ArcaMax

As a youngster, I attended a Catholic grade school. In those days we gathered for morning Mass every day. When I was in second grade I was allowed to receive Communion, but that meant I had to fast for 3 hours in advance. So no breakfast at home for me before I hopped on the bus. Instead, I took my breakfast to school with me. Just like other children take their lunch to school, I had my little paper bag with my breakfast in it. But unlike other children, I was the lucky child of a mother who put extra time and attention into my breakfast. Most kids took one of those little boxes of cereal out of their bag for breakfast. They munched on Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms. I ate a poached egg.

Remember those little tins that pot pies came in? My mom saved them. She’d make me a poached egg and a wedge of buttered toast. She’d put both inside the little tin and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. It might be an hour or more before Mass was over and I could eat my breakfast but amazingly it was still warm. I loved it. I was consistently one of the smartest kids in the class. I have my parents to thank for wonderful genes, but I also have my mom to thank for feeding me brain food. A poached egg is 2 percent carbs, 63 percent fat, and 35 percent protein. Your brain runs on fat. She was feeding me fat and protein that would keep me full and focused until lunch in the school cafeteria. Your brain does not run on Fruit Loops. Fruit Loops just gunk up your brain in the long run.

Now, let’s fast forward to adulthood and look at this connection of brain function as it relates to weight gain...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Veggie Stir Fry

This colorful dish is super simple to make. You can include whatever assortment of veggies you like. I’ll give you a list of suggested options. You can serve this with something cooked on the grill; chicken, fish, or even steak. For a light dinner, I might go crazy and serve this with a chicken eggroll or two instead of the other protein. That’s my favorite option. I have dinner ready in under 20 minutes.

Servings: Serves 2. Can easily be doubled.

Ingredients:

3-4 cups of assorted veggies. Options include: bell pepper (red, yellow, green, and even purple. These I cut into strips) snap peas or snow peas, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, broccoli florets, baby corn, water chestnuts, onions, bok choy, celery, zucchini. You choose as many options as you like. Just make sure it’s about three to four cups total.
1 Tbl olive oil.

For the sauce:

1/4 cup of tamari, coconut aminos, or Bragg’s aminos (last resort use soy sauce)
3 tsp of minced garlic (jar garlic will work)
1 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp of cornstarch
1 cup of cashews (roasted and salted work great)
1/4 cup of chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions:

In a skillet or saute pan add the olive oil and heat on medium-high. Add your veggies and saute for two to three minutes until veggies are almost tender. Stir to keep mixing them up and get them cooked on all sides.

While that’s cooking, in a small bowl add the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, broth, and cornstarch. Stir to mix it all in and make sure the cornstarch does not leave lumps. You can also stir the cornstarch into a small amount of the broth first. That helps keep you from having lumps. Pour the sauce over the veggies and cook until the sauce has thickened.

At the last minute, stir in the cashews. They give it a nice extra crunch. When serving you can garnish with the chopped green onions. Enjoy!

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola