Super Easy High Protein Snack!

We sometimes shop at NPS for groceries and though they often are not known for healthy meats in their frozen section, we were fortunate enough to find these thin cuts of beef by Simple Truth that had no weird additives that I can't eat. (I.E. MSG, Gluten, Sugar Etc.) They were about $0.50 each or something, so we bought a bunch of them and I depended on them as my source of meat for a couple of weeks. They are as thin as lunch meat though, so finding ways to eat them took a little extra thought since sandwiches are not really an option. (If you wanted gluten free meat, why would you want it in a sandwich anyway? I mean, I guess you could use gluten free bread, but I'm personally not a fan. Hmm, maybe that's why these ended up at NPS.)

Anyway, so most of the time I'd warm these cuts up on the griddle, season them according to my mood and tear them up to eat over a salad. However, on this particular day, I think I was out of salad greens, or maybe just feeling lazy; (Possibly both). So I warmed them up as usual, (though I think I just stuck to some simple salt and pepper this time,) and then topped them with some goat cheese and green onion spears. I thought they were pretty tasty, and were a great easy high protein snack so I thought it might be worth a share.

Hopefully it will at least inspire someone to the possibilities that come with a no bread diet. You wouldn't have to warm them up, I just prefered that method since they still had a little blood on them. I prefer my meat a tad more well done.

Hope this helps someone out somewhere, and if you try it, I'd love to hear what you thought!

Have a fabulous day!

~Julie :}

Breadless Butter Snacks Part 2

Here is another great way I've found to get more butter in my diet without involving bread or grains.

Some of you might remember my old nostalgic snack from childhood; basically a banana based "ants on the log". Well, it occurred to me about a year ago that I could try eating a banana with regular butter instead of peanut butter . . . I'm not entirely sure how it all came into my head, but I'm thinking it has something to do with banana cream pie, and also, coconut cream pie.  Back when I used to eat regular pies, like at Thanksgiving, those two flavors were my absolute faves. Especially the coconut cream one. So one day I decided to try putting (non-sweetened) coconut on a buttered banana.

It was so tasty! Quite a different experience from the peanut butter banana, but really good . . . possibly better!

I do still like the peanut butter version, but most of the time I will choose a coconut banana over the former recipe because it really does remind me of coconut cream pie! I usually like to sprinkle just a touch of sea salt on top to enhance the coconut flavor and also because the banana is already so sweet and the butter so mild, it's nice to add a bit of contrast.

 My husband and kids all approve of this snack too, so if you miss coconut cream pie (or banana cream); or if you are just looking for a new way to add some more butter to your diet, I would highly recommend this snack!

Totally delicious! Light, sweet, and creamy and with nothing but benefits!

I recently also bought some clean toasted coconut flakes from Thrive Market and the lightly toasted flavor really added to the experience!

For more great butter snacks check out my other post here.

Strawberry Season Snack! (Plus, PB'n'J . . . Salad!)

I love strawberry season!  There is no fruit that makes me quite so happy as a fresh springtime strawberry! This fruit is so versatile in recipes as well as fantastic all on it's own!

We were able to get 2 lbs of fresh strawberries over the weekend from Costco and I am greatly enjoying them!

My absolute favorite way to enjoy strawberries is to stuff them/make them into little 'sammies.'
We like to use softened cream cheese sweetened with a little local raw honey. Sooooo, good!

These snacks feel like an luxurious indulgence, yet they are so healthful and easy that there's really no reason why they couldn't become a regular thing! At least during strawberry season.

Another way that I enjoyed them this past weekend was on a salad. Now I have been eating strawberry spinach salad for over a decade, but this time I decided to try a little experiment based on my Peanut Butter and Honey Salad.

Since I had strawberries available, I figured it was about time I tried out my favorite sweet salad with a strawberry "jam" twist! I didn't actually make jam though . . . All I did was crush some of the berries in a bowl with my potato masher and stirred in a bit of honey (which proved to be unnecessary because the berries were already plenty sweet.) and then I drizzled this raw strawberry goodness over my salad along with my usual peanut butter dressing and some sliced strawberries.
It was lovely!

 If you love strawberries as much as I do, and/or if you miss having a good ol' PB'n'J sandwich because you cannot digest bread anymore; I recommend you try this salad! It's superbly refreshing!

Clean Chocolate "Ganache" Icing

Last September, I posted about Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Cake.   If you notice, I said in the recipe to divide the batter between three 9" pans. I actually only used two of those layers for the cake you see in the pictures on that post. That was on a weekday, so I actually saved the third layer for the weekend so I could serve my parents some cake when they had time to drop by.
Part of the reason for this decision was because on my daughters birthday, it was getting late and I figured after frosting two layers that it looked good enough, and we should just go ahead a light the candles so the kids could get to bed. (I think we were also low on frosting after those two layers.)

As I also mentioned in that post, when I talked about how to make the frosting, that I usually grind my coconut sugar in an effort to make the frosting more smooth. However, when it came time to frost the final layer on Saturday morning, I had the idea to melt the coconut sugar instead, when making new frosting.  We've made coconut syrup for pancakes before when we've been all out of honey or maple syrup and it is really good. So I figured, it ought to work. . . . Aaaaand . . . Happily . . . .

It totally worked!

I don't think I'll ever grind my coconut sugar again! This icing was so smooth and delectable!

Plus it was a lot quicker to melt the sugar than to grind it.

So here's the revised recipe with this new technique included.

Chocolate "Ganache" Icing

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups of Coconut Palm Sugar* 
• 1 tsp of water or so
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract*
• 2 1/4 cups of Coconut Oil* and/or Butter*
• 1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder* (Or more for a darker chocolate.)
• A dash of Sea Salt* or Real Salt* to taste (especially if your butter is unsalted)

Instructions

Place the coconut sugar in a small saucepan with the water over low heat and stir until smooth

Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter/oil, stirring again stir till smooth.

Transfer syrup to a stand mixer or mixing bowl and beat in the salt, adding the cocoa a little at a time until well blended and smooth.

If the consistency is too runny, chill for 10-15 minutes then whip. 

Be sure the cake is well cooled before you ice it.

Top with fresh berries if desired and serve.

I think my parents were pretty impressed with how the cake turned out. Which is good, because I know they have had a hard time adjusting to my cleaner eating habits, and I think they have been doubtful in the past that clean desserts can really be as tasty as their processed counterparts. 

This cake really was delicious though! So fudgey, smooth, rich and chocolaty! 

Check out the post linked at the top or click here to see the recipe for the Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

I hope this recipe proves useful to someone out there, and I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I did!

Thanks so much for reading!

~Julie :}

*Julie Surprise is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Julie Surprise: Homemade, Clean "Samoas" (Girl Scout Cookies)

Yesterday my sister posted this graphic on Facebook.

I confess, after looking at all the unnecessary additives and poor quality ingredients, I bragged in a comment that I could easily make my own and that they would be better in every way. Someone replied to that comment by saying, "Please hurry!"

I laughed at first, but it got the wheels turning for me. I looked at what the girl scout website said about their cookies and it just seemed like it would be all too easy.

I've been working with coconut flour for a few years now, and I've made very similar treats, like this to-live-for, caramel chocolate cheesecake that tasted like it had a crust made from twixt bars. (Yeah, I still need to post that one.)

Anyway, I figured, I might as well give it a shot. So I made a very small batch of half a dozen cookies last night and had to take the time to convert it to a larger batch for all of you here this morning.

The recipe does have a lot of steps, but it really isn't difficult. If you want to shave off some of the time it will take to make these, I would suggest not cutting out a center hole and just leaving them a solid circle. If you like the idea of the narrow strip that the wreath shape provides, you could even dispense with circles altogether and shape the cookies into little sticks instead. (Think twixt bar)

One reason I was able to do this so spontaneously last night was because I already had some leftover caramel in the freezer that I made a couple of months ago. Although, I could have made fresh caramel since I have dates in the fridge right now. It's a pretty simple recipe and if you can get someone else to help you make the cookies you could have one person working on the caramel while the other person mixes and shapes the cookies.

At first I felt sure that someone else must have already created a clean version of these cookies, and perhaps someone out there has, but a quick browse through pinterest only revealed "homemade" versions that consisted of store bought cookies covered with store bought caramels and melted chocolate chips. . . .
Yeah. I know.

Thus, I present to you:

Julie Surprise:Clean Caramel & Chocolate Covered Cookies ("Samoas")

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Coconut flour
• 1/4 cup shredded or flaked unsweetened Coconut (Plus extra for topping)
• 2 tablespoons Coconut sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Milk

(Oven Preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.)

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients until you have a nice shape-able cookie dough consistency.

     Note: You might want to add the coconut milk one tablespoon at a time and test in between to gauge how much moisture you need to help the dough form into a circle without crumbling. I'm high altitude so you may need to add more or less milk to achieve the desired consistency. (See note for Step 3)

2. Cover a large cookie sheet with baking parchment and form about a teaspoon's worth of dough into circles using your fingers, directly onto the pan. You may flatten them with the underside of a cup.

    Note: if you are going to use cupcake liners for adding the toppings later, you may wish to have one handy so you can form the cookie into a size that will fit into the bottom of the liner. The cookies will not spread when baked.
3. If desired, cut circles out of the center of each cookie with a small cookie cutter or other small cylinder that will serve the same purpose.

     Note: You may need to use the tip of a knife to help you remove the circles from the cookies once cut. Seeing how your cookies react to this step will also give you a clue as to how crumbly the dough is. If cutting out the center makes your cookie fall apart, you may wish to return the dough to the mixing bowl and add a bit more coconut milk. Thus, you may wish to test one cookie in this way, before you transfer all your dough to the cookie sheet.

4. Once all your cookies are formed on your cookie sheet, bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the bottom edges are starting to turn brown.

    Note: You will probably start smelling the cookies just as they reach this point.

5. Once baked, remove from oven and carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

6. Once cooled, you can begin to coat the underside of each cookie with chocolate. (recipe below)
To do so, drizzle a small layer of chocolate into the bottom circle of a cupcake liner. Place cookie on top of chocolate taking care that the entire bottom surface is sitting on chocolate. Place the cookies in the freezer for a couple of minutes to quickly set the chocolate layer.

     Note: You can return the cupcake liners with cookies to a cooled baking sheet, or to a plate before transferring to the freezer, whatever best suits you.

7. Once hardened, remove cookies from freezer and carefully scoop your prepared date caramel onto the cookie; creating a nice thick layer. Top with coconut and return to freezer.

8. Once cooled, drizzle stripes of remaining chocolate onto cookie and return to freezer a final time.

9. Once set, remove the cookies from the papers and serve, or store in the freezer or fridge in an airtight container.

    Note: If you choose to make wreath shaped cookies, the center hole may become filled with a thin layer of chocolate. This is easily removed with a few pokes of a straw or knife, or you may leave it intact for extra chocolaty goodness.


Chocolate Layer Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup liquid coconut oil
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder

Mix in a small dish until smooth, with no lumps remaining.

          Note: I did not think it was necessary to add any sweetener to the chocolate as the date caramel is already quite rich and sweet. I prefer the contrast between the dark unsweetened chocolate with the caramel. Plus the layer of chocolate is so thin, it is really not noticeable when you take a bite of the whole cookie that the chocolate has no sweetener. 

 Caramel Filling Ingredients:

• 12-16 Dates
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 to 1/2 tablespoon Grass Fed Butter (optional, see note below.)

1. Soak dates and coconut oil in a small sauce pan over low heat until dates ate very soft.

2. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Blend directly in pan with an immersion blender, or if you prefer, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. 

     Note: If the consistency is too thick to easily spread on the cookies, or simply thicker than you wish it to be, you may add additional butter and see if that helps. Another way to thin the caramel could be to add some warmed coconut milk a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. You want it somewhat thick, but spreadable, and not so thin that it drizzles off the cookie's surface once applied.

Overall, I thought they were delicious. Admittedly I did not try them in a side-by-side comparison to the girl scout version, (for obvious reasons) but to me they are awesome. My husband and three kids also approved of them, with my two year old begging for more, my six year old proclaiming them the best treats I've ever made, and my eight year old saying, "They literally melt in your mouth; they are really good!"

If, for some reason, you find them lacking, you are perfectly welcome to experiment with my experiment. My cookies turned out soft instead of crunchy. In order to achieve a crunchy texture I would probably go with more of a shortbread type recipe, dispensing with the eggs and adding coconut oil to the dough. I considered this at first, but wanted to be sure the cookies would hold together. Shortbread can be a bit of a trial and error at times, especially when working with coconut flour.
Adding more coconut sugar to the dough, or some liquid sweetener of choice to the chocolate coating may bring them closer to the original flavor. I also noticed that the original cookies have mixed the coconut with the caramel, instead of just sprinkling it on top. I will probably try this next time I make these, and you would be welcome to do the same.

Happy baking, and happier eating to you all!

~Julie :}

How to Eat Clean (No matter your situation) Part 1

There are so many little gems I wish to share with you all. Little things I've learned that have added to the joy, ease, and enjoyment of my relationship with food. It's difficult to decide what I should share first, especially because so many of them go hand in hand with others.

Still, because I keep thinking of it, and it is actually a more recent personal revelation for me, I think I will share with you what I've discovered about one of my new very favorite foods:

Cabbage.

Red or green, cooked or raw, I have come to adore it! This crisp, nutritious, amazing veggie has truly surprised me with it's versatility.

Yes, I know. It sounds strange. When I was a little girl, the first thing that used to come to mind when I heard that word, was a line from an old movie where a man comes home from work and tells his cook that he could smell that cabbage she is cooking from a block away and she responds simply with, "Cabbage has a cabbage smell."
I do not even think I really appreciated the scene or really understood why they spoke that way about the vegetable. I had never really noticed cabbage having a specific smell, but it was also very rarely on the menu in my childhood home. Still, the line stuck in my head, and still comes to me sometimes, though not as much . . . because now . . . Now cabbage and I have gotten to know each other, and I have formed my own ideas and opinions that relate to cabbage, things from my own experience and not some fictional movie characters' experiences.

Firstly, however, I believe that I ought to to give credit where credit is due, and tell you that if not for my darling husband and his family, I might never have realized how much I love cabbage. While it was never a staple in my own family, it was a regular thing for my husband. Everyone in his family loves boiled cabbage and his Dad, my awesome father-in-law, even tried a cabbage based diet a few years ago, in an effort to lose weight. (Pretty successful effort, I might add.)
Also, because of my husband's experience living in Ukraine, and loving Ukrainian Red Borsh so much, I also found that when stewed with other vegetables, cabbage becomes something altogether wonderful. It absorbs and enhances other flavors, and the texture is a very pleasing softness that melts in your mouth. So much better than even the best noodles, IMHO.

Now as to raw cabbage, while it used to be that the only way I'd ever had it was in slaw or Chinese salad, because of this awesome raw tacos recipe that I found on Pinterest, the idea of using the leaves as tortilla substitutes opened my mind up to many other possibilities.

For instance; chips.

Last month, in the midst of all the Christmas preparations, I found myself suddenly missing salsa. Costco has a very good organic, sugarless salsa right now, and it was nice in the cabbage leaf tacos and other recipes that I had been using it in, but I kept thinking how much I missed just enjoying the plain salsa by itself, like with the old chips and salsa type snacking from bygone days.
Finally, it occurred to me on Christmas Eve day, as I was busy in the kitchen making homemade clean chocolates for our stockings, that I had both cream cheese and salsa, and wouldn't it be fun to try one of those cream cheese trees that I'd seen on Pinterest. It seemed like a perfect snack to have out on the table for the family while we worked on various preparations for the following day.

I didn't have chips of course, but it somehow came to me that I still had the last of a head of cabbage left. All those crisp, tightly packed little leaves did not tear off in large pieces like a tortilla shell, but they did rather resemble the size and crispness of chips.

Of course, cabbage does not offer exactly the same experience as a salty, dry, crumbly, corn chip . . . Obviously the flavor is more mild, less contrasting, and what not . . . Still, the the fact remains that it worked, and although it was a different experience, it was still a delicious one.

So, my tip for today is, when one has a desire for some yummy, healthy dip, but no desire for GMO-corn chips, or hydrogenated potato crisps, perhaps you can indulge in the glory of your awesome homemade dip without using a vehicle that is not worthy of it.
Use cabbage chips!

Easy, affordable, awesomely good for you, not to mention . . . Tasty!

Just think of the possibilities, the internet is full of clean versions of all your favorites . . . Clam dip, Ranch, Guacamole, Bacon herb & cheese, bean dip . . .

Even if your not missing a particular dip, it's still a great way to use the leftovers of a head of cabbage. Or using cabbage chips can be a great way to make a small amount of other leftovers go a little further. Use that leftover chicken curry, Spanish rice or chili as a dip for your cabbage chips, and a small amount of leftovers with a fair amount of chips becomes a nice little meal, tasty, fun to eat, and high in iron, thanks to the 'chips.'

Hope this tip was helpful . . . Even if you think you don't like cabbage, it seems to get better and better.
I confess, the first time I tried raw tacos, there was a slightly bitter aftertaste, yet haven't noticed this ever since. Maybe it was a coincidence and I just happened to have a bitter cabbage, but I'm thinking that it's more likely that my taste-buds have adapted to the flavor of cabbage so that it is only mild and pleasant to me now. I've even begun to call cabbage my daily bread. . . .

And speaking of bread, I believe my next post will be tips on how to enjoy more butter in your diet with yummy snacks that do not involve bread. Yes, that's right! Breadless Butter Snacks! Stay Tuned!

Avoiding Sugarbane . . . And Other Toxic Foods

bane

[beyn] 

 

• Examples
• Word Origin

noun

1.

a person or thing that ruins or spoils:

Gambling was the bane of his existence.

2.

a deadly poison (often used in combination, 

as in the names of poisonous plants):

wolfsbane; henbane.

3.

death; destruction; ruin.

4.

Obsolete. that which causes death or destroys 

life:

entrapped and drowned beneath the waterybane.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, mainly because this is my life right now, and it has become my life more and more in the past five years or so . . .

Whatever your reasons for wanting to eat cleaner; whether it's because you are trying to invest in better health for your future, heal from current health issues, or if you have an allergy or other ongoing condition that prevents you from eating what most Americans would call "normal" food, I've found some pretty awesome ways to make it a little easier to avoid the bad stuff while still enjoying your relationship with food.

Let's face it, sometimes eating feels more like a chore than a pleasure. Sometimes I think that's okay, as Bejamin Franklin said, "Eat to live, and not live to eat."
I think there is something in that. Food shouldn't be the end-all of our lives, after all, it's purpose is really to sustain our lives, not to put us into a bondage of addictions and health issues.
Still, I also have found that the more you eat to live, the better the life-giving options taste, until it truly is a pleasure to eat again. The transition from junky, processed foods to whole, clean foods can be a difficult hike, but once we've made our way through all the rough parts, reaching higher and higher ground makes one realize, if we look back, that we have come pretty far, and going back is not a desirable option.

As those of you who have already conquered your addiction to cane sugar know; it really does get easier . . . to the point that those acid bright cakes in the window at the bakery no longer look enticing, but on the reverse, rather grotesque.

Of course, sometimes one still might give in---be it the look of the food or the smell of those addictive MSG chemicals wafting through the air. . .
Even if you have no real desire to eat the food offered, sometimes it's the social pressure of being the only one at the birthday party to not eat the cake, (Yes, I've done this, even when it was my own birthday. Not a fun scenario to find yourself in.)
Or maybe you fear offending someone, or you worry after you get that look from people that says, 'Oh, I feel so sorry for you!' Making you feel that maybe you really are deprived.
Or maybe if it's not a health condition, but merely by choice in order to avoid possible future health conditions, and they give you the 'Are you crazy? How can you live without it?' kind of look.

Believe me, I've been there, and felt the pressure and even given in once or twice. The first time was after my first six months of no processed foods. We were at a family potluck and, as was typical with that particular party, there were far more desserts to choose from than soups.

I looked over the slew of cookies both homemade and store bought and told myself that they didn't even look good. Truth be told, they really didn't, or at least, I knew that their looks were deceiving. I think taking the time to even look at them had more to do with habit than anything.
Then my husband's favorite cousin waltzed in with a tray of mini cheesecake parfaits. Okay, cheesecake and I are old friends . . . or perhaps enemies. (Which reminds me, I'll need to post my clean cheesecake recipe here soon.) The point is, I gave in, and I regretted it. Not because I got sick, (I didn't start having, or perhaps noticing those kind of reactions until much later) or because it wasn't good. (Though it really wasn't as good as all the anticipation had built it up to be,) but because the moment I'd put that toxic cane sugar in my body, the sugar cravings were back instantly, as if I'd made no progress in the past six months.
Well, maybe not quite that bad, but I think it took me a few months of recovery till I was back to abstaining from the "treats" again.

The last time I "cheated" was at a Christmas party, and my Mother, whom I love dearly, said, "Well, I only used organic sugar, so it's non-GMO and the flour is gluten free." How could I possibly repay all that obvious effort at striving to accommodate my needs by snubbing those same efforts? Luckily, one small serving only kept me up for an hour that night instead of three. Yet, the fact remains that now, even organic cane is something that my body does not want. Even the slightest trace of it sets off all kinds of alarm bells in my body as if to say, "No, no please not this stuff again!"
Whether you want to avoid the two day indigestion, the screaming leg cramps that wake you in the middle of the night, or the 24 hour headaches that make death seem like a merciful alternative, or if you have other reasons for avoiding the common food toxins, the point is: No amount of flavor or texture in your few moments of experiencing that food is worth it. Period.

Of course, progress still carries me forward and I've found, with immense relief that these situations, no longer stress me out, or depress me the way they used to. I've somehow reached a plateau where I have found peace of mind. No matter where I am, no matter what others around me are consuming, even if it's not at all what I would wish for myself or others whom I love to be putting into their bodies. I am at peace.

But I digress.

As I before stated, I have found some useful, tools, tips and tricks that have made clean eating not only entirely doable, (even on a limited budget with hardly any outside support) but entirely enjoyable as well.

I'm not sure I can promise you the same peaceful place that I have managed to come to; that may only be achieved with time, or perhaps simply letting the worry and stress go, and getting out of the habit of negative thoughts about foods, even toxic ones. Still, I'm going to try to commit myself to posting new tips every few days here so as to build up a nice list of ideas that will hopefully be helpful and practical for you all.

Since this post is already rather long, I will leave my first tip to the next post. Stay tuned for: How to Eat Clean (No matter your situation).

Julie Surprise: Out of the Blue Salad

I will be the first to confess that I'm not naturally a very organized person, I'm the one who is usually a bit late, or who will call you last minute for a baby-sitting gig because I totally spaced something I needed a sitter for until the night before or even the morning of. Yes, I know. I am ashamed. I am getting better about it though, through huge effort and help from my list app, reminders and calender on my smart phone, I have improved slightly.

On the other hand, I can do spontaneous, and I can handle random. I will not have a break down if plans fall through or if something changes. I can handle change. In fact, I've discovered I sort of need things to change up a bit everyone once in a while because too much structure makes me crazy (i.e. grumpy, emotional, intense, high strung, etc.) My husband and I are well matched because we both enjoy making random and spontaneous decisions together.

For example, back in July, on one of the rare Sundays in which we did not have a family party or any other after church obligations, we spontaneously decided to drop in at his parents house to borrow their barbecue grill and their pool for a little family summer fun with our kids. His parents were out of town, but even if they hadn't been, they also have no problem with spontaneous drop-ins.

Anyway, once we got there, my hubby started firing up the grill and he asked me to look around the kitchen to figure out what else we could eat, like some kind of salad to have on the side with our grilled chicken.

(I guess I should clarify that this is also totally cool at my in-laws house. They have a standing policy that if the food is there you can have it. [which idea, honestly, was a little hard for me to get used to when I first got married because in my house you always had to ask about anything you wanted to eat in case Mom was saving it for something.] My mother-in-law sort of has this mentality about it; she feels like if she is generous with what she has, that there will always be enough. In fact, I think she sort of has a contract going on with God where if she shares her abundance that He promises her that her cupboards will always be full. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure there was something like that in the story my hubby told me.)

Anyway, there I was, in someone else's kitchen, with the task of figuring out what to eat for our spontaneous Sunday picnic. I looked through the fridge, but as my in-laws were out of town, there wasn't much there in way of produce. So I checked the freezer, "Hmm, frozen fruit." and the pantry, "Nothing." and the storage room, "Hmm, canned pineapple."

What I did find in the fridge was part of what got my wheels turning about the possibilities. My mother-in-law had some good sour cream. The kind that has only two ingredients (cream and enzymes) so I was thinking maybe I could use it to make some sort of fruit salad.
Pineapple is awesome with cottage cheese, so it seemed like I could perhaps make it work with the sour cream so I dumped a can of drained pineapple into a bowl and plopped about a half a cup of sour cream on top. Then I added a bit of sea salt and a packet of Truvia because they don't keep coconut sugar in their house (and I can't eat cane sugar).

Mixed that all up and tasted it. Hmm, not too shabby. At the same time I was doing this, I was making a fruit smoothie for us to drink with some of the frozen fruit in the freezer. I thought about adding a variety of fruit to the salad, but honestly, I was thinking something a little simpler sounded good so I decided to only go with frozen blueberries (about 1/2 cup again). Blueberries and pineapple just sounded delicious.

Once I started stirring those in, the color of the salad turned a lovely bluish-lavender color and I figured I was pretty much done. . .

Except . . . there just didn't seem to be much salad for everyone, and while it was good, it seemed like it needed something. A little more contrast of flavor. so I looked in the fruit bowl and found a couple of ripe bananas. I sliced one up and threw it in.

Tada! Out of the blue, we have a salad!

Needless to say, this salad was not only lovely to look at but it was delicious to eat as well. In fact, I had to go back inside halfway through our picnic and make a second batch so everyone could have as much as they wished. So, that being said, I'm going to double the recipe here at the bottom because for a good sized group you'll probably want it at least doubled.

Julie Surprise: Out of the Blue Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chunk pineapple or tidbits would work well too, drained. (I added the juice to our smoothie)
• 1 cup frozen blueberries, (you could use fresh, but it might not look as blue in the end.)
• 2 large bananas sliced.
• 1 cup clean sour cream.
• 1 packet of truvia, or non-cane sweetener of your choice (honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar)
• A dash or two of fine sea salt.

Mix and enjoy!

I'm so glad that I was given the task to spontaneously whip up a salad with random ingredients.
If I hadn't had that opportunity, I never would have tasted this delicious concoction!
So while I may appear to be a very flawed person, I'm so glad I can handle being creative under pressure. Things can be pretty yummy, out of the blue.


~Julie :}

What My Diet is Like Right Now

My sister started a FB group recently where like minded Mom's with similar values can share articles and ideas without having to get flamed and bombarded with arguments like they would if they posted the same things on their regular page. It's been a lot of fun to share some of my favorite new ideas and findings with these few women who are all in the same boat, trying to figure out what's best for their families and how to make ends meet without sacrificing their health or values.

Tonight, one of the group members asked about if any of the rest of us feel lost when it comes to grocery shopping; trying to figure out how to afford, good clean healthy fair without it costing an arm an a leg, and even knowing what to make with the food you do get.
I totally understand this feeling!
It's one thing to know what NOT to buy and what NOT to eat. Becoming aware of dangerous additives and ingredients is really eye opening, and it can feel empowering to finally take the plunge and throw out all the junk that's been lurking in the back of your pantry (you know those instant mashed potatoes that have more ingredients than your aunt Edna's secret recipe for frog eye salad?)  Yes, it is a great feeling to say to yourself, "No. I deserve better and my family deserves better and it's not wasteful to throw out garbage."

It's after the cleaning out and rethinking is all done that you might find yourself walking through a grocery store and have no idea what to actually put in your cart. Or, even if you have managed to fill it will all kinds of things you know are great healthy foods, you might find yourself looking at a fridge full of great healthy food but have no idea what to do with it.

I'm sure we've all gone through this, are going through it, or hopefully will go through it because it's all part of the process of the paradigm shift that must occur if we're ever going to leave behind the SAD way that we used to eat.

So, of course, all of the above are the thoughts that went through my mind when I read this question posted to our group's wall. 

So, I started to write a response, and then, as is typical for me, it started to turn into a really long comment and then I had to admit that it was becoming a blog post. So here it is.

I have been figuring things out slowly for the past 2-3 years so I totally know the feeling of getting overwhelmed.
Meat is always tricky too because you want it to be safe but need to be able to afford other food too, and have room for it all. We've been thinking about buying bulk from this site:  http://pinterest.com/pin/15129348718233832/, 
but we'd have to be able to split it with a few families to be able to afford the best deal AND have the room to freeze it. So yeah, still figuring out the meat. 

As of right now Costco has been my link to sanity.
For a while there we just weren't eating very much meat and my hubby was having a hard time with that. So recently I've been buying their organic ground beef ($16.99 for 4 lbs divided into three pieces). I't doesn't say it's grass fed, but it does say hormone free so I figure it's better than some things. Then I also buy a flat of organic black beans and organic tomato paste and use these ingredients to make a big batch of chili which usually lasts us about a week as an easy lunch for my hubby to take to work, or for me to eat. Oh, I often buy their organic chicken stock to add to the chili too. 

Getting veggies from Bountiful Baskets is a great way to get lots of produce in your diet for very little money, plus it gives you a reason to try new things you might not have thought of buying. I think using this resource was a great step in helping me to transition away from the way we used to eat into thinking more about veggies, and actually using them. It was a big learning curve, but so worth it!

Honestly though, we haven't been relying on BB as much because I've been concerned about the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen thing and it seems like most of the produce you get in the BB is on the dirty dozen list. You can get an organic basket for $10 more but I'm not sure it's worth it for how much food you get because the organic basket is always smaller than the conventional one and then it costs that much more, plus, they might include things in the organic basket that are clean enough that buying organic wasn't necessary for that particular item.

Still, if you already aren't eating a lot of produce it's a really great way to get into doing that. And they say eating conventional produce is always better than no produce at all.
Pinterest is a great resource for recipes, as is the Green Smoothie Girl Blog and the Bountiful Basket's Blog.  Actually, there are a TON of great blogs out there for clean eating, most of which I found through Pinterest. You just have to take baby steps and try things to figure out what works best for you and your family.

Right now, I usually buy most of my produce at Costco, like the things on the clean 15 list, such as oranges, grapefruit, Avocado, broccoli, kiwis, asparagus, artichokes. Things with high nutrient content that I can get in bulk and my family will actually eat.
I also will buy organic spinach there for green smoothies and recently I've discovered their organic baby kale which is much easier to eat than the kind we use to get through Bountiful Baskets. It makes a great salad green.
Anyway, whatever I want from the dirty dozen list that isn't available at Costco organically,  I will supplement those veggies and fruits with produce from Whole Foods. I used to use Smith's Marketplace because they do have some organic produce, but often I find that organic apples at Whole Foods are slightly cheaper than at Smiths. As are their grapes, occasionally, and their bananas. It depends though, so watching sales can still be good.

I also have been buying Coconut sugar at Whole Foods to use instead of other sweeteners. Oh, and their nitrate free bacon because my nutritionist told me when I got pregnant that I MUST eat bacon but that it HAD to be nitrate free. I told him I would love that but had no idea where to get nitrate free bacon and he said Whole Foods is where he gets it. His family buys it from behind the meat counter. I've actually just been buying of of the prepackaged  brands because it's cheaper ($3.99 a pack) and with my small family 3-4 packs will last us a least a couple of weeks.  We gave up lunch meat over a year ago and if we have sandwhiches they are now Peanut Butter and honey(Adam's PB has only one ingredient, Peanuts. We get a big jar from Costco), or grilled cheese, or Canned Wild Caught Salmon (our new tuna; we eat it with a mixture of cream cheese based dressing or simply some mashed avocado, depending on what we have, since mayonnaise is full of soy and other things) We also use Dave's killer bread for sandwiches, though someday I dream of sprouting my own grains . . . 

Oh, and we get organic eggs and butter from Costco.  Someday we hope to have a source for local eggs, perhaps from neighbors with chickens or maybe we'll even get chickens ourselves someday. A lot of our friends who live in a house with a yard have done so. One friend even raises rabbits for food.  So, I guess my point is . . . It's a process. I'm sure I will always be wanting to improve this or that aspect of our lives and health, but you just change/try one thing at a time and as it feels right.

Just to be up front and honest, our grocery budget can be anything from $95-$200 a week, depending on the week, and what things we're low on. Oh, and that feeds two adults and two small kids. Cutting back on certain things has certainly helped of course. We don't buy any convenience foods. No cold cereal, not even the healthy kind. My daughter has trouble with milk so we gave that up almost five years ago and haven't missed it. Breakfast consists of either oatmeal (bought in bulk at Costco again) or pancakes made from scratch, compliments of my hubby, half a grapefruit, or bacon and eggs. Things like that.

As for all the meat you bought, if your chicken has bones, I would advise making some Stock from that and freezing it.

In fact, if it's a lot of meat, you could precook the chicken in in crock pot, then shred and freeze extra meat to use for future recipes, like tacos/burritos, soup, etc.
Then of course, as I just said, boil the carcass for your stock.
I've done this before and I got a ton of really yummy stock out of it. In fact, it was surprising because I used a cornish game hen the first time and they are small, but I actually added more water a couple times after the first batch of stock, let it simmer another night and got more out of the bones and veggies. Not as rich and dark the subsequent times of course, but still really good stock. I just figured I'd keep going until I'd gotten as much goodness as I could out of it. You'll want to make sure you have enough freezer containers if you're going to do it that way.
I learned the hard way that glass doesn't freeze well, so if you're using mason jars or anything put those ones in the fridge for use first, or at least don't fill them too full. Anyway, this is a great way to get the most for your money when you buy expensive poultry I think, because it's got to be way cheaper than buying the organic stock at Costco, and you can add whatever awesome veggies you want to it.  In fact, the first night you could just cook all the veggies and meat in the crockpot and you eat that for dinner and then it's just the scraps that are left over that need to be boiled for the stock.

Anyway, this has been a very long post. Hopefully some of the ideas here were helpful and made sense. Feel free to ask any follow up questions!

Homemade Baby Wipes

I got this idea from Parenting Magazine a few years ago, I think it was featured in their section "It Worked for Me" but I've since thrown away all my old magazines so I don't remember who deserves credit for this idea.  All I know is I've been telling myself I should just do it, and finally, this past week, I did it.

Homemade Baby Wipes. . .

These are pretty self explanatory, but I'll explain just the same:

1-2. Cut up soft old worn out tees or other clothing made from soft jersey into wipe sized rectangles. You can even end up with fun colors!
I used Yellow: a scrap of an old adult tee, Pink: the back of a cute toddler tee (I'm planning to use the cute front part for a memory quilt or pillow) and Blue: my 4 year old's worn out pj pants that had major holes in the crouch.
3. Put these new washable wipes into the container of your choice, I'm using an old wipes bag with a plastic snap top.
4. Use a spray bottle to moisten each wipe as you need it. (Also a small bucket to put soiled wipes into for washing later.)  The lady in the magazine said she just used water but I am using a 1:1 water/hydrogen peroxide solution, just to be sure it's cleaning well and can kill germs.  I keep my spray bottle on a high shelf in my bathroom so it's out of the kids' reach. The bonus to that is, the bathroom is the warmest room in the house so whenever I've used them the wipes have been nice and warm, just slightly above room temperature which I'm sure is nice for my baby.

Granted, I've only tried these for about a week now, but I'm pretty happy with them so far.  I'll probably still use disposable wipes when we go out places, just to make it easier, or at least until I run out of the store bought ones.  I guess I can always put a designated ziplock bag into the diaper bag for soiled washable wipes.  Anyway, there it is!  One less thing to spend money on just to poopify and toss.
Now, we'll see if I can realize my next project, washable night trainers for my 4 year old.  And maybe if I can figure that one out I'll even switch to cloth diapers for my next baby. Who knows? Anything is possible.

Happy . . . wiping?

~Julie :}