kids are funny!

A few days ago, I was getting ready for work.  Pat had to work til 5 am so he was sleeping in.  I kissed the kids good bye after waking Pat up.  Bubbles thought there wasn't going to be anyone at the house to babysit he and Tallyoop.  I heard him say to Tally, "It's okay Tallyoop.  I'll take good care of you.  I'll make you green drinks and feed you lunch and turn a movie on for you."  How cute is my 4-yr-old boy!!!  I love how he included green drinks into how he'd take good care of her.  Precious!!!! 

My shopping deals

Well, I told several of my sisters I'd let them know what stores I shop at for specific things so here goes.
It might seem a bit overwhelming to shop at more than one place.  It's worth it though to find the best foods at the best prices especially since budgeting is so essential now days.

Costco

     Eggs (they have brown eggs without antibiotics or hormones)
     Tillamook Cheese
     Organic Salad Mix and spinach  (best price--they are washed and ready for the blender for green drinks)
     Vegetables and fruit
     Rice Milk
     Organic Quinoa
     Organic Peanut Butter
     Kids Cliff Z Bars (I get these for my purse when we are out)
     Organic Raisin Bran
     Organic Raisins
     Organic Butter or tillamook butter
     Noodles.
    

Sunflower Market:  ( my go to store)

     Organic milk (best price $3.89/ gallon)
      Yogurt (either horizon or mountain high whichever is on sale)
      Green leafy vegetables (best price for organic)
      Meats (all of the meat they sell is from a local farm without the use of antibiotics or hormones and the
                 prices are great, look for ads.  Wed is double add day.)  Family Chicken breasts (skinless,
                  boneless)  $1.77/pound  Ground beef  on sale $1.99/pound
     Fresh herbs
     Organic Mac and Cheese (best price on the sunflower brand)
     Coconut Milk
      I get all the vegetables and fruit at Sunflower.  They also have great prices on cooking oil, agave nectar,
       and cereal.  I spend 70% of my food budget at Sunflower.

Good Earth

       Sprouted Wheat Tortillas
       Organic Tortilla Chips
       Almond Milk
       Cold Cereal
       Organic Apple Juice (unfiltered)
       Bulk herbs section:  1)  can get spirulina for green drinks and other herbs like comfrey, beet powder,
                                     absorbic acid, kelp, etc
                                     2) I buy spices in the bulk herbs section.  Great prices and then I refill my spice jars
                                          at home. Ex. Curry, Chili powder, etc.
Hope this helps.  I know it probably seems extreme.  I go to Sunflower every week and Costco 2 times a month and Good Earth 2 times a month. It's worth it to get the right foods for the right prices.   Stock up on items when they are on-sale.  Azure Standard has the best prices for grains and beans.  go to www.azurestandard.com

I also buy a lot of coconut oil from a local coop.  If anyone is interested, you can buy a 5 gal bucket of coconut oil (you'll see that just about every recipe has it in it).  The price is $160.  

You noticed that I don't have a lot of processed foods on my lists.  It's because I seldom buy them.  If there's a sale sometimes I'll get the kids some fun snacks or licorice or something.  Processed food is expensive.  By not buying expensive processed foods, I can afford splurging on organic milk or good tortillas.

Recipe for Eating a light dinner your kids will love!

My kids are big fans of a "light dinner".  We love doing this after eating a late lunch or if we get home late from being out and the kids need something to eat before bed.  Try muffins and smoothies.

Yogurt, Date, and Oat Muffin Recipe

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey or raw organic sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup sunflower oil
mix well
1 T flax seed meal
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chopped dates (nice to soften in hot water first)
1 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix for 2 min.

Spray muffin tins and fill 3/4 full.
 Bake at 350 for 12-15 min

Try this "Hulk Juice" smoothie with it.

2 quarts grape juice
1/2 cup pineapple
1 banana (frozen or fresh)
5 frozen apricots (or canned)
5 kale leaves
3 comfrey leaves or comfrey leaf powder
3 red chard leaves
1 tsp spirulina
large handful of spinach leaves
handful of frozen blueberries

 Blend thoroughly.  Serve with a straw.




This light dinner is full of vitamins and minerals.  The muffins are a perfect fiber source along with Omega Fatty Acids.  The hulk juice is high in antioxidants, magnesium, calcium, vita C, B vitamins, iron, protein, and more.

Muffins are my go-to-food.  If I'm craving a treat or if we need something light to eat, muffins are perfect.

Birthday cake-no dairy, no sugar, low gluten recipe

My daughter ,Tallyoop turned 3. I experimented with some recipes for her cake.  She really wanted something with  strawberries.  So I made an applesauce cake, cut up strawberries and drizzled with cashew nut cream. 
I liked it.  My kids liked it.  My husband didn't like it.  I guess you can't win them all but if you need to cut out dairy because of allergies, cashew cream is a great option and if you don't want to use sugar, applesauce cakes are always a good option.

Applesauce Cake

1 quart of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup agave nectar (don't need if you use sweetened applesauce)**can use honey or organic sugar.
3 eggs
1/2 c oil (I used coconut oil)
t tsp vanilla
mix together well

Add 2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat, can use oat flour for 1/2)
1 T baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Mix together

Put in pans and bake at 350 for about 20 min (depending on pan size)

Cashew Nut cream

soak 1 cup of cashew pieces for a couple hours in enough water to cover the nuts
blend in blender
add 1 T of agave (I added too much and it wasn't as good)
add 1/2 tsp vanilla (if desired, I like it better without)

Cut up strawberries.

Voila!!! My baby's birthday cake.

Use FRESH HERBS

I use fresh herbs in my cooking.  It just makes food taste so much better.  I love using tarragon, sage, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, etc.  Of course, I love summertime when fresh herbs are accessible in my garden.  This year I clipped herbs and put them in zip lock bags.  I've stored them in the freezer.  They are easy to get to.  I also buy the little plastic boxes of fresh herbs and keep them in the freezer.  I think it's hard to always have fresh herbs because they don't last very long in the fridge.  (If you do store parsley in the fridge, clip the ends and put in a cup of water and then cover it with a plastic bag.)

Try storing fresh herbs and using them next time you make a meal. 

Best Chili recipe ever--well at least to my family

 My sister asked me to share my recipe so here it is.

I think what makes my chili taste so good is I use fresh herbs and I make everything from scratch.

I soak the beans overnight in my slow cooker filling it 1/2 full. I use half pinto and half black beans sometimes I'll use Kidney beans or white beans as well.

The next morning I'll rinse the beans and start cooking them in my slow cooker on high. Be sure you put enough water in it. Add 3 or 4 bay leaves. I just keep these in my fridge. Then I add 4 or 5 cloves of garlic. I leave it cooking all day.
(this is perfect on those days you go to work or have to be gone all day).

Beans are done when you can squeeze them in your hand. I add some salt and pepper at this point and keep the slow cooker on but then I turn it to low.

If you eat meat, you can cook the ground beef, drain fat. I saute 1 onion and 1 green pepper and 1 zucchini.

Add meat and veg to beans.
add 2 quarts of tomatoes (drained if you want chili to be thicker)
(I use crushed or diced because my family doesn't like huge chunks of tomatoes)
Add 1 C chopped fresh parsley
1/3 - 1/2 C chili Powder
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp or more pepper

Add all the ingredients to beans and cover. Let it steam and simmer for another 1 hr or so. Then uncover and let cook until desired thickness.

Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread. 

Organic greens or NOT

If you've taken my advice and started making the green drinks (aka hulk juice), you've probably become familiar with green leafy vegetables like Kale and Chard and Collard Greens, Spinach, etc.  If you haven't heard of these, I hadn't really either until a couple years ago.  I spoke earlier about the health benefits of Kale and Chard.  I did some research and found that nearly 10 of the 12 essential vitamins we need daily come from Kale and Chard.  Not only that, there are lots of minerals found in these 2 leafy green vegetables.  I've had people ask me if I buy organic greens.  I do for 2 reasons.  1) They last longer in my fridge. 2) No pesticides.  Whenever possible I'm looking for opportunities to cut out the amounts of sprays and chemicals going into my body.  Sure there are probably bugs found in the leaves but that's why I wash them.  I've tried buying non-organic chard and kale and it doesn't last but 2 days in my fridge.  Organic is a bit more expensive but worth it to me to know that I'm going to be able to use all the  leaves without it going to waste a few days later.  Sometimes I just can't find all organic especially as I'm looking for varieties.  If this happens then I'll wash the greens carefully and use them right away to avoid waste.