The Healthy Journal

What are your plans for the Thanksgiving table? Are you doing traditional Turkey and all the accompanying starchy foods? Or do you plan to make some changes in your meal choices because you've been adjusting your lifestyle to be healthier? There are great options for yummy food–perfect for fall. I made this delicious recipe and it was all we had for dinner. Mmmmm! The fresh herbs make it really sing and it's so easy to prepare. The recipe calls for red D'Anjou pear, but you can use any variety of pear. I used a Bartlett pear and it  was mmmm good. I think you could experiment with using other fruit. How does fuyu persimmon sound?  I must try that one. Persimmons are my favorite fall fruit—maybe my all time fav actually. Pear & Pistachio Stuffed Acorn Squash from Costco Connection yield 4-8 servings category Main Course cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian ingredients 2 Acorn Squash 2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper 1 C chopped pistachios 2 Tb...

I've made this salad three times since seeing it on Kalyn's Kitchen . It is so delicious and easy. Four simple ingredients: cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions and avocado. I went to the Wednesday Farmer's Market and got a basket of beautiful cherry heirloom tomatoes. Look at those beautiful tomatoes. The dressing is one ingredient: a good quality balsamic vinegar. I used the Trader Joe's brand, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Avocado with Balsamic Vinegar Salad from Kalyn's Kitchen yield 4 servings category Salad cuisine Vegan ingredients 3 small persian cucumbers, sliced in half-moons 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 C thinly diagonally sliced green onion 1 firm ripe avocado, cut-up 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar sea salt and pepper to taste directions 1. Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and avocado in a large bowl. 2. Pour vinegar over the salad and gently toss to coat. 3. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Try this one and I think you...

Seems I'm on a quinoa kick lately. But then it's versatile, delicious and so good for you. My latest quinoa recipe is inspired by one I saw at the 1/2 Marathon my husband ran last month in Nashville. Of course I had to go with him and we did a lot of fun things. We have friends who joined the exodus from California and moved to Nashville (Franklin actually) three years ago. They've had an open invitation to come stay, with a promise to show us around. We started out in Memphis with a visit to Graceland. Then on to Nashville for the 1/2 marathon, the Franklin countryside, the honky tonks of Broadway and the Ryman Auditorium. And let's not forget tea at the Frothy Monkey, touring Dave Ramsey 's headquarters, seeing Brad Paisley up close and personal backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and a road trip to Lexington to see horse farms and historical bourbon distilleries. We had a blast! Back to the chili. This is a simple recipe that you can pull together in a pinch. I did n...

We enjoy honoring those who've paid the ultimate price on Memorial Day. This year we found an event close by—at Green Valley Cemetery—mile and a half away. We decided to incorporate our daily exercise by running to the location and running back (at least as far as Starbucks located between our house and the cemetery). After finishing my Starbucks' hot green tea, I harvested a cup of blueberries from our backyard blueberry bush. "I'm gonna make a dessert with these," I said to my husband Bob. And this is what I came up with. Simple. Fast. Utterly delicious ! I hope you enjoy it. Double or triple the recipe to make more servings. Blueberry Crisp from Chris Pedersen yield 2 servings category Dessert cuisine Vegan ingredients 1C fresh blueberries 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil 1/4 C quinoa flour 3 dates, diced 3 walnuts, diced directions 1. Preheat toaster oven on convection to 350°. 2. Melt the coconut oil and mix with quinoa flour, dates and walnuts. 3. Add half of mixtur...

I love Thai food. It's very vegan-friendly with the use of coconut milk instead of dairy. I had a craving for coconut milk and vegetable soup recently and experimented with putting something together. Here's what I came up with. Thai Coconut Soup from Chris Pedersen yield 6-8 servings category Soup cuisine Thai, Vegan, Vegetarian ingredients 1 13.5 oz  can Coconut Milk 2 cans filtered water (use coconut milk can) 2 carrots, chopped 2 C chopped potatoes 1 C green beans cut in 1-inch pieces 1/2 yellow onion, chopped 3 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced 1/8 C lemon grass cut in 1/4-inch pieces 1 tsp sea salt 1 shallot, diced 2 tsp tamari 1/2 inch ginger, minced 1/2 inch turmeric root, minced 2 Tbsp lime juice 1/8 tsp Sambal Oelek 1/2 tsp curry Seafood (optional—shrimp, white fish, etc) directions 1. Add coconut milk and water to medium-size sauce pan on medium heat. 2. Add carrots, potatoes, green beans and onions then heat for 15 - 20 minutes. 3. Add remaining ingredients and cook ...

Often the complaint about juicers is that the fiber from the veggies and fruit goes to waste. You can put it in your composter to create future soil for your garden, but a better more immediate repurposing would be to turn it into veggie burgers. When making juice I use a minimal amount of fruit. Given all the goodness in the veggie pulp, I decided to come up with a way to make vegan burgers from it. The fact that it has a bit of fruit makes the finished burger that much more tasty. Add organic corn and beans. I used garbanzo beans for the batch above—I usually use black beans. Add quinoa flour to the veggie pulp mixture and combine. Then add hummus, BBQ sauce, tapenade or your choice to add flavor and moisture. Add sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a seasoning combo. I like to use Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute. Press the mixture to a desired thickness (<1/2") on a flat surface or in a shallow flat bowl. Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out the burgers. Brown the burg...

Recently I attended the regional Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conference. When registering for the conference, I was able to choose vegan as my choice for lunch. Yippy! I appreciate that the conference organizers always think of the growing number of vegetarians and vegans in our community of children's writers. Usually the only choice available for me is vegetarian, which means there is cheese I remove before eating. The vegan lunch I received was a mixture of brown rice and various roasted veggies with a yummy light dressing. Delicious! I kept thinking, I must try to duplicate this and pass it on to you —my faithful readers. And so here it is... The salad I had at the conference contained green beans, zucchini, yellow squash and bell peppers. I added asparagus and carrots to my salad (shown in the pictures). You can add (and subtract) any veggies you want. Make it sing with what you love. You will not need all the dressing you make for this, ...

I know many people do not like brussels sprouts , my husband included. But I love them and they are so good for you. I started making this very easy brussels sprouts side dish some time ago and guess what? My husband likes it! Being one of the cruciferous vegetables it's great in the fight against cancer. Plus recent studies show a unique benefit of protecting DNA. I need that... and guess what? So do you! Try this out on your reluctant brussels sprouts crowd and see if you can win them over. Sautéed Brussel Sprouts from Chris Pedersen yield 2-3 servings category Side Dish cuisine Vegan ingredients 2 Tbsp coconut oil 20+ brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved (about 2 Cups) 1/4 C yellow onion, sliced 1 Tbsp of capers with juice Juice of 1/2 lemon sea salt & pepper to taste directions 1. Heat coconut oil in wok over medium high heat. Add brussel sprouts and stir until browned. 2. Add onion and stir until cooked and slightly browned. 3. Add capers and lemon juice and stir. Add ...

You are gonna love the taste of this immune-boosting soup. It's better than chicken soup, especially when you're feeling a bit  under the weather . It's full of antioxidants and nutrients to help you fight disease—even cancer. While the flu season is still going, make up a batch to fortify your family. I always have kale on hand as an ingredient for juicing or making smoothies. Don't eat kale you say. Then you need to read how healthy this lovely green vegetable is for you. This soup calls for julienned kale, which means having it cut into small thin strips. Here's the quick way I do it: Separate the leaf from the spine by cutting or a quick method is to rip the leaf from the spine—hold the spine and tear toward you. Don't worry about the small spine near the leaf top. I simply rip the top from the larger part of the leaf. Make a nice stack of the leaves, orienting them in the same direction. While holding the stack with one hand, slice off narrow strips. And...