9 Food Label Lies

9 Food Label Lies

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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:

www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/enchilada-sauce-recipe.html

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.

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.

(Almost) From Scratch Chili!

Friday I ventured to make chili completely from scratch. I almost met my goal, except for that one small stinky can of organic tomato paste I had to put in to thicken it. Oh well. Almost there!
I also had to season this as I went, tasting it to decide what it needed. Here is a recollection of what (I think) I did after it was done. The result was good so I will do it again!

3/4 cup each: (raw) garbanzo beans, black beans, red kidney beans and pinto beans, rinsed and soaked 24 hours in advance.
4-5 large organic tomatoes, diced
2-4 organic bell peppers of any color, diced
1-2 medium onions, white or red, diced
3 stalks celery chopped small
10 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
1 small can of organic tomato paste
About 4-6 cups of water
3 tbsps raw honey and organic cane sugar
3 tbsps sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp black and red pepper*
2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder*
1 tsp turmeric, coriander and paprika
*If you do not like spicy chili, use less ground red pepper and chili powder. I will next time until this pregnancy is over! :)

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for eight hours. If done on stove, cook on medium-high for eight hours? Stir and taste occasionally to test! (Remember I said "I think" this is what I did!!) I'll proof it again soon just to be sure. Serve with whole wheat corn muffins (blog under muffins)! Enjoy!

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!

Change Can Be Sweet....

Ok, so I have gone through my recipe collection and made necessary changes in hopes to mostly discontinue the use of agave nectar. Not 100%, but mostly. So I am now experimenting with raw honey, sucanat and stevia, and of course there is the easy way out- cane sugar! So, I obviously have not made all of these recipes in the last 2 weeks, just figured out the conversion. So I am asking that if you try anything using the new stevia, honey or cane sugar suggestions, please comment and let us all know how it worked for you! I have had much success with honey- however, for some reason, not with my banana muffin recipe! And I tried a new recipe today trying to come up with an accurate conversion for honey into stevia.....did not turn out sweet enough....I will continue experimenting and keep all of you posted on good and bad results. I appreciate your patience, as the Boheens can only eat so many muffins! My freezer is stocked! :) I am also learning that Sucanat is a good subsitute for brown sugar.

I am very excited for this push to try out stevia. I had wanted to a long time ago, knowing it was one of the best natural sweeteners there was! Agave was just easier....so here's to the push! And may all our muffins be delish.
:)

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/

Learning About Stevia...

Found this conversion chart so now I can start my experimenting!

Sugar Amount........................................1 cup/1 Tbsp/1 Tsp

Equivilent Stevia powdered extract..1 Tsp/1/4 Tsp/a pinch to 1/16 Tsp

Equivilent Stevia liquid concentrate..1 Tsp/6-9 drops/2-4 drops


Honey works great too, just cut it down a bit (about 1/2 cup to every cup sugar). Also learning about Sucanat... seems like a good substitution for brown sugar (use the same amount).

Agave Nectar Highly Processed???

So recently we have been doing some deeper research on agave nectar. What we found is not what we were hoping for. This product has seemed to represent itself in a deceiving way, seeing that it is raw agave right? Wrong. The process in making this sweet syrup is very involved, making it not very raw at all! It is so processed and hydrolyzed, it becomes high in fructose, which is one of the worst ways you can get sugar! Ugh!

So where to go from here... well, we will be experiementing with Stevia and also using plain ol' good raw honey for sweetening. As far as agave goes, I am going to try to discontinue using it. I will say, however, that if you are diabetic, I would probably still recommend agave over Splenda or Nutrasweet. And if this news makes you want to go back to white refined sugar- don't! Use raw cane sugar instead.

More details to come. Bear with me as I make this transition!

Quinoa Crusted Cod and Collard Greens- Just Scrumptious!

This collard greens recipe is from my friend Lauren, and it is so delicious I can't believe it took me so long to try it!!! I mean, seriously delicious. Who would have thought? Collard greens? Oh yes. Amazing. Check it out here:

http://caramelaurenj.blogspot.com/2009/08/collard-greens-what.html

Honey Balsamic Collard Greens!

1 bunch of collard greens
Pinch of salt ( I use sea salt-has more nutrients than table salt-make the switch today)
Olive oil
Red onion
garlic cloves
garlic scapes (optional)
Sweet Peppers (green, red, orange and or yellow)

Fill Sink with cool water. Separate leaves from stalks and immerse in water. Rub dirt off and dry ( I shake the water off and cut them, then throw them in a salad spinner to get the water off)
Roll several leaves together and slice the roll in 1-inch strips ( I believe this is called chiffonade-style)
Put leaves into a large pot, add enough water to cover the leaves. Add a pinch of sea salt and minced or chopped garlic cloves. Bring water to a boil and cook leaves until bright green. Reduce heat to med.low heat. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, until tender. (taste to see if you like the texture-Don't cook too long, you do not want mushy greens!)
When greens are cooked to your liking, drain them and return to the pot and put on the lid.
Saute 1/2 cup chopped red onion, chopped garlic scape and peppers in olive oil. add to leaves. Drizzle honey and balsamic vinegar over mixture and toss leaves.

I only used grapeseed oil in place of olive oil and added maybe a little more than a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar and especially the honey. :)

Quinoa Crusted Cod

This one was just an idea I got one day from something else, and decided to create it and give it a try! The results were better than I expected!

Wild Cod or any fish filet really, just be sure you buy wild fish and not farm raised fish and try to stay away from high mercury fish such as tilapia (I know- a mild favorite of mine too..)
Organic quinoa (pronounced keen-wa, it's a grain)
Spices ( I used) Black pepper, sea salt, paprika, garlic powder, dill and parsley.
Egg
Grapeseed oil

Fill your pan with about 1/2 an inch of grapeseed oil and heat to medium high.
Beat the egg (s) in a small bowl and set aside.
On a plate, mix together quinoa and spices.
When oil is ready (sizzles when you drip the egg in it), dunk your fish into the egg and roll into the quinoa mixture until fully covered. Fry in grapeseed oil about 5 minutes on each side (more or less depending on how think your filet is). Place on a plate covered in paper towel immediately when done to remove extra oil, and serve right away.

I served both these dishes together along with brown rice.
Enjoy! (We did!)