{Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Tofu with Tri Color Quinoa}

For Healthy Living we love to shop at +Trader Joe's and that's how I found these Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Tofu with Tri Color Quinoa. 

Brussels Sprouts are a favorite vegetable for both of us.

My Dad used to grow them commercially and so did Pieter's Dad, thus we grew up with them.

But that they now are being offered 'SHAVED' that was new!

High Protein Super Firm Tofu for dicing up and ready to go.

Of course, having lived and worked in Indonesia, we are so used to a Tofu rich diet and we love it!

Either in soups or other dishes.

Researchers fight world hunger by mapping the soybean genome ←click.

Japanese food also uses lots of tofu and fermented tofu.

In Indonesia we call the fermented tofu, tempeh.

That too we can buy at Trader Joe's!

Wish my Parents could have seen this product; they would be amazed.

Using Olive Oil, I did first stir-fry some garlic, than the diced tofu and adding the shaved brussels sprouts.

You can use some oriental spices of your liking or add some sauce.

For a quick and healthy meal I did add tri-colored Quinoa from Trader Joe's and that was it!

Are you using any of these ingredients for your supper?

Related link:

Is Tofu Healthy? - Learn about Health Benefits and Heart Health
Quinoa nutrition facts - Learn about this superfood once revered by the Incas and now being touted by celebrity trainers.

Mariette on Google+

{CHIA for Iron Boost and Good for Blood Sugar Level}

Are you already aware of the great benefits of using CHIA seeds in your daily diet? Use CHIA for Iron Boost and it is also Good for Blood Sugar Level. That are two big reasons for me to embrace these powerful seeds! Being Diabetes type 2 and also having had on and off bouts of anemia, sure made CHIA a permanent item in our kitchen! Are you using it too?

CHIA seeds can be used in a number of ways. Here I added it to some cole slaw, together with dried cranberries and a dressing of +Trader Joe's reduced fat mayonaise with some brown rice vinegar and CHIA Seeds. You can find below post a link from previous post with photos of this mayonaise.

Daily we both add CHIA Seeds to our Trader Joe's 0% Greek Yogurt with some fresh fruits. Chia seeds work gelatinous so keep that in mind when adding to certain dishes. Best is to do it right before being served.

So again, I did reveal another Secret for my size and weight...

For USA, Canada and Mexico citizens you can find CHIA SEEDS from +Carrington Farms  at +Costco Wholesale 

More you can read about Carrington Farms below my post.

Healthy Foods for a Healthy Soul

This sure belongs in the group of Antioxidant Super Foods!

CHIA SEEDS The Costco Connection, July 2013 (click link for Pdf format)

Chia Seeds Best foods for diabetes and blood sugar (click hyperlink)

Combat Diabetes

Get More Fibre

Stock Up On Omega-3

Stronger Teeth And Bones

Don't Forget Manganese

Plenty Of Phosphorus

Pack In The Protein

Fight Belly Fat

Get Full. Faster.

Improve Heart Health

Chia Seed Benefits: 10 Reasons To Add Chia To Your Diet (link from above 10)

So are you using CHIA already?

Related links:
{Healthy & Quick Vegetarian Supper} | previous post by me showing Trader Joe's Reduced Fat Mayonaise

Carrington Farms Healthy Foods for a Healthy Soul | FB Fan Page
11 Health Benefits of Chia Seeds - Eco Watch info about Chia Seeds

Mariette on Google+

{How to get a FLATTER TUMMY}

Summer is still in full swing, at least I hope for most of you... That means we will be more often wearing a bathing suit or anything that will reveal more 'TUMMY'. Now the question of How to get a FLATTER TUMMY... Let me show you some great tips from my favorite RealAge site. You can follow them even on Facebook and you will also enjoy their: Say Goodbye to Belly Flab in 9 Steps...

Swap your jelly belly for some lean, mean stomach muscles...

Eat three servings of vegetables every day this week...

Want a sexier tummy, better blood pressure, and the energy you had 10 years ago?...

Get yourself a pedometer and start walking.

Good carbs include most fruits and vegetables; 100% whole-grain anything...

We only use whole grain, for all baking and for our popover pancakes etc. 

Our delicious bread comes from Costco wholesale.

Are you eating 100% whole grain anything too? Love to hear your thoughts!

+Costco Wholesale  sells them in a 2-Pack and they weigh 2 lbs or 908 g.

It is yummy and healthy!

Read labels carefully for low saturated fat and trans fat close to zero...

Our Costco bread is excellent as it has zero trans fat! See above photo with Nutrition Facts.

Stair climbing we do a lot daily as we have a two-story home.

Are you also climbing stairs daily?

The bigger your waist, the higher your stress...

Guess summer time is the perfect time to relax!

Did you know that releasing tension will also ease stress eating?

Watch portion sizes, choose healthy foods...

About portion sizes you should read friend Celia's High Heeled Life post about:→Size DOES Matter...  

Plate sizes have increased by 50% since the 1960s!

It's true that your waist is more important than your weight!

Okay, my waist is 70 cm (27.6 in) and my weight is around 52.5 kg (116 lb). 

My height is 167 cm or 5' 6"... Now you know all about me!

Notice that husband Pieter keeps me 'CHAINED'...

It is however a good reason for NOT gaining as this 22 kt gold chain, a dear souvenir from our work in Indonesia, would burst.

Does your husband/partner keep you chained as well?... 

Reward yourself...

Are you daring enough to reveal your waist size?

Related link:

{Flat Belly Diet Foods - Meet the MUFAs!} | previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{SUGAR is your #1 enemy!}

• Since some of you have asked me what my secret is for maintaining the same size and weight since I was 15, here is an interesting story about sugar. 
• In 2007 I learned that I had high blood sugar levels, diabetes type 2 or diabetes mellitus as they call it. Since than I have removed most sweet foods from my daily diet. 
• I never drank coke or any soft drinks, just plain water. 
• From childhood on I always have had a fondness of fruits and vegetables, of course being the daughter of a market gardener I was born into them. 
• That is a good and healthy habit. 
• In a later post I will show you some fruits that are natural diuretics, that also helps you for looking slim(mer). Below this post you find some helpful links to my previous posts!
• Now about this fun way of expressing the effect of sugar intake. I received it in an email and below the post I can give you a link of info I found on the Internet. 
• Guess the sugar consumption world wide is very, very high and we can tell! Be aware...

• A Unique Way To Present This...
• 4.2 grams = 1 teaspoon of sugar, so this looks like 1 cube is about the same!
• Someone ought to get an award for this. 
• We know the facts, but this brings it into perspective quickly, doesn’t it? 
• Each cube is a teaspoonful (American teaspoon sizing is larger than elsewhere).

• The fresh fruit sugar, called glucose, is not as bad as processed sugar. It will be broken down by our body slowly and is converted into sucrose and glycogen. Versus processed sugar that will be absorbed very fast into the bloodstream. Therefore fruits are always recommended for Diabetes type 2 patients.

• Now someone needs to do this with salt!

'When someone shares something of value

with you and you benefit from it, you have

a moral obligation to share it with others.'

Related link:

Just a spoonful of sugar helps...
Flat Belly Diet Foods - Meet the MUFAs! | previous post by me
Foods that Support the Skin | previous post by me
Natural Healing Chart for almost all Sickness | previous post by me with a wealth of information!
{9 'Harmless' Habits That Age You} | previous post by me with great tips
Sugar: The Bitter Truth | A very informative video with LOTS of information

Mariette on Google+

{Our Liz & Telepathy + AMAZING Chocolate Recipe!}

When our Liz came to visit us in December, she had a PERFECT gift for me. Sheer Telepathy... she and I LOVE red beets. So naturally she picked out a perfect high end linen & silk table runner with red beets on it; made in Israel. She must have gotten to know me very well over the past 43 years... Just look at the photos as this will reveal some AMAZING Chocolate Recipe (listed below). HOW did Liz KNOW?! When scrolling down you will learn more about this silk table runner...

The pure linen & silk table runner with the beets. Well, I made the beets into a romantic Valentine's Day setting for both of us to indulge in. A French Point A La Ligne rose candle for setting the mood.

My favorite rose silver flatware from Germany, see +Johanna Gehrlein's book about it named: +Rosen-Bestecke.

AMAZING Chocolate hearts presented on an Italian heart shaped plate...

A better view of the gorgeous high end linen & silk table runner from Liz Vedder...

Beets and Chocolate? 

Read on to discover an AMAZING Chocolate recipe!

Heart healthy and great for diabetes type 2.

The lovely 1950 Rose Silver pattern is stamped AMD 800. It is from Adam Manns & Sohn from Dörnigheim near Hanau, Germany. Information can be found on page 88 in Johanna Gehrlein's informative Rose Silverware book. Link is shown already in text above.

Yummy chocolate heart, dusted with cocoa; moist and rich ̶ though LOW Calorie! 

AMAZING recipe follows below!

Our own concoction of a heart healthy chocolate/coffee, named CHOCOF. Made of Dutch processed cocoa, mixed with decaf instant coffee and milk powder.

Look at the rose detail on the spoon...

Pastry server in AMD 800 silver Rose Pattern from Adam Manns & Sohn, Germany.

Detail of the upscale linen and silk runner, with meticulous stitching...

It is hilarious but because Liz LOVES red beets so much (as I  do!) she got this runner and obviously the sales person had no clue about what she was selling to her. 

These are the 'SUPERFOOD' pomegranate fruits!

Got a comment from a dear bloggerfriend: Ger from Hoorn Des Overvloeds

THANKS GER!

Liz did present this lovely linen & silk table runner in a clever window-bag.

Hand made in Israel

Love the label with the appropriate markings for linen and silk as well as cleaning instructions etc.

This was published in the April 2011, Costco Connection

Photo by Kritsada Photography

Way below, I've typed the recipe as well, so you can use the translator for other languages.

It is heart healthy and excellent for diabetes type 2 patients; without any sugar.

Both, Pieter and I were impressed by its taste! 

Baked on Sunday afternoon, I had to let it cool down and only on Monday the photos got made by daylight.

Guess that I did even lower the 62 mg of sodium by using Trader Joe's 1 mg sodium French beets, instead of the canned varieties with10% sodium!

TIP: when blending the ingredients don't add the whole-wheat pastry flour (Whole Foods) right away but put it atop the red beans and beets so it will not stay behind in the bottom of the blender.

I used the French Demarle puffed heart shaped silicon form for a half size sheet pan. The full sheet size is available on line: Flexipan Puffed Heart. Like I use for Book an Event on Mariette's Back to Basics.

Red Velvet Chocolate Squares

Butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray

½ cup chopped canned beets, drained

7 ounces (about 1 cup) canned red beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ cup liquid egg substitute

3 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour

¾ cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons natural red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the beets, cocoa powder, egg substitute and flour in the bowl of a food processor.

Process until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.

Add he agave nectar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and food coloring. 

Process until all of the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the dish halfway through the baking time. Turn down the temperature of the oven to 300 and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a little bit of soft batter clinging to it. It should not come out clean ̶ if it does, it's overcooked.

Let the cake cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours. When it's cold, cut it into 12 squares and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 12 bars (106 calories each).

Tip: I've experimented with these squares many times in my kitchen. What I discovered is that, unlike most baked items, these squares taste best after being refrigerated for at least 3 hours. Chilling the bars coalesces the flavor and stabilizes the texture. Enjoy them cold, and you'll enjoy them more.

Per serving (each bar): 106 calories, 1.5 g fat (1 g sat/0 g mono/0 g poly), 2.5 mg cholesterol, 62 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein.

♥♥

Wishing each of you a Happy Valentine's Day and may it spill over onto all 365 days...

Related links:

Costco Connection April 2011 with recipe for AMAZING Chocolate

{Point A La Ligne the Rolls Royce of Candles} | my earlier blogpost

Mariette on Google+