Nutrition

Karen Houghton, RN has focused her professional attention to the role of nutrition to help people be as healthy as possible. She has worked in the field consistently for 12 years starting with public classes at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Fallbrook. Friends of friends of friends have encouraged Karen through the years and now she not only teaches here but elsewhere. Just a bit ago she did a three-class cooking school over three weeks in Phoenix for 130 people.

Karen said the best thing about doing the classes was actually seeing people “take to heart” what they were learning each week and changing their lives. For example, one woman in Phoenix said that her family had never eaten breakfast. Then they did and could not believe the difference in how they felt by having a good, healthy breakfast every day. They also added walking to their daily routine and in only three weeks were very happy about how much healthier they were feeling.

Karen also recalls a gentleman in Fallbrook who simply added two tablespoons of ground flaxseed to his daily diet and over several months was able to reduce his cholesterol by 60 points.

“Flaxseed is, of course,” Karen said, “a wonderful plant source omega-3 fat…so easy to do and so well documented. I tell everyone.”

Karen is part of a team that offers nutrition/diabetes education for patients of the Rancho Family Medical Group in Temecula. For more information, call (951) 676-4193.

Also for three weeks starting October 16, Karen will be teaching at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Fallbrook. Each class is different with such interesting fare as breakfasts, snacks, entrees, soups…and just about everything in-between. Persons who are interested in the class need to register by October 13 at http://www.fallbrookadventist.org or by calling (760) 723-7733.

The other part of Karen’s good news is that she is “almost” finished with her well-tested and tried and true recipes in cookbook form. Stay tuned!

Karen, we appreciate all you do for the health of the community and thank you, too, for sharing these recipes. –J.B.

Sunflower Seed Nutloaf is not only good for you, it is very “tasty” with ingredients that are easy to find. This is a main dish that you might also serve with a gravy, potatoes and assorted vegetables for a complete meal.

Sunflower Seed Nutloaf

½ cup raw sunflower seeds, blended

2/3 cup walnuts, ground

¾ cup bread crumbs

1 medium potato, raw, shredded

1 cup soy milk

1 garlic clove, chopped fine

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

¼ tsp. sage

Mix all together and put in greased loaf pan and bake covered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncovered for 15 min.

Brazilian salad came to Karen from a friend who lived in Brazil. This is one of the recipes Karen says will be a part of the soon-to-be-published cookbook.

Brazilian Salad

Serves 10

3-4 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

3-4 tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3-4 hearts of palm, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3-4 cloves of fresh crushed garlic

½ tsp. salt or to taste

Mix in a bowl and serve.

Pesto Sauce is one of the best you’ll ever taste yet it has no dairy. Karen challenges you to taste and compare to any other. She believes you’ll like this one better and make it a staple in your home.

Pesto Sauce

½ cup toasted pine nuts

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 fresh garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp. salt

2 cups fresh basil

Blend in blender. Mix with cooked pasta or use as a spread in a sandwich. This recipe has no cholesterol and is very tasty.

Bread for Bread Machines is one that Karen created. A lovely blend of three grains, it makes excellent toast, too.

Karen’s Homemade Bread for Bread Machine

Yields 20 slices

2 cups white wheat flour

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup white rye flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. vital wheat gluten

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. apple sauce

2 tbsp. honey

1 1/2 tsp. yeast

1 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients. In bread machine pan put warm water and add olive oil and honey. Then add the flour mixture and level it out. Make a little well in the center of it and put your yeast in the well. Close the lid and put the machine on the dough cycle. When the cycle finishes (about 1 1/2 hours) turn your oven to 200 degrees, then take the dough out, put it on a greased surface and roll and shape it into a loaf. Put the loaf in a greased bread pan. Then turn the oven off and put the timer on for 30 minutes. The bread will rise. Leave it in the oven and turn the heat on to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Take the bread out of the pan and put it on a cooling rack. You will have a multigrain bread that is very tasty.

Granola is something that is served three or four times a week in Karen’s home. Karen likes to include seeds and nuts…for good vitamins, minerals and healthy monounsaturated fat…the good ones!

Granola

7 cups quick oats 1 cup wheat germ

1 tsp. salt

1 cup unsweetened coconut

¼ - ½ cup sucanat or honey 1 ½ tsp. vanilla

1 cup slivered almonds

¼ - ½ cup extra light olive oil

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup hot water

½ cup chopped walnuts

Combine dry ingredients. Combine liquids and add to dry ingredients.

Mix well. Spread thinly on 2 large cookie sheets. Bake at 225 degrees for about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Stir every half-hour. Top with fresh fruit and soy or almond milk.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: 1 serving (3/4 C) = 405 Calories, 12 g protein, 22 g fat, 43 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 58 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 200 mg sodium.

A dinner roll recipe that Karen uses when she might be having company. It’s very simple and always elicits wonderful compliments.

Bread Machine

Dinner Rolls

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached flour or bread flour

1 cup white rye flour

3 tbsp. vital wheat gluten

2 ¼ tsp. salt

2 ¼ tsp. yeast

1 ½ cups warm water

3 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. olive oil

Mix flours, vital wheat gluten and salt in bowl. Put in the bread pan the water, honey and oil. Then add the flour mixture, making a little well in the center and put the yeast in the well.

Close lid and put machine on the dough cycle. When cycle is finished, divide the dough into 12 even-sized pieces and shape into rolls and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yields: one dozen dinner rolls.

Nutrition Facts: 1 roll Calories 191 Calories from fat38, Total Fat 4 g, Saturated fat 1 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 415 mg, Total Carbohydrate 34 g, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Sugars 0 g, Protein 6 g, Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 0%, Calcium 1%, Iron 9%.