Stretch Away Business/Travel Tension
HeartMatters for Man on the Go: Healthy Travel Tip Tuesday.
Fruit Cobbler
Not too sweet, not too tart…that’s how a fruit cobbler should be! This time of year is so rich in the bounty that is available at the natural foods cooperative market where I shop: fruit, fruit, and more fruit. I make smoothies. I chop up berries to mix with cereal. I keep a huge fruit salad cut up and in the fridge, ready to savor at any moment–alone, with yogurt, or even on top of vanilla ice cream. Grapes and cherries, papaya, mango, pineapple, apples, pears, peaches, plums, berries, bananas–you name it and I’ll include it in my fruit salad.
I am a real advocate of preparing foods ahead as much as possible to increase access to healthful small meals throughout the day. I have found a delicious twist to this that is a healthful treat, and especially useful if the fruit salad has been in the fridge a day too long! Healthful Treat. Now when’s the last time you saw those two words together?
Ingredients:
- as above, any fruit you have lying around, chopped into bite size pieces
- sugar, to taste
- granulated tapioca
- optional: a pinch of cinnamon and/or fresh ground nutmeg
- flour
- sugar
- coconut oil (in its solid form, not liquid)
To prepare:
- The amount of sugar you mix into the fruit will depend on how much fruit salad you will be using, as well as your personal taste preference. I suggest: Go Tart!
- Mix in granulated tapioca. (try 3 T for every 4 cups of fruit)
- Consider cinnamon or nutmeg here, but just a small pinch.
- Put the fruity mix into a glass baking dish.
*** Here’s where the fun begins: assembling the cobbler topping *** - In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and coconut oil until you have a crumbly mess that is not too sweet but pleasing to the palate. (see note below)
- Pour the crumble over the fruit, spreading evenly to the edges of the dish.
- Bake uncovered, in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45-ish minutes, keeping an eye on the topping. Once it starts to become golden brown, I turn the oven off, but let the dish sit happily inside for another 10 minutes or so.
- Let it cool, then enjoy this delicious and healthy treat.
- Top with yogurt or creme fraiche, and you’ve got a small meal of good quality fat, carbs, fiber, and amazing flavor.
NOTES:
- I’m not a measuring spoon type of gal; I love the free flow of creativity in the kitchen. It works out most of the time, that I am rewarded with a delish dish or meal that may never taste the same way twice, but that elicits joy and satisfaction in the process.
- My personal choice is organic food; from produce to flour, sugar, grains, spices, coconut oil, dairy, etc. See how that concepts fits into your own personal choices.
- For this recipe, I use unprocessed cane sugar and light brown sugar. I suggest that you try to shift towards less sugar when baking–the tartness in fruit is quite exciting once your mouth has a chance to savor the flavors beyond sweet.
- I love coconut oil. Yes, it is a saturated fat, but one that has the health benefits of plant foods, and woweezowee, once you get a taste of it in this topping, you’ll never go back!
Grilled Veggies Extraordinaire!
It is nearly unimaginable to me that I have gone through my entire adult life–until last week–before becoming familiar with this divine, easy, and healthy method of cooking up a bunch of vegetables all at once–and having them come out as a side dish to any meal that a 5-star chef would be proud of! Where have I been hiding? Well, it’s never too late and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I now do!
Ingredients:
- any and all veggies that you round up: zucchini, peppers (red and yellow), cauliflower, mushrooms, eggplant, broccoli, purple onion, green beans — don’t hold back!
- olive oil
- good quality balsamic vinaigrette (I use fig vinaigrette–it’s sweet flavor adds a surprise zip to the marinade)
- a small pinch of salt and a hearty pinch of black pepper
To prepare:
1. cut veggies into bite size pieces, and place into large bowl
2. add enough olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette to please your palate, and to coat the veggies uniformly
3. add the salt and pepper; mix it all up well
4. place the veggies into one of those grill pans intended for small pieces of food (see photo)
5. cook for 15 minutes on medium flame on the BBQ, stirring every 5 minutes
6. Enjoy the most delish, crunchy, healthy, aromatic, and simply marvelous veggies you have ever eaten!
Notes from Glacier National Park
I have seen more wildflowers today than on perhaps any other day in my life. Reverence is the word I can use to describe my emotional response to the exquisite natural beauty I witnessed today. As I was immersed in the splendor of Glacier, sharing the marvelous scenery with my husband John, I ran out of superlatives to describe my wonder. What a truly mindful experience. Pure sensory stimulation. And what a gift to slow down enough to smell, to feel, to listen, to observe…I wish I could find words to share the quality of the smells in the air, but alas I cannot. Suffice it to say that the freshness, the green-ness, the sweetness, was so raw, so new, it was divine beyond description. The tactile stimulation was also virtually indescribable: warm sun on skin, cool shade bringing goosebumps, gentle breeze ruffling through my hair, cold water on my toes… Oh, the sounds–birdsong the likes of which I have not heard, rushing water, swaying trees, and silent forests–all of it joyful in my ears. And, the visuals: now I am back to the flowers, the meadows, the rivers and lakes, the steep hillsides, Rocky Mountain goats, Bighorn sheep, all living in the incredibly thick forests. How blessed I am to be here, in the midst of the beauty of life.