Here’s a fun way to spice up quinoa. It’s one of our favorite quinoa recipes.
• 1 C quinoa
• 2 C vegetable or chicken broth
• ½ C goat feta cheese if desired
• 1 C diced tomato
• ½ C canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• ¼ C chopped red or white onion
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 2 T cold pressed olive oil
• Chopped jalapeño if desired, to taste

Prepare quinoa in broth according to package directions. Spread out on cookie sheet or plate to cool completely. Place cooked and cooled quinoa in a bowl and add cheese, tomato, black beans, onion, cilantro and jalapeno if desired. Blend. Add lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper to taste.
[/expand]

Shrimp stuffed avocados are a healthy way to get your protein in a light meal.

• 1 med avocado, pitted & halved
• ¼ lb cooked baby shrimp, rinsed
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• ¼ cup slivered or ground fresh almonds
• ½ t fresh basil, chopped
• 2 sm green scallions, finely chopped
• 1 med fresh lemon, cut into wedges

Prepare avocado halves, cover with saran-wrap. Combine remaining ingredients (except lemon wedges) in a large bowl. Uncover avocado halves; fill with shrimp mixture; garnish with wedges.

Another of our favorite quinoa recipes, this is a  great alternative to stuffing for Thanksgiving Day.

• 1 C Vegetable Broth
• ½ C Quinoa
• ¼ C diced celery
• ¼ C sliced scallion
• ¼ C diced sugar snap peas
• ¼ C dried cranberries
• ¼ C chopped pecans
• 1 T (heaping) Chia seeds
• 1 T expeller pressed oil mayonnaise
• 3-6 fresh basil leaves, cut or sliced in thin strips
• 1 T expeller pressed olive oil
• juice of ½ lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Place vegetable broth and quinoa in a pan and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for about 12 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Spread cooked quinoa on parchment paper and allow to cool. Dice celery, scallion and sugar snap peas. Chop pecans. Combine cooled quinoa and all other ingredients in a bowl and toss. Refrigerate for one hour to allow flavors to develop. Serve cold or reheated. Makes 6- ½ Cup servings.
Per Serving: Calories -164, Protein – 3.29 g, Fat – 9.35 g, Carbohydrates – 17.56 g, Fiber – 3.3 g, Sugar – 5.2 g

Quinoa is not just for dinner. Try this quinoa breakfast recipe as a yeast free meal and great for the Total Body Cleanse Detox Diet. We call it the Rise & Shine Quinoa.

• 1/4 C quinoa
• 1/2 C water
• 1/4 t dried orange peel (in spice section of grocery store)
• 1 Navel Orange or 2 Mandarin Oranges
• 1/2 small Avocado or 1/4 large, diced
• 15 Almonds or Walnuts chopped or broken

Combine quinoa, water, orange peel and juice of ½ theorange or 1 mandarin in a pan and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmering for 8-10 minutes until water is absorbed. Toss quinoa with remaining oranges, avocado and nuts. Sprinkle with ground flax, cinnamon or fresh basil. Excellent cold as a left over too! Serves 1 to 2.

Recipe submitted by TWIHW Nutritionist, Nancy Mehlert

Light a candle, pour two glasses of wine, put the Asparagus Tapanade on the table and light a fire in the fireplace with the love of your life.

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed and steamed 4-5 minutes
1 ½ T garlic, chopped
½ cup fresh basil
¼ cup pine nuts
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
3 T cold pressed olive oil

Steam asparagus until tender but crisp. Chop asparagus and place in food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil, and process. While processing, add the olive oil and continue until a paste consistency is reached. Spread on Beanitos or Mary’s Gone Crackers. This can also be tossed with cooked quinoa or spaghetti squash.
Makes 1 cup = 16 Tablespoons. 37 calories per Tablespoon

Struggling with getting vegetables into diet? Vegetables need to be a large part of our diet but most of us struggle to eat 5-7 servings every day. This salad is easy to prepare ahead in large quantity and then enjoy during the week. It keeps well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Ingredients:
• ½ bag broccoli slaw
• 1 C baby spinach leaves
• 1 C chopped kale (trim away veins, keeping curly leaves, then chop into small bits)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• ½ bell pepper diced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 15 sugar snap peas, sliced
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup whole raw almonds or walnuts
• ½ cup beans (kidney, black or garbanzo)
• 2 T Bragg Organic 24 spice sprinkle

Place all ingredients in a 9-10 cup storage container and refrigerate. Top with your favorite dressing. Avocado, olives and/or feta cheese can be added when serving.

If you love pancakes but are looking to improve your nutrition, try our healthy pancakes recipe.

Ingredients:
• ½ C – slightly short, Whey Protein Powder
• 1 t Gluten Free Baking Powder
• 1/3 C Coconut Flour
• ¼ t salt
• 2 large Eggs, or 3 small, lightly beaten
• ¾ C coconut milk
• 2 T cold water
• 2 T melted coconut oil

Combine protein powder, coconut flour and salt together in a bowl and blend with a fork. In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients and slowly add dry ingredients to wet, whisking until smooth. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat pan, pancake griddle or skillet over medium heat. Lightly oil pan with coconut oil. Stir batter and pour into 4 inch circles, with space in between pancakes. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and edges are cooked, then flip. Top with fresh berries, heated blueberries, all fruit-jam, yogurt or maple syrup. Freeze extra to use later. Two pancakes make great bread for lunchbox sandwiches too! For those with egg allergies, leave them out and increase cold water 1 Tablespoon and Coconut milk by 2 tablespoons. Makes 10 pancakes.

Product suggestions: Jay Robb Whey Protein Vanilla flavor, Rumford Premium Aluminum-Free Baking Powder, Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour, Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk – Unsweetened First Pressed, Spectrum or Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil.
Serving Size – 2 Pancakes
Calories – 217, Protein – 14 g, Fat – 15 g, Sat. Fat -12 g, Carbohydrate 6.75 g, Fiber – 3 g, Sodium 92 mg.

Interested in healthy food to help with memory retention? Try this grapefruit and avocado salad.

Ingredients: 
• 1 Avocado
• 1 Grapefruit
• 20-25 Blueberries
• 1/4 C Chopped Almonds
• Field Greens, Romaine or Boston Lettuce Leaves

Cut avocado in half; remove pit, slice, peel, and then set aside. Cut skin off of the whole grapefruit and cut out wedges of grapefruit. Rinse blueberries and drain/dry on a paper towel. Set out 2 salad plates and create a bed of lettuce on one. Alternate a slice of avocado with a wedge of grapefruit in a row on each plate until all avocado and grapefruit is used. Dot both salads with 10-12 blueberries and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Unsweetened plain yogurt or poppy seed dressing are nice choices if a dressing is desired.

When it comes to finding healthy snacks for kids, the prequisites are usually “easy to fix,” and “healthy.” Here’s a list of healthy snacks you can have handy for your children. And oh, portion control does matter!

– 15-20 Almonds, Cashews, Pecan halves, or Walnut halves, Macadamia Nuts, or Hazelnuts combined with 16 60% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Chips and 15 Raisins or Dried Cranberries. (Use snack bags, make 10-15 at a time, and allow children to choose one bag, once a day)
– ¼ Cup of Hummus with carrot and celery sticks, cucumber wheels and/or bell pepper strips.
-1 small to medium piece of fresh fruit and a mozzarella stick
– Celery sticks or apple slices with 1 tablespoon of peanut or almond butter
– One LaraBar™
– Hardboiled Egg
-Cherry Tomatoes and/or Sugar Snap Peas
-2-3 tablespoons of guacamole with 7-10 organic corn or bean chips

The author of this article, Nancy Mehlert, serves as a Nutritional Consultant with TWIHW and is a monthly contributor to the nutrition section of this newsletter.

Kale is not difficult to cook with our one of our favorite kale recipes.

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Kale, choose tender young leaves (about 6 cups)
2 Tbsp. chunky all natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. coconut oil or butter

Wash and trim away the main vein down the middle of the leaves. Wash leaves and chop or tear into bite size pieces. Steam the leaves for 2 minutes just until bright green, not soft. In a bowl, mix steamed leaves with chunky all natural peanut butter and rice wine vinegar. Toss until well dispersed. (It is fine to allow this mixture to sit for several hours to marinade if desired, so can be done ahead). Sauté in butter or coconut oil and serve.

Per Serving: 107 Calories, 5 g Protein, 5.8 g Fat, 11.7 Carbohydrates, .5 g Sugar, 2.6 g Fiber.

Serves 4