On vacation~

The last week of work before vacation is here (finally!)  We're headed to Traverse City and then to my parents' cottage for the fourth of July week.  I'm going to take a blogging break until we return.  Have a great few weeks and I will see you soon!

Summer time is here~

The weather is just too beautiful here in the Mitten to spend much time online lately but we are holding steady to our clean-eating commitment and enjoying the fresh produce and outside grilling that summertime offers.  The weekend was not so clean, Father's Day and three birthdays brought with it lots of cake and ice cream and good stuff like that.  Such is life! 
We are in vacation count down, heading Up North next weekend where I will continue to do a lot of the cooking for both budget and health reasons.  But seriously, cooking breakfast in a cabin in the woods?  What could be better?
What is your vacation diet?  Do you eat out?  Cook in?  Throw caution to the wind or eat clean?

Jay in the kitchen at my parents' cottage

Happy Father's Day!



My dad!

 Thank you Lord, for this meal before us and family around us.  We thank you for those generations who came before us, who toiled to bring food to our tables and who brought spiritual food to our hearts.  Bless them today, and bless this food as we partake in  your provision.
Amen

Essential oils, not the kind you cook with!

At the request of my girl Margie, today I'm sharing a little bit of information about my recent interest in using essential oils so for you food bloggers, no kitchen stuff this time.
I have had sleeping difficulty for my entire life, my infant non-sleep habits are legendary.  As I've gotten older and taken on a very stressful job, things have progressed to the point where I've gone 48 hours without sleep and actually been sent home from work because I was exhausted.  I've been to a physician and tried to "reset" my sleep with prescription meds after the failure of the herbal remedies that a lot of people use.  The next idea is that I need to see a neurologist because there is something not working right.  Let me explain what I mean by not working, I have taken the highest dose of prescription sleep medication without falling asleep and 50 mg of Benadryl every four hours (do NOT try this at home,) doesn't touch me.  It isn't like I'm a high energy person, would that I were!  Nope, I simply don't sleep. 
So a sisterfriend, Mrs. Mac, is our own personal pioneer woman and is a constant encouragement for back to basics life, not just cooking.  She has recommended essential oils for sleep, specifically lavender, since she became aware of my problem.  WOMAN ISSUES ALERT-I also have the worse periods of anyone I know.  It's during that time of the month that I go for days without sleeping.  Mrs. Mac recommended Clary sage for that issue.  Like most people (at least I keep telling myself this,) once I hear something it takes a while to take action.  And honestly, I was just so discouraged that I had little faith in anything helping me and decided to just look forward to colonoscopies for the general anesthesia. 
A few weeks ago, with my cycle heading back into the the no sleep zone, I decided to prepare by ordering Clary sage and Lavender essential oil online.  While I was looking through the many essential oils (my goodness, this could become an obsession!)  I ordered sweet orange as well.  Essential oils are added to a carrier oil for direct application to one's skin so I ordered sweet almond for that because it sounded delicious even though one doesn't actually drink it.  If I can't eat it, I at least want to smell like baked goods.
So here's my experiment and now new routine:

At night, a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cotton swab which I place next to my bed while I do my nightly reading.  When I'm ready to go to sleep, I place the oil inside my pillow case. 
At the start of my period, I add a few drops of Clary sage to my lavender and do the same routine.
Every night during my shower, I put a mixture of sweet almond oil and orange essential oil into a small glass bowl which I warm on a cup warmer.  When I get out of the shower, I use the warm oil instead of perfumed body lotions and sprays.  I use this on my entire body including on my face instead of moisturizer.  I've even rubbed it on the ends of my hair that were giving me some fly-away issues.

Results!
No, the essential oil routine does not have the general anesthesia effect one enjoys during a colonoscopy.  But, it works better and better every day as my mind starts to recognize the scent as calming and sleep inducing.  I have not stayed awake past 10:00 p.m. since I've started using the lavender.  I still awaken a few times a night but I fall back asleep quickly.  When I wake up in the morning, I feel more energized. 
The Clary sage did not replace my need for Motrin for cramps but it reduced the amount I need.  I have needed 600 mg every 4-6 hours to make it through work and then to sleep at night.  With the Clary sage added to my lavender at bed, the hormonal insomnia was history.  In the mornings, I applied a few drops directly to my wrists and was able to take Motrin only first thing in the mornings.  AND, I usually have a 24-48 hour migraine during my cycle.  This month?  No headache whatsoever.  AND, the mood swings?  Nonexistent.
The orange oil has made my skin ammmahzing!  Super soft and my facial pores have never been smaller.  I need much less concealer around my eyes.  My forehead which is usually oily is not shiny halfway through the day.  Even my feet are staying soft despite summer time bare footing in the evenings.  Be careful with the feet, don't apply oil and then try to tap dance or anything.  Very slippery!

So there's my results so far.  I have paid lots of money for facials, which I maintain are a wonderful pampering experience.  However, the end results of exfoliating with baking soda once a week (which I started several months ago) and sweet orange/almond oil nightly has had better results than the professional facial ever did. 

Mrs. Mac has assured me that there is a cumulative effect to using essential oils.  In other words, you don't sniff lavender for the first time and becoming sleeping beauty.  Your mind starts to respond as your body detoxes and it all works together over time in a much gentler way than the instant fix pharmacology we are used to.  And she is the expert on brands and types to use so I'll defer to her wisdom (maybe she'll share a course for "dummies" on her blog) for specifics like that. 

At the end of the day, the point is, three weeks with the use of essential oils has improved my quality of life.  I have actually experience nights of 10-12 hours of sleep, I don't recall ever sleeping that long in my life.  It's not a terribly expensive thing to try and if you are interested, I'd say order one kind and give yourself several weeks to decide if it works for you.

Click!

Clean Eating for Dummies

Use 'em up!

Mac did a week's juice fast for which he over-bought.  Add that to our overflowing (aren't we blessed?) fruit and veggie stock, things were getting a little overwhelming around here!  When Saturday came around, the Mr. didn't need to buy quite as much but I certainly needed to figure out a way to use some items that weren't going to make it for another week.  I hate hate hate throwing away food!
So I took a handful of left-over basil and oregano, threw in some olive oil and garlic and made pesto.
Peeled some maters, added leftover cilantro, garlic (of course!) sea salt, cumin and blended it into the bit of left over salsa from last week.
Pureed the bananas that were browning.
All three were put into Ziploc freezer bags and into the freezer they went for future use!  And I went happily on my way without throwing away a single item.  The pesto and salsa can be used for dipping, topping or souping.  The banana puree will come in handy for baking, smoothies, milkshakes or stirring into oatmeal.  I didn't have large amounts of anything but they will still all go to good use down the road and will be dollars not spent nor wasted in the long run. 
How do you repurpose your food items?  I dare you to figure out a way to throw nothing away next week!

Mama Sara's $3 Sandwich

I told you that I used my leftovers to make pesto, right?  Well, it wasn't much pesto, maybe a quarter of a cup so I used it to make "Italian grilled cheese" sandwiches.  Dean declared I could make a fortune selling them, Mac felt that was an exaggeration but that I could "get $3 each for sure."  Here I offer you the opportunity to take advantage of the secret recipe before the copyright becomes official,  she said sarcastically.

Ingredients

• Whole grain bread
• Butter
• Feta Cheese
• Mozzarella
• Tomato
• Pesto (basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic-blend or puree together)

Technique

• Butter ONE side (the Mr. butters both, oy!) of bread and lay in skillet, butter side down, to begin browning over medium heat
• Carefully spread mozzarella on bread
• Add tomato slice
• Add a tablespoon or so of pesto, spread
• Sprinkle on feta to cover
• Butter ONE side of second piece of bread and lay it on top, butter side up
• When first slice of bread is browned and mozzarella is melted, carefully flip and brown second side until feta is melted
• Serve with a bit of pesto on the side for dipping if you have enough!

I should've take a picture but I had no idea it would be such a hit!  I was just using up the stuff in the fridge!  If you believe him, Dean claims this grilled cheese has replaced his lifelong favorite of American cheese on Wonder bread (ugh!)  In fact, he has been know to make the processed nightmare for himself when I've made Colby grilled cheese on bakery bread. 

Be Our Guest

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,
May this food by thee be blest,
May our souls by thee be fed,
Ever on thy living Bread.

Amen.

Northern Beans +_____________=Soup

It's no secret, I am a big believer in soup.  As my gramma used to say, "I have a soup tooth."  Sometimes I buy ingredients for a specific soup and sometimes I take what's at hand and make soup out of it.  Clean food=clean soup!  So, using some left over vegetables that I didn't want to go bad and a big jar of Northern beans...here's some soup!

Ingredients

• Large jar Northern beans
• 3 stalks celery cut up
• 3 carrots cut up
• 3 potatoes cut up
• 1 yellow onion cut up
• Parsley (dry or fresh)
• Large can sodium free/preservative free chicken broth
• Seasonings to taste-salt, pepper, garlic for me (the usual.)

Technique

• Place all cut veggies into pot, cover in broth & bring to boil
• Reduce to low/simmer and cook until veggies are soft
• Add Northern beans, parsley & seasoning
• Cover with additional broth or water
• Simmer about 1/2 hour
• Enjoy!

Tips

• Tastes better after a day or two
• I divided it into Rubbermaid bowls for lunch at work
• The veggies choices aren't strict, use whatever you need to get rid of
• If you have celery "tops," use 'em in soup!
• You can serve this for dinner with crusty bread and a salad

Remember the goal for meals?  Complex carb + protein?  This soup does the trick in once bowl...

Carrots, celery, beans = complex carb  & beans=protein.

Staying the course~

Can you believe it's been about two months since we started this journey?  Two easy months at that.  The only thing that interferes with good choices for us is convenience, you know those days everyone works late and nobody wants to cook.  In fact, we had a little mini meeting about it last week.  Every Wednesday we go out to eat and last week the Mr. brought home Mexican from a local family restaurant.  It's all very fresh and I wasn't too concerned that we were too far off track.  But on Thursday we had planned to grill chicken, I got stuck at work and he was feeling worn out from ten hours in a hot factory.  He picked up take out ribs.  Could be worse, certainly, but still not a good trend for the week. 
We talked about remembering when we are grilling chicken, to grill  ALOT for the freezer for those worn out nights.  The salad supplies are all cleaned and prepped, ready for assembly.  Had we prepared our chicken ahead, we could've had grilled chicken salads with about ten minutes of work.  The ribs may not have been the worst thing ever, but grilled chicken salad would've been miles better. 
I'm happy to report that when I got home last Friday evening, Dean had dinner waiting (he's off on Fridays.)  Grilled chicken, fresh corn on the cob and salad.  And it was wonderful. 
My parents blessed us with a freezer for the basement as they were getting a new one and just in time for our clean-eating!  That will make the plan and prep ahead so much easier for us.  I am thinking we'll store the bulk of our supplies in the basement and lots of "ready to use" stuff in the kitchen freezer; like pre-grilled chicken, frozen fresh sauces and vegetables, frozen fruit, etc.  It's actually a lot of fun (really it is!) to discover another method to utilize our resources even better.  It has me thinking of future plans, like taking a week off in the Autumn to can.  I won't be able to do it this year, I took a medical leave in January that chewed up a lot of vacation time.  But I can still look forward and just think how much more we'll know in a year's time. 
I'm also so so so happy and thankful because I feel that more than anything, the Lord is giving us wise hearts.  And by us, I mean all of use, daboyz included.  I am getting absolutely no arguments or push-back.  At the start, I asked that we honor clean-eating principles in our home and any "cheats" should happen outside the house, every man for himself.  I expected lots of drive-through moments for the Mr.  But that doesn't seem to be happening!  We took the no fast food step a month ago and since then, he hasn't indulged in what was his favorite guilty pleasure.  AND, he is regularly talking about taking things we formerly ate and making them clean and whole.  He looks up recipes and reads labels and is starting to approach this as a way of life.  This week he was figuring out how to make tater salad without Miracle Whip!  Glory be!  Yes, I know that it isn't really the most difficult thing to accomplish but it means he is taking this seriously. 
We go on vacation in a month and after we return, I believe we'll take the next important step of really cutting back for the sake of healthy weight loss.  And I believe that when it's time to take that step, we'll be ready.

Repurposing veggies in a broken omelette

I heart brown eggs!

On Saturday morning we usually have a substantial breakfast before starting our day.  This Saturday, I decided to finish off a few lingering vegetables and make broken omelets.  A broken omelet, by the way, is simply pouring eggs over the omelet ingredients instead of that pain in the egg omelet creating procedure. 




Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• Milk
• Fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 1/2 tomatoes chopped (because that's what I had on hand)
• 1 cup or so diced boiled potatoes (also on hand)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• Feta cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Butter

Technique

• Melt butter in pan, add potatoes, onions and green peppers.  Cook until soft & taters are a bit crispy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with about a cup or so of milk
• Spread potato mixture in bottom of pan, turn heat to medium
• Beat eggs & milk together (like scrambled eggs,) pour over entire veggie & tater mixture, top with spinach & tomatoes
• Allow to cook for a few minutes
• Using a spatula, finish cooking the broken omelet like you would scrambled eggs.
• When cooked through, spread in pan again, cover with feta cheese.
• Turn heat off and allow feta to melt for a few minutes.  Stir into egg mixture.  Salt & pepper to taste.

Tips

• Broken omelette's are a great way to use up any leftovers, the ingredients I used were only what I had on hand. 
• Even leftover taco meat can be repurposed, add cheddar and top with salsa. 
• Although the Mr. doesn't like it, I also think these are a great dinner item. 
• Did you know that kielbasa is great in eggs?  Well, it is.  You're welcome.
• This may seem like a lot of detail for a fairly easy "recipe,"  but there are folks who are trying to eat from scratch for the first time.  Hopefully these kind of ideas will make it less intimidating!

Cookware



Does anyone have the Paula Deen cookware?  I have two pieces, the larger sauce pan and the large covered skillet.  I didn't buy the whole set, in fact, I didn't buy any of it.  The Mr., however, did.  I'm not a Paula Deen fan so that's how I roll.  Anyway, I have to say that I really love the skillet!  It's large and very deep so things I might make in a sauce pan can be made in the skillet and I find I can heat things (and therefore cook them) more quickly.  I've even made soup in it!  The other day, I made pintos and put them in a ziploc.  To rewarm them, I put them in the skillet and put the heat on low for about fifteen minutes.  Perfect!  Cleans up quick and easy and doesn't take as much room in the dishwasher as a stock pot or large sauce pan takes.  I have the red, as pictured.  I will say, I think the color is fading pretty fast and they aren't cheap. 
I like the sauce pan too except that it sort of curves around the rim so you can't stack other pots inside of it.  Being that it's my biggest sauce pan, it takes up a lot of valuable real estate in my cabinet. 
The lids are heavy glass and fit nice and snug on the pots.
This isn't necessarily a recommendation to go buy the entire set which starts at $89.99 at Target.
I made an entire meal of chicken florentine in the pan last week.  That's one box of pasta, 3 chicken breasts and veggies.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Pineapple Orange "Julius"

If you've never had an Orange Julius, this may not be all that exciting.  If you have, it still may not be all that exciting.  As for me, I am excited!  100% clean & fresh & delicious. 
P.S., if the Orange Julius people are upset that I used their name in vain, I apologize.



Ingredients

• Fruit from 1 whole pineapple
• 1 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (the real stuff!)
• 4 cups (give or take) ice

Technique

• Throw it all in the blender
• Turn the blender on
• Turn the blender off
• Pour it in your cup
• Drink it
• Yields a whole pitcher

Giving thanks

Father of us all,
This meal is a sign of Your love for us:
Bless us and bless our food,
And help us to give you glory each day
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

The week~

I'm not sure what order the meals will fall in, but here is what we'll be enjoying this week!

Menus

• Spaghetti & green salad
• Grilled burgers, potato salad, pintos
• Pork chops, mushroom & brown rice casserole, broccoli
• Chicken fajitas, black beans, brown rice
• Flat iron steaks, rosemary red potatoes, green salad
• Grilled flat bread pizzas (sauce premade & frozen), green salad

Weekend prep ahead

• Brown rice
• Spaghetti sauce
• Pintos
• Potato salad
• Salsa for fajitas
• The usual cleaning and prepping of fresh produce

Shopping list (Fresh produce from Farmer's Market)

• Whole wheat spaghetti
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Ground beef (for spaghetti and grilled burgers)
• Flat iron steaks
• Crushed tomatoes, tomato paste for spaghetti sauce
• Whole tomatoes, Rotel for salsa
• Dried seasoning: oregano, basil, bay leaves
• Fresh Parmesan (for spaghetti)
• Cheddar cheese (for fajitas)
• Sour cream
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Black beans (dry)
• Pinto beans (dry)
• Bell peppers (for pizza, spaghetti and fajitas)
• Garlic
• Parsley (fresh)
• Dill (fresh)
• Basil (fresh if available)
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes (Yukon Gold for potato salad)
• Red skin potatoes
• Mushrooms (for casserole & pizza)
• Lettuce-romaine
• Fresh fruit

The Mr. does the grocery shopping after we've worked on menus and made a master list. The way I've written it here is basically the way he gets it from me except I may specify amounts instead of "for..."   I make the list with the menu on one side and the items I need on the other and (OCD alert,)  I also make it in the order in which the store is laid out.  The reason I include the menu is so that Dean knows why I need what I do and if he sees something I didn't think of or can't find something I listed, he can improvise.
I spared you the specific amounts but if you'd like any of those details leave a comment and I'll post the recipes and shopping lists for them.