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The Kombucha Experiment
One of Chris’ hobbies is trying out new beverages. So, I wasn’t a bit surprised when he picked out something called Kombucha from the drink case at Central Market. He has become a fan, and at $3+ a bottle, I wanted to see if I could make it at home. Sure enough! Cultures for Health offered a nice how-to-make-kombucha video and our experiment has been in process. I saved the last bottle he drank with a few ounces left on the bottom, and stuck it on top of our fridge for a few weeks to grow a culture. Today, the experiment continues. I’ve added sugar, and am currently steeping…
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Truly Perfect Popcorn
We’ve had a hankering for popcorn these days. I almost bought a jar of kernels at Walmart this week, but, remembering that 80% of the corn in the US is genetically modified, I decided to price check at Central Market or Whole Foods for an organic version. We were at Central Market today and they had organic popcorn for $1.79/lb. Considering you only use 1/3c at a time, this is an inexpensive, healthy & delicious snack! Theseare the instructions we used for our perfect popcorn! We added some butter and sea salt for a bit more flavor, and it was huge hit!
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My new discovery – Raw Honey!
Have you ever tried raw honey? I purchased some on impulse the other day and I am SO GLAD I did. I don’t plan to ever go back to regular honey again! The honey from the store is overly sweet to me and I’ve never been fond of it. As we’ve focused on choosing healthier food options, honey is one of the sweeteners that makes the ‘short list’. This raw honey is not super sweet – it’s the perfect amount of sweet to me! It’s easy to spread on toast or whatever you’d like and it’s much better for you than the store version. (I bet that doesn’t come…
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They fooled me…
Remember my oh-so-excited post about finding soup without MSG in it? I’m sad to say that the soup makers fooled me. Thanks to a great article by the HealthyHomeEconomist, I checked my organic soup for some “hidden” MSG and sure enough, yeast extract is included in the ingredients. Back to the drawing board!
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Popsicles I’m happy to give my kids – bye-bye summer heat!
Didn’t we have a cold snap just a month or so ago??! Hard to believe we’re already hitting the triple digits, and it’s only June! Like many of you, we enjoy eating something cold to relieve some of the heat and I love our popsicles! They are cheap and healthy – the best of both worlds! My mom picked up a little popsicle holder at Walmart. I fill this baby up with water and a smidgen of organic apple juice (about a teaspoonful), freeze it, and voila! Davy devours them. 🙂
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Delish Blueberry Muffin recipe
My muffins! I started craving blueberry muffins today and since I had organic blueberries from my co-op, I decided to make some! I had some great kitchen help, and the recipe turned out great! Blueberry Muffins 1c all-purpose flour 1c whole wheat flour 2/3c brown sugar 3t baking powder 1/2t sea salt 2 eggs 2/3c milk 8T oil [I used grapeseed] 1 t vanilla 2c fresh blueberries Yield: 12 muffins In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees F…
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WHAT’S on my strawberries??!!
image from newsi.es Strawberries have long been my favorite. I could eat them by the pound and I will arm wrestle you and win over chocolate covered strawberries. Therefore, I have been SO disappointed to learn about the particularly nasty pesticide they’re using on strawberries now. Let me introduce you to methyl iodide. This fantastic chemical is a known carcinogen and it can cause brain damage and miscarriages. It’s been approved for use in California even though they KNOW it is awful for us! Chemists don’t even want to handle it in the lab… yet they think we can eat it? I’m thus saying good-bye to strawberries unless they’re organic.…
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Swedish Pancakes Recipe
image from RoadFood.com If you’ve never tried Swedish Pancakes, you, my friend, are missing out. Swedish Pancakes are light, fluffy pancakes that you spread yogurt or jelly on and then roll up. They are SO good. They are also fairly easy to make, with a little practice. Chris made them for dinner tonight and we devoured them. I don’t have appropriate permissions to post the family recipe, but AllRecipes.com has one that should serve you well. The trick in making Swedish Pancakes come out right is to get the pan hot before you add the batter. Test the pan with a drop of water – if it sizzles, your temp…
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My *current* favorite easy meal
I’m always looking for quick, easy, healthy meals for my family. Who isn’t?? 🙂 My current favorite is chicken breast smothered in cream of mushroom soup with a steamed veggie on the side. Make sure and catch my note about soup below… It’s SOO easy. Thaw the chicken (I use organic chicken breast), toss it in a pan and cover with cream of mushroom soup, and cook at 375 for about 45 minutes. Easy and Done! My take on soup: Regular soup has MSG. Grrr. And it can definitely be a challenge to find soup without MSG in it. Walmart is no help. However, Super Target, Whole Foods…
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Organic food can have MSG?
Somehow I thought organic food had to be free from MSG. Apparently not! Check out this article from FoodRenegade.com. For the food companies, it’s all in the wording! Yet one more reason to stay away from packaged food and take an extra few minutes to make my own french fries!