May Newsletter Hello friends! May can be SUCH a busy month! The school year’s ending, there are graduation ceremonies (and parties!); camps to schedule, vacations to plan, family gatherings, and much more! I could get overwhelmed just thinking about it! Instead, I look for ways to make a little more time in my day and give myself some breathing room. Probably my biggest timesaving opportunity is in the kitchen. Whenever I find a tool or appliance that cuts down on my meal prep time, I am excited! So I thought I’d share my top favorite timesaving tools with you! I hope this month you find time to do a few more of the activities you love most – whether it’s taking a walk, talking with a loved one, or simply “being.” P.S. I’d love to hear from you! Share some of your favorite kitchen tools. Share this newsletter with family and friends; you never know who this information will help. Love and Blessings,
Velvet Health Coach Velvet - A New Direction, LLC
[email protected] healthcoachvelvet.com 919-438-1381- give me a call _________________________________________________
Top 5 FunTimesaving Tools for the Kitchen I’ll let you in on a secret: I don’t always have time to make a meal. But I know how important it is to make a lot of my own meals in order to live the healthy lifestyle I want. That doesn’t mean cooking has to be a chore, though! My favorite kitchen tools help me make delicious, nutritious meals and snacks – faster and easier than I ever thought possible. I’ve listed them below. Give these ideas a try and let me know how it works for you. I would love to know what convenient tools you use in the kitchen. 1.Spiralizer - A spiralizer makes thin “noodles” out of raw veggies, so you get more of the benefits of vegetables in your recipes. For example, “zoodles” are made from raw zucchini. They are low in carbs, low in calories, and are a rich source of vitamins and nutrients (vitamins A, B6, C, K, and folate, manganese, and potassium). Two cups of zoodles gives you about 15 percent of the RDA of fiber, too! You can make all sorts of vegetable noodles: yellow squash (“squoodles”); carrots (“coodles”); and sweet potatoes (“swoodles”), to name a
few! Just select a vegetable that’s not too soft (tomatoes) and not too hard (acorn squash). It’s a fun way to eat more veggies. 2.Freeze lemon wedges in an ice tray. Warm water with lemon is a great morning drink for its detoxifying, astringent and hydrating qualities. An ice tray lets me squeeze and freeze more than a week’s worth of lemon juice all at once, saving me precious time in the morning. I just slice and squeeze a few lemons into a large measuring cup, pour to fill (not to the rim) the tray, then place the tray in the freezer. In the morning, I just plop one of the frozen lemon wedges in my warm water and put the tray back in the freezer. Plus, they are so cute! (You can also use the lemon wedges in recipes, and defrost one to use as salad dressing or on fish!) 3.NutriBullet. This has been one of my best investments! It makes fast work of my morning breakfast protein smoothie. I blend all the ingredients right in the cup, put on the lid and take it with me on my way to my morning workout, , appointments, errands – whatever, whenever! 4.Immersion Hand Blender. Do you love soups? Then you will love this tool! I use it to blend soup and sauce ingredients – right in the pot. It saves me from messing up another bowl and having to clean it. 5.Vegetable chopper. I admit it – I eat a LOT of fresh veggies. But chopping them takes a LOT of time. Or rather, it used to! I use a vegetable chopper to save time when I chop carrots, celery, squash, red peppers, mushrooms, and onions! And it cleans up fast, too! ______________________________________________________________________
This Month's Healthy Recipes Let’s Make Zoodles! If you love the spiralizer tool, you’ll love this recipe for using it! Ingredients: • 2 zucchini • 1 summer squash • ½ tsp olive oil • ½ lb. washed button mushrooms • 2 veggie burgers (your choice). My favorite is Hilary’s • Tomato sauce (healthy store-bought or homemade). One of my favorite brands is Rao’s Tomato Basil. (Ingredients: Italian tomatoes, olive oil, fresh onions, fresh basil, salt, fresh garlic, black pepper, oregano). Directions: Wash the zucchini and squash. Then peel or “spiralize” each one into long, slim “noodles”
(see picture). Set aside. Heat homemade or healthy tomato sauce in small saucepan. In small skillet, sauté button mushrooms in ½ tsp. ghee or olive oil. Meanwhile, heat veggies burgers in oven as directed. Then break burgers into crumbles over a small bowl. Put Zoodles in pasta dishes or on plates, mix with sauce, top with mushrooms and veggie burger crumbles, and serve. Enjoy!
Veggie Avocado Chicken Salad If you try the vegetable chopper, you’ll love this recipe! Ingredients: • Two skinless chicken breasts, baked or poached and chopped. • ¼ cup chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper • 1 stalk chopped celery • 2 chopped carrots • ¼ of an onion, chopped • 1 – 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic • 1-2 very ripe avocados, cubed • 1 TBSP fresh lime juice • 1 TBSP organic yellow mustard (optional) • 1½ tsp chipotle or chili powder • Pinch of black pepper • Handful of arugula (try something new!) Directions: Chop cooled chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and place in large bowl. Add all the chopped vegetables (except not the avocado -- yet) and mix well with a large fork. Now add the cubed avocado; mash the avocado into the chicken and vegetable mixture, stirring and mashing until you have a slightly smooth consistency. Add the lime juice, the yellow mustard if using, and the chipotle or chili powder. Mix well. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and arugula leaves just before serving. Serve on butter lettuce leaves, unsalted brown rice cakes, crackers, or toasted whole-wheat bread. __________________________________________________________________________
Spring is a great time to renew your health and wellness goals! And no one can help you achieve those goals like your own, personal Health Coach! What better way to welcome Spring than feeling and looking your BEST! You CAN
have more energy, lose weight, and eliminate your food-related symptoms. I can help you! I am passionate about helping my clients through my one-on-one health coaching. It’s amazing to see my clients succeed even when they thought it would it would never happen for them. Discover how my clients trade their unhealthy habits for healthy ones; how they learn to stop “binging” and "emotional eating;" reduce their cravings; sleep better; balance their blood sugar, reduce their cholesterol level and diabetes symptoms, and much, much more! This Spring, let it be YOUR turn to refresh and renew! I look forward to supporting you! Healthcoachvelvet.com
919-438-1381 - give me a call
