Another Fall Inspired & Delicious Antioxidant Rich Recipe

We have been discussing the importance of antioxidants over the past few weeks and foods that are rich with this astounding natural chemical compound. We have found a delicious recipe to try this week Curried Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower from Eating Well

Makes: 4 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 5 1/2 hours (including marinating time)

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Madras-style curry powder, (see Ingredient note)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed (see Tip)
• 1 sweet potato, (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cups cauliflower florets, (1 small head) or broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, or cashews
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

PREPARATION

1. Combine yogurt, curry powder, coriander, ginger, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and cayenne in a shallow glass dish; mix to blend. Reserve 1/4 cup of this mixture; cover and refrigerate. Add chicken to the remaining yogurt mixture and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the prepared baking sheet. Toss sweet potato with the reserved yogurt mixture in a medium bowl and place on the baking sheet. Toss cauliflower with oil in a medium bowl and add to the baking sheet. Season vegetables with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Roast chicken and vegetables, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
4. Carefully turn the chicken over and stir the vegetables. Roast until the vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more.
5. Arrange chicken and vegetables on a platter or individual plates and garnish with peanuts (or cashews) and cilantro.

TIPS & NOTES

• Ingredient Tip: Madras-style curry powder is hotter than standard curry powder. You can find it in specialty stores. 
• Tip: You can purchase chicken thighs that have already been boned and skinned in most supermarkets. They can be quite fatty, so trim carefully. If you cannot find boneless, skinless chicken thighs, substitute bone-in thighs and pull off the skin. In Step 3, roast chicken for 10 minutes before adding the vegetables. 

NUTRITION

Per serving: 473 calories; 26 g fat (6 g sat, 11 g mono); 154 mg cholesterol; 34 g carbohydrates; 52 gprotein; 7 g fiber; 655 mg sodium; 1183 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (30% daily value), Vitamin A (440% dv), Vitamin C (110% dv), Iron (20% dv), Folate (2% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 6 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat

"Don't Forget: This is YOUR Dream"

There are so many quotes about striving after our dreams but this quote in particular resonated with us because it also includes the reality of life. You will not always obtain this dream right away but it is those obstacles that make your dream so special. 

SPLURGE! on a Fall Festive Book

Happy Friday Dream Team! Today, SPLURGE! on a wonderfully fall inspired children's book titled Let It Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.

What is it about?

The leaves turn red, brown, and orange, then drift down from the trees. 

It is time to go apple picking and on hayrides at the county fair. Fall is finally here!

With soft colored art, adorable children, and colorful outdoor scenes, 

Let it Fall celebrates all the seasonal awe of autumn.

Where can I buy this book?

You can find this great children's book at The Scholastic Store and for only $3.99-get it here!

Program Resource: The Blanket Fairy

For today's program resource Thursday we would like to share with you a wonderful resource that is spreading awareness of pediatric cancer and whose mission is to:

"The Blanket Fairy's Mission is to make and donate as many blankets as she can to children with pediatric cancer. The Blanket Fairy follows many blogs & websites and when she sees a child that needs a lift in spirits while going thru treatment she will contact their parents to have their child go into her Sprinkle Dust Treasure Chest to pick out a blanket or any other item that may be available in there."

Lets take a look at where the inspiration for The Blanket Fairy all began....

I have had several people ask me why I started this. January 2010 my husband had just left the kids and I in Arizona so he could start a new job in Missouri. We had a bad year in 2009. The economy in Arizona was crazy. He could not find anything in AZ that was just enough for us to survive. So we sacrificed. We could not afford to all go at the same time.

The day that he rolled out of our driveway it tore me to pieces. I was now a single parent and we would not see him until the very end of May. It broke my heart that my kids would ask when is daddy coming home. Mady was 1 at the time and Zach was 5. I thought my life was just so terrible and I had a hard time sleeping missing my husband, taking care of the kids 24/7 by myself, putting the house on the market, packing up the house getting ready for the big move, going thru an unexpected surgery while trying to pack the house being told not to lift anything more than 5 pounds, etc.

---

My Inspiration - Layla Grace Marsh

It was about a week after he left on one of my sleepless nights. I saw a prayer request for Layla Grace Marsh on twitter. I was curious so I clicked on the link and read the current journal entry. Layla had just relapsed with Neuroblastoma. Curious on what this was I went back to the first page of their journal and I stayed up all night and read the whole journal. My heart was broken to think of the pain that these innocent children go through. Not just that but what the whole family goes thru. 

---

Parents are seperated to long periods of time in between hospital stays, siblings don't see their mommy or daddy for long periods of time during treatments and I realized that cancer affects the whole entire family. 
I thought to myself what can I do. For 5 years I had been making baby blankets and selling them online.  I remember seeing alot of Layla's pictures and she had a blanket with her in several of those pictures. 

Take an in-depth look at The Blanket Fairy and their astounding cause here

Inspirational Video: Watch how an NFL player made Courtney's senior prom

Courtney Alvis was a senior high school student who craved the milestones that come with senior year, but a cancer diagnosis got in the way. Although she was determined to beat cancer before her last prom [which she achieved]- she was missing one last thing off of her checklist...a date. Now, check out how the [then Cleveland Browns running back, Trent Richardson, assured her list was complete!

Antioxidant Overview and 3 ways to Increase Your Daily Antioxidant Intake

Yesterday we shared a wonderfully fall inspired recipe that is rich in antioxidants. For today, lets look over a few ways that you can easily increase your daily antioxidant intake-but first lets also review what antioxidants do and the benefits your body reaps when you have ensure a plentiful intake.

What is an antioxidant?

Antioxidants are both a naturally and man-made chemical compound which can donate electrons and counter act free radicals. Now what does this all really mean?

• Free Radicals are associated with serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease-therefore antioxidants are an important line of defense against these
• Antioxidants help repair damaged cells

Of course, considering the complex nature of antioxidants there are far more characteristics to them than what we have listed above and we encourage you to do a little further research into this.

11 Common Foods Fueled with Antioxidants

1. Small Red Bean
2. Wild Blueberries
3. Cranberry
4. Artichoke
5. Black Plum
6. Gala Apple
7. Prune 
8. Raspberry
9. Granny Smith Apple
10. Pecan 
11. Pinto Bean

3 Easy Ways to Increase Your Antioxidant Intake

• Be aware of how you prepare your food. The actual process in which we use to prepare our food everyday can have significant effects on the food's nutrients. According to MindBodyGreen, here are a few techniques that will help maintain your foods nutrients:
• Don’t peel
• Minimize chopping
• Don’t soak in water pre-cooking
• Cook quickly at a high heat rather than slowly on a lower heat
• Don’t cook in copper pots (this reduces the amount of vitamin C)
• Frozen veggies are good sources of antioxidants
• Steaming helps retain nutrients
• A Colorful Plate. Antioxidants provide color to food therefore ensuring a variety of colors on your plate will go a long way.
• Snack with a healthy mind. It is extremely easy to grab and snack on whatever is around you at the time--this can become even more of a challenge when you are constantly going back and forth for doctors appointments and treatment days--that is why it is important to snack healthy and take time ahead to prepare. Any of the foods listed above would be great antioxidant fueled snacks for the go

A Perfect Autumn Recipe-Full with Antioxidants

Antioxidants are a key nutrient for any individual--when you are a pediatric cancer patient their presence within your diet is even more important. Antioxidants assist in a healthy and effective immune system which is greatly compromised during cancer treatment. Check out this delicious recipe for Baked Apples with Dried Fruits & Walnuts from Lifescript!

Ingredients

• 6 medium Golden Delicious apples 
• 1 cup walnut pieces 
• 1/2 cup raisins, or dried cranberries 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, (optional) 
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup 
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves 
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a shallow 8-by-12-inch (or similar) baking dish with cooking spray.

2

Core apples all the way through with an apple corer, making a 1-inch-wide hole. Peel the upper third of each apple. Using a sharp paring knife, score the flesh about 1/4 inch deep around the circumference, more or less where the peeled and unpeeled areas meet. With the paring knife angled down, cut a shallow crater around the top of the hole to help hold the preserves that will go there. Set aside while you make the filling.

3

Place walnuts, raisins (or dried cranberries) and coconut (if using) in a food processor. Chop the mixture fairly well, but not too fine; you want it to remain somewhat textured. Add syrup, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg; pulse several times to combine.

4

Place the apples in the prepared baking dish and gently press 1/4 cup filling into each cavity. Spoon a generous tablespoon of preserves onto the crater of each apple.

5

Combine cider and butter in a small saucepan; heat over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour the liquid over and around the apples.

6

Cover the apples loosely with tented foil and bake on the center rack for 30 minutes. Remove foil and baste the apples well. Continue to bake, uncovered, for 20 to 35 minutes more (depending on the size of the apples), basting every 10 minutes, until the apples are tender throughout. The best way to test them is with a thin bamboo skewer; the slightest bit of resistance near the center is OK because they'll finish cooking as they cool. Let the apples cool right in the pan, basting periodically. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold, with some of the pan juices spooned over each.

Want more recipes? Check out Lifescript Here

Stress Relieving Yoga Pose

It is really beginning to feel like fall here at the Teen with a Dream headquarters and we are loving it! With the coming of fall and holidays right around the corner, we are inevitably prone to higher stress levels. Today we would like to share with you three yoga poses that are designed to help combat stress and are extremely easy to do anywhere!

Savasana [Corpse Pose]

According to Yoga Outlet......

The deeply relaxing aspect of Savasana is known to be therapeutic for stress. When you’re under stress, your sympathetic nervous system produces a “fight or flight” response that can over-stimulate your mind and body, causing anxiety, fatigue, depression, and disease. Conversely, practicing Savasana stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system — known as the “rest and digest” response. Relaxing the physical body in Savasana has numerous benefits, including:

• Lowered blood pressure
• A decreased heart rate
• Slowed rate of respiration
• Decreased muscle tension
• Decreased metabolic rate

The physical response can further result in:

• Reduced occurrence of headaches
• Relief from fatigue and insomnia
• Reduced nervous tension
• Relief from anxiety and panic attacks
• Increased overall energy levels
• Increased productivity
• Improved concentration and memory
• Clear-headedness and a sense of focus
• Heightened self-confidence

Fall Craft: Popsicle Stick Scarecrow

SPLURGE! on getting crafts with this simply awesome Popsicle Scarecrow Craft by Crafty Morning!  The best part? It is inexpensive and you can easily make multiple to add a little fall decor to any room.

Materials

• 8 Popsicle Sticks
• Small Piece of Card Board [Crafty Morning used a cereal box]
• Glue 
• Brown, Yellow, Orange and White Construction paper
• Scissors
• Brown/Black Marker
• Brown Paint

Directions

1. Start by cutting a rectangle out of cardboard (we used a cereal box) and spreading glue all over it. Stick on 7 popsicle sticks in a row.
2. Glue the last popsicle stick diagonal to make the scarecrow’s hat. Afterwards we realized this is the perfect time to glue the straw hair (yellow paper) WITH the hat brim! Paint it brown and let dry.
3. Cut out some eyes, a nose, and a flower for the hat. You can draw on his smile with a brown or black marker. There you have the cutest little scarecrow around!

[Crafty Morning]

CDC's Autumn Health Resource

The Center of Disease Control recently released their Autumn Health and Safety Tips. Check out their tips below to ensure you have a healthy happy and safe fall season...

Original PDF available HERE