Healthy eating, good nutrition brings Tupelo women together | Food

The two became close friends through their children a few years ago and are now deepening their ties over food, especially healthy food.

“I thought Amy was crazy,” Gibbens said. “She did this Whole30 thing in January, and I think” I could never do it. ” “

Whole30 is a Whole Foods-based program that eliminates sugar, alcohol, grains, dairy products, gluten, etc. from your diet.

“It introduced me to nutrition and what it does for you,” Womak said. “After eliminating everything, you put things back into your diet to see how your body reacts to it.”

Gibens said she was always very healthy, but she hacked Womak’s passion and took it to a whole new level.

“The more educated you learn, the more you think about it,” Gibbens said. “I’m a little crazy about that. I’m currently training to become a health and lifestyle coach under the Functional Nutrition Alliance Full Body Systems.”

Gibens (50 years old) and Womak (53 years old) each have four children. As they learned more about healthy eating options and nutrition, the two women tried to teach their husbands and children the importance of what they put into their bodies.

“There are four teenagers (girls), so they like to eat fast food stuff,” said Womak, who works part-time as a registered nurse. “But they are also very active, and eating what I make makes me feel better and better. Food nourishes your body and you can feel it. But it was hard to get my family on board. They said, “It’s not perfect yet.”

Gibens said he’s trying to prepare a healthy diet for his children, but he recognizes that nothing is off limits when it comes to food.

So she makes baked potatoes with stir-fried mushrooms and cheese for dinner. But she leaves cheese on her plate and adds a side salad.

“For years, what I thought was healthy wasn’t always healthy,” Givens said. “Wheat bread is not healthy. The store’s cereal aisles are there with Satan. It’s all about reading labels. I just want to empower people to manage their health.”

Gibens and Womack rely on websites for most of their diet and recipes. Both like MarysWholeLife, EatingBirdFood, PaleoRunningMomma and Whole30.

“Health is a gift and the best gift you have,” Womak said. “I’m not a perfect cook. Life is busy. It’s hard to have kids in sports, but I want to instill love and knowledge for health in them.”

Do you know good food? Send nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, PO Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Alternatively, call (662) 678-1581 or email ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.

1 pound undeuil sausages such as Aidells sliced ​​into rounds

2 lbs of frozen or freshly peeled and peeled shrimp, thawed if previously frozen

Cut 1 zucchini into round pieces

Cut one yellow pumpkin into round pieces

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Place sliced ​​sausages, thawed shrimp, vegetables and olive oil in a large bowl. Add spices to another bowl and stir well. Pour the mixture of spices into a large bowl.

Mix everything until the sausages, shrimp and vegetables are evenly coated with oil and spices. Dump everything into a sheet pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 14-16 minutes until the shrimp are completely cooked and the vegetables are tender. Serve alone or on top of rice or cauliflower rice.

Note: When Julie Gibens cooked this dish, she couldn’t find green beans or squash in the grocery store, so she replaced Brussels sprouts, halves, and strips of red and yellow peppers.

1 bag of sugar-free bacon (8-10 pieces)

1/2 tab almond milk cream cheese, or regular

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the foil on the top plate and place the top plate on it.

Cut the bacon in half. Cut a slit at each date without cutting out the center completely. Using a spoon, put a little cream cheese inside the date. Wrap the bacon in half of each date, overlap the edges and secure with a toothpick. Repeat this process until all bacon is used. A total of 16-20 dates are required, depending on the size of the bacon pack.

Bake for 10 minutes. Turn each over. Put the pot back in the oven for another 10 minutes. If the bacon is still not cooked to your liking, bake for 2-3 minutes. Let it cool.

3/4 cup drip peanut butter

1 teaspoon molasses (optional)

1 1/2 cup organic cornflakes, crushed

If you are using peanut butter, maple syrup, or molasses, add to a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Heat with stirring until the mixture binds. Do not overheat. Otherwise, you run the risk of burning peanut butter. After mixing well, remove from heat, add crushed corn flakes and stir.

Spoon the coated cornflakes into a silicone ice tray and fill each cavity by half. Place the ice cube tray in the freezer to allow the bite to set for at least 2 hours.

Once the bite has hardened, place the chocolate and coconut oil in a safe microwave oven, melt in the microwave every 15 seconds and stir between each (1 to 2 minutes total).

Pop the bite from the tray and place it on a parchment-lined platter. Soak / coat one at a time in melted chocolate. Coat with a spoon until completely covered. Put the chocolate-covered candy back in a parchment-lined platter. Repeat until all parts are coated. Return the bite to the freezer and harden the chocolate.

Note: Bites are best stored in a freezer inside a closed container. They should last a month or two. Enjoy directly from the freezer.

1/3 cup of natural peanut butter

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Peel the banana and slice it into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.

Line a platter or small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter on top of a banana slice and another banana slice on top to make a small banana peanut butter sandwich. Continue this until all banana slices are used and are about 30 bytes. Place the bite on two parchment-lined platters or plates and place in the freezer to harden for approximately 1 hour.

After putting the bananas in the freezer for over an hour, mix the chocolate and coconut oil in a safe bowl in the microwave. Stir in the microwave for 1 minute, then in 30 second increments until the chocolate is completely melted, for up to 2 minutes.

Once the chocolate has melted, remove the frozen banana bite platter from the freezer. Soak a bite of frozen banana in melted chocolate so that half of the bite is coated. You can coat the full bite with chocolate, but if you do this you will need more chocolate chips.

Put the chocolate-covered bite back on the parchment-lined platter. Return to the freezer to harden. Repeat the process on the second platter of bites. Allow both chocolate-covered bite platters to cure in the freezer for approximately 15 minutes.

Provide a bite or transfer to a safe storage container in the freezer for later use. They should last at least 1-2 months in the freezer.

2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges

2 cups of cauliflower florets

1 tablespoon of coconut oil, melted

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

One big egg that was tapped

Black pepper 1/8 ~ 1/4 teaspoon

12 oz turkey minced meat (breast or a blend of light and dark meat)

2 tablespoons of chopped shallot

2-3 teaspoons of fresh, finely chopped lemongrass

1/2 cup of whole fat coconut milk

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of freshly chopped basil

Vegetables preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix potatoes and cauliflower on a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with melted coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables. Roast for 35 minutes until tender and brown. Put the kale on a roasting pan and gently stir the vegetables. Spread in even layers. Roast for another 5-10 minutes until the kale turns light brown and crispy.

For meatballs, roast the vegetables and line up the foil on a small baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, almond meal, curry power, salt and pepper together in a whisk. Add turkey and mix well. Shape the mixture into 6 meatballs. Place the meatballs on the prepared top plate. Bake the meatballs with the vegetables for 20-25 minutes until the meatballs are cooked and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

For the sauce, heat the coconut oil in a small frying pan over medium to low heat. Add shallot and lemongrass, stir occasionally and simmer for 5-7 minutes until tender. In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk, arrowroot, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the coconut milk mixture to the Shallot mixture all at once. Cook while stirring until the sauce is thick. Removed from the heat. Add basil and stir.

Divide the meatballs and roasted vegetables into two plates. Sprinkle the sauce over the meatballs (keep the sauce away from the vegetables to keep the kale crispy).

1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon and 1/8 teaspoon crude salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 (5-6 ounces) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Half

1 medium orange sweet potato or Okinawa sweet potato, peel and cut into 1 inch

Cut one small onion into thin wedges

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 small zucchini, trimming

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken bone broth or Whole30 compliant chicken broth

1 cup of lightly stuffed spinach leaves

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint

Place ginger, olive oil, half garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the ginger mixture and throw for a uniform coating. Cover and allow to cool for 30-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow roaster, mix the sweet potatoes and onions. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Bake for 2-3 minutes without the lid until the coconut oil melts. Toss the potato mixture, coat it with oil and spread it on a uniform layer of pot. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, stirring twice until the vegetables are tender and light brown.

Cut the zucchini into long, thin noodles using a spiral slicer or shredded peeler (or use a regular vegetable peeler to cut the zucchini into thin ribbons vertically). In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium to high heat. Add zucchini, the remaining garlic, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Gently tong and cook for 1-2 minutes until the noodles are crispy. Remove the zucchini noodles from the frying pan. Please keep warm.

Add the chicken mixture to the frying pan. Heat the chicken for 3-5 minutes, uncovered and stirring occasionally over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink. Add coconut milk and soup. Bring to a boil with frequent stirring. Remove from the heat. Add spinach and stir.

To serve, divide the chicken mixture into two shallow serving bowls. Place zucchini noodles and roasted sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with coriander and mint.