Electric Soup Warmer

Electric Soup Warmer

Top 5 Winter Warmers

Give the central heating, blow heaters and electric blankets a bit of a break this year and use these natural tips to keep snug this winter.

1. Warming foods
Eating is the one thing we do between 3 – 5 times a day, so looking at our foods is a good place to start. There's a fair amount of research that has been conducting about eating according to the seasons and this would certainly fit into the Locavore diet (a diet where you only eat foods that have been grown in and around your current location). This makes great sense to me, as it is how our ancestors ate thousands of years ago, when they also had virtually no disease. Local, organic, chemical free seasonal foods. So in the winter, including primarily the foods that are still growing, which just so happen to be many of the warming foods, is the way to go.
Some of those foods include:
Parsnips
Swede
Onions
Turnips Potatoes
Endive Lambs Lettuce Raddichio Kale Cauliflower Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potatos Celeriac Fish Chicken Oat porridge Soups Stews Casseroles

2. Gorgeous Ginger Add a chunk to your juice, cooking (chop it up or use a garlic press to mince it) or your tea to let it kick start your circulation and warm you up. Work out how much you can tolerate as too much can be a little hot for some. 3. A nice cuppa Now is not the time to get your drinks from the fridge or pile them high with ice. Drinking your drinks at room temperature or even warm can keep you temperature from dropping and have a few hot drinks throughout the day can also warm you up. 4. Spice it up Dishes seasoned (though not too heavily) with curry powder, cayenne pepper, garlic and mustard can help to increase your circulation and increase your temperature during chilly days. They can do this even if they aren't served hot. A raw vegan curry sauce dolloped over a rich green salad of Kale leaves, parsley, coriander and spinach, with a few cherry tomatoes is a filling dish, which will leave you positively glowing (protein types may want to add some nuts and avocado to this dish). 5. Skin brushing and exercise Exercising to increase circulation, enhance your immune system and of course warm you up may be an obviously choice, even some gentle stretches can get the blood pumping on a chilly morning before you head out the door to work. Maybe less common as a winter warmer is skin brushing. This is a great exfolliant for the skin, it helps to stimulate detoxification of the lymphatic system, it improves circulation and it can very invigorating. You obviously need to be sensible in cold weather, doing the above alone without taking basic precautions won't help much. So make sure you have a ‘winter set' (hat, scarf & gloves) that you actually wear, consider adding more layers to your clothing and bedding and don't stay out in the cold for prolonged periods of time. Keeping your ankles, wrist and lower back where your kidney are protected, can also help to keep you protected from the cold weather. Take care and stay healthy

About the Author

After spending years as a nurse and medical secretary, Leah Salmon realised that orthodox medicine didn't work and became a Naturally You Coach, helping people to use their foods and natural remedies to improve their health, instead of drugs, chemicals and surgeries. Now a published author of 2 books, a speaker, teacher and dedicated homeschooling mother to her 4 children, listen to Leah share the number one secret to great health athttp://www.numberonesecrettohealth.com

Vegetarian recipe that travels well?

I am looking for a vegetarian recipe to take to a memorial service. It will need to last during a 3 hr car trip and about 1 1/2 hrs through a memorial service. I do have a way to keep the food either hot or cold (electric cooler/warmer, regular coolers and insulated totes for pyrex dishes and crock pot).
Something that is easy to eat and can be plated with other items would be perfect (so no soups which is what I almost aways cooked for the person that passed away).

Lots of protein, keeps for a long time if cool (not cold), yummy.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

yield: Serves 4 to 6 as an entrée or 8 as a side dish

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups quinoa (small disk-shaped seeds)*
* 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
* 1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
* 1 1/2 cups cooked corn (cut from about 2 large ears)
* 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
* 2 pickled jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
* 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

For dressing

* 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
* 1/3 cup olive oil

Preparation

In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve.

In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary).

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, and coriander and toss well.

Make dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.