Another Fabulous Fall Meal (Gluten-Free)

Oct 25th, 2009

I’m having a lot of fun cookin’ up new ideas for fall produce–and sharing them in videos like this one.  Here’s what I had tonight.  The color is washed out because it loses resolution from the video conversion process.  But, trust me, the colors of the real thing were bright and appealing!

So………….I want to have more healthy dinner ideas from you!  At the comment link below, describe your healthy meals and how to make them.  And if you send me the embed code for a video, I’ll plunk it in so everyone can see it. 

Night After Night – What's for Dinner?

Oct 24th, 2009

Now I’m on a roll with the fall harvest.  On my stovetop right now I’m steaming spaghetti squash.  When it’s fully cooked you can scrape it away from the shell in spaghetti-like strands.  Here’s a preview…

I’m not an expert on spaghetti squash.  I think I’ve had it once maybe.  So I’m channeling the universe again, and the universe says, top it with a spaghetti sauce with sauteed garlic, fresh mushrooms, and add several handfuls of fresh spinach at the end.  Next, I christened it with a few shakes of red pepper flakes.  But for the more delicate pallets, you can skip the heat.

I don’t know what the etiquette is for complimenting your own cooking, but since nobody was here to eat it with me, I went on and on about how great it was.  And it was great.  It satisfied me on so many levels. 

You can’t see how beautiful it looked because this video washes out all the colors.  You also can’t smell it and see the swirls of heat coming off of it.  It was slurpy-good and I mean that in the best sense of the word.  You can see all the juice this little number created.  Even Toby wanted to lick the plate!  But I beat him to it!

Share your ideas for healthy fall meals at the comment link below.  And include your “recipes.”  I don’t really use recipes but describe the basic ingredients.  Would love to hear what you’re cooking! 

What’s For Dinner

Oct 23rd, 2009

Here’s what I’ve got baking in the oven. I’m working on going gluten- and dairy-free and I’m trying to wrap my mind around how to make things taste good. So tonight I cut open an acorn squash from the farmers’ market and started channeling the universe for ways to make it taste like heaven.  After a long work week, I want food that tastes great and satisfies all of my senses.

Note:  When I cook intuitively, each step becomes clear as I move through the processes of washing and chopping and scanning the row of spices. 

Here’s what came to me while tuning in.  I mixed the following fruits and nuts together adding a small amount of olive oil for moisture, flavor, and health benefits:

• One apple (chopped)
• Small handful of dried cranberries
• Small handful of organic raisins
• A tablespoon each of raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• 5-7 walnuts
• A sprinkle of dried onions
• A dash of ground cloves
• A smidgen of ginger
• Several shakes of cinnamon
• Several shakes of sea salt

After mixing these ingredients together, I filled the two halves of the acorn squash and popped them in the convection oven on 375 for an hour.  I did not peel the acorn squash.  I just cut it in half and scooped out the seeds.  I’ll keep checking it in case it doesn’t take that long. It smells divine. 

I think hearty fall foods help compensate for the sometimes cold, wet, and dark days of fall and winter. Flannel sheets help too!  It also helps that it’s the weekend and tonight I get to do whatever I want!  I hope you set aside times during the week to do whatever YOU want.  It’s critical to health and happiness.  And I’m not just saying that.  It’s critical.

Just checked and it’s not done yet so I’m snacking on celery dipped in red pepper humus. 

Anybody have ideas for some healthy, hearty fall foods? Tell us at the comment link below. 

The Fun Theory

Oct 22nd, 2009

Have you ever noticed that if things are fun, we’ll do them even if they’re more difficult than the alternative?  Getting more physically active is our #1 health challenge.  How can we make it more fun?  A group of students from Stockholm came up with a brilliant idea…and here’s how they implemented it.

At company picnics and retreats, employees do the craziest things because they’re fun…like the three legged race and the ropes challenge courses.  I recently heard of a company challenge to build a “boat” from cardboard that must transport an employee from one end of the pool to the other.  What else can we do at home and at the work site to make physical activity more fun?

Here’s my suggestion. Create a “Fun Committee” at work that dreams up wild and crazy and FUN ways to bring wellness into the workplace.  And on the home front, get your kids involved.  If they’re not yet teenagers, the serious gene isn’t full blown yet and they’re not as worried that you’ll embarrass them.

I’m tapped out.  I need your help….what other suggestions do you have? Leave your comments at the link below.

Good Reason To Limit Use of Plastic

Oct 22nd, 2009

This story is so strange I even went to Snopes.com to see if it was an urband legend.  I wish it was.  Plastic is one of the least biodegradable products on the planet.  Can we use less?  Leave your comments at the link below the post.

Midway
Message from the Gyre

These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Missing in Action

Oct 7th, 2009

I’ve been missing in action again – helping my elderly parents with the transition to “independent” living.  This has been “The Year of The Parent” on the Chinese calendar.  Actually, it’s been more like two years, but who’s counting.

As soon as I get back to normal here at CherylMillerVille, I’ll fire up the blog posts and spread a little more health and happiness around.  Until then, how are you doing?  What’s up in your life?  What’s down in your life?  Leave a comment at the comment link below.