Morselicious Marathon Medals, Spring cleaning, Nilla-nutty recipe

May 6, 2013 by 8 Comments

Who wants a NILLA NUTTY recipe?

Who’s earned a Marathon medal?

Who wants to order Week 1 of my ULTIMATE 21 day MORSELICIOS Detox e-cookbook?

I’m SOOO excited to share my first 7 days of MORSELICIOUS recipes with you! Each day includes recipes for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, dessert and hot cup’s of MOJO, shopping list, healthy tips and mo’! Great gift idea for Mother’s Day!   :) Email me today to order!

Congratulations to my MORSELICIOUS sister, Seana for completing her first half marathon (13.1 miles) in the Sacramento heat, none-the-less in 3 hours & 23 minutes!
INCREDIBLY PROUD of her!!! See her MORSELICIOUS MEDAL below!

Say this three times quickly!!

MORSELICIOUS MARATHON MEDAL
MORSELICIOUS MARATHON MEDAL
MORSELICIOUS MARATHON MEDAL!

Seana's 1:2 marathon medal

Spring has sprung and so has Mo, the Morselist’s creative clean-“itis” craving. ‘Tis time to morselfy your spring cleaning, so let’s get started with some of
Mo’s top 10 tips!

1 Clear the clutter. You all know what I mean. Get it clear and clean!

2 Donate items you haven’t used or worn in more than 6 months to a worthy cause

3 Start a compost bin, can or jar, if you don’t have a yard. I use a large jar to put my brewed chicory root and vegetable peelings. Coffee grounds, tea leaves and even clean egg shells mixed in with soil does wonders for your garden AND reduces waste. DOUBLE MORSELICIOUSness! Watch this 3 minute “how-to-compost-video via The Sierra Club”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FfnbTC1Mis

4 Make your own eco-friendly cleaner. My favorite concoction is to mix
Baking soda with peppermint castile soap and warm water, which makes an excellent fresh smelling NON-toxic scrubbing agent. Consider adding fresh lemon juice and even using the used lemon for extra fresh scent, scrub and shine. For the sinks and toilet bowl, NOT using the same sponge, try a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar. It actually fizzes when you mix the two, so it’s kind of fun…yes, one must make FUN out of spring cleaning! It’s the MORSELIST’s rule! ☺

5 Clean your refrigerator. Start by taking EVERYTHING out, shelf by shelf. Yes, you may do this one shelf at a time. Deep clean the inside of your fridge with a mixture of warm water, fresh lemon juice and baking soda. Towel dry and put everything back, assuming your food items and jars, etc. are already clean. If not, clean those, too and toss any old and moldy items… say that 3x quickly:
“OLD and MOLDY
OLD and MOLDY
OLD and MOLDY” ☺

6 Clean out and clean up your pantry/cupboards: After removing your shelves, again one at a time, consider lining them with fun lining paper…so much easier to clean. Heck, you can even make your own, if you’re feeling extra MORSELICIOUSly crafty or get your kids involved. Make it fun and while you’re at it, clean up your pantry items that contain high fructose corn syrup, sugar, msg, too much sodium, ingredients you can’t pronounce and did I mention sugar? Stay tuned for my upcoming article on SUGAR DETOX.

bouganvilla

7 Open sunshine! Open your windows and breathe in the fresh air! A lil’ fresh oxygen does the body and soul good.

8 For mo’ oxygen in your home, pot some plants in every room. You know I LOVE my green and yes, I have plants in every room of our home and not only does it provide natural beauty, it provides mo’ oxygen and cleaner air. TRIPLE MORSELICIOUSness!

9 Start an herb garden, even if it’s just a little pot…I have a pot of fresh bail on my kitchen counter and it lasts much longer than buying a bunch of basil at the market every week, plus it’s SO fragrant and there’s something really fun about clipping your own fresh herbs for every meal. Try it, you’ll like it. Just ask Mikey. (And if you don’t know that reference, good God, I’m old!) ☺

10 As a reward for completing Mo’s spring cleaning list, I’ll share my
MORSELICIOUS NILLA NUTTY SHAKE recipe. As with 99.9% of my recipes, this is vegan, gluten-free, almost NO sugar or sodium and of course, loaded with oodles of MORSELICIOUSness! Enjoy!

coconut

MORSELICIOUS NILLA NUTTY(vanilla-coconut-almond) SHAKE

½ cup canned coconut milk
½ cup almond milk (I prefer unsweetened)
1 tbsp vanilla flavor
¼ tsp pure ground vanilla
optional: 1 tbsp cacao nibs
crushed ice

Serves 2
Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until desired consistency and sip or slurp the MORSELICIOUSness.

TIP: If you double or triple the recipe, you can freeze remaining shake in popsicle molds or ice cube trays and blend again with mo’ milk of choice when your CRAVING strike What are YOUR favorite ways  to  spring clean/detox? 

Ready. Set…. GO!

www.themorselist.com

Filed Under: Healthy cookbook, Healthy Living Tips, Morselicious Recipe, News, recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Sunny MORSELICIOUS Monday & EARTH DAY

April 22, 2013 by 4 Comments

Happy MORSELICIOUS  Monday and what an Earth Day ’tis! The sun is shining brightly here in Sunny CA! How do you plan to celebrate/honor Earth Day? Please share!

Mac-n-Mo

Yours truly was asked to be featured in the upcoming Fall issue of WhereWomenCook Magazine and graciously, she accepted! :)  The incredible photographer, Martha fr0m iseethemoonphotography arrived at 7:30 am yesterday morning for a MORSELICIOUS shoot!  Here are a few sneak peaks from my phone camera.

Mo & cuppa Mojo

In addition to some Mo and her MORSELICIOUS Treats photos, they are featuring a few of my new recipes from my upcoming cookbook, The Ultimate 21 day MORSELICIOUS Detox.

Please email me directly if you want to find out how to pre-order.

Mo's comfy porridge

Harvest Surprise Souffle

Mo's crispy veggie patties

Now onto some NON-FOOD MORSELICIOUSness!

This article was published on examiner.com a few weeks ago and many of you asked me post here. Ask and ye shall receive:  Please feel free to add some of your own ideas. I’d LOVE to hear and have a MORSELICIOUS week!

http://www.examiner.com/article/mo-s-morselicious-tips-for-inexpensive-or-free-non-food-rewards

‘Tis time to reward yourself for all of your MORSELICIOUS detox accomplishments, that is assuming you have been following Mo’s 85/15 rule and eating clean, whole, REAL food at least 85% of the time, incorporating a RAINBOW of colors into your daily meals. Remember skittles DON’T count! ☹ I have completed week 1 of my Ultimate 21-day MORSELICIOUS DETOX e-cookbook and currently in the middle of week 2 and have been inspired to create mo’ lists and ideas for MORSELICOUSLY fun way to eat clean and reap the rewards.

The dilemma most of us face when rewarding ourselves for being 85% perfect (remember strive for progress NOT perfection), is that most of us choose to reward ourselves with decadent-less-than-optimal-healthy food choices. I use the word, “choose” loosely, because oftentimes it’s not a mindful choice, but a habit. Admittedly, I am guilty of this sometimes, too, which is why I have created this list for you. Here are some MORSELICIOUSly creative, fun and inspiring reward ideas. Please feel free to add your own and share with the rest of us. ENJOY!

• Treat yourself to a fragrant and colorful bouquet of flowers.
• Plant some colorful succulents in your garden.
• Start an herb garden.
• Visit a museum.
• Take a bike ride.
• Take a hike…☺ a nature walk, a walk around ANY body of water. It’s amazing how it clears the mind and fresh air is beyond therapeutic.
• Take a class in an activity or subject you’ve always wanted to try.
• Volunteer. Maybe read to the eldery or under-priveleged children, or take a meal or two to a neighbor-in-need.
• Visit the library and check out a book you’ve been thinking of reading, but never got around to it. Make it a fun one!
• Create a visualization board or journal and travel in your mind. Fantasize about your new goals, dreams and accomplishments.
• Treat yourself to a foot massage or full body. Find a massage school for some incredible deals.
• Write someone a handwritten note on colorful paper/stationery. It will brighten their day as well as yours.
• Call a friend. Invite them to join you on a little adventure, walk, bike ride, swim, museum excursion or a vintage store shopping spree.
• Try something new. Make it FUN!
• Watch the sunrise
• Watch the sunset
• Pour your fancy spa water into your reusable water bottle and take it with you everywhere.
• Spoil yourself, or better TREAT yourself as you deserve to be treated!
• Buy extra thick/cushiony socks. Believe me, it makes a HUGE difference on your hikes/walks and you will WANT to walk further.

red & orange daisies
For those of you who want to schedule a one-on-one health coaching session with Mo, please email me directly and visit www.theMorselist.com

mo@macnmos.com

xo

Mo

Filed Under: Call to Action, Healthy cookbook, Healthy Living Tips, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Your brain on sugar

March 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Happy MORSELICIOUS Monday and Happy Passover!  Did you have a grand weekend? What did you do? What greens did you eat? Did you move your body?  Please share.  Yours truly was busy creating mo’ recipes for my 2nd e-cookbook and OMG, are they MORSELICIOUS, if I do say so myself! :)

Today’s guest post is from Fooduciary’s Brad Shepherd.

This is your brain on sugar, literally; in pictures.

fructose-keeps-you-hungry-and-makes-you-overeat

Fructose is a sugar found in almost all processed foods, in a very easily digestible state. Using MRI tests, scientists for the first time were able to document the reactions and processes in the brain after we eat fructose.

 

The MRI images showed that fructose consumption causes changes in the brain that directly lead to cravings for more food. Considering that two-thirds of adults and a third of American kids and youth are overweight or obese, this is a study that is worth our attention.

 

The federally funded study appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association in January. Researchers stated that drinking a fructose sweetened beverage doesn’t signal to the brain a feeling of being full. Considering the amount of fructose consumed today has almost quadrupled from what Americans were eating 50 years ago it’s no wonder our country is more obese than ever.

 

The researchers studied 20 young, normal-weight adults before and after drinking solutions of glucose or fructose in two separate sessions several weeks apart.

 

The MRI scans showed that glucose “turns off or suppresses the activity of areas of the brain that are critical for reward and desire for food,” according to a leader of the research team, endocrinologist Dr. Robert Sherwin of Yale University. “[With fructose], we don’t see those changes. As a result, the desire to eat continues. It isn’t turned off.”

 

Confirming the results, the scans mirrored how hungry the study participants said they felt. According to Dr. Jonathan Purnell, an endocrinologist at Oregon Health & Science University, the study “implies that fructose, at least with regards to promoting food intake and weight gain, is a bad actor compared to glucose.”

 

The next step of the study is to see if obese people react the same way to fructose and glucose as the healthy weight individuals did in the study.

 

Any nutrition expert worth their salt has been warning us for years to avoid any food that contains high fructose corn syrup. That’s a very helpful first step in avoiding highly processed foods that contain high levels of fructose. HFCS is found everywhere from salad dressings to chicken nuggets to pickles. It takes conscious effort to avoid it.

high-fructose-corn-syrup-is-everywhere

As controversial as it was, New York City’s ban on oversized fructose sweetened beverages could help lower the city’s consumption of fructose. All of us would be wise to follow the same example and limit our intake of sweetened drinks without being told to do it by our mayor. (No, you don’t get a pass by drinking diet drinks, which is only trading diabetes for cancer or depression.)

 

Despite what the corn refiners’ industry says, all sugars are not equal, even if they contain the same number of calories. Cane sugar is half fructose and half glucose, while high fructose corn syrup is 55 percent fructose. This is also why we stopped recommending agave syrup as an alternative sweetener. Depending on the brand, agave can be anywhere from 55 to 97 percent fructose.

 

Well what about fruit? That has fructose right? Yes, but in its whole form, the fructose is safely contained within fibrous cell walls. Fructose in whole fruit is accessed more slowly and its effects are blunted because of the fiber in the fruit. Fruit juices don’t carry the same benefit and instead can lead to dangerous spikes in blood sugar just like refined sugars.

 

If you find yourself consistently overeating, or struggling to lose weight, forget picking up the next fad diet book. Pick up your food, turn it around, and read the ingredients. Ditch the corn syrup and other refined sugars. Cook at home. Sweeten smartly and naturally. Eat real food and consider your new year’s resolutions in the bag!

Brad is the co-creator of Fooduciary.com – Happy Living through Healthy Choices. The closer to nature and the less tampered with any food is, the better it will be for you. The most important thing in healthy eating is to keep it real. For more visit: www.fooduciary.com/five-days-to-clean-eating.html

cookies crumbleAVmeme

shop.macnmos.com/main.sc

Filed Under: Call to Action, Healthy Living Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Nutso-sweet Monday: Miracle Berry Diet?

March 18, 2013 by

Happy MORSELICIOUS Nutso-Sweet Monday and day after me favorite GREEN holiday, St. Patrick's Day! Yours truly took a glorious hike through the misty mountains reminiscent of Ireland. Absolutely magical!  Please watch my mini video greeting VLOG: Sorry there is NO thumbnail, but I have tried for hours to get a thumbnail and am only able to to get the link to YOU TUBE. If any of your MORSELICIOUS MORSELITES are willing to help me in the future with this, I'd greatly appreciate! :) Please watch the following link...my mini-video greeting:

Mo’s St. Pat’s Hike and post a comment sharing which greens you are eating today and the rest o’ the week! You know I love me greens! :)

 

St. Pat's hike

 

 

 

St. Pat's misty hike

 

Mo St. Pat's hike

Q: What do you think of the Miracle Berry diet? Sounds too good to be true.

A: What is this miracle berry‘s claim to fame? They say it literally makes lemonade out of lemons. How? The wild-berry plant contains a non-genetically modified protein called miraculin which latches onto receptors your sour taste-buds, inhibiting the sour notes in our foods and literally transforming the flavors of any bitter, sour and/or spicy foods into one’s sweetest desire.

Too  good to be true?

Anything that says “miracle” should be a clue. We are a sugar-addicted society so if we can have sweetness without the calories or consequence, that would be our desire. This is still new on the market and even if it says what it does, what about the long-term affects? What about adverse affects? Will it always continue to produce the desired affect. Can your body become immune to its miracle over time as it does to over-usage of Rx drugs and antibiotics? Do you rely want to have to rely on the availability of one magic pill?

Another clue that maybe this pill isn’t miraculous as it seems, the book includes recipes for weight loss success that don’t include the berry. That means the berry alone may not prove so effective. It suggests that these recipes complement the berry by tricking your taste-buds into thinking there is sweetness so that you don’t need to add in sugars. Sure, it may eliminate the need for excess sugar, but does it eliminate the desire to have that sweet-tooth full-filled?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be part of a science experiment. You can be in control of your eating, learn to tame your sweet-tooth and actually wean yourself from excess sugars by putting in the commitment to a healthier lifestyle. Get The Sweet & Low Down here. Sure this requires time, challenge and persistence, but isn’t that the real success? You can do it and without a miracle pill. In fact, you can lower your desire for sweets in as little as 2 – 4 weeks simply by eliminating processed foods (that includes added salts and sugars) and enjoying whole food nutrition. Your body will start to enjoy and actually crave the natural foods. And because you will be getting the nutrients you need, you won’t be eating junk to try to satisfy what you are missing.

no sugar

Check out these tips on controlling your sugar (and salt) intake and forget the pill. You can de-sugar your diet without excessive restriction. And if you need something quick to quell that sweet-tooth, consume a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. that will surely do the trick.  That sour flavor will surely inhibit your desire to reach for a cookie or bite of chocolate cake – at least in the short-term. Better yet, clear your pantry and fridge so you have nothing to temp you but nutrient-dense foods. And be in control of your body by following a delicious lifestyle that doesn’t require the need for “sweets”.
CELEBRATEthegreen-fin
Filed Under: Healthy Living Tips, NutsoSweet Tagged With: , , , ,

Average Shopper Tips: Morselicious March Monday

March 4, 2013 by 4 Comments

Happy MORSELICIOUS MARCH MONDAY!

What are your MORSELICIOUS goals, plans for March, National Nutrition Month and home to St. Patrick’s Day, the GREENEST day of the year! :) In honor of the green, please use my coupon code “TENMO” for 10% off the entire month of March for your entire MORSELICIOUS order when shopping  http://shop.macnmos.com/main.sc

Save with "TENMO" for the entire month of MORSELICIOUS March!

Remember Reece Holland’s September guest post, The Average Shopper?  Back by popular demand, Reece has mo’ MORSELICIOUS info to share with my favorite MORSELITES.

Please keep your comments and questions coming and I’ll keep trying to provide you with your requests.

Thank you, Reece and now onto his post:  YOUR AVERAGE SHOPPER

 

brown rice pix

Okay, last time we spoke, I told you all about a few new items I came across at my local Ralph’s market that surprised me. I have found a couple more since then that I think might interest you.

One of my favorite things to eat is pasta; however, my system doesn’t tolerate the gluten/wheat very well so I am always looking for alternatives. In my previous posting I told you about this wonderful quinoa pasta that I found (still one of my favorites). To backtrack just a bit, my partner has just undergone treatments for tonsil cancer. Everything has gone extremely well (thank you for thinking to ask); however, he lost a lot of weight and getting food down him has been a challenge. The quinoa pasta doesn’t get quite soft enough for him and we found that rice has been a good solution, but you can’t live on rice alone (no matter how many ways you try to do something different with it). I am always on the lookout for something else. Recently, I was walking in my Ralphs’s (again) and came across Tinkyada brown rice pasta. This was a spaghetti style, but it comes in several different pasta varieties. I have seen it in the past and, honestly, because it is a darker pasta, I didn’t think Gary would like it* so I haven’t ever tried it. This time, for some reason, I picked up a bag of it.

Last week for dinner I thought, why not, so I cooked it up. Lo and behold, when it cooks, it turns lighter like a regular pasta. I served it drizzled with some walnut oil and some no-salt pasta seasoning that a very good friend gave me (Not that I am pushing any particular brand, but these were NSA Seasonings and they are definitely worth Googling! I know my Ralph’s doesn’t carry them [although they have other no-salt added spices]) but the Morselist might know where else they are available.  MORSELICIOUS!

 

Reece pasta pic

It was a huge hit! I didn’t even tell him that it wasn’t regular pasta and he had no idea. He actually asked for it again. Phew. Since then, I have made it a couple of times and he still thinks he’s getting regular pasta (he’s also gained 6 lbs!!).

Since I’m on a pasta theme, normally, I like to make my own sauce so I know what’s in it, etc.; however, as we all know, sometimes when you’ve had a long day at work or running errands, you’re really not in the mood to cook. You just want something simple. Walking through my grocery store, I decided to look through the different pasta sauces to see if there were any I might actually be able to try without choking on all of the salt preservatives.

If you’ve never done it, I would like to urge everyone to actually take a couple of moments to read the ingredients and nutrition label of some of the pasta sauces out there. I think most of you would be very surprised to find out what is in them! One sauce I came across was Mario Batali’s Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce. The first few ingredients listed, imported San Marzano tomatoes (from the Sarnese-Nocerino area of Italy), extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices. Yes, there is always going to be some degree of sodium since it’s in a jar, but it was SO much less than any of the other sauces I found. He also adds NO sugar to any of his pasta sauces – AND it tastes good! I have tried it over the brown rice pasta and over rice. Thank you Mario.

Okay, that’s it for now. I will keep my eyes open for anything new and healthy in my “average” grocery store.  If there is something you have come across, I know Mo would love to know about it as well!  Drop her a comment below!! Until next time . . .

Reece's post pix

*Okay, I live with one of those people that, if it looks too healthy or if it’s too far off track from what they grew up with, it’s just not going to happen. I have always had to find sneaky ways to get in healthier food. It’s almost like living with a very large 6 year old. Don’t bring him a pea or any broccoli, BUT if you puree them into something else or mask them with something else, they will never know! It takes a lot of practice (I have actually incorporated broccoli into a pesto sauce along with my basil – he never knew).

www.themorselist.com

Filed Under: Healthy Living Tips, MorseLIST, Stories/Tips Tagged With: , , ,
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