Faith, Family, Food

Sale at HEB

2012-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

We love to save money! There is a sale at HEB this Saturday and Sunday only! In the healthy living section, I mainly purchase items in the bulk. Items that are on my grocery list in the bulk section are the following: shredded unsweetened coconut, popcorn, organic oatmeal, dried pineapple pieces, and nuts. I'm not sure if this sale is for all HEB locations, but I know for sure the one 1488 & Kuykendahl in the Woodlands is having the sale. Happy Shopping!

All Healthy Living Items

20% off

2 DAYS ONLY! Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th Discount applied at checkout. Healthy Living Department only.

as we kick off 2012 and Healthy at H-E-B

Valid 1/14/12 - 1/15/12

Prevent Crying while cutting onions!

2011-06-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that I am not the only one who cries my eyes out while cutting onions. I have found the best tip to preventing this frustrating kitchen encounter! Simply place the onion in the freezer for 10-15 minutes prior to cutting! Once you remove the onions from the freezer, cut promptly! No more tears. Seriously, I don't dread cutting onions anymore!

The Cook Book has arrived....Finally!!!

2011-01-14T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well, as you may or may not have noticed, I have not posted a new recipe in quite some time now. I have been working on getting all of my recipes into a simple cookbook, but the "simple cookbook" took much longer than I ever imagined. So, after many hours of making edits, the book is finally finished. One day I hope to have a recipe book that is published, but those costs are pretty high. All of the recipes that are on my blog are in the book in addition to many more! I know that you will enjoy these recipes and so will your family. The book is $14.00 for one book and if you purchase 2 or more, then the books are $12.00 per book. If you are interested in purchasing one, you can do so at Healthy Beginnings Family Chiropractic (936.321.7800) or email me and we can arrange delivery.
Loris Email: lkc2002@gmail.com

Yummy Fish Tacos-GF

2010-07-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

I love to try new recipes and I really love when I create something that turns out oh so yummy the first time. Its such a bummer to try something and then it taste bad! The other day I tried a new recipe and well, it had way too much Rosemary. It tasted like we were eating a Christmas Tree! No joke. I love a good fish taco so I decided to try to make them but I changed up a few of the traditional ingredients. No frying and no corn tortillas in this recipe! This fish taco turned out beautifully and so tasty. It was a success:) If you love fish tacos, you are going to love this easy and healthful recipe. I believe that this is OK for all you gluten free eaters as well.

Ingredients
For Fish Tacos
1 salmon fillet
Head of romaine lettuce
Red or White Cabbage-cut in thin slivers
2 T olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Tomatoes (optional)-diced
For beans:
1 can black beans
½ t cumin
Salt & pepper to taste
For Creamy Jalapeno Sauce:
Until I find a good recipe, I have found that Eden Cafe in Magnolia TX has a wonderful fish taco sauce. I buy a small side of the sauce for $3.00. I’m sure other restaurants have this as well.

Directions:
1. Place salmon fillet on baking sheet lined with foil ( skin side down).
2. Drizzle olive oil on top of salmon. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bake according to directions on fish package. I generally bake the fish at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Remove from oven and once it has cooled for a few minutes, remove bones and skin. Flake salmon with a fork.
4. Wash romaine leaves and pat dry.
5. Place lettuce on a plate and then layer with cabbage, fish, tomatoes, and top with creamy jalapeno sauce.
For Beans:
1. Place beans (with juice) in a small pot and turn to medium heat.
2. Add cumin and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened and flavors meld. Serve in a small side dish.

Salmon Patties

2010-07-13T04:03:00.001-07:00

Sorry guys, but no picture of this meal this time! I'm trying to learn how to take pictures of food from The Pioneer Woman, but its a slow process. The pics we took just don't do the food justice and these are too yummy. I learned a fabulous trick from Giada De Laurentiis on Food TV when making salmon patties and it really does help! I have made salmon patties numerous times and I always get frustrated when I begin to fry them in the skillet. They always fell apart! ugggg! Well, one day Giada was cooking salmon patties and I learned that she puts them in the refrigerator for one hour before frying them. They totally stick together! Woo hoo...oh the little things that excite me now days. Thank you Giada for solving the salmon patty fall apart mystery for me. So, this is a super easy and fast recipe and I always keep salmon in the pantry for "uh, what am I going to cook tonight" meal. Enjoy

Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

3-4 large packages of Wild Caught Salmon. (This can be found in the tuna aisle. I prefer the salmon packaged in water and not oil. You will have to look closely on the package, but it should say if it is wild caught or farm raised.)

¼ cup of mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Omega 3 with flack seed mayonnaise. I have found this at whole foods and Kroger’s)

2 fresh basil leaves finely chopped (optional. If it’s in season, and I have it, then I definitely use it!)

1 t herbamare seasoning (by A. Vogel, this is just an herb seasoning salt and can be used in place of salt. If you don’t have this, simply use salt

1 cup finely crushed kamut or spelt flakes (substitute bread crumbs if you don’t have these) I keep this in the freezer and use it as needed! This saves lots of time.

½ cup olive oil

Directions:
1. Pour the kamut flakes onto a large dinner plate and set aside.
2. Combine salmon, mayonnaise, basil, and seasonings all together in a bowl. Mix well and form into desired size patties. This is where it can get a little difficult because these are not super easy to form into patties. Just keep working with it and you will get them to form.
3. After you form a patty, place it onto the plate. Don’t touch the flakes because it will make a mess on your hands and then you end up washing your hands in between each patty. Continue until all the patties are made.
4. Then you will gently cover the patties in the flakes.
5. Place patties in refrigerator for 1 hour…if you are in a time crunch, you can place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.
6. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Place patties in skillet and cook each side until golden in color. Remove and place on a paper towl. Serve with desired veggies!

Larabars

2010-07-12T12:24:00.001-07:00

I just found out from a friend that Sam's has a box of 18 Larabars ( 6 apple pie, 6 cashew cookie & 6 cherry pie) for $15.98. so that's .89 a bar! Thats an awesome price if you like those flavors.

Fizzy Drinks on sale!

2010-07-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Knudsens fruit drinks are on sale at Krogers this week. They are on sale and there is also a coupon on the side of the box for $1.00 off. If you are not familiar with Knudsens drinks, they are wonderful. They are all fruit juice and carbonated water. The drinks are rather expensive but with the coupon, they are much more reasonable. I rarely buy them and so it is a special treat when we do have them! I'm not sure how long they will be on sale though!

Krogers also has a brand of chip that are so tasty and they are on sale as well. The brand is "food should taste good" and its in the "healthy section" in the store. The sale price is 2 for $4.00 and they are regularly around $3.50/ pag.I love the sweet potato ones!
Enjoy

Yummy Black Bean puree over Chicken

2010-03-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

Yum, Yum, and more Yum! This is such a yummy recipe and you can use it in many different ways. This is how I cooked it the other night and then I used the left over bean puree for nachos. After one round of left overs I still had some black bean puree left over and so I made the kids a black bean parfait. I know you are thinking "gross!", but the kids loved it and it was fun. The black bean puree looks like chocolate and that is what gave me the idea. I had a few parfait cups and I layered brown rice, black beans, guacamole, and pico (optional). I gave them a few chips and a spoon and within minutes everything was gone!

**this meal is loaded with protein and is full of flavor.

Black Bean Puree Over chicken

Ingredients
2 cans black beans (I use three cans if I want more left overs)

¾ cup chicken broth
½ t salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper (optional)
1 small onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 cup cheese
6 chicken breasts grilled or baked and seasoned with salt & pepper.
Avocado-diced
Instructions:
Rinse and drain black beans. Sautee onion, pepper, and garlic in olive oil. In a blender, puree beans and broth together. Add pepper mixture to blender to combine together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Warm over stove top. Pour this over grilled chicken and top with cheese and diced avocado.

Breakfast Burritos

2009-11-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

This is a yummy and easy protein filled breakfast! I make these frequently and everyone loves them. Have a blessed thanksgiving!

Breakfast Egg Burritos

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup shredded raw cheese
3 Ezekiel corn tortillas
Butter
Optional: avocado slices, hot sauce, pico de gallo

Instructions:
Scramble eggs, soften tortillas in skillet with a little butter, sprinkle tortilla with cheese, then put scrambled eggs on tortilla. Roll up burrito and dip in hot sauce or pico de gallo. Makes three tacos.

Smothered Patties

2009-11-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
1 lb hamburger meat
1 Onion
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t Salt
½ t pepper
¼ t Minced garlic
Olive oil

Gravy: 1 cup milk, 2 T spelt flour, 1 cup beef broth, 2 T butter, salt and pepper

Instructions:

Mix hamburger meat with Worcestershire, salt, pepper, minced garlic. Form into 4 patties, add 2T olive oil to skillet and cook on medium/high heat. Slice onions and add to skillet and cover. Cook until done. Remove from skillet. Do not clean out skillet.
Gravy: In the same skillet, melt butter then add flour to the butter. Whisk together on Medium heat to form a paste (this will be very thick). Slowly add the beef broth and whisk constantly until well incorporated, then slowly add the milk. Whisk constantly. Simmer until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add patties to gravy and serve!

This is a quick easy meal and is so very tasty. I hope you all enjoy it as much as our family does. I served it with stir fried zucchini and squash.

I'm Back

2009-10-31T17:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you who wondered where I have been or why I have not posted any new recipes in four months, let me update you. I had a baby boy in August and then we moved when he was only a month old. Life has been crazy since he was born, but we are now settled a little more. There is never a dull moment around our house with three boys. Hopefully I will be able to give you some great recipes in the upcoming weeks.

Chicken Pot Pie

One of our wonderful employees brought us a yummy chicken pot pie meal when the baby was a week old and it was absolutely divine. So, thank you Lisa for this recipe and I know that everyone will enjoy it. This is definately time consuming to make, but well worth the time and effort. I suggest making the pie crust dough a day before you make the recipe. This saves you some time.

Perfect Pie Crust Recipe

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
***or 2 ½ cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour & 2 tsp. xanthan gum***
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 to 6 Tbsp ice water

Instructions:
1. Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes.

 
2 Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

3. Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

4. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

*bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees

5. Add filling.

6. Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.

Bake pie at 350 until edges begin to brown and pie is heated through. If the edges are browning but the filling is not hot, put foil over the pie to protect the crust from burning.

Tips: I find it helpful to roll the crust on wax paper with a little flour and once its ready to put in the baking dish, roll the crust on the the rolling pin. Then unroll the crust on top of the pie filling. The gluten free crust can be crumbly and this helps keep it together. You may need to piece it together if it tears or falls apart.

Filling:

Ingredients

2 large carrots-diced (apx 1 cup)

1 large potato-cubed (apx 1 cup)

1 cup frozen peas

2 ears of corn (apx 1 cup)

5-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 3 chicken breasts-cooked

1 1/2 cans of organic cream of mushroom soup or organic cream of chicken

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Peel and dice carrots. Peel and cube potato. Boil potato and carrots until slightly tender. Cut off the corn from the cobb. Lightly coat the chicken with olive oil or grapeseed oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake chicken at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done on cookie sheet. Combine corn, potatoes, peas and carrots into a bowl. Add cream of mushroom/chicken soup, salt, and pepper. Stir together. Pour in dish with already cooked pie crust. Top with second pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.

Tips:

* This recipe tends to be a little runny when you first cut into it. After it sits for a bit, the juice absorbs into the filling.

*you can use 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 24 ounces of chicken broth instead of cream of mushroom/chicken soup. You can simply heat 3 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet and then add the cornstarch. Wisk together and add chicken broth. Stir until it thickens.
*As I said before, this recipe is worth taking the time to use fresh vegetables. You can use frozen veggies, but the flavor and taste is totally different. If you have little ones running around the house and getting owies every 30 minutes, and you are changing diapers, potty training, and wiping runny noses all day...(as this is my life right now) I suggest working on the recipe through out the day. You can make the pie dough one day and refridgerate it. Then the next morning you can cut up the veggies. Then later cook the chicken etc. I know that you will enjoy this yummy home cooked meal this week.

Crab Topped Orange Roughy

2009-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

OK, so I didn't realize that I had not posted a new recipe in almost a month. My sincerest apologies to my faithful followers!

We were invited to eat dinner at some friends house a few weeks ago and they treated us to a wonderful gourmet meal of orange roughy. It was so tasty and I asked her for the recipe. I confess that I don't cook fish enough. Matter of fact, until I received this recipe, the only fish we ate was tuna and salmon both to make salads out of. So thank you to Christina and Brandon for the yummy meal and helping me find new fish recipes. I made a few changes from the original recipe and I hope that you all enjoy this as much as we did. Bob and Jane, I hope I don't let you down with this recipe!

Ingredients:

3-4 orange roughy fillets

1 cup fresh crab meat ( I actually found a crab cake at our HEB (in the cafe on the run area), that I like to use. It has lots of flavor and you only need one crab cake for this recipe)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup organic mayonnaise

paprika, optional

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions: Place fillets in greased dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. In a separate bowl, combine crab (or crab cake), Parmesan cheese, mayo, and lemon juice. Drain cooking juices from baking dish, spoon crab mixture over fillets. Broil 5 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Sprinkle with paprika if desired and almonds.

Enjoy this for dinner tonight!

Chicken Salad

2009-06-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3-4 Chicken breasts (cooked and diced to desired size)

10-15 baby carrots (finely chopped)

2 stalks of celery (finely chopped)

1 T natural Italian dressing seasoning (Good Seasons ITALIAN ALL NATURAL package)

2 T cup Brianna's poppy seed dressing (optional)

1/4-1/2 cup organic mayonnaise or omega three mayonnaise

toasted walnuts or slivered almonds (optional)

*please note that the poppy seed dressing and mayonnaise are not necessarily Makers Diet friendly, but the omega three mayo is.

Directions:

First, I drizzle olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken. Bake chicken breasts in the oven on 350 degrees for apx 20 minutes or until done. Dice up into desired size. Chop carrots and celery and add to chicken. Add Italian dressing seasoning and stir to combine. Add poppy seed dressing and mayonnaise to the chicken and stir well.

You can serve this chicken salad a few different ways. I enjoy it over a bed of spinach with sliced up strawberries and slices of avocado. You can serve it as a sandwich as well.

Helpful Tip of the Week:

I enjoy jelly on toast but typically jellies have tons of refined sugars added to them. I was so thrilled when I discovered a jelly that does not contain these sugars but instead is sweetened with fruit pectin and fruit juice. You can find this at HEB in the jelly section and the brand is St. Dalfour. It does cost a little more than other jellies, but it is well worth the price difference!

Easy Stir Fry

2009-05-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

If you would like to be notified each time I post a new recipe, then please sign up to become a follower!

OK, this is quite possibly the easiest meal I have come up with yet. You cannot mess this one up and it is so very tasty. I know that you will enjoy it as much as my family has.

Easy Stir Fry
Feeds 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 small children

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 onion (diced)
2-3 stalks of broccoli
1/2 cup Annie's organic teriyaki stir fry marinade
1/8 cup organic soy sauce
1 t minced garlic
1 t salt
4 T olive oil
1/4 cup water
brown rice
optional veggies: water chestnuts, snow peas, shredded carrots

Lightly grease saute pan with olive oil and turn heat to med/high. Dice chicken, peppers, onions, and broccoli into desired size and add to heated pan. Stir fry until chicken is lightly cooked. Sprinkle with salt and add 1/4 cup water to pan and cook a few more minutes. Add soy sauce and marinade and cook for a few more minutes. Cover and turn heat down to finish cooking until chicken is done. Serve over brown rice

Tip of the week: Have fun cooking
So many people have a bah humbug attitude about cooking. I think that most are several reasons for this thinking. Maybe you can find yourself in one of these excuses!

1. "I don't know how to cook"
2. "Its easier to eat out"
3. "I'm not good at cooking"
4. "It takes too long to cook"
and the list goes on and on and on.

Here are my thoughts to each of these excuses

1. Its not rocket science.
2. Um, taking kids to a restaurant is not my idea of fun!
3. Hum....practice makes perfect
4. Plan ahead and you can make cooking a time efficient adventure for you and your kids

Change your way of thinking about cooking! It can be so much fun. Some of my favorite memories are cooking with my3 1/2 year old. He absoluely loves to help me cook and I have learned to become more patient! Yes, they make a mess but it is a great teaching opportunity. Here is a sweet picture of Cason making pancakes at the lake house last summer.

Too funny! So, have fun cooking with your kids and enjoy this easy recipe this week.

Lebanese Chicken

2009-05-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

There is not a picture this time of the entree! The meal is not attractive at all and I didn't want to deter you from cooking it! The dish is super yummy and easy though! Enjoy

Ingredients
8 boneless chicken thighs
½ c chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 t finely shredded orange peel (optional)
¾ cup orange juice
¾ cup chicken broth
½ t salt
¼ t ground allspice (optional)
½ t cinnamon
2 T honey
Spelt spaghetti noodle, brown rice noodles, or couscous

Instructions:
Cook chicken in large skillet with onion and garlic in butter over med heat about 6 minutes or until chicken is brown.
Add orange peel (optional), juice, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Sprinkle cinnamon and allspice(optional) onto chicken, drizzle with honey. Simmer uncovered for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

Hints: I serve this over spelt spaghetti noodles or brown rice spaghetti noodles. Couscous would be fine as well.

Help from my blog followers:
I want to have a gauge on each of my recipes telling how easy or difficult the recipe is. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would like to have three levels and would love to use some funny and creative titles for the gauge. Let me know your thoughts!

Chicken Poblano Chowder

2009-04-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 large onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/8 cup minced garlic
2 to 3 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (you can use black pepper as well)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
1 tablespoon “better than bouillon”
3 quarts chicken broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 cups diced (large pieces) chicken
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste (optional)
1 cup raw milk

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the better than bouillon. In a separate pot, boil the chicken in the broth. Remove the chicken and cut into small pieces. Then add the chicken and the broth to the vegetables in the stockpot along with the cilantro. Simmer apx. 20 minutes. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.
When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture from the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the milk, and serve.

Tips: Better than bouillon can be found with the chicken bouillon cubes in most grocery stores. This is a great all natural alternative to the cubes and has wonderful flavor.

Quiche & Heavenly French Toast

2009-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1/8 cup spelt flour
1 cup sausage, broccoli, or red pepper (all optional)
3 Eggs
1 cup raw milk
2 cups raw shredded cheese
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Spelt pie crust (can be homemade or found in frozen section at Whole Foods)

Instructions:
Combine eggs, milk, cheese, and cooked sausage. Combine salt, pepper, and flour in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir in vegetables. Pour into pie shell and cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

This is a super easy recipe and is great for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner. The quiche is paired well well with heavenly french toast.

Heavenly French Toast

Ingredients

1 stick of butter melted
1 cup maple syrup (or use 1/2 cup agave nectar and 1/2 cup maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine the first three ingredients together

5 eggs
1 ½ cups raw milk

7 sprouted grains bread (food for life brand) found in freezer section

Combine melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix 5 eggs with 1 1/2 cups of milk in a seperate bowl. Pour butter mixture ingredients into 9 x 13 pan (or what ever size pan you want to use). Place one layer of thawed bread on top of butter mixture. Pour some of the egg mixture over top of bread just to lightly soak it. Then add one more layer of bread on top of the first layer. Pour the remainder of the egg mixture on top of the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Bake the next morning at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until top is browned a little. When you are ready to serve the bread, cut a piece and then flip the bread over onto a plate. This side will be gooey with the butter sugar mixure! Serve with strawberries or other fruit if desired.

Tip of the week! Make substitutions!

The original recipe for heavenly french toast calls for corn syrup, brown sugar and wheat bread....ingredients that I try to avoid. So, to make it healthier for my family I made substitutions. One weekend I had several of our friends over and I actually made the original recipe of the french toast and then I made a test batch with the substitutions. I made everyone try both of them and tell me which one they liked better and everyone liked the healthier batch better. I was so thrilled that the recipe turned out as good as it did!

My challenge to you is to find recipes that you enjoy and make healthier substitutions for the ingredients that are not healthy. One of my biggest substitutions that I do is that I take out refined sugar (white and brown sugar) and replace it with either honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar. Honey has a strong after taste, so I try to use half honey and either half maple syrup or agave nectar. Honey is the cheapest of the three! If you are wondering how to start making substitutions and what substitutions to make, I would refer you to "The Makers Diet" book by Jordan Ruben. This is an excellent book and I recommend it to all my friends. There is a "shoppers guide" as well that is very helpful!

Reflection
I am constantly amazed at Gods goodness in our lives. I am so grateful for my precious children and was convicted this week as I was doing my bible study. Deuteronomy 6:5 says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Most people know that verse, but don't read the next few verses. These are the verses that really impacted my life this week. Verse 6-9 states "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." This was a great reminder that I am to be teaching my children to be devoted wholeheartedly to God in everything that I am doing. I hope that these verses encourage you. Have a blessed week.

Easy Crockpot Meatballs

2009-04-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Get your crock pot out today! This is a super easy recipe and the leftovers are wonderful.

Ingredients
1 ½ lb ground beef
½ crushed spelt or kamut flakes
2 eggs
¼ cup raw milk
2T grated Parmesan cheese/or 2T finely shredded raw cheese
salt

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 t minced garlic
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
salt
½ t dried oregano
½ t dried basil
1 red, yellow, orange bell pepper-sliced in slivers

Instructions:
In large bowl, combine beef with spelt flakes, eggs, milk, cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, and garlic and Italian seasoning. Form into 2-inch balls. Place meatballs in bottom of slow cooker. Combine tomato paste, broth, 1 teaspoons salt, oregano and basil. Pour mixture over meat. Cover and cook on Low 4 ½ to 5 hours. An hour before the meatballs are done, add the peppers on top. Serve over Kamut noodles or brown rice noodles. Yummy!

Tips: Where can you find these spelt/kamut flakes (Arrowhead Mills) and noodles (Eden organic pasta company) Spelt and Kamut flakes can be found at HEB, Krogers (in the health food section), and Whole Foods. They are in a box and look similar to corn flakes. Crushed up they are a great replacement for bread crumbs in any recipe. The Kamut noodles (spirals) are found sometimes at Wal-Mart or at your local health food store. The brand of brown rice noodles that I recommend are called Tinkyada can be found at Krogers (in the health food section) as well as HEB and Whole Foods. There is a brand of spelt noodles that are great tasting called Vita Spelt and can be found at HEB, Whole Foods, and Krogers.

Something to ponder! With Easter this past Sunday I had several friends ask me "what do you put in your Easter eggs since you don't give your kids candy?" We always have a fun Easter egg hunt for our kids and they are always so excited to find the eggs and then eventually open them. So, my answer to her was the following "This year I found some cute small toy animals from Target in the dollar aisle, stickers, tattoos, and loose change." My oldest is three years old and it was so thrilling for him to get spider man tattoos and he loved all the little farm animals. I am finding that it does not take much to thrill little ones. I was impressed with Casons classmates this year because he came home from his Easter egg hunt with eggs filled with plastic bugs, play dough, and stickers.

I recently found an article that stated that "Americans now consume 2-3 pounds of sugar a week! In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year!" If you look at the trends of obesity and childhood illnesses, these statistics make perfect sense. Yes, I know that sweets taste so yummy, but lets get real here. Thats alot of sugar that our bodies don't need. Many of my friends are trying to change their families eating habits because their health has been declining and they are wanting to make a change in their lifestyles. This is a great tip to remember for holidays where candy seems to be the highlight. Honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar are wonderful substitutes for refined sugar. Avoid sugar substitutes...the ones in the blue, yellow, and pink packets!

Have a blessed week and enjoy the meatballs.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2009-04-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks Mom C for introducing this recipe to me! It's one of my favorites.

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts
4T butter
¼ cup olive oil
2 t minced garlic
1 large onion
2 large carrots chopped
4 sticks celery
1 t ground cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t salt
1 t pepper
½ cup spelt flour
6 cups chicken broth
1 can rotel
Avocado
raw cheese
tortilla chips (crushed)

Instructions:
Dice veggies and saute them in oil, butter and garlic (minced) until tender. Boil chicken in the broth until done. Remove chicken and dice into desired size pieces. Combine spices and flour in a separate bowl. Add the flour and spice mixture to the veggies and mix well. Add rotel, cooked chicken, and veggies to broth. Simmer until well combined and to desired thickness. Serve with shredded cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips.

Tips: I tend to put more vegetables than it calls for and I also use white and dark meat. This is a great recipe to double as it freezes well. Just pull it out on a day when you don't have time to cook and it tastes like you just cooked it. My children love this soup so I make sure that the vegetables are cut up big enough (or small enough...depending on the age of your child). Sometimes I will cut up the veggies in the morning and keep them in the refrigerator until later in the day when I have more time to cook the soup.

Tip of the Week: READ THE LABELS ON YOUR FOOD. We give my brother in law a hard time about this because his wife says that they will spend 2 hours in the store reading all the labels of the items they are purchasing. There is so much extra junk in our foods now days and we don't even take the time to see what we are feeding ourselves and our families. Next time you are in the store just pick up a few snack items and read everything that is in the label! You might even do this to your own pantry! You will see all kinds of additives, preservatives, not to mention the large amounts of sugar! Avoid high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners (aspartame and sucralose), and MSG. These seem to be very common in processed foods. So, that is your mission for the week. Start reading all labels on the foods that you purchase and stop purchasing foods that have unhealthy ingredients.

Welcome to my Blog! Enjoy

2009-03-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to start this journey in helping others cook yummy and healthful meals for their families that are mostly Maker's Diet friendly. I want to thank all of my friends and family who have been a sweet bug in my ear to get something like this started. Thank you to Kit and Rachel Kerbel who put this blog together for me. You guys are awesome!

I will try to post at least one recipe a week and I know that you will find them easy and oh so yummy. I am challenging you to try these meals out on your family. We (as families) have made our schedules way to busy and we neglect the very thing that keeps us running.....healthful food! Lets help our kids and families stay healthy by giving their bodies great tasting and good for them food that is fuel for the body. Make the time!

Helpful tip of the week: Write out your meals for the week. Make your grocery list from these meals and go to the store 1 time. This cuts down on your grocery budget because you are less likely to purchase an "oh, I really want that" item each time you go to the store. Yes your fridge will be full on Monday, but its all there ready for you to cook. Save your weekly menus so that you can repeat them in the months to come and you don't have to think "what am I going to cook this week?"

This recipe of the week is my husbands absolute favorite meal and it is super easy. It was passed to me from my mother!

Honey Pecan Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken (3-4 breasts)
Spelt Flour (1/2 cup)
Honey (3/4 cup)
Pecans (1 cup chopped up)
Butter (4 T)
Salt and pepper
Side Dish Ingredients: Green Beans and brown rice

Instructions:
Tenderize chicken. I pound the chicken to make it thin. Lightly salt and pepper each side. Lightly flour each side. Melt 3-4 Tablespoons of butter in sauté pan. Brown both sides of chicken. Add ¾ cup of honey and 1 cup of pecan pieces to sauté pan. Cover pan, turn heat down to Med and cook until done. (I like a lot of sauce, so I tend to do more butter, honey, and pecans than what it calls for). This meal is sooooo quick and super easy!
I like to serve this with something salty like green beans sautéed in butter and seasoned with salt. I also serve it with brown rice.

Green Beans: Boil green beans for 8 minutes. Strain out water. Add butter and salt to desired amount.

Brown Rice: I like the short grain brown rice and I cook it in a rice cooker. Simply follow instructions on the package of the rice. My rice cooker has a feature that will keep the rice warm after it is finished cooking. I like to leave it warming for at least 20-30 minutes after it is finished cooking. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice.
Enjoy!!!