Thought I'd share our simple Banana Bread recipe. I use my Vita-Mix to grind the flour first and then, after emptying the flour into a bowl, I use the Vita-Mix container to mix up the banana mixture - quick and easy.

Banana Bread
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or grind 1 c. wheatberries)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup walnuts or pecans (don't bother to chop - they'll get cut when you you slice the bread)

3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. olive or safflower oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Grind 1 cup wheatberries in Vita-Mix on high for one minute (or measure 1 1/2 c. flour). Put flour in mixing bowl and mix with baking soda, salt, and nuts. Blend bananas, syrup, oil, and vanilla in Vita-Mix. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and mix. Pour into loaf pan (I like Pyrex). Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Need a Vita-Mix? Get free shipping when you use my code 06-003148

Greetings Healthy Moms & Dads!

It's been quite awhile since you've heard from me. We've been a little busy lately getting our house on the market and hitting the road. If you haven't already heard about our new lifestyle, please visit our blog to get the scoop.

On the food front, I had to write and tell you about an amazing restaurant we came upon in Granger, IN - near South Bend. If you live in this area, please check it out! It's called Uptown Kitchen and we LOVED it. It's a rare occasion to stumble across such a treasure. We were driving down 23 and Ashley said, "Hey, turn in here and see what there is." We turned into a shopping area that was still being developed. Many stores weren't even open yet, but we kept driving and then we came around a corner and spotted the Uptown Kitchen with a tag line that says "Eat well. Be happy."

We walked in and were delighted with the funky upbeat decor. When we sat down and looked at the menu we were even more excited! How often do you see "organic" on a menu? And smoothies with real fruit! So we splurged a little. We got the Hummus Plate for an appetizer. Jake ordered French Toast on challah bread - his new favorite now that we've added organic eggs to our diet. Ashley went with the vegetarian pasta nightly special. Rich splurged on organic salmon, and I ordered an veggie omelet with a side of multigrain toast. It was all so wonderful! So we decided to share a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

We met the owner Jonathan Lutz and wished him and his family all the best with his family-run business. Gems like this are hard to find in a fast food world. If you know of any other wonderful places like this around the country, please email me or leave a comment. We would love to support other local restaurants as we travel around the country.

Tonight we ate "well" and were very "happy." You will be too if you have a chance to eat here! It's definitely worth the trip if you are anywhere near South Bend, IN.

Dear Healthy Families,

I haven't been blogging much lately because there are some wild and crazy things happening for our family. If you are interested in reading more, please go to our family blog at: http://bendickson.blogspot.com/.

With autumn in the air, here is a simple recipe that is great as an appetizer or a healthy snack!

Cashew Paté
by Robyn Boyd www.rawsomerecipes.com

This is one of my favorite appetizers! It’s FESTIVE, FUN, EASY and HEALTHY!

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 jar (16 oz) Muir Glen Organic Mild Salsa

Place cashews and sunflower seeds in food processor and grind to a fine meal. Add the salsa and process until the consistency is moist, but stiff enough to spread as paté. Serve with hearty whole grain crackers. Great dip for veggies too!


For holiday flair, it's fun to serve the pate inside a scooped-out mini pumpkin lined with wax paper. Pate tastes best when chilled first. Tastes even better the next day, so it is great to make ahead. If stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container, this will keep at least three days.
Blessings to you,

Connie

My Favorite Appliance

Hello Everyone and welcome to those of you I met at Heritage Christian Academy! Today I am getting the word out about my favorite appliance. I really should have sent this out before Mother's Day so you could have put in a request, but it just didn't happen. So here's the scoop: I love my Vita-Mix! Now the fact is I lived without one for many years and my cheap-o blender served me well. But then...I took the plunge and ordered a shiny new Vita-Mix. I've had it for a couple of years now and it is, by far, my FAVORITE appliance. I think I'd give up my stove before I'd let go of this gem.

We make thick, fruity, delicious, nutritious smoothies every morning for breakfast. I throw in a handful of almonds, some flaxseed, a whole orange (peeled), a banana, frozen fruit...strawberries, mango, blueberries, etc. I also add some water or rice milk or almond milk. Then to supercharge this one-glass meal, I add some of Dr. Ben Kim's Super Green Food (it's a whole food green powder which is our "daily vitamin"), a few scoops of Ambrotose (a glyconutrient I believe is necessary for optimal health), and anything else that is sitting around...maybe a pear that is getting overripe...or the romaine leftover from last nights salad. Grind it up until it's creamy smooth and breakfast is served! And yes - this is what we all have for breakfast - kids included.

Here's the bottom line...if you decide to make the leap to Vita-Mix land, you can get FREE SHIPPING (a $25 value) when you order with my code: 06-003148. I signed up as a distributor not because I was looking for something to sell, but because it's my favorite appliance and I end up telling people about it anyway - so they get free shipping and I get a small sum.

Although I mostly use my Vita-Mix for smoothies, it also grinds wheatberries into beautiful whole grain flour in ONE minute. More on that in a later post! I also whip up a strawberry lemonade on hot summer days and did you know you can make smoothie pops for healthy popsicle alternatives?

Click here for more info or call 1-800-848-2649 and use coupon code 06-003148.

Blessings to each of you!

Connie

Dear Healthy Moms & Dads,

I want to let you know about an upcoming event where I will be speaking along with Mark Norman, Certified Nutritionist. Please join us next Thursday night at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove, MN. The topic is:

"How to Feed Your Child's Brain for School Success"

Click here for details!

I hope to see you there!

Connie

I've been learning about health now for almost ten years and I've noticed something: Just getting more information dumped into our brains does not necessarily mean our lifestyles will change or that we'll be healthier. It's rare, in fact. Think about it. Don't we all know we should eat healthier food, exercise, get enough sleep, etc? And yet, even though we know the "right answers", our behavior doesn't always coincide with the knowledge we have. Why is that? Could part of the reason be, perhaps, that there is a part of us that doesn't really believe we are worth taking care of?

Try this...think about something that is valuable to you - something you love. How do you take care of it?

Now think of something you have that is insignificant to you - something that if it was lost or broken, it wouldn't really matter. Do you spend much time making sure it is protected and cared for? No! It's junk.

So, here's the important question: How do you think of yourself? As loved and valuable - worthy of care? Or not?

Yesterday, I woke up with a Steven Curtis Chapman song playing in my head. My daughter and I went to his concert last weekend - it was awesome! The lyrics go like this :

You are being loved,
You are being loved,
Right now, in this very moment, you are being loved.

There's a song being sung over you!

If you can, I encourage you to go out to iTunes, download "You Are Being Loved" (or buy the CD) and listen to it over and over until you start to believe the truth of what it is saying:

YOU are LOVED

YOU are VALUABLE

YOU are WORTH taking care of!

It's true! There's a song being sung over you! God rejoices over YOU with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) He delights in you. And because He loves you, you ARE loved, you ARE valuable, and you ARE worth taking care of.

What does all this have to do with being healthy? We cannot be healthy in spirit, soul, or body if we don't believe we are loved and valuable.

What do you believe?

Dear Healthy Moms,

It's been over three months since my last post and over three years since the last Healthy Moms e-Newsletter was published. Honestly, I never intended to stop writing - it just sort of - happened. Many months went by before I finally realized the Lord had drawn me into a new season. And what a fruitful time it has been! For those of you who have been wondering what I've been up to - mostly I have been soaking in scripture and allowing God to teach me so much more. It's been an incredible season of repentance, healing, sanctification, and growth. I've been learning so much! The more I learn, however, the more I realize I will never know it all. Life is a journey, not a destination. And though my tendency is to have all my ducks in a row before I do anything, I believe the Lord is asking me to simply begin sharing what's on my heart. No ducks, no straight rows, no master plan. Just step out in obedience and share authentically what's stirring in me. So, here we go.


Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk with a group of moms about healthy eating. It was great to have an hour to plant seeds and offer encouragement, but my hearts desire is to do so much more. Breaking out of the pattern of this world is not easy. It requires a process of transformation that simply cannot happen in the course of a one hour presentation. It happens over time as we recognize lies we've believed, allow them to be replaced with a solid foundation of truth and then build from there. Walking with others who truly want to move toward wholistic health is essential. I will be sharing more about this in the days ahead. Let me quickly say that I believe there will be opportunities in the not too distant future for people to to meet together in small groups to support and encourage each other. In the meantime, however, I hope this blog will be a place to begin/continue the journey and be connected with a community of people who desire to walk in health - spirit, soul, and body.

- Connie