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11/30/2020 0 Comments

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

When dieting people tend to avoid starchy and heavy foods when really they should be accepting them with open arms. Nutrient dense food keeps you full longer and is jammed packed of amazing health benefits! There are so many ways to play with this fun colored vegetable and change the flavor and texture to keep it new and interesting. I love sweet potatoes for all the previously mentioned benefits but also because they are so easy to take with you on a trip and heat up in the airplane oven or your hot logic. Hot meal and nutritious meals are priceless when you are away from home and traveling for days.

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

When I talk about sweet potatoes, I get a lot of questions that always complicate things. What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? THIS BLOG has some very interesting historical information on the differences. According to Delishably, "Sweet potatoes are a starchy tuber native to the Americas that is distantly related to a potato. Sweet potatoes in the US come in two varieties: one with a creamy, white interior and the other with an orange interior.
Yams, on the other hand, are a tuber native to the tropical regions of Africa and Asia. They generally have darker, bark-like skin on the outside and vary in color on the inside from creamy white to purple. They contain no starch."

So now that we know the difference between a yam & a sweet potato and we can focus on the fun stuff!
How to eat them!

I am absolutely obsessed with all 5 of these breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes. They are filling and nutritious and perfect for on the go. You can make your sweet potato ahead of time and wrap in tinfoil and put all the stuffing ingredients in a small glass container or also in tin foil and then mix it all together when you are ready to eat them.
1) PB&J Stuffed Sweet Potato has chia seeds, peanut butter (which can easily be replaced with your favorite seed butter), bananas, raspberry chia jam, & strawberries.
2) Cinnamon Apple Stuffed Sweet Potato with almond butter, cinnamon baked maple apples, coconut yoghurt, and pecans.
3) Southwest Scramble includes black beans, tofu scramble, cherry tomato, salsa, and cilantro.
4) Double Chickpea Hummus with kale, crispy roasted chickpeas and tahini.
5) Pesto White Bean with walnut pesto, avocado & tomato.

This gorgeous taco stuffed sweet potato can easily be made into a vegan treat by adding replacing the ground beef with your favorite meat substitute. Some people love soy chorizo, my favorite is the beyond meat hot Italian sausage.
This recipe is great because it also includes how to make your very own fresh salsa. You can't beat that!
To take this on the road, wrap the precooked sweet potato in tin foil or in a glass Tupperware and keep the topping and salsa separate. Add the topping to a glass to go container and heat up with sweet potato in the airplane oven or your hot logic. Once those are warm, top the sweet potato with the taco mixture and then add salsa on last with avocado.

You can also make this a breakfast taco by adding in some scrambled eggs. Also, if you aren't sensitive to beans, black beans would be a great addition to this stuffed pepper!

This Steak Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potato makes my mouth water just looking at it!
It would be so delicious with my favorite creamy avocado dressing:

1 large avocado
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
water, as needed (I add up to 1/4 cup)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a mini food processor add the peeled clove of garlic, avocado, lime or lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times. Thin the salad dressing out with a little bit of water (1/4 cup or more) until it reaches a desired consistency.
Keep in an airtight container for at least a week, but 3 to 4 days is best.

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11/29/2020 3 Comments

Stuffed Peppers

I am all about making meals inside their own food bowls. Between stuffed sweet potatoes, stuffed squashes and stuffed peppers we have a wide variety of options to cook a nutritious hot meal on the go!
You can wrap them in tinfoil or put them in an oven safe container and put them in the airplane oven or your hot logic. They keep you full all day and they can be flavorful and fun. Depending on if you are eating meat or you are plant based, whether you are choosing grains or beans, there are a wide variety of ways to prepare this fun and easy meal in advance and even take a couple with you for a multi day trip. I have had no issues with keeping them for a 3 day trip.

CHOOSING YOUR PEPPER

How many humps in a pepper?

When shopping for a pepper there are many options on how to choose the perfect pepper. There are lots of rumors and speculations on whether when you turn your pepper upside down are there 2 or 5 humps and if that means it is male or female, does one have more seeds than the other, is one sweeter? This site suggests that 3 bump peppers are great for cooking and stir fry and 4 bump peppers are better raw with salads. Either way, it seems to be personal preference, so don't worry too much about that.

Organic vs. Non organic?

Peppers are not in the EWG's dirty dozen list this year however they have been featured on this list previously. I try and do everything organic, but sometimes it isn't possible.
My personal rule of thumb is this:
If you eat the peel of the fruit or veggie,
buy organic if you can afford to.

What color pepper do I choose?

The Meal Prep Manual says, "Do you know the difference between the color of bell peppers? They actually all come from the same plant and are at different stages of the lifecycle. A green pepper is the youngest while the red peppers are the oldest. There are a few different shades you can find but the most popular are the once pictured here.
Green peppers spend the least amount of time on the vine. They are picked early on and because of this they are more bitter than the other colors. It’s just like any other fruit, pick it before it’s ripe and the sugars won’t be developed yet. Green peppers are the cheapest of the bunch because of where they are sourced from and they don’t require the same amount of time and care to grow as the others. Out of all the varieties they have the lowest content of vitamin C and second lowest vitamin A.
Yellow and orange peppers are a bit harder to find in stores. They don’t usually carry as many of these. Yellow peppers have the highest vitamin C while orange is highest in vitamin A. One reason for why these may be more expensive is because they higher in nutrient density than red or green. If you are getting plenty of nutrients from other foods, it probably won’t make a difference to choose orange and yellow over red and green.
When picking peppers, look for ones that are firm and deep in color. Some wrinkles are normal but try and pick ones void of lots of them. The easiest way to cut peppers is to put them upside down on their stem and cut down from the bottom of the pepper to the top. This keeps the seeds in tact and slicing quick."

Personally, I am obsessed with phytochemicals in food and all of their health benefits. I even have a workshop about nurturing your chakras with phytochemicals! It is really important to eat all of the colors of the rainbow. I choose all the colors of peppers and stuff them with my favorite fillings and rotate which days I eat what color. Sometimes I will eat half a green pepper and then half a red pepper. Switch it up! Have fun with it!

RECIPES

I really love this recipe for stuffed peppers.
Depending where I'm at for the month, I might be feeling some real organic ground meat or I might be more inclined to use beyond meat. My favorite is the spicy Italian sausage. I find that it is way less greasy than real meat which makes it easier for traveling.

One of my favorite and unconventional ways to make a stuffed pepper is a vegetarian shepherd's pie stuffed pepper!
Of course you can make it with meat, or with the Beyond Beef Spicy Italian Sausage. That is up to you!
You can even replace regular potatoes with sweet potatoes for a completely different flavor!

This recipe shows the basic construction of the peppers with the mixture but I don't think their actual shepherd's pie recipe is the healthiest.

This recipe is the perfect healthy version for the shepherd's pie to fill your stuffed pepper.

This recipe really depends on you and your digestion. Whether you know how grains and lentils affect your body. This is a power house recipe for protein and will keep you full all day and give you that energy you need for that 12 hour day. If you aren't sure how grains affect you or if you have any food sensitivities, I highly recommend avoiding this recipe until you take a food sensitivities test. Click here for a discount code on an Everly Well at home food sensitivity test.

There are so many ways to enjoy stuffed peppers. Have fun and use your imagination! Don't forget to eat the rainbow and tag me in the pictures of your creations! @barefootphilosophy on IG

3 Comments

11/24/2020 2 Comments

Health Group Coaching Benefits

"When you are interested, you do what is convenient. When you are committed, you do what it takes. "

Every day people are waking up and realizing that their current lifestyle is no longer serving them or supporting their health. Studies show that the increase in chronic illness, depression, and obesity is on the rise. Doctors are treating the symptoms, therapists are finding the emotional issues, and health coaches are bridging the gap working to get to the root of the issues with small and manageable lifestyle changes helping people every day to become the best version of themselves.

Benefits of coaching are:
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-Learn new ways to incorporate self care
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-Having someone with empathy who can listen and relate to your struggles
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-Finding more energy
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Health group coaching is such a powerful tool especially in this modern day and age. With the climate of the world pandemic, online meetings have been an incredible tool to keep business moving and keeping people in touch. Facebook groups and zoom meetings can give people the support they need in just a quick minute.

When I became a health coach, I wasn't sure how I wanted to use my knowledge and skills but eventually the doors opened and it became clear that group coaching is something I love to do and something I am able to offer for free! I love one on one coaching but often times you just don't connect with the coach whether it's their energy or their style. Group coaching gives you a sneak into the style of coaching and an opportunity to connect with the coach and decide if that person is right for you.

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Benefits of joining a health coaching group are:
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Check out what the Mayo Clinic has to say about group coaching!

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2 Comments

11/2/2020 1 Comment

Roasted Beets

Beets are actually one of my top 5 favorite vegetables and for me, thats a hard list to make! They come in a variety of colors and I think they are one of the most misunderstood vegetables. One of my favorite activities is converting people from being anti-beet to extremely excited about beets.

"Beetroot, also known as beets, red beets, golden beets, and table beets (all of which are the same thing) is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. They’re a powerhouse of nutrients, packed with tons of vitamins and minerals that have been proven to provide a wealth of benefits for overall health and well-being. In fact, beets offer so many benefits that they’re really quite impressive." [1]

Maybe when you where young you tried beets for the first time and hated them, like me. One Thanksgiving I went in for a big helping of what I thought was a canned cranberry sauce (truly a can of sugar, btw) and what I really ate was a big thing of pickled beets. I was convinced until just 4 years ago that beets where the grossest thing on earth. There are some people who are convinced they taste like dirt but I have still converted them with this super simple recipe. I have also worked with people who have an aversion to the color of beets. With that, I normally choose to mix orange and red beets.
According to Livestrong.com, "Orange beets are good for your heart, help to cleanse your kidneys, have lots of antioxidants, lower your cholesterol and are full of vitamins. All this is contained in a vegetable that tastes a little bit less earthy than traditional red beets. All beets have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pigments that are called betalains. Red beets and purple beets get their color from betacyanins. Orange beets, which are also called golden beets or yellow beets, get their pigment from betaxanathins. Beets of any color have both of these as well as plenty of potassium, magnesium and vitamin C." [3]
For more information on how to handle food aversions, click here. [2]

The number one recipe people ask me for is the beet recipe and it is surprisingly simple!

1) Pre heat oven to 350.
2) Scrub beets
3) Chop beets into 1/2 inch cubes
4) Toss in your favorite oil. I've used coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil.
5) Season with salt. Thats it!
6) Bake in oven at 350 for 30 min. (Until a fork can easily slide through.)
I personally love to bake mine in a cast iron skillet.

Spice it up and top with goat cheese or walnuts!

According to "Very Healthy Life",
Here are the top 20 health benefits for eating beets:

1) Reducing blood pressure
2) Lowering blood sugar
3) Can help ward off neurodegenerative diseases (ie. Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, & dementia)
4) Increase post work-out recover time
5) Enhances brain activity
6) Improve athletic performance.
7) They have the GOOD carbs
8) Promotes healthy bones
9) Reduces the risk of birth defects
10) Treats anemia
11) Improves digestion
12) Improves liver health
13) May prevent cancer
14) Increase sexual performance
15) Supports eye health
16) Combats premature aging
17) Detoxifies your blood
18) Provides natural energy
19) May prevent the risk of a stroke
20) Improves the rate of healing

Are you convinced to be a beet lover yet?!
If not, just try this recipe and let me know if you are a convert!

For more ways to cook interesting vegetables and how to sneak more veggies into your diet, check out this blog!

You can even try this recipe of Roasted Beets with Orange & Thyme from Martha Stewart!

Play with your food!
Cooking is fun but eating is even more fun!

Sources:
Image: https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/beets
[1]https://veryhealthy.life/20-nutritional-facts-beets/?utm_source=health%20benefits%20of%20beets&utm_medium=20NutritionalFactsAboutBeets&utm_campaign=adw_us
[2]https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jun/18/food-aversions-why-occur-how-tackle
[3] https://www.livestrong.com/article/525504-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-orange-beets/

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YOUR CART

Hello!

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

Stuffed Peppers

CHOOSING YOUR PEPPER

RECIPES

There are so many ways to enjoy stuffed peppers. Have fun and use your imagination! Don't forget to eat the rainbow and tag me in the pictures of your creations! @barefootphilosophy on IG

Health Group Coaching Benefits

"When you are interested, you do what is convenient. When you are committed, you do what it takes. "

Click the banner to get started on your FREE 21 day challenge!

Roasted Beets

Play with your food!
Cooking is fun but eating is even more fun!

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contact

YOUR CART

​Hello!

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

Stuffed Peppers

CHOOSING YOUR PEPPER

RECIPES

There are so many ways to enjoy stuffed peppers. Have fun and use your imagination! Don't forget to eat the rainbow and tag me in the pictures of your creations! @barefootphilosophy on IG

Health Group Coaching Benefits

"When you are interested, you do what is convenient. When you are committed, you do what it takes. "

Click the banner to get started on your FREE 21 day challenge!

Roasted Beets

Play with your food!​Cooking is fun but eating is even more fun!

Categories

Archives

Don't miss a thing! Sign up for the newsletter.

Home

contact

Hello!

Play with your food!
Cooking is fun but eating is even more fun!