Peanut Butter Love

We.Love.Peanut.Butter.Period.

However, I hate all the sugar they put in it! We usually buy organic brands, they at least do not contain refined sugar and hydrogenated oils. A Favorite of ours is Maranatha brand. You'll pay a pretty penny for this jar of yummy goodness, but at least the ingredients are as follows:

Organic Dry Roasted Peanuts, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Cane Sugar, Sea Salt.

Compare that to a commercial brand, such as, Jif or Peter Pan and you get:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT. (JIF)

Peanuts, Corn Syrup Solids, Soy Protein, Sugar, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Cottonseed and Rapeseed)Minerals (Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Phosphate, Copper Sulfate)Vitamins (Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid) (Peter Pan Reduced Fat Version)

Can I get a... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

First off, it was hard for me to locate online the ingredient lists, especially for the Peter Pan brand. Like they have something to hide maybe? And if 'choosy' moms choose Jif... then oh my. What does choosy mean again?

Throwing this out there.... maybe parents will be offended... BUT most kids LOVE peanut butter right? PB and J, a well loved, kid friendly/favorite lunch (don't even get me started on commercial jelly and wonderbread- or commercial wheat bread for that matter. Or some organic wheat breads for another matter....ok, focus Dana, focus!). Do any of us parents really know what these ingredients are in our child's Peter Pan peanut butter??? Let me let you in on my knowledge. Take out EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT, MINUS THE PEANUTS, and you should feel good about feeding this to your child. I once heard someone's very bold statement that feeding a child unhealthily should be considered child abuse. This sure pissed a lot of people off! But think about this, if we do not know what is in the food we feed them, or know what these ingredients do to their/our health, can we argue this accusation? 'Food' for thought.

So! Here is my solution. A frugal, healthy and easy solution. Seriously. $2. Five minutes. You can do that for your little munchkin, can't you?

Homemade Peanut Butter

3 Cups Peanuts

3 Tbsp Coconut Oil

Combine in blender. Blend for a minute or two, then scrape with a spatula. Repeat. And Repeat again.... and again... until your desired consistency. Store in fridge. Makes about 2 cups.

Add raw honey for a sweeter peanut butter.

And eat that yummy goodness straight from the spoon and bask in your healthy treat.

Green Smoothies

Bored with breakfast? Give a green smoothie a try! Either for a healthy breakfast, a quick lunch or just for a mid-day snack, this smoothie will give you fuel for your day!

2 cups organic full fat plain yogurt (or coconut milk for dairy free)
1 cup raw milk (or almond milk for dairy free)
2 cups raw organic spinach
2 cups organic frozen fruit/berries- you choose, we love strawberries and mango
1 banana
1-2 tbsps Standard Process Whey Pro Complete**
1-2 tbsps Standard Process SP Complete Powder (with or without dairy)**

Blend all ingredients in your blender until smooth. You may add some raw honey or stevia for a sweeter smoothie.

**Standard Process Whey Pro Complete and SP Powder (comes in dairy free or with dairy) are available from Doctors only. Restoration Wellness carries these products (www.restorationwellness.com).

PESTO!

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I used walnuts)
  
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices. Yummy!

A Year of Changes....

WOW. Has it really been a year of posts already? One year ago I began this blog, to sort of document the changes we were making as a family. How far we've come! It feels great. As we begin another year of healthy changes, and experience the beginning of Restoration Wellness, these are some of things our family is focusing on:

~Gluten free recipes to reduce inflammation in our bodies, experimenting with coconut flour and almond flour more often.
~Dairy free recipes for the same reason, experimenting with coconut milk and almond milk more often. NOT using soy products in place of dairy.
~More natural and organic personal products.
~Homemade household cleaners using 'yummy' essential oils!

We're super excited to begin a new phase in our healthy living journey.

What changes are you making on your journey?

Super Light But Filling Lunch

Guacamole + pinto beans + tomatoes scooped up with raw veggies or corn chips = yummy!

Not your typical lunch, but still great and healthy.

Guacamole:

2 avocados
1 garlic clove
sea salt
pepper
lime juice

Mix together.... and just throw some pinto or black beans on top with fresh organic tomatoes (add some cheese too if you want) and eat with good quality corn chips (watch for MSG!) or raw veggies, or Mary's Gone Crackers (these are gluten free) and enjoy!

Dana and Matt's Breakfast Delight!

Matt and I used to make this breakfast all the time when we were dating. Really, it could be a quick lunch or dinner too! It's super yummy and just fun to make. Bake it a little more and you have a breakfast pizza, bake it a little less and you can roll it up as a breakfast burrito.

Makes 2:

2 whole grain tortillas, such as Ezekiel brand

About 4 free range organic eggs scrambled

4 slices of uncured turkey bacon cooked

1 organic potato washed and sliced thin

1 onion chopped

raw cheddar cheese shredded (about 1/2 cup or so)

sea salt and pepper

Cook onions and potatoes in a pan, covered, over medium high heat. Stir often. Add salt and pepper and some grapeseed or coconut oil so it doesn't stick.

Meanwhile, scramble eggs in another pan and cook the bacon when the eggs are done.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place in this order on your tortilla: eggs, chopped cooked bacon, potatoes and onions, cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, give or take depending on how crispy you want it and if you want a pizza or a burrito. :)

Yum.

Easy Tuna Melts

Need a quick meal? Try this. My Hubby would say it's not so healthy if you use mayo, considering the hydrogenated oils, but I say at least it's not McDonald's! As healthy as you can get on those kind of nights....I save it for the weekend or nights when I am just exhausted!

Organic wild caught tuna in water (in a pouch if you can find it, to avoid the BPA in cans) you'll need 2

Mayo- learn to make homemade mayo here
or Grapeseed oil Veganaise (they sell this is Green Bay but I never found it in Atlanta or in NY but I do think you can buy it online)

Dill

Pepper and sea salt

Shredded white cheddar cheese

Whole grain english muffins (I recommend Ezekiel brand)

Make tuna to your liking with the mayo/veganaise, dill, salt, and pepper.

Toast english muffins. Spread tuna on muffins and cover with cheese.

Broil for about 5 minutes. Works great with a nice salad or even just some plain ol' frozen peas!

Homemade Tomato Soup (from scratch!)

I made this homemade soup last weekend and it was scrumptious! Serve it with grilled cheese on a hearty whole grain bread (we used Ezekiel Bread) and oh so amazing. Was such fun to watch our daughter dip her sandwich in her soup for the first time! We all loved it!



4 cups tomatoes, diced or pureed in the blender (approximately 8 small tomatoes) – I used part of my canned tomatoes and it worked great!
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or a combination of cloves and garlic powder
1 cup organic chicken broth
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp dry basil (or fresh if you have it!)
dash of pepper
2-3 tsp xylitol
Saute onion and garlic in a little coconut oil till tender and translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring carefully to a blender. Puree until smooth. Return to pot and add the remaining ingredients to your taste. Delightful with a dalop of sour cream on the top!

Thai Chicken Wraps

Light and healthy. Easy to make. Gluten free. Love it.

I got this recipe from elanaspantry.com and we really liked it. I will make it again. I may try an alternative to the peanut sauce, as it was not my favorite. Maybe a sweeter asian sauce. Either way, it still is super yummy and just different from what we usually have for dinner. It was fun.

Try it out:

www.elanaspantry.com/thai-chicken-wraps/

Hummus With a Kick!

Found this recipe online- has a kick to it for sure! I love the cumin in it, may not use the red pepper next time...

Hummus With Tahini

2 1/2 cups cooked chick peas (I highly recommend cooking them yourself to avoid those from a can! It's so easy!)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ceyenne pepper
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup water

Put all ingredients in your blender/food processor and mix until smooth. Refridgerate for one hour so flavors soak in and enjoy! Great with pita bread, raw carrots, whole wheat bread, etc.

2-For-One Meal!

I'm all about easy these days. So tonight you can make this Asian Chicken Salad, while easily marinating the chicken with similar ingredients for tomorrow's dinner! And both are so easy.

Asian Chicken Salad

Romaine Lettuce
1 small can mandarin oranges in juice not syrup, save the juice
slivered almonds
Your favorite dressing, maybe Asian or balsamic
Cooked chicken:
1 to 2 organic free range chicken breasts cut into cubes
pan fry on medium heat with grapeseed oil once or twice around the pan
about a half cup of Asian sauce, soy, teriyaki, tamari, etc. Low sodium & check my post on MSG **San-J Tamari is my favorite
a couple tablespoons of sesame seeds
Cook about 10 minutes until golden brown
Add to salad and you're all done!

I wanted to serve this with home made fresh spring rolls but hey...I'm pregnant.



Now, use the extra chicken breasts from the pack and trim, tenderize, and cut in half
Place in a glass baking dish
Drizzle 1 or 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a mixing bowl
1 or 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons raw honey
3/4 cup of the same Asian sauce from the salad
Juice from the mandarin oranges
season with sea salt, pepper, garlic salt, ginger and parsley
Mix it up and pour on top of chicken.
Marinade in fridge overnight, turning breasts over in the morning
Grill for dinner, or you can bake it in the dish. If you grill, save the extra marinade, boil it, and use it as a sauce to dip the chicken in.

2 easy, healthy, light meals DONE. Yay!

Home Made Whole Wheat Pizza

Enjoy a pizza night without the grease and without clogging your arteries! Make this SO EASY crust to add your favorite toppings to.

In a large bowl add:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon organic cane sugar or raw honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 packages dry active yeast ( you need 3 teaspoons)

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 cup very warm water

Mix all together with a spoon. Knead dough 5-10 minutes until it is soft and springy. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, until it has doubled and your finger inprint stays in the dough. I usually make this ahead of time, and let it rise for a couple hours.

For pizza: Grease a pizza stone using grapeseed oil and sprinkle with corn meal. Roll dough onto stone. Spread with your favorite sauce, mozzarella cheese and toppings. Bake at 475 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Scarlotte loves healthy pizza!