Thursday, February 25, 2010

Turkey Meatloaf

Super fast, you just need to do it ahead of time so it can bake for 1 1/2 hours.

1lb organic free range ground turkey (beef is fine too)
1 cup milk
1 tbsp MSG free soy sauce such as San-J Tamari
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic minced or 1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 free range egg
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs or 3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup organic ketchup

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except ketchup. Spread in an ungreased loaf pan. Bake for one hour. Remove, drain any liquid, and spread ketchup on top. Bake for an additional 15-30 minutes.
I love to serve this with mashed potatoes (organic potatoes with skins, milk, organic butter, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder) and a green vegetable.

9 Food Label Lies

9 Food Label Lies

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Super Easy Hamburger Stroganoff


So easy, so yummy. Next time you're tempted to reach for hamburger helper, try this instead!!! The picture is of the leftovers...not a great shot but we were too busy gobbling this up to take one!

1/2-1 lb free range ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 container of fresh organic mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsps organic butter
2 tbsps whole wheat flour
2 cups low sodium organic free range beef or chicken broth
2 tbsps MSG free soy sauce such as San-J Tamari
1 cup organic sour cream
sea salt and pepper
1 bag whole wheat egg noodles or elbow pasta cooked

Boil pasta according to directions. Brown meat, onions and mushrooms (may need a drizzle of grapeseed oil). Remove from pan, set aside. In same pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and mix, cooking for a few minutes. Add broth and stir until thickened. Stir in Braggs and sour cream, season to your taste with salt and pepper. Add meat/onion/mushrooms & cooked pasta to sauce, stir well. Simmer for a few minutes and serve with your favorite veggie.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pulled Chicken and Sauteed Kale


Yummy! Serves about 4.


Pulled Chicken:

about 2-3 lbs organic free range chicken drumsticks
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup organic ketchup
1 cup organic bbq sauce

Place all ingredients in your crock pot. Cook on low for about 4 hours (my crock pot CRANKS so maybe you'll need more?) Once done, remove meat from bones using a fork. Mix in a bowl with additional sauce left in crock, and any extra bbq sauce to your taste. Serve on yummy whole grain rolls or bread, or just alone if you choose.


Sauteed Kale:

(Bobby Flay- with a few changes)

2 bunches organic kale, stemmed and cut into pieces and washed well
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup organic free range chicken broth
sea salt and pepper

Heat oil on medium heat and saute the garlic. Add chicken broth and kale and toss to combine. Cook covered for about 5 minutes, stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Season with the salt and pepper and enjoy! Warning: you may get addicted!
This also works well with mustard greens, and I am assuming collard greens would be amazing as well!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

High Fructose Corn Syrup

My friend Lauren has this article on her blog from naturalnews.com on high fructose corn syrup. I think it is worth reading. Absolutely worth reading!

http://caramelaurenj.blogspot.com/2010/02/hfcs-high-fructose-corn-syrup-no-no.html

Blueberry Muffins Revised

Check out some changes I have made to my blueberry muffin recipe. Even more healthy and delicious! MMMMMM....

http://cleanoutyourpantry.blogspot.com/2009/07/blueberry-muffins.html

Come to think of it, I've revised a lot of my recipes and I have added several sweeter options to the recipes, that way you can choose which one you like best :) I personally like the raw honey and sucanat currently. Have fun experimenting!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Popcorn For Dummies

Like my title? Well that was me a year ago. If you had asked me to make you homemade popcorn I would have replied, "Isn't that what microwaves are for?". A healthy living journey is all about the little changes, so homemade popcorn was it. My husband graciously showed me how easy and simple it was. :) So I am now blogging about this 'duh' kind of recipe, because I am sure there are others out there like me who didn't even think to give it a try. ;)

Cover the bottom of your pot with grapeseed oil (he likes coconut oil, but I think it then tastes like coconut. Coconut popcorn? One coconut item I don't prefer!)
Heat on high with one kernel in pot.
When the kernel pops, cover the bottom with more kernels, reduce heat to med-low and cover. Shake the pot to keep it mixed up.
When the popping slows down or stops, remove from heat and mix in organic butter and sea salt to your taste. Now enjoy. The only thing that makes microwave popcorn better is not having to wash the dish! But hey, if washing an extra dish means a healthier life, I think I can handle the extra dish. ;)

Arrowroot Cookies

My daughter and husband loved these. Scarlotte had fun rolling out the dough with me. :)

1/4 cup softened organic butter
1/4 cup raw honey
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour ( soft or hard white if milling your own)
1/2 arrowroot
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets with grapeseed oil spray. Cream butter and honey in mixing bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Flour your countertop and roll dough to 1/8 inch thick or so. Cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds or squares and carefully place on baking sheet. Poke a few times with a fork. Bake until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Should make about 3 1/2 dozen mini cookies. I doubled the recipe and froze half of them for later.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Just A Journey....


I always say that healthy living is a journey. It is just so true. You learn as you go, making necessary changes to meet the current needs of your family. Every day is another step! Recently, I have been learning about sweeteners- as you know. Sucanat has come up several times in the last few weeks and today I finally sat down to research it online. It looks like a great alternative to brown sugar, which for us is great because my Hubby is not a huge fan of brown sugar. Enter- sucanat! So here is just one more journey in our life of healthy living. Trying it out. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Enchiladas Spicy Spicy (as my daughter would say)!




All I have to say is...YUM.


2 cups raw pinto beans, soaked overnight then cooked

2 cups cooked brown rice
6-8 whole grain tortillas (Ezekiel brand is good)

1-2 cups shredded white cheddar or monterrey jack cheese
organic sour cream

Enchilada Sauce:

super easy and good. of course I used whole wheat flour, sea salt and organic free range chicken broth.


Place cooked beans and rice into a mixing bowl and add 1/4-1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, mix well. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of your baking dish. Take each tortilla, and spread the bean/rice mixture inside (about a 1/2 cup in each?), then roll up and place in dish seam side down. Poor remaining sauce over all of the rolled tortillas and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Serve with your favorite veggie! You could also add cooked chicken to the enchiladas. Drop a dallop of the sour cream on top and enjoy!

Split Pea Soup


Want to know the easiest meal in the world? Split pea soup!

Take one bag of organic split peas, sorted and rinsed, and pour into crock pot.
Cover with organic free range
chicken broth (or vegetable).
Cook for 4-6 hours. Done! And very delicious.

Make it a stew:
Just add everything but the kitchen
sink. No, really. Anything you have, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, scallions, whatever! Here's a couple photos of some I made recently- when it is done, of course it looks more like mush, so these pics are prettier. :) It's really healthy, easy, and delicious. Great with a crusty whole grain bread.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Zuppa Toscana Soup


Kale is in season! Zuppa Toscana is it! We love this soup and pile in the kale... yum! My friend Ashley inspired me to make my own version of this well loved soup from the Olive Garden.
Enjoy!





1 package antibiotic free turkey or chicken sausage (mild, med or hot)
2 onions
5 garlic cloves minced or use garlic powder
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt (you can always add more later)
4-5 organic white potatoes with skins, chopped
6 cups free range chicken broth (learn to make your own here)
3 cups raw milk
1/2-1 bunch kale (organic if you can find it- kale is one of the 'dirty dozen')

In your stock pot cook onions, garlic and sausage in grapeseed oil (squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing). Add spices. Add broth and potatoes, cook until potatoes are tender. Add kale and cover, cooking for a few minutes until kale is soft. Mix in milk and serve hot.

From Scratch Brownies


6 months pregnant = LOTS of cravings. All the time. Anything and everything. Tonight, I wanted brownies, reeeeal bad. I knew I couldn't shake the craving! So I made some....and so far I have eaten four. Don't judge me, you know you could do it too! :) So these are more cake-like, but really yummy! Perfect when you need an occasional sweet treat like pregnant me.


3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup organic cane sugar (the recipe called for 2 cups but 1 was plenty! I'd even cut it down to 3/4 cup next time!) or Xylitol
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup grapeseed or coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract or peppermint extract for minty brownies
4 free range eggs

Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Best when on the chewy side.