My cooking videos have just logged over a million views! It happened this morning and I’m super excited. I know there are a lot of cooking channels on Youtube so I never expected that many people to watch mine. But the number of views has been steadily increasing and based on the comments, they are watching all over the world. So thank you to everyone who is watching and especially for letting me know when they try one of my healthy recipes. I’m not selling anything so the only reward I need is to know that I’m making a difference.
Start your pasta water first because this spinach-walnut pesto will be ready long before your spaghetti is cooked. It takes about five minutes to make this super healthy topping for pasta or almost anything else like a chicken breast, fish fillet, or one of my favorites… a chicken pesto sandwich. Traditional pesto uses all basil and pine nuts but by switching some of the basil out with fresh baby spinach and using walnuts instead of pine nuts, this becomes a much healthier sauce.
Spinach can protect you from cancer, heart disease, stroke, macular degeneration and cataracts. It’s also called “brain food” because it may slow the aging of your brain. And both olive oil and walnuts provide heart-healthy fats to protect your heart. Even the garlic is good for your circulation and blood pressure. There. That should be enough reasons to try this simple, quick and easy, super-healthy pesto.
It only takes five minutes because I use pre-washed spinach – a whole bag of it! My food processor holds eleven cups and it’s chock full when I put all the ingredients in but it does process down nicely. If yours seems too full, you can start with half the spinach at first, then add the rest of it after the oil. And use more or less of anything: more garlic, less spinach, it won’t matter. Just taste it at the end for salt… and enjoy. Click here for the recipe.
When you see how easy it is to make my beef stew, it might become a regular Sunday thing in your house. In this video I show the simple steps to make a delicious healthy beef stew with meat that falls apart with a touch and potatoes full of flavor.
I use the leanest meat possible and brown the heck out of it. That’s important, so making old-fashioned beef stew is not for the impatient but it’s oh so worth doing it right. My recipe never fails and it’s proof that you don’t need meat with a lot of marbling to make tender, delicious stew. I just use packaged stew meat, which is cheaper, I cut off any fat I can see, and it comes out perfect every time.
This easy beef stew is one of my most popular recipes – try it once and you’ll see why. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
It’s flu season and there is a lot you can do to keep from getting sick. Here are some of the foods that are known to boost your immune system. I haven’t had a cold or flu in decades, probably because I eat every one of these things regularly, except mushrooms. They’re just so…squishy… but I’m working on it. I’ve been chopping them up really tiny and it does eliminate the squish factor. No excuses!
1. Oily fish: Oily fish—including salmon, tuna, and mackerel—are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, compounds that help reduce harmful inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation prevents your immune system from working properly, and can contribute to colds and flu as well as more serious diseases.
2. Garlic: These pungent cloves do more than just flavor your food. Garlic also contains allicin, a sulfuric compound that produces potent antioxidants when it decomposes.
3. Yogurt & Kefir: We usually think of bacteria as a bad thing, but some of these microorganisms are essential for good health. Eating probiotic foods, such as yogurt and kefir, is a good way to replenish beneficial strains of bacteria, which promote digestive health and help prevent stomach ailments. There are over 10 trillion bacteria living in our gastrointestinal tract, so you want to make sure the good ones outnumber the bad ones.
4. Tea: Everyone knows a steaming hot cup of tea can help break up chest congestion and soothe a sore throat, but the benefits may run deeper. All tea—black, green, or white—contains a group of antioxidants known as catechins, which may have flu-fighting properties.
5. Red Peppers: Like citrus fruits, red peppers are high in vitamin C. In fact, one red pepper has 150 milligrams of the nutrient—that’s twice the recommended daily allowance for women. (A large orange, by comparison, only has about 100 milligrams.)
6. Mushrooms: White button, Portobello, shiitake, and Maitake are just a few of the varieties you’ll find in your grocery store. Fortunately, just about all mushrooms contain some form of immune-boosting antioxidants, along with potassium, B vitamins, and fiber.
7. Leafy Greens: The darker the greens, the higher the nutrient content. So when you’re shoring up your defenses for cold and flu season, choose arugula and kale over iceberg lettuce. Bitter greens like arugula may even help relieve chest congestion, sniffles, and coughs.
8. Dark Chocolate: Ounce for ounce, pure cocoa contains more of the disease-fighting antioxidants known as polyphenols than most berries—and it’s loaded with zinc, to boot. Too often, however, the nutritional benefits of cocoa are overshadowed by the sugar and saturated fat found in chocolate bars and other treats. To reap the immunity-boosting benefits without the unhealthy extras, stick with bite-sized portions—about one quarter-ounce per day—of dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or higher.
9. Carrots & Sweet Potatoes: Orange fruits and vegetables are rich in beta-carotene. When we eat these foods, our bodies convert this organic compound into vitamin A, which is essential for maintaining a strong immune system. Vitamin A is especially important for areas that go haywire when we catch a cold: It keeps the mucous membranes that line our nose and throat—one of the body’s first lines of defense—healthy and functioning properly.
10. Lean Protein: We think we need protein to build muscle, and we do—but actually, we need it to build antibodies and fight infection in the body, as well. Chicken, turkey, and pork are all good sources of protein, but you can also get plenty from meatless sources such as beans, nuts, and dairy. Lean protein is also important because the immune molecules are made of protein.
 - Simple, old fashioned beef stew with fork-tender meat, full of flavor. "Pin It")
