Mother Nature is Medicine

Mother Nature is Medicine
MOTHER NATURE IS MEDICINE. The Creator has given us everything that we need. It is all here on this Earth and in the Universe. It can be found in the Earth, in the Sky, in the Waters, in the Air. Often times, we, as humans, tend to view nature as something that is "apart" from ourselves. We talk of spending time "in nature." We, in a sense, distance ourselves. In reality, we ARE "a - part" as well. The Great Spirit put us here and blessed us and our ancestors with this beautiful earth. Embracing the Creator and the natural blessings is food & nourishment for the body, mind, and soul. Nature is medicine. ~Peace and Blessings~

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Ramadan Mubarak: Quick, healthy meals

At the salad bar...

Contrary to what you might believe, but salads are not always healthy. These, however, are!
Spinach mixture of leaves, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, Balsamic vinaigrette, and the second one has one boiled egg and salad seasoning. Toasted wheat bread with peanut butter is yummy also.

Cascadian Farm, along with Kashi, is one of my favorite "natural" brands. It is soo flavorful, crunchy, sweet, nutty, and organic.  This granola cereal complements yogurt and would also work with on top of a salad. Or eat it as just a small snack. I ate this during suhoor.

Sandwiches . . .

One of my favorites is onion bagel with cream cheese and lots of lettuce. So quick and simple.


More from the Veggie bean burger on a bagel with lettuce, tomato, sauerkraut, and mustard. I'm trying to stay off some of the ketchup as it has too much sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

I would really like to make a mango lassi sometime and some Indian chicken curry. Check out some Middle Eastern recipes to try for Ramadan.



Ramadan Mubarak: A couple more snacks

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Kerry Gold cheese is well known. This one was definitely a "distinctive taste".
These crackers or wafers are very crisp and very very flat.



More from Wholesome Goodness. These sour pineapple raisins are raisins with a pineapple flavor. A good pack of raisins if you want to try something different.



Ramadan Mubarak: More Snacks!

More yummy and healthy snacks!


These are absolutely delicious! Cinnamon is the bonus! I've tried the regular Apple one and the Pineapple one. They are all good. This one says it's gluten free, vegan, and kosher - another bonus!




Dried plums that don't taste dry! They come in little individual packets and are slick and juicy.

I like my Luna Bars. Lots of vitamins and delicious crunchiness! My favorite so far is the Chocolate Peppermint Crunch.



I just "discovered" these Wholesome Goodness tortilla chips in Grilled Vegetables. They're chips made from other vegetables and they taste very good. This goes great with hummus!


You might be losing some fiber or not getting enough during Ramadan so if you must, take a fiber bar. These are not disgusting, it's chocolate fudge brownie after all!




Cranberries have antioxidants and these are tasty sweet!



Rice Cakes are crunchy and these aren't too sweet either. They were one of my favorite snacks as a child :)



 DATES DATES. DON'T FORGET THE DATES!
Break your fast with dates and water. I feel so refreshed and not as hungry when I eat a date and drink water at iftar.
  
 

Ramadan Mubarak: Healthy snacks for Ramadan!

Some of you might already know but from about July 20th to August 18th is the holy month of Ramadan! If you don't know what Ramadan is, check out my post on my other blog and there I give a simple, easy to understand definition  http://www.candleinthecorridor.blogspot.com/2012/08/ramadan-mubarak.html

The first few days of Ramadan, I wasn't eating too good like I knew I should, but once at the store, I knew exactly what I should get and what is good for me. I always read the Nutrition Facts and ALL of the INGREDIENTS. Yes. This Ramadan, I wanted to keep up with a healthy, well-balanced diet, or shall I say lifestyle. I admit, I do snack on this and that, but nowhere near as I did years ago.

Anyways, I thought I'd share with you some goody snacks and foods I like to eat, or have begun to like, and perhaps this will give you all some ideas (I know it's late, the last 10 days of Ramadan, but you can eat this all year round if you want!)


Going clockwise:

Snapea Crisps - For some reason I thought these would be like fresh crunchy veggies, but they really are crisps. I didn't get a photo of what they look like but you can find lots of pictures of these little green things on the web hehe. They are not very greasy or salty. They have a crisp, peculiar taste, but it tastes good. The texture is like Cheetoh Puffs, just without all the cheese. By the way, I don't like Cheetoh Puffs, I choose the crunchy kind. But these Snapea Crisps were delicious.

Smoked Whole Almonds - I'm just going to say it - I don't like almonds . . . unless they're dipped in chocolate, like my favorite Almond Joy candy bar. But these almonds weren't too bad. If you like almonds, then that is great. I would suggest you trying these. Even though I do not like almonds, I still try to eat them every once in awhile because I know it is good for me. That's one of my things: I still try to eat something even though I do not favor it much, but because it is healthy and good for me. I guess that is a good thing! But mind you, not all things that are healthy are nasty and I do eat 'unhealthy' things too. Almonds can be very filling and can make a good little snack at iftar or suhoor.

Ann's House Chocolate Nut Antioxidant - A mixture of almonds, cranberries, raisins, and dark chocolate pieces (yay!). This mixture makes it easier for me to swallow the almonds! And it's really delicious too. This one is more on the sweet side.

Little Debbie fig bars - Not as good as fig newtons but still filling and tastes pretty good. They are little, and not too sweet.

Goya's Maria Cookies - We always get these cookies.  These cookies are very thin and they are also not too sweet.

Remember: Don't over indulge. Eat in moderation and stay well!

Ramadan Kareem brothers and sisters!