The other day, I was reading through a magazine and came across a somewhat startling statistic- “95% of US healthcare funds go towards treating illness with only 5% going towards disease prevention”.  Practicing in a hospital setting, this news is not exactly shocking to me because the majority of my patients have acute illnesses.  On the rare occasion, I may receive an outpatient weight loss referral for a patient that that has not yet developed co-morbidities such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes.  This infrequent occurrence usually requires a prevention-minded doctor and an extremely motivated patient. 

It’s obvious that American medicine is not doing such a great job of promoting health and wellness nor is it preventing chronic diseases.  Taking responsibility and ownership of our own health is important.   

How do you define health?  I believe being healthy is much more that being free of illness/sickness and that one’s health is defined by one’s behaviors.  Many of today’s illnesses are a result of people’s behaviors such as smoking, inactivity, and poor nutrition. 

What have you done for your health today?  So far today, I am close to reaching my fruit and veggie goals (should reach after dinner) and I plan on exercising as soon as I press “Publish”!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week

Kasey

Anyway, back to the beans!  The whole process began Saturday when I soaked one pound of dry red beans in water overnight.  The only rule is to make sure all the beans are covered in water.

Sunday morning, I drained and rinsed the beans.  Next, I mixed the beans with 4 cups of water, low-fat turkey sausage, and some seasonings into my CrockPot.

Ingredients

-1 pound dry beans (soaked overnight)

-4 cups water

- 7 ounce (1/2 package) low-fat turkey sausage, chopped

-1 tablespoon chopped garlic

-1/2 cup chopped onions

-2 green onions, chopped

-1 teaspoon pepper

-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

-1 bay leaf

-salt to taste

Serve over rice

I set the CrockPot to cook for 8 hours on low.

After 8 hours, the beans were perfect…

Cory said they were better than “Blue Runner Red Beans” which are the most popular canned beans sold mainly in the South.  An advantage to making beans from scratch is that you can control how much salt goes into the beans.  Canned goods are notorious for being very high in sodium.  Another advantage of beans is that they are inexpensive.  It cost me $1.40 for one pound of dry beans and so far Cory and I have eaten from the batch twice and we still have leftovers.  I am considering freezing the leftovers because I hear red beans freeze pretty well.   

Have you ever cooked beans from scratch?  What’s your favorite slow cooker meal?

Kasey

I tried a new dish the other night adapted from a coworker’s recipe… 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

-5 green bell pepper

-1/2 pound extra lean ground beef

-1/2 pound raw, peeled shrimp

-1/2 cup chopped onions

-1 Tablespoon minced garlic

-1 Tablespoon oil

-1 can diced tomatoes

-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-1/2 teaspoon dried basil

-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

-1 bay leaf

-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

-1/2 cup brown rice

-1/2 cup water

-1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese

-grated parmesan cheese (optional) 

Directions

Cut the peppers in half while removing the tops and seeds. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the peppers for ~8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, cook the beef until browned.

In a separate skillet, heat oil and sauté onions and garlic until softened.  Add shrimp and cook ~5 minutes.

Combine beef, shrimp, onions, garlic, tomatoes with juice, rice, water, spices, and Worcestershire sauce into a large skillet.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Stuff each pepper half with the beef/shrimp/rice mixture and place peppers open side up in a baking dish.  Top with grated parmesan cheese (optional).

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. (I broiled the peppers the last couple minutes to make the tops crispy!)

Cory and I are used to eating stuffed peppers with breadcrumbs instead of rice but we still really liked this recipe!  We both scored it 8 out of 10.

Have you ever cooked or eaten stuffed bell peppers?  What are you cooking this week?

Kasey

I was delighted as soon as pulled into the parking lot.  Seriously, how cute is this place?!

There was a gorgeous display of fresh fruit toppings (kiwi, mango, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, watermelon, strawberry, etc) along with some crunchier toppings like low-fat granola, nuts, & cookies.  I decided on the pomegranate flavor frozen yogurt but first I sampled the original flavor which tasted like a Greek yogurt but frozen (note to self- start freezing Greek yogurts!).  I added fresh kiwi and raspberries and a waffle cookie.

Frozen yogurt contains active live cultures which helps support a healthy immune system and may help regulate digestion. While frozen yogurt is often a lower fat and lower Calorie alternative to ice cream, you have to be careful with serving sizes and toppings.  The size options at Pinkberry were “mini”, “small”, “medium”, and “large”.  I ordered the “small” size which equals about 3/4 cup of frozen yogurt at 180 Calories, 32 gm sugar, 5 gm protein, 0 gm fat, & 15% of the Daily Value of Calcium. I added an extra 30 Calories of fresh fruit and an estimated 80 Calories from the Waffle Cookie for a grand Calorie total of 290 Calories.  My “Fro Yo” was outstanding!!!  Pinkberry’s employees actually portion everything out for the customers which is a huge benefit in my opinion. Some other Frozen Yogurt joints are self-serve which means you can pile on a much frozen yogurt and toppings as you want into a pretty generous bowl and pay by the ounce as you leave.  That sounds dangerous in regards to portion control because many underestimate serving sizes.

Have you enjoyed a frozen yogurt treat this summer?  Have you ever eaten frozen Greek yogurt?

Kasey

The above picture is of Nicole and I with the bride-to-be at her bridal shower.  Of course, I had a wonderful time with everyone and we are counting down the days until the next bridal party event- the bachelorette party is in NYC over Labor Day!

After living together for four years during college, my passion for nutrition definitely rubbed off on Nicole.  Can you believe she did not know what fiber was until she moved in with me?!  After almost a full day spent at the airport due to flight delays, Nicole showed up to my house with a couple healthy snacks she picked up at the airport.  I was impressed with what she choose for snacks considering it can be a challenge to find healthy snacks at the airport.

First, she grabbed a bag of Popchips in place of regular potato chips. Have you tried Popchips yet?

It was my first time trying Popchips and I thought they were delicious.  They contain >50% less fat than regular, fried potato chips and about a quarter less calories! 

The other nutritional impressive snack she pulled out was dried mango.  You definitely have to be careful with dried fruits because some products contain lots of added sugar.  This particularly brand’s only ingredient was organic mangos!

The dried mango was delicious but very chewy.  My only gripe is that it got stuck in my teeth while eating!  While I’m flying, I usually pack a couple snacks like a handful of nuts or a Larabar to hold me over until the next meal.  What is your “go-to” snack while traveling?

Before I go, here are some of my favorite wedding pictures…

Hope everyone is having a great week! Till next time

Kasey

For bread, I toasted some whole wheat sandwich thins. Have you tried these yet?  The stats are pretty impressive with 5 gm fiber per one serving!

Next, I spread 2 Tablespoons of Classic Hummus onto the bread which adds healthy fats and a bit of protein.

For the stars of the sandwich, I added fresh, chopped red & yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, and spinach topped with a sprinkle of shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese served with a sliced kiwi.

So good! I was raving about this sandwich for the rest of the day! Do you ever eat veggie sandwiches?  What’s your favorite sandwich topping?

Kasey

To begin, I made sure the scallops were very dry by using a paper towel to absorb any extra moisture.  I used about 8 ounces of scallops to serve two people. 

I seasoned the scallops with 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and a dash of salt & pepper.  Next, I heated one tablespoon of olive oil on medium high and cooked 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped ginger and 1/2 Tablespoon of minced garlic for about a minute. 

Then, I added the scallops to the pan and cooked each side of the scallops for about 2 minutes.

I served the seared scallops over a bed of spinach and fresh chopped red bell peppers topped with shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese and red wine vinegar as the dressing.

The hint of fresh ginger was a great addition to this salad! 

Do you eat more salads during the summer months?  What are some of your favorite things to add into a salad?

Kasey

Today, we brought corn, asparagus, and vegetables skewers with zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and bell peppers.  Everything turned out delicious!

For perfectly grilled corn, soak the corn (with husk) in water for about 30 minutes.

To grill, simply place directly on the grill (lower heat) still in the husk and cook for ~25 minutes, turning the corn every 5 minutes or so.  Expect the husk to blacken a bit.

After cleaning and trimming the asparagus, we sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder and a little bit of salt & pepper. 

To grill, place asparagus directly on grill and cook for ~8-10 minutes, occasionally turning.

For the veggie skewers, we cleaned and chopped the zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and bell peppers.  Once on the skewers, we sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, & pepper.

To cook, place directly on the grill and cook ~10 minutes (depending on the heat of the grill).

I think the asparagus was the biggest hit because we didn’t have any leftover! 

How did you celebrate the Fourth of July?  What is your favorite food to grill?

Kasey

 Photos taken by me during our honeymoon

A balanced life is something I strive for.  Scheduling a weekday dinner with a friend, enjoying a glass of wine without the noisy TV in the background, or looking at my wedding/honeymoon pictures countless times because they make me smile are all things that I have done recently to try to really appreciate life to the fullest.  I’m a work in progress and constantly have to practice “living in the moment”! 

What was the last simple pleasure you enjoyed?

Are you “living in the moment”? 

Kasey

Me Zip Lining!

It was a thrilling, unforgettable experience!  People in our group who I totally expected to back out at the last minute rose to the challenge.  Sure, the ladies had to wear very unattractive hair nets under our helmets but it was a sacrifice we were willing to make!  We went down several zip lines (around 10 or so), swung like Tarzan from one tree to another, and repelled down about 75 feet from the top of a tree! 

Cory swinging like Tarzan!

Cory repelling down the tree!

I actually did experience one minor injury- rope burn on the back of my arm.  It happened as a rope whipped up during my tree repel.  Although you can see it in a few of our wedding pictures, it’s totally not a big deal!  It actually reminds me of the awesome time we had in the Rain Forest!  Other cool things we discovered in the Rain Forest…

A Wax Apple-grows like crazy in the Caribbean per our tour guide! It looked like a mini apple/pear hybrid.  Of course, I tasted it!

It was very juicy and refreshing with a slightly sour taste.  We also spotted a Cashew tree!

According to our tour guide, the cashew tree produces both a fruit (the cashew apple) and a nut (the cashew).  In its raw form, the cashew nut is not edible due to a toxin called urushiol which is the same chemical in poison ivy.  If ingested, it can cause skin rashes.  The cashews we find in stores are steamed and/or roasted to release the harmful toxin.  The cashew changes color during the processing.  Cashews have high levels of essential minerals—iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and manganese. One ounce contains 160 calories, 12 g fat, (mostly healthy fats). 5 g protein, and 1 g fiber and is one of Cory’s favorite snacks!

What was the last adventurous thing you did?

Have you ever tried an “exotic” fruit?

Kasey