Going Natural

Growing up I had no thoughts about health and diet and how they were related. For that matter, there were no thoughts of healthy natural living at all. I was a kid, for all I knew I was going to live forever. Now as the years have passed by and I have realized that age is real and that it is really happening to me, I come to see the wisdom of a healthy lifestyle.

As an adolescent I did sports and stayed pretty active all the time. If I wasn’t training for a match I was playing a game of football at a park with a bunch of friends. Exercise was about the extent of my healthy living. Because, when it came to foods I ate anything that I desired. I ate cookies, candy, processed foods, fast foods and drank soda. There wasn’t a thought in my mind that said what about vitamins, minerals, and digestion.

Well the years have passed by and here I am today much older but still healthy and in decent fitness. Of course, I have changed my diet and I continue to be active. There aren’t as many football games in the park with my friends any more. Now, exercise comes in the way of doing yoga, tai chi and brisk evening walks.

And as for my diet, healthy menus with organic foods have become the mainstay of my eating habits. I sometimes have a memory of enjoying fast food but then I remember the indigestion, heart burn and overall dissatisfaction of the quality of the food. Now, when I sit down to eat I want dark greens, with brown rice and some organic chicken breast. It amazes my how at one time I knew nothing about natural foods but now its everywhere. There are health food stores all over the place along with food co-ops and more and more you can find organic selections in just about any major chain grocer. Perhaps it’s the change in awareness concerning being healthy as to why I notice how easy natural living is these days. Or, maybe it is because it’s becoming more of a national trend. Whatever the case, I’m glad it has shifted. I feel healthy and fit and I believe eating better has really helped.

On that note here is a recipe I found the other day, Enjoy!:

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

10 ounces penne or ziti pasta
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 pound wild or cultivated mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion (like Vidalia or Walla-Walla)
1 can (15-16 ounces) pizza sauce
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3 ounces (about 30 slices) Organic Prairie Uncured Pepperoni
1 container (4 ounces) Organic Valley Shredded Parmesan
1 package (6 ounces) Organic Valley Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water until barely tender. Drain, rinse with cool water, then drain again.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking dish just large enough to fit all the ingredients.
3. Heat half the olive oil in a large skillet over a fairly high flame. Add half the mushrooms and sauté them, stirring occasionally, until tender. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a large bowl. Cook the remaining mushrooms in the remaining oil, then add them to the other mushrooms.
4. To the mushrooms add the cooked pasta, chopped onions, pizza sauce, and 1/4 cup water; stir well.
5. Spread half the pasta mixture in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with oregano and even more lightly with red pepper flakes (if desired). Arrange pepperoni slices over pasta. Sprinkle on the Parmesan. Now add the rest of the pasta, a little more oregano, and a tiny more red pepper flakes, if desired. Sprinkle on the Italian Blend.
6. Bake until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through, 20-30 minutes. Serve immediately.