Simple Meatloaf w/ Roasted Vegetables!

Meatloaf:
1/2 cup finely chopped onions (red or white)
1/2 cup finely chopped green peppers
3 tablespoons dried or fresh parsley
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 cloves pressed garlic
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whole grain (organic) oats
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup ketchup (without high fructose corn syrup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine 1st 8 ingredients in mixing bowl tossing until mixed. Crumble beef over mixture and toss until blended. Shape into regular size bread pan (or equivalent baking dish) sprayed lightly with olive oil spray.
Spread or brush ketchup over the top
Bake at 350 for 1 hour 10 minutes or until thermometer reads 160 degrees.
3. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing

Roasted Vegetables:

Use any vegetable you choose or like; the following is our choice of veggies!

Mix together: (equal amounts or whatever you decide)
broccoli
cauliflower
sweet potato
carrots
green pepper
red onion

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

(Spice amounts can be altered to taste)

Cover with small amount of olive oil

Toss until veggies are covered well

Place in baking dish (lightly sprayed if needed)

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes (less if you like the veggies a little more crunchy)

Also the less you bake them the better the nutrient value will be.

Eat well and have fun!

Rice Paper Wraps!

Rice Paper rolls with chicken and veggies!

This recipe originated from a Korean friend of ours but we have made it our own and I think you will like it. It takes a little time, so plan ahead for the chopping of veggies and such but the finished product is worth the wait. This is something we have for a nice, fun dinner with friends but we also do smaller amounts when it's just the 2 of us. The rolls we had last night were only with chicken but you can also use stripes of steak with a little different seasoning.

Needed: (The list of toppings and veggies can be mixed up and are optional; the seasonings mix should be followed pretty closely)

Rice paper (can be found at most grocery stores; especially natural food stores) if you can find organic brown rice, that is the preference
Cooked or Raw Chicken (cut into small pieces) if you use Raw start cooking chicken 1st then add rest
Brown Rice (preferred by us, but if you prefer white have at it!)
Soy Sauce
Chopped Onion
Garlic
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Green Peppers
Alfalfa Sprouts
Carrots
Celery
Cucumber
Avocado
Fried Egg(s)
Peanut Butter (Natural without partially hydrogenated oils or added sugar)

Rice:
Cook in rice cooker or stove top (plan time accordingly)

Mix in a frying pan or wok:
Cooked/Raw Chicken (amount depends upon your need)
soy sauce to taste (1-1 1/2 tablespoons?)
chopped onion (1/4 small onion)
1 clove garlic (pressed)
black pepper to taste (if you eat it)
1- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Cook on medium heat (Olive Oil is not a high temperature oil) until nicely flavored {be sure not to over cook}

Raw Veggies and other toppings:

Cut uncooked veggies as well as the optional fried egg into thin stripes, place on a plate to be added to the wrap

Peanut Sauce: (larger amount) alter due to need
1/4 cup Natural PB
1/2 tsp-1 tbl Soy Sauce
1 clove pressed Garlic
1/2 cup Boiling water

Mix 1st 3 and then add water: Let stand a few minutes and then mix til thin (pourable)


Rice Paper Wrap: Almost boiling water and container big enough to fully immerse the paper:

Put rice paper in water for about 10 seconds, then pull out, placing on plate (you will need to stretch it out)
fill with rice and all the toppings you like and wrap

Optional dips:

Soy sauce
Asian hot sauce

It looks like a lot of work but if you will plan ahead and give yourself some space, it's really not bad at all.

Have fun and be creative.

Roasted Chicken w/ carrotts, broccoli and bread!

Roasted Chicken, stuffed with onions, celery and sprinkled with rosemary sprigs
Steamed Broccoli
Cooked Carrots (honey, cinnamon and olive oil)
Homemade Whole wheat Garlic Focaccia Bread (olive oil and spices for dipping)

Roasted Chicken:

1 whole fryer (organic or at least not treated with chemicals)
1 stalk of celery (cut into small pieces)
1/2 cup sliced red onion
small amount of olive oil

Put thawed chicken into a baking dish w/ at least 2 inch sides
rub olive oil over the bird and pour a small amount inside the bird
stuff with celery and onion (can use anything you want to stuff it)
sprinkle inside and outside with rosemary springs
Preheat oven to 350~ cook for 1 1/2 hour or until thermometer reads 180-185
After fully cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before slicing


Cooked Carrots:

Cut up as many carrots as you need, place them in boiling water and cover
Cook until tender then drain.
After draining keep them in the pot and add a small amount honey and cinnamon (to taste)
stir in small amount of olive oil; Cover and let sit until ready


Steamed Broccoli:

This is completely up to you, however I would recommend if you are boiling the broccoli on the stove not to cook more than 30 -45 seconds in the boiling water. If you have a steamer that would be the better way to keep more nutrients in

Garlic Focaccia Bread:

Lesa made this with our Bosch mixer (we finally bought one after 13 years of marriage and it is fun) and the recipe is in the cookbook they sent. If you feel up to trying go ahead, if not you could use regular whole wheat toast and make garlic bread as we have done many times. Since the recipe is Bosch specific, I will allow you to come up with your own bread for dipping.

"Food is essential to life, therefore make it good"
S. Truett Cathy Founder of Chick-Fil-A
"You are created in His Image...Love that Image" (Lesa McCant)

Thoughts on Realistic Nutrition!

If you have read or been following our blogs for anytime now, you may remember the topic of Realistic Nutrition being another blog on our Fit for Life site. You would be right but as a starter to this page, I wanted to touch on the again for a moment.

One of the many items we talk about in our seminars and training sessions is realistic nutrition and meal planning. The reason we term this Realistic Nutrition is due to the fact that in order for you or us to maintain a lifestyle of health, wellness and fitness the changes we incorporate have to be realistic for us to accomplish in our everyday lives.

The topic of proper "healthy" nutrition is one which brings out the fight in almost any who start discussing it because there are so many different opinions to what is healthy or unhealthy in our food choices. The most simple way to approach the idea of healthy eating could be brought down to; most people know what they should be doing, it's the doing it that gets in the way. We all know if you have a choice between a Twinkies snack or an apple the healthier of the two would obviously be the apple {even non-organic apples are better for you than the Twinkies :)}, if you have the choice between the chicken fried chicken covered with white gravy or the grilled chicken with broccoli and a salad what is healthier? We know the answer, it's the carrying out of the better which causes us to stumble.

We do not in any way promote guilt as a way to get people to change their lifestyles and this includes how we talk to people concerning food. You have come here to check things out and what we want to do with these recipes and meal planning ideas is give you simple yet great tasting foods you may want to add to the meals you already prepare.

The idea and hope is to start blogging some of our meals here so you can see what we are cooking up at Cafe' Michael's (which is what Lesa affectionately calls our kitchen). These are meals we prepare and feel you may enjoy as well. The fun thing is, you we be able to take some of it; mix and match what you eat together for you or your family.

Enjoy and if you have any questions send them our way.

Power and Strength;
3 John 2