Healthy Recipe: Week 4

Green Beans Almondine

from Liz Robinson

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh green beans, snapped and washed

1/2 clove fresh garlic, minced

*1 cup slivered almonds 

*1/4 cup butter (or dairy free butter)

salt to taste

*ingredient found at Apple Wellness

Directions:

Steam the green beans until nearly done. (Taste one to test doneness.) Melt the butter in the bottom of a pan, add the beans, garlic, almonds, and salt and stir. Cook for about 4 minutes until the beans are cooked through. 

Recipe Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 30 minutes (including cooking time)

Apple Fact #1

When designing the Apple Wellness logo, Becki was determined to avoid using a typical red apple. Yellow was briefly considered before choosing a bright yellow-green apple. 

Becki's Product Reviews: Week 3

What do Europe, Hawaii, Florida, New York, and Australia all have in common? Kind bars. These delicious snacks have accompanied Tim and I on every single vacation we've been on together. We snacked on Macadamia Nut and Cashew Kind bars while waiting in line at the Eiffel Tower, Walnut and Date Kind bars while driving the winding Road to Hana on Maui, and Fruit and Nut Delight Kind bars while exploring the Australian outback! Our lunch in Disney World consisted of Almond and Coconut Kind bars, and our trip to the Statue of Liberty included a snack of Cranberry and Almond Kind bars. 

Can you tell that we love Kind bars?

Kind bars are all natural whole nut and fruit bars made from ingredients you can actually pronounce. They're super healthy and energizing, and they taste delicious!!

Each flavor is so tasty, I can hardly choose a favorite (although I will admit that the Almond Coconut might be the best, if we were picking favorites)…

Plus, the KIND company is dedicated to promoting Kindness to the world, which is pretty neat if you ask me. Check out their story on their website: http://kindsnacks.com/about-ourstory

Healthy Recipe: Week 3

Vegetable Lasagna

recipe from Liz Robinson

(image source)

Ingredients:

2 small zucchinis, quartered and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

*1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli

2 medium chopped sweet peppers

*1/2 pound frozen mushrooms, sliced

1 large can black olives, sliced

1 package fresh spinach

*grated mozzarella cheese (can substitute with dairy free cheese)

*ricotta or cottage cheese

18-24 lasagna noodles

2 jars spaghetti sauce

*ingredient can be found at Apple Wellness

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Bring a large kettle of water to boil. While water is heating, saute onions in a small amount of olive oil. When onions are tender, add garlic and cook for two minutes more. Add peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and cook for five more minutes. Remove from heat and mix in broccoli and black olives. Cook 18 to 24 noodles as directed on the box.

Drain  noodles and rinse in cold water. Keep in water and remove as you use them to prevent sticking. Lightly grease two 9x13 pans. Assemble lasagna by layering noodles, vegetable mixture, spinach (which you can chop and sprinkle or layer the whole leaves) and cheese. Continue to assemble in this manner until all ingredients are used or pans are full.

Bake at 350˚ until the center is bubbling and cheese is melted and golden brown, about 45 minutes to one hour. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Weekly Nutrition Facts: Magnesium

Becki's Product Reviews: Week 2

 (photo source)

I love Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products. I don't think I have ever before, in my entire life, claimed to love any other cleaning product.

But this stuff is great. While I can't go as far as to say that using these products has made cleaning a joyous task… I can say that using these products has significantly increased my happiness while cleaning. It isn't just because the bottles have pretty labels, although I do appreciate how nice they look on my countertop. (All the packaging is biodegradable and totally eco-friendly!) My happiness with these products is this: they're all natural. They smell good and I don't have to worry about holding my breath while I'm disinfecting our countertop. I love that they aren't toxic or poisonous. We don't have kids yet, but I know if we did, I'd want to make sure that ALL of our cleaning products were 100% natural and safe for kiddos.

Pros: no harsh chemicals, smells delicious, no residue, all natural, safe for kids, eco-friendly

Cons: …

Extra Tip:

Did you know that you can make your own cleaning solution by mixing one part vinegar with five parts water? Just add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil (tea tree oil and grape seed extract are good for disinfecting, sweet orange is great for cutting grease). Put this mixture in a spray bottle to clean glass, countertops, sinks... etc.!

Healthy Recipe: Week 2

This week's healthy recipe is a special favorite. Chocolate chip cookies of the most delicious kind!

They're so yummy, Tim and I eat an entire batch at least once a week. These cookies don't contain any eggs, which makes the dough safe to eat, and the whole wheat flour, olive oil, and all natural sugars makes these sweet treats both healthy and tasty!  

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

*1/3 cup natural white sugar crystals

1/3 cup organic brown sugar

*1/2 cup olive oil

*1/2 cup milk (we use rice milk)

*2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

*1 cup organic chocolate chips

*ingredients available at Apple Wellness

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Mix together the sugars, oil, milk, and vanilla. Add half the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the remaining flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the sheet. Enjoy!

Fabulous Friday Specials

Weekly Nutrition Facts: Vectomega

Check back weekly for additional nutrition facts!

Becki's Product Reviews: Week 1

Hi! My name is Becki and I’m an owner of Apple Wellness. Tim is the other owner (and my husband), and we make a great team. He is the nutritional expert and knows almost everything about vitamins and supplements whose names I can hardly pronounce. I’m the graphic designer, and I just make everything look pretty. Well, I do a lot more than that, but making things look pretty is my favorite part.

Speaking of favorite parts, the natural beauty corner of our store is one of my favorite sections. There are so many great, natural shampoos, conditioners, body wash, soaps, shaving creams, make up products… I can hardly decide which ones I want to try!  

But, out of all the shampoos so far, the Alba Botanicals Rainforest Acai Shampoo and Conditioner has made me the happiest. This stuff not only smells heavenly, but it also leaves my hair feeling super soft and silky. I highly recommend these products for anyone who blow dries or straightens their hair. The shampoo and conditioner contains moisturizing ingredients, and you can really feel and see the difference! I typically blow dry my hair a couple days a week, and I noticed the change almost immediately. 

Positives: moisturizes hair, leaves hair feeling soft, enhances natural shine, smells delicious, pretty packaging (am I the only person who loves pretty labels?)
Negatives: the bottle is hard to get the shampoo out of (not a huge negative, but sometimes you have to shake it to get anything out!)

I spend a lot of time at our store, and I definitely have some opinions about what I think are the best products to try! Come back next Wednesday for another product review!

Healthy Recipe: Week 1

Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

taken from Vegan Yum Yum, by Lauren Ulm

We tried this recipe last week for the first time, and it was so delicious! It is the perfect summery variation on simple spaghetti sauce, and the cashews make the sauce smooth and creamy. (Cashews in spaghetti sauce? Sounds strange, I know. But you’ll have to trust me, this stuff is good!) Give it a try and let us know what you think!

1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)

1/2 Cup Raw Cashews*

1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water

2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional

6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Cavatappi Noodles*

1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

*ingredient can be found at Apple Wellness

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.

Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.

Check back next Tuesday for another Yummy Healthy Recipe. We'll be featuring delicious food that you can make using many of the products found in our store! Being a health food lover, I'm excited to give all our foods a try.