Great Simple Giveaway

No, not me, I'm not doing a giveaway. But, a group of blogs I just found are doing a bunch of super ones to celebrate the launch of their new format!

Simple Bites Simple Organic Simple Moms

Go check them all out.

Real Food Challenge: Update

So after a not-so-good first day, the others haven't been much better, I hate to say.

Day 2: Choose Wholesome Foods.

• natural sweeteners - I'm halfway there. If I use actual sweeteners, I do use natural ones, like honey and molasses. I've also got about two pounds of organic cane sugar to go through.
• wholesome fats - I am good here! I still have a jug of canola oil I'm using to fry, but once it's gone, I won't be replacing it. But other than that, I use butter, coconut oil, olive oil and bacon grease/lard.
• whole meal flours - I'm pretty good here too. Once again, I'm using up the whole wheat and bread flour that I have and hope to move to milling my own and sprouting grains.
• unrefined sea salt - check!
• meat (grass fed, organic) - check! Though I need some work on the organic pastured part.
• fresh fruit & veg - check!
• full fat dairy - check!
• naturally fermented foods - I'm going to be starting my water kefir this weekend. I WILL do it!

Day 3: Improve your grains.

• White flour is bad, very, very bad - check!
• Whole wheat flour isn't much better. I loses a lot of it's goodness and contains phytic acid which prevents digestion. - I'm working on it. I'm using up what I have, and then I'll get better, I promise! I just can't throw away a 2 5 gallon buckets of flour (I have one wheat and one bread). But I will start soaking my dough to help.
• Start sourdough, soaking grains and sprouted flour. - on my list for the future.

Day 4: Start Sourdough

• I missed that one...oops! I'll get on that hopefully in the morning.

Day 5: Sprouting grains

• Activates enzymes
• increases vitamin content
• neutralizes anti-nutrients.
• I haven't yet, but I'll explain why in the next day's info

Day 6: Mill Your Own

• I have neither a dehydrator or a grain mill, so I will be waiting to do this until I can get these things :)

Day 7: Relax and evaluate

• Check! I don't think I did a very good job, but I'm working on it, and that's what this is all about for me. Learning!

So I have a lot to work on, but I am learning a lot. You can view all of the info on the archives at the Nourished Kitchen.

Menu Monday

Yeah! I got it up on a Monday again :) I spent a total of about $15 at the grocery this weekend, eggs, rutabagas, cauliflower and pop. That evil beverage my husband and I seem to still be addicted to!

I'm hoping to get a soda machine in March when I get my bonus this year. In the mean time, I want to start water kefir, but I'm still trying to figure out what the final sugar content would be on that. The jury still seems to be out. I think I'm just gonna jump in and try!

Anyway, back to the menu.

Monday - Oven-fried chicken with baked asparagus and mashed rutabagas

Tuesday - Beef/broccoli stirfy

Wednesday - Roasted cauliflower soup

Thursday - Pork chops with roasted asparagus

Friday - Dinner at our place with the neighbors! I'll be putting a pork butt in the crockpot in the morning and we'll be having pulled pork sandwiches with homemade wheat bread (I didn't get a sourdough starter started yet...and I don't think I can get one ready to make bread on Friday!), corn from the freezer, applesauce and probably something else that I can eat...maybe leftover soup

Saturday - We'll be traveling out of town for a birthday, so we'll probably end up eating out as I'm not sure when we'll be getting home. If we are home in time, we'll eat up some leftovers!

Sunday - Homemade pizza.

For more Monday Menus, check out The Organizing Junkie.

Life continues to be crazy and my blogging time is minimal, but I do hope to get a Challenge update put together soon!

Day #1: 28-Day Real Food Challenge

Day #1 Check List:

For today's assignment make sure to clear your cupboards of the following processed foods as well as anything containing these ingredients: Vegetable Oils: Soybean, Cottonseed, Canola, Corn Sugar: White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Turbinado, Agave Nectar (including "raw"), Sugar in the raw Stevia: white stevia powder, stevia liquid Margarine Shortening (excluding palm shortening) White flour: all-purpose flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, white rice flour, Cornstarch Soy foods: soy sauce, soy flour, soy milk, soy lecithin, isoflavone-enriched foods and supplements Dried Pastas and Noodles Iodized Salt Refined Sea Salt Meat & Dairy Replacements: TVP, veggie burgers, vegan cheeses, sour creams, rice and nut milks, vegan sausages Processed cheeses Skim and Low-fat Dairy: cheese, milk, yogurts etc. Boxed cereals, crackers and cookies

So far, if I had to give myself a grade, it would probably be D-. Worst grade I have ever gotten! I have to admit, it's been a little more intense at the beginning than I anticipated. My main hang-ups so far are my husband, the low-carb thing and our budget! We are really trying to work on our mountain of debt and get it paid off so we are in a better position all around for the future. And right now, getting rid of food that is already in my pantry is really hard to do! I am working on my own version of using them up and not replacing unless it's been in the pantry a while and not used.

As for the low-carb part, it's the stevia and artificial sugar that I'm hung up on. I have green leaf stevia I can use, but I also have a large quantity of splenda and a box of stevia packets that I completely rely on for condiments and sweets! I just don't think I could handle green-colored vanilla ice cream!

And my husband, well, dry noodles and processed cheeses will be a hard sell!

I will try to keep updating for days 2-3 later tonight :)

Menu Monday - really, really late!

I've had my menu planned, I just could get it posted! Life's been busy and a little hectic lately, and blogging is unfortunately not at the top of my priority list. I need to move it up though, I have GOT to get back into writing if I ever want to make it as a freelancer in the future. And establishing the routine and discipline to do it won't hurt either :)

Okay, here's my menu:

Monday - Chicken Nuggets & butternut squash fries. I am now in love with the nuggets I made!

Tuesday - spaghetti with meat sauce. I'm running out of my home-canned tomato sauce, I definitely won't make it through the end of the summer. I'm going to have to buy canned tomatoes and make more or break down and by canned sauce. Booh. I'm trying to stretch it out some more.

Wednesday - crockpot chicken thighs with broccoli (not really a recipe, I just through stuff together!) Hubby will be eating with egg noodles. If it's good, I'll try to remember what it was and post a recipe:)

Thursday - Shredded chicken (leftover from Shower on Sunday) with broccoli

Friday - dinner at neighbors

Saturday - creamy dijon pork chops with asparagus. I'll make Hubby a baked potato too.

Sunday - Chili (want to make some bread with this too)

Additional goals for the week include:

• make breakfast sandwiches for Hubby
• bread
• cookies
• low-carb crepes
• low-carb hazelnut spread!! :)

For more menus, visit The Organizing Junkie!

Real Food Challenge

I have just joined the Real Food Challenge at The Nourished Kitchen. Go over and check it out. Challenge yourself if you want!

Each day, for the entire month of February, you’ll receive an assignment that will help you learn about the principles of a nourishing diet including the importance of grass-finished and pastured meats, wholesome fats, sprouted and soured grains and probiotic foods.

I'll be blogging about my escapades into this...hopefully I won't have to eat liver!! :)

Yummy Low(er)-Carb Dinner

I love chicken chunks. Love them a lot. And my hubby really loves chicken nuggets and fried chicken too. So earlier this week I experimented. I used my Bob's Red Mill baking mix as a breading for chicken and it was delicious!!

Ingredients

2	c Bob's Red Mill Low-Carb Baking Mix
1/2	c panko bread crumbs
2	chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
2	t onion powder
2	t garlic powder
1	t chipotle powder
1	t curry powder
1	egg
1/4	c cream
1/2	c water

Directions

1. whisk together egg, water and cream in one bowl
   
   
2. in another bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients for dredging
   
   
3. heat about 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees in dutch oven (I used a candy thermometer to keep temp constant)
   
   
4. soak some chicken in the egg mixture, then dredge in breading mixture and fry a few at a time. Transfer to newspaper to drain excess oil off.
   
   
5. Chicken pieces are done when they are nice and golden brown on the outside, just 3-4 minutes is all it takes.

Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/fried-chicken-chunks-recipe-r319849#ixzz0dodB1LwJ

These were very yummy! I will definitely be making them again. I served them with butternut squash french fries baked in the oven. Delicious! The chunks run about 10 carbs/serving (approximately) and I don't think Hubby even realized they were low-carb. The baking mix gave the breading a really great texture because not only does it contain different flours, but also oat bran and flax seed meal. (BRM mix contains: Vital Wheat Gluten, Whole Grain Oat Flour, Oat Bran, Oat Fiber, Flaxseed Meal, Whole Grain Rye Flour, Wheat Bran, Whole Grain Soy Flour, Sea Salt, Evaporated Cane Juice)

Menu Monday (on Tuesday)

Quick post from my iPod today!

Monday - low carb fried chickenchunks & butternut squash fries. Delicious! Recipes soon!
Tuesday - chicken & broccoli stirfry with noodles (I won't eat noodles). Friends will be coming over so we will also have applesauce & I'm hoping to make some low-carb icecream too!
Wednesday- beef stew (with leftovers)
Thursday - beef stirfry with asparagus
Friday - dinner at our house! Roast chicken, corn, butternut squash & hopefully some homemade bread
Saturday - out of town at a cousins baby shower
Sunday - homamade pizza if we get home before dinner!

For more menus visit orgjunkie.com



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Adventures with Beef-a-roni!

My husband grew up on boxed meals. His parents both worked, his mom worked nights, and a lot of the time it was either he and his siblings cooking, food brought home, or something from a box. He loves the stuff, that and canned pasta.

However, I just can't do it. I'll buy him a few cans of the pasta stuff for when he's cooking for himself, but I can't in my right mind buy a box of beef-a-roni and make it for dinner! That's why I'm very happy I found a from-scratch beef-a-roni recipe! I've modified it a bit, but I'll post the original recipe here first.

Ingredients

1	lb ground beef
1/2	lb macaroni
2	c water
1 1/2	c tomato sauce
2	t sugar
1	t mustard
1	t pepper
1	t onion powder
1	salt to taste
2	c shredded cheese

Directions

1. Brown and drain ground beef
   
   
2. Add spices and mix to combine.
   
   
3. Pour in water and pasta, bring to a boil.
   
   
4. Simmer 15 minutes.
   
   
5. Turn off heat and stir in cheese.
   

Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/beef-roni-recipe-r318265#ixzz0dcuUSQhC

The first time I made it, I stuck to the recipe and my Hubby loved it! And it's easy enough that he can even make it himself! Since going low-carb, I've had to modify it a bit. I'm still working on getting it just right, but it works for us :)

First change is to boil his noodles separately. This is actually making it difficult to get the right water ratio in the meat portion, but I'm getting close.

Instead of noodles for me, I usually steam some cauliflower or broccoli. It's surprisingly good over cauliflower!

I'm using my own home-canned tomato sauce with very little sugar in it, and then I only use about 1 t of splenda. I also cut up about 1/4 of an onion and saute it with the ground beef instead of onion powder.

And last but not least, I add garlic :) We love garlic! It makes everything tasty!

I unfortunately didn't get a picture of this from dinner last night, but it's not the most photogenic of meals anyway. But it's beef-a-roni, use your imagination! :)

Adventures with Cauliflower Soup

Yes, you read that correctly, cauliflower soup. I myself was skeptical, but I'm expanding my horizons, and I'm glad that I did!! The original recipe came from Pioneer Woman. Thanks for the inspiration :)

Unfortunately, everyone liked the soup so much I didn't get a chance to take a picture. But it was delicious. I used ham stock and put in a little bit of ham I had in the freezer from the holidays. I omitted the salt as a result of that. So good! Have I said that yet :)

6 servings. 6 carbs per serving!

Ingredients

1/2	stick butter
1/2	onion
1/2	carrot
1	stalk celery
1	cauliflower head (or two if they are small. You can also use frozen.)
2	T parsley
2	quarts stock (chicken, ham, veggie or beef will work)
1 1/2	cup whipping cream
2	t salt
1	c sour cream

Directions

1. Cut up cauliflower, celery and carrot into bit sized pieces. Place in roasting pan and roast at 375 for about a 1/2 hour. (This step isn't completely necessary, but I think it makes it tastier!)
   
   
2. Melt butter in soup pot or a dutch over. Add diced onion and cook for a few minutes (I added garlic too!). Add roasted veggies and parsley. Stir to combine.
   
   
3. Cover and cook on very low for 15 minutes.
   
   
4. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.
   
   
5. Ladle about 1/2 of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend. Return to soup.
   
   
6. Add cream and simmer on low for a few minutes. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
   
   
7. Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add 2-3 ladles of soup and mix with sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.
   
   
8. Serve immediately.
   

Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/cauliflower-soup-recipe-r314516#ixzz0d6s60JCP