Snack Idea - Blueberries!

Frozen Blueberries with almond milk (or soy milk) - pure yumminess!

Filet Mignon

Josh made a delicious dinner tonight! Grilled Beef Filet Mignon (organic & grass fed) with spinach -strawberry salad and mixed summer squash. This is the first time we've cooked beef since Christmas! It was amazing and Josh is the grill master ;)

Up close of the salad - spinach, strawberries (frozen strawberries, thawed), sliced almonds, drizzled with organic honey. Thanks for an amazing dinner, honey!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

3 ½ Cups 100% Whole Wheat Flour add approx ½ cup for dusting
2 teaspoons of organic honey
1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of table salt
1 Tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 ½ Cups warm water (110 degrees)
3 Tablespoons of ground flax seed (optional)

1. In a medium-seize bowl, dissolved 2 teaspoons of honey in 1 ½ cups warm water
2. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast on top of the water mixture and set timer
for 10 minutes
3. 10 minutes later – Stir in the salt and olive oil into the yeast mixture
4. Stir in 3 ½ Cups of Whole Wheat Flour and add 3 Tbs of ground flax seed if desired
5. Mix the ingredients until the dough start to come together and then dump the dough
onto a floured board or flat, floured surface
6. Knead and fold the whole wheat bdough for a few minutes until all the flour is
absorbed. If the dough is a little sticky, add a pinch more of flour.
7. Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place into a large-sized oiled bowl. Turn to
coat the dough, cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for an hour in a warm
place. (Optional – sit the bowl on top of a small bowl filled with warm water)
8. 1 Hour Later – On a floured surface, press the dough into a flat circle with your
fingers, working from the center out in a circular motion
9. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until you reach your desired size
10. Gently Place the dough on the pan (Greased w/ olive oil if necessary)
11. Trim the edges and poke holes in the dough to eliminate air bubbles (fork)
12. Baste the edge of the crust with minced garlic and olive oil
13. Bake for 5 minutes at 425º
14. Add sauce and toppings
15. Bake approx 8-12 minutes

Reflection

"All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial" - 1 Corinthians 10:23

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately. As a Christian, I know that I am under God's grace and that technically, all things are lawful for me. It's not a sin if I eat chocolate or chips or ice cream. BUT - what benefit am I really going to get out of those things?

The crazy part to me is that the brain reacts to sugar the SAME way it does to cocaine - they are both addictive. There have been scientific studies documenting this. As one who has been bought and redeemed, the only thing I need to be addicted to is Christ. We condemn the alcoholic, the smoker, the porn addict - but no one ever talks about the food addict. Why is that?

I write all this to say, I want everyone reading this blog to know that this is a personal journey for me and very much a spiritual one as much as it is a nutritional one. I'm on a journey to discover Christ more every day and to honor him with the beneficial foods he's created for us!

Luck o' the Irish Soup

Every weekend, I try to make a big batch of soup that we use the rest of the week for lunches or dinners. It's economical and cuts down on kitchen time! This week we will be eating a "newer" soup that I've created and since it has cabbage, it reminds me of me Irish heritage, thus the name.

Ingredients:

2 pound bag of black beans

2 pound bag of great white northern beans

*Soak overnight, or cook according to package directions and rinse. Also, this made a ton of beans - so I froze about 1/2 of them for a soup down the road. And, one last thing on the beans - I soaked them together, so my white beans ended up turning gray. Not a big deal, just funny looking!*

3 Cups Chicken Stock (I used leftover stock that I had frozen last weekend)

1 Head of Cabbage - chopped and cooked in a skillet with water (I had to cook 1/2 at a time)

3 Cups Fresh Broccoli - steamed in microwave for 10 minutes (you could use frozen)

9 med tomatoes - chopped

1 can (26 oz) Corn and Bean Salsa

Pizza Pizza

Guilt free-pizza? Really? Yep, it's possible with homemade whole wheat pizza crust, all-natural pizza sauce, mushrooms, onions, red peppers, green peppers, fresh tomatoes, olives, and cheese - baked on a Pampered Chef Stone. Yummy!

Our goal is to use animal products as condiments - like cheese on a pizza, or salad; or chicken in a soup. The great thing about the lifestyle choices we've made is we can STILL have those things - we just use them very differently now. And the other great thing? IT'S NOT EXPENSIVE! This pizza cost me $7 to make and we get 8 large slices out of it. Dinner and leftovers for lunches all for $7 - and it beats Pizza Hut in taste!

Friday Fajitas Night

One of my favorite dinners is Fajitas!!! I tend to buy peppers in bulk when they are on sale and cut and freeze them. Makes for a super easy dinner - just move them the night before to the fridge and they are ready to cook when you get home from work. I usually add a fresh, chopped onion as well.

Whole Wheat Wraps, Romaine, Hummus, and Onions and Peppers make a perfect combo!
The finished product with a side salad of spinach, cucumbers, feta cheese, salsa, and hummus.

1/25/11 Pitas and Summer Squash

Dinner 1/25/11

Tonight's dinner was super easy!

Whole Wheat Pitas with hummus and romaine lettuce

Summer Squash - cooked for 10 minutes and added salsa for flavoring

I used 2 full heads of romaine for both of us (Josh ate 4 pita halves!) and 3 Summer Squash.

Total Price: ummm...$0.99 for the squash, $0.24 for the pitas (used 3 whole ones), $1.00 for the Romaine...and the hummus and salsa aren't enough to count, but for the sake of counting them - $0.50. Guess that comes out to $2.73 for dinner for two people! Take that, McDonald's Dollar Menu!

Mid-week Shopping

Stopped by Bi-Lo this afternoon and found some great deals!

8 lbs of oranges - $4.99

Whole Wheat Pitas - $0.49 a pack

Summer Squash - $0.99 for a 3 pack

Romaine - not the "best" price, but still cheap

Naked Juices - 2/$5 (My *splurge item*)

Bananas - $0.59 lb (cheaper @ Walmart, but bananas from Bi-Lo stay fresh longer)

Total trip: $22.60 (w/o the naked juices = $17.60)

Snack Ideas

Thank you to Josh's parents for getting us a dehydrator for Christmas! We've been enjoying it!
One of our favorite things to snack on is oil-free, non-roasted, salt-free nuts. Archer Farms (brand at Target) is the only place besides Health Food Stores that is actually all those things - salt free, etc. The ingredients = nuts. period. Just don't eat too many.... they are high in fat :)

1/24/11 Greens and Beans

Monday Dinner:

Fresh Kale - steamed in the microwave

Red Kidney Beans - Warmed on the stove with Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Seasoning

Mushrooms and Yellow Peppers - Cooked w/water on the stove

I would NOT have eaten this six months ago, but today, it is one of our fastest and most nutritional meals...and it's yummy! Kale is one of the most nutritional vegetables around and we've learned to enjoy it. I promise, over time, your taste buds adapt and learn to love what you feed them!

1/23/11 Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Sunday Lunch: Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans organic veggie broth (or use water & make your own stock by boiling the chicken)

6 chicken legs (from grass-fed chicken)

2 cans low-sodium black beans

2 jars Corn and Bean Salsa

1 Acorn Squash

2 large onions (Cook on stove w/water & pepper b/f adding to the soup)

2 cups Barley

*Start by boiling the chicken & once done, remove from bone. Cook Acorn Squash in microwave for 6 min. and let cool. Cut in half, remove seeds, and scoop squash into broth. Add 2 cups barley and black beans. Add cooked onions and 2 jars of Salsa. Cook on low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.

This is completely a "thrown" together soup -and Josh and I both love it. The best part is it's super cheap too and makes a HUGE pot of soup that feeds us all week! Here's the finished product:

1/22/11 Asian Stir-Fry

Saturday Dinner

Birds Eye Asian Stir-Fry from Sam's Club - $6.98 a bag...and we get 2 dinners out of one bag

Baby Portabella Mushrooms - $1.23

Total: $4.72 for 2 people

1/22/11 Fruit Smoothie

Breakfast this morning: Fruit Smoothie

I buy big bags of frozen fruit from Sam's Club - it's much more affordable than anywhere else.

Ingredients:

2 Cups frozen fruit (this morning it was a pineapple, strawberry, peach, and mango mix)

1 Cup soy milk

1/2 banana

1 Cup fresh Spinach (You DON'T taste this, I promise)

Why the Blog

About 4 months ago, I was introduced to a new way of life - nutritional eating. I liked to think I was eating pretty well before, but the truth was, I was clueless. The typical American diet is not healthy - our pyramid is completely off- kilter. We focus way too much on meat, dairy, sugar, and processed grains - which has led to more and more people with cancer, heart disease, auto-immune disease, migraines, and weight issues. The beauty of God's food creation is that vegetables and fruits are HEALING. There are known vitamins and minerals in every single natural food - but what most of us don't realize is that there are millions of phytochemicals in natural foods that work together to heal our cells. It doesn't work to eat processed foods and then add a vitamin supplement in hopes of being healthy.

My own journey has just begun - and in part to keep myself motivated and accountable, I'm starting a daily blog of nutritional eating. The other reason I'm blogging is I have had numerous people ask me for recipes and ideas for eating healthy. Someone just the other day said, "I've seen the changes in you and I want to eat more nutritionally, but I don't even know where to begin." I get it. I was overwhelmed at first too. But then I just decided I was going to find a way to make it easy. Nutrition doesn't have to be complicated - you just need to have the basics and go from there. Focus on vegetables. Focus on Fruits. Focus on nuts. Focus on whole grains. Focus on beans. I'm sure I'm missing something somewhere - but the point is to start where you are and do what is doable for you. If you don't start where you are at, you will never change. Take the small steps today.

If you are looking for some great reading material, pick up "Eat to Live" or "Eat for Healthy" by Doctor Joel Fuhrman.
https://www.drfuhrman.com/