Fight a Cold with Zinc

Zinc Did you know?

To fight a cold
....

Zinc works better than vitamin C to put the brakes on a cold.

Yes, Vitamin C boost the immunity, but studies show zinc shortens a cold by a day and a half.

Just start taking Zinc supplements or comsuning Zinc enriched  foods within 48 hours of the first tickle in your throat.

Oysters and  Wheat Germ are foods that have the highest percentage of Zinc.


Check out these recipe to help shorten your cold .

Oyster Stew

Oyster Stew

Spinach Parmesan Oysters

Spinach Parmesan Oysters


Thai Vegetable Curry with Wheat Germ
Thai Vegetable Curry

Chocolate Truffle Pie with Wheat Germ Crust

Chocolate Truffle Pie with Wheat Germ Crust

Lobster and Crab are also high in Zinc.

Zinc is an essential mineral required by the body for maintaining a sense of smell, keeping a healthy immune system, building proteins,
triggering enzymes, and creating DNA. Zinc also helps the cells in your body communicate by functioning as a neurotransmitter.
The body does not store Zinc.


A Cooking Project with the Kids!

Cooking Project with the kids
One of the challenges of a snow storm is keeping the kids busy. Between the games, the movies and perhaps playing in the snow, cook with your kids.
Here are a few recipes to try. Also one for homemade play dough.

Start with this simple soup recipe

Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup

Make use of the snow for a tasty treat!

Snow Ice Cream

For this recipe you’ll need clean fresh snow. You can either collect it as it falls in a bowl or choose the best place to collect clean house outside our house.

This is a classic recipe that works really well because the sweetened condensed milk is thick and helps hold quickly melting snow together.

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon or big bowl of clean snow
  • 1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Mix the ingredients together and eat the snow ice cream. 

Note: The condensed milk works well because of its thick texture.  

If you don’t have sweetened condense milk use heavy cream, soy milk or milk.

Also add a cup of sugar to the recipe to sweeten.

You can also make Snow Cones using syrups made from fruits and juice that you have on hand in the blender.

Blueberry Snow Cone Syrup
Blueberry Snow Cone
Makes 8 Servings (about 2 tablespoons per serving)
Ingredients
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
1. Place the blueberries, water, honey, and lemon juice in a blender, and blend until well combined.
2. Pour the syrup into a squeeze bottle or a measuring cup and pour over snow packed into a cup.

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 tablespoons): 15 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 4g sugar, 1g fiber, 0g protein

Here is another recipe for Mango Snow Cone Syrup
. Use these recipes as a guideline for our creatiiviy
Both recipes adapted from Makeover Moms.


Keep the hands busy making dough.........

Homemade Play dough

homemade play dough
Ingredients

1 cup of flour (whatever kind you have on hand)
¼ cup of salt
½ cup of water
3 to 5 drops of natural food coloring

Instructions

Step 1: Mix together the flour and the salt.
Step 2: Mix together ½ cup of warm water with a few drops of food coloring.
Step 3: Slowly pour the water into the flour mixture, stirring as you pour. Stir until combined, then knead with your hands until the flour is completely absorbed. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it doesn’t stick at all.

Most of all have fun making memories with the kids Feel free to post on this blog to share your experience.

Popcorn


Popcorn has always been one of my favorite snacks. Making a fresh batch of popcorn is easy. Sometimes I use the air popper and other times I place popcorn kernels in a pot with oil and a lid over medium heat on the stove.
Have you ever wonder what makes popcorn pop? Check out this video then scroll down for a few seasoning options.




Plain Popcorn with a little salt and pepper olive oil or butter is good. But adding othr herbs, spices and flavors can make it special.
Superbowl is coming up soon! Here are a few ideas and recipes to get you started.
Cool Ranch Popcorn
Cool Ranch Popcorn
Serves 4         Yield: 8-10 cups

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 teaspoons buttermilk powder (found in the baking aisle)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon dried dill

Directions
In a large saucepan, stir together the oil and popcorn kernels. Cover and cook over medium heat just until you hear the kernels begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Tilt the lid slightly, allowing steam to escape. Cook until the popping slows, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand until the popping stops, about 30 seconds.
Mix buttermilk powder and spices with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat.
Adapted from Rachel Ray

Quick & Easy Caramel Cashew Popcorn Snack
Serves 6- 8

 Ingredients
10 cups popped popcorn
1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
⅛ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. water

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Butter (or spray with cooking spray) a large rimmed cookie sheet. Set aside.
Pop popcorn and measure out into a large bowl. Add cashews and toss to combine.
In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, salt and water to a boil, stirring constantly. Drizzle over popcorn and quickly stir to combine.
Spread popcorn evenly on prepared cookie sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Transfer onto wax paper to let cool.
Adapted from Yummy Healthy Easy

Peanut Butter & Jelly Popcorn

Peanut Butter & Jelly Popcorn
Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients
12 cups popped popcorn (approx. ½ cup of popcorn kernels)
⅔ cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
⅔ cup jelly (grape, strawberry, etc.)
⅛ teaspoon salt

Directions
 Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper with
cooking spray. Spread out popcorn on baking sheet, in one layer, but it's ok if it overlaps a bit. If necessary, use a second 2nd baking sheet.
In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, jelly and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly, until
mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.
Drizzle some of mixture over popcorn and with a spoon or spatula, gently combine popcorn with mixture. Continue to drizzle mixture over popcorn and combine them until all of the mixture has been used and
pretty much all popcorn has coating. Spread mixture out again so it's in one layer as much as possible.
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven, stirring popcorn every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
Adapted from Home Cooking Memories

Dairy free” Dorito Popcorn
Makes 6-8 cups
Ingredients
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 -3 Tbsp. coconut oil for popping
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
1 teaspoon onion powder or granules
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions
Prepare popcorn using oil with preferred method. 
 Mix the season together and sprinkle over the popcorn and toss.
If Air popping the popcorn toss with a little olive oil before add the seasoning, it needs the moisture from the oil in order to adhere to the popcorn.
Adapted from Whole  New Mom

Getting back to Oatmeal

A hot bowl of Oatmeal with maple sugar and cinnamon was one of my favorite breakfast meals growing up. Today Oatmeal is not limited to breakfast and cookies, but used to create a variety of savory dishes.
Oats start from the same grains, but they are cut differently. Oats can be purchased has Rolled oats and Steel Cut Oats.

Rolled Oats are whole oats that have been steamed, rolled lengthwise into a flat grain, steamed again then toasted.  They look like big flakes. Then there are quick oats, which are rolled oats that have been ground up a little bit more to make them cook faster. Quick oats are quick; whole rolled oats take a bit longer. The cooking time can be from 1 -6 minutes.

Steel cut oats are the whole raw oat that have been cut into smaller chunks. Steel cut oats look like a whole oat cut in half. So the steel cut oats definitely look like a freshly picked oat from the farm. Once cook steal oats look like rice. Steel cut oats have a sort of “nutty” flavor that rolled oats lack. They have a hearty texture in which you’ll chew every bite. The cooking time for Steel oats is about 20 – 30 minutes. Don’t fret there are quick cooking Steel Oats available.

When it comes to nutrients, let’s compare the Quaker Steel Cut Oats to Quaker Rolled Oats.

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1/4 cup of Quaker steel cut oats:                                                                                                    1/2 cup of Quaker old fashioned oats and quick oats:                                                 
 Calories – 150                                                                                                                                 Calories – 150                          
 Fat – 2.5g                                                                                                                                         Fat – 3g
 Carbs – 27g                                                                                                                                     Carbs – 27g 
Fiber – 4g                                                                                                                                          Fiber – 4g 
Sugar – 1g                                                                                                                                        Sugar – 1g
Protein – 5g                                                                                                                                      Protein – 5g  

Basically there is a ½ g difference in the fat content between the two.

One thing you want to avoid are the Instant Oatmeal that have a high sugar content and also has a high glycemic level of 83.

Oatmeal is a high fiber, good for reducing belly fat, lowering cholesterol, improving metabolism and aiding in digestion.
Here are a few new ideas to incorporate Oatmeal into your diet.