Travel Essentials: Tea Infusers

I love coffee. But, with my recent endeavors into eating healthy I wanted to steer clear of cream and sugar, so I made the switch to green tea. I would be lying if I told you I did not flavor my tea with honey, but at least it is raw, organic honey!

Making tea at home is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy with my Keurig, but I cannot take her with me on the road. Most people would say, "No worries, that is what tea bags are for." Welp, this girl is not a fan. I always manage to break tea bags. 

So my solution? 

Tea Infusers. 

They are so dang cute, compact, and there is no way could screw this one up!

Check out a few of my favorites:

Rocket ship.
My number one means of travel. 

Tea Diver.
After all, I am a scuba diver!

Robot.
Enough said.

Rubber Ducky.
The newest addition to the past year's travel collection?

Sharky.
Evil, yet compelling.

I cannot decide which one is the winner, but I need to decide quickly, I leave in 3 weeks! (more on that later)

Which one is your favorite?

Tales from my Kitchen: Tomato Explosion, with Green Beans and Zucchini

So, a few nights ago I was staring into my refrigerator, trying to figure out what I wanted with my chicken. I wasn't really feeling anything I had, but I knew my zucchini had to be cooked. I looked up a few recipes to get some ideas, and decided to recreate one Emeril's dishes, but
I wanted to make it my own.

So, here is what you will need:

• EVOO-1 tablespoon
• Zucchini (organic)-2 halved and sliced
• Green beans (organic)-12oz bag
• Onion (small)-halve and diced
• Grape tomatoes (organic)-3/4 pint
• Garlic-2 cloves
• Chicken stock (organic/no msg)-1/2 cup
• Oregano-1 teaspoon
• Red pepper flakes-1/4-1/2 teaspoon

Preheat:

Heat EVOO in skillet to medium-high heat

First:

Add green beans, garlic, and chicken stock-cover for 3 minutes
Next:
Add zucchini, onion, tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes-cover for another 5-7 minutes

Finally:

Check consistency-green beans should be tender, and some tomatoes falling apart

Enjoy!

I cannot explain what made me add grape tomatoes to this dish. It was a very last minute addition, and boy am I glad I added them, they were my favorite part. When I bit into the grape tomato it was an explosion of flavor. The combination of tomato, chicken stock, garlic, and seasoning was perfect. I could have eaten a meal out of these tomatoes. Don't get me wrong, the green bean and zucchini portion was tasty, but tomatoes stole the show.

However, next time I try this dish it will be without the tomatoes to get the full flavor and taste of the dish, without being blinded by one aspect of it.

Tales from my Kitchen: Spicy Kale Chips

So, it is about time that I start sharing the tales from my kitchen. This topic may explode a little this week as I am trying to get back on the right track with eating pretty clean. Some of these post will be a flop, some very successful. Whichever way it leans, I will give you my praises or suggested changes on the dish!

Without further ado: 

Spicy Kale Chips

Lately I have been in search of the perfect healthy snack to munch on while sitting at work or watching TV. I was walking through Harris Teeter and Kale just started screaming my name. I knew immediately what must be done. I grabbed a few stems, finished my shopping and made my way home. Except, I then had no desire to prepare and cook the kale chips.

They sat in my fridge for about a week. 

They waited. I waited. What was I waiting for? Them to cook themselves? The perfect recipe to come to mind? Was I afraid they were going to be awful? 

The only question I could answer was the last one. 

A little over a year ago I was visiting my newlywed friends, A&L, and we decided to make kale chips. We really had no clue what we were doing, but they turned out pretty darn good; and we devoured them.

I still cannot answer those other questions. 

So I just decided to suck it up and make my kale chips. Have I mentioned how easy they are to make? I had no reason to postpone this kitchen date for so long. 

So, here is what you will need:

• Kale-1 bunch (If you grocery store sales by the stem, I would suggest 6)
• EVOO-2 tablespoon
• Garlic powder-3/4 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper-1/2 teaspoon (If you do not like spicy, cut in half)
• Salt-1/4 teaspoon

First:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare Kale:

Remove stems, and tear into desired sized pieces

(Note: A&L and I did not remove the stems a year ago. Big mistake!)

Next:

In a bowl, lightly coat kale with EVOO, I suggest using your hands to toss around. Then add in garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt

Finally:

Spread kale evening onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper

Bake:

Bake for about ten minutes, or until crispy and lightly brown on the edges. 

Enjoy!

 I seriously love this dish. There are endless seasoning options, always allowing for new flavors. I favorite thing? It is healthy, and satisfying! 

Have you ever tried kale chips? How did you season them?

Ah, Sugar Sugar

One of my newest adventures is eating healthy. I have done a LOT of research on what you should and should not consume and how it affects you. Two topics I have focused on are processed foods and sugar. 

Processed foods can be traced to 4 of the top 10 chronic diseases: heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. By cutting out processed foods, not only are we lowering our risk of these four diseases, but we will also gain energy, lose weight, improve regularity, and feel better as a whole. Why wouldn't one want to cut out processed foods?

Don't know what processed foods are? They are foods that have been altered from their natural state such as: white flour, high sodium canned foods, boxed meals, processed meats, sugary breakfast cereals and packaged meals, snacks, and sweets. 

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However, some foods should be processed or are not harmful after being processed. 

For example, milk does not have to be processed, but it should be processed. 

Why? 

If you do not pasteurize your milk, you will not kill the bacteria that it contains causing food-borne illnesses. You also need to homogenize it to keep the fat from separating over time. 

Other items such as frozen berries and veggies are not harmful because freezing them actually helps in preserving their vitamins and minerals. 

100% whole grain breads and oatmeal are a few processed items which are not only okay to consume, but should be consumed. 

You should check out these videos about the aging of processed foods.

Excessive Sugar intake causes weight gain, cravings, binge eating, and heart disease (noticing a pattern yet?). It has also been linked to depression, migraines, poor eyesight and autoimmune diseases. 

According to USDA the average American consumed 152.4 pounds of sugar in 2000! 

That is an increase of 32.8 pounds since 1950-1959. 

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Are you sick to your stomach yet? Well, if not, here is a fun fact from USDA:

"In a sense, sugar is the number one food additive. It turns up in some unlikely places, such as pizza, bread, hot dogs, boxed mixed rice, soup, crackers, spaghetti sauce, lunch meat, canned vegetables, fruit drinks, flavored yogurt, ketchup, salad dressing, mayonnaise, and some peanut butter."

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Hot dogs? Lunch meat? Pizza? These were my favorite lunch time meals as a child. Heck, I still love them. I always knew they weren't the best for you, but sugar?  I don't even want to know what else that little guy is hiding in! 

The American Heart Association recommends that we limit our daily intake of sugar to 7% (100 calories) for women and 9% (150 calories) for men. 

Did you know that ONE can of soda contains 130-150 calories? 

Okay, quick fix. Drink diet soda. 

Wrong. Diet soda contains aspartame, which not only is linked to cancer, but causes you to crave sugar more than real sugar. 

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Could you imagine the improvements we would make to our bodies by changing these two things? Maybe heart disease wouldn't be the leading cause of death...just maybe.

Are are interested in making these changes to your life,but are still struggling on what to pick up?

 Remember:

Look for products of nature  

Shop the outer ring of the store: meats, dairy, fruits, veggies, whole grains etc. 

Read your labels. 

Look for items that have 6 ingredients or less. 

Avoid high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. 

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And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I am not perfect, and I don't want to be. I will still eat processed food and sugary snacks on occasion, but my goal is to control my intake of it, not let it control me. So, I welcome you to join me in my triumphs and downfalls in leading a healthier lifestyle.