cook veggies 10-12 minutes until fork goes through easily, you want the veggies al dente at this point.

5. Turn heat up to medium again. Push veggies to outside of pan then add cut up chicken breast to middle of pan and top with mango jam.

6. Turn chicken over and cook all sides, stir to distribute mango jam over chicken. Add 1 Tablespoon coconut oil to pan, if needed.

7. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes with cover on pan.

8. Check to ensure chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, juices will run clear from chicken.

9. Turn heat back to medium for final sear and toss chicken, onions, sweet potatoes with mango jam. Add sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

10. Serve hot over a bed of fresh spinach.

11. Enjoy!!

Find Mom and Me Jams locally at the West Boca Green Market Sundays year-round 8:30am – 2pm.

Katrina currently makes 12 varieties of jams and jellies. A few are made specifically for grilling as well.

http://www.momandmejams.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MomAndMeJams

Twitter: http://twitter.com/momandmejams

Phone: 561.287.6058

E-mail: momandmejams@gmail.com

Mulligatawny Soup – Warm up with Veggies of the Season

Save Big At Sustainable Bedner’s Farm

Cacao Love Birthday Cake

Why I Was Doing Shots in Delray Beach

Mango Chicken Featuring Mom and Me Jams {Mango Jam}

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This Way To Wellness