What's for Dinner?

Tonight's dinner was WONDERFUL Chicken from HERE. I put it in the crockpot this morning with carrots, a red onion and stuffed a small apple inside. Sprinkled sea salt, pepper and organic garlic powder on the top....turned the crockpot to low and we headed outside for a couple hours of fun in the cloudy, overcast day (perfect!)

Side Note: I am the queen of putting a roast or chicken in the crockpot with random veggies, a piece of fruit inside every chicken and then various seasons and spices.....we have yet had one turn out that was yucky. Some we didn't like as well as others (tonight's chicken is in first place thus far).....it seems it's hard to go wrong with a crockpot! Pretty sure it was Rachel Ray who said that if spices smelled good together they would taste together.....experimentation is fun! Be bold and have fun! If it's yucky just put some organic ketchup or homemade bbq sauce on it and it's fixed, haha!

Around 5 I headed into the kitchen to do dishes (for the second time today, amazing I know!), boiled our sweet potatoes and sauteed some swiss chard. It was an "empty the fridge" dinner because I haven't been to the grocery store in two weeks. We ate what was left and it was oh so yummy!!! Dinner was on the table by 5:45

Swiss Chard:

• Washed and Sliced (thick stem sliced out)
• coconut oil, ginger powder, turmeric, garlic powder and a bit of soy sauce
• Saute for 5 minutes until it just starts to wilt
• Cover and remove from heat
• The key is for your veggies not to be all mushy....I'm starting to find the balance but it's hard!
  

Sweet Potatoes : I prefer my sweet potato bake but mashed sweet potatoes was a new thing....probably one I won't do again.

• boiled sweet potatoes
• cinnamon
• flax seed meal
• vegan butter
• almond milk
• sprinkle of nutmeg

Sweet Potato Bake (what I usually do)

• Clean, and half peel sweet potatoes
• slice and put a layer in small glass baking dish
• sprinkle chopped nuts (almonds or pecans are our favorite), flax seed meal, and cinnamon
• put a few slices of vegan butter and drizzle with honey
• continue with steps 2-4 until you are out of sweet potatoes. I usually do about three layers ending with nuts and honey is always drizzled on top
• bake at 35o for 30-45 minutes (until potatoes are tender)

Oh so yummy! I have also made this with apples, pears and turnips layered instead of sweet potatoes (you need to have apples and/or pears with the turnips or there isn't much taste, turnips are pretty bland)

I love my co-op and the opportunity to try new things! Josh isn't a big fan of the swiss chard but I could eat the entire bunch sauteed...mmmm! So looking forward to our next pick up this coming Tuesday and all of the yummy things my fridge will be full of.....right now it is looking pretty sad. I will stop by a local farm stand Saturday to pick up a few things to get us through until Tuesday. We are down to two apples, a grapefruit and a bag of carrots.....that's just unheard of!

Have a great weekend! Farmer's Markets are starting back up.....visit one and enjoy the AMAZING taste of farm fresh produce (and many have farm fresh meat as well :) Organic isn't the end all.....Local Farms are a treasure to enjoy (just ask about farming practices and pesticide use)

Why a Blog

This is a blog to document our food journey for my own reference as well as friends and family (or anyone else who stumbles upon it). Thanks to Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution and the WONDERFUL Food Inc friends and family are no longer calling me crazy but actually calling and asking for my advice! I am NO EXPERT on health/nutrition or anything of the sort! All I am is a Wife and Mommy who is doing the very best she can do provide her family with the wonderful food God has given us. I am researching, questioning and praying all in hopes of bringing quality, nutritious foods into my house so that we are able to enjoy food as well as enjoy being healthy and fit.

In 4 months I have lost atleast 40lbs of "baby weight" thanks to the changes in our diet and breastfeeding. I eat ALLLLLL the time! I am careful what I bring into the house so that when I am hungry I only have healthy choices (and lots of them)! I enjoy TONS of fruits and veggies, nuts, avocado (mmmmm, always have them in the house) and a LOADED salad full of all the "goodies" as my grandma says (sans the sweetened dried cranberries, those are reserved for treats :)

I am off all but one of my allergy/asthma medicines (down from 5 at best, 7 at worst), ADHD is not an issue any longer and I feel amazing! I am a busy momma who survives on little sleep and have been able to keep exhaustion and illness away. The same is true for the hubby. His schedule is beyond crazy! I pack his lunches/snacks, and a cup of hot tea each day. He has managed to stay illness free and keep up with his schedule. My toddler is amazing and her behavior is predictable. She is cranky when tired or hungry.....who isn't! Her behavior is night and day when comparing how we eat on a regular basis vs a day where she has had a "treat" at a bday party of family gathering. The days we deviate from our normal eating I pray for patience!! Her constant runny nose is a thing of the past as is her eczema. Woohoo for food ;)

No, I'm not saying food cures all or is the cause of all.....but I believe it is a huge factor. God provided us with amazing things to eat and we have taken them, changed them and tried to create something "better".....really?? It seems that the further away we get from eating food as God created it we end up with more illness, more obesity and more hunger (I'm amazed at how I can be hungry after eating a large order of fries!! What's in those things???) What the Bible Says about Healthy Living discuss much of this.....as does Food Inc. My favorite "food rule" from the movie is that we shouldn't eat anything our grandmother (or great grandmother) wouldn't recognize as food.....makes things pretty simple :)

I don't have time!!! or the $$

This is what I hear people say, " I just don't have time to eat healthy". Really? How much time does it take you to wait in a drive through? How much time is lost by the "after lunch slump" you find yourself in after you eat processed foods? How hard is it to grab an apple instead of a bag of chips? If you give it a try, figure out a system you will find it is not as hard as you imagined! You can even find grab and go snacks that are oober healthy....right now I am in LOVE with KIND bars.

I pack food for my family just about everywhere we go. I do this for two reasons, 1: we are on a budget and I can't afford fast food. 2: we are aware of what's in processed foods and our health can't afford fast food. I have fun little BPA FREE bags that I pack all of our food in. They are reusable so I don't waste money on plastic baggies. The hubby has one lunch box and the kiddos have another. Sure, it takes about 10 minutes to pack up food for the day but I save $$, never sit in a drive through line, have snacks when the kids get cranky and cut down on behavior problems often seen in kiddos when they have enjoyed their fast food lunch (trust me, I know this first hand!)

We pack hummus, pitas, fruit and veggies. If we are going to be on the go (the zoo or a park) I leave the hummus at home (don't want the hassle) and instead we have fruit and veggie slices, raw sunflower seeds with chocolate chips and water. The kids eat until they are full and we avoid the sugar crash and meltdowns....life is good! Not to mention when a kid (or adult for that matter) is hungry we are hungry NOW! By packing our snacks we are able to eat whenever we need which helps us avoid the overeating frenzy often following hunger that is left unchecked. The kiddos have a cup of Almond Milk or water whenever we are in the car. The hubby has sweet white tea (sweetened with agave) and I have hot tea (with yummy local honey). People joke becuase we are ALWAYS eating something or have "sweet tea" yet my prego weight is falling off and white sugar is not something used in our house (unless it's holiday sugar cookies).

side note: I also hear "It's so expensive". I have a MUCH smaller food budget right now vs this time last year.....I buy MUCH healthier foods and am able to pull it off on a smaller budget. How do I do this? I don't buy processed foods which frees up $$ for yummy, organic fruits and veggies! I also buy the cuts of meat I can afford, buy whole chickens (which are SOOO much cheaper than individual cuts) and found a produce co-op. Oatmeal vs commercial cereal alone is a HUGE savings! Find a grocery store where you can buy things in bulk and you'll save even more! Farmers Markets, local farms/ranches.....use your resources (or look at mine) and you will be amazed what is right in your own backyard.

Yes, I have gone "off the deep end" and am a little OCD about all of this but it brings me great joy as a wife and mommy to know I am providing my family with the best possible food I can (and know how to) short of living on a farm and growing it all myself (very tempting but money doesn't grow on trees!) I love reading and researching food, nutrition and how to get the most out of the food God has given us. I feel like this is one of my jobs as the wife/mommy, I take it very seriously and am lovin every minute of it!

Suggestions welcome....this is a work in progress!