Dietary fiber helps boost immune health

You may be able to reduce flu symptoms by including more fiber in your diet, according to a recent study in mice.

My Takeaway: Eat more fiber for a healthier gut microbiome.

Foods are not drugs

Foods are not drugs, but they can possibly, over the lifetime of consumption, alter the development of certain diseases

So says Jessica Cooperstone in an article about her research into whether eating tomatoes reduces skin cancer.

My Takeaways:

• Men and women are different
• Prefer whole foods to nutrients (It's not just lycopene)
• Eat more tomatoes!

Apple Dirt

Using Apple Peels

I prefer to peel my apples and pears prior to dehydrating them for a softer (more kid and tooth friendly) treat, but I hate to throw out the peels! Enter apple dirt. Rather than throwing out your peels*, dry them along with the apple slices and then pulse them in a blender until they resemble fine bread crumbs or "dirt". The end result is a natural sweetener full of vitamins and fiber. My two year old daughter agrees that this, combined with thawed frozen berries and almonds, is the perfect match for hot cooked oatmeal. I store left overs in an airtight container in the freezer. 

* I typically only save Organic or lightly/never sprayed homegrown produce peels.

Step 1: Dry the peels until crisp

Step 2: Pulse in blender until crumbly

Step 3: Top or stir into oatmeal

Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

Did you know that in addition to pumpkin seeds most winter squash seeds are edible and delicious? Unlike the large pumpkin seeds smaller varieties such as butternut, acorn and carnival squash are best roasted with the intention of eating the shell as shelling them is too labor intensive. Enjoy!

Directions:

• Remove seeds from squash and rinse seeds under cold water removing squash strings/pulp. 
• Pat dry for immediate roasting or lay out on baking sheet until ready to bake (the longer they dry the faster they cook; typically I bake all of the seeds from 1-2 weeks worth of squash at once).
• When ready to roast, preheat oven to 275 degrees
• Toss seeds in small amount of olive oil and garlic salt to taste
•  Bake for 10-15 increments. Stir and continue baking until lightly browned. Finished seeds should taste similar to popcorn, may literally be starting to pop and will have a crunchy outer shell easy to eat without a woody texture. 

Homemade Condensed Soups

I've ended my search for recipes for Condensed Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken Soups with these delicious, quick, and freezable recipes by Simply Scratch! Making your soups from scratch allows you the ability to control the quality of your ingredients and avoid preservatives. You also might just save a trip to the grocery store.

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

Making tortillas from scratch allows for better quality and more fresh ingredients! Not to mention they are far less expensive than store bought. Just be sure to give yourself time enough to make them (about 50 minutes). Here is a link to my go to quick, easy and delicious recipe found at The Lean Green Bean.

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

Fall is here and winter squash is in season! If you are looking for something wholesome, moist and delicious to do with pumpkin here is one idea. Full of fiber and not too sweet this is a great muffin for snacks, breakfast or a dinner side.

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup wheat or oat bran
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2-1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup buttermilk*
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare muffin tin** with oil or liners.
2. In a large bowl combine flour-salt. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, and oil.
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients and fold in zucchini if using. 
5. Fill muffin cups almost full and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes**.

* Buttermilk can be substituted with regular milk mixed with 1 Tbsp lemon juice per cup of milk.

** Makes 12 normal or 48 small muffins. Bake small muffins for 8-12 minutes.