Holiday Recipes: Caribbean Shrimp Salad

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Caribbean Shrimp Salad

1 pound of frozen or fresh shrimp, deveined and cleaned

4 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette

2 whole plantains (also known as Jamaican bananas)

6 roma tomatoes

1 ½ Spanish red onion

1 bag of Caesar seasoned croutons

1 5oz. bag of Good Sense orange cranberry almondine (the product may contain raisins, honey toasted almonds, cranberries, and a good source of Beta Carotene)

1 navel orange

1 bag or pound of fresh spinach

2 16oz. bottles of Caesar dressing

Directions

1. Stove top range should be set at medium, place an even amount of canola or regular oil to cooking pan, place skinned plantain in pan. Plantain can be sliced down the middle or in quarters. Turn plantains over several times until golden brown – cooking time will be 5 to 7 minutes. Remove plantain from cooking pan, place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

2. Stove top range should be set at low heat. Spray cooking pan with Pam or canola oil non-stick spray, let pan heat for 2 minutes, and add shrimp to cooking pan. Shrimp should be sautéed for 6 to 10 minutes, squeeze 1 ½ of navel orange juice over shrimp, turn or lift pan repeatedly to ensure even cooking of juices.

3. Place clean and rinsed off fresh spinach in large salad bowl, add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette to spinach leaves – saturate and stir in vinaigrette.

4. Add sliced roma tomatoes, Spanish onion, shrimp, top off with a small handful of cranberry almondine. Add desired amount of Caesar dressing, do not overwhelm with too much of the dressing due to the balsamic vinaigrette that has been added.

5. Top off Caribbean Shrimp Salad with Caesar or seasoned croutons. Place the plantain on a side dish along with two thin slices of navel oranges. While enjoying the appetizing salad, the navel orange can be squeezed on the plantain to give your taste buds an ultimate tantalizing sensation.  

Photo Credit: Yomi Yomi -- 2007, September -- Wikimedia Creative 2.0 Commons

Healthy Tips to Fight Insomnia in 2017 and Beyond

Insomnia; known to be a deadly and silent killer, if left untreated this chronic sleep disorder can cause irrefutable damage to the central nervous system.

According to continuous research of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Insomnia is a condition in which you have trouble falling asleep”. And, also duly noted by the National Institutes of Health, “Long-term insomnia can cause you to feel depressed or irritable; having trouble paying attention; learning and remembering; and not to do your best at the job or at school.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Many well-renowned health advocates have concluded – that most insomnia patients bring on this disorder from instituting many poor health habits – that eventually develop into problematic health issues as time goes on.

Poor sleeping habits can develop from eating dinner or meals one hour before bed time; this is when most people begin to have the most difficult time in falling asleep. Onset insomnia can bring about difficulty in falling asleep due to extra anxiety in ones personal life, undue stress is also the major cause of ill health in American people.

Healthy Tip #1 Incorporate on a daily basis deep breathing techniques while including some type of meditational music. I have provided two links to help aid in meditation and relaxation tips from an old school point of view.

http://www.newagemusic.com/

http://www.newearthrecords.com/

Healthy Tip #2 Time management time to relax, and learning to apply discipline to relax. Stress needs to be completely absorbed in non-stressful activities. Incorporate reading a few passages from a favorite novel or book before retiring. It is well documented from many sources that reading greatly reduces stress, especially induced in a peaceful environment. Healthy tip 1 can be combined with healthy tip 2 – to ensure maximum benefits.

Healthy Tip #3 Discipline leads to repetition. Incorporating the first two healthy tips on a weekly basis for a three month period – will significantly reduce stressors that bring on insomnia and incite sleep disorders.

Healthy Tip #4 Power of Your Mind: View the entire end of day activity as an anchor that you let rest at bay. Visualize and enforce positive energy. Make time each day to take a soothing mineral bath, time to soothe the body also helps aid in a relaxed state of mind. There is nothing more rewarding to fight insomnia than having peace of mind.

Healthy Tip #5 Know when to call it a day – may be the most important aspect of fighting insomnia. Bed time will vary from each individual, but the same principals stated in this article apply to each individual who wants battle and defeat sleep disorders. Aromatherapy placed in the bedroom adds an additional comfort zone, the many known and documented findings/ affects of herbal remedies have been used for centuries worldwide to combat sleep disorders. Same time to bed – equals to a repetitive factor that becomes routine when applied in a well-disciplined fashion.

Hope these healthy tips bring sweet dreams and tranquility for 2017 and beyond.

Resources and Help Link:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/inso/inso_whatis.html

Photo Credit: Andre Schmucki 2016

French Onion Soup with Garlic and Herbs Recipe

In my quest to create healthier recipes, I have come to realize that the joy of cooking is learning to think outside of the box - pertaining to traditional recipes. During my recent experimentation with the traditional French Onion Soup recipe, I decided to flip the script and add a new healthier twist to a recipe dear to many food lovers whom adore the fresh taste of garlic and herbs.




Serves 8 to 10



Ingredients



3 pounds of Vidalia onions, and 1 Spanish onion thinly sliced, makes about 10 cups

5 tablespoons no-salt butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons Himalayan Pink Salt 84 or iodized salt

1 whole garlic clove finely minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

5 tablespoons King Arthur whole wheat flour

2 quarts beef stock, fresh or canned, preferably condensed stock

2 cans of Progresso French onion soup mix for extra flavor

2 quarts chicken stock

2 quarts distilled or filtered water



Croutons



16 to 20 one-inch medium slices of French bread

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

1 pack of Swiss cheese, 1 pack of Munster cheese, 1 pack of provolone cheese, or 3 16oz packages of Sargento 6 Cheese Italian



French Onion Soup with Garlic and Herbs Recipe



Soupe a’ l’Oignon



Melt butter in a heavy 5-quart large saucepan, or kettle; add oil and butter at low heat.

Add sliced onions to saucepan, stir in onions, and stir onions for one minute or two so that butter and oil are evenly saturated. Continue to stir onions every five minutes for 25 to 30 minutes – until onions are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over onions, continue to stir

for about 3 to 5 minutes.



Add all stock, distilled water, salt, garlic and seasonings to a large pot, and bring to a simmer, then add sautéed onions to stock pot, increase to boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. During cooking time, continue to stir stock mixture about every 5 to 10 minutes, skim off any excess grease.



While French onion soup simmers, begin to prepare croutons.



Lightly brush or coat bread with butter and olive oil, preheat oven to 300 degrees, place bread in oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Add crouton and desired amount of cheese to ovenproof croc; bake for 10 to 20 minutes, serve immediately.

Photo and recipe by Alfonso Coley - 2013