Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘walnuts’

Pumpkin Cookies

Posted by terrepruitt on October 19, 2020

I don’t actually have pictures of these because I have not made them (at the time of this posting), but I was looking through my e-mail for something and I saw that I had sent this recipe to my niece for the umpteenth time and every time I send it I tell her I am going to put it on my blog to make it easier for the both of us and I never have.  But the last time I sent it I said for sure I am going to post it THIS TIME.  I know that if I wait until I actually make them I might post it not so I thought I had better just put it on here and then maybe it will inspire me to make them and I can take pictures and add them to the post.

These are delicious.  I like to make little ones so they are almost bite size, but larger ones that take a couple of bites are good too.  Mini semi-chocolate chips are the BEST, but if you only can find regular-sized chips that works too!  Ha.  Make ’em how you like to eat ’em.  They are sooo good!

This is an ancient recipe my mom used to make.  So ancient that the actual recipe was from the newspaper.

I personally don’t remember if I have ever gotten the “makes about” out of ANY cookie recipe, but you may have so I am going to tell you that the original recipe says “makes about 6 dozen”, but the recipe here has twice the ingredients than in the original recipe.  I don’t think I have ever gotten 12 dozen out of this recipe.  I will let you know when I make them.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, San Jose Virtual classes, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yoga, City of San Jose online exercise, live classes via Zoom, Nia White Belt training via ZoomPumpkin Cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla.  Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon together.  Mix it.  Add the dried mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Add the walnuts and chocolate chips; mix thoroughly.

Drop by teaspoon (or whatever you use) onto a well-greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° F for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size) or until lightly browned.  You want to make sure the cookie is cooked . . . these ones are not good slightly raw like some cookies.

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Ahhhh, now I want to make them.  I will try to do it soon so I can put some pictures up.

Even if you don’t like pumpkin – which I didn’t when I started eating these as a kid – you will like these, probably.  They aren’t heavily pumpkin flavored.  But they are moist and yummy.  Enjoy.

Let me know what you think!!!

EDITED, 12.19.20 to add pictures of cookies . . . hence the sleigh Christmas decoration. I do not decorate for Christmas in October.

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Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

More Fruit With Salad Greens

Posted by terrepruitt on October 4, 2017

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitIt seems like we are starting to be rid of our really hot weather. YAY! I love wearing my warm fuzzy socks around the house. The weather got cool, but then it did got hot again.  But not so hot that it never cooled down. I think I saw some predictions of temps in the 80° for this week, which is hot for me, but as long as it cools down at night, it is bearable. When it was still really hot we were eating fruit on our salad greens – Cool Summer Salads. For me it is basically the same thing . . . fruit on greens. But there are some interesting flavor combinations. I am finding that I really love lavender with the fruit. Here are two more ways we had fruit on our salads.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitArugula With Plums And Walnuts

Arugula
Plums
Walnuts
White onion
Fig Balsamic Vinegar
Basil Olive Oil
Lavender Salt

 

A couple of handfuls per serving. Cut up a plum (you can use one for two servings or one PER serving) – depends on how much fruit you want per serving. Chop up a handful of walnuts per serving. Chop up some white onion (about 1/4 a cup per serving).

Put the arugula in a bowl with the cut up plum and chopped walnuts. Mix in the chopped onion. Drizzle with the fig balsamic Vinegar and basil olive oil. Then sprinkle with lavender salt.

 

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I love the lavender salt so much I bought some lavender. I thought it would be good to add to salads since I use the lavender salt. Plus I want to make some lavender salt, I am almost out.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitArugula With Mango And Lavender

Arugula
Mango
White onion
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Lavender
Salt

 

A couple of handfuls per serving. Cut up a mango (you can use one for two servings or one PER serving) – depends on how much fruit you want per serving. Just like the plum. Grind the lavender up a little bit. Chop up some white onion (about 1/4 a cup per serving).

Put the arugula in a bowl with the cut up mango. Mix in the chopped onion. Drizzle with the Balsamic Vinegar and olive oil. Then sprinkle with crushed lavender and salt.

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I love the sweetness of the fruit with the spiciness of the rocket.  Then the layer of gentle sweetness from the lavender is so nice.  There is also the little kick from the onions.  I didn’t think I would like onions and fruit, but it turns out I do.

So what do you add to your salad when you put fruit on the greens?

Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Fancy Toast

Posted by terrepruitt on November 26, 2013

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaI am beginning to bet you don’t believe me when I say I was not going to post a recipe and I do. I WAS going to post a picture of the first toast I made on my Facebook page, but then when I sat down and started eating it I changed my mind. Then my hubby made yummy noises the entire time he was eating it and it confirmed my “need” to post it on my blog and tell the whole story. In my last post I talked about my fabulous day in Santa Cruz after teaching a Nia class. I mentioned two restaurants. The one we love, Rebecca’s, is closed. I was very sad because it has really yummy food and is a very nice place to eat. But, I also recognized this as an opportunity to try a new place. Having other things to do I didn’t do any research, but my student did. Yay! She suggested River Cafe. It was on the way to where we were going. So we went there. They have a menu item called “The Daily Toast”. When we were there it was supposed to be Humboldt Fog*, Pears, walnuts, and the woman behind the counter said they would drizzle honey over it. Sounds good, huh?

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaI ordered that. A few moments later a woman came to our table and said she could not find the pears, but she said she had persimmons or jams. She suggested the jam, but I declined and requested the persimmons. I had some on my counter I didn’t know what to do with. I thought this would be a great way to experiment. Well, even though the persimmons weren’t ripe, they forgot the walnuts and the honey (as you can see in the first photo), it was still VERY good. So good that I wanted to try making it the next day.

We didn’t have any salty cheese so I decided not to. But then the NEXT day I decided who cares. I wanted to try it anyway. I asked my hubby if he wanted cheese toast. He said yes. Then I asked if he wanted regular cheese toast or an experiment. I have mentioned before he is pretty good about eating whatever, but he does have some food “dislikes” so when my experiment includes some of them I like to ask first.

Anyway, this turned out very yummy. It is easy to make but comes out – in my opinion – kinda fancy. I have noted the recipe as I made it, but, I think the idea of the River Cafe is better in regards to the cheese. A nice soft salty, flavorful cheese seems best, but I used what I had.

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Fancy Toast

2 pieces sliced sour dough
2 pieces wheat bread
slices of marbles Colby Jack (enough to cover all four pieces of bread)
one ripe persimmon
2 tsp of shredded parmesan cheese
a handful or two of chopped walnuts
honey (enough to drizzle over the toast)

Toast the bread, not all the way (at least with my toaster oven.  I have to leave it a little “undone” so it will be perfect after the cheese melts). Top the bread with the sliced cheese. Melt the cheese on the toast. While the bread is toasting and the cheese is melting peel and slice the persimmon. After the cheese has melted, place the persimmons on the toast, sprinkle the parmesan over the persimmons. Allow to warm a bit in the toaster oven/oven. Then sprinkle the walnuts on the toast. and drizzle the honey over the top.

Serve with a fork and knife!

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaI was thinking that this would be an easy type of toast to serve for brunch. Toasting the bread in the oven on a cookie sheet. I also thought it would be a nice toast to serve at a tea. Yum. I used the parmesan as the “salty” and it turned out pretty good. I was surprised my husband liked it so much. He is not fond of bread, especially toast. Not like me. He also doesn’t care for walnuts. So it is a testament to its yumminess that he loved it.

I loved it so much I had it again the next day!  (I forgot the parmesan.)

Well?  What do you think?  Sound yummy?

*Humboldt Fog is a specific type of cheese:  Cheesemaker Mary Keehn of Humboldt County, CA invented this cheese, so named for the Pacific mists, in the early 80’s.  (According to Wiki).

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

For The Love Of Onions

Posted by terrepruitt on August 29, 2013

Since I recently posted a recipe with Green Beans, Walnuts, and Onions, I have been posting about the three main ingredients separately, for Green Beans click here and for Walnuts click here.  I like onions.  I like sweet onions, red onions, white onions, yellow onions, and green onions.  I have actually grown to like them more as I get older.  When I was younger I liked the flavor, but not the onion itself.  I would pick them out of anything and off of anything.  And I used to never eat them raw.  I still don’t like to eat a lot of cooked onions and will often leave them on my plate if they are cut large enough and it is easy to move them out of the food I am eating, but I do actually eat them now.  Also I will include raw onions in my salad.  It all depends.  When I eat them raw they have to be so teeny tiny you would probably laugh.  Onions, however, are more than just for flavoring.

Onions contain flavonoids.  Flavonoids are what give the plant its pigment and have been linked to terms such as “cancer-fighting” and a lot of “anti-s” – antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-biotic, anti-allergic, anti-microbial, and anti-diarrheal activities.  Onions store the flavonoids primarily in their skin.  So the less you peel off the better.  There is the red in a red onion (to me it is actually purple, but whatever) and the yellow in a yellow onion.  The white has flavonoids too, but not as many as the red.

According to PubMed, study was done that concluded the consumption of onions had a “beneficial effect on bone density in perimenopausal and postmenopausal non-Hispanic white women 50 years and older.”  Wow.  So it could be that eating onions helps with bone density . . . who would have thought.

Onions should not be refrigerated, except for the green ones (scallions).  We keep our onions in the fridge.  I should change that.

To me, onions are good in pretty much any type of savory dish.  I don’t think onions go to well with sweet things, but sometimes it works, but usually the onion needs to be a sweet onion or a red onion.  My husband does not mind onions with his sweet.

The following nutritional information is from the National Onion Association’s website:

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaOnion Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 cup (160g)  The Percent (%) is for the Daily Values*

*Percent (%) Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.  Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Calories    64    3%
Total Carbs    14.9 g    5%
Total Fat    0    0%
Cholesterol    0    0%
Dietary Fiber    2.7 g    11%
Sugars            6.8 g
Protein         4.9 g
Vitamin A    3.2 IU    0%
Vitamin C    11.8 mg    20%
Vitamin B6    0.2 mg    10%
Folate     30.4 mcg    8%
Calcium   36.8 mg    4%
Iron           .3 mg    2%
Magnesium    16 mg    4%
Phosphorus    46.4 mg    5%
Potassium    234 mg    7%
Sodium    6.4    0%

Many people have strong feelings about onions.  They either LOVE them or HATE them.  Where do you stand?  Do you love them?  Do you hate them?  Do you like them cooked?  Do you like them raw?  Did you know they had such great health benefits?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Good Nut

Posted by terrepruitt on August 22, 2013

Walnuts are awesome.  As you may have read in some of my other posts, my hubby doesn’t really like walnuts.  I find that fact rather funny because he likes pretty much everything, but he is not fond of walnuts.  One day I had a bag of pecans on the table and I was having some for dessert.  He grabbed a couple and ate them.  As he was eating them he looked at me and said something like, “What?  These are so good.  Why did I not know these are so delicious?  I am amazed!”  I actually laughed at his reaction to them because pecans really are very yummy.  They are rich and slightly sweet and he didn’t know the joy.  Walnuts are different and he doesn’t care for them.  I think walnuts are awesome.  The thing I like about nuts is they can be used in sweet or savory dishes, or even eaten by themselves.  Walnuts are a bit harder than pecans.  Pecans almost feel stale or old because they are kind of soft.  Walnuts are hard and they are not as rich, but they are very good and good for you.

Walnuts have Omega 3 fatty acids in them. You might have heard that Omega 3 fat is the fat that we need to consume.  Research has indicated that we don’t eat enough of it AND that it is a helpful and healthful fat.

My research has uncovered 1 ounce / roughly 28 grams has

190 calories
4 grams of protein
18 grams of total fat (1.5 grams of saturated fat and 2.5 grams of monounsaturated fat and 13 grams of polyunsaturated fat)

4 grams of carbohydrates
2 grams of fiber
28 mg of calcium
.82 mg of iron
125 mg of potassium
11 grams of Linoleic acid
2.5 grams of Linolenic acid

The Linoleic acid is the Omega 3 essential fatty acids.  And it is the Omega 3 that we want.  Omega 3 is considered an anti-inflammatory.  As I have mentioned in numerous other posts, anti-inflammatory foods are a welcome part of a healthy diet.  With more and more research pointing to the association between chronic inflammation in the body and disease, it is a good idea to consume foods with an anti-inflammatory effect.

According to the World’s Healthiest Foods site:  Research has shown walnuts to help with cardiovascular health.

They have been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol, decrease total cholesterol, and increase omega-3 fatty acids in red blood cells.  Also decrease the risk of excessive clotting and excessive inflammation.

For me, as I mentioned they can be eaten in savory dishes, like with green beans (click here for a green been recipe) or in sweets.  I like to put walnuts in my banana bread, but I don’t because John doesn’t like them and I primarily make the bread for him.  But I do put them in the Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies (click here for that recipe).  He actually is ok with them in the green beans and the cookies.  I also think they are a great snack or dessert.

Do you like walnuts?  How do you like to eat them?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Beans I Like

Posted by terrepruitt on August 20, 2013

I recently received green beans in the organic produce box we get.  I made Green Beans, Walnuts, and Onions.  LOVE THAT.  So this past weekend I bought some green beans at our Farmers Market.  I plan to make that again.  It is so good.  My husband even mentioned after I made it that he doesn’t care for green beans nor walnuts, but he loves that . . . what did I tell you?  I like green beans.  I don’t make them often because . . . well, you know.  Sometimes, if I am not making the previously mentioned recipe, it is probably because I don’t have walnuts, so I just sauté the green beans.  I don’t typically boil vegetables.  I just sauté them cooking them only slightly.  I like them to still have crunch when I bite into them.  I don’t like soggy beans.  I cook them basically the same as if I am cooking them for the recipe. Green beans are good healthy vegetable.

Most vegetables lose some nutrients in the cooking process.  Also for most vegetables the less they are cooked the better.  According to several sources on the internet one cup (100 grams) of raw green beans yields:

31 caloriesDance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo

12.20 mg of Vitamin C
14.40 mcg of Vitamin K
690.00 IU of Vitamin A
0.14 mg of Vitamin B6

211.00 mg of potassium
2.70 g of Fiber
33.00 mcg of folate
37.00 mg of Calcium
1.83 g of protein
0.07 g of omega-3 fats

Green beans are a great source of anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C and Beta-carotene.  In addition to the anti-oxidants; Vitamin C and Beta-carotene, the rich color of green beans provide phytonutrients like carotenoids, another anti-oxidant.  As a reminder antioxidants help the body reduce the inflammation.  More and more studies are linking disease with chronic inflammation.  You know my theory . . . food that can help our body reduce inflammation is something we want to add to our diet.

Green beans can be eaten raw.  Just munch on them like you would a carrot or a slice of bell pepper.  Green beans also make a great addition to a salad.  Cut them up and throw them in a green salad or a pasta.  I love vegetables that can be eaten cooked or raw.  When they can be eaten both ways it is almost as if they will be eaten more often because of the variety in which they can be eaten.  I would eat them a lot more if my husband liked them.  I don’t really like to make him eat stuff he doesn’t like even though it is good for him.

It really is funny because these used to be the only kind of beans I like.  Now I somewhat like garbanzo beans, and I eat kidney beans in certain recipes like my bean salad or red beans and rice (For Bean Salad recipe click here / For Red Beans and Rice recipe click here).

So do you like green beans?  Do you like to eat them raw?  How do you like to cook them?  Have you tried the Green Beans, Walnuts, and Onions?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Awesome Salad

Posted by terrepruitt on December 24, 2009

Years ago my friend made a salad and brought it to a potluck.  This had to be over 10 years ago.  Since then I have seen many versions of this salad, and I myself had made many different versions.  But for Christmas I am always asked by my husband’s family to bring this salad.

-A bag or two of Spring Mix

-A pear or two (chopped into pieces)

-Walnuts (chopped)

-Blue Cheese

-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mix all the ingredients together.  Using as many nuts and as much blue cheese as you would like to make a good balance. 

You might be able to tell in the photo of my salad, I did not use spring mix.  I used a bag of heart of romaine and some baby spinach.  I didn’t use walnuts, I used pecans.  I also didn’t take the picture with the dressing on because I didn’t want to toss it until we were ready to eat it even though we were going somewhere not far from San Jose. 

It is a great salad.  I sometimes use apples instead of pears.  Whatever you have on hand is good to use.  I like to use walnuts or pecans, I have tried another nut, but I am sure it would work out.

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