Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Happy & Healthy Link Party

Thank you for stopping by my first Happy & Healthy Link Party.  I'm hoping to do these about once/month so that we can inspire each other to be, you guessed it!, happy and healthy.



If you are here hoping to see some before and after projects or home decor ideas, don't worry.  With the kids starting school next week, I will have more time for projects and blogging.

I thought I would kick-off the party with a couple of recipes.  My doctor recommended that we try to eat at least 5 vegan meals per week, not a popular concept in my meat, seafood and potato loving family!  She also suggested we eat more quinoa.  Quinoa is a grain (really a seed) that is filled with protein and low in carbs.  It is so easy to prepare.  Just boil it with 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa for about 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is light and fluffy.  If you've cooked rice, you can cook quinoa...and it's so much healthier than rice.

Once your quinoa is cooked, you can eat it plain or add things to it.  It can be eaten either warm or cold.  Being a quinoa newbie, I was wary of just adding things willy-nilly, so I followed this recipe for Tomato Basil Quinoa from A Couple Cooks.

The recipe blends the familiar flavors of tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese.  I also added some sauteed mushrooms.  My husband and I loved the recipe.  My oldest daughter surprisingly liked it, but the younger two only tried a bite or two.  I served it warm for dinner and then ate the left-overs cold for lunch the next few days.  It was delicious either way.  I'm hooked and will be trying lots of new quinoa recipes in the near future!

While not vegetarian, another favorite healthy recipe is for Asian Lettuce Wraps from Our Best Bites.

Do you like to eat salads?  I like to eat them if somebody else prepares them, but I don't really like them if I have to make the salad myself.  Kind of weird, I know.  I came across this little cheat sheet from Food Your Way on how to build a good salad.  I know I will be referring to this to get out of my salad rut!


OK...that's enough from me.  Now, I would love to hear from you.  Feel free to link up a post or make a comment on how you stay healthy, favorite healthy recipes, healthy tips, or any secrets of happiness you have discovered.   Thanks for playing!

6 comments:

Lisa @ Lisa Moves said...

I have been eating a lot of tomato and celery salads lately. My father in law got me hooked on these--you just chop a tomato, and celery with the leaves attached, preferably--the leaves make it sort of salad-ish, and toss it with olive oil and salt. You can also add chopped up cooked potatoes if you want it a little starchier. You can toss it over arugula, too. (Fresh tomato and celery make a big difference, limp celery is not worth the effort.)

AK said...

Stay active and watch the calories. Here's a rule of thumb; for every pound you weigh multiply by 10 calories so if you weigh 100 lbs you must eat 1000 calroies a day to maitain body weight. For every hour of strenus exercise add 400 calories. So if you want to weigh 100 lbs exercise 1 hour a day and eat only 1,400 calories. I weigh 236 lbs and exercise everyday and get to eat 2,760 calories a day and maintain body weight.There are some advatages to being big K.

Courtney said...

Well I think we are in similar phases of our lives right now Suzy!! Healthier changes are afoot over here at our house and I'm enjoying every minute of it (my two girls are another story, they're missing their sugar!)
I've linked up my first ever post on anything health related - usually its about furniture- and hopefully there will be more!! Good luck with your changes and I was so excited to see you do a party!! Fantastic idea and perfect timing!!
I have quinoa in my pantry and can't wait to try it!

suzyhomemaker said...

Congrats on your new link party. Hopefully it will be a success. When I saw your post talking about quinoa I thought it was very timely. I just posted two quinoa recipes on my blog, so I linked up.

Decor & Harmony said...

Great idea Suzy :) I've been eating a lot healthier lately and it had paid off! 18 pounds gone!! I just posted a lowfat cake I will have to link it up.

Ivy & Co said...

I recently started eating quinoa too. I've felt so much better!