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175 Best Instant Pot Recipes Cookbook

I had no idea that it has been so long since I’ve posted on my blog.  I’m sorry to have abandoned you the last few months.  Hopefully you have been following along on my Instagram account as I am posting photos on there on a regular basis.

Today I wanted to tell you all about one of my newest, favorite, small appliances – the Instant Pot.  You have probably have heard about it recently but might not be sure what it is.  The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker with other options included – like a yogurt maker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer and a saute pan.  I have made a few recipes with my pot and over the next month I will be showcasing some of them.  

I stumbled upon a cookbook by Marilyn Haugen called “175 Best Instant Pot Recipes” – I tried two of them already and I’m excited to give more a try.

This morning I cooked breakfast in my Instant Pot – Apple Yogurt Chia Power Breakfast.  A mixture of apples, steel cut oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, chia seeds, yogurt and walnuts (my walnuts had gone rancid so I substituted a small handful of granola).

For supper I made Orange-Glazed Pork Chops (recipe in the cookbook) and served it with some Green Beans.  There was enough of the orange sauce left over that I used some of it for the green beans.  Very flavorful.

Due to copyright rules, I can’t type up the recipe for you but I highly suggest picking up a copy of the cookbook!

The Cookbook is 240 pages with 16 color photographs.  Retails for $19.95.  ISBN:  978-0-7788-0542-7

You can find the cookbook at places where books are sold – Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.

disclaimer:  I was provided a free copy of the cookbook

 

Chicken Quinoa Salad with Maple Vinaigrette featuring Zaycon Fresh

Zaycon Foods provided me with complimentary products (chicken). The opinions I have expressed are my own. #ad #sponsored

The food prices are going higher and higher at the grocery store and I’m always trying to find ways to save money when buying food for my family. A couple of years ago I heard about a company called Zaycon Foods. They sell chicken (and other meats) in large quantities (bulk) at a reduced price. Even more importantly, their meat is farm to table fresh. What does that mean? It means that it takes a shorter process (which equals less time) from the farm to the retail customer (me!).  They cut out the middle man.  Since they combine the buying power of many families, it enables them to negotiate huge savings on food purchases for our family…and yours.

You place your order online at Zaycon Fresh, then on the pick up date, head to your pick-up spot, pull in, grab your order and drive away.  It’s very quick and easy.  The food is fresh and not frozen.

I used some of the chicken we purchased last night to make a Maple Vinaigrette Chicken Quinoa Salad.

zaycon foods chicken

Zaycon Fresh
Maple Vinaigrette
Chicken Quinoa Salad

2 Zaycon chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked
1 cup uncooked red lentils, cooked
1 cup black beans, drained
1 cup corn
Maple Vinaigrette Dressing (or any vinaigrette dressing), I use store bought

Mix everything together. Drizzle with the Maple Vinaigrette and mix until well blended. Serve warm or cold.

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6 Tips for Improving Your ‘Lines of Gratification’

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‘The Michael Jordan of Lung Surgery’ Lists
Principles that Reliably Yield Success

As we enter the year’s final quarter, Dr. Robert J. Cerfolio, a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, says it’s never too early to think about self-improvement for the New Year … and this year.

“Habitual procrastination can really hurt you in the long run because waiting to take care of something that’s obviously important to you – health, money, family matters – weighs on your subconscious,” says Dr. Cerfolio, known as “the Michael Jordan of lung surgery.”

Understanding one’s personal “line of gratification” is the foundation for sticking to self-improvement goals, he says.

“There are many kinds of lines of gratification,” he says. “For some, they’re the number of zeroes in their bank statement; for others, the curves of their muscles after they leave the gym. It’s good and healthy to look back on your hard work and admire what you have accomplished before moving on to the next task.”


Dr. Cerfolio, author of “Super Performing at Work and at Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life,” shares tips on how to make those lines of gratification more impressive.

•  Be an early riser. The main reason operating rooms hum into action at 7 a.m. is tied to human physiology; the bodies of patients are better able to handle the stress of surgery at that time.

“People are generally better off getting work done early in the day when we’re better prepared for stress and performance,” he says. “And getting a job done early frees you up later in the day.”

•  Love what you do. Why wouldn’t you want to take ownership, responsibility and pride in what you do for a living? When you treat a job as only a means to a paycheck, you are missing the point. If your job isn’t the one you’d really love to have, don’t make it worse with a negative attitude. Instead, make it your own. Make it a point of personal integrity and principle to challenge yourself to achieve something every day. After all, 40 hours a week is a long time to stay anywhere.

•  Ask yourself: Did I really try my best? “I tried my best” is a common refrain from those who haven’t reached their goals. An honest response you can ask yourself is, “Am I sure?” This question is not about being overly critical. It’s simply about realizing that, if you had practiced or studied an extra 10 minutes each day, you would’ve been that much closer to your goals.

•  Set specific, measurable goals. Results define goals. Every individual should have clear goals that are objective and measurable. Goals such as “to be happy,” “to do well at work” or “to get along” are too nebulous. To be successful, you have to be able to define your goals by measurable results.

•  Find the high ground. In anything you do, aspire to live up to the noblest, highest aspect of your job. Certain jobs – such as police work, firefighting, teaching or working in health care – are service oriented, so it’s easier to feel good about your contributions. Look for the contributions you’re making in your job and take pride in what you’re doing to make the world a little better.

•  Be the go-to guy or girl. This takes time, practice and the confidence necessary to want the ball in a critical situation. Being the go-to guy or girl means being willing to take responsibility and risk failing. A go-to person is also willing to speak up about problems or changes necessary in a business or organization, and suggest solutions.

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About Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, MBA

Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, MBA, is the James H. Estes Family Endowed Chair of Lung Cancer Research and Full Professor Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, surgical training at the Mayo Clinic and at Cornell-Sloan Kettering hospital, and has been in practice for more than 26 years. The author of “Super Performing at Work and at Home,” Cerfolio, who was a First Team Academic All-American baseball player in college, is a world-renowned chest surgeon and recognized as one of the busiest and best thoracic surgeons in the world.

Outer Spice Seasonings #Review

Disclaimer:  I was provided two bottles of Outer Spice seasonings for this review but all opinions are my own.

Since starting the Omni Drops Program (which is a life program), I have been very cautious of what is in my spices.  I love, I mean really love, using spices and herbs in my cooking.  Recently I was approached by a company called Outer Spice about trying their two spice blends.  One is Salt-Free and the other uses Himalayan Sea Salt.  What’s more important is what they both don’t contain and that is sugar.  If you look at some of your favorite spice blends, you’ll see that sugar or brown sugar is a major component.  I hate hidden sugars, especially when I am using the spices to spice up a healthy dish, like my pocket radishes. I loved the spice blend of the Outer Spice Spicy – it contains garlic, black pepper, onion, allspice, scallions, dill, nutmeg, thyme, lemon thyme, cilantro, basil, peppers, cinnamon, red pepper, caraway and cayenne pepper.  

We’ve used this on our vegetables and meat on the grill, and when roasting the vegetables in the oven.

You can order the Spices at http://www.outerspiceit.com  

IMG_1290   IMG_1287   outer spice radishes

Water is so Important for your Overall Health

Did you know that water is so important for your overall  health?  You need it to help keep your energy level up, it’ll help flush toxins out of your body, improves your skins complexion, helps keep constipation at bay, helps relieve headaches, prevents your muscles from cramping and more important (to me) is that it help you lose weight.  Water is Awesome! I’m proud to say that I have weened myself off from soda and haven’t regularly drank it for the past 5 years.  Prior to the Omni Drops Program I used flavor enhancers that you can purchase at the grocery store.  Fortunately for me I am no longer drinking those and instead have replaced all of my water enhancers with Stur, a naturally flavored water enhancer made with Stevia.   Stur has 0 calories, 0 sugar and 7 essential vitamins, including A, D, E, B3, B5, B6 and B12.  It currently comes in 7 different flavors, Lemon, Cucumber Mint, Fruit Punch, Strawberry Watermelon, Orange Mango, Tea & Lemon and Pomegranate Cranberry.  Unfortunately they aren’t currently available at your local grocery store so you need to purchase them online.  You can get them from Swanson Vitamins (where I buy mine & you’ll get $5 off your first order with my referral link) or on Amazon.

stur 3  

My favorite are Lemon, Tea and the Cranberry Pomegranate.  Which are yours?

    Disclaimer:  I received a sample pack of Stur to help facilitate this review.  All opinions are my own.

Green Smoothies for Every Season – A Year of Farmer’s Market – Fresh Super Drinks by Kristine Miles

In three days we ring in the new year.  I know that means many of you will have a New Year’s Resolution to eat better, lose weight, exercise more and hopefully eat more whole foods including more fruits and vegetables.  One way that I’ve found to get in a good serving (or two) of vegetables and fruits is by enjoying a smoothie each morning for breakfast.  It fills me up and starts my day off with a great dose of vitamins and minerals.

I received a free copy of the book, Green Smoothies for Every Season, to review on my blog.  It’s nice to change up your ingredients from time to time so you don’t get bored with your meals but more importantly, it’s a great cost savings to your pocketbook when you chose products in season.  I hear people complain all the time about how expensive it is to eat healthy and clean.  If you work your menu around the growing seasons and what’s on sale at your local grocery store or farmer’s market – then it’s not expensive to eat healthy.

Here’s a list of vegetables and fruits in season for each part of the year (locally grown suppliers will depend on your growing season):  Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

Spring:  oranges, mangoes, pineapples, radish tops, watercress, turnip greens, spinach, lettuce
Summer: berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, dandelion greens, chard, beet greens, lettuces, basil
Fall: apples, pears, figs, kiwi, grapes, honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon,  beet greens, kale, endive, chard and asian greens
Winter:  pomegranates, grapefruits, oranges (all kinds), fennel, spinach, celery, kale

There are so many health benefits of drinking a green smoothie.  First is the fiber – it’ll help make you feel full, longer and help regulate your digestive system. Next is Antioxidants – they help balance out the free radicals that our body produces. Then Minerals and Vitamins – things most of us are aware of but don’t always make sure we get naturally for our body.  Don’t rely on a “vitamin” from the drug store to provide your body with what it needs, eat it instead.  Lastly is Alkalinity – our body needs to maintain a certain level of pH.  Eating more vegetables help our body maintain that pH balance easier so our body can focus on other areas to spend it’s energy on.

So now that you know WHY it’s good to eat  more vegetables and HOW it can save you money by eating fruits and vegetables in season – let’s show you some of the yummy combinations you’ll find in the book, Green Smoothies for Every Season.

You’ll need to get the book to see the proper amounts of each.  🙂

A Star is Born – star fruit, coconut, coconut water, butter lettuce and cilantro
Strawberry Sensation – strawberries, cashews, coconut water, strawberry leaves and basil
Detox Diva – nectarine flesh, banana, lemon, ginger, water, endive leaves and medjool dates
Green Machine – pineapple, banana, lime juice, water and cilantro

There is some great information in the beginning of the book of why Green Smoothies as well as some natural sweeteners information and the benefits of adding in nuts and seeds.

I highly recommend this book if you’re looking at adding smoothies to your daily diet.

52 Smoothie Recipes – One for each Week of the Year!

Disclaimer:  I was provided a free copy of the book for review.  All opinions are my own.

Travel, Snow, Smoothies, Whey Protein, Stamping & Holiday Challenges

Where have I been lately?  Has anyone been wondering?  After traveling for my full-time job in October and then getting sick, right after I recovered I was whisked away for another trip – this time I went to the Washington DC area.  Did you all know how hard it is to keep on a “clean” diet while traveling?  I have such a hard time staying on track, especially when you are traveling with others and the restaurants aren’t always your choice (although this time around I did have some input for dinner).  Salads are always a good choice since they contain large volumes of vegetables, normally.  My problem is I get bored with salads and only like them if they have some FUN ingredients – like black beans, corn, edamame, roasted red peppers, poblano peppers – anything with a spicy kick is even better!

Now I’m back home and I think I’ll be home for the rest of this year.  Yippee!  I do love traveling but I also love being at home, especially for the holidays.

Guess what I woke up to yesterday morning?  Snow!

It was only a dusting but it still got me excited for winter and the holidays.
Yesterday I was planning on going grocery shopping but the freezing cold (26 degrees) and bit of snow kept me inside, warm and toasty.  So for breakfast I wasn’t able to have my usual “green” smoothie, instead I used just frozen fruit, a bit of plain greek yogurt, a splash cup of almond milk and some new protein powder I received in the mail to sample.  It’s by Dr. Mercola and is a Miracle Whey Protein.  I added two scoops to my smoothie.  I loved that it didn’t alter the flavor at all and provided me with some extra protein to keep me feeling full until lunch.  It’s cold pressed whey protein from pasture-fed cows, and free of GMOs, chemicals and sugar. Plus it’s chocked full of essential amino acids.
Yummmmm……so creamy.  It was a little thick and after I poured it into my glass realized I should have added more almond milk.
Oh…I forgot to tell you about my card making session recently.  I had a few friends over and I got started on my Christmas Cards and then made a few general cards (gift for my grandmother).

I also started a Weight Loss Holiday Challenge that started this week.  I thought it would be a good idea to help keep me focused through the holidays and keep my hand out of the cookie jar.
So tell me, do you stamp?  travel (I need some tips)? or have you joined in a holiday challenge also?  Talk to me!

The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook

Living in Vermont provides me with a wealth of fresh fruits and vegetables in the spring, summer and fall.  Many of them organic.  I’ve always felt Vermont was on the cutting edge when it came to organic food and with a trend called locavore.

What is a Localvore?
From http://www.vermontlocalvore.org

A Localvore is a person dedicated to eating food grown and produced locally.  There are a lot of good reasons to eat locally grown and produced food.

  • Less resources (primarily fossil fuels) are expended packaging and transporting local food.
  • It supports the local economy – more money remains in our local community.
  • It is healthier – processing and preservatives are less important since the food doesn’t have to travel so far.
  • It is safer and thus localvores are less susceptible to foodborn illnesses.
  • It is more honest – honesty in terms of the food source (i.e. organic seeds vs. GMO seeds) and the growing/producing process. It has to be! We are all neighbors.
  • If for no other reason – IT TASTES BETTER!

From May until October, almost every day of the week, there is a Farmer’s Market going on where I can pick up fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, plants, flowers and artisan goods.  It was from the Burlington Farmer’s Market that I was introduced to The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook.  The book is more than a cookbook though.  It’s a journey through Vermont with an introduction to local farmers, producers, restaurants and more.  Filled with amazing photography of Vermont’s countryside, the farms where our food is produced and the communities that embrace the localvore culture.

……and of course the food.  oh….the food.  Tonight for supper we enjoyed the Moroccan-Style Chicken with Apricots and Almonds served over the Mediterranean Couscous Pilaf.

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 disclaimer:  I was provided a copy of the cookbook for review.