whatcha' cooking

whatch' cooking wednesdays! so what are you making today?  i am going to make pumpkin scones! ymmmm  this week i have been all about pumpkin.  i have homemade pumpkin granola also this week!  i would love to hear whatcha' cooking today.  i will post pic later of my yummy scones!

lisa

national breakfast month

september is national breakfast month. mom always said breakfast is the most important meal, who knew it had it's own month to celebrate!?!?  and what a better month then when it's back to school.  why eat breakfast?  besides your mom told you that you should... breakfast gives your body fuel to start your day, it gets your metabolism moving...did you know if your are not hungry in the morning when you wake up, then you ate too much the night before, that is what i was told my a personal trainer many years ago!  your breakfast does not need to always be a hot one...fruit, yogurt, granola, smoothie, cereal. so many things to pick from.  so tomorrow when you wake up remember it's national breakfast month and have something to eat while you enjoy your morning coffee, make your kids their breakfast, are running late to class or trying to get to work.

lisa

fall is upon us

fall, my favorite season is quickly approtioning. and i can't wait! 

i love this time of year. apple picking, then coming home and making soo many yummy treats! pumpkin, do i need say more!  yum...so many things to cook with pumpkin!  i found a recipe for homemade pumpkin creamer! i am going to try it this week!  i love pumpkin! 

summer is over, ok not offically. time to get back on track.  our eating has been so of track.  i can't wait to open the windows, turn on the oven and start cooking.  one of my other new adventure's this fall is i started classes to become a dietetion/nutrionest!! durring this past week i found a website...www.eatright.org

I am looking to this fall, so many fun adventures ahead!!!

lisa

whatcha' cookin wednesday

whatcha' cookin??? we want to know!! 

today i am making homemade sauce and meatballs! it smells soooo yummy!!  what do you put in your sauce?  my best friend from high school, her mother was born and raised in italy.  she would put pepperoni chunks and 3 slices of red pepper in her sauce.  it was so yummy!

have you tried something new lately

well, i wanted to try something new in my cooking.  today i tried coconut floor!! i made pancakes. they were extremely yummy!!! next time i will use a little less salt. i put butter and syrup on them like "normal" pancakes.  they were a little more cake like then "normal" pancakes. 

i can NOT wait to make something else using coconut floor!!! have you ever tried a different floor?  what have you tried?  i also bought quinoa floor!  i bought both at my local food store.  i think i will look around for some better prices. they were both on the higher side, however well worth it!!!

lisa

5 ingredients or less

 have you ever looked at the ingredients on food labels?!?!  i am always looking at ingredients. can you pronouce them?!?! i try to only buy processed food with 5 ingredients or less.   sounds easy right?  not as easy as you think!  so whenever i find a snack food less then 5, i get so excited, hope it taste good and the family will eat it! the other day i found popcorn chips at our wholesale club we go to and they only have 3 ingredients.  i was so exited. . . then my next hurdle was how do they taste. . .well they are yummy!!!  i made some homemade dill dip and everyone loved them!  

what is your families favorite snack and how many ingredients does it have?   i would love to know!

lisa 

another new kitchen toy!!!

yes, another new kitchen toy!!!!

ZOKU

you can make ice pops, on your counter in minutes!!!!!  i kid you not!

I LOVE my zoku pop maker.  my husband, kids, parents, family and friends  love zoku!

i received it as a gift in june and use it almost everyday!  not only do i make juice pops for the kids . . . (i also make "adult" pops, yes pops with vodka).  these pops are sooooo refreshing and healthy!! we love to juice a watermelon, then make pops with the juice!!!!

my new kitchen toy!!!!

last week i got a new kitchen "toy"!! i love it would be an understatement! well, what is it?

a NINJA! 

i always wanted a vitamix, the "blender" that makes homemade peanut butter, chops ice and makes soup, along with much more, however it cost over $400.00!  i was saving for my vitamix, then it happened . . .i was watching qvc (yes i watch qvc, in the kitchen with david.  i love itkwd! david has some fantastic kitchen tools!) and i saw it, the ninja.  i have heard about the ninja before . . .my heart was set on a vitmix and never paid any mind to the ninja. for some reason that night i watch and decided i wanted the ninja.  it was only $50.00!!!!

i use the ninja for EVERYTHING!!!!! my favorite use is to make  homemade "ice cream"  are you ready for this. . .all it is, is frozen fruit and milk. it is a thick and creamy as soft serve. no more store bought ice cream for me!  the food chopper is amazing as well!!! i LOVE my ninja!!!

lisa

Happy Birthday LISA!

Happy Birthday to my cousin, friend and blog partner Lisa!! We hope you have a fabulous day and we all want to know, what kind of cake are YOU going to have today?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

whatcha cookin' wednesday

whatcha cookin???

this morning i made bran chocolate chip cookies!!! soooooo yummy both of my kids ate 3 them when they came out the oven...and you know what, i did not feel bad about it.  i modified the recipe by adding more bran and less sugar.  i will post the recipe later tonight.  looking forward to hear whatcha cookin today!!!!

lisa

faced with a choice

my daughter's birthday was last friday and we wanted to do something special for dinner. my husband and i gave her a choice...

1. order out-what she loves to do and we do not do often

2. go out to eat and she could pick where

3. go to the local farm for hay ride, fresh fruit picking, and bbq with music

i thought for sure she was going to pick go out to eat to hibachi. she proved me wrong and picked the farm!!!!  we had so much fun! when we arrived at the farm we got right on the hay ride and the first stop was cherry picking, then strawberry , and last stop was peaches and blueberries.  when we got back from picking we joined the bbq and ordered dinner.  we sat outside, ate dinner,  enjoyed the music and most important had quality family time celebrating our daughters birthday!!!!

as a mom, who set out to make healthier choices for her family, i was proud and impressed with her choice!!! not to mention  we have lots of healthy and yummy fresh fruit to enjoy!!!

lisa

just do it

honey whole wheat bread

go to your basement, reach deep in your cupboard, crawl in that closet - go find your bread machine. most of you have one. go dig it out, dust it off and make THIS BREAD. just do it gosh darnnit. it's easy, it's good, it's healthy. my 4yo knows the ingredient list, makes it with me, and gobbles it down. the recipe is from my BFF lisa over at 100 days of real food. recipes like this make it easy to choose real food over the processed stuff. this bread has 6 ingredients. six. and i bet you have most of the stuff in your kitchen pantry already. go grab the bread you bought at the grocery store. how many ingredients does that have? just sayin'.

thanks for reading. and, make the bread.
amy~

holy smokes

may was a ridiculous month for us. it started with a circus, then our first camping trip with our new camper, double dance recital practices, dance pictures, a wedding, got the baby baptised, a funeral, a memorial weekend camping trip, dress rehearsals, a zac brown band concert and a two day dance recital. i can finally breathe. i mean, we have a busy summer filled with BBQ's and camping trips but nothing like last month. i was proud of myself though, we were able to pretty much stick with our real food diet through it all. yes, we did have marshmallows around the campfire but all in all we did pretty well. oh except for the villa italia cake for the baptism. i mean, come on. how can you say no to villa italia. when we were camping we munched on veggies with homemade dip, cheese & triscuits, fruit. for dinners we had our usual burgers made with fresh ground beef from the butcher, fajitas with a homemade seasoning and tons of veggies, fish fry with wild caught fish, pulled pork with a homemade rub & sauce. mmm. i can't wait to go again :)

it took a little planning but we did it. it can be done. and i will continue to do it. we've got 5 more camping trips planned for the season!
thanks for reading.
amy~

aunt kitty's cookie's

last night i started off looking for my nainy's jam recipe and ended up with a cookie recipe (along with some other real cool recipe's that i can't wait to try, like peanut butter play-doh!!!)  i was reading a blog and saw a recipe for homemade pop tarts and thought. . .oh i want to make those, let me see if i can hunt down my nainy's ( nainy is grandmother for those who don't know) recipe for jam and use that in the pop tart.  so i thought well i know my mom has never made it maybe my aunt kitty has, so i picked up the phone and called her.  well she never made it either,  however she gave me some other suggestions.  as we got talking aunt kitty shared some recipes and cookbooks with me!  i can't wait to see if i can find the cookbooks, you see she used these cookbooks with my cousins when they were little.  

so, this morning i was taking a look at one of the recipes she gave me and changed it just a little...yummy!!!! thought i would share.

thank you aunt kitty!!!! it was great to talk to you last night!!!!

aunt kitty's cookie's

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 c sugar
1/4 c honey

6T dark cocco

1/2c whole milk

bring to boil

turn off stove

add

1t vanilla

1/2 c peanut butter

mix until peanut butter is melted

add

3c oatmeal

2T wheatgerm

stir until coated then spoon onto wax paper let cool, store in fridge

ENJOY!!!!

next time i think i might add alittle more peanut butter and, a nut or seed!

lisa

who do you believe?

is it organic or not?

i recently came across an article that claims that there are 38 non organic ingredients that can be found in usda organic foods......go figure!!!!  i guess i should not be surprised, however i am. this brings me back to my very first thought i ever had about organic food is it better for us?  or is local grown food better?  when it is something you can make from scratch over buying it process, well you know what i will pick!

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/3980

lisa

whatcha cookin' wednesday

whatcha cookin' wednesday

hot tomato dip

this is a dip that i found and added to!  i am always changing recipes... adding and taking away!

chopped tomato's

shredded mozzarella cheese

fresh basil

garlic salt
fresh parmesan cheese for the top

mix together, heat in oven, enjoy!  i used triscuits, they only have 3 ingredients!

lisa

month of may...

national strawberry month

we love strawberries in our house! when i found out there was a whole month to strawberries i was excited! you can do so much with strawberries. one of the activities i want NEEDED to do with  my family was to take them strawberry picking!!! we also make smoothies, muffins,put them in salads and so much more!

if you are looking for a great source of vitamin c, strawberries are the way to go and a with only 45 cal per

1cup who can go wrong!?!?!  i know i can't. 

what do you love to do with strawberries?  how do you wash your strawberries?  I put mine in a bowl, place the bowl in the sink, let water run over the strawberries as i wash each one.  .  .  there has to be a better way.

lisa

cafeteria lunch...transition to 1st grade

so it's been a little while since i wrote about "food"....

on may 1st my daughter brought a note home from school stating, in order to help the kindergarten get ready to make the transition to 1st grade a smoother one they would be visiting the lunch room! how exciting!?!? i think... the note then goes on to state that a lunch can be ordered for $2.75  and this is what you get.....

a chose of pizza, hot dog, or peanut butter and jelly... and a chose of 2,  canned fruit, fresh fruit, juice, veggie sticks, milk.....then at the bottom of them paper it stated if you wish you may send a lunch from home for them to enjoy. 

well, the chose for me was easy, she was going to bring her lunch! 

what type of bread do you use at home? white or wheat?  what type of juice do you use? do you use juice? do you use canned fruit? what type? would your child make the choices you would like them to? 

you are what you eat? 

lisa

before i was a mom

happy mother's day week-end to all the moms out there!

the follow came home from school with my daughter....

before i was a mom

before i was mom, i made and ate hot meals, wore unstained clothes and had quiet conversations on the phone.

before i was a mom, i never worried about how late i went to bed because i could sleep as long as i wanted.

before i was a mom, i washed my face and brushed my teeth every day.

before i was a mom, i enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee while reading the morning newspaper on saturday morning.

before i was a mom, i slept the whole night through.

before i was a mom, my house was clean everyday and i didn't worry about whether or not my plants were poisonous.

before i was a mom, i had never been puked on, pooped on, peed on, chewed on, or pinched by little fingers.

before i was a mom, i had complete control of my mind, thoughts, and body.

before i was a mom, i never held down a screaming child while doctors and nurses did test or gave shots.  i never felt my heart break into a million pieces because i couldn't stop the hurt.

before i was a mom, i never looked into  teary eyes and cried.

before i was a mom, i never got gloriously happy over a toothless grin.

before i was a mom, i never held a sleeping baby just because i didn't want to put it down.  i never was up in the wee hours of the night just watching a baby while it slept.

i never knew that something so small could effect my life so tremendously.

before i was a mom, i never knew i could love something so unconditionally and completely.

before i was a mom, i never knew how satisfying it would be to feed a hungry child.  i never knew how fulfilling it would be to soothe a baby's cries.

before i was a mom, i loved my mom, but didn't understand her.

before i was a mom, i never knew the warmth, the joy, the heartache, the wonderment, or the fulfillment of being a mom.

before i was a mom, i never knew i would love being a mom!

happy mother's day mom!!

lisa

whatcha' cookin' wednesday

my husband is a hunter and it's spring turkey season up here. we are having grilled wild turkey with roasted potatoes and a tossed salad. we marinate the turkey in state spiedie sauce, it's gluten, sugar and preservative free. not bad except for the MSG :(

whatcha' got cookin' in your kitchen tonight?

thanks for reading.
amy~

what's today? teacher what?

national teachers day!!!

i bet you did not know that today is national teachers day?!?!?!

well it is!!! take the time out and thank a teacher for their hard work and dedication!  teachers make a differance in the lives of children and should be reconized for it! thank you teachers for everything you do for the youth of the future!

lisa

baby food!

eating is serious business

this is katy jo, she's 6 months old and man, she loves to eat. i've been making her food but it's getting difficult to keep up with her hefty healthy appetite. her favorite is...wait, who am i kidding, she likes it all. she's had carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, peas, bananas, pears and strawberries.
surprisingly, baby food is pretty easy to make. for veggies, just steam or roast, then puree. bananas, just mash with a fork, no cooking required. tomorrow we're gonna try apples. those need to be peeled, cored, chopped and cooked on the stove. easy peasy.

thanks for reading.
amy~

kicking an old habit...

diet soda....

why i can't give up my diet soda??????

i stop drinking it for a couple of days, then it happens-my will power FLIES right out of the window and i crack open a can of diet soda and down the whole can like i have not had a drink in day's!!!!  why can't i give it up? i drink milk, coffee, water, wine, my yummy juice from the juicer, however some days i just can't do it and i just NEED a diet soda.  go figure?!?! i can't! 

so last night when my parents were over, i was having a diet soda... my mom looks at me and said, "doesn't a diet soda, go against everything you believe?" and all i could say was "yes".  i continued to explain to my mom sometimes other drinks just do not cut it for me! i also told me mom how when i drink the diet soda how i feel all bloated.  once again my mom had a very valid question, "is it worth it then?" my response, "no".  but mom what else can i drink, was my follow up question?  she had a great answer for me!!! cold homemade tea with honey and lemon!!! duh, why didn't i think of that? sometimes mom's do know best! good bye diet soda for good!!!!

lisa

whatcha cookin' wednesday

i stopped at sal's meat market today. love that place. they slice steak for sandwich meat on the spot. it's pure awesome-ness. needed an easy dinner tonight so i chopped up the meat and fried it in butter and garlic. also picked up some tasty sandwich rolls at the bakery (not whole wheat but only 6 ingredients).

and that's what we're cookin'. thanks for reading.

amy~

ever had a flop... not a flip flop...

cheese crackers...you know the ones that every kid loves, well i think every kid loves!  i know my do! do you have any idea how many ingredients are in them? i stopped counting after i got to 17, soooo i started to look for homemade cheese cracker recipes....

i found one that the first time i made them i thought they were out of this world!! the kids thought they were to spicy... it called for crushed red pepper flakes.  so i made them without the pepper flakes. the next time by mistake i put to much butter! they turned out amazing! however the recipe calls for white flour, so i then tried it with straight up whole wheat, another flop. i heard of another one, that someone said, "well, the dog likes them!" i knew i was NOT going to make them! so i shared my recipe with her. 

this is the recipe that i came up with that i like the best!!! so do the kids!!! after several flops and several modifications to the recipe!!

1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

6 T.  softened butter

3/4 c. white whole wheat flour

1/2 t salt

1 T. whole milk

1. preheat oven 350

2. put cheese,butter, flour and salt in bowl, mix with hand mixer until it is well blended then add milk. mix until ball forms

(i use my hand mixer over my stand mixer, i find the dough comes out better, not sure why)

4. you will need a floured surface to work on or else you will have a difficult time removing dough from surface.

5. roll dough  out to about 1/8 inch thick depending how you like it. i find thinner is better, however harder to remover from surface. use a knife (for squares) or small cookie cutter to cut dough into shape.

6. place on your lined baking sheet with parchment paper bake for about 10-12 min. depending on your oven, until edges are brown.

7. cool and eat!

lisa

backyard garden

what a fun family project!!!! my family started a garden several years ago, even before we started "real foods".  every year we have a blast. i am pretty fortunate that my kids are not picky eaters, and often have friends ask, "how do you get your kids to eat that?"  i contribute it to the family garden!  we all load up in the car and head to the store. we let your 5 year old pick what she wants to grow, my husband and i pick what we want to grow, then off back to home we go.  . .

we have done both, from seeds and plants already started.  i have to say that this year we opted out of starting from seeds...after watching the weather extremely carefully we decided to plant our veggies yesterday!!! myself and both children
"cleaned" out the garden and layed it out how i wanted it. then my husband came in and planted them.

the best part is having the kids take part from start to finish!!! they love to go out back, see what is growing, and pick the veggies when they are ready! 

do you garden?  what do you grow?  what has not worked for you? do you have any garden pointer's?  this year we are growing, tomato's, sweet peas,green beans, white eggplant, cucumbers, red and green peppers, and for the first time ever we are trying our hand at corn the cob!  i will keep you posted on the corn...

in the past i have always want to grow watermelon and NEVER had success with it. so this year i decided not to try it again. we are also do 7 herbs!!! i am really excited and can NOT wait to start to cook with them!!  stay tuned to see how the garden does this year!

Lisa

grilled shrimp with mango salsa

i found this recipe for grilled shrimp on a coupon for reynolds wrap a few years ago. now it's a family favorite. hope you all enjoy it as much as we do. it is not 100% real food. anyone have a healthier alternative for worcestershire sauce?

spicy grilled shrimp

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce (need to find an alternative)
• 4 teaspoons seafood seasoning
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled & cleaned

whisk all the ingredients (except shrimp) together, until thickened. throw in the shrimp and marinate for 30 mins or up to a few hours in the fridge. when you are ready to grill, skewer the shrimp and get your grill hot. throw the shrimp skewers on the grill, they only take a few minutes on each side. or broil them in your oven, on a foiled lined cookie sheet with cooking spray. few minutes on each side.

mango salsa

• mangoes
• onion
• red pepper
• cucumbers
• jalapenos
• fresh lime juice
• cilantro
• sea salt & pepper

chop it all up and throw it in a bowl. then keep tasting & adding until you get it right :)

we also had yummy blue tortilla chips. we found some with only 4 ingredients in the 'healthy' aisle at the super market. oh and a pasta salad with whole wheat macaroni, oil, vinegar and a whole bunch of different spices. i was grabbing whatever caught my eye from the pantry. i wish i had added veggies, but sadly i ran out of time.

if there are leftovers, the shrimp are yummy cold. you can have them as a late night snack while doing the cabinet shuffle.

thanks for reading.
amy~

label obsession

i was just tryin' to make some dinner. and then it happened. it never used to matter. i never cared to look. but now, every thing i touch, when i take it out of the cupboard or before it goes in my shopping cart, i have to read the label. what's in it? how many ingredients? can i pronounce the words? a meal i've made before, lots of times actually, turned into an eye opening experience. chicken nuggets, garlic smashed potatoes and tossed salad. seems easy enough, pretty straight forward. let's start with the chicken. i used a recipe for homemade chicken nuggets from lisa over at 100 days of real food. i was out of homemade whole wheat bread crumbs so i grabbed some packaged stuff i had in the fridge. big difference in ingredients in plain breadcrumbs vs. panko. check it out. i really need to re-up my supply of the homemade stuff.

next up was grated cheese. my dad is pretty awesome and surprised me with a big bag of freshly grated parmesan cheese he picked up at the italian market.

i'd much rather have that than this!

yikes!

next is the garlic smashed potatoes. my husbands favorite. i use parmesan cheese, butter, half & half and a boatload of garlic. check out the ingredients in the half & half. the container on the left is a major grocery store brand. on the right is stuff from a local farm. it's called half & half cause its half milk and half cream. what the heck is disodium phosphate?

(it's a anti-caking additive, um, no thanks!)

  

moving on to the salad...we love love love good seasons dressing. but now we like to make our own with oil, vinegar, herbs from my spice cabinet and we leave out the xanthan gum, maltodextrin, guar gum and citric acid.

so there ya have it folks, check your labels. why eat all this nonsense when it's just as easy to eat real foods! thanks for reading.

amy~

an apple a day . . .

do you do organic? if so what? everything? somethings? nothing? according to an article  click here for article they say if you only buy and eat one thing organic it should be APPLES! hmm who would of thought? not me. i would of said milk or meat? i have to make a confession. . . we don't buy organic apples.
a couple of years ago my husband and i bought an apple tree, yes you read that right, an apple tree!  every year the tree has produced little apples and before they had a chance to grow the deer came into our back yard and ate them. so last year i had my husband fence the back of the yard since that was the only part the the yard that was not fenced in.  so i hope this year the apples make it for us to enjoy them!!!

 the reasons they list to buy organic apples are interesting;
 however, if i were to only buy one thing organic i still don't think it would be apples. having said that, i am  just an ordinary mom, not a doctor...not a scientist...just a mom...an ordinary mom!!!  it took me a long
loooooong time to "believe" in organic, and we still still don't buy all organic. that is just my belief's. my thought is how can something be grown organic on the west side of the us and then shipped across country and still be "clean and free of yuck"  i would rather support my local farmers.

there is a chemical linked to adhd that is used on 59% of apple orchards in the u.s. and it is also linked to lowering iq's according to the usda. with that being said, i will start to find a local organic farm to get our apples.

check out the article and make up your own mind!

check out the article 5 reason to eat organic apples:pesticides-healthy-communities-and-you

i guess an apple a day does keep the doctor away

lisa

food for thought

do it anyway

people are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive them anyway.

if you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.

if you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.

if you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway.

what you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.

if you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.

the good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.

give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.

give the world the best you've got anyway.

you see, in the final analysis it is between you and god;

it was never between you and them anyway.

mother teresa

i know this is different from my"normal" post. i wanted to share!

lisa

can i have a snack?

if your a parent, chance's are you hear this question EVERY day... "can i have a snack?" or "i want a snack!" i hear this in my house all the time. we have a rule, the kids can have one "junkie" snack during the day and one "healthy" snack. if they want something else they can fruit or nuts.  i ALWAYS keep fruit on the table for them to grab if they want. no eating after 4:00 pm, because i want the kids to eat dinner. 

well to was like a dream!!! my 5 year old did NOT ask for her "junkie" snack!!!!! she came into the kitchen and started to eat the grapes that i had on the table!!! OMG is she getting it?!?! i started to jump up and down and said to her "do you know what you are doing?" she looked at me like i had ten heads. i said to her " you made a great choice eating the grapes! mommy is proud of you!"

when my family started out healthy lifestyle, it was like pulling teeth, the tears, the fight, the whining. . . all over snacks...junk...junk that my husband and i bought into the house.  now if it is not in the house they don't ask for it.  you ask, but she just said her kids get one junkie snack a day. well they do! a junkie snack would be... frito's(they only have 3 ingredients), chocolate cover raisins, chocolate cover blueberries, homemade whole wheat chocolate chip bran cookie, or cheese crackers and peanut butter.

lisa

fiesty fajitas

made flank steak fajitas in the crock pot yesterday for dinner. you all know how much i love some crock potin' on a sunday. just had the leftovers for dinner tonight. what i love more than a crock pot meal on a sunday is not having to cook on a monday. my husband and i love these, our 4yo, not so much. she had leftover chicken nuggets from saturday. click here for the slow cooker flank steak fajitas recipe from lisa over at 100 days of real food.

thanks for reading.
amy~

taco taco

amy's taco seasoning recipe. i make up a couple batches in a glass jar and keep it in the pantry.

• 6 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how hot you like it)

for about 1.5 pounds of meat i add 4 tablespoons taco seasoning with 1 cup water

it's like the energizer bunny

i love to take a hunk of meat, rub it down with some tasty spices and throw it in a crock it. especially on a sunday. you can do all your dirty work in the morning and then go about your day. the best is coming home from running errands with the family and the delicious aroma slaps ya in the face before you can even get through the door. this past weekend i did a whole chicken and let me tell you, it's like a gift that keeps on giving. that night we had chicken, brown rice and tossed salads for dinner. the chicken was super moist and we couldn't stop nibbling at it. i kept the juices and carcass in the crock pot and after dinner i added water, threw in a few spices, a couple carrots and let it simmer, all night. i woke up the next morning to homemade chicken stock. i jarred some up for the fridge and also froze some in an ice cube tray. why get it from a can or carton when it's that easy to make? monday night we had pulled chicken tacos. i'm not brave enough to attempt the homemade tortillas that my cousin lisa tried but i do make a mean taco seasoning, no packets for us. tuesday night, more shredded chicken. this time i threw it in a vodka cream sauce i whipped up and served it with whole wheat penne. this meal made enough for wednesday night too. one chicken = 4 nights of dinners & a boatload of chicken stock. it just kept going and going and going.

thanks for reading.
amy~

click here for the 'best whole chicken in a crock pot' recipe. there's a link for the chicken stock as well. this is from my bff lisa over at 100 days of real food.

click here for the vodka cream sauce recipe from allrecipes. i used 1/2 & 1/2 in place of the heavy cream and used less than half a pint.

how much is too much?

i am going to start a jar to put a dollar in every time i hear "how much do you eat?"  the truth is i don't keep track my food! i don't count calories! i don't weigh my food! i don't measure my food! i eat when i am hungry and i stop when i am satisfied.  this was something new to me that i had to get use to. for anyone who ever has been on any kind of diet or weight loss program you had to count, track, tally, weigh, measure of some sort.  AND chances are cut out your favorite dessert or food.  i eat my 3 meals a day and if i want a snack in between i have one! stay tune and i will be posting "my story".

lisa

trail mix, hiking not required

seeds are good. but eating them on their own? eh. trail mix is the answer. throw some seeds, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate together and ya got some healthy snack action going on. oh yeah.

here is a picture of my favorite ingredients; lightly salted sunflower seeds, unsalted pumpkin seeds, roasted unsalted almonds, milk chocolate chips, dried cranberries & unsalted peanuts. this is a staple for us. there's always a canister of trail mix in our cupboard. it covers salty, sweet & crunchy. all my snacking needs. my husband grabs handfuls of it when he does his nightly 'cabinet shuffle' and our 4yo goes straight for the cranberries and chocolate chips. go whip up a batch of your own trail mix and let us know what you like in yours. thanks for reading.

amy~

beaver butt what?!?!?!

yeah you read that right! BEAVER BUTT!!! amy was telling me about this blog her and husband found and it put how bad some processed foods are in terms "everyday"people can understand.  i read it last night and i have to share some of it with you.  first off do you remember the tv show that was on friday night's with jaime oliver? i loved that show! that is were the post from this blog all started from.  jamie oliver!!

http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2011/04/all-the-stuff-you-dont-want-to-eat-but-you-do-anyway/

ok, you might want to sit sit down for this....

i never heard of this...there is a gland in the tush of a beaver that enhances the sweetness of vanilla ice cream!  who wants to go out for ice cream? NOT me.

how many of us have had dinner in the car?  chances are if you have kids the meal of choice was chicken (if we can call it that) nuggets and french fries. well guess what else is in the chicken (and no not pink slim that was the hamburgers) dimethyloplysiloxane.... what is that you ask???  it is an anti cracking agent used in chalk , shampoo, lubricant, heat resistant tiles...oh yeah it is in powdered diet drinks.

do you want to throw up?  there is more!!!

my son drinks whole milk and i recently found out it is  processed less then skim milk, so i switch myself and daughter from skim to whole...and after reading this next one i think my husband will be switching too!

titanium dioxide..ever heard of it?? i did not.  well it is in paint. that is right! like the paint you paint your walls!  this is why...to make skim milk WHITE AGAIN becuase it turns blue!!!!

there is more. . .and more . . check out the blog for yourself!

oh, i know you are saying how can the fda "approve" this well they do.  if there is under a certain amount companies are NOT required to list it on the product. barf!

lisa

what i'm spending money on.

"isn't eating healthy expensive?" i get this question a lot when i tell friends that i'm choosing to serve healthier options to my family. yeah, our produce total is high. but my 'crap' total is low. i'm not buying all those snacks we used to eat. like granola bars, fruit snacks, little paks of cookies and even worse, those paks of crackers with the weird orange cheese that you spread on with a little red spreader thing-y. yes, my daughter was eating those. but only because i was buying them. so i stopped buying them and guess what? she survived. she's snacking on fruits, yogurt, cheese, more fruit, dried fruit, freeze dried fruit, peanuts, chocolate chips if she needs a little chocolate, cause who doesn't? we have not kicked the goldfish habit though. those are like crack for kids. for real. the other day new friends came over for a play date and i offered berries and bananas for a snack and the 2yo looks at me and says "goldfish please" in the cutest darn voice. i have a recipe for cheese crackers that we need to try. it uses three ingredients compared to like 18 on this bag of goldfish i'm holding. and some of those ingredients, eeeek, i don't even want to tell you what they are. (i'll post about all that craziness later) other items i'm spending money on are spices. instead of buying bottles of marinades and sauces i'm making them. we were die-hard good seasons salad dressing fans. we make dressing now using oil, vinegar and spices. same with ranch dressing, you can easily make it at home. so yeah eating real food, healthy food, good, tasty food is expensive BUT we're saving tons by not buying all that crappy stuff. it's working for us. i'm going to keep it up. i see that scale going down. that's the type of motivation i like! thanks for reading.
amy~

beans, beans, beans . . .

well, i did it! i made the re-fried beans! they were yummy and soooo easy!!!  after the beans had been cooking for about 3 hours i called amy in a panic and said, "now what?  what do i do with the re-fried beans?" 

let's just say my easy one recipe turned into all day cooking...however dinner was  AMAZING!!!! and i found yet another great recipe for a processed food that i couldn't find with less then 5 ingredient's, tortilla shells!  we had taco's with homemade taco seasoning, homemade re-fried beans, and homemade whole wheat tortilla shells. all 3 recipes are from http://www.100daysofralfood.com/ .  My mouth is water just thinking about how yummy dinner was!! the re-fried beans made a ton and the best part is it was cheap to make. it only cost $1.63.

I can not wait to make ALL of it again!!!

lisa

ugh...my belly

easter dinner has ALWAYS been my favorite holiday dinner!! ham, stuff artichokes, pineapple stuffing, ambrosia, kielbasi, homemade mac and cheese are just a few of my old favorites...whats not to love..(my belly is turning just writing this)  i host easter and everyone brings something. what a big help and time saver! ( i think)

the few day's leading up to easter are always busy.  especially this year, my sister had emergency surgery, we had an easter party, my daughter had a birthday party on saturday and we did egg dyeing with my parents and ordered pizza for dinner. oh yeah lets not forget i had to get ready for 24 friends and family coming over for dinner!  somewhere in there our eating went down the drain along with our bellies... not just mine, the whole families!!! it took several day's for our belly's to get regular again. i knew what we were doing by giving up processed foods was the right thing, however this past week-end validated how it effect our bodies. well, i have one year to re-vamp and play with the easter menu and recipes.  real food is the way to go for my family and  belly!!! 

lisa

i love you like a fat kid loves cake.

everyone loves cake. cake is so good. my favorite is white cake with white frosting. my husbands favorite is white cake, white frosting. my daughter's favorite (gasp) chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. you rarely find someone who will pass up a piece of the stuff at a birthday party. even when you are on a 'diet' (insert eye roll) you always have the cake, just a small piece. only a bite. mmmmcake. when i was pregnant with my second child i became obsessed with red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. obsessed. thank goodness i didn't give in every time i thought about it. but my mom made me cupcakes at a summer bbq and one of my bestest girlfriends made me an awesome double layer cake for a little 'baby' party my friends threw me. i'm so thankful to both of them for taking the time and making them from scratch. knowing where your cake comes from. knowing the ingredients. that's kinda important. i admit it, i never really thought about it. i mean, it's cake. what could be in it, right? ever check out the ingredient lists on the cakes at the grocery store bakery? you will never go near one after reading this article about super market cakes. thanks to food babe for her post on our most favorite blog, 100 days of real food. it's pretty crazy. ever heard of propylene glycol ? me either. click the link, do it. cause it's the main ingredient in anti-freeze and you are probably feeding it to your family. it's in cake and a whole bunch of other stuff like candy, biscuits, salad dressings, soft drinks. we need to be more conscious of what we are buying, eating, giving our children. our bodies cannot break down the chemicals, preservatives, poisons that are in processed foods. 'man up' and start paying attention. and most important, stop buying the crap. if it's not in your house you can't eat it. i've noticed changes in my own family over this past month. every little positive change, every extra veggie or fruit we eat, sip of water we take is improving our bodies. wake up and smell the real food! make a change today and start looking at those food labels. just do it.

so yeah, i do love you like a fat kid loves cake. but a real cake, none of this fake crap. and definitely not the antifreeze cake. thanks for reading.
amy~

like we needed another reason to love target

i needed snacks. i was getting close to reverting to not so healthy options merely because i lacked the healthy stuff. i needed help. i needed help fast. enter target. me and the girls headed over after pre-school today. i opted to bring the double stoller instead of pushing a cart and boy did i regret that. it was a balancing act on the way to the check-outs. laundry baskets were on clearance, so i had to get two, and proceed to fill them. i had them on top of the stroller, i couldn't even see over the top. and the stoller itself is a freakin' tractor trailer. anyways, back to healthy. they have a fantastic selection of healthy snack options. their archer farms line is pretty awesome. the freeze dried strawberries are tart, yummy and a little addicting. i also got the freeze dried apples which are super delicious. sadly though, the apples have preservatives added. but still under five ingredients. i've been looking for chocolate covered almonds since lisa mentioned them in an earlier post. and guess what, target has dark chocolate covered almonds in this cute little round canister. y.u.m. thank you target for saving me. i plan to go back and check out the other freeze dried fruit. mango was calling me but i wanted to play it safe today. next time you're in target check it out. there was an aisle with nuts, trail mix, the fruit. archer farms. good stuff.

thanks for reading.
amy~

breaking out of your comfort zone

over this past week-end we celebrated my dads birthday. happy birthday dad!! the food was so yummy...we had a mexican theme! i love mexian all food.  my mom had made a seven layer dip and it was amazing!! i never really tried her seven layer dip, until this past week-end.  well after eating it i thought, how can i make it healthier without effecting the taste, well the answer is simple...i am going to try my hand at homemade re-fried beans.

stay tuned and i will keep you up-dated for i will be cooking them over night in the crock pot...

lisa

farmers what???

farmers what? a farmers market! oh, whats that and how do i find one?  eat local fruit, veggies, and eggs. ok, that sounds great however one BIG problem how do i find them and where do i buy them? ok i guess that is 2 problems.  last couple summer's my husband and i had our own garden in the back yard. it was great! we had lots of fun! the whole family got into it.  yet another problem...not a wide variety of veggies. we had a ton of what we grew.  so last september i heard about these farmer things....well how do find them was my biggest issue.  i heard about this web site http://www.localharvest.org/  all you have to do is type in your zip code and it pulls up all the local farmers markets in your area and gives you all the details. that simple!!! i have a list wait for us to try!!! i can NOT wait to check them out.  i hear get there early for the good produce sells out fast!

lisa

yellow and red, what pretty color's? wrong!

not that long ago i read an article about food dye.  something i never really  thought much about. i have heard parents say before "red dye 40 makes my child go crazy" and i thought to myself yeah maybe you are crazy...ok i have to admit i am now one of those parents! not to mention, food dye is terrible for you, and that is an under statement!  after reading a blog about food dye i said to my husband "i know why lovebug (our 5 year old daughter) has her behavior outburst.  once again he looked at me like i was crazy and being the best husband ever he listened and he said "ok honey whatever you want to do i stand behind you!" man i love him!!! well first of all no more yellow food dye!!!!  (and red)  OMG food dye is horrific.  i had no idea how bad it was and what it was made with/from!!!  please, please, please read the article, yes i am begging you.  did you know that food dye in the uk in banned however not here in the united states!

i will leave you with this...

i spoke with lovebug's teacher this week and she commented on how over the last two weeks lovebug has made huge progress in school especially her writing! she would even go to say that she made the most progress in the last two weeks then she had all year! wow what does that tell you?  lovebug is in kindergarten, and has been on grade level all year however the last two weeks has just bloomed!! and that is without any yellow!

lisa

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/03/13/real-food-tips-7-reasons-i-hate-artificial-food-dyes/#more-2352

some days you just need a brownie. or four.

i've been doing so well. trying new recipes. paying attention to what goes in my mouth. and also, what doesn't. i think i need to start a food journal. it's not that i'm counting calories or measuring food. more as a reminder of what i haven't eaten for the day. i forget to eat fruits and veggies. isn't that awful. but i really do. i forget to drink water too. it's not that i'm having soda and junk food instead. it's just sometimes the day gets away from me and i forget to eat & drink. but not today. today, i had a brownie. well, maybe four. a dear friend suffered a loss in her family and i'm making a meal to bring over. and when you make a meal you need to include something sweet. it's like a rule. i think there's a law about it...'when bringing a meal to a family you must include dessert, some kind of sweet treat. and the gal who is providing the meal must taste test said sweet treat.'...and boy was it sweet. hot dang. brownies by jackie are pretty much the. best. brownies. EVER. like eveerrrrrrrrrrr. i'm feeling giddy from all the sugar and will share the recipe with you. but be prepared, they are pretty hardcore, watch yourselves.
oh yeah, nothing good for you about these brownies. but one bite will make you forget all about the butter and sugar. lots of sugar. but sometimes, like in this case, you just need a sweet treat to share with a friend.

brownies by jackie

2 sticks butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 well beaten eggs
1 cup flour (unsifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups walnuts (i skip these)

melt chocolate and butter in medium saucepan. remove from heat. add sugar and mix. add 1/2 beaten eggs, then flour. mix well. add remaining eggs, vanilla and nuts. mix well. pour into greased 9x13 inch pan. bake at 325` for 35 minutes - no longer.


thanks for reading.

amy~

what's in juice?!

now of day's every time you turn on the t.v. or get on the internet something else is bad for you.  the one that had the most impact on my family( well at least the one we listen to) was juice.  don't get me wrong my kids didn't drink juice all the time, however kids drink juice! so after doing some research i decided i wanted, no i NEEDED a juicer. well my husband thought i was once again, yes, crazy. being the best husband he embraced the idea!  i decided to borrow one before we went out and spent the money to buy one, due to they are not cheap.  well, i fell in love with it, along with the rest of the family. not to mention the health befits and best of all it is all natural!!!  what's your favorite juice?

lisa

emotional eating

i have always been an emotional eater. i eat to celebrate and i eat when i am stressed out, oh yeah and every other emotion in between.  well today was a stressed out type of day, which is going to only lead to another one tomorrow as i sit in the waiting room while my husbands has emergency eye surgery.  how do i stop myself from picking that candy bar, bowl of ice cream, cookies and then finish it off with a nice big soda. i have learned to pick up a cheese stick or a big glass of cold water when i feel that need to eat because i am stressed out...

lisa 

i wish i could post a smell

Fajitas tonight!! I have them cooking in the crock pot and it smells oh my god delicious. Here is the recipe from my new BFF. Well she has no clue who I am but I love her! http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/12/19/recipe-slow-cooker-flank-steak-fajitas/

skinny vs. healthy

ultimately in my mind i want to be skinny, . , . , . oh yeah feel good about my body and be healthy. i guess up until today i never put real thought into what i said and how i worded it, about my weight loss and eating while my five year old daughter was around  . . .  i thought we had a couple more years to worry about self image with our daughter .  while spending time together she said to me, "i wish you were skinny like erin's mom." I asked "why?"  point blank she said "it's cool to be skinny like her."  i think my mouth dropped to the floor. she is FIVE. please tell me where do they learn this???? after lifting my jaw up off the ground i simply respond " i want to be healthy, it doesn't matter how skinny you are as long as you take care of your body." ok this is after i have lost 66lbs. from this point on i will now talk about how i am becoming healthy and NOT skinny.  i don't want my daughter to think it is cool to be skinny!!!! i want her to be confident and comfortable with who she is. yes do i want to to be "skinny",  however what defines skinny?

with all that being said, she loves our new mid-day snack that i offered today and the best thing is, the little guy can eat it too!!! home-made trail mix!  all i did was grab a bowl, pour some cashews in, pour in some crasins, add some chocolate chips and mix. how easy is that! yummy!

lisa

It’s a two-fer!

1.       Here’s a neat little trick to help you stay on course with your new healthy eating lifestyle. When challenged with delicious foods at a birthday party, just bring a screaming infant. You only have time for a few munchies, one slice of pizza and then forced to leave BEFORE cake is served.  Easy peasy.

2.       I’ve got my second loaf of bread in the machine. I must say – it’s tasty. My toddler gave me a hassle when I switched from split top wheat to a seven grain whole wheat loaf. But she loves this stuff. Plus, she helps make it. How cool is that!

I will post the bread recipe and some other recipes soon. Thanks for reading.

Amy~

whats for breakfast?

not that long ago, i would have woke up in the morning, had a cup pot of coffee, feed the kids breakfast, got my daughter's backpack ready, as I  shoveled a cookie or two or three into my mouth and saw nothing wrong . . . what was i thinking? looking back on my childhood i can still hear my mom saying, "breakfast is the most important meal". until recently, i don't remember sitting down and eating breakfast. it was like a light bulb moment. how do i teach my children to take the time and eat breakfast, while i stand there with a cookie in my hand and one in my mouth(my mom always had raisin brand) . . .so now i take the time to sit down with them  and eat the most import meal of the day! not cookies . . . what a better way for my lovebugs to start their day, then extra mommy time!  oh i still have my coffee!

lisa

i made bread.

here's the story of how i started being healthy, not crazy.

for a few months now I knew my cousin lisa was doing some crazy new diet she found. i didn't put much into it. that is until i heard of the success she was having, then i was all ears (or should i say hips :). turns out she had been introduced to eating real food. and it wasn't a crazy diet. it's a new way of eating. a healthy way of eating. the idea is to cut out processed foods, eating more fruits, vegetables, 'good' meats and grains. i like the idea. i LOVE the results lisa was getting. but could we do it? for the past couple weeks i have made small changes, began reading labels and doing a little planning. and here i am two weeks later, FIVE pounds lighter and making bread. stay tuned for more about the healthy changes i've made for my family.

gotta go, my husband got home with chinese take-out. i said i was being healthy NOT crazy! i can't deprive myself of everything and need to splurge once in awhile. thanks for reading.

amy~

Let's Do This!

Hi- I am Lisa!  A couple months I ago I  started making  healthier choices for my family. I  was so excited when my cousin Amy show interest in our new healthy lifestyle.  Amy and I have talked almost every day for the last week about meal, snack, drink ideas, and  all around how to make easy changes without disrupting our family life! Last night she said to me, "Let's start a blog!" so here we are... Join us as we make healthy choices one meal at a time!!