Sharing Recipes--Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This easy-to-make cake is both nutritious and delicious. Adults and children alike will find it hard to resist the combination of zucchini, chocolate chips, and cinnamon.

Enjoy!



Ingredients

1 3/4 whole grain pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Line a 8" x 8" baking pan with aluminum foil
• Coat the foil with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, and vanilla with a wire whisk. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
• Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and stir until blended.
• Scrape into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool for 30 minutes.

Makes 16 servings

Antioxidant Power

Different types of antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables. They help to prevent and repair the damage that can be caused by free radicals and other toxins in the environment. These toxins attack our cells and can cause heart disease, cancer, eye disease, Alzheimer's...

The more antioxidants we eat, the more protected we are against disease and the effects of aging. It is not necessary to take vitamin pills or supplements as long as we eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.

Although the research is still evolving, scientists have offered the following suggestions:

• Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts may prevent colon cancer and heart disease.

• Onions, garlic, and leeks may prevent stomach cancer and heart disease.

• Spinach and collards may prevent colon cancer, stomach cancer, eye diseases, and heart disease.

• Tomatoes and watermelon may prevent prostate, stomach, and lung cancer.

• Carrots and sweet potatoes may prevent breast, stomach, mouth, throat and lung cancer.

• Blueberries, strawberries, apples, red grapes, red cabbage, beets, and plums may prevent cardiovascular disease.

Better Sleep On A Budget

Getting a good night's sleep is a challenge for most of us. Most of us have one or more of the following issues--tossing and turning for more than 20 minutes before falling asleep, waking up at least once each night, getting less than 7 hours of sleep.

Here are a few of his tips from Ronald Kotler's best-selling book, 365 Ways to Get a Good Night's Sleep:

• Prepare for the next day before going to bed. Have clothes, purses, bags, and lunches lined up and ready to go.

• Use your weekends to catch up on your sleep, especially if you had a week of five-hour nights.

• Make lists in your head of all the shoes in your closet, names of your elementary school teachers, or anything else of a mundane nature.

• Make sure you have a good mattress. Check for lumps, tears, sags, or smells.

• If you snore, have it checked. You could be suffering from sleep apnea.

• Gently stretch before going to bed.

• Get your B12 levels checked. A deficiency in this vitamin is associated with depression, bad temper, apathy, and a number of psychiatric disturbances.

Boosting the Immune System

In addition to improving eating habits, it is also important to pinpoint and avoid any flu germs lurking in unlikely places.

I will make sure I wash my hands thoroughly or use a hand sanitizer whenever I encounter the following situations:

• Soap dispensers in public washrooms are rarely cleaned.

• Tiny buttons on elevators, telephones, vending machines, and bank machines are used frequently and not always cleaned on a regular basis.

• E. coli bacterium is common on shopping carts. It is a good idea to wipe the cart and hands with a sanitizer.

• Restaurant menus are rarely cleaned and should be kept away from plates and flatware.

• Ketchup and condiment bottles can be crawling with germs.

• A TV remote control is the dirtiest object in a hotel room.

More Brainpower On A Budget

Each weekday afternoon, I look forward to watching Dr. Oz on television, and I also enjoy reading his weekly column in The Toronto Star. I appreciate all his advice, especially that which pertains to improving brain function. As the daughter of parents with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, I am always on the lookout for new ways to increase my brainpower.

I found the following suggestions very easy to implement:

• If we get 55 micrograms of selenium daily, it is possible for the brain to perform as well as someone who is 10 years younger. One egg has 14 mcg and a slice of whole-grain bread has 10 mcg.

• Three or four servings of dark, leafy greens like spinach and kale can slow mental decline by as much as 40%.

• Compounds in blueberries can protect the brain against inflammation which is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

• Turmeric, which is found in yellow mustard, will also guard against inflammation. All that is needed is 17 mg of turmeric a day, about a teaspoon of mustard.

• Salmon, trout, and walnuts contain omega-3s which help keep the brain young.

A Bit of Humour

A man sees a beautiful woman at the end of the bar. He walks up to her and asks, "Where have you been all my life?"

"Well," she says, "for the first half of it, I wasn't even born."

Source: Readers' Digest

Fidgeting

While reading Ultra Metabolism by Mark Hyman, I discovered more information on fidgeting, also known as "interindividual variation in posture allocation."

In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services implemented a Small Steps campaign which provides a variety of ways to adjust your "posture allocation" or increase your fidgeting.

• Do sit-ups or any form of activity in front of the television.
• Walk during your lunch hour.
• Take a family walk after dinner.
• Get a dog and walk it.
• Get off the train or bus a stop early and walk.
• Bicycle to the store instead of driving.
• Wash your car by hand.
• Pace the sidelines at the children's athletic games.
• Play with your children thirty minutes a day.
• Walk briskly in the mall.
• Walk to a co-worker's desk instead of sending an email.
• Use a snow shovel instead of a snow blower.
  
• When walking, go up the hills instead of around them.