Four Slow Cooker Recipes for Fall

Editor’s Note: Some suggestions are made in parenthesis to improve the nutrition of these recipes. They are notations from the publisher of this site, not the author.

Four Crock Pot Recipes for Fall
by Rachel Paxton

Fall is upon us, and there’s no doubt it’s nice to come home to a warm home-cooked meal! If you let your crock pot do the work for you, you can get dinner ready in the morning and it will be there waiting for you at dinner time. You’d be surprised how many meals can be prepared in a crock pot. Here are just a few:

Crock Pot Lasagna

1 box rigatoni, cooked (use whole grain pasta)
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned & drained (organic, grass fed is best)
1 lg. pkg. sliced pepperoni (obtain pepperoni from naturally raised pork, preferably a local farmer)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 lg. pkg. grated Mozzarella cheese
2 lg. cans pizza sauce
1 med. onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms
Green olives, sliced

Begin with layer of sauce on bottom of crock pot. Stir all
remaining ingredients together. Place in crock pot and cook on
low for 5 hours.

Crock Pot Pork Chops

6 to 8 lean pork chops (organically raised pork)
1/2 c. flour
1 tbsp. salt
1 (10 oz.) can chicken and rice soup (be sure to use a healthier variety that is MSG free)
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. oil

Coat pork chops in mixture of flour, salt, dry mustard, and
garlic powder. Brown in oil in skillet. Place browned pork chops
in crock pot. Add can of soup. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8
hours or on high for 3 1/2 hours.

Crock Pot Meat Loaf

2 lbs. ground beef (grass fed, organic is best)
1/2 lb. ground sausage (from healthy pork fed a natural diet)
2 med. onions, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup (choose a natural brand free of dangerous additives)
1 1/2 c. bread or cracker crumbs
1 1/2 c. milk (organic, preferably raw)

Soak bread or cracker crumbs in milk. Mix meat, seasonings, and
soaked crumbs thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and
mushroom soup. Make meat mixture into loaf and place in crock
pot. Pour the sour cream-soup mixture over top. Cook in crock pot
10 to 12 hours on low.

Crock Pot Stew

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 envelope dry onion soup mix (
1/2 cup beef broth
1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained (opt.)

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 8 to 12
hours.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of
What’s for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick
easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips,
home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative
Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Foods That Reduce Inflammation

Decrease Pain and Inflammation Safely, with Ingredients Found In Your Own Kitchen Cabinet

By ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner, Dr. Steven Arculeo, DC

“Each year, use of NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), account for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the United States.”

(NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, ketoprofen, and tiaprofenic acid.)

(1) Although promoted as safe, when taken for long term basis, they been show to cause damage to the digestive track, kidneys, liver and other vital organs(2) (Robyn Tamblyn, PhD).

Many individuals are looking for natural alternatives to reduce pain and inflammation without the damaging effects of these drugs. These drugs just treat symptoms and ignore the causes of pain and inflammation. To truly improve ones health above ones symptoms, you must first find the cause and build your treatment from there.

Inflammation is a natural response of the body but if you are in a chronic state of inflammation it can cause pain in your joints and tissues. Inflammation can also cause many physical and neurological diseases, including heart disease. One of the biggest factors that causes inflammation is diet. Depending on what you eat you may be contributing to increased inflammation in your body.

Most everyone utilizes a kitchen whether they cook elaborate meals, grab something to go or heat something up in the Microwave. But could your kitchen be setting you up for pain and sickness?

Foods that cause inflammation in the body are

1. Hydrogenated or Trans Fats
2. Processed foods
3. Caffeine
4. Red Meat
5. Sugar
6. Soda
7. Alcohol

Instead, fill your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, lean meats and cooking ingredients which can decrease inflammation and rid yourself of sickness and pain:
* Apples & Blueberries: these fruits are packed full of nutrients and are natural anti-inflammatories

* Kale: contains over 80 nutrients per serving

* Fish: one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods, fish contains heart healthy and anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids. Choose cod, salmon or tilapia instead of the fatty deep water bottom dweller fish such as shrimp or catfish

* Ginger: aids in digestion

* Garlic: lowers hypertension and cholesterol

* Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Turmeric, Thyme, Chili Peppers & Cinnamon: all are proven to have anti-inflammatory properties

* Oil: use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil to aid in decreasing inflammation

By eliminating the inflammatory foods and adding these anti-inflammatory foods to your diet you will be on your way to decreasing the inflammation of your body and riding yourself of sickness and pain.

ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Dr. Steve Arculeo, DC

References:

1. Robyn Tamblyn, PhD; Laeora Berkson, MD, MHPE, FRCPC; W. Dale Jauphinee, MD, FRCPC; David Gayton, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Roland Grad, MD, MSc; Allen Huang, MD, FRCPC; Lisa Isaac, PhD; Peter McLeod, MD, FRCPC; and Linda Snell, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, “Unnecessary Prescribing of NSAIDs and the Management of NSAID-Related Gastropathy in Medical Practice,” Annals of Internal Medicine (Washington, DC: American College of Physicians, 1997), September 15, 1997, 127:429-438, from the web at , last accessed Feb. 14, 2001, citing Fries, JF, “Assessing and understanding patient risk,” Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology Supplement, 1992;92:21-4.
2. Renal Effects of nonselective NSAIDs and Coxibs, Mathew R. Weir, MD, Cleveland Clinic Journal Of Medicine.
3. http://eating.health.com/2008/02/21/anti-inflammatories-the-new-superfoods/2/
4. http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm

photo credit: Shootingsnow

Why Do I Keep Getting Sick?: Ways You’re Making Yourself Ill

Why Do I Keep Getting Sick?: Ways You’re Making Yourself Ill

You’re sick…again?!

If you keep finding yourself under the weather, you may need to check the way you treat yourself. You may be making yourself sick. Well, not literally, but you may be taking actions to sabotage your immune system.

Do you like sugar?

Drinking about 2 cans of pop (which contain about 8 tbsp. of sugar) can reduce your white blood cells’ ability to kill germs by a whopping 40 percent. So ditch the sweet stuff when cold season hits.

Do you drink alcohol?

A little alcohol here and there is fine but if you like to booze it up on weekends (you know who you are!), you’re damaging your immune system. Three or more drinks can stop white blood cells from fighting the good fight against germs. It’s like your giving germs a carte blanche with every drink you consume.

Do you loaf around too much?

Obesity can cause a depressed immune system. So go out and get fit! Also take up yoga, meditation or another way to relieve stress. Too much stress can make you sick, so be sure to relax.

A few lifestyle changes can make a drastic difference in your life.

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