Teach me Tuesday: Adventures in Whole Foods/Organic Eating

Found an organic co-op in my area, now I am overwhelmed looking at the thousands of items that are offered, funny how seeing names and descriptions without pics make it harder for me to decide if we need it? I am not sure what I want to stock up on, what I really want to start with.


Since I am baking on a regular basis I am thinking that I want to try coconut sugar which is on sale 30% off, though I am not sure what the delivery and taxes will bring my cost up to as well as the one time fee of $10 to join the co-op and the $5 pick up fee if I don't regularly help unload truck. So I will have to add $15 right off the bat to my initial order plus shipping and taxes. They also strongly suggest you order minimum of $100 per month... Decided to save the money & go once a month up to Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Mustard Seed, & Earth Fare.

Anyhow, I am thinking I really want to try the coconut sugar reg in place of brown sugar and blonde in place of granulate sugar, xtra virgin coconut oil in place of my canola in all my cooking and baking & I think I replace shortening in cookies with coconut oil-will have to research.  I would like to find a sprouted flour for the bread I am making every other day that would be better. 

Plus I would like to find a wild sour dough starter, don't know if that would work in my bread making technique I have been using the Artisan Bread in 5 min. My husband cracked me up this evening as I inquired as to the children's supper, that he couldn't use the "new" bread to make Kissi's pb&j's, he was appalled at the mention of if LOL! He didn't want to "waste" that bread on that, he wanted simple sandwich bread, LOLOLOL!!! 

How funny was that? I informed him this was our new bread and Kissi loves it for sandwiches so I will try the sandwich recipe next time I make a batch which will prolly do by Friday. Will let u know how that turns out. I did make pitas with the Master recipe turned out gr8! Want to make tortillas now out of it, hopefully I can

The other area of concern is the kids snacks, I am doing Annies Homegrown bunnies seems like a good replacement for the fishies, would like to add the mac and cheese and their cheese ravioli's as well as the all starts, so when we are running late we have the convince items on hand that are healthy.  

I am thinking of ordering Keifer since it is on sale, that way I can give the kids kiefer every day and get some the health benefits going thru their systems and ours, I suspect if my husband drank some every day his IBS and mine would virtually disappear. I would like to get some Sprouted Ground Whole Wheat and pasta. 

Made the hand sanitizer, that was a BUST! Way too watery then I got the bright idea to add more glycerin...yeah now slippery and slightly sticky, so I think of adding my son's Simply Thick beverage thickener...ummm don't know if that helped or made worse. It does absorb eventually and my hands are as chapped as they have been, since we had Hand Foot and Mouth disease, ROTO Virus, Pink EYE, some throat virus (Jim and I are still battling), and sinus infections....so we have been using the hand sanitizer like it is holy water around here. Both of our hands are so raw and chapped it is insane.

My hands feel smooth and look good after a day of 10 poopy dipe changes and working, so perhaps it might not be so bad? Maybe in place of the pump dispenser I will use the spray bottle and it will not dispense so much? Might have to try that, bc it is still thin enough I believe it will spray, I think...

I did find another recipe from another blogger I recently discovered:

Searching For Hidden Treasure's Hand Sanitizer:

• 12 ounce bottle of 100% Pure Aloe Vera Gel {It must be clear and say 100% on the bottle!}
• 3/4 teaspoon of Tea Tree Oil
• Witch Hazel

In a glass bowl, mix Aloe Vera and Tea Tree Oil. Then add witch hazel until you have the consistency you want your sanitizer to be.

 The more Tea Tree Oil you use, the stronger the antibacterial qualities your hand sanitizer will have. But the smell can be overwhelming too. 

You can add other essential oils such as citrus, lavender or cedar wood if you'd like to have a sanitizer with a better scent.

Like what the glycerin did for hand protection, still might add like a 1/2 tsp and 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar for it's sanitizing properties. 

But will def start with a 12 oz base of Pure Aloe Vera Gel and Tea Tree is main add others maybe 1/8 tsp at time so it won't be so watery? Will let you know.

RECIPE WED #9: Spinach & Feta Quinoa Salad

Found this here,  & tweaked it a bit to fit the appetite of my family...really tasty! even can make this with differnt types of quinoa and rice. a blend of wild and brown is scrumptious too!!

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 bunch spinach (roughly chopped)
2 cup quinoa

4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth or water)
1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup dill (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1/4 cup feta (crumbled)

sprinkling of capers or fincely diced black olives

--------------------------------
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts.
5. Add the quinoa, vegetable broth, parsley, dill and season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and hit it with a splash lemon juice. sprinkling of capers or black olives and mix in the feta.

Teach Me Tuesday: When Ambition takes the backseat to LIFE...

{Found this draft from back in March 2012, I just hadn't posted it} 

I had so many ambitions, as last week was so chock full of appointments, tests, and procedures- I was looking forward to catching up on household chores, Kissi-cat's homeschooling, mini-moose' therapy and more ambitious whole foods cooking. It really takes time to, planning, and prep to cook more traditionally and I look forward to the process of it {Just NOT the clean up}

Then it all came to a screeching halt as I heard the rumblings  & rattlings & hacking & coughing, sure signs of upper respiratory inflammation starting up in Kissi-cat. Mini-moose has had congestion and sinus issues since last Wed, didn't know if they would precede with his MRI since he had to be sedated, but they were able to work out a good situation for him. But now his nose is draining like a faucet down his face and Kiss-cat is draining down her throat.

There comes a time, when you have to choose to allow somethings to go undone when you are needed by children or situations happen outside of your control. It kills me to not reach my goals for the day even if that just means washing the dishes, I LOVE my children, it might sound the opposite because I am giving myself permission to hold a sick child versus doing chores. Yet, I had to mentally give myself permission to leave somethings undone,  so we had store bought egg noodles instead my homemade version. I usually keep some in the pantry just in case, now this might be a cop out, if I didn't have it I wouldn't rely on it? Perhaps, I am not that hard core though, and there are times when life happens and ambition takes the backseat, you know? I hope to make homemade pasta when I make Spaghetti Bolaganse this weekend, but we will see, I do have store bought pasta in my pantry-some shapes you just can't make or roll thin enough.

In the past we would rush to the doctor who would say the same thing, use Vick's Vapor Rub on chest, back and bottoms of feet, use humidifier, elevate her pillows, elevate her bed, restrict dairy and phlegm causing food.  IF they get all croupy take outside for them to catch their breath, or turn the shower on full blast and all hot to get extreme steam to help clear the air ways...

All drainage is clear so I am not going to rush them to the doctor's and risk them getting some other bug... This time I am mustering up my courage and tapping into my mother's intuition, instead of allowing fear of ridicule from others keep me from making choices I know are right for my family. In any case the doctor would not offer much else than I have all ready heard dozens of time before.

I have been interested in alternative medicine for as long as I can remember &  have made a "lung butter" or a salve like the "Vick's" only not synthetic ingredients and petroleum to get ingested into their developing systems along with the trace amounts of essential oils. So this time I utilized my years of research and applied what I have learned. Below is some remedies I have used time and time again and some new ones I have had in my files for years but only used recently:

Here is a list of Essential oils and the medicinal effects or issues they work best for:

• Asthma: clary sage, cypress, eucalyptus, frankincense and marjoram.
• Chesty cough: Cedarwood, clary sage, eucalyptus, ginger, myrrh, pine and tea tree.
• Hay fever: chamomile, eucalyptus, pine and rose otto.
• Sinusitis/catarrh: cajeput, Cedarwood, eucalyptus, lemon, rosemary and tea tree.
• Headaches: chamomile, lavender and peppermint.
• Insomnia: chamomile, lavender, jasmine and ylang ylang.

* DIY Vick's Vapor Rub:
Adapted this recipe from An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants, by Mary Bove, N.D. page 286.

• Pour 1 ounces of almond or olive oil into a small bowl or cup.
• Add 1/2 Ounce Melted Coconut oil
• Add 1/2 ounce whipped unrefined shea butter-can omit and just use 1 oz melted coconut oil, I just like the softer texture of whipped unrefined shea butter
• Add 20 drops of essential oil {You want to use 10 drops TOTAL of oil per 2 ounces if you are using this on small children and infants} – choose eucalyptus, hyssop, thyme, peppermint,  basil, or rosemary.
• {I use 5 drops of tea tree, 4 drops hyssop, 4 drops peppermint, 3 drops lavender, & 3 Drops rosemary plus 1/8t of myrrh powder. This formula works well on my children, 10 drops didn't seem to do enough and 20 was too strong for Kissi-cat's sensitive skin}

Transfer to clean sanitized tin and allow to cool, apply to chest, feet and back you normally would.

 I also have been giving Kiss-cat & Mini-Moose some tea, this tea is soo good and as long Kissi-cat doesn't see the grated ginger, pulp of lemons, and it is sweet she will gladly drink it- Mini-moose is a crap-shoot. Here is the Ginger-Lemon Tea recipe:

* Ginger Lemon Tea w/Raw Honey: This is my version of a tea I enjoyed drinking when I was fighting extreme nausea during some fertility treatments. I found out later the other medicinal qualities of the ingredients and we drink this when we are starting to feel under the weather- 

• Ginger is another traditional cold and flu remedy, & works well for that rattly cough that lingers because it  contains at least a dozen antiviral compounds. You can use fresh or powdered ginger for this recipe- I really don't think the compounds are as vital when they u purchase the dried, unless u have a reliable source, PLEASE NOTE:  Fresh ginger has higher levels of gingerol {If you want to know what gingerol is: chemically, gingerol is a relative of capsaicin and piperine, the compounds which give chilli peppers and black pepper their respective spiciness, this is LOST when using dried version!} as well as FRESH ginger’s active protease (it's anti-inflammatory compound) than using dried verions-FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST!!
• Lemon is a traditional sore throat soother, essential from all that hacking and coughing- so I steep the lemon slices, or if I have rinds in freezer I add them

To make the tea:
Add 1 heaping teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered),
3 slices of organic lemons,
To 1 cup of boiling water. 
Allow to steep COVERED for ten minutes
Strain {OR add the above to a tea ball and just remove at the end of 10 min}
Add Raw Honey to taste-then drink. 

If I am fortunate enough to have Licorice Root or Wild Cherry Bark I will add to my tea ball. They work well as a medicinal tea:

• 1t of dried licorice root- a natural throat coat, an expectorant to help keep your lungs clear and a booster to your energy when you are tired from coughing.
• 1t wild cherry bark- for irritating cough from bronchitis, croup, asthma and whooping cough b/c of it's Anti-spasmodic; Sedative; Anti-tussive; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( COPD ), Expectorant, Supports lung and respiratory function, Antispasmodic, Expectorant, Sedative, &  Stomach Tonic.

Onion-Garlic-Ginger Poultice: WHY USE  onion, garlic and Ginger?
* Onion is filled with phytochemical and quercetin which assist the body by moving and breaking up the mucus in the head and chest. The powerful odor causes the eyes to tear and the nose to run is the affect that stimulates the immune system to fight the virus or bacterial infection. This is helping your body shed the virus and reduce the inflammation from congestion.
*Garlic is known to have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties… and there are no known side effects (other than smelling like garlic!), getting kids to eat this raw or adults for that matter is impossible, so using it as poultice works for my family.
*Ginger has antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds as listed above

• Crush 1/2 of a small onion, 3-6 cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle  or with knife to get all juicy 
• Grate or slice thinly 2 T FRESH ginger.  
• Place in a thin material, cheese cloth, old t-shirt, I use the thin cloth diapers I used as burb clothes on kids when they were babies (these are the perfect thinness) and fold like a burrito
• lay in a deep medium bowl
• And pour Very Warm-Hot'ish water, NOT BOILING
• Allow to Steep until comfortably warm.

I rub a neutral oil, like sweet almond seed, jojoba on the skin prior to poultice as a protector of the natural secretions check often because garlic and ginger can be very warm to skin and will cause a "burn". 

I apply the poultice to the foot of my young children. The foot is a great receptor of natural remedies and the healing properties enter their systems fast. I will sometimes wrap a plastic bag over the foot to aid in keeping the poultice in place, checking every 2 min for skin irritations or hot spots. I will also apply to back and chest alternating up to 20 min, some people will suggest up to 60 min, since my kids are so young we don't apply this longer than 20 min.

Additional Remedies I found online and lost the resources but this we recently tried and I am liking the way it is seems to help soothe my throat: 
 

* Sore Throat Gargle with Hyssop or Sage:
Sage & Hyssop are traditionally calming herbs & known for their 
anti-inflammatory properties

• One cup of distilled water 
• 20 Drops sage or hyssop essential oil 
• Add 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 2 t Food Grade Vegetable glycerin {My family won't use this without the sweetened taste glycerin gives the gargle solution, plus it helps preserve it longer}

 Store in the refrigerator for two to three days, gargling whenever you need some relief from your sore throat. [Not sure where I got this recipe, but have been using it and adapting to my family's tastes for years-kids haven't been able to gargle without swallowing so primarily this is for adults]

* Lemon Throat Spray:  is a traditional sore throat soother, and you can put into a spray bottle of any size (look for travel-size spray bottles to take some with you when you're on the go) and stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Combine:

• 15 drops lemon essential oil
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 t food grade vegetable glycerin (again my family won't use this if it's not sweetened, so this is a must, it slightly sweetens and helps the taste)

[Found this in my files a few months back, not sure of where I got this, but we have been using this and it is very soothing.]

RECIPE WED: 7- PB & J Breakfast Bars

Found this on Angie's Big Love of Food,  

I have tried several of her recipes and I really like them ALL... 

I bet this one will be a great one too! Gonna try this for one of my freeze sessions breakfast edition! 

Does this LOOK Fabulous or WHAT??

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats 
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

PB Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 large egg, beaten 
• Top with 1/2 C Blackberry Jam

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line & spray an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper (nonstick foil).

Prepare crust: 

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together add oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir together til crumbly.  
2. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture for topping.  
3. Place remaining mixture firmly in the bottom of a parchment lined dish. Place pan in oven for approximately 12 minutes, until crust sets.  

Prepare peanut butter filling: 

1. In bowl, add cream cheese, peanut butter, egg, salt and beat til incorporated
2. I swirled mine in 
3. just slightly or you could microwave it for a few seconds to make it easier to spread.  Top with remaining crumb mixture.  

To Bake:

1. Place it the oven for 30 minutes until top is browned.  
2. Allow this to cool.  
3. Once cool, place in fridge for about an hour to let it completely set up before serving.  
4. Lift it out of the pan by the ends of the parchment paper & place it on a cutting board. 
5. Best served at room temperature.

Makes up to 16 bars

Teach me Tuesdays: BEAUTY DAY!!

Today I will focus my attention of my skin care regimen. 

I have heard about using oils for cleansers and I all ready use an olive oil based cleanser which my dry & sensitive skin loves. SO no real tweaking until I run out then I will be making my own version.

I have some recipes I will be trying out soon:

• olive oil 
• castor oil, 
• jojoba oil 
• in 1/3 proportions.

But today I focused on my facial scrub, mask and moisturizer.

Recipe mine, pic from this site

Facial Sugar Scrub:

• Castor Oil
• Tamanu Oil
• Rosehip Oil
• Sugar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I use a castor oil base scrub bc it gives you the most cleansing & dissolving bang for your buck. It’s also highly antibacterial in nature, along with tamanu and rosehip seed oil (These both are quite pricey and I don't typically use them for a scrub since it doesn't rest on the skin for very long, but they both have limited shelf life and I need to use them up)  

Both tamanu and rosehip oils are healing and regenerative, they DO need a carrier oil so castor works as a carrier (base) oil for this as well.

1. I used oils 1/3 portions. 
2. NEXT I added sugar- 2 parts oil blend to 1 part sugar. 

I LOVE they way my skin feels, I might be using the rosehip and tamanu on a regular basis, as long as I have these oils at least.

There are other essential oils I can add like:

• lavender, 
• helicrysum, 
• myhrr, 
• rose 

All good for the regenerative qualities since I am nearly into my 40's I am into regenerating my skin as much as possible, especially in my sun damaged areas.

I am quite pleased with my scrub, so I turn my attentions to my mask. I am really into cleansing clays for my masks, I have tried the green french and Benoite clays, but I don't have oily or problematic skin so I opted to try Rhassoul clay from Morocco. Click this link to learn more about this amazing clay.

My Rhoussoul Mask with customized Oil Serum:

• I used 1T clay & 2/3- 1/2 C helichrysum/Lavender/Lemon Balm(Melissa) hydrosol or distilled water to make a creamy semi-liquidy paste. 
•  I add small drops of hydrosol at a time and watch as it absorbs the clay to get the proportions just right to properly hydrate the clay. 
•  I made a Jojoba(for added toning affects), tamanu, & rosehip seed oil serum that I added an essential oil blend with lavender, helichrysum, rose and myrrh powder blend to lay directly onto my skin under the mask so it would ionize into my skin. 
• Then a layer of the clay mask directly over. 
• It gets really tight as is dries, so it really tones and pushes/ionizes the precious oil blend into my skin.

For my night time moisturizer I have been using extra virgin coconut oil with added essential oils:  

• lavender, 
• helichrysum, 
• rose, 
• and patchouli
• the standard is 7-10 drops per tablespoon. 

My day moisturizer varies, sometimes I just use an oil blend bc my nighttime cream is so rich I barely need anything during the day, I mainly use oil to protect my skin from pollutants.

That is my skin care regimen right now and it works!

I love the customizing aspect of making it myself. 

There are times your skin needs more hydrating than other times or needs more balancing other times-so I only mix small batches at time, it keeps it fresh and allows me to customize as needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8/22/12-Update on Rhossoul Clay mask:  

I have to say that within one use my skin feels velvety soft like when I have a micro-dermabrasion treatment. And within 2 weeks of use- The jaw line is more defined, the sun damaged areas on my cheeks look less pronounced as well. Amazing skin texture, I would say it knocks off 5 years in a manner of 10-15 minutes. LOVE my rhossoul clay!!

10/1/12-Update on the EVCO Moisturizer: The flakiness that I typically have on my forehead and around my nose, gone, the texture like I said velvety soft, the "marionette lines" on either side of my mouth are much less noticeable.

RECIPE WED # 6: Breakfast Burritos

Our Family LOVES breakfast burritos- 

 It is easy & costs pennies to make, 

 (*Costs me $0.59/each to make!!)

WAaaaaaay cheaper than those fast food chains!! Plus it is easy to reheat! You can reheat in the microwave in you are on the run in seconds or if you have just few more seconds you can reheat it in a sandwich maker for a crispy outside and tender steamy inside!

I made this for my HUMUNGOUS freezer session for my upcoming surgery, check out my plan in this post. It is fairly easy and fast to make even if you have interruptions while preparing this you can do it in steps, that is important to me when you have young children like I do. You can scale this down for you family but this freezes well so I say go for it and if freezer cooking intimidates you give this a try and save your family money and extra calories by making it yourself!

• 30- 10" Flour Tortillas
• 1LB Ground Bulk Sausage, Regular
• 1LB Ground Bulk Sausage, Sage
• 3 Dozen Farm Fresh Eggs
• 2 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 LB Bag of Potato O'Brien
• Salt & Pepper
• Milk
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• Chives, chopped (optional)
• 16 oz salsa (Optional)

Ran out of eggs, usually more eggs in mix

• Brown the Sausage in large skillet, remove from skillet and leave 2 T of drippings in pan.   
• While Sausage is cooking scramble eggs with milk and season with chopped chives, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper,  & crushed red pepper, cook low and slow- semi-hard set and throw in shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
• Drain Sausage in colander, allow to cool, and add to large bowl.
• When eggs are cool add to sausage in large bowl.
• Open bag of O'Brien Potatoes and add to large bowl. 
• Add Salsa to large bowl if planing on using, add 2 oz at time to be sure you don't make this too "soupy" will be a HUGE mess upon reheating!!

I use double this amount of filling, just didn't get a pic of it.

Assembly of Burritos:

• Spoon as much filling onto center of tortillas as will comfortably hold (I used about 2T)
• Fold the bottom edge up and over the filling and fold other side over that.
• Roll up the Burrito from bottom.

  

Packaging Burritos 

 I like to use the the snack size storage bags, if the burrito is not stuffed to fool, they fit perfectly.

Recently though I have been using Deli style wax papers and folding them the same was a burritos over top the sandwich. What I like about using the wax paper is can reheat in the wax paper and it is biodegradable.

Either wrapping you choose I place the burritos back into the tortilla bag- I don't worry about freezer burn bc they don't last more than 3 week in my freezer. I usually have about 4-6 burritos left over and I place the wax wrapped burritos in a larger freezer storage bag.

To Eat:
Place on a microwavable plate and thaw in microwave for 20-30 sec on defrost or medium level-if using wax papers can thaw and reheat in wax papers if using snack bags remove from packaging.

Or if you have a "sandwich maker" this is so perfect for to reheat in, it has this nice toasty & cripsy outside and the inside is tender and steamy..YUmmy!!

Reheat on high for 20-30 sec.

TEACH ME TUESDAYS: What to do with extra garlic??

What to do with an abundance of garlic cloves or bulbs of garlic about to go bad? Make infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I love the taste of garlic but often times we want an infusion of garlic in place of the strong "in your face" taste of garlic. So I take Extra Virgin Olive Oil, red pepper flakes for some spice, kosher salt and add some smashed cloves of garlic, & you have...

Garlic Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Cup of EVOO
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• Large frying pan

Take the cloves of garlic and smash with flat side of knife and palm of hand, this will release the garlic enzymes, no need to mince we will be tossing the cloves so they will be easier to discard once they have fulfilled their garlic destiny. Toss smashed garlic cloves into pan and add enough EVOO
to cover garlic about 1 C, add more if needed.

Bring heat to medium and cook until garlic is slightly browned and aromatic, stirring with wooden spoon occasionally.  Once browned, about 5 minutes, take off heat and add red pepper flakes to taste, we don't like things too hot so a pinch is nearly too much and kosher salt. 


Allow to cool and pour cooled oil into glass jars, I add more garlic coves to jars and cover with lid, store in refrigerator.  Use as you normally would evoo with a garlicy, slightly red peppery kick.


Notes:
I had 3 bulbs of garlic that were on the verge going bad, so I used a larger pan and used about 18 oz of EVOO. I stored in 3- 6 oz left over baby food jars. 

Ways to use Garlic Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Saute veggies or meat in the flavorful oil
• Add to french baguette bread along with some Italian herbs and Parmegano-Regginao Cheese and toast for a mild garlic bread
• Use as a finishing oil to soups like white bean soup,  to humus, to cooked fresh made pasta with shavings of Parmegano-Reggiano, steamed veggies, salad dressing/vinaigrette, as a dipping oil for crusty chibatta bread, any sauce especially good for pesto sauce...