Forgiveness

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die."

- Anonymous

"Many people are afraid to forgive because they feel they must remember the wrong or they will not learn from it. The opposite is true. Through forgiveness, the wrong is released from its emotional stranglehold on us so that we can learn from it. Through the power and intelligence of the heart, the release of forgiveness brings expanded intelligence to work with the situation more effectively."

- David McArthur

"One of the biggest misconceptions about forgiveness is that by forgiving someone we somehow make right what they did. We believe that if we forgive, then we condone their actions. Nothing could be further from the truth." - Mastin Kipp, The Daily Love

The New Anticancer Rules

The New Anticancer Rules

Lentil Walnut Burgers

Here is the recipe that inspired me, from Whole Foods (found here). Of course I couldn't follow it. I followed lots of it but I typically use recipes to guide me and do things I like or use ingredients I have. What I did & how I liked it will follow the recipe...

Lentil Walnut Burgers

Serves 6

Walnuts add a little crunch and brown rice takes the place of bread crumbs making these savory vegetarian burgers a great gluten-free meal. Serve with a green salad or cooked greens.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

2 cups cooked brown rice, divided

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils, or 1 (15-ounce) can lentils, rinsed and drained

1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons high heat sunflower oil or expeller-pressed canola oil, divided

Method

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, mushrooms, walnuts, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. In a food processor, purée 1 cup rice, lentils and egg until smooth. Transfer to bowl with vegetables, add remaining 1 cup rice and stir to combine. Form lentil mixture into 10 to 12 patties, using about 1/4 cup of the mixture to make each one. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Arrange half of the patties in skillet and cook, flipping once, until golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat process with remaining sunflower oil and patties. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 5oz/156g-wt.): 240 calories (100 from fat), 11g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 220mg sodium, 27g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 9g protein

-I also used diced onion, didn't have walnuts or parsley, and used some other seasonings. The ENTIRE flavor of this dish came from the veggies that go in the burgers so make sure your veggie mix is flavorful! I cooked mine longer than 5 min too so all the veggies were soft.

-I used ground flaxseed in place of egg (mix 2 1/2 tbsp with 3 tbsp water)

-Instead of pureeing, I did a good smash. So there were still some whole lentils too.

-At first the burgers were much too soft because the ingredients were still pretty warm, so I ended up coating the burgers in panko bread crumbs. I used less than 1 tbsp of oil but the breadcrumbs soaked it all up and the oil taste was too strong. The second time around was after the mix was refrigerated so they held together better. I still coated with breadcrumbs and only used enough oil so they wouldn't burn. Success! I liked them a lot the 2nd time around. I also think with a little less mash this would be good on its own, it wouldn't need to be in burger form.

Red Beans & Rice

I grew up with a family recipe that we called sausage rice casserole. It's even in the extended family cookbook. I believe it's probably officially a Lipton soup recipe. (I'll include the original recipe below) I was craving the flavor of this dish (it's on my list of comfort foods) but didn't want to use sausage. I'm not a huge sausage fan plus I wanted a healthier option so I thought of substituting beans for the sausage. I thought about what beans I wanted to use and decided on red beans...which led me to think that I should add some Cajun seasoning as well and make a type of red beans & rice. I know this isn't a traditional red beans & rice but what else should I name it...."Heather's non-sausage rice casserole"...?? This is a very easy recipe to make and very budget friendly too! Sorry vegetarian friends, Lipton Noodle Soup is made with chicken broth so this isn't vegetarian friendly.

Red Beans & Rice [or Heather's Non-Sausage Rice Casserole] :)

1 package Lipton Noodle Soup

1-2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (to taste for desired spiciness)

2 1/4 cup hot water

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 cup celery, diced small

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced small

1/2 can red beans, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix Lipton Noodle Soup, Cajun seasoning, and hot water together in 13x9 casserole dish. Add rice, onion, celery and stir to disperse evenly. Sprinkle in beans. Bake for ~1 hour or until rice is cook (watch because sometimes it will be done earlier)

*****

Original Recipe: Sausage Rice Casserole

1 pound sausage, browned

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 package Lipton Noodle Soup

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup onion

2 cups hot water

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until rice is cooked

*****

"The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now"

-Zig Ziglar

Maple-Glazed Salmon

My friend Corinne made this recipe for me this weekend and I've been dreaming about having it again since! It's that perfect delicious combo of a little spice and a little sweet, and you can adjust it to being less or more spicy to taste too. Also, the spice rub is delicious to keep around for seasoning other items or to have on hand to make this a seriously quick and healthy dish. Of note, Corinne usually used honey instead of maple syrup since maple syrup is a little pricey. I'm not a honey fan but she says you can't really tell the honey taste. We tried the real deal this weekend and she does admit it is better with the maple syrup so up to you! It's only a couple of tablespoons so the bottle will last a while though!

(recipe from here)

Maple-Glazed Salmon

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 (6-ounce) Alaskan salmon fillets
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat broiler. Combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over flesh side of fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Brush fillets evenly with maple syrup; broil 1-2 more minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

352

Fat:

20g (sat 3.2g,mono 7g,poly 2.7g)

Protein:

34.6g

Carbohydrate:

8.6g

Fiber:

0.2g

Cholesterol:

104mg

Iron:

1.6mg

Sodium:

574mg

Calcium:

80mg

"Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." (apparently an ancient Buddhist saying quoted by David Arquette on Oprah)

If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry