May 6th, 2010 
My Health 
The rules:
I don’t mind if there’s leftovers, as long as it tastes good.
Soups, entrees for any meal of the day, and appetizers are good.
I don’t really like seafood, but if it’s too good to pass up, then okay.
I don’t eat pork, unless fully cooked, like sausage or bacon.
Recipes made with whole foods only, no prepackaged mixes.
Spices are good.
Slightly processed foods (tortillas, bread, yogurt, pancake mix) are okay too.
Foods that are original are fantastic. Different ethnic foods are great!
Remember the main point is health.
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Here is a very good recipe for health-concious cooking. It is nice and autumn-ey, and it can be spicy, simply adjust to taste.
Pumpkin Bread:
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée*
1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
* To make pumpkin purée, cut a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 180°C until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don’t use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (350F). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly.
3 Pour into a well-buttered loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until it passes the ‘toothpick test.’
You can also use nuts if you like, and of course use whole flour, not white. Olive oil is good for a number of things as well. The spices are very good, and if you include ginger there are some added health benefits. I hope you don’t use metric, because I tried to convert this for quite a while but couldn’t, and then my host sister came and helped me. xD They don’t have metric measures, so I had to change it all to cups, Farenheit, etc. For the sweetener, Demerera sugar will work nicely, with an added molasses flavour, and it will be healthier and heartier than it would otherwise. The pumpkin, whole flour, spices, rich oil, and raw, unprocesed sugar make this recipe very healthy, and my host family enjoyed it!
This is a great recipe using dried fruit, which you cook. It’s great on waffles, ice cream, with vanilla or plain yogurt, or just on its own:
http://buzz.prevention.com/community/virginia-lw/a-delicious-dried-fruit-recipe
And this one is a really good salad recipe that’s just a bit different, it uses pears, cranberries and toasted pecans: http://buzz.prevention.com/community/virginia-lw/mixed-greens-with-pears-and-pecans
Have you looked at Christina Pirello’s site?
http://www.christinacooks.com/recipes/recipes.html