Autumn Harvest Pumpkin Soup

'Tis the season for pumpkin. Pumpkin is highly nutritious and is a good source of vitamins and minerals. The roasted seeds make a nutritious snack, and it is popular for pies or breads. Pumpkin makes a hearty soup either on its own, or adding pureed pumpkin to other soups.


Autumn Harvest Pumpkin Soup
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 1/2 cups water
2 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1 in. cubes
2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
salt, if desired, to taste
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup lowfat milk or soy milk
1. In a stockpot or saucepan, heat the broth and add pumpkins, onions, salt and pepper. Cook the soup until the pumpkin is soft, about 20 minutes.*
2. Puree the soup in batches in a blender, food processor, or force through a sieve.
3. Return the soup to the pan. Put the flour in a cup, and add the water, stirring until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the soup and heat, stirring, until the soup comes to a boil.
4. Add the milk, and correct the seasonings before stirring.
* If you prefer you can also use a crockpot, and either mash the pumpkin or puree as above. Then follow steps 3 and 4 just before serving.

Got Breakfast? Five Breakfast Ideas

Mornings can be hectic as you're rushing around to get ready for the day, leaving for work or school, perhaps getting the family going as well.
So what's on your menu-- maybe a quick bowl of cereal, or just coffee? Do you some times even skip breakfast, and pick up something along the way at a fast food place or convenience store? Fast food breakfasts are typically loaded with fat, sugar and empty calories.
Typical cereals such as krispy rice, corn flakes or fruit loops are loaded with empty calories from refined carbohydrates and high in sugars. They give you a quick energy boost, but typically you'll be hungry again by mid-morning, so you grab a doughnut or some junk food for a snack to spike your energy level again. By lunch-time you're ravenous so you may fill up with some heavy duty meal.
Here are five ideas for quick yet nutritious breakfasts to get your day off to a more solid nutritional start:
1. Kashi cereal, which is made from whole grains,low in sugars, and provides a 9 or so grams of protein.
2. Oatmeal is filling and nutritious, just takes a few minutes to make, and can also be made in the microwave.
3. An egg with a slice of whole grain toast.
4. A Nutrimeal shake from USANA is soy-based, low-glycemic and high in protein.
5. Whole grain toast with peanut butter.

The Amazing Health Benefits of Green Tea

Drinking green tea provides amazing health benefits. Green tea has been used as a medicine in China for over 4000 years. Asian countries where green tea is widely consumed have lower rates of cancer, arteriosclerosis and heart disease than western countries where green tea is not a common beverage.
There are three main varieties of tea: black, green and oolong, but green tea is more popular in Asia than its fermented cousins.
"Green tea (Camellia sinesis) is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that scavenge free radicals -- damaging compounds in the body that alter cells, tamper with DNA (genetic material), and even cause cell death. Free radicals occur naturally in the body, but environmental toxins (including ultraviolet rays from the sun, radiation, cigarette smoke, and air pollution) also give rise to these damaging particles. Many scientists believe that free radicals contribute to the aging process as well as the development of a number of health problems, including cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants such as polyphenols in green tea can neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause." --from an article at University of Maryland Medicine website.