Wow! I got to up my game....

Hi Positive Eaters,



Over the past six days I've been checking out some other people's blogs. While I am proud of my lovely little blogspot....some people are doing some incredible stuff out there. I am not a celebrity...but many of my friends are and there blogs have videos, guest contributers, contests, spiritual awakening practices......It is enough to make me want to dress up in a funny costume dance around and then figure out how to upload video. Well I don't have really any funny costumes. But if I was going to do a video on positive eating, I would dress up like Shrek and have the song All-Star by Smashmouth playing in the background and I would turn delicous healthy foods into mock disgusting foods! That would be wicked cool.



If you get a chance check out the important work many of these people are doing in the world of health and nutrition.



My School's Blog site



http://www.integrativenutritionblog.com/



The blog of an absolute genius



http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog



A woman who really understands building a relationship with food



http://www.geneenroth.com/notes_from_geneen/



Deepak Chopra



http://www.intentblog.com/

My Good Friend Sebastian Oddo's Blog

http://www.positivefeelingsrule.com/blog.html


I want to do another post with more blogs for you to check out. So all my friends that read this blog, who have blogs, send me the links and I'll get them up here.

stay positive,

matthew

Are you rooted and grounded? Try a Daikon Radish

This may come as a surprise to many of you. But often I am not the most grounded person on the planet. Say one thing that gets me excited and I am off up in the clouds and ready to fly! You should see where a simple conversation about the Muppets can take me! When I drink green tea...which is known to grow at high altitude....consider me on another planet! So I thought to myself, maybe I should eat some foods that grow deep in the ground. We already know I am crazy about sweet potatoes. Well I decided to kick it up a notch when I saw this crazy root in the produce aisle. If the tail end didn't curve I would not have fit it in the picture!
I chopped up my Daikon Radish with care and tossed it in a hot pot with some freshly chopped ginger (another root). This simmered along with a box of Sweet Potato Soup. The box soups were on sale! I could not resist picking up a bunch. So they may be making a consistent appearance here.
Afterwards, I mixed it up with some medium grain brown rice. This meal consisted of three different root vegetables. After the meal my feet were stuck to the floor and I was nervous that I would not be able to get back to my desk. Fortunately I made it and was able to finish this blog post.
Stay Positive,

matthew

Food of the Heart

I know it's been a while....but you positive eaters out there never leave my heart. I've been to New York and back and a little bit of everywhere the last two weeks and thought. I am going to make a lunch today from my heart. There is no scientific evidence to say that Red Peppers and Green Beans with Rice lightly flavored with Sweet Pea Soup is "certified Heart Healthy".
What I am talking about is making food from your heart. We should always love and appreciate our food. When we make food for others this is a chance to love and appreciate them. When I made this lunch I really tried to stay in my heart....I even listened to Tracy Chapman's Matters of the Heart album while preparing it. I know I am a big softy....but Tracy Chapman is cool and she is from Massachusetts!



It is important to put your heart in everything you do. But that can get stressful for people....so I recommend starting with your cooking. I promise you it will radiate out into other areas of your life

:)

stay in your heart,

matthew

Sweet Brown Rice with Sweet Red Pepper and Sweet Peas Soup

Sweet isn't it?

One or Two Red Bell Peppers
Three Handfuls of Green Beans
2 Cups of Sweet Brown Rice
4 Cups of Water
2 cups of Sweet Pea Soup

Remember we use a 2:1 ratio with our rice and water! I cooked this rice up in my rice cooker and right before it was finished cooking off all the water I added the soup and the vegetables. I let this simmer for a bit and then enjoyed!

Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs

Hello everyone,

Today I made breakfast for a group of hardworking teachers in the town I live in. This is a monthly ritual for them. One Thursday a month they all bring in food and enjoy selections from a large spread of dishes. I felt one way to thank them for the important work they do is to make an organic healthy breakfast.

Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs

A bunch of eggs

1/2 cup of soy milk

chopped spinach

sliced in half grape tomatoes

lemon pepper

feta cheese

I beat the eggs and soy milk thoroughly then add in some lemon pepper and beat the eggs a little more. I then transfer to a a frying pan that is coated with butter, ghee, shortening...whatever works for you. I let these eggs cook until they are becoming solid but still a little moist. Then I put in the tomatoes and the spinach and move them around until the eggs are done. I transfer these two a casserole dish and sprinkle feta cheese on top. This makes a great lunch and it is colorful...making it a hit at group breakfast events. Sorry there is no picture....I guess I was still a little sleep making this and forgot to bring the most important cooking utensil I have....the camera!

stay positive,

matthew

PS.

off to school again this weekend. The world of Positive Eating is getting busy!

Fruit Faces

Hello Positive Eaters,





I just wanted to share with you what our Pita Face project inspired. Ray Germain has added fruit faces to his morning fruit repertoire. He is quite proud of these and wants to go over and make this with his neices and nephews.





Positive Eating is now reaching out an inspiring people! Of course....when I say it is inspiring people I mean my Mom and Dad....but it is a start. Please feel free to send me any Positive Eating experiences you have had lately.





matthewgermain@yahoo.com

Stay Positive,

matthew

Positive Lunch notes from Mom

picture found at zettwoch.blogspot.com

Remember those wonderful little lunch notes you got from Mom. At first, they made you feel so good about yourself. Then you started to hide them because you didn't want the other kids to find out....but you still cherished them all the same. There cannot be anyone out there who deep down wasn't smiling from ear to ear when they saw a little scrap paper in their lunch.

I've recently been lucky enough to start getting lunch notes from my mom again. Except now....she sends me emails and they are about the awesome positive lunches she is providing herself. Hear are a couple of her emails

Hi Matt,

I had another nice lunch. I took cherry tomatoes and sprinkled lime pepper and some balsamic vinegar in a small container. When I had lunch I cut up the rest of the avocado, but forgot to put in my pecans. I mixed it up a bit and it was sooooooo good! When I saw the pecans I dropped them in the container which had just a smidgen of the vinegar left, but it was still good, but I am sure would have been even better if I had put the pecans in before I ate it. Talk with you soon.

Love, MOM

Just thought I would tell you that my lunch was terrific. I had the spring mix salad dad made. I added pecans and then avocado and balsamic vinegar. It was great. Hope you day is going well.

Love, MOM

Now.....no one tell my mother that her emails to her son are broadcasting over the world wide web. She probably will be embarrassed. Maybe I am subconsciously getting her back for the time a couple of fourth grades stole my lunch when I was in the second grade and showed everyone a note from her that read.

Matty Boy,

Remember that you are great. This is your day. We love you

Your Loving Mother

Set me back about seven years from becoming one of the "cool kids".

Stay Positive,

matthew

PostiveFeelingsRule.com

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to talk to you a little bit about a website that I am proud to be associated with. PositiveFeelingsRule.com is maintained by my friend Sebastian Oddo. He is a tremendous proponent of living a positive lifestyle. The work he is doing at PFR inspires me to keep up with this blog and build my health counseling business.

This month Sebastian is featuring a story I wrote about life experiences that I went through since age three. Since the story is about past events, I was reluctant to share it, but there is no denying that all of the moments of our lives build the foundation of our current reality. I encourage all of you to visit PositiveFeelingsRule.com and read any of the stories that catch your attention. Sebastian Oddo is doing great work and it is a pleasure to draw attention to it.

http://www.positivefeelingsrule.com

Everyone has a story.....I encourage you to take your wonderful story and use it as a basis for a truly remarkable life!

stay positive,

matthew

Welcome to the Party

Last night we celebrated, Positive Eating style! I invited family and friends over for some Sushi made by world reknowned Sushi chef Raymond Tu! I made three pitchers worth of fresh juice for everyone and we just listened to music and were positive. Many people were trying Sushi for their first time and were pleasantly suprised. I like to say it was thanks to Raymond Tu....but most people I encounter are pleasantly suprised by the taste of Sushi. I encourage you, when you are ready, to try it out.

This was a birthday party for anyone who spent this last year trying to live positively. I should have invited all the readers of this blog! Okay....okay I was a little lazy getting the invitations out to you all. I will give you plenty of notice for the next one.

Stay Positive,

matthew

The Staple Office Meal

The fuzzy image above is of a meal I consider the staple of all office cooking. Rice and beans with salsa and a vegetable. This meal is nutritious, offers "real" food and is flavorful. Most importantly it is very inexpensive. If you want to start office cooking I suggest you begin with this recipe.

Cooking Implements:

Rice Cooker
Can opener
Knife
Cutting board

Ingredients:

1 can of Red Kidney Beans
2 cups brown rice
4 cups water
Jar of Salsa
1 Vegetable (broccoli, squash, sweet potato are all good choices)

Directions:

Soak your rice for one hour before cooking. Drain rice and add to rice cooker. Add four cups of water. Open can of beans and drain liquid. Rinse beans off in can until foamy water stops appearing. Dump into the rice cooker. Hit Cook on Rice cooker. After 30 minutes add chopped up vegetable. After ten minutes you may spoon into you dish topped with salsa.

This recipe will hold you over on any day. If you try this or any other office cooking adventure please email me and I will include you in my blog....don't forget a photo!

stay positive,

matthew

matthewgermain@yahoo.com

Bring some warmth to your vegetables

Monday when I was walking by the freezer case, I saw all of these vegetables confined to bags and just needed to set them free. The very chlorophyll in their veins must have turned to icicles! If you remember photosynthesis from science class you know that plants go through quite a process to extract energy from the sun. If you are looking for some more sun in your day all you have to do is eat plants. Especially dark green ones because that green color is the result of a photosynthesis explosion. For those of you who need a refresher course on photosynthesis view the diagram below:



I do not use frozen vegetables that much but have to promote them due to their longer shelf life and easy storage. Above is some organic broccoli that just needs to be warmed up. I am steaming these with my brown rice today. Nothing like a little broccoli, rice and sunshine for lunch!

Thawing out,

matthew