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Start Your Engines! Nourish Your Body With Good Fuel!

Start Your Engines! Nourish Your Body with Good Fuel
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Learn About Nourishing Your Body with Chef Lisa!

Hi everyone! I’m Chef Lisa, and I’m excited to partner with Candy at Harvesting Health and Happiness to provide tips and recipes to nourish your body with whole food fuel. 

I recently relocated my business, Homemade Fresh, to the Hendersonville area after serving clients in Charlotte for 11 years. Homemade Fresh is a meal preparation business that personalizes meal plans based on each client’s tastes, preferences, and dietary requirements. I plan your meals, shop for the ingredients, prepare and package the meals, and leave them in your refrigerator with easy heat-and-eat instructions. I also provide service for dinner parties, paired food and wine tastings, events with hors d’oeuvres, and other types of catered events. I focus on using high quality, fresh ingredients to prepare food that tastes great and nourishes your body with good fuel.

Start Your Engines! Nourish Your Body with Good Fuel

Think of your body as a car, and food is the fuel. When you fill your tank with good, nourishing foods from nature, your body’s engine will run more smoothly. Better nourishment can make you more energetic, focused and efficient.

In today’s world, processed convenience food is everywhere, and it is bad fuel for your body. Your body’s engine struggles to process artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, added sugars and sodium, etc. because these are foods from science, not nature. In the short term, processed foods can make you tired, sluggish, and cause brain fog. In the long term, they have been linked to inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Processed foods are intended to be time-savers, but preparing whole foods from nature doesn’t have to be a daunting task, especially if you take a little time to prepare several servings. Learn more about the benefits of whole foods HERE.

“Think of your body as a car, and food is the fuel.  When you fill your tank with good, nourishing foods from nature, your body’s engine will run more smoothly. ”  -Chef Lisa

Breakfast: the Most Important Meal of the Day!

Let’s start with breakfast. The old adage is true: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day for your brain, your energy level and your metabolism. Your body’s engine runs all the time, even when you sleep. In the morning, your fuel tank is low, so you need to refuel with a healthy breakfast that includes lean protein and good carbohydrates. This will jump-start your metabolism and give you energy. Beware of caffeine and sweets because those can put you on an energy rollercoaster with dramatic highs and lows. When you skip breakfast (or any meal), your body will go into starvation mode which dramatically slows your metabolism, makes you store fat, and depletes your energy. 

Below are two breakfast recipes that are easy to prepare and will get your engine humming to start your day! If you would like more information about Homemade Fresh, visit www.homemadefresh.net.

Nourish Your Body with Good Fuel
Nourish Your Body with Good Fuel

Breakfast Energy Bars

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bars, energy
Servings: 20 bars
Author: Lisa Woodie

Equipment

  • 1 Baking Pan 9x13

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
  • ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
  • ½ cup dried apricots
  • ½ cup raisins or craisins
  • ½ tsp tsp ground cinnamon
  • cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup shredded coconut
  • ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour or almond flour
  • ½ cup almonds or pecans
  • ½ cup pitted dried dates
  • ½ cup cup powdered nonfat dry milk
  • Butter for greasing baking pan

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place all ingredients EXCEPT maple syrup, coconut and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.
  • Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is combined to resemble a course paste.
  • Spread mixture evenly in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan (or you can line the pan with parchment paper).
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or just until done.
  • These bars will stay fresh for several days when stored in an airtight container with a lid.
  • Enjoy these bars for breakfast or a healthy snack! You can also crumble a bar over plain Greek yogurt for added protein and calcium!

Mini Frittata Muffins

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: frittata, handheld, muffin
Servings: 12 frittatas
Author: Lisa Woodie

Equipment

  • 1 Muffin Pan

Ingredients

  • 7 large eggs
  • cup milk
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • ¼ cup onions diced
  • ½ cup fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped
  • cup feta cheese
  • ¼ cup roasted red peppers chopped
  • ¼ cup mushrooms finely chopped
  • Butter for greasing muffin pan

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until blended.
  • Stir in all other ingredients and mix well.
  • Spoon about ¼ cup of the mixture into each of the lightly greased muffin holes.
  • Bake until just set, about 18 to 22 minutes.
  • Store frittatas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can reheat one or two frittatas in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, just until warm.
  • This is a fun recipe for experimenting with different ingredients based on your tastes. You can change the veggies and cheese and add meat for extra protein!