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

• 3 Best Anti-Aging Vitamins (8)
• Meyer Lemons Are In Season Now (0)
• How much vitamin C do we need? (7)
• Fight Your Cold (0)
• Burn More Fat With Vitamin C (4)
• 4 ways to Add Spinach to Your Diet (0)

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.

Image by WordRidden

• Yummy Banana Muffins (2)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Trick Yourself With Chocolate Chip Cookies (9)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)
• Paella with quinoa, shrimp and clams (0)
• Mean Green Cucumber Juice Recipe (0)

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.

• Trick Yourself With Chocolate Chip Cookies (9)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Stress Relieving Dinner (2)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• See How Easily You Can Make Your Own Unsweetened Jam in Minutes (1)
• Recipe: Wonderful Pasta in 15 min (2)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)

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)

• Yummy Banana Muffins (2)
• Yellow for Your Immune System (0)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Warning: Flu season is almost here. Boost your immune system now! (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Trick Yourself With Chocolate Chip Cookies (9)
• The Importance Of Probiotics To Our Health And Wellness (6)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)

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.

• Natural Homemade Face Mask (4)
• Natural Homemade Cough Syrup (3)
• How To Make Easy No-Knead Bread (0)
• Healthy Recipe:Rye Bread With Cumin (3)
• Apple Carrot Juice Recipe (2)

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

• Yummy Banana Muffins (2)
• Healthy and Natural Granola Bars Recipe (0)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)
• Paella with quinoa, shrimp and clams (0)
• Mean Green Cucumber Juice Recipe (0)

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.

• Rose Hip Soup Recipe – An Anti-Aging Recipe (0)
• How much vitamin C do we need? (7)
• Fight Your Cold (0)
• Burn More Fat With Vitamin C (4)
• 4 ways to Add Spinach to Your Diet (0)
• 3 Best Anti-Aging Vitamins (8)

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.

Image by devlyn.

• Yummy Banana Muffins (2)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Trick Yourself With Chocolate Chip Cookies (9)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)
• Paella with quinoa, shrimp and clams (0)
• Mean Green Cucumber Juice Recipe (0)

But before we jump into cooking, here are a few nutrition facts that you should know about mushrooms. First, they have high selenium content, higher than other items in the produce category. With a significant amount of selenium-rich mushrooms added to your diet, you will have better chances of fighting off cancer. Mushrooms are also good sources of essential B-vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid. They also contain potassium, which is responsible for regulating blood pressure, keeping the right balance of water in fat and muscle tissues and making sure that cells are functioning properly. If you’re on a weight loss diet, fresh mushrooms make a good fitness food. 5 medium mushrooms contain only 20 calories, 3 grams of carb and absolutely fat free!

True to my word, here is the recipe that I’ve promised to share. This garlic mushroom with toast by Gordon Hamilton makes a perfect appetizer and it takes only a few minutes to prepare.

Ingredients (per person):

• 5 small, close cup mushrooms (halved)
• 2 clove of garlic (crushed)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of dried sage
• 1 slice of lightly buttered toast
• 1 tomato (for garnishing)

Directions:

1. Put the olive oil in a small saucepan and gently bring up to a medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and sage and heat gently for about thirty seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. Put the bread on to toast and add the mushrooms to the saucepan.
4. Continue to stir until the toast is ready and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Image by Toni Girl.

• Yummy Banana Muffins (2)
• Why You Should Include Blueberries In Your Diet (1)
• Vegan Paella (2)
• Trick Yourself With Chocolate Chip Cookies (9)
• Split Pea Soup Recipe (0)
• Spinach Lasagna (0)
• Raw Vegan Brownies Recipe (2)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)
• Paella with quinoa, shrimp and clams (0)
• Mean Green Cucumber Juice Recipe (0)

I would really love to start my week right tomorrow and I can’t wait to share with you this healthy quinoa breakfast recipe I found today. Of course, there’s nothing better to start the day than eating a healthy breakfast  for physical energy and brainpower.

Here’s something that’s packed with fiber, protein and whole grain. They are going to give you all the energy that you need. Vegweb.com calls it the Heavenly Breakfast Quinoa. It can be eaten hot or cold and it takes only 5 minutes to prepare!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small banana
• 2 teaspoon peanut butter
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds, ground
• a few splashes of soy milk

Directions:

1. Mash the banana right in your breakfast bowl with a fork.
2. Stir in the peanut butter.
3. Stir in the quinoa and flax seeds.
4. Add soymilk to taste.

I’m definitely cooking some quinoa tonight and will have this heavenly goodness everyday for this week.

Image by BIANCAROSE.

• Quinoa Veggie Burger Recipe (3)
• Paella with quinoa, shrimp and clams (0)
• Loaded Quinoa Smoothie (13)
• How to Prepare Quinoa (18)
• Healthy Quinoa Salad Recipe (0)
• Go For High-Protein Breakfast (8)
• Friendly Reminder: Do Not Skip Breakfast (2)
• Raw Breakfast Recipe (2)