Basil-Lime Avocado Salad Dressing

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Check out those pastured egg yolks. They are almost orange!

I love my standard Balsamic Vinaigrette, but sometimes it's nice to have something different atop my plate of greens. This unique and nutritious dressing was delicious with a salad of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, radishes, bacon, and hard boiled eggs.

Why make your own dressing? 

 

Homemade salad dressing is easier than you think! With just a few basic ingredients you can whip up something much tastier and healthier than anything that comes in a bottle. Trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup and polyunsaturated oils? Make this easy change to improve your family's health, and you might just end up enjoying salads more, too!

7 Unexpected Uses for the Humble Ice Cube Tray

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice for a Strawberry Orange Julius

These babies are not just for ice anymore, folks. 

I love when a simple, inexpensive tool has so many uses.  Take the humble ice cube tray: it can help you preserve the harvest, prevent food waste, save you time, boost your family's nutrition, and make your tastebuds do a little happy dance!

Here are 7 unexpected ways you can put those ice cube trays to work in your real food kitchen:

How to Make an Awesome Smoothie

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Strawberry, Banana & Peach Smoothie

I think my smoothie-making has reached new heights lately. My non-smoothie-loving husband has even been enjoying them, which is quite an accomplishment in my mind. I've finally found a method that produces a delicious smoothie every time. Want to know how?

Tips for Making Awesome Smoothies

 

1. Use frozen fruit. Using fresh fruit, or even a mixture of fresh and frozen, results in a thinner, more liquid smoothie. My favorites are strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. When those fruits are in season locally I buy a bunch at the farmer's market or u-pick farm and freeze them. (My next post at Modern Alternative Kitchen is on Lazy Freezing Techniques. Subscribe over there so you don't miss it!) Then I have enough for smoothies year-round!

You can freeze strawberries whole with tops for smoothies!

2. Banana is key. The creamy sweetness of a banana can't be beat! Next time you have some slightly over-ripe ones, cut them into chunks and throw them in the freezer. (You can sometimes find over-ripe bananas for a reduced price. This is an excellent use for them!)

3. Add greens...sparingly.  Greens such as spinach or kale add a lot of nutrition to your smoothie, provided they are lightly cooked first. See this post for how to prepare greens for smoothies (scroll down to the smoothie section), or do it the easy way: buy a bag of frozen spinach. Make sure you get the kind that is not all in one solid clump. Add a couple tablespoons to your smoothie right from the bag. They are already cooked before freezing, so you don't have to worry about the raw greens problem. Don't add too much, or the taste may be overpowering. Experiment and see what works best for you!

See the little green flecks?

4. Start with just a little liquid, and add more as necessary. I use whole raw milk in my smoothies. Full-fat coconut milk is a good alternative if you can't tolerate dairy. I start with just a little, which I add after I put the fruit into the blender. Then when the blender gets stuck because it needs more liquid, I stream more milk in through the top while it's running.  I add just enough to get it going.

5. Season your smoothie. I like to add a pinch of salt, a splash of vanilla extract, and sometimes a little honey if it's too tart. It's amazing what a difference it makes in enhancing the flavor. Don't forget to taste it before you pour it out to see if it needs anything.

6. Use plain, full-fat yogurt. This goes a long way in making the smoothie satisfying. Greek yogurt guarantees an even thicker product, but make sure you buy full-fat! I can only find full-fat Greek yogurt at the health food store.

7. Include coconut oil.  I love the subtle flavor that coconut oil adds, and it's a healthy fat. Read more about it here. In the past I've melted it first, but lately I just throw it in solid. As long as you follow the next tip, it will be okay.

8. Blend it thoroughly. It's no fun to run into chunks of un-blended fruit. Don't be shy, let that blender do it's thing until you're sure it's all blended! This also makes the smoothie....frothy. Frothy is good.

Strawberry Orange Julius

If you're afraid to make a smoothie without a recipe, you can find recipes all over the internet. Use your judgement and use only real ingredients! And if you want to try something a little different, try my Strawberry Orange Julius. It's a refreshing treat any time of year!

What's your favorite smoothie? Share your smoothie-making tips in the comments!

This is part of: Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday. Keep it Real Thursday, the seasonal recipe round up for berries at Gnowfglins, Monday Mania

What is "Healthy"?

Who said you can't eat broccoli in your pajamas?

I care a lot about food. That's why I have this blog: so I can share my passion for healthy food with anyone who reads it.

There are many misconceptions about there about healthy food. And there are many points of view. Low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, primal, raw food, "locavore"...it is downright confusing! Should you eat what the government tells you what to eat? Should you stop eating animal products? Should you stop cooking your food? Should you stop eating grains?

So what is healthy food? And what isn't it? I don't have all the answers, and I might be wrong on some things. I am just doing my best to feed my family the most nourishing food I can find and afford and cook. If you disagree with me, that's fine. We can still be friends! This blog is not a judgmental place, it's a place full of "good stuff" because if we focus on what we shouldn't be doing all the time, we just feel guilty and frustrated and sad.  So instead of giving you a list of what isn't healthy, I'm going to give you a list of what is. These are the foods that make me happy!

My Healthy Foods List

• Meat and poultry from animals that spend time outside, eating grass or bugs or whatever they are supposed to eat (depending on the animal). This includes (if you're brave) organ meats and homemade stock from the bones.
• Wild-caught fish and shellfish
• Whole raw (unpasteurized) milk from grass-fed cows or goats, which is tested regularly for pathogens
• Other grass-fed diary, including butter, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and kefir
• Eggs from pastured chickens, especially egg yolks
  
• Fats from grass-fed animals: lard, tallow, bacon grease, chicken fat
• Other healthy fats like unrefined coconut oil and extra-virgin olive oil
• Whole grains that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting, or sourdough to make them more digestible
• Legumes like lentils, beans, and split peas that have been soaked and cooked slowly
• Nuts and seeds that have been soaked and dehydrated
• Fresh vegetables and fruits, ideally locally grown and organic (some can be eaten raw, others are more nutritious when cooked)
• Healthy sweeteners in moderation, such as honey, maple syrup, and sucanat (unrefined sugar)

There are some miscellaneous things to mention, too, like fermented foods, beverages, condiments, herbs and spices, and supplements. And coconut could almost be its own category. But let's keep things simple for now.


Lest you think I'm perfect, let me tell you this: we compromise on a lot of things. We don't have the time or money to eat perfectly. But we do our best, and we don't stress about it.

Wondering why I think these foods are healthy? Most of this is based on the recommendations by the Weston A. Price Foundation. Weston Price was a dentist who traveled the world studying primitive people groups and looking at their diets. He found that societies who ate the kinds of food I listed above were practically free from tooth decay and disease. There was a lot of variety in diet from group to group, depending on what kinds of foods were local to them. But none of the healthy people groups ate processed foods of any kind. They ate real food. So I try to eat real food too.

What's on your Healthy Foods List?
 
This is part of Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, and Fight Back Friday.