Cyd Notter

Author and Nutrition Educator, Founder of The "Plan A" Diet™

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Great Food Finds at Walmart (Revised)

March 7, 2017 By Cyd Notter

(REVISED 3/7/16 to make clarifications on the "Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette" recipe).

Recently I discovered some new products at Walmart that are worth sharing!  Not all Walmarts carry the same items, so check with your local store.https://cydnotter.com/wp-admin/edit.php


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave's Killer Bread:   This organic, non-GMO bread is hearty and delicious - and contains NO oil.  And when it comes to "Whole Grains", it meets the "Five to One" rule used to determine how "whole" your grains actually are!  I've seen it in two sizes (smaller vs larger slices);  it makes great sandwiches, toast, or a dipper to get the last bit of gravy or pasta sauce.  The only drawback is that it's a bit pricey - but worth it if you desire to eat a healthy bread on occasion.


Riced Cauliflower:   Here's a great way to get cruciferous veggies into your daily fare.  Riced Cauliflower can be used as a rice replacement for stir-frys,  stirred into soups, or used to make The Brand New Vegan's Meat mixture which can be used for sloppy joes, stuffed peppers, or wherever ground beef was typically used.

 


Frozen Organic Pomegranate Seeds:  A great item to have in the freezer for those 'once in a while' recipes that call for pomegranate seeds!  Add them to jazz up your oatmeal, tossed salads, fruit bowls, or dressings.

One of our favorite quinoa recipes calls for pomegranates -  It's called 'Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette', shown on the Iowa Girl Eats blog.   Here's the recipe.  (Just omit the oil shown in the dressing, and of course don't add the chicken or shrimp).  Thanks Teri, for sharing this recipe with us!

 

Organic Cacao:  This is the best price I've seen for organic cacao.  If you love chocolate as much as I do, organic cacao is a healthy way to consume it.  Use it in shakes, cakes, 'ice cream' toppings and more.  If a recipe calls for regular cocoa, you can easily replace it with raw cocao powder.

Here are just a few recipes that we can vouch for:

Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf - by Isa Chandra Moskowitz - YUM!

Adonis Cake - by Engine 2.  You can use the below CHOCOLATE FUNDUE for frosting as an option.

Chocolate Fundue - by Chef AJ.  Use as a dip, frosting, or to make frozen Nutty Buddies by cutting peeled bananas in two, inserting onto skewers, coat with fundue, roll in nuts and freeze.  SOOO good.

Organic Flax Seed:  Walmart carries organic flax seed in whole form or ground.  Flax seed has a ton of nutritional benefits, but the seed must be ground in order to get them all (read the blog post here).   It's most nutritious if you grind your own seeds just prior to use, but for those times when you need to add a quick two tablespoons to a recipe, you may choose to keep some pre-ground flax on hand.

Stir the ground seeds into your oatmeal, cereals, smoothies, or use in recipes as an egg replacer (one TBS flax seed plus 3 TBS water - blend in a blender until frothy = one egg).

Remember, do not use flaxseed OIL.  All the cancer-fighting nutrition has been stripped and you're consuming a dose of pure fat.

I've also tried the on-line Walmart grocery shopping tool and thought it worked well.  You select your grocery items on-line, specify if you'll accept substitutions, and indicate what time frame you'll pick up (they provide one-hour time slots).   Once you drive into the pick up area, they deliver the groceries to your car.  There's no extra fee and you're asked not to tip the delivery person.  Not all stores offer it, but if you're in a hurry and don't want to spend time in the store, this might be an option for you.  The biggest drawback is that not all of their items are shown on the website.....something they told me they're working on.

Happy shopping ~ feel free to share YOUR good finds!

Filed Under: My Blog Tagged With: bread, Dave's killer bread, frozen pomegranates, healthy eating, oil free, riced cauliflower, vegan, Walmart

Chinese or Mexican?

January 31, 2017 By Cyd Notter

We tried a few new recipes recently, and here are the keepers!

Vegan Orange Chicken

This recipe from Brand New Vegan.com is very tasty.  The 'chicken' is actually battered and baked cauliflower bites, and the thick orange sauce is easy to prepare.  I found it to be just a tad bit time consuming, since there are several separate components (making batter and baking cauliflower, sautéing vegetables, making rice and preparing the orange sauce).  Still, I will definitely make this again; unsalted peanuts and/or water chestnuts would make a nice addition.  Note that the recipe is served over rice (although 'rice' does not appear on the ingredient list).

 

Mexican Style Bean and Rice Casserole

This casserole is delicious as is, but can also be used as a burrito filling (and topped with salsa, lettuce, guac or whatever you prefer).  The  only things I did differently are as follows:  I used a 9x13 casserole (the mixture wouldn't fit an 8x8 pan, as called for);  and I did not use the 'no-cheese sauce' recipe linked to the recipe.  I used an alternate cheese sauce because I had all the ingredients on hand.  Whichever cheese sauce you use, be sure it makes enough for the casserole (which is 2.5 cups).  Also, there are comments on this recipe to cut the zucchini smaller than suggested.

 

You can also find 'cheese' sauces here (both are tried and true, we enjoy them both):

Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce

Fat-free Vegan Cheese Sauce

PS - I'd be interested to know if you give these recipes a try!

Visit our website to learn more about the 'Plan A' Diet™ 

Filed Under: My Blog Tagged With: casserole, fat free cheese sauce, mexican beans and rice, no oil, orange chicken, vegan, vegan cheese sauce, whole food plant based

November 13, 2016 By Cyd Notter

What's on your Thanksgiving menu this year?  Here are some favorites that are being considered at our place (keeping in mind that GRAVY is a must!)

Main Dish:

Either Mary McDougall's Tofu Loaf (which we sampled last month at the Advanced Study weekend, and it was delicious.  OR, the vegan 8's "Oat Free Spicy Vegan BBQ Lentil Loaf", which is also wonderful.

Roasted Mashed Potatoes (or garlic) mashed, topped with Creamy Golden Gravy or Rich Brown Gravy. 

Soup:  Sweet Potato and White Bean Curry Soup - with roasted broccoli - one of my personal faves.

Side Dishes:

Berry Apple Relish - a wonderful side dish!  The combo of green apples, cranberries, frozen raspberries and apricot jam is a winner.

Garlicky Green Beans is on the radar as a possibility, as well as

Tossed green salad with all the trimmings, topped with any of these oil-free dressings.

Chef AJ's Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts - YUMMY.

Rolls - try the whole-wheat Artisan rolls found in the freezer at Whole Foods.  Or a healthy whole-grain, oil-free bread can be found in many grocery stores.

Dessert:

Impossible Pumpkin Pie - a tried and true favorite for my hubby, who LOVES pumpkin pie.  (I used canned pure pumpkin and it works fine).

Vanilla Cream Sauce - to top that pumpkin pie!

Mary McDougall's Chocolate Cream Pie (tried this at the Study Weekend - VERY good).

Baked Stuffed Apples - Although I haven't tried this version, it looks similar to many others that have proven to be delicious.

These are just a few suggestions to consider.  Of course there are HUNDREDS  (probably thousands) of other whole-food, plant-based, no-oil recipes that are equally as scrumptious, including "Sweet Potato Bakes" and "Stuffed Squash" recipes that would certainly fit the occasion.

Give thanks to God this year for our bountiful harvest of delicious foods which nourish and promote health in our bodies.  What a gift!

~ Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours ~

 

 

https://cydnotter.com/2016/11/1192/

Filed Under: My Blog Tagged With: Holiday, main dishes, menu, no oil, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegan no-oil, vegetarian

Diabetes – “Manage” or Reverse?

August 21, 2016 By Cyd Notter

Do you or a loved suffer with Type 2 Diabetes?  or have you been told you have "insulin-resistant" cells?  Have you tried to compensate for the cell's resistance by limiting your starch and sugar intake, with the idea that too much carbohydrate leads to too much glucose?

If so, you will be relieved to know that a dietary pattern of all-you-can eat whole grains, beans, fruits, nuts, and vegetables (including starches such as potatoes, rice and pasta) has long been established to effectively and naturally lower A1C levels to normal ranges in a short amount of time.

The American Diabetes Association’s Clinical Practice Recommendations have cited the value of whole, plant food diets for Type 2 diabetes for several years. And here’s an added bonus, according to registered dietitian Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., who says “A diet change beats a pill.  A plant-based diet improves blood sugar, body weight, blood pressure and cholesterol all at the same time, something no drug can do.”  So why “manage” diabetes when the chances our very high that it can be eliminated?

Read the entire article here.

And please be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep informed of our upcoming classes!

Filed Under: My Blog Tagged With: diabetes, diabetic, food, lower A1C naturally, plant-based, reversing diabetes, type 2 diabetes, vegan, whole food

Comfort Food? This recipe delivers!

June 26, 2016 By Cyd Notter

Creamy Chili Sauce with Zucchini,  Spinach & Pasta
        Creamy Chili Sauce with Zucchini,
                     Spinach & Pasta

In the mood for something creamy and different?  We tried a new recipe this weekend that has been added to our "Favorite" list!  The combination of home-made cashew cream, zucchini, spinach, elbow pasta and the resulting chili sauce made for an excellent combination.  The liquid smoke is optional, but I did add a couple of drops and it was delicious.  This is another home-run from "The Vegan 8" website.  Eight ingredients or less - my kind of recipe! 

Get the recipe here

PS - We have a couple of great events coming up:  The Quarterly "World's Healthiest Potluck" on Friday, July 15, 2016;  AND a great class on bone health will be held on Saturday July 23, 2016.  If interested in either event, please contact me at cydnotter@comcast.net.

Filed Under: My Blog Tagged With: chili pasta, elbow pasta, healthy, plant-based, spinach pasta, vegan, vegan 8

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