Long time since I have written.  The Wisconsin is growing warmer. Yea!  I went with the family to watch the documentary FOOD, Inc.  If you have seen it, you must.  Find it-watch it.  It’s what everyone needs to know and understand about the food industry.  What is happening in the agri business today is unbelievable.  If you think that the food is sloppily (don’t have any idea if that is a word or not) managed, then start paying attention to the “runoff” effect it is having on our water.  If we could guess why the rate of cancer has grown astronomically over the past 50 years….check the water.

More to come…..I just have to read about seven days worth of incredible research.  Stay tuned.

NPR’s Terri Gross had a great interview on this past Monday evening….it will give you something to reflect on.

Good carbs for YOU

When it comes to carbohydrates a lot of people tend to be incredibly misinformed. In a fast food culture where at least half of the population would like to lose some weight, carbs have been given a bad rep when it comes to dieting. Carbohydrates are one of the main sources of fuel for your body, especially for your muscles, your brain and your central nervous system.  When you eat carbs, they are broken down into glucose-or blood sugar which your body then metabolizes.  If your body happens to have too much glucose then it converts it into something called glycogen which if you have excess amounts of this, it is in turn converted into fat.  However, carbohydrates are also metabolic primers which means that they are needed in order to burn fat! 

f you restrict your carbohydrates, you may feel tired and drained all the time. You NEED carbs for your body to function properly and there are many carbohydrate foods that are very beneficial to your health and athletic performance.  For instance, veggies, beans, hummus, brown rice and whole grain breads are all known as complex carbohydrates which are very nutritious and lower in fat.  These foods are digested at a much slower rate than simple carbohydrates which are high in refined sugar and found in sweet tasting foods like cookies and candies.  When you eat these foods, the sugar quickly turns into glucose, enters your bloodstream and gives you a sudden burst of energy.  This is often known as a “sugar high.”  Simple carbohydrates are only good for you if you can moderate them.  They are high in calories but actually lack any vitamins and minerals.  They are often called “empty calories” because they are not nutritious and often lead to weight gain.

Wildtree’s Hearty Turkey & Barley Stew is a great option for providing a meal that includes useful carbohydrates.  The Red Beans & Rice is my favorite since this a very nutritious and basic meal that is just incredibly hearty and delicious.  This will be sure to please any vegetarian.  Wildtree’s Hummus is also one of my favorite options.  I personally love hummus and it is difficult for me to find a kind at the grocery store which is not loaded in preservatives but still is well balanced and tastes great.  After tasting Wildtree’s Hummus, I don’t think I will be buying from anywhere else.  For those of you who didn’t know, garbanzo beans are a fantastic carbohydrate which come loaded with vitamins and minerals and are a great source of fiber.  If you appreciate a good loaf of bread as your source of low carbohydrates, you may be interested in Flaxseed Beer Bread which is a great source of dietary fiber and loaded with tons of omega 3 which is good for your brain and your heart. Our Grapeseed Oils are also a great way to cook and add a little bit of pizazz to your vegetables if you are “watching it” as far as carbs go.

Remember, eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean depriving yourself of what is good.  Wildtree provides some wonderful and tasty options to help you with your goals!!

Yes, its true. Chocolate is GOOD FOR YOU!!!

Boy, do I have some great news for chocolate lovers today!! You know that brownie you ate for breakfast?  Not only was it good but it was GOOD FOR YOU.  This means you can stop feeling guilty.  Recently scientists  have reported that cocoa and other chocolates may keep high blood pressure down, your blood flowing and your heart healthy.

One study recently  found that a substance in cocoa helps the body process nitric oxide (NO), which is critical for healthy blood flow and blood pressure. Another study showed that flavonols in cocoa prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging the arteries, and make blood platelets less likely to stick together and cause clots. Flavonoids are plant compounds with potent antioxidant properties; so far, scientists have found more than 4,000 kinds. Cocoa beans contain large quantities of flavonoids meaning that the chocolate you eat is helping you. 

People everywhere have known about this for centuries, it  just seems to be taking a while to get “scientific proof.” For instance,  Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.  The Aztecs thought it gave their warriors strength. Early doctors used to prescribe it to cure ailments. Throughout history, chocolate has been revered  for its medicinal qualities just as much for  its delicious taste.

After the famed conquistador Hernan Cortes returned to Europe from Mexico with trunks of cacao beans, a chocolate frenzy swept through Europe  because of its reputed medicinal qualities. A drink of chocolate was viewed as a cure-all, a restorative, and vital for treating everything from anemia to digestion problems. Manuscripts dating from the 16^th to 20^th century Europe reported more than 100 medicinal uses for chocolate.

In the early 1800s, England’s Dr. Hughes advised that it was especially good for pregnant women. “Chocolate is the most excellent drink that is yet found. It is good alone to make up a breakfast, needing no other food, is beneficial to the body, and may be drunk by people of all ages, and is very good for women with child, since it nourishes the embryo, and prevents fainting fits,” he wrote.

When the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus was officially naming all the plants of the world in 1753, he called the cacao tree Theobroma cacao which means Food of the Gods. Thomas Jefferson is even  quoted as saying: “The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.”

While there are still masses of coffee and tea drinkers, chocolate sure hasn’t lost its popularity.  It will be a cold day in hell when Hersheys goes out of business. But, you don’t need to be eating Hershey’s for health when there are even BETTER chocolate items out there.  Like Wildtree’s Rich Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce.  This contains no corn syrup either.  It’s the real deal.  Or, how about Wildtree’s O So Fudge Brownies for breakfast?  This is delectable mouthwatering chocolate lover heaven (which is easy to mix and bake).  My personal favorite is Wildtree’s Heavenly Chocolate Mousse.  I could eat this all day every day.  Its as if I can almost hear the celestial choirs every time I have a spoonful.   My favorite pancake and waffle breakfast is also not complete without Wildtree Strawberries and Dark Chocolate Jam.  YUM YUM.

So, if you have been wondering about chocolate, or perhaps wondering what you want to get your significant other for the upcoming Valentine’s Day, I hope that I have been able to provide more than a few ideas.  And, if you have felt guilty at all about eating chocolate–don’t!  You just may be doing yourself a favor.

Preserve your life, with preservative free food!

With the holiday season over for a while, some of us might be ready to focus on saving money while still eating healthy as we start making plans for our spring or summer beach vacation.

My favorite dinner as of late, has been to get a pound of nice fresh salmon from the local co-op, marinate it with some of Wildtree”s Morrocan Salmon Sauce, which consists of fresh ginger, and honey in addition to a blend of exotic spices. Then I add a pinch of Wildtree All Natural Sea Salt to the salmon, make a nice salad with some fresh leafy greens,tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots which I toss in Wildberry Dressing.

While I am waiting for the salmon to bake in the oven, I warm up some nice fresh pita bread to dip in Wildtree’s Hummus  Seriously, This hummus is some of the best hummus I have had in a long time. It is perfectly balanced with lime juice, tahini and garbanzo puree. And, what makes it so great is that there are no preservatives. If you happen to invite your friends over for dinner, you just may get a standing ovation. Everything tastes like you made it yourself, and the best part is–you did!

 For those of you who have gotten the “memo” about processed and preserved foods, but haven’t given it much thought:  Let me clue you in! Food processing changes the original food and the proportions of the nutrients within the food. Many prepackaged, microwaveable,  and boil-in-the-bag type foods have gone through a multitude of processes before they end up in your local grocery story and refridgerator. These foods have little or no nutritional value.  You end up just eating to eat.  You are not nourishing your body at all.

The food industry allows several thousand  additives to be used in the processing of food. And just because some of these are supposedly “safe,” does NOT mean they are!!   Chemicals, food additives,  artificial sweetners which can cause all kinds of cancer, artificial flavors, dyes, nitrites, preservatives to prevent spoilage, acids, maturing agents, bleaching agents, emulsifiers to maintain consistency are all finding their way into our bodies via these easy-to-prepare packaged foods.

We now know that alot of these processes can cause allergic reactions and stress on the liver, many of which are cancer forming. Children exposed to such processes can become hyperactive and display learning difficulties.  In addition, who wants to feel sick and unhealthy all of the time?  That miserable stomach ache you have all of the time? Maybe it’s from the MSG.

This is just the begininning– I could go on and on.  And why should you even bother eating foods like this at all when you could have a healthy preservative-free meal with Wildtree prepared in just minutes? You don’t have to spend tons of money shopping at places like Whole Foods, you can make your life quick and easy by ordering Wildtree products online at http://jsullivan.mywildtree.com/Pages/HomePage.aspx.   When you join the culinary club, you will save even more money.

It is very easy to turn your life around.  And once you do it, you will feel better, your food will taste better, and your family will be happier.  In addition, your dinner party guests will be very impressed:)

Eat to a New You

You know that saying “you are what you eat?” I will definitely be pondering it as I help my family get ready for the New Year.   The buzz lately has been all about antioxidants-  especially since there was some Oprah show all about acai.  However, I don’t have to go on a crazed grocery hunt to get what I am looking for.  I can just look in my pantry for blueberry jam.  For those of you who didn’t know, blueberries are among the best antioxidants out there. Wildtree’s  wildly blueberry jam on flaxseed bread (which is great for digestion) is one of my favorite ways to start the morning off right.

When it comes to vegetables, broccoli is one of my favorites.  I love to stirfry broccoli in Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil with some shrimp.  I also love to eat it raw. Broccoli contains tons of Vitamin A, a nutrient vital for proper eyesight.  It’s also very high in iron, which is what people really need in cold weather when they start feeling chilly inside.  Iron plays a pretty serious role inside of our bodies when it comes to regulating our temperature.

When I open up one side of my refrigerator, I find Wildtree’s Pasta Sauce and I also find Wildtree’s ketchup (which is Free of High Fructose Cornsyrup).  I love spaghetti and so do my kids.  Not only is it a good source of carbohydrates, offering fuel for exercise and daily activities; but it is a fantastic source of lycopene.  Lycopene, a nutrient found in tomato sauce will keep my heart healthy all season long.

I probably think about my heart more than any other organ, so while tomatoes are often on my mind, so is fish.  Omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish like  salmon help promote a healthy heart.   Fish oil stimulates blood circulation and additionally has been shown to reduce blood pressure. During the new year, I will be eating lots of salmon marinated in Zesty Lemon Grapeseed Oil or Wildtree’s Morroccan Salmon Sauce with a little bit of broccoli on the side.  For starters, I think that the flaxseed bread with Wildtree’s Tuscan Bread Dipper should do the trick.

Little by little, I eat towards a new me.  For me, Wildtree products are a great starting point– easy to prepare, easy to eat, good for my body, but also good for my mind!

Holiday Leftover Extravaganza!!!!

As Christmas chaos slowly starts to diminish and we are getting excited and ready for the New Year, you may be asking yourself the same question you ask after every holiday party: “what the heck am I going to do with all of these leftovers?”

This, of course is not so difficult. You don’t have to bore yourself eating the same thing day after day so that the food doesn’t go bad. Remember, you can make some really quick and exciting meals with leftovers–especially if you are a Wildtree afficionado.

For instance, if you happen to have a lot of leftover shrimp, I highly recommend a Shrimp Salad.

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cooked

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 Tbs mayonaise (safflower mayonaise is my personal favorite)

1 tsp Wildtree Dill Dip Blend

Chop the shrimp. combine the shrimp with celery, chives, mayonaise and Dill Dip blend in a bowl and mix well. Chill before serving and serve on a nice poofy bed of lettuce.

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OR, another great shrimp option would be Shrimp and Shells.

1 lb small shell pasta

8oz fresh snow peas

1 lb shrimp, cooked

4 Tbs Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

2 tbs Wildtree Dill Dip Blend

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Steam the snowpeas until tender-crisp. Combine the shrimp, Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil and Dill Dip blend in skillet and cook over medium heat until hot. Add the pasta, snow peas and cheese and toss to coat.

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If you happen to have lots of left over vegetables and assorted meats (chicken, sausage, salmon) one of my favorite things to do with leftovers is to make Fajitas!!

3/4 lb boneless/skinless chicken, steak, salmon or tofu

2 Tbs Wildtree Fajita Seasoning

4 Tbs water

1 lg onion, cut into thin strips

2 or 3 bell peppers cut into thin strips and any other veggies you may happen to have

2 Tbs Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

Fajita-sized tortillas

Sour Cream

Cheese

Chipotle Salsa

the best Guacamole!!

Combine Wildtree Fajita seasoning and water. Add meat strips and marinate (30 min). Heat 1 Tbs Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil in skillet. Add meat or tofu and saute until cooked through. Remove from skillet. Add remaining 1 Tbs Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil and saute veggies until crisp-tender. Stir together with cooked meat or tofu. Serve in tortillas and top with sour cream, cheese, chipotle salsa and guacamole.

**Another thing you can do with all of the same ingredients is make Quessadillas. In this case, you would just mix together all ingredients except the tortillas and Butter Grapeseed Oil in a medium bowl. Very lightly brush oil on one side of each tortilla. Heat skillet. Place on tortilla, oiled side down in skillet. Spread the mixture of vegetables, meat or seafood on top of the tortilla. Place another tortilla on top of mixture, oiled side up. Cook until bottom tortilla browns a little, then carefully flip quesadilla. Cook on other side until the tortilla browns slightly and cheese is melted.

Your holiday leftovers never looked so good. Trust me. You and they will be wanting more and more and more until it is all gone.

Holiday party for the hostess too!

It’s that time of year….cold, snowy, chaotic, and for quite a few, the holiday season means party time.  Party time shouldn’t mean that everybody except the host or hostess gets to have fun, but unfortunately, that often ends up being the case.

Holiday entertaining can be a very stressful and difficult task.  However, using Wildtree products can really help make your party run smoothly so that you can have fun along with your guests!  Aside from the soft lighting and holiday jazz music, your guests will enjoy the best appetizers they have ever had among feathers and ornaments.   These appetizers will include Scampi Blend Stuffed Mushrooms which will consist of:

1 sleeve butter crackers, crushed

10 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons Wildtree’s Scampi Blend

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

4 ounces any combination of scallops, crab meat, lobster or shrimp, finely chopped

1 and 1/4 pounds mushroom caps

Combine the crackers, butter, Scampi Blend and lemon juice in a bowl and mix well.  Add the seafood and mix well.  Arrange the mushroom caps on a baking sheet.  Spoon the seafood mixture into the mushroom caps.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until heated through and light brown on top.

Another great appetizer I will have will be a nice Dill Dip made with

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons Wildtree’s Dill Dip Blend

1 and 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine the mayonaise and sour cream in a bowl and stir until blended.  Add the Dill Dip Blend and lemon juice and mix well.  Chill, covered, until ready t o serve.  Serve with apples, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, nectarines, peppers, rye crackers, shrimp, green beans, zucchini or baked potatoes.

I will also have a fresh loaf of French bread for dipping in Wildtree’s Garlic or Tuscan European Dipping Oils

I will have chips ready to dip in Chunky Black Bean and Corn Salsa, and there will definitely be Guacamole.

Aside from the cocktails, I will have fresh cider made with Mulling Spices and there will also be the richest and best Classic Cocoa to keep the kids and teenagers in a good mood all night long.

For the gift exchange, my recipients will be the happiest because they will be receiving something like: practically homemade preservative free Strawberries & Dark Chocolate Jam, or Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies with dark chocolate bits.

Good luck all of you party planners! But most importantly, make sure to have fun!

Holiday Shopping Quagmire

If you are wishing for a happy and healthy Christmas, (but believe that those are hard to come by among holiday winter weather, shopping chaos and family stress), you need to take an online vacation to the Wildtree site.  Christmas is one of the most hectic events of the year and people tend to get really stressed out trying to plan for it.  For instance, after a long day of working or running errands, most people do not want to spend more money and more time in the kitchen in order to find time so that they can relax.  This is why I have some great ideas as to what you can be eating and feeding yourself, family and friends as you unwind every night.  For instance, Wildtree’s Slow Cooker Meals  include a delicious and very easy to make Red or Creole style Jambalaya; the Southwest Stew which is a really nice and spicy warm meal for cold wintery nights (this is excellent for vegetarians as well, since you can just add tofu) and hearty Turkey and Barley Stew which is an EXCELLENT choice for dealing with those Thanksgiving leftovers. 

Wildtree’s Alfredo Extraordinaire is also a fantastic choice for kids or vegetarians as well as meat eaters.  Why not throw some left-over turkey on noodles and end up with a gourmet meal in just minutes? I would also opt for Leslie’s Chili which includes a perfect blend of herbs and spices to designed to make that turkey chili one of the best post-thanksgiving meals yet; or Wildtree’s Red Beans and Rice which is a perfect warm southern blend designed to warm you right up after an outing in the snow.

As far as braving the holiday shopping chaos, I just won’t do it.  Rather than spending big bucks at the wine shop trying to figure out which wine to get my wine-o relatives who have everything, or making rounds at the mall, I will take a holiday vacation to the Wildtree website where it’s one stop shopping at prices that make me very merry. Besides, everybody needs to eat, and setting the table and the mood with Christmas cheer is what’s important this time of year. 

Some great gift ideas I will be keeping in mind for the red wine drinker in my family, is Wildtree’s European Dipping Oil-Chili, which would pair extremely well with a nice merlot, cabernet or zinfandel and is a way better gift idea than alcohol.  Wildtree’s European Dipping Oil Duo includes both the Tuscan and Garlic Dipping oils which would be great for white wine drinkers as well. All you or they would need to do, is grab some wine, cheese and baguettes and these dipping oils help set the mood. These dipping oils are among one of the most popular Wildtree items.  In fact, one of my buyers asks me for a straw when he calls to order them  so that he can just drink it out of the bottle.  The Garlic Lovers Gift Set is also a lovely and thoughtful gift for any hostess for a great price.

 In addition, Wildtree’s Holiday Gift Ideas list which includes all occastion gift sets not only bring elegance and delight to any table but are affordable and usable options for gifts. Better yet, you can just do all of over your shopping online or over the phone rather than braving the storm of chaos and of snow.  You can keep your family, guests and relatives happy with preservative free, all natural meals that will delight their stomachs and minds and make the holidays easy for everyone with these wonderful affordable gift sets from Wildtree!

Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Dinner!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s definitely time to start planning for the big feast. If you are planning on dressing your turkey, the first thing you should ask yourself is whether it’s a boy or a girl. But hopefully, you are past that stage already and while your kids are running around in their Pilgrim hats and Indian feathers, you are trying to get your recipes in order so that everything runs smoothly on the big day.

My Thanksgiving dinner will begin with a nice big organic turkey purchased fresh from my local co-op. Then, to make things really quick and easy I will use my Turkey Dinner Essentials Kit which includes Wildtree’s Poultry Seasoning, Turkey Basting Herbs, Traditional Turkey Gravy and Cranberry Horseradish. In the meantime, while thats cooking, my cornbread will be available for me to start working on. Of course, I will be using nothing but Wildtree’s Texas Corn Bread, which is additive free and very delicious! My mashed potatoes and corn will be seasoned with Wildtree\’s All Natural Sea Salt, which is of course, iodine free and tastes way better than the unhealthy kind.

This will be about as quick and easy as it gets so after my guests start coming in, I will definitely be able to relax and have some nice hot cider made with Mulling Spices while I chit chat with them and enjoy a few hors d’oeuvres. These will consist of chips and Cranberry Salsa, in addition to the Spinach and Artichoke Spread. My kids will really enjoy some pretzels dipped in Wildtree’s thick and creamy Honey Mustard in moderation.

And just like every year, my guests will be raving about the food and hopefully unlike most, I will be able to save some left-overs for later:)

Quick and Easy Halloween dinner? You can do it!

With Halloween rapidly approaching and the holiday mayhem beginning to ensue, there is no better time to plan a quick meal that will: (a) get everyone out of the house quickly so that they can enjoy the party later, and (b) make your kids less likely to eat all of their Halloween candy before you can get a chance to check it out for yourself. Also, most parents do not enjoy seeing their kids still running laps around the house after midnight because they ate too much sugar and not enough dinner. My easy weeknight pasta recipe keeps everyone full and happy-just the thing that we will need before we embark out on our trick or treating mission.

EASY WEEKNIGHT PASTA

1 28oz can tomatoes-whatever kind you like

1 Tbs Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning

8-16 oz any shape pasta (amount depending on your family’s appetite and preference of pasta to sauce ratio.)

Browned meatballs or Italian Sausage, if desired

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat tomatoes together with Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning. Add meatballs and Italian Sausage to tomatoes if using. Heat sauce until hot. Drain pasta. Pour sauce over pasta and serve. You can also cook the pasta in the morning, and combine all ingredients and put in the crock pot on low all day.

Wildtree\’s Old World Style Foccacia Bread would also be a great addition to this meal.

Have a safe, warm and happy halloween!!!