Food as Medicine - Garlic

Hey there everybody! We have heard and read a lot about medicinal herbs and how they’re useful for our health. So here’s a little piece about garlic as one of the best essential herbs that you can grow at your home. It is one of the most commonly used herbs in recipes to enrich it with a delicious flavor and taste as well but the herb works stupendously for certain health care aspects.

Known by a range of names globally, garlic is believed to be native to Siberia but had a global widespread about 5000 years ago. However, it had been essential in medical practices since ancient times. The words of the well-known ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, also widely known as the Father of Western Medicine claimed ~ “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”. He had incorporated the practice of prescribing garlic as a medicine to those in need which almost tells us that it has always been crucial to medicine and health.

Benefits...

Most people don't realize that zucchini is surprisingly healthy and packed with nutrients. If you've ever grown zucchini in a garden you known it can be extremely abundant, so I do believe we take it for granted.

Zucchini is a member of the gourd family that originated from Central America and is now enjoyed all over the world. It has zero fat and is high in fiber and water content.

Zucchini is loaded with goodness and is high in:

• Fiber
• Water
• Vitamin B6
• Riboflavin
• Folate
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K
• Potassium
• Manganese

Some of the benefits you can experience are:

1. Improved Digestion - Because zucchini is high in water and fiber content it can significantly improve digestion and constipation.
2. Slows Down Aging - Zucchini is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients which can help reduce toxins in the body and protect you against free radicals and inflammation.
3. Helps Balance Blood Sugar Levels- Because of your increased fiber intake when eating zucchini it can help balance your...

The Ultimate Guide To Eating A Plant-Based Diet

 In this guide, I will go through the steps needed to successfully start eating a plant-based diet. I hope you enjoy and congrats to you for doing something healthy and positive for yourself and the planet!

-What does Plant-Based Diet mean?

 Removing all animal foods from your diet

Eating plant-based means removing all animal food products from your diet. This can be quite challenging once you learn some of the strange things that have dairy and some seemingly random animal-based ingredients in them. It's all about reading labels and learning what some of those ingredients are. Of course, it's a lot easier if you're eating mostly whole foods.

 Eating whole foods

 A lot of you might have been drawn to a plant-based diet for health reasons. The key to improving your health with a plant-based diet is eating whole foods. I'll talk more about what whole foods are later in this guide. Just keep in...

When you first start to transition over to eating a plant-based diet it can be a challenge to figure out how to replace animal foods with plant-based options.

Here are some common and uncommon food swaps that you can use along your journey.

Use nutritional yeast to replace cheese - Nutritional yeast is de-activated yeast. It looks like a light flaky powder with a cheesy nutty flavor often it is fortified with B vitamins. There are so many different ways to use it. You can add it to soups, use it as a topping for popcorn and blend it with cashews to make a cheesy nacho topping. It's a must-have for a plant-based kitchen.

 Use dates to replace added sugar - Dates are a great substitute to add sweetness to your smoothies, nut milks, and other sweet treats. Dates compared to sugar have some nutritional value and added fiber so even though it's still a form of sugar, you're getting some added nutrition.

...

This is the last bowl of the series. Next week I'll be starting a new series and I'm thinking everything wraps!

This week's recipe is super easy and I think it might be my favorite. I love garlic and there is lots of it in this recipe.

Prep all of the food at the beginning of the week and enjoy the leftovers during the week. Just throw the bowl together, heat it up, and enjoy a delicious, healthy, plant-based meal in 5 minutes!

Let's get started.

What you will need

Serving Size - 3  Cook time - 30 min

For the tofu:

1 15oz block of organic tofu

1 tbs cornstarch

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

For the rice:1 cup of brown rice, cooked

For the Broccoli:

1 small head of broccoli cut into bite-size pieces, steamed

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup of coconut aminos or tamari

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs maple syrup

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch of ginger, grated or diced.

What you need to do

For the tofu:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove tofu from...

I was watching a TV show the other day and they created a salad using grapefruits and this is where this recipe was born. Except I wanted to use oranges because I love oranges! The oven roasted almonds paired well with the sweet oranges and the mustard dressing was perfect. I added the roasted golden beets because they match and I had them in the fridge, I'm not kidding:) That's why I named it the Sunshine Salad. It's so bright and cheery!

This is a great main dish salad. It's definitely hearty enough. If you would rather have it as a side salad you could make it lighter by removing the beets.

As far as greens, I always mix a bunch together. This one has green leaf lettuce, spinach, and arugula. You guessed it, that's what was in my fridge. Use what you like. I think Romaine would work very well also.

Serving Size 2

Prep Time 1hr. with beets. 15 minutes without the beets. You could always make beets ahead of time.

What You Will Need

- A couple of handfuls of greens

- 1 Orange

- 1/4...

Yes, Another jackfruit recipe! Check out the last one HERE where I make faux pulled pork sandwiches. I'm loving working with jackfruit. It's very versatile and is a great meat replacement. The texture is perfect and it takes on the flavors of the spices so nicely.

This recipe is pretty simple which I love and has minimal ingredients besides the spices.

Let's get started

Servings - 6 tacos

Prep Time - 30 minutes

What You Will Need

For the jackfruit:

2 - 20oz cans of young jackfruit in brine prepped and shredded.

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika (You can also use plain paprika)

1Tbsp. Coconut oil

For the salsa:

1 Red pepper diced small

1/4 Cup shredded purple cabbage

2 Roma tomatoes Diced

1/4 Cup of minced red onion

1/4 Cup Minced cilantro

1 Avocado, firm and diced

1/2 Lemon Juiced

Salt to taste

6 flour or corn tortillas

What You Need To Do

For the Salsa:

Add all ingredients in a medium...

I seem to be drawn to the same ingredients, sweet potatoes, black beans, and a little spice. That's because its oh so good together! 

This weeks recipe is made with plant-based whole foods, a nutrition powerhouse, and is super delicious. There is nothing better than eating something that tastes so naughty but is really so good for you! This is one of those recipes.

Some of the Benefits

Sweet Potatoes - Are high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), niacin (vitamin B3), vitamin B6, manganese, magnesium, and copper. They also contain over double the daily value for vitamin A and about 4 grams per cup protein when cooked!

Black Beans - Are loaded with fiber, folate. and protein and also contain: 5 mg iron, 84 mg magnesium, 259 mg phosphorus, 739 mg potassium, 331 mg sodium, 1.3 mg zinc, 0.4 mg thiamin, 0.3 mg riboflavin. Wow! Load me up! 

Orange Pepper - Are packed with vitamins and low in calories. They are an excellent source...

I have been so excited about trying to use jackfruit in my blog for the longest time. The first time I bought jackfruit from the grocery store I bought ripe sweet jackfruit which isn't what you need to make vegan pulled pork sandwiches. You have to buy young jackfruit that is not ripe yet. I chose to buy it canned in brine, also an important step because sometimes it can be canned in syrup. I have to admit, buying a fresh jackfruit seemed a little intimidating to me. I had no clue how to prepare jackfruit at all, even the canned version. 

of course, I went to the all-knowing google to learn how to prepare the canned version and I suggest you do the same if you are also a jackfruit virgin. There was plenty of YouTube videos on the subject. I took a few pictures and will post here but I believe a video serves better on this subject and plan to do this for one of my meatless Monday's meals soon!

The jackfruit has a core like a pineapple and you will cut that part off. Within the...

This is a recipe from my Thursday Random Refrigerator Meals. I go live every Thursday from my Facebook business page, Tina Stinson - Healthy Balanced Living at 4 pm ET. This was last weeks meal and it was so delicious and easy to make I decided to put it on the blog.

You don't need too many ingredients to make this one which makes it easy and pretty inexpensive. This was enough for two people with some leftovers so if you have a family your cooking for maybe double it if you want leftovers. 

I hope you enjoy!

What You Will Need

2 Bell peppers any color, sliced.

1 Large or 2 small onions, red or yellow, sliced.

4 Garlic cloves minced.

2 Large portobello mushrooms, sliced.

1 Jalapeno, sliced. Optional if you want to add heat.

2 Tbsp Olive oil

2-3 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tsp. Cumin

Salt to taste. I didn't need to add any.

4-6 Small Tortillas. I used whole wheat.

1 Avocado as a topping. Optional.

Plant-based yogurt. To use in place of sour cream as a topping. Optional

What...