This soup is a pure antioxidant bomb. Rose hips are one of the best plant sources of vitamin C and the almonds add the vitamin E you need to keep biological age young.

Wild roses can be found all over the word so the best thing you can do is get out there a pick them fresh.  If you don’t feel like going outside most health food stores sell dried rose hips.  The soup is sweet, creamy and very well suited as dessert or snack. However, with it’s high levels of vitamin C serves great an immune system booster when you feel that you’re coming down with something.

When I was a child my mom would serve this soup hot on cold winter days or when I was sick. As a special treat she would add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I loved it.

Here is how to make healthy homemade rosehip soup:

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh rose hips or 2 cups dried rose hips
6 cups water
½ cups sugar
1,5 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
10 slivered blanched almonds (optional)

1.    Rinse the rose hips, if you are using dried rose hips crush them carefully without crushing the seeds.
2.    Boil rose hips for about 10 min in a covered pot.
3.    Mash with a fork and strain thoroughly.
4.    Heat the strain stirring while adding sugar and starch. Heat until the soup thickens and set aside to cool.
5.    Serve the rose hip soup hot or cold with slivered blanched almonds.
If you’re looking for a treat serve the soup hot and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Image by jenny downing

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Don’t through away the pumpkin seeds. They are both healthy and tasty. Most people toast them for best taste. Just follow this toasted pumpkin seed recipe and enjoy more of your pumpkins.

Ingredient:

• Fresh pumpkin seeds
• Olive oil
• Seasoning: salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper or paprika.

Here is how to Oven Toast Pumpkin Seeds:

Rinse pumpkin seeds and remove all the pulp with your fingers.

Spread out the seeds on a flat surface  and dry overnight.

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil and seasonings of your choice for example: salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper or paprika.

Bake in oven for about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Let the pumpkin seeds cool before eating.

Store the toasted seeds in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 1 year.

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Banana Muffins are so moist and so tasty. I always make them when I have a bunch of bananas that have become overripe. The riper the bananas the sweeter muffins. The other day I had 4 very very ripe bananas so I omitted the sugar. Even without the sugar the muffins are so tasty.

These muffins are healthier since the bananas compensate so you need less fat and added sugar.

This must be one of the easiest recipes that was ever made. You make them from scratch in just a few minutes.

I usually make mini muffins since I think a bite size really should be enough. Sometimes it’s not.

No matter how you eat them I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Banana Muffin Recipe

Ingredients (makes about regular 12 muffins)

3 or 4 large bananas, preferably overripe

1/2 cup white sugar (use less or omit if bananas are really ripe)

1 slightly beaten egg

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Mash the bananas and melt the butter. Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and melted butter together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees F oven for approximately 20 minutes for regular muffins and 12-15 for mini muffins.

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Talk about sneaky. No one would know that I added over 15 garlic cloves to this recipe.

Today I really felt like we needed an anti-virus and immune system boost. Garlic is the easy answer to that. But HOW was I going to get garlic in the kids. Sure I use garlic a lot in my cooking but nowhere near as much as I used in this recipe.

So for dinner today I made my first garlic soup. I don’t even think that I had ever had garlic soup before.

It was so tasty.  It wasn’t spicy and it didn’t taste or smell of garlic. It just had a really full taste. A powerful version of a tomato soup.

We all loved it!

I bet it will give me a calm day tomorrow cause no one will want to talk to me.

This soup will boost your immune system and help you battle nasty viruses.

Ingredients

1.5 whole garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 tablespoon paprika powder
and I think it might be a good idea to a a pinch of sugar.

Chop the all the garlic cloves. Saute them in the olive oil.

Add the other ingredients and let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes.

Blend the soup with a hand blender (optional)

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The mummies in Ancient Egypt got a honey facial.

It’s true. Apparently honey is food substance used on the bodies to keep them unspoiled.

Honey is a great moisturizer and you can use honey to keep your skin smooth and clear.

Don’t miss these 7 Honey Beauty Secrets

1. Acne

Apply honey on affected area to get rid of bacteria. Or make a facial mask by mixing honey and an egg yolk. Apply it and leave it on your skin for 20 minutes.

2. Dark Circles Under Eyes

Mix equal parts of honey and almond oil. Apply on the affected area every night before going to bed. Wash your face in the morning.

3. Luscious Lips

Dab your lips with honey to keep them  soft, plump and tasty sweet. To exfoliate and take away chapping brush your lips GENTLY, after brushing your teeth.

4. Glowing Skin

This is great for circulation and works on your face as well as on your body. Apply honey on your skin and pat dry using both hands. While patting your skin, the honey will get sticky and gently pull up your skin. When you are done get in the shower and rinse it off.

5. Hair Growth

Ancient Ayurvedic texts say that a mixture of honey and alcohol can be used to promote hair growth. Also a paste made of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder that you apply to the area or scalp for 15 min is supposed to stimulate hair regrowth .

6. Weight Loss

Add cinnamon and honey to a cup of water,  boil and let it cool. Drink it on an empty stomach ( first thing in the morning). They say that taken regularly it will reduce the weight of even the most obese person.

7. Wrinkles

Mix 1/2 teaspoon of carrot juice and 1/2 teaspoon of honey. Apply it on face with a cotton ball dipped in a pinch of baking soda. Let it sit for 20 minutes.

Image by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dnorman/ / CC BY 2.0

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I made this bread yesterday as I was on a 24-hour fast. If you’re not used to making bread from scratch you should really give it a try.

It is:

1. easy
2. healthier that store bread
3. cheaper that buying
4. the smell that spreads in the house is heavenly

I fasted yesterday to cut down calories and lose weight . The fast gave me such an energy kick I just had to bake. This is the bread I had for dinner as I ended my fast. Yum.

I never bother with how breads look. It’s the taste that matters. Here it is was my kids who made the rolls and I think they did a pretty good job.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1,5 teaspoon granulated yeast
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons syrup (please chose one without HFCS)
• 3 medium sized carrots
• 2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3,5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds (optional)

Add yeast to the water.

Melt butter.

Peel and grate carrots.

Add all dry in a bowl.

Add all other ingredients (except flax seeds)  and mix until the dough is smooth.

Set aside for 40 min.

Split the dough in 15 pieces and make 15 bread rolls.

Put them next to each other on a cookie sheet or oven pan covered with parchment paper.

Set aside for 45 min.

Use a pastry brush to add a little water then sprinkle over the flax seeds.

Bake at 350F (175 C) for 20 min.

When they are done take them apart carefully and let them cool on a rack.

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I can’t help myself. I really enjoy well made sweets and cookies.

The sneaky chef  promotes tricking your kids and husband by hiding healthy stuff in their favorite food.

Why only trick them? I’m perfectly happy to trick myself with the foods I like. Here is a recipe with healthy chocolate chip cookies with white beans. Not only does the recipe cut down on fat and flour it adds one if the best foods: beans.

Beans in cookies?

Yeah, I promise you won’t know the difference.

I make mini versions of these cookies,  inspired by one of  The sneaky chef’s recipes, stuff them in the freezer and take the out one at the time. Prefect treat for me or for the kids lunch boxes.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pureed white beans
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove butter from refrigerator to let soften.

> In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

> In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla, and pureed white beans. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Stir in chocolate chips.

> Make small cookies by dropping heaping teaspoonfuls, spaced about an inch apart, onto parchment- lined baking sheets.

> Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a metal rack.

> Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature.

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/ / CC BY 2.0

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So here are 10 Vegan Thanksgiving beverage ideas from The Lunchbox Bunch. They will surely keep your family and friends hydrated before, during and after the meal.

1. Ginger Juice Shooters – Before the meal

• It has a refreshing, spicy, warming, energizing ginger flavor.
• It is a perfect palate cleanser for your guests.
• Make your batch of shooters right before your guests arrive and you can even have them on a platter by the door so they can ’shoot’ them before even taking off their coats!

2. Bottled Water ‘Bar’ – Before/During/After the meal

• No, I do not recommend drinking bottled water with every meal, every day.
• If you are anti-bottled-water, simply skip down to number 3.
• Set up a beverage bar which includes a few bottled waters. From sparkling to still, Italy to Norway – it’s fun to taste exotic waters from around the world.
• A tap water pitcher also deserves a place on your ‘beverage bar’.

3. Tap Water Pitcher – Before/During/After the meal

• Give 3 options: chilled, room temp and one chilled with coconut water ice and lemon.
• Mint is optional as well.
• Use glass pitchers for optimal temperature keeping for the chilled options.
• Keep a pitcher out for your pre-meal party as well as throughout the night.

4. Fresh Pomegranate Juice Bellinis – Before the meal

• Festive, delicious and fizzy!
• Fresh is best.
• Simply pour 1/3 pomegranate juice, 2/3 prosecco or champagne, per glass.
• Add a nice garnish of a few pomegranate seeds at the bottom of each glass.

5. Fruity Fizz White Sangria – Before/During the meal

• A big pitcher of sangria is meant to be shared among friends.
• You can even make it the night before and pull it out of the fridge the next day. Or make it the morning of your dinner party – for optimal sangria taste, you’ll want to flavors, fruits and juices to marinate together for at least a few hours.
• Add in a few seasonal touches like tangerines, crushed persimmons and seasonal pears.

6. Ginger Snap Smoothie – After the meal

• This is a fun after-meal recipe for anyone needing a stimulating, cooling refreshment boost.
• Ginger can aid in digestion.
• This is a sweet option for anyone who may shun the traditional pumpkin flavored desserts you have prepared.

7. Pumpkin Pie Shake – After the meal

• It’s easy to make, so don’t feel shy in offering it post meal.
• Make one blender-ful and pour it into little shooter glasses with a big swirl of rice whip cream on top.

8. Poor Man’s Fire Chai – After the meal

• It is fast, easy and cheap!
• All you need is: a mug, soymilk, sweetener, spices, water and a basic tea bag.

9. Goji Berry Chai Tea Latte – After the meal

• Dress up your chai mug with a sprinkling of some goji berries.
• Shock your guests with the delicious flavor that dried goji berries add to tea or chai.
• You can add goji berries to a traditional chai, boxed chai concentrate or even poor man’s fire chai above.

10. Coconut Water – Before/During/After the meal

• It is a very refreshing and savory low-calorie drink!
• It is a rich source of nutrients such as potassium and manganese.
• It is awesome for kids too!

Now, let’s all drink up for a healthy and happy Thanksgiving. Cheers!

Image by biskuit.

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According to Madeline Bohannon, a tropical fruit expert from Bonita Springs Tropical Fruit Club, this generous fruit may not be the best known of its kind but it deserves to be. That is because they yield 3 or 4 times as much juice as a regular lemon.

It is even better because they are in season now. They are typically harvested from November through winter. Meaning, they’re just right in time when we need an immune system boost. FYI, vitamin C is known to reduce the growth of free radicals or build up of toxic substances in the body that cause diseases ranging from flu to cancer.

In case you want to try Meyer lemon food recipes aside from the basic lemon juice or lemonade, here are a few of my healthy choices:

Meyer lemon pasta salad with asparagus, almonds and goat cheese
Meyer Lemon ‘Custard’ Island Parfait
Meyer Lemon – Ricotta Muffins

Read the rest of the report about Meyer lemons from News-Press.

Image by alasam.

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Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat present in these nutritious fruits is responsible for lowering cholesterol level. Avocados are also rich in potassium, which is a mineral responsible for regulating blood pressure.

And did you know that avocado or avocado extract is good for the prevention or treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer? Scientists have discovered an unidentified toxin found in avocados that can kill cancer cells. They believe that the toxin has a great effect on the heart muscle tissue and tissues of the lactating mammary gland.

Other nutrients present in a creamy rich avocado are vitamin K, dietary fiber, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, and reasonable calories.

So what are you waiting for? Start including this nutrient rich fruit in your diet. You may start with this delicious avocado soup recipe.

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