Is it Okay to Buy Crackers at the Store?

image by markn3tel

"Cracka" was my first word. Supposedly even before "mama" and "dada." These crunchy guys and I go way back: my mom still jokes about how I used to hold one in each hand and munch away, kind like this:

image by Joe Shlabotnik

Are Crackers Healthy?

I still love crackers, especially with some nice nutty grass-fed cheddar or a shmear of almond butter. But most crackers from the store, even a health food store, are not Plus Other Good Stuff approved. (Don't get me wrong: I gladly partake of any cracker at a party if there are delicious toppings to be had.) What's so bad about them?

The grains are either refined or whole but not soaked or sprouted which makes them hard to digest. The oils are usually either hydrogenated or rancid vegetable oils like soybean, cottonseed, or sunflower. They often contain high fructose corn syrup or "evaporated cane juice," AKA sugar.

Homemade Sourdough Crackers with Garlic Scape White Bean Dip

Some Solutions to the Cracker Dilemma

To avoid those unfortunate ingredients, I like to make my own crackers.  It's easier than you would think, and certainly gets some "ooh's" and "aah's" at a party. But in this busy and often overwhelming season of motherhood, I confess: I buy crackers from the store. I bake most of our bread and granola, and cook meals from scratch seven days a week. I ferment kombucha and make my own yogurt. All in a teeny tiny kitchen. But most of the time, I don't have time to make crackers. (I often don't even have time to take a shower!)

So here you have it: my favorite store bought crackers.

Why I Love Ak-Mak Crackers

1. No junk. Check out these ingredients:

Simple, clean, short list of ingredients. Can't beat that! I'm not worried about the sesame oil in small amounts, especially because it is not GMO.

2. Made with butter!
You know me, I love me some butter. Their butter may not be organic, but I'd rather have conventional butter than organic soybean oil! Also, their website states that some of their ingredients might be organic without being listed as such. So one can hope that it's even better than it looks!

3. Stone ground flour.
More nutrients are preserved when flour is stone ground, as opposed to steel ground. And I hold out a little hope that maybe they grind it themselves right before baking, which means it retains even more nutrients. No, it is not soaked or sprouted, but as an occasional snack I'm not too worried about it.

4. Cheap!
I get Ak-mak at Trader Joe's for less than $2 a box. I'm sure it's still cheaper to make my own crackers, but this is about as good as you can do for store-bought crackers. (We in West Michigan are still waiting and hoping for Trader Joe's to get with the program and open stores near us, but in the mean time our family stocks up whenever we visit relatives in the Chicago area.)

5. Delicious.
They really do taste great. How could they not, with those ingredients? I love the crunch of the sesame seeds and the very subtle sweetness of the honey. Delicious with hummus, cheese, nut butter, or even by themselves.

Do you buy crackers from the store? Have you found anything with ingredients you can be happy with?

This is part of Real Food Wednesday, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday


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Real Life, Blogging, and Balancing Acts

My lenten break from blogging officially ended on Easter Sunday, a week ago.

I had hoped that on Easter Monday, I'd be back with a vengeance. But my break was so thorough that I didn't write any posts for all of lent (except for MAK and MAM), so I had nothing to publish. I didn't work at all on the new domain. I didn't work at all on Good Bites, my upcoming free eBook of easy, healthy, bite-sized snacks. So what was I doing?

I was being a mom of two kids, one of whom is having a tough time with potty training and the other of whom is having a tough time with sleep. I was being a wife to a stressed out seminarian. I was being an artist: a good friend and I have been re-creating a piece of choreography and had a performance last week.

All those things take precedence over this blog.

And yet, I had some important affirmations during my blogging break. Several friends told me they appreciated my blog. Why? Because I don't judge. My vision is to inspire people to make positive changes for better health, without making them feel like failures because they aren't perfect. Eating real food is a journey! Some people have a radical conversion, but most people make one change at a time. I want to be here to encourage you, one little change at a time.

So where am I at? I'm still not quite sure. I know I want to keep blogging. I'm not sure if now is the season for me to be serious about it. There are a lot of things standing in my way: the stress of grad school, interrupted sleep, wanting to be present to my kids, and a computer that's on the fritz.

I'm seeking balance. I feel sort of like this is the start of a new year, and I'm making resolutions. It seems fitting, in a way, to start fresh after Easter. We just celebrated the most mind-blowing event of our faith. Christ was dead, but now he is alive! This knowledge changes everything, so why not start fresh?

My Easter Resolutions

Find time for prayer and scripture. I want to bask in the light of His presence, morning, noon and night. A three-year-old who wants to be with me constantly, an early rising baby, and a never-ending to-do list get in my way. Any moms out there want to share their secrets?

Prioritize sleep. Remember that series I was going to start, Get More Sleep in 2013? Instead of writing about it, I'm going to do it. I'm working on going to bed earlier, keeping my daughter on a good rhythm so she doesn't get overtired, and taking naps when possible. I want to wake up rested again. Someday, I want to get up an hour before the kids and write. But today is not that day.

Practice Sabbath, even in the kitchen. We have failed over and over at keeping a Sabbath. We know we need it. We know it pleases God. But we have so much going against us: my husbands schedule with classes during the week plus working at a church on Saturday and Sunday leaves us no free day. We try to find time here and there, even if it's not a full day, but the stress of no real rest is wearing on us. We hope that in a couple short months (when things slow down for the summer), that will change. A large part of the rest for me needs to be from all-things-kitchen. It's easy to never really stop in a real food kitchen: there are always ongoing projects. Always something to soak or bake or thaw or ferment. I need to learn how to pause. To plan ahead, and to let go. You may see some posts about this popping up in the next few months as I work on it.

What does this mean for Plus Other Good Stuff?

I think I'm going to try blogging once a week. No pressure to be the best real food blog out there with multiple posts every week and video tutorials and eBooks and all that jazz. Someday those things will come. But for now, it's just me, writing to you, about real food.  No judging, no guilt trips, just simple, delicious, nourishing goodness.

What Do You Want?

Since my posting will be limited, I'd love to know what you want to learn about and prioritize that! What are your biggest challenges in the kitchen? What are you unsure about? What processed food are you having trouble finding alternatives for? Share in the comments so this blog can bless you.



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5 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables

image by Guillaume Paumier

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed at the idea of preparing vegetables.  Sometimes I just plain don't feel like adding one more step to my meal preparation.

When I'm strapped for time, we eat less vegetables. 

But I've found a few ways to sneak more veggies in, even on the busiest of days. I hope they will inspire and enable you to eat more veggies, too!

 5 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables

#1: Keep Organic Frozen Vegetables on Hand
As much as I love supporting local agriculture, sometimes frozen veggies really come in handy. I keep my freezer stocked with organic peas, spinach, broccoli, and corn. No washing, trimming, or chopping necessary. They are ready to dump into any meal at a moment's notice.

#2: Make Weekly Breakfast Greens
When I go to the grocery store or, in season, to the farmer's market, I buy a couple bunches of greens such as kale or Swiss chard. I cook them up all together like this, and then I eat them with my breakfast of fried eggs and toast for a few days in a row. It's a few minutes of work on the first day, but then a delicious veggie-packed breakfast comes together in a snap for the rest of the week!

#3: Cook them with Pasta
When we have mac & cheese, spaghetti, or another pasta dish, I throw some greens (kale, swiss chard, or frozen spinach), frozen peas, or frozen broccoli into the pot with the pasta, toward the end of the cooking time. You barely notice that they are there, but they add valuable nutrients to your dinner.

#4: Throw Them into Smoothies
I'm not really into green smoothies made with raw greens, but I do sometimes add a handful of frozen spinach (which has already been blanched) into my smoothie. Pumpkin or winter squash is great to add to smoothies, too, like in my Pumpkin Spice Smoothie.

#5: Make Simple Sides
In the past I tended to shy away from simply steaming or sauteing vegetables. I had this idea that vegetable sides have to be fancy in order to be delicious. But I'm getting over it. Some of favorite simple sides are steamed broccoli with plenty of butter, sauteed mushrooms (in...butter), roasted cauliflower, and baked sweet potatoes.

What are your favorite fast and easy ways to eat more veggies?

See also: Be Inspired to Eat More Vegetables

This is part of: Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Fight Back Friday, Natural Living Monday, Make Your Own Monday, Modern Alternative Kitchen, Keep it Real Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday

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Five Baked Goods to Give as Gifts

I can't really believe it's time to start thinking about the holidays. I'm a terribly last-minute holiday planner, but I'm attempting to be a little more on top of things this year. I already have some vanilla extract brewing in my basement, and I'm planning some very fun gift-related posts for you in the coming weeks.

All my gift-related posts are going to be a part of a four-week series by the Modern Alternative Mama Team, of which I am a part! Starting next Friday, a different blog will host Homemade Holiday each week for four weeks. I'll be hosting one of the weeks and I'm SO excited! The host will also link to related posts on other MAM team sites. So you're going to get a ton of awesome gift ideas!

So, do you need some no-brainer gift ideas?

I know I do. I've been trying to make almost all the gifts we give for Christmas for the last several years. Some years, this has been rather stressful, as I try to make something really special for each person. It has become more stressful with two kids in the mix. So this year, I'm trying to go even simpler. Baked goods will definitely be a large part of the gifts we give this year!

Why give baked goods?

• Baked goods don't fill people's homes with more stuff.
• If you already bake, it's just a matter of baking a little more and giving it away. Easy!
• If you have kids, baking is a great way to involve them in the gift-making process.
• People love to eat!

But you realize, of course, that we're going to to this "Real Food" style. I don't want to fill people's lives with more white sugar, white flour, and hydrogenated oils. I want to fill them with delicious nourishing goodness.

So here are five [nourishing] baked goods you can give away as gifts.  

  Five Baked Goods to Give as Gifts

 

#1. These Cranberry Orange-Ricotta Muffins scream "holidays" to me. Made with sprouted whole wheat flour, real butter, and pastured eggs, they are loaded with nutrition! Put a few in a little basket lined with a pretty cloth napkin, or wrap in a paper bag tied with twine.

#2. Have some rhubarb in the freezer? Remind your friends and family that spring will come again with a pan of this delightful Rhubarb Coffeecake.

#3. Who doesn't love a loaf of homemade bread? This Soaked Honey Oatmeal Bread is a nice reprieve from sugar-laden treats. This would make a great gift for a teacher or the host of a holiday party.

#4. Last year I gave away pint-sized jars of my Perfect Soaked Granola to extended family members. I make this granola all the time so it was a breeze to make a big batch and jar it up. And they were so cute!

#5. Breakfast Brownies: They're breakfast. They're dessert. They're both! These brownies are loaded with oats, nuts, & dried fruit, making them a hearty and satisfying snack anytime of day. I wrapped them up in parchment and tied with kitchen string for a quick & easy package.

Do you give away baked goods as gifts during the holiday season? What are your favorites?

This is part of Farm Girl Friday, Foodie Friday, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Fill Those Jars Friday, Natural Living Monday, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday, Traditional Tuesday, Hearth and Soul, Fat Tuesday, Tiny Tip Tuesday

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Frugal Homemade Breakfast Sausage

chicken breakfast sausage with basil scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes, and homemade bread

My husband has a breakfast dilemma.  He doesn't like oatmeal. He doesn't like eggs. He doesn't like yogurt. He does like toast with peanut butter, but it doesn't keep him going. He's not into the idea of eating dinner food for breakfast. And we don't buy cereal.

(He's really not that picky...it's mostly just breakfast foods...)

What's a wife to do? I'm not usually up in time to make him something (french toast sometimes hits the spot, or I'll doctor up some eggs so there's enough to distract him from the eggs themselves), so he's left to eat some peanut butter toast and then be shaky hungry an hour into his first class. No good!

He does love breakfast meat. Give this man bacon or sausage and he's a happy camper.

However, it's hard to find good breakfast meats that fit the budget. So finally I came up with this solution, enabling him to feast on sausage all he wants: I made my own.

I can buy ground chicken for a good price from a local farm that feeds their chickens non-GMO feed and lets them run around outside. It's much cheaper than buying local/organic pork breakfast sausage, or even ground pork.

I make two pounds worth at a time, form into patties, and bake them in the oven. Then I throw them in the freezer. When my husband wants sausage for breakfast, he just pulls one out and browns it in the iron skillet. I like mine with eggs or french toast or pancakes, but he's been known to eat them by themselves. :) We also pull them out occasionally when we need to bulk up a meal a bit or don't have any leftovers to eat for lunch. I've even made biscuits and gravy with these fellers. Take that Bob Evans!

Homemade Chicken Breakfast Sausage

(adapted from "Turkey Breakfast Sausage" in Nourishing Traditions)

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground chicken
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 t. each cumin, oregano, marjoram, nutmeg, black pepper, ground ginger
1 t. each basil, thyme, sage
a couple pinches cayenne, to taste
2 t. salt
1/4 c. homemade breadcrumbs (I just grind up ends of bread in the blender/food processor)
2 eggs (I've left these out, too, and they were just fine)

Directions:
Mush all ingredients together with your hands. Form into patties. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until no longer pink, about 25 minutes. Or fry in butter in a skillet. (Be careful not to over-brown if you plan to freeze and reheat them.)

To reheat, place in a cast iron skillet with a little butter and cook on low heat until hot all the way through.

Have you ever made your own sausage? Tell us about it!

This is part of: Fight Back Friday, Farm Girl Blog Fest, Simple Meals Friday, Figure Friendly Comfort Foods, Foodie Friday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday

Review and GIVEAWAY! Real {Fast} Food by Trina Holden

The number one concern I get from readers about trying to switch over to a Real Food lifestyle is "How will I have the time to do it all?"

It can't be denied that real food takes time. But I do believe that anyone can do it, given the right strategies and tools. No, not perfectly, but it's not about perfection.

Before I go any further, I have to tell you that I will never advertise products I do not believe in 100%. This blog is not about making money, it's about helping people learn how to feed their families well. If I make a little money by telling you about products that I really do believe will help you in that journey, awesome. Just in case you think my only goal is to sell you stuff. :)

The eBook Real {Fast} Food by Trina Holden entered my life at the perfect time. I have an almost three-year-old, a five-month-old who has been fussier than normal lately (and NOT napping), and a husband who is a full-time-student working multiple part-time jobs. I'm a stay-at-home mom who works very part-time teaching dance, is trying to make time to dance (because without dance I'm not me!), and you know, trying my hand at this whole real-food-blogging thing. I've got a lot goin' on!

I'm pretty sure you probably have as much going on as I do. Maybe you work full time. Maybe you are homeschooling your children. Maybe you are super involved in your church or sports or your community. But I'm pretty sure you're short on time, like me.

In this book, you will learn how to make Real Food fit into Real Life. Trina talks you through menu planning, grocery shopping less often, quick lunches, and preparing food in bulk. And she's included loads of family-tested recipes!

Did I mention the recipes?! Not only are they delicious, but once you try them, you get the real meaning of the title, "Real {Fast} Food." I've tried almost all of her breakfast recipes (I love breakfast foods!). Many of them are faster versions of favorites. Oven-baked pancake instead of standing forever over the griddle. Make-ahead egg casserole where you scramble the eggs first, so it doesn't take forever in the oven. Baked oatmeal that can be frozen and reheated for quick breakfasts later on.

Need some fast ideas for dinner? She has plenty of casseroles and meat dishes that only require a few minutes of hands on time. How about making a double batch of the best whole wheat pizza crust ever so you can just roll it out, top it, and bake it some night when you're in a hurry? And it really is the best whole wheat pizza crust I've ever made. After years of wishing for something better, I've finally found one that my husband and I both LOVE!

And really, that's my sentiment about all the recipes I've tried: "This is what I've been wishing for!"

Some of my favorite parts are the printables for meal planning and grocery shopping, the tips for combating "Kitchen Fatigue," and "How to Fire Your Microwave."

Want more details? Here is the table of contents:

All this for only $6! Want you own copy? Buy it here! It is available in PDF, Kindle, and Nook formats.

More good news: Trina is giving away a FREE copy of this book to one of you! Enter in the Rafflecopter widget below. There is one mandatory entry and several optional entries to increase your chances of winning! The giveaway ends October 24th at 12:01 AM EST. I will announce the winner on the blog on October 25th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a free copy for review. I am an affiliate of Real {Fast} Food and will receive a percentage from any sales made through my links. But I'd tell you about it even if I wasn't making a dime!

This is part of: Real Food Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Keep it Real Thursday

Real Life Confession: Meal Planning Failures

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!

Here's a confession for you: I never follow my own meal plans.

That's not to say that I don't make any of the meals written on my meal plans, but that I never follow them exactly for a whole week straight.

Life happens. And that is a good thing.

Some days (most days, lately) the baby doesn't nap well so I don't have a chance to get those beans started early enough in the day.

Some days, right when I'm about to start cooking, we get a last minute dinner invitation. Or mid-week, I get a call from my mom who wants to visit in a couple days. Or I forget that there's a seminary event with food.

Two Dinners in One: Tex-Mex Stuffed Zucchini and "Hamburger Helper"

I love it when you get two meals out of little effort. This stuffed zucchini recipe leaves you with extra filling to eat in whatever manner your taste buds desire. We mixed it with brown rice pasta and called it "Hamburger Helper," but you could also eat it over rice, put it in a quesadilla, or use it as a crepe filling.

The stuffed zucchini was just enough for our family of one hungry dad, one nursing mom, and one almost three year old with a good appetite. Double it for a larger family or for company. The leftover filling was enough to feed us dinner the next day with about 2/3 pound pasta.

Bonus: This is a great way to use up overgrown zucchini!

Meal Plan September 17-23

I'm submitting this week's meal plan to Meal Plan Monday at Modern Alternative Kitchen! If you need menu inspiration, check it out!!

Salmon Patties with Probiotic Lemon-Dill Sauce

This week I'm trying out a few recipes from Trina Holden's eBook Real Fast Food. Soon I'll be doing a review of this book and a giveaway!

See my meal themes for this season at last week's meal plan. Meal themes make planning a breeze.

Why I Love My Immersion Blender

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!

My immersion blender is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I've only had it for about a year, and I can't believe I waited so long to get one.

Also known as a stick blender or hand blender, the immersion blender's purpose is this: you stick this thing into a pot of soup, a cup of smoothie, or a bowl of pancake batter, and with the press of a button, puree it as much or as little as you like. I think it is an almost essential addition to every real food kitchen, especially if you have limited time. And who doesn't have limited time?

If anyone asks me about my immersion blender, I rave on and on about it. I thought I should share the love with you, 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:

Cloth Napkins at Passionate Homemaking!

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!

Catch me over at Passionate Homemaking today talking about cloth napkins! I cover common excuses for not using them, why you might want to give it a try, and how to make it practical for real life. Read it here and let me know what you think!

This is part of: Inspire Me Fridays, Frugal "I Did it!" Tuesday, Living Green Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Titus 2s Day, Show Me What Ya Got, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Eat Make Grow, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday

Meal Plan August 6-12

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!

Leftover Steak Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing

We're still keeping it simple around here with lots of salads, built-in leftovers, and food pulled from the freezer. Check out this meal plan for fast, easy meal ideas!

Meal Plan for August 6-12

Monday
Breakfast: Eggs fried in coconut oil, buttered sourdough toast, kombucha
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sourdough crepes filled with sauteed veggies, ricotta, and herbs

Tuesday
Breakfast: yogurt, granola, hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Hummus toasts (hummus, sliced tomato, and cheese on sourdough toast, melted under the broiler)
Dinner: French onion quesadillas (sourdough tortillas filled with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions, idea from this book), cole slaw

Wednesday
Breakfast: French Toast Frittata, raw milk
Lunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner: BLT salad with avocado dressing, soaked whole wheat artisan bread

Thursday
Breakfast: slow cooked steel cut oatmeal (idea also from this book) with butter and real maple syrup
Lunch: Leftover Egg Salad
Dinner: Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas, guacamole

Friday
Breakfast: Veggie-Egg Scramble with buttered toast
Lunch: Big Salad with hard boiled egg, white beans, tuna, lots of vegetables, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner: Leftover Enchiladas

Saturday
Breakfast: Sourdough pancakes, homemade chicken sausage (make extra to freeze)
Lunch: Mac & Cheese
Dinner: Hamburgers on whole wheat buns, oven fries, corn on the cob

Sunday
Breakfast: Yogurt, granola, hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Asparagus soup from the freezer
Dinner: Leftovers or freezer meal

What are you eating this week? 

 

I'm linking this up to the following real food carnivals: Modern Alternative Kitchen's Monday Meal Plan, Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Healthy 2 Day Wednesday

Meal Plan: July 9-15

I'm linking this up to Modern Alternative Kitchen's Monday Meal Plan! Have you checked out this new real food site that I'm honored to be a contributor for? This is launch week and there is a huge giveaway, with more chances to win every day!

Meal planning is a real life-saver for us. We definitely don't stick to it 100% of the time, but having a rough idea of what we're going to eat in a given week prevents last-minute shopping trips, allows me to prep things ahead of time (which is important when nursing an infant!) and keeps us from having to eat out. It's an easy change you can make that will make a big impact on your sanity and health!

In this crazy season with a two-month old baby and a toddler, I'm doing a few things to make my life simpler: 

1) Use the freezer. I have a lot of food in the freezer that I pull out to make meals easier. When I was pregnant I tried to make double batches of things so I could freeze food without working any harder. I'm so happy I did!
2) Lots of salads. Salads are easy to put together, require little time in the kitchen, don't heat up the house, and are perfect for summertime!
3) Intentional Leftovers. I make sure to cook enough that we can get multiple meals out of whatever I'm cooking. Then we use the oven to heat them up instead of the microwave. (It's really easy! Just put your food in a plate or a bowl and put it in the oven. Then wash some dishes or play with your kids while it heats up!)
4) Rest on Sundays. This is the day that works best for our family to have a Sabbath in this season of life. After church we come home, eat leftovers for lunch, take naps, and eat a very simple meal or more leftovers for dinner. A mother can't really ever take a day completely off, but I'm trying to be intentional about refraining from cooking and housework as much as possible.

So here's this week's plan. Hope you find some inspiration!

Monday

Breakfast: Fried eggs cooked in coconut oil,  sourdough toast with butter 
Lunch: Tuna melts on sprouted bread
Dinner: Out to City Vu Bistro with my parents

 

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cottage cheese with fresh peaches
Lunch: Sauteed vegetable sandwich (portobello mushrooms, summer squash, and onion, on sprouted bread with homemade pesto and mozzarella cheese), fresh cherries 
Dinner: Salad with leftover oven-baked chicken, hard-boiled egg, bacon, avocado, and homemade Caesar dressing
prep for next day: thaw meatballs and sauce

 

Wednesday

Breakfast: French toast frittata, raw milk
Lunch: Egg salad 
Dinner: Spaghetti with Meatballs (homemade meatballs and sauce are in the freezer!), salad with homemade Caesar dressing
Dessert with friends:  homemade ice cream (not sure what kind yet, something from this book with less sugar than she calls for...)
prep for next day: soak oats, soak brown rice, thaw cooked chickpeas from freezer

 

Thursday

Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Leftover egg salad and/or spaghetti and meatballs
Dinner: Brown Rice Salad with Kale and Roasted Chickpeas (with escarole instead of kale)

 

Friday

Breakfast: Fritatta with veggies (greens, mushrooms, zucchini, onion), sprouted toast with butter
Lunch: Leftover brown rice salad
Dinner with friends: bring dessert - more homemade ice cream, perhaps?

 

Saturday

Breakfast: Soaked pancakes (I use sour milk to soak them - great way to use it up!) with butter and maple syrup, fresh fruit, organic bacon 
Lunch: Mac and Cheese 
Dinner: Spicy southwest fish with pinto beans (new recipe!), corn tortillas, soaked Mexican brown rice (from the freezer!), roasted zucchini
prep for next day: boil eggs, thaw chili

 

Sunday   

Breakfast: yogurt with homemade granola and fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs 
Lunch: Leftover fish with pinto beans 
Dinner: Baked potatoes with chili from the freezer, salad with homemade vinaigrette

 So....what are you eating this week? Share in the comments!

 This is part of Real Food Wednesday, and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Nine Great Snacks for Toddlers - or Anyone!

It's hard to come up with easy, real food snacks for toddlers. So I thought I'd share with you some of our toddler's favorite healthy snacks. Next time you're tempted to reach for the cheerios or fruit snacks, try one of these instead!

Nine Great Snacks for Toddlers

1. Olives (he likes the garlic stuffed green ones the best)

2. Frozen Peas (frozen, right out of the bag)

3. Plain, whole milk yogurt (with fruit or homemade jam stirred in)

4. Fruit Smoothies (made with frozen fruit, yogurt and raw milk, with the immersion blender for easier clean-up)

5. Cottage Cheese

6. Apples or bananas with peanut butter

7. Raisins and cashews (or any dried fruit and any easy-to-chew nuts)

8. Avocado, sliced and salted

9. Hard boiled eggs

We have found that having easy snacks available makes a day with a two-and-a-half year old go much more smoothly! These all require little-to-no preparation, and many of them are portable (especially nuts and dried fruit, and smoothies in a sippy cup). Of course, these snacks work for anyone, not just toddlers. :)

What does your toddler like to snack on?

 This is part of Monday Mania and Fat Tuesday.

Tips for Pleasant Dish-Washing

Look familiar?

Cooking real food means dirtying a lot of dishes. Even on a simple meal kind of day (which is most days lately) we still dirty plenty of dishes. No microwave hot pockets or canned soup for us.

Unfortunately, I really dislike washing dishes. And this dislike plus a busy life causes me to put it off. And then they pile up, I get frustrated, I melt down, I plead with the hubby to help even though he's super busy with school...etc. Add to this the fact that our dishwasher is not functional as more than a dish-drying rack, and it is not going to be replaced until we move out. Not happy.

Obviously the best thing to do is to wash dishes right away, several times a day. That is always my goal. But when that doesn't happen, which is most of the time, and both sides of the sink and the counter are covered in dirty dishes, and you're pregnant and dishes repulse you, and your husband is at the library frantically finishing a paper, what's a girl to do?

Here are my tips for making dish washing a pleasant experience, especially when it's going to be a long haul.

How to Survive Washing a Ton of Nasty Dishes

1. Get some tunes goin'. We've got a handy set-up in our kitchen that involves cheap speakers on top of the cabinets and an 8th inch cable threaded between the wall and the cabinets. That means I can plug in the iPod to accompany my dish-washing marathon with whatever music will lift my spirits. Which of course lately is Christmas music. Always. I prefer something peaceful, since dishes stress me out, like George Winston's December album. My husband, on the other hand, prefers to listen to the ugliest music imaginable when he's on dish duty. Like The Dirty Projectors. Yuck.



2. Get yummy smelling natural dish soap, and/or put a drop of essential oil on your (clean) dish rag. I keep some lavender oil in a cabinet near the sink so it's always there when I need it. Oh my goodness does that make me happy. Nothing like the smell of lavender to relieve stress and brighten one's day. And as for the yummiest smelling soap, you MUST try Almond Dishmate, made by Earth Friendly Products.











3. Light a candle. Lately I've been lighting an apple-spice scented soy candle. (I don't like soy, except in candles. It burns cleaner and lasts longer than regular wax.) If my candle isn't especially scent-ey, I put a drop of essential oil in there, too.




4. Brew yourself a cup of something yummy. (Can you tell that these tips are all about pleasing your senses?) My choice on the day I took these pictures was Organic Earl Grey that I got from my friend Sarah, who works for Sterling Tea, a small Texas-based tea blender that makes exquisite black, green, white, rooibos, and herbal teas. Best Earl Grey ever.  If you love tea, you've gotta check them out. And if you or someone you know owns a coffee shop or gift shop that might be interested in selling their tea, let me know and I'll hook you up!

Isn't that a happy picture?

While I was taking pictures and sipping tea for this post, Caedmon started asking for "hot tea" as he often does. So I hooked him up with some of his favorite "ha-po tea" (that translates as "apple tea") And he had a blast slurping it up with a spoon and making a big mess. But our carpet is already nasty so I didn't mind!

You like my bed head?

oops...

Ooooh that's good tea!

If I had a tip number 5, it would be to wash dishes A) when your children are napping, or if that fails, B) when they are engrossed in something entertaining like slurping tea or crumbling play dough all over the floor. So you can scrub away in peace, while your ears and nose and taste buds convince you that washing dishes really isn't so bad after all. 

This is part of Simple Lives Thursday, Freaky Friday, and Fight Back Friday.

Cook Squash the Safe and Brainless Way

One of the ways we're surviving this stressful time is by doing things as simply as possible. Sometimes those simplifications fall into the 80-20 rule: eat as healthfully as possible 80 percent of the time, and it's okay if the other 20 percent isn't perfect. Like going out for chinese food (boy did that make my husband happy. He's been craving egg rolls for the five years we've been married). Or eating a frozen pizza once in awhile. Or buying store bought bread instead of making it from scratch (though I do usually buy sourdough or sprouted bread...but not always).

Here is one example of a simple method that doesn't compromise health. Cooking and pureeing your own squash or pumpkin is a great way to use local produce and avoid the BPA in canned products, but it's one of those things I'd be tempted to let go in a season such as this one.  However, when your CSA keeps giving you squash, you've gotta do something with it! This is the easiest way to use your squash before it rots. And if you don't have the energy to use it right away, it's ok! Freeze it and use it when you feel inspired.

You really can't mess this method up.

Usually, to cook a whole squash, you grab the sharpest knife you own and pray that you won't lose a finger while attempting to cut it in half. Or maybe that's just me. But I've never quite felt at peace about risking my digits like that, and so I've discovered a much easier way to cook a squash. Bonus: you can forget about it and you won't ruin it or burn the house down.

Step One:
Rinse off your squash and place as many as you want inside your slow cooker. I did three in this picture, in my six quart slow cooker. If you're doing larger ones, maybe just one or two.

Step Two:

Put the lid on, and turn the slow cooker on low or high, depending how long you have. I honestly can't tell you how long it's going to take (I told you this was brainless), but they always cook faster than I think they will. Check it after an hour, and then every half hour or so. If you can't check that often, turn it on low. It's done when it pierces easily with a fork.

Step Three:

Remove the cooked squash from the slow cooker and let them cool until you won't burn yourself touching them.

Step Four:

Cut the squash in half using a knife (mmm, now wasn't that easy?). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Scoop out the flesh using a spoon. (Notice that's not the same squash you saw in the above picture...something sketchy is going on here...)

Step Five:
If you want pureed squash, use an immersion blender (my new favorite tool!), a regular blender, or a food processor to puree. (My immersion blender came with this handy little cup - perfect for smoothies! I find it SO much easier to wash the cup and one piece of the immersion blender than to wash all the little pieces of my blender or food processor. Seriously. You need to invest in one.)

Step Six:
Spoon the puree into jars, label, and freeze until needed. A big butternut and a medium acorn yielded about four and a half cups of pureed squash. The stuff in the measuring cup went into our dinner that night. (Pumpkin Sausage Pasta from Simply in Season. Yum.)

No more cutting your finger off trying to cut open a squash. Hurray!

Hope you are enjoying this fall season and finding ways to simplify and enjoy each day. :)

This is a part of Real Food Wednesday.