Humana Cooking Demo: January 19, 2023

Today's Recipes: Italian Lentil Soup, Orange Creamsicle Chia Pudding, and Avocado Brownies.

In this session we continued discussing this month's focus, balancing blood sugar.  One of the keys to maintaining steady blood sugar throughout the day is to make sure you have a combination of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fat with every meal and snack.

Two excellent ingredients to include into your diet for blood sugar stabilization are lentils and chia seeds.  

A tip to better digestion and nutrient absorption of beans and legumes like lentils is to soak the dry legume in water for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours before cooking.  Just drain off the soaking liquid and rinse before adding to your dish.  This will also help reduce the cooking time!  

Chia seeds contain all three macro nutrients, protein, fat, and carbs making it an excellent breakfast option when made into a pudding!  Top with seasonal fruits and nuts for more flavor and nutrition!  

Finally, it is not necessary to give up sweets and treats on a healthy diet.  You just need to choose ones that contain ingredients that are health promoting!  In this brownie recipe, avocado is used for a healthy fat, almond flour replaces white flour, and cacao provides a hefty dose of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals including Magnesium!  

The culinary skill presented today was how to section an orange.  If you missed it or need a refresher, see the video below!