My New Favorite $5 Kitchen Tool

While shopping at Target this past weekend (one of my favorite stores), I happened across a new product they are carrying, a Pocket Pie Mold. With a price tag of $4.99, I was too weak to pass it up. (Side note: This is a regular occurrence with my Target shopping trips.) I immediately went home and started baking....and yes, you guessed it...I made Charles a pie for breakfast this morning. =)  While the pie crust I made does contain a lot of butter, that's about the only unhealthy thing in this recipe. Next time I go grocery shopping I'm going to buy some sticks of Earth Balance, a butter substitute made with oils and plant-based fats. The filling I choose was some frozen blueberries (thawed out) and VERY lightly sprinkled with sugar. The great thing about this mold is you can also use it to make pizza calzones (a great way to sneak veggies into a meal) or you can fill it with eggs, veggies and cheese for a healthy breakfast as well. Here is the recipe I used for the pie crust.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust: 


1 C whole wheat
1/2 C white flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk


Directions:
1) Mix the flours, sugar and salt together in a bowl
2) Cut in the butter using a pastry blender  until all the butter is in little pea-sized pieces. (DON"T touch the dough with your hands. The goal is to keep the butter as cold as possible so that you see little bits of butter when you roll out your dough. That's what makes it flaky.
3) Slowly add the milk one tablespoon at a time and mix til dough starts to form a ball
4) Put in the fridge for 20-30min until dough is cold, then roll out
5) Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20min until golden brown

Can You Afford to Go Organic?

When I started to research the benefits of organic eating I was hesitant to throw myself right into it because of the high cost associated with organic food. At first it was more costly, but once I started to discover where the best deals were on organic food and understand that organic shopping is different than what I was used to doing I find myself spending the same, if not less on groceries each week. One thing I quickly discovered is that prepackaged, frozen or ready-to-serve organic meals are VERY pricey, so plan on cooking most meals from scratch. (I do keep a couple Healthy Choice frozen entrees in the freezer for days I can't find time to pack Charles a lunch. I figure it's better than fast food.) Organic meat is also very expensive, but remember vegetables, whole grains, and legumes should be making up the majority of your diet, not meat, so cut back your meat intake and supplement your protein intake with beans and nuts. Here are some other quick tips that will help you go 100% organic at a reasonable price.

1) Don't throw out your entire pantry and go buy all organic the first week. Instead, slowly replace one or two non-organic items each week, or wait until you run out of a non-organic item and replace it with an organic item on your next shopping trip.

2) Find a natural or organic food store that has a bulk section (big bins of flours and other pantry items that you put as much as you want into a container yourself). You get the low prices but can also buy in smaller quantities to save your wallet and buy more often to ensure you have fresh ingredients.

3) Connect with local farmers who have extra produce. Even though they may not be "USDA certified" organic, you can find out which ones follow organic methods and buy from them usually at lower prices than the store. Check out www.localharvest.com for CSAs and Farmers.

4) Shop farmer's markets to ensure the freshest possible produce

5) Plant your own garden with produce that you eat a lot of or that is the most expensive to buy in the store ($7.99/lb for bell peppers? Yikes!)

6) Buy produce that's in season because that is usually what is the cheapest

7) Practice "Meatless Monday"  

8) Shop around to see where you can find the best prices on different organic items and brands you like to buy. It takes time and effort in the beginning, but once you know where things are the cheapest at you can purchase certain items there or at least the more expensive ones (if you don't want to make more than 1 trip to a grocery store). Costco is selling more and more bulk organic items and even some Wal-Marts carry organic Agave Nectar, Sugar, and Flour and very cheap prices.

Lastly, if you still feel you can't take the plunge for 100% organic eating, do some research and decide what food purchases are the most important to have be organic.

The Perfect Summer Drink: Passion Tea (Sweet or Unsweet)

Counting calories is not always fun, especially when that means I can no longer partake in my favorite addiction of all time- an ice cold glass of Coca-Cola. The solution to this dilemma...a zero calorie beverage so refreshing that memories of a what Coke tastes like slowly fades away. The drink is so easy to make too. All you do is is steep a bag of Tazo Passion Tea (I buy mine at Target) in boiling water in a teapot. Let it cool to room temperature and then chill it in the fridge until you are craving something slightly sweet and refreshing. Oh and did I mention it's decaf so Isabelle can drink it too either plain or mixed with apple juice. Starbucks actually servers this drink, except they mix in a syrupy sweet lemonade (watch out calories!). If you are not a tea drinker (I used to hate it), there's an easy way to sweeten up this drink until you can slowly get used to the taste of straight tea. Tea comes in a variety of flavors so if this blend isn't your favorite there are a lot more to choose from!

Sweeteners: (remember adding any of these sweeteners does add calories too)

1) Agave nectar
2) Mix in apple juice, homemade lemonade or any other organic, no sugar added fruit juice
3) Honey
4) Steep berries in the tea pot with the tea bag or puree and add to the drink after it's chilled

www.starbucks.com

Charles' Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

Here is the recipe as promised!

Charles' Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie


1 cup milk
3 T chocolate whey protein*
5 frozen large strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:
1) Throw in a blender and enjoy!

*I'm not sure yet how I feel about whey protein. I need to do some research on it. You could sub cocoa powder, some chocolate chips or anything else to give it chocolate flavor that you want.

Tips for a Successful Diet

The longer I'm on this diet the easier it gets. It really has become a lifestyle for our family now. We are no longer shocked about how many calories are in certain foods and don't have to pressure each other to stay with it. Here are a couple tips to successfully keeping to this diet:

1) Don't do it alone! Have a friend or family member do it with you.
2) Write a grocery list and don't deviate from it, buy enough for one week and don't go to the grocery store again that week
3) Don't buy or keep food in the house that isn't healthy. That way when you hit a weak moment and are tempted to indulge at least it will be on something healthy or semi-healthy.

 Tomorrow I'll post a recipe for a smoothie Charles has fallen in love with. It's so filling that he couldn't even eat his normal morning snack yesterday. I'm not a huge smoothie person, but I tried it and if I did like smoothies (or on a hot day) this is definitely the smoothie I would turn to.

The Pantry: The Heart of Your Kitchen

The more I cook healthy, organic meals from scratch, the more I realize the importance of having a well stocked, efficient pantry. It is a weird feeling, not putting bread, muffins, cookies, ect on your shopping list anymore because you make it yourself, but it's also very rewarding to know exactly what the ingredients are in everything you are making, especially when feeding your child. Having a stocked pantry will also save you money and time in the long run. Once you are confident at whipping things up by yourself you will no longer need to take a 20 minute trip to the grocery store because you forgot something on your grocery list or decided you wanted something extra with dinner...or *nightmare* company showed up unexpectedly. To get your pantry up to par I would suggest buying a couple pantry items each time you go grocery shopping. I would also suggest going to an organic or fresh and natural grocery store where they sell these items in bulk. It saves you money and you don't have to buy a huge amount of something you might not use a lot of. (They also have containers for you so you save money by not having to buy any and your pantry will stay organized!) Here is a list of the staples I try to always have in my pantry:

Flours:
-Whole Wheat Flour
-Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
-Whole Wheat Bread Flour
-Unbleached All Purpose Flour
-Smelt Flour
-Cornmeal
-Bran
-Rye Flour

Sweeteners:
-Cane Sugar
-Pure Maple Syrup
-Pure Honey

Grains:
-Brown Rice
-Sushi Rice (a guilty pleasure)
-Quinoa
-Couscous
-Rolled Oats
-Barley

Oils and Vinegar:
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-Coconut Oil
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Rice Wine Vinegar
-Apple Cider Vinegar
A variety of nuts and dried fruit

Misc:
-Aluminum Free Baking Powder
-Baking Soda

DIY: Table Runner

A few months ago I was planning my daughter's first birthday party. The guest list was mostly adults and since I rarely get a chance to entertain such a large group of people I decided the event could be a little more formal. (I'm sure this year the theme will end up being Dora or Sesame Street.) I decided the theme would be birds, to match her nursery theme. I found the cutest pink bird votive holders for $1.50 at Old Time Pottery. Once I bought them, of course, everything else needed to match that specific color pink. One of the biggest issues I had was finding a table runner. I didn't want just a plain white one because all my serving dishes were white. Anything unique or even close to the right color was too short (I wanted one that went the whole length of the table.) I only found a couple table runners online that were even remotely close to what I wanted and those were close to $100. While I was looking at one at Pier 1 it suddenly occurred to me that a table runner is just a piece of material. I decided I would make one. I went to the fabric store, carrying my pink bird candle holder. Ten minutes and $15 later, I had the perfect fabric. Because I was short on time, and just didn't feel like sewing. I bought the adhesive seam stuff that you just iron together to fuse. I simply measured the length I wanted the table runner to be, bought that much material, folded the material in half, used the adhesive to hem all the raw edges and then used the adhesive to fuse the seams together and....whala! I finally had the perfect table runner. It only took me about 20 minutes to do too. With table runners this easy to make, every holiday will now have it's own table runner =)

Just Give Me a Coke! (and a recipe for Spicy Mexican Soup under 150 calories)

Going into this diet, I really thought I would be the one to not struggle, and I doubted my parents would last the week, but they are the ones who constantly ask me how many calories everything contains and when my mom goes to make my dad a sandwich I hear him say, "Wait! How are you spending my calories? Let's skip the cheese today."  Last night, after a week without a cold Coke (my biggest addiction) I decided I wanted a small 20oz bottle (240 calories) for my snack. It had just been one of those days. My parents were out running errands so I called them to have them pick one up for me on their way home. I spent the next 10 minutes on the phone with them trying to convince them that yes, I DID want to spend my calories that way and no I wouldn't regret it. Well I did end up getting that Coke, and no, I don't regret drinking it. That icy, cold, refreshing first sip was utopia, and it was just enough to hopefully get me through a month without drinking it this time.

Anyways, one of my favorite soups has to be this Mexican Soup I've adapted over the past couple years from a friend's recipe. It's really quiet simple to make, takes minutes and is so low in calories you can add it on to almost any meal or beef it up as much as you want with chicken, avocados, a side of chips, bread, ect. The first version below is all from scratch and especially wonderful to make in the summer when tomatoes, corn and peppers are in season. The seconds version is for when you don't even have 15 minutes to chop vegetables and need a quick fix, or just to stock the pantry with these ingredients and be able to make this soup on a whim.

Organic Homemade Spicy Mexican Soup (4 servings, 1 1/2 cups=130 calories)

5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (50 calories)
1 large tomato diced (about 20 calories)
1 c black beans -I prefer canned, but if you use dried, soak them overnight first (200 calories)
1 c corn kernels (160 calories)
1/4 c diced red pepper (about 10 calories)
1/8 c thinly diced sweet onion (less than 5 calories)
5 T tomato paste (75 calories)
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 t black pepper

Optional:
1 c cooked diced chicken (not added into calorie count)

To add Spice:
Mild Spice- add 1 t red pepper flakes
Very Spicy- add as much diced jalapenos as you like (use gloves when handling and take out the seeds to eliminate some of the intense heat)

Directions:
1) Mix all the ingredients together in a medium size sauce pan and let simmer 15-20minutes (or you can leave in a crockpot on low for a couple hours)


Easy Mexican Soup:
2 cans Green Giant Southwestern Style Corn
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 c low sodium chicken broth (add another cup for thinner consistency)
1 c cooked, diced chicken (optional)


To add Spice:
Mild Spice- add 1 t red pepper flakes
Very Spicy- add as much diced jalapenos as you like (use gloves when handling and take out the seeds to eliminate some of the intense heat)


Directions:
1) Mix all the ingredients together in a medium size sauce pan and let simmer 15-20minutes (or you can leave in a crockpot on low for a couple hours)

Some Unexpected Diet Results

Well the first week of our diet is over! We all survived, none of us are cranky, and we are actually enjoying the meals and feeling full. What were the results of the first week? My mom lost 6lbs! Charles and I each lost 3lbs, and my dad lost 2lbs. All this was achieved eating 4 meals a day and not feeling hungry. I'm excited to see what week 2 brings! One unexpected result from the diet is how active we are now. On this diet you are allowed an extra meal if you exercise at least moderately for 30 minutes. My family LOVES their evening snack before bed, the snack usually being popcorn. (When I was first married my husband thought I was crazy because I considered popcorn an acceptable dinner.) Luckily popcorn is very low in calories (no butter of course). It's not uncommon now after dinner for us all to go for a couple mile walk or bike ride to ensure we can have our bowl of organic, no butter popcorn. I really want to increase my working out and start lifting free weights a couple times next week and see if I can't drop another 3 pounds or maybe even 5! One thing about this diet is you never think "I can't have that" (which of course always makes you want something). Instead, my dad would ask what he could have for a snack and when I told him 2 small cookies he would say "Can I have like 3 pieces of fruit instead?" When you realize what 400 calories look like, and you get to spend them however you like, healthy foods start to take priority on their own. I have tried diets before, but always felt hungry or couldn't stick with them. I don't think I would even call this a diet, it's more of a lifestyle that I hope to keep with for years to come. Plus, who wouldn't want to eat 4 meals a day? =)

Meal Plan for the Week

Sitting down and planning out what to make each meal for an entire week does take some time, but it ends up saving you more time in the long run. I never follow my meal plan exactly each week. If I have a busy day or am tired I look at my meal plan and pick one of the quick, easy meals to make for dinner that night. Making a meal plan just ensures me that I only have to make one trip to the grocery store and reminds me during the week of what meals I can make with what I already have.

Click on the image to enhance it, click on the links below for recipes

Blueberry Smelt Muffins

Black Bean and Cilantro Quesadillas w/ Salsa

Egg Sandwhiches

Grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, and mini corn muffins

Organic Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

White Chicken Chili w/ mini corn muffins

Goobye Forever McDonalds! 250 calorie whole wheat "Egg McMuffins"

With only being able to eat 400 calories a meal you have to get creative to keep from repeating the same meal over and over again. I also find it a fun challenge to take the meals we used to eat and then find healthy, low-calorie options. Let's face it, McDonald's Egg McMuffin...not a bad way to wake up in the morning...but a Whole Wheat Egg Sandwhich for under 250 calories? That sounds way better to me. For those of you who are super active or don't mind 500 calorie meals...enjoy a second one for breakfast!

Whole Wheat Egg McMuffin

1 Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin (100 calories)

1 egg (70 calories)

1/2 slice cheese (40 calories)

40 calories worth of whatever lunch meat you prefer

Directions:

1) Toast the sandwich thin

2) Scramble the egg and cook in a skillet

3) When the egg is close to done top it with the cheese and meat, cook till warm/melting

4) Place on sandwich thin and enjoy!

Organic Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat Scones

Why hello diet, you've never looked so good! These scones are delicious, healthy and the best part...only 160 calories! I baked them last night and went to bed looking forward to waking up to a hot cup of coffee and one of these. They are quiet simple to make, and take only a few minutes to prep and throw into the oven. I adapted the recipe slightly from my "400 Calorie Fix" book. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: (makes 8 servings)
1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c rolled oats
3T sugar
1t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2T unsalted butter
1/4 c plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 dark chocolate chips (coarsely chopped)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Mix together first 7 ingredients in a food processor
3) With the processor running, add small cubes of butter one at a time. Process until the mixture look crumbly. Add the yogurt, egg, and vanilla extract. Process until just well mixed. Add the chocolate chips. Process for about 10 seconds.
4) Place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board. Knead lightly to finish combining all the ingredients. Form into a ball, flatten into an 8" circle (1/2" thick) with your hands (or rolling pin) and cut into 8 wedges. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

DIY: Dessert Stand

I love DIY projects! I love them so much that I have a list a mile long of projects I want to try. I decided to start out with the easiest and quickest one today- a dessert stand. Cake stands (dessert stands as I like to call them) aren't super expensive, but one is never enough and $20 a piece can really add up, especially if you want something other than the classic white. An easy way to create your own for a few dollars (or maybe even pennies if you're lucky) is by buying a vintage candlestick holder and china plate. I found mine at the amazing Goodwill by my house. (For all of you turning your noses up at the thought of Goodwill, I used to be a skeptic too, until I found this specific Goodwill that honestly seems more like an antique shop than a used clothing store). So here is the picture of my finished product. I used a glue gun and glued them together. It would be easier to store if you just stacked them at parties without gluing them, but I don't want to worry about the plate tipping over and having a guest feel bad. =) My next DIY project?...perhaps I will finally get to that upholstered headboard I've been wanting to do!

Diet: Day 1

The first day of our new diet is almost over. It was a little hard today, but considering all of us probably cut our calorie intake by half, we didn't fare too poorly. I also earned the nickname "The Food Nazi" (so I counted out how many tortilla chips each person could have for dinner and measured the salsa with a tablespoon, that's a GOOD thing). I also have learned a few lessons already. My mom and I don't like a big breakfast so we do 200 calories for breakfast and then do a 200 calorie snack a couple hours later. We still stay on track, but don't get so hungry. My dad actually only did three meals of 400 calories because he skipped breakfast (which is a no-no!). He felt full with just the 3 meals all day, but he definitely is missing being able to snack while watching T.V. Charles text me from work claiming "my body is eating itself". I text him back and said that's what a diet is- your body eating the extra fat =) He is going to start working out every day though so he can add an extra meal to his diet. My mom and I went for a 30 minute walk after dinner tonight because we wanted to be able to have a snack before bed but after my walk I didn't feel hungry at all so I think I will be fine with just the 3 meals today. The one thing that has already amazed me with this diet are the choices I have to make- Do I want 1T more of cheese or 1/2 cup of chicken and veggies? (same calorie count). I also found the most important thing is to be prepared: have a meal plan and pre-portion snacks and lunches ahead of time. My brother is not doing the diet since he doesn't need to loose weight, which does make it more difficult, but tonight for instance I asked him to put the chips on his plate instead of bringing the bag to the table as it would tempt the rest of us. Little things like that make a huge difference! Hopefully we will be able to see results soon. Below is my meal plan. I will try and add all the recipes soon too. One thing I'm doing that the diet book doesn't is trying to eat mostly organic foods, honestly they have less calories in them than prepackaged, processed foods do so I feel calorie wise you get "more bang for your buck", plus the food is overall healthier too. As soon as my brother leaves for school next week and my parents get back from South Carolina in two weeks I'm going to start keeping track of how much it costs for all organic groceries for 4 grown adults. I'd like to try and do it for around $125-$150 a week. Well  Charles is on his way home from work (he works til 7pm) so I'd better have his dinner heated up and his tortilla chips counted out so he doesn't raid the pantry!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

I am so happy that I can now drink coffee on this new diet, however, last night at 9pm I realized I was out of flavored coffee creamer. There is no way I can drink coffee without it, and there is no way I can function without coffee. To my surprise I found an awesome recipe online at DeliciouslyOrganic that is SO easy and delicious that I just had to share it.

Organic French Vanilla Coffee Creamer:

1 cup Whole Milk

1 cup Heavy Cream

4 T Maple Syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and then store in the fridge. It's thinner than most coffee creamers so if you don't like that just use all Half&Half. It's higher in calories so you might want to try and get used to it. Tomorrow I will post my meal plan for the week and let you know how the first day goes. Charles is already worried he will be hungry =)

Reality Check and a Compromise

So I spent all yesterday coming up with a meal plan for the week for our new "Flat Belly Diet" I was so excited about. Then I sat down with the family and explained what the meals were and what we would be doing..*silence*...."No coffee?!, Avocados?! I hate those!!" C'mon people, do you really think a "flat belly diet" would consist of Oreos and fries? I realized that my mom would never be able to give up coffee, Charles will never grow to like to avocados, and me, I would never be able to do this diet on my own with the rest of the family eating junk food. I took a quick trip to the library this afternoon to rethink my strategy. I liked the idea of keeping to the 400 calorie meals, but needed a slightly more realistic diet plan. I stumbled across the book "400 Calorie Fix". It's by one of the co-authors of "Flat Belly Diet" and was just what I was looking for! It's basically a book of 400 calorie meals, with the same idea in mind, except that you can drink coffee (yay!) and instead of having a MUFA for every meal, you just have one a day, which is much easier since I can cook one meal a day with olive oil or dark chocolate no problem. =)  You also are eating only three 400 calorie meals a day (for woman, men get 4 meals a day). One nice thing is that if you up your activity level you are allowed to add an extra meal (or 2!) depending on how active you are. I also love the fact that this book doesn't tell you what to eat or what not to eat. First it gives you tons of meals that equal around 400 calories, then it shows you how many calories are really in the most common foods Americans eat (goodbye Chinese buffets forever!) In so many words the book says "Would you rather have 1 cookie or a whole plate of food for your 400 calorie meal?" I'll be honest, once in awhile I'm going to choose that cookie and be hungry till the next meal, but at least I have that option. In the past 24 hours I have already learned how important it is to choose a diet that fits into your lifestyle instead of trying to change your lifestyle.

Flat Belly Diet

Last year my mother-in-law bought me a year subscription to the magazine "Prevention". It's a great little magazine with exercising tips and ideas for a healthy lifestyle. The magazine always promotes a book they wrote called "Flat Belly Diet". I have been wanting to get this book for awhile, but never remember to check it out at the library. Last weekend, while I was at Goodwill, I found the book there for $2.00! After reading through the diet plan in the book, I thought I would give it a shot to see if it actually works. (They claim you will loose about 10-15 pounds in 32 days....) The basic idea behind the plan is you must complete a 4 day anti-bloat diet, following their meal plan exactly, then for the next 4 weeks you need to follow these rules: #1- Stay around 1,600 calories a day, #2- Eat every 4 hours (Four- 400 calorie meals a day) and lastly #3- eat a MUFA at every meal.  What are MUFAs? "A MUFA (pronounced moo-fah) are monounsaturated fatty acids, plant based fats found in some of the world's most delicious foods- avacados, nuts and seeds, oils, olives and DARK CHOCOLATE! Studies show that these good-for-you fats enhance heart conditions and chronic diseases...and target belly fat."  I figured 32 days isn't too long to give something a shot, especiallly since I get to eat 4 times a day and the recipes look pretty good. (Wait, I get to eat carbs?!) The next day my husband asked me if I was going to try the diet out, I told him I was and he offered to do the diet with me. I was shocked, but excited. I ended up talking my parents into doing the diet with us too so we all start Monday. I'm sticking to mostly recipes they have in the book to ensure success, creating a meal plan each week, and going grocery shopping at Fresh and Natural Foods every Sunday to ensure we aren't tempted by unhealthy choices. I will weight and measure everyone at the beginning of the diet and then every week after that to see if there is any progress. It will be interesting to see if we all make it the 32 days without cheating! I'll post my meal plan and grocery list each week for anyone who wants to try it as well, but doesn't want to spend $20 on the book (or forgets to check it out at the library).

A Fresh Perspective

Recently I read an article about simple living. Of course the article was all about eating organic, giving up T.V., and withdrawing from society. While giving up the comforts of life is not my idea of a good time, the overall idea of taking time to enjoy what people consider the "simple things" of life, did. Being a mom, wife and working 30 hours a week makes it difficult to take time for anything. So I have decided to devote my free time to things I consider "simple" (reading, gardening, eating healthy).  Why am I ultimately doing this? Because these are the activities that give me the most joy in life.  I am most happy sitting on the floor playing with my daughter or taking a walk with my husband while he pushes our daughter in the stroller. So here I go starting my journey to a more "simple" way of life and devoting my time and efforts to something other than sitting in front of the T.V. with a bag of chips =)