Way Behind

I cannot believe it has been over a month since my last post. I am SO far behind posting recipes and thoughts. June marked my one year anniversary of clean, organic, whole food eating and living. I continue to flesh out small areas every few weeks that I have not yet switched over, and at this point these areas are less related to food and more related to daily living. It has been over a year since I have eaten at a fast food restaurant or had any soda. Do I miss it? Not really. The only time I miss soda is when I have a stomachache, and then I long for some ginger ale, but so far I have been able to get by without it. If I need something other than water I make fresh lemonade, mmmm. How is my weight doing, you ask? Horribly. Remember those 15 pounds I dropped in a little over a month last summer, with a total of over 20 for the whole summer? They all came back. By January. This was/is so frustrating for me because I KNOW I did not eat this winter like I did in past winters, and yet still packed on over 20 pounds. Even more frustrating is that none of it has come off yet, and usually by this part in the summer at least half of it would be. Much of it is stress weight. I find when I have extra stress in my life, the pounds just won't come off. I thought once summer came I would be able to get back to my morning exercise routine but the summer schedule has been too irregular thus far. I know, this is no excuse...

So for now let me leave you with some pictures of my first batch of homemade yogurt. I used these directions as well as Stoneyfield Organic Whole Milk and some Stoneyfield Organic French Vanilla yogurt as my starter. This really was as easy as it sounds from the directions (heat milk in pan to just under 100 degrees, add to clean jar, shake w/ about 3/4 c yogurt and place in cooler with hot water for 8+ hours). I did not add vanilla or sugar to mine in the jar, I did it individually as I ate it. It was a little runnier than I liked, but the longer it stayed in the fridge it did thicken some. It was great for baking, though, and I'd like to try freezing some in ice cube trays to use for smoothies. I keep wanting to make smoothies but for some reason never seem to get to them...that's gotta change!

Anyway, here's my yogurt, if you look closely you can see the wonderful bubbles from the probiotics!

Not Your Ordinary Bed of Roses

Well, it has been a long spring with little time to work on the garden between commitments, construction, rain and the busyness that always comes each year at this time. I was able to start some flats inside in March (the earliest we have ever started anything so I was hopeful!).

We had talked with our next door neighbors about joining forces. Since we didn't have time to build our raised bed right away, we planted many of the seedlings and some seeds in their bed from last year. We added a bag of compost from Sonnewald's. We planted broccoli, radishes, carrots, various lettuces, and marigolds around the exterior to deter rabbits. Here's how it looked:

Unfortunately not long after planting we had a torrential rain that washed away many of the seeds. Then, the neighborhood rabbit family decided to munch on a little of everything. So, needless to say there is not much left. There was a little lettuce, 3 broccoli plants, a few radishes, a few carrots, and one or two marigolds. We'll have to replant and perhaps put some chicken wire around to deter the critters.

Today my husband built a raised bed, we decided on a spot and then moved barrels full of dirt for the bed. We are beat! (And this was after I had already weeded for over an hour in the hot sun!) I am so excited to get the rest of my veggies that are in flats and dying to get out, into this new bed! (Hopefully tomorrow!)

I have squash, zucchini, watermelon, cukes and pumpkins that need to find a home. We are planning on putting marigolds along the outside of the box, along with chicken wire. I want to get some fish fertilizer (I can't remember the site right now) my mom told me about to help the soil as well, and we made sure to get lots of worms in the bed as well!

While I was outside, decided to take a few more pics:

And while I'm at it, here are some pics of the inside cactus that has shot off a very tall bloom stalk!

Chocolate Steel Cut Oatmeal

Could it be possible for me to find a recipe that is TOO chocolaty? Well, it has happened! I found this recipe for Clean Eating German Chocolate Oatmeal from the Gracious Pantry Blog. I really haven't eaten "regular" oatmeal lately since I've been chowing down on my baked oatmeal most of the time, but after a long run this morning, I had a little extra time and taste buds that were ready! Here is my version, with a few alterations. Also note that I was entirely planning on eating the whole batch (because even with the 2 servings it would have been a big breakfast, but not too much) but ate half and was more than satisfied! My daughter ate about half of what was left, and I finished off the last quarter as a snack after church. I could definitely eat this as a dessert, though! I will most likely cut the cocoa powder in 1/2 though if I make it again for breakfast. I apologize for no pictures, but it was basically dark brown oatmeal :)

Chocolate Steel Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients
2 servings of dry oats (I used 2 servings of steel cut oats as I prefer their texture to rolled oats, whichever oats you prefer cook as directed on package)
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (ugh, I'm still using Hershey's for now)
2 tbsp. unsweetened dry coconut flakes (These were my favorite part of the recipe, I loved the texture the coconut gave to the dish! Make sure you use unsweetened coconut. Once you have, you'll never go back to the sweetened stuff, and if you thought you didn't like coconut, you probably will like the unsweetened, it has a much lighter texture and taste, not to mention a lot less calories!)
Small handful of raw almonds
1 egg
2 tbsp. honey

Cook oats. As soon as they are finished cooking, remove from heat, add in cocoa powder, coconut and almonds, then quickly stir in egg and honey. The egg will cook as you stir. That's it! If you want it to look pretty, sprinkle with coconut flakes and/or chopped almonds.

Quinoa

Right now I am on a HUGE zucchini kick. I am eating 2 a week (sharing with my family if they want to eat it, but typically I am the one to devour it). I mostly enjoy it broiled or grilled with olive oil, garlic and onion, or as one of my veggies in homemade Chinese. I have also made it fried, which my daughter loves but I don't care for as much. So, since I was hankering for a new way to eat zucchini, and have been in the mood to try quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") again, I thought this was a perfect fit. If you have never tried quinoa, it is definitely well worth it! It is a gluten-free whole grain with 11 grams of fiber per serving! Wow! And, it has such a fun texture and look to it, almost comical to see all the little sprouts that come out of it when you cook it! I feel like it is similar to rice and could eat it a lot more often, but, alas, I have yet to win my family over with it. I would also like to try it in a cold salad for summer, something similar to a couscous or pasta salad.

This is a very simple, fairly quick dinner. This small amount of shrimp will thaw quickly in a bowl of cold water if you have frozen. I recommend using non farmed, wild caught American shrimp. Shrimp that is farmed has many of the same issues as animals raised in CAFOs, with a high concentration of animals in the water in addition to high doses of antibiotics (not to mention the fact that many are fed chicken poop, and if you are what you eat, and shrimp eat the poop, and you eat the shrimp...well...you get the picture) as well as the fact that vital habitats are being destroyed to make room for shrimp farms. Almost all shrimp that you get at restaurants is farmed, as well as most shrimp at your local grocery store. I get ours from Route 30 Seafood. They regularly run a special of 5 lbs 26-30 ct shrimp for $20.99. Right now the deal is $27.99, but that is still a lot cheaper than other locations for wild caught gulf shrimp. While you're there, pick up some wild caught salmon (yum!).

Quinoa with Grilled Shrimp and Zuccini

1 c Quinoa (Cook to directions on package, mine took about 1 1/4 c water, I added chopped onion and garlic to the water. Bring to boil and stir in quinoa, cover, reduce heat and simmer about 10-12 minutes, fluff with fork)

Grilled Shrimp (click for recipe) - 8 skewers of 5 shrimp each will feed 4 people

Grilled Zucchini (Cut 2 zucchini into slivers, coat in the same mixture as the shrimp and grill.)

Combine all 3 ingredients and enjoy! Very simple, and delicious! I did add some extra Old Bay once I had them all combined on my plate. I guess I'll need to write to the company and ask them to start making an organic Old Bay, because I don't think I can give it up- yet!

Whole Wheat Rolls

I'm always on the lookout for bread/roll recipes. Making yeast products is one of my favorite foods to bake! (I do want to try making my own yeast, but that might be a summer project.) I found this recipe from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures site. I also can't wait to try her overnight whole wheat rolls as cinnamon buns. It has been far too long since I've baked something w/ cinnamon (besides baked oatmeal).

I made these to go along with our shrimp Easter dinner, and they are so easy and would be a great beginner roll. I would also like to try shaping as an Italian loaf and then using to make homemade garlic bread. Also on her site she talks of using this recipe for hamburger/hot dog buns, so I'm excited for that as well!

*Update- I have used them as hamburger rolls (I baked them until they were more brown than for dinner rolls), and they were very delicious, and much more filling that the usual store-bought roll. And with a hamburger made with local Highland cattle meat from M & M Farm, you can't go wrong! I misjudged the size for the hot dog rolls, however, so they became garlic bread a few days later. These are also very good warmed with raw honey :)

 40 Minute Whole Wheat Rolls (based on Lynn's recipe with a few modifications)

1 package Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (I used tap water as hot as I could make it)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup Sun Crystals or 1/4 cup Sucanat (I would like to try with honey next time, maybe 1/4 c)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat bread flour
1 1/2 – 2 cups organic all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in water in large bowl. Add olive oil and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Beat egg and add to yeast mixture along with salt and flour, mix until it forms a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic on floured surface (about 5 minutes). Do not let it rise. Divide in 1/2 and then each 1/2 into 6 pieces (I used my handy dandy pretzel dough cutter from Auntie Anne's pretzel kit). Roll each into a ball (mine was more oval shaped) and place on greased baking sheet. Let rise in the oven (turned off) about 5 minutes, then remove from oven and preheat to 425. Once heated, return dough to oven and bake 8-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

I probably could have left mine in a little longer, but they were very light a fluffy, absolutely delish!

Way Behind

So, can't believe how long it has been since I've posted anything! Life has been very hectic. We just finished changing our screened in porch into a dining room. This involved taking out a concrete slab, digging footers (which means we now have a crawl space underneath w/ access from the basement, hoping to store veggies there over the winter!), framing and then cutting a hole from the kitchen to the new dining room. Oh, and we had to move around the kitchen in order to cut the hole! We are hoping to redo the kitchen next, and as you can guess I can't wait for that! Here are some pics of the (almost) finished product. We still have a few paint touch-ups and decorating to do. Since I am behind on posts, be prepared for a menagerie of posts coming your way!

Processed People Review

This post is long overdue. When my sister, April, was home in January, she brought along the movie Processed People for us to watch. Here is my compilation of the key points:

• We are undernourished and overfed
• We consume calorie dense foods, move less, and eat more
• We are food addicts of unhealthy foods- our bodies crave more food in order to get sufficient nutrients which causes us to overeat even more
• We eat (and our bodies look) like royalty of old
• Families feed their kids on an almost daily basis w/ eating out when we used to do it on rare occasions for a treat
•  We have a toxic hunger
• Junk food is cheaper due to gov’t subsidies
• We don’t even think about what we eat
• By 40 most Americans have some form of heart disease
• Health is not the opposite of disease- it is our normal state
• Health is the presence of well-being
• In 1900 2% of Americans died of heart disease now 51%
• In the last 15 years of life are we healthy? We are not meant to get worse and worse until we die
• How much do you suffer?
• Health= engaging in life fully until you die
• We currently have a sick care, not health care system
• True prevention is not a part of the health care system b/c our current system is based on profit and there is no profit if no one is getting sick
• Financial incentive is towards sickness, not in educating the public to take control of their health
• You have to earn good health
• "Health care" is selling disease
• Medicology- belief that our “savior” is our doctor or pharmacy, etc.
• Ned to give the knowledge needed to take care of themselves
• Get back to the basics of what makes a healthy life
• Stop popping pills
• You are what you eat
• Humans thrive on plant based diet
• We should live on a mostly plant based diet
• You can control your health destiny
• Do we need to eat animal products?
• Move baby move- Exercise crucial for health
• A healthy diet changes everything- brain chemistry, how we metabolize food, a sedentary lifestyle is not natural
• Sufficient rest/sleep needed
• Exercise: 30-60 min per day but 2 hrs best due to pple eating so much more and the need to offset it
• Sunshine needed
• Skin cancer also caused by low level of nutrients in diet
• Being physical is good for immune system, helps brain, heart
• It doesn’t have to be “exercise”
• What’s a processed person?
• We have bought into media hype- processing starts at birth w/ formula to baby food to fast food, processed through the whole system, taught to eat things that are not really food
• Eat food, don’t eat food-like things
• We are processed b/c we let them process us
• De-processed people
• Change of diet and no pills needed, rapid changes
• Stopped multiple sclerosis
• Makng the change always works
• What if we don’t change?
• Diabetes
• We don’t get paid for prevention
• Doctors should be teachers rather than heroes
• Our diet is related to a lot of things that cannot be changed very easily
• This planet cannot support a largely animal based diet
• Feds subsidize meat but not fruits and veggies
• Eating more isn’t better- we need to eat enough (kids know this, adults don’t)
• Nobody is healthier b/c of eating animal products
• Inspire and pay doctors to keep people healthy in order to fix health care system
• It is not inevitable to get fatter and sicker as you get older, it is b/c of diet

I hope you can understand my random notes, if you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them!