Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

One bowl - dry ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

wet ingredients - I throw them all in the food processor but you don't have to

2 or 3 bananas
1 cup fat free mayo
1/2 cup unsweetened orange juice
2 or 3 tablespoons of honey

Take wet ingredients out of the processor and mix with the dry - don't overmix...just until all combined. Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Makes 12 muffins - Bake @ 350 for about 15 mins
Don't forget to grease the muffin tin (I prefer to use the paper liners for easier cleanup).

These have a trace of fat (a bit in the chocolate chips and a slight amount in the flour) and they are fairly low in calories for a muffin...around 170 calories. Everyone in my house loves these. It will seem like you have more batter than you should and you will be tempted to make more than 12 muffins, but trust me, the whole wheat flour is much heavier than white flour so they don't rise up really high.

Homemade Fruit/Vegetable Wash

For an inexpensive substitute for commercial fruit & vegetable cleaners, use baking soda. You can keep some by the sink in a shaker jar. It's not a spray, so it's not quite as convenient as the sprays, but in my opinion baking soda does a better job. Just shake some on, rub it around and rinse. Works great. You can also soak produce in vinegar/water (equal amounts) and then rinse with cold water. Never soak mushrooms this way because letting them soak allows them to absorb too much extra water. As long as you have a large bowl and a colander, you can make your own " dip-vat as well. Place the colander inside the bowl, fill with vinegar-water mixture, and put your fruit/vegetables inside. Then when they've soaked for 5-10 minutes, just lift the colander out and rinse! I use baking soda to wash my veggies it works as much as Fit. You can also use 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to 2 Tablespoons of baking soda with 1 cup of water. Just put this mixture in a spray bottle to spray the veggies. Let it sit for a few minutes then rinse. Works well.

How to "De-Stress"

* Get more rest

*Develop a weekly schedule

*Learn to manage time more effectively

*Exercise regularly

*Become conscious of the foods you eat

*Do less. Simplify

*Practice a relaxation technique such as tapping, yoga, tia chi or meditation

*Become conscious of the energy level of your acquantances & friends. Choose to be in close proximity to those who are empowering and see the greatness in you

*Display pictures that contain energy...pictures taken in moments of happiness and love

*Laugh!!

Juicing and uses for the "Pulp"

I just recently purchased the Wide Mouth Hamilton Beach Juicer (pictured right). The juicer pulp is a side product of juicing. Most people throw this vegetable and fruit pulp away after they have made their juice. There are however many uses for that pulp.

Juicer pulp recipes are very high in dietary fibre. Adding the juicer pulp to meal recipes will increase the dietary fibre levels of these recipes. Adequate levels of dietary fibre are sadly missing in many diets and this is causing many digestive disorders.

Juicing removes the great majority of fibre from fruits and vegetables and it is collected in the pulp. This means that drinking juice as well as consuming the pulp (not at the same time) is an ideal way to get both the benefits of high nutrient levels in the juice as well as high fibre levels from the pulp. The pulp can add bulk to recipes and help retain moisture in the dishes we prepare.

Carrot cake is an example of a traditional recipe that can easily be converted to Carrot Pulp Cake. Soft fruits often leave a wetter pulp than hard produce such as carrots or apples and so the flavour left in the pulp is often more intense. These soft fruits such as the various forms of berries, grape etc can be easily mixed with a little water and frozen to make delicious popsicles that are free from colourings, flavourings and the large amounts of processed sugars and syrups that are found in many commercial versions of popsicles. Soft fruit pulp is also great for adding into your own home made ice creams and sorbets or for using as dessert toppings.

If you don't have time to make up some of the treats mentioned above on the day of juicing then you can simply put the pulp in a container / freezer bag and freeze the pulp until you are ready to use it. The nutritional properties of freshly made juice are at their peak straight away and the nutritional value rapidly declines due to oxidation of enzymes. The fibrous nature of juicer pulp on the other hand will not rapidly decline. You can use vegetable and fruit pulp in 'layered' recipes such as lasagna or in casseroles or soups.

One of the most natural and greenest uses for your juicer pulp is making garden compost with it. Just put the juicer pulp along with any peelings and cores of the fruit / vegetables used onto your compost heap and let the natural process of decomposition take place. This will result in production of garden compost that can be used to grow your own vegetables and fruits. Garden compost when dug into the soil helps improve soil structure that enables more oxygen to enter the soil and helps the water retention properties of the soil.

By spreading the garden compost on the soil surface it can act as a mulch. A mulch helps prevent weed growth by preventing light reaching the weed seeds and it also helps reduce the amount of time you spend watering the plants as it reduces water loss through the soil surface.As well as improving your garden, this use of juicer pulp is also beneficial to the environment as it reduces the amount of waste that is sent to landfill sites. If you juice every day then you will be surprised at just how much pulp and peelings you collect in just one week of juicing.

Some people recommend using certain type of pulp for feeding to the birds in your garden. Try putting some juicer pulp in a bird feeder and see how they take to it. Carrot pulp seems to be popular.

Top Ten Healthy Cooking Tips