tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85689877024645167702024-02-19T00:31:14.860-05:00The Everyday MichelleThis blog is about me and the things I enjoy and things that I feel are important, amazing, and delicious. I am learning to be a "wellness warrior". I am, to the best of my ability, an "ecoholic". I am a kitchen diva and happiest when cooking up wonderful food for my family and friends. I want to share with the world the knowledge I have acquired to be green, healthy and on budget.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-53076899832196481532016-07-02T13:36:00.001-04:002016-07-03T00:40:25.483-04:00Down The Rabbit Hole & Tidying Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been very busy around here lately. At the end of May, Daughter #1 returned home to get well. We added to the dumping ground in the living room when she first arrived. I am slowing getting my living room back as we sort, edit, and purge Sara's things.<br>
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Prior to Sara's return, I had to re-home many of my belongings that have oozed their way into the drawers and closet of her bedroom. In order to make space for her in her old room, I had to created space for my things elsewhere. Essentially, I had to make space out of thin air... no small feat! It was serendipitous that I discovered Marie Kondo. Her approach to tidying up has been instrumental in helping me to achieve order out chaos. Perhaps there is something to the notion that we must trust that the Universe gives you exactly what we need. Sometimes hardships from which to build character or skill; or as in this case, some answers and information to tackle an existing life situation.<br>
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I remember scrolling through my Facebook feed one morning and found a post about the folding technique of Marie Kondo. Since all things domestic and related to organization interest me, I just HAD to click the link. I was fascinated. I continued to search for YouTube videos and Googled all things Marie Kondo. Now, that I've been totally hooked on her tidying approach. I have to say, based only on what I've found from other bloggers and YouTubers, the technique called the Konmari Method has rocked my world and provided me with just enough information to comfortably squeeze Sara back into the household while providing me with a little order and tidiness! <br>
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For several years now, I<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> have worked on paring down unwanted/unused items, upstairs and down. The old clothes that don't fit; the outgrown toys and kids clothes and the junky or broken items were the easiest to purge - sell, donate or throw out. My last tidy up was before Christmas which I shared with you. Now, although I was pleased with the results, I think there is a little more tweaking required since I have become acquainted with Marie Kondo! Of course this will have to wait because I needed to make space for Sara now so I focused my efforts on her bedroom, the master bedroom, bathroom vanity, and the hall closet. While creating space out of thin air, I found things my husband and I have been hanging on to but were not using or wearing. I bet you can think of several of those items lurking in your closet or drawers! </span>
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<strong><em>"Does this <insert item name></em> </strong><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><em><strong>bring me joy?"</strong></em> has helped me purge the last of many unused items that we were holding on to because I felt guilty about getting rid of them or because they were a gift. You all know those kinds of items... everyone has them! After editing and purging our drawers, bedroom and linen closets, and bathroom vanity, I applied her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE5BDe0vFA8" target="_blank">folding</a> and organisation techniques. This worked so well in my bedroom that I eliminated the "off season" clothing bins and found that I could store far more in the same amount of space AND still see everything we had! If we can see the items, then we would USE the items. A win/win I'd say. After tackling just two bedrooms, my hall closet and the bathroom vanity in the style of the Konmari Method, I had the ability to comfortably squeeze Sara back into her room while maintaining a base level of tidiness. A stellar outcome. This little exercise has shown me that I really want and need to do more. </span><br>
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Yes, I will have to learn all that I can about this path to minimalism, at least my version of it, AND the art of tidying up once and for all. In order to do this, I ordered the book "The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Now that I think of it, I will also have to pick up her second book called "Spark Joy" so that I can become an expert on how to tidy and put my home in order for the very last time!<br>
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I am, by nature, a tidy person. Order in my home brings me peace and serenity; but I know there is room for improvement. I am ready to dive in with the Marie Kondo approach so I can create a calm and clutter-free retreat; I want to truly adopt the old adage "a place for everything and everything in its place". I am looking forward to going through the entire process exactly as she instructs. I can't wait to feel lighter, more focused and see what other positive life transformations present themselves! Yes, I am Alice, and I have gone down that rabbit hole!<br>
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<em>"The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past."</em> - Marie Kondo<br>
<span also="" an="" and="" become="" book="" by="" called="" can="" changing="" expert="" for="" have="" her="" home="" how="" i="" in="" it="" joy="" kondo.="" last="" life="" magic="" marie="" my="" now="" of="" on="" order="" park="" pick="" put="" second="" so="" span="" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" that="" the="" think="" tidy="" tidying="" time="" to="" up="" very="" will=""></span><br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-1607888009419424092016-06-01T16:54:00.000-04:002016-06-01T16:54:52.315-04:00My Chaos and Chocolate Bark<div>
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It has been a very busy few weeks. My household is going to grow again by one. Daughter number 1 needs to come home for some much needed healing time. Without going into detail, suffice it to say that our "little girl" needs the support that only a family can give. Sara will be with us for now till at least the end of the summer, longer if necessary. That being said, I have been busy making space for her in her old room. We don't have a huge house so after she left, we have been slowly, "oozing" our things into her room and taking over the space. Her room has become my office space and her desk became my desk. Her dresser became my linens, table cloths and napkins storag place. Her closet became hanging space for Randy's suits and dress shirts and a place to store some of my "use once and a while items". I have had to find space elsewhere for these things, and let me tell you, it has been a test for my talents. We also had to move our old queen sized bed out of her room to make room for the bed Sara is bringing home. ACK! Our youngest is thrilled because that means she gets a "big" bed for a while since it will be easier to store her single, she inherits the queen bed for the short term. I told her not to get too used to it!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, changing out the beds meant that I would get a much closer view of the upheaval in our youngest's room. As with so many kids, her version of a "clean" and "organised" room is VERY different than mine. Sadly, I got to see all the bits and pieces, lost socks, and clutter stashed here, there, and everywhere. This was oh so much more than I could bear! For those of you who know me, I don't function well with clutter in my life. Given the extent of my daughter's chaos, <span style="font-family: inherit;">it was a much bigger deal than simply swapping the beds out.<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> It was time, again, for some extreme editing and purging which is hard for Erika to do since she has acquired the pack rat gene. I figured that since the young miss will be done high school next year, now is as good as any to start the downsizing process. Right now, my living room has become the dumping zone for stuff that needs a home or needs to be yard saled or donated. If I don't get my act together before Saturday, I will be adding to the confusion with Sara's stuff... breathe; I must remember to breathe!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This picture gives me goosebumps just looking at it! I think I need some chocolate STAT! Why chocolate? Because chocolate makes me feel better and as I found out with a little research, there apparently is some science behind why chocolate improves how we feel. Do keep in mind, the crap that Nestlé and the like churn out by the ton may have some of the benefits, but due to the mystery ingredients and high sugar content, I think I would stick to the highest quality dark chocolate (at least 70%) to treat myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chocolate makes you feel better. It contains phenylethylamine (PEA) which is the same chemical that your brain creates when you feel like you are falling in love. PEA encourages your brain to release feel good endorphins. These endorphins that are released into the brain are known to decrease levels of both stress and pain. Apparently chocolate also causes your neuro-transmitters to create serotonin and dopamine which helps calm, relax, and create feelings of well being. YES... Exactly what I need! That said, do remember that a little goes a long way and just because dark chocolate is said to have great health benefits, it's still a sometimes food and in small portions. So no, chocolate can't be a food group... sadness, but it can be a healthy treat!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Check out <a href="http://www.amanochocolate.com/faqs/why-does-chocolate-make-people-happy/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro04/web1/kcoveleskie.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://authoritynutrition.com/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295615.php?trendmd-shared=0" target="_blank">here</a> for some of my information search,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So now that I know dark chocolate has some health benefits, I thought I would marry up the chocolate health benefits with those of coconut oil. A WIN/WIN for sure! I got my base recipe from one of my favourite writers... Oh She Glows! She has a wonderful <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2015/03/18/crazy-good-coconut-oil-chocolate-bark/" target="_blank">chocolate bark recipe</a> on her blog and this is from where my inspiration came!</span><br />
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Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.<br />
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In a large heavy bottomed pan, I used my cast iron, heat over a medium heat. Toast your nuts, stirring or shaking regularly to prevent burning. When they are fragrant, pour nuts onto a plate to cool. <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Repeat the process with the coconut. Watch it like a hawk as it will go from just a little golden to burnt in a flash. On my first attempt I used a combination of pistachios and pumpkin seeds On my second attempt I used a combination of almonds and pumpkin seeds. I wanted to have the green contrast in my finished product.</span><br />
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R<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">oughly chop the pumpkin seeds and almonds and set aside. </span></div>
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Chop the cranberries in to small bits, roughly each cranberry into thirds. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: inherit;">Mix the nuts, dried cranberries and coconut together in a small bowl.</span></span></div>
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In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil, cashew butter, and maple syrup over low heat. It will look like it has separated, but not to worry. Whisk or stir in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, until super smooth. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir well. Remove from the heat.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Stir in half </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">of nut mixture. </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">W</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">ith a spatula, scrape the chocolate mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined and smooth out until it's about 1/4 inch thick.</span></span><br />
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S<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">prinkle on the remaining nuts, cranberry and coconut mixture over top of the chocolate. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 30 minutes, until frozen solid.</span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Once frozen, break apart into small pieces, about 20 or so. Store in the freezer until ready to eat. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">This chocolate melts quickly so don't keep it out long.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Chocolate Bark with Nuts & Dried Fruit</span></strong><br />
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup shelled pistachios*</span><br />
<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup raw almonds</span><br />
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup dried cranberries*</span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/3 cup dried unsweetened coconut, without sulphites if you can</span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 cup virgin coconut oil</span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 cup natural cocoa or cacao powder, sifted </span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup pure maple syrup</span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon smooth cashew butter (it's what I had on hand)</span></div>
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<span class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pinch of pink Himalayan salt or fine sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">In a large heavy bottomed pan, I used my cast iron, heat over a medium heat. Toast your nuts and/or seeds, stirring or shaking regularly to prevent burning. When they are fragrant, pour nuts onto a plate to cool. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Repeat the process with the coconut. Watch it like a hawk as it will go from just a little golden to burnt in a flash. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">When the coconut is a golden brown colour, immediately pour it onto a plate to cool. </span></div>
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R<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">oughly chop the nuts and seeds and set aside. </span></div>
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Chop the cranberries in to small bits, roughly each cranberry into thirds. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: inherit;">Mix the nuts, dried cranberries and coconut together in a small bowl. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil, cashew butter, and maple syrup over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, until super smooth. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir well. Remove from the heat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Stir in half </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">of nut mixture. </span></span></div>
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W<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">ith a spatula, scrape the chocolate mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined and smooth out (if necessary) until it's about 1/4 inch thick. </span></div>
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S<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">prinkle on the remaining nuts, cranberry and coconut mixture over top of the chocolate. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 30 minutes, until frozen solid.</span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">Once frozen, break apart into small pieces, about 20 or so. Store in the freezer until ready to eat. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">This chocolate melts quickly so don't keep it out long.</span></div>
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Because I love chocolate and I wanted to give a special friend a healthier treat for her birthday, I made another batch. For this, I doubled my recipe so I could gift part of the recipe and have a little for me and my man! Sadly, I didn't have enough of the ingredients in my original recipe so I made the following substitutions with great success.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>*Note On Substitutions</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead of cranberries, I used dried cherries, and I used all pumpkin seeds instead of a pistachios/pumpkin seed mix and the bark was just as tasty. Bottom line is, I think you could use any combination of your favourite nuts, seeds and dried fruit. The possibilities are almost endless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you try this out and let me know how you enjoy it.</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-66813165362139166352016-05-12T11:03:00.001-04:002016-05-12T11:06:24.134-04:00Test Driving Some DIY Green Beauty<div>
Today's post is not about food, but is in keeping with a post I did earlier about greening up self care and my favourite eco-friendly soaps. As of late, I have been using myself as a guinea pig for a few natural self care products. I have tried to minimize my use of the Dirty Dozen in my self care products and have been slowly finding natural replacements, mostly homemade with the exception of my soaps - Ground Soap, The SoapWorks, and my Green Beaver Castile Soap which doubles as body wash and shampoo. From poking around the internet, I have found that many of the made for me beauty products can be a little pricey, but many are no more expensive than some of the high end conventional brands found in the department stores. Now, whether they work or not or are actually as green as they say, that's another story. </div>
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Some of my home made experiments have included coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and a variety of home made body and facial scrubs made from some pantry ingredients. I have to say, that overall, most of my DIY experiments have been pretty successful.</div>
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For the past 2 years, I have been using coconut oil as a face and overall body moisturizer and I would like to report that it has become my go-too moisturizer. I am lucky that it doesn't seem to clog my pores on my face as it is one of oils that has a high <span id="goog_155834625"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Comedogenic Ratings</a> <span id="goog_155834626"></span>- 0 to 5, with 0 meaning no clogging and 5 being the worst. My beloved coconut oil is a 4. Oils like argan oil, hemp seed oil and shea butter will not clog pores (a zero rating) while oils like avocado oil, grape seed oil, almond oil, jojoba oil and olive oil are low on the scale (2). I would first do a patch test to make sure that coconut oil doesn't clog your pores and cause breakout. If you decide to try a natural oil to moisturize, and you find that coconut oil is not the right choice for your skin type, you may have more luck using the less comedogenic (clogging) oils like olive oil or almond oil. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvaiPHm1JCTEtQFWN7G3NP9bDR5MmlQM6VoZlei-JDG-lesVFfkir9euX_rkahhmdCZ3tUN-sseN26h5zBrfPh2v7LJ7HkcbUduGafD1eN5JFC48BDBB-vFctIjAZUEljb392x5Zphx0/s640/blogger-image--1882533255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvaiPHm1JCTEtQFWN7G3NP9bDR5MmlQM6VoZlei-JDG-lesVFfkir9euX_rkahhmdCZ3tUN-sseN26h5zBrfPh2v7LJ7HkcbUduGafD1eN5JFC48BDBB-vFctIjAZUEljb392x5Zphx0/s640/blogger-image--1882533255.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The eco-warrior in me found the perfect use for an old Clinique moisturizer container, not to mention, an ironic choice! I scoop out the coconut oil from my pantry oil and put it in this container. An excellent way to repurpose!</span></div>
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Coconut oil has been helpful to keeping my face, lips and body moisturized, especially through our cold winters. Downside is that it feels a tich greasy at first so it is important to remember a little goes a long way. I use it as an intensive moisturizer at nighttime by using larger amounts on my hands and feet and then wear cotton blend sport socks on my feet and cotton mitts on my hands to bed. Oh, and if you don't have soft terry towel like mitts or gloves, white sport socks work well too. It looks funny, but it does the trick. If you are having trouble sleeping, you can amuse yourself by doing a sock puppet show until you nod off!</div>
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Coconut oil is also a fabulous make up remover too. Apply to your face all over and tissue off. You may need to repeat for those dramatic look makeup applications, but it works well. I wash afterwards with either my Ground Soap or The SoapWorks Camomile soap. Gently towel dry and then apply a light application of the coconut oil. </div>
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I have curly hair and have found coconut keeps my curls curly and tames my frizzies. I take a little dab of coconut oil and melt it by rubbing it between my hands and then evenly distributed through my hair like you would any styling gel. This keeps my curls in check without that crunchy feeling too. Bonus, it acts like a stay in conditioner! The catch for this is to not use too much, otherwise your hair gets weighed down and looks greasy!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pretty curls, tamed by a little dab of coconut oil!</span> </td></tr>
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During the winter months, I deliberately use too much coconut oil in my hair and scalp. It is an excellent deep conditioner when left on for a few hours. It is also a great way to soothe and calm mild psoriasis on your head. Apply a fair bit of the oil, massage your scalp with it and comb through your hair. Wrap in a towel or a shower cap and hang out with a cup of tea and a good book for several hours. I love home remedies... They take time to work so you have a great excuse to relax... BONUS! You will have to wash your hair a few times to fully remove the oil but as long as your shampoo is gentle, and preferably eco friendly and toxin free, this will remove the coconut oil well.</div>
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Sometimes my scalp is itchy and I get a build up of icky bits (sorry if that's too much information LOL!), resulting in the dreaded white flakes upon my favourite black clothes. Sadness... For years, I've used the Head and Shoulders shampoo which has a moderate toxic rating on the <span id="goog_1221333825"></span><a href="http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/" target="_blank">EWG SkinDeep<span id="goog_1221333826"></span></a> Web Site. It's worked ok, but I have wanted a more natural approach and I think I have found it. A month ago I came across some information about apple cider vinegar, particularly the unpasteurized kind, being a good fix for dandruff and dry scalp. It is also supposed to a good hair conditioner, but I fear that if it is left in, one might smell like a salad, so for now, I am just using it as a treatment and then washing it out. <br />
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For the past month I have been using a 1:1 ratio of water to ACV (apple cider vinegar) and gently massaging it on my scalp. Drip dry a bit and mop up the excess with a towel. Then I hang out for a few hours, grab a good book or do some writing while letting the vinegar do it's thing. Then, I rinse and wash out with a gentle shampoo or my castile soap. So far, I have found that it has reduced the dry itchy feeling I get and I think the white flakes have been minimized too. More to follow as I keep this treatment up on a bi-weekly treatment.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A new to me brand of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar I found at Bulk Barn!</span></td></tr>
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Last but not least are my DIY products; a collection of homemade body and facial scrubs that I have been using for the last several months. I scoured the net for various kinds, including information from dermatologists and regular "peeps" on the effectiveness of said scrubs. I chose the ones that I felt would work the best and had the blessings of dermatologists. I found a great article for this <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/25/living/pantry-beauty/" target="_blank">>HERE<</a>. <strong>Two words of caution: FIRST, not everything on Pinterest is a good thing </strong><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/nataliebrown/heres-what-dermatologists-said-about-those-diy-pinterest-fac?utm_term=.if4zaOElY#.ooaR160j5" target="_blank">(check out this post here)</a> <strong>so do some research</strong> <strong>and SECOND, do patch tests for any DIY self care products just to make sure you don't have any reactions.</strong><br />
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I tried out 3 DIY products. The first contained used coffee grounds, coconut oil, and honey. The second contained coconut oil or olive oil and ground oats. The third contained coconut oil and baking soda. All of these ingredients are supposed to have wonderful properties ranging from anti-microbial, anti-fungal, age-reversing plus a whole lot more, and while I really want to believe these promises, these aren't the reasons I have decided to try out DIY personal care products. As an aside, I even question the promises that the expensive store bought concoctions make. Bottom line, I wanted to make some things in my kitchen that would gently exfoliate, brighten up, soothe, and moisturize my skin, without having to purchase the made-for-me products with toxic ingredients. </div>
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I know we can purchase green beauty products, but alas, my budget and my unwillingness to spend the money for higher end products prevents me from purchasing them. So for now, safe DIY is on tap and after the past few months of experimentation, I have come to the following conclusions...</div>
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I found that the coffee grounds, coconut oil, and raw honey scrub is best used on my hands, legs and rough spots like feet, elbows and knees. It is a little to harsh for faces, though I did try it once. I must say, that it certainly freshens up rough skin elsewhere on your body, while moisturizing with the coconut oil. It is a little messy for clean up and given that I don't want the grounds going down the drain on a regular basis, it requires a special screen on the shower or sink drain. I think you could use this body scrub a once per week or just when you find rough spots!<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Coffee Ground Scrub</span></strong><br />
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1/2 cup very finely ground coffee, already used for coffee</div>
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3 tbsp. raw honey</div>
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2 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil</div>
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Combine the ingredients thoroughly. Store in a wide mouth mason jar for up to 1 month in the refrigerator</div>
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To use, wet down your skin and scoop a small amount out of the container. Apply in a circular motion to wet skin. Don't rub too hard. Rinse thoroughly. I used a mesh drain cover to catch the grounds in the tub and ran super hot water down the drain to make sure the oil was flushed out thoroughly. I prefer this as a body and hand scrub because I find it a little too abrasive.<br />
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I've also tried a mix of ground oats and coconut oil (or olive oil) on my face. It is not as harsh a scrub as the coffee one and I believe that as long as you don't scrub too hard, it seems gentle enough on my face. I thought it does a lovely job on brightening my complexion. I found it especially nice around my nose and chin area to slough off the dead skin. I only use this once per week and do it on a days that I don't plan on wearing make up or before bed. The no make up rule after a facial makes sense. Thank you to the Cosmo Girl lawyer named Elle Woods in the movie Legally Blonde 2 for that tid bit of facial after-care! I am so not a glam gal. I've used this once every 2 weeks and I find that my complexion seems smoother and more polished.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Ground Oats Scrub</span></strong><br />
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This is the right amount for one facial scrub application.<br />
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1 tsp. coconut oil or olive oil<br />
1 tbsp. ground oats (regular oat ground finely into a flour in a coffee grinder)<br />
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Mix well in a small bowl and gently apply to a wet face. Gently rub onto your skin using round circular motions for a few minutes, being careful to avoid the under eye area. Don't rub too hard. Rinse with warm water, tissue the excess off and wash your face with a mild eco-friendly soap.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">Last, but not least, I also tried coconut oil mixed with some baking soda. I have only used it on my hands so far. It also does a lovely job of exfoliating. It doesn't seem too harsh and doesn't make a huge mess in the sink. It's not quite as grainy as the ground oats and is definitely not as abrasive as the ground coffee scrub. I'm a little hesitant about using it on my face because of the alkalinity of the baking soda. Since the skin on my hands is a little tougher, I thought it would work out well, and it did! Again, I do this once per week or 2 weeks because, as with all things, you can do too much of a good thing. In my research, I did read that if you were to use any DIY with baking soda on your face, it would be best to use it as a mask</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Baking Soda Scrub</span></strong><br />
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1 Tbsp. coconut oil<br />
1 Tbsp. baking soda<br />
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Mix the ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Wet your hands and lower arms if desired. "Wash" your hands with the mixture and gently rub your lower arms with the scrub for several minutes. Tissue off the excess and wash with a mild soap.<br />
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And so, this ends round 1 of Michelle the green beauty guinea pig and my first attempts at some DIY beauty and self care products. If you too decide to try out some DIY, please know that there are some pretty crazy homemade products out there on the internet highway. I would research carefully, and check out what the dermatologists say too as well as check out the comments from folks who have tried them. Some food based products may better eaten as opposed to slathered on your skin. Just because it's not chemical or full of mystery ingredients, homemade DIY beauty and self care products can be just as harmful to you. On the flip side, DIY green beauty and self care products can be fun to make and fun to use. The safe ones would be great to use on a girls' spa night with a few glasses of wine!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-8956053796241728482016-04-28T09:19:00.003-04:002016-04-28T09:34:35.911-04:00Hidden Healthy & Deconstructed Cottage (Shepherd's) Pie<div>
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I watched the <a href="http://www.marilyn.ca/" target="_blank"> Marilyn Denis</a> show the other day which was about opening ourselves up to new things. I found it quite inspirational for both food and in life. One of her guests was <a href="https://juliedaniluk.com/" target="_blank">Julie Daniluk</a> RHN and is a leading nutritionist. I love her enthusiasm and her health conscious approach! Today she was talking about how to bump up the nutrition for those folks eat too much of one thing... those who gravitate primarily to fast food, or who eat mostly veggies (no proteins), or those folks who primarily eat meat (no veggies). The idea was to open up your taste buds to new things and balance out your nutrition at the same time. Her strategy of choice was to hide the goodness in things that people tend to gravitate to, or as she called it... use <span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>"stealth"</strong></span> to get the good things in.<br />
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Whether you call it "stealth" or hidden healthy, the idea is the same. On the show, Julie had some excellent ideas and you can see them <a href="http://www.marilyn.ca/HealthyEating/segments/Daily/April2016/04_27_2016/OpenUpYourTastebuds" target="_blank">here</a> so that you can open up your taste buds to new tastes and flavours! Hidden healthy is a great way to bump up your plant based protein, improve your fiber, and sneak in some extra nutrition, especially for those uncooperative family members!</div>
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Some of my successful hidden healthy include chili, spaghetti sauce, sloppy Joes, tourtière, and even meatloaf. In these items, I have simply used cooked lentils with the ground meat. Sometimes I reduce the meat by as much as half and slip in 1 to 2 cups of green or brown cooked lentils. In other cases, I just "bulk" up the dish by adding a little amount, up to about half a cup. It all depends on how well the lentils can be hidden. Spaghetti sauce or chili are dishes that are quite forgiving and as long as there is a lot going on, like lots of chopped up veggies, then I can safely add a larger amount of these nutritious pulses. In dishes like sloppy Joes, tourtière and meatloaf, lentils are added, but with a lighter hand to preserve the integrity of the original dish but also because there is not as much ability to hide much in them! Red lentils are great in dishes that get puréed and so you can hide a lot in your marinara sauce, lasagna meat sauce, and even in your broccoli soup.</div>
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So now, without further adieu, I give you one of my tried and true, family approved, hidden healthy meals. It is tasty, satisfying and really bumps up our veggie intake. Cottage Pie is one of my fall and winter go-to meals. It is economical, satisfying, and pretty darn tasty. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, I don't bake my cottage pie in a casserole. I call this my Deconstructed Cottage Pie. If you have a favourite Cottage Pie recipe (on this side of the pond we also call it Shepherd's Pie), you can certainly deconstruct your recipe too. </div>
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This would also be a great recipe to make ahead. You could prepare the meat filling and do the potatoes up fresh on the day. The other thing I discovered was that this was a perfect recipe in which to hide lentils. I discovered that I could make this recipe more economical and incorporate some plant based protein with ZERO family uprising! Wooooot! </div>
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There is a lot going on in the filling providing the perfect camouflage for green or brown lentils, so now I cut my ground meat in half and save the other half for another recipe and add in a cup and a bit of cooked lentils. To further hide the lentils, I found that mashing half the lentils into a chunky puree works like a dream too. Out of sight, out of mind really works.<br />
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Cook up your lentils; 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 cups water.<br />
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Sauté your veggies. </div>
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Mix in your flavourings. Remember my budget tip for extra tomato paste? The tomato paste balls are from my stash in the freezer!</div>
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Add your broth and simmer for 30 minutes </div>
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While your meat and lentil sauce is simmering, prepare and cook your regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. I like slicing in 1/4 inch slices for quick even cooking. </div>
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Thicken the meat and lentil sauce with a flour and water slurry. Whisk until smooth!<br />
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Mix in your frozen mixed veggies. </div>
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Ladle a few spoonfuls onto a plate and add a dollop or two of both kinds of potatoes. </div>
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Deconstructed Cottage Pie </div>
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1 large onion, medium dice</div>
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1 tbsp grape seed oil, or cooking oil of choice</div>
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2 stalks celery, chopped in a fine dice (nice but optional)</div>
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2 parsnips, chopped in a 1/4" dice </div>
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4 oz cremini or button mushrooms medium dice (nice but optional)</div>
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1 lb lean ground beef or pork, pasture raised if possible </div>
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OR 1/2 lb plus 1/2 cup green or brown lentils + 1 1/2 cups water </div>
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1 tsp dried thyme</div>
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2 garlic cloves, finely minced or 2 tsp garlic powder</div>
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2 tbsp tomato paste</div>
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1 tsp heaped Dijon mustard</div>
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2 cups beef broth, or chicken broth, organic if you can</div>
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1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, depending on personal tastes<br />
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1 tbsp Tamari</div>
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1/4 tsp ground pepper, or to taste</div>
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3 tbsp flour</div>
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3 tbsp stock or water water</div>
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3 cups fresh frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn and beans)</div>
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3 large potatoes, I like Yukon Golds or Russets</div>
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1/4 cup milk of choice</div>
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a drizzle of olive oil or melted butter</div>
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A generous pinch of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt</div>
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3 large sweet potatoes</div>
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1/8-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon</div>
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a pinch of nutmeg (I like to use a whole nutmeg and use my rasp to freshly grate it)</div>
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A generous pinch of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt</div>
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In a medium, heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the celery and parsnips and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until the water has evaporated and the celery is tender, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl.</div>
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In the same pot, add a little bit more oil and then scramble fry the ground beef or pork and break the meat up with a wooden spoon. Add in the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring regularly. Add the tomato paste, Dijon mustard, broth, Worcestershire sauce, tamari. If you are using the lentils, add them now with the cooked onion mixture. Add the stock and bring everything to a boil, stirring regularly. Lower heat to about medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. </div>
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In a small bowl whisk together the flour and water. Make sure the slurry is lump free. Add this mixture to the meat mixture and stir until the sauce has thickened. If the meat mixture is not "saucy", add a little water or more stock so that the meat mixture is not dry and the sauce has a gravy like feel to it.</div>
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Stir in the frozen mixed vegetables and stir to combine. Bring back to the bubble, and simmer gently until the veggies have heated through, about 10 minutes.</div>
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While the meat mixture is simmering, get the potatoes going. Peel the regular potatoes and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Place in a medium sized pot, cover with water and add about 1 teaspoon of salt. </div>
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Prepare the sweet potatoes in the same fashion except fill the pot about 1/4 full of water so the potatoes steam more than they are boiled. I skip the salt though. You can also cook them in a steamer if you prefer.</div>
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Cook the potatoes over medium heat until they are tender. </div>
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Drain the white potatoes, mash and add about 1/4 cup of warm milk and a little olive oil or butter, salt and pepper to taste, and mash till light and creamy. Cover and set aside. Drain the sweet potatoes, mash and add cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover and set aside.</div>
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When the meat mixture is all ready and both kinds of potatoes are done, you are ready to plate!</div>
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I like to put a few spoonfuls of the meat mixture in the centre of a plate and a spoonful or two of sweet potatoes and then the white potatoes as shown! Tada, deconstructed Cottage Pie.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-36204529145404520152016-04-23T12:08:00.001-04:002016-04-23T12:08:10.652-04:00Old Fashioned Apple & Raisin Bread Pudding<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Today is a glorious day. Although it's still a little chilly out there, the sun is shining brightly and my internal batteries are getting charged as I sit in this window absorbing those lovely sunbeams. Add </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">a hot cup of my guilty pleasure and some time to work on another blog post, I couldn't ask for a better start to the day!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After sorting and organizing my freezer last week, my mission was to use up my freezer finds and older pantry items. I'm happy to report that my mission is going well. I've tested my creativity and ingenuity for a second week with great success as demonstrated with my family's happy and satisfied tummies. My bank account is happy too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I turned a little leftover spaghetti sauce into nifty pita pizzas using the meat sauce instead of the traditional pizza sauce. Then I topped them with some chopped zucchini, red peppers, a little grated cheddar and baked till the cheese was bubbly, a yummy invention!</span> </span></div>
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I made some amazing white bean brownies from a can of white kidney beans I had in my pantry, and as you know from my last post, my husband really enjoyed them, even after he found out about the beans! These will be made again, for sure! </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also made my Deconstructed Cottage Pie filling with a half pound of ground beef and the mixed veggies from some recently discovered freezer finds. I had all the ingredients for my meals this week pretty much in stock so I only had to pick up a few fresh veggies for the week. Yes, shopping my freezer, fridge and pantry saved me some more cash this week too. I am definitely a happy camper!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might recall that I found a whole bunch of frozen bread in my freezer last week. I also had some apples and eggs that needed to be used up to <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">as well. At the time of my post, I was thinking bread pudding, which of course, is exactly what our grandmothers and their mothers before them would have made too!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, I would like to share that bread pudding recipe with you. This recipe is not the rich, drenched in cream recipe that bread pudding has become in many modern chef repertoires, but a little more like what my great Grannie would have made. Although this recipe was a little more frugal, it was tasty, and even felt a little decadent. In the end, it still satisfied that call for a sweet ending after dinner and made use of on hand ingredients. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a pic of the odds and ends I had of frozen bread. I usually hang on to the bread to make bread crumbs, but apparently, I haven't been using a lot of bread crumbs lately!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #93c47d;">Old Fashioned Apple Raisin Bread Pudding</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cube enough stale bread or your freezer finds. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">White, whole wheat, multigrain, sprouted or even buns all work well. There should be enough cubed bread to </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It should be gently heaped.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Originally, I thought I might have enough cubed bread to make a 9 x 13 and an 8 x 8 pan of bread pudding, but after completing the preparation, I only had enough for a 9 x 13 pan. Sometimes cooking is not an exact science!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a large bowl, combine the eggs and milk whisking thoroughly. Add the cinnamon, grated nutmeg, both sugars and vanilla (extract or ground beans).</span> </span><br />
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Add all of the bread and stir to coat all cubes. Stir in melted butter, raisins, and diced apple. The bread will float for awhile but it will eventually soak up the custard and sink. This should take about 15 minutes. </div>
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While the pudding is standing, preheat the oven to 350° F. </div>
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Once the bread has soaked up most of the custard, gently stir the mixture to make sure the apples and raisins are distributed throughout the pudding. Then, scrape everything into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish.<br />
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Bake for about an hour until the bread pudding is set, slightly puffed, and a golden brown colour. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remove from the oven and brush lightly with the maple syrup.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Serve warm!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #93c47d;">Old Fashioned Raisin and Apple Bread Pudding </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>INGREDIENTS:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">S<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">tale bread; enough to generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan when cubed. It should be gently heaped. If you are short stale bread, top up with lightly toasted bread. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 - 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6 eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 cups milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 cup melted butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp ground vanilla bean</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3/4 cup coconut palm sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 cup organic cane sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup raisins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped in a 1/2" dice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 tbsp maple syrup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>METHOD:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cube your bread and generously fill a 9 x 13 inch baking pan so that the bread cubes are gently heaped. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a large bowl, combine the eggs and milk whisking thoroughly. Add the cinnamon, grated nutmeg, both sugars and vanilla (extract or ground beans). </span></div>
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Add all of the bread and stir to coat all cubes. Stir in melted butter, raisins, and diced apple. The bread will float for awhile but it will eventually soak up the custard and sink. This should take about 15 minutes. </div>
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While the pudding is standing, preheat the oven to 350° F. </div>
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Once the bread has soaked up most of the custard, gently stir the mixture to make sure the apples and raisins are distributed throughout the pudding. Then, scrape everything into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. </div>
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Bake for about an hour until the bread pudding is set, slightly puffed, and a golden brown colour. </div>
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Remove from the oven and brush lightly with the maple syrup. </div>
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Serve warm!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-59226926689423223712016-04-17T12:34:00.001-04:002016-04-28T09:17:35.185-04:00My Plant Based Journey Update & Brownies<div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEQURBFp2iBOAa4-RRrtDszvUX6bxnxUpkcipZcTFOUq3kKKlsf4Lg1JxrwJ6xr_HmT9K274dhXiuUCJQJpwJSVAWtoxPW7A8nBY_bYxgjcp04zkrqAPtjRBSwNIxeGzcufQjRom7XmU/s640/blogger-image--796727082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEQURBFp2iBOAa4-RRrtDszvUX6bxnxUpkcipZcTFOUq3kKKlsf4Lg1JxrwJ6xr_HmT9K274dhXiuUCJQJpwJSVAWtoxPW7A8nBY_bYxgjcp04zkrqAPtjRBSwNIxeGzcufQjRom7XmU/s640/blogger-image--796727082.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It has been 2 years now since I started my eat more plant based and whole foods journey. I have been more mindful of where my animal products come from and I try very hard to eat as ethically as I can. I buy organic veggies as often as possible, and if my budget is tight, I choose organic for the veggies that tend to be sprayed most, like peppers, greens, and celery. Although I have always believed in having veggies on my plate at every meal, I think that for the most part, I have improved the family diet. I try hard to incorporate half my plate for veggies and sometimes fruit. Salads of mixed greens, kale, and spinach grace our table 2-3 times per week, and I try to go meatless for at least half of our meals.<br /><br />I would like my family to eat more plant based as don't want to make TWO meals (one for me and one for them) AND I would like to keep my grocery expenditures down - after all, plant based protein is A LOT cheaper than meat, fish and poultry. In a perfect world, getting my family to willingly eat more lentils, beans and tofu would ROCK! This is easier said than done. Normally, I have to hide plant based protein. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sadly, most of my completely plant based meals are not successful. Sometimes, no matter how I pitch them, they are not well received and the result is "don't make that again"! Ah, the trials and tribulations of a mom dragging her family along the eat more plant-based path! </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I have had to turn to subterfuge, creativity and my secret strategy of choice... "hidden healthy". Hidden healthy has been the most successful means to sneak in plant based protein since I'm not really allowed to cook much with lentils or beans; sadly the fam is just not feeling the love!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">On the flip side, I shouldn't feel too badly. I have always tried to make sure veggies were part of our meals. I know we eat way more veggies now than we did before, so that in itself is a plus! I have managed to increase some plant based protein too, now that I have come to terms with the fact that I have to hide it. Slowly, I am learning how far I can go, shhhhhhhh! We are eating a lot more greens and more regularly (some of us not so willingly, right daughter #2?) and veggies generally cover at least half our plates. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I have had good success with reducing dairy in general, finding dairy alternatives, and when we do have dairy, I have tried to keep the the quality standards high. Because of better store bought choices and more made at home options, I have been able to reduce the preservatives and mystery chemicals in our meals. I have even managed to successfully prepare more "better for you" desserts which have been very well received; I've even cleaned up some of my traditional ones too. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When I actually think about all the WINS vs the losses, we aren't doing too badly after all. I need to revel in my successes and accept that my journey to eat better has gone pretty well over the last two years, even while dragging the non-believers along for the ride. For every not so well received meal, I need to remember those that were. There have even been a few that have achieved "Family Favourite Status"! I am a Wellness Warrior, and the war was not won in a day! </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">No matter your goals... trying to eat better, eat more plant based, to drink more water, consume less sugar, eat fewer processed foods, to eat more ethically or with fewer chemicals, or even just eat more home cooked meals, remember it is a process and positive changes take time, effort and practice. You can't change it all over night and there is always that crazy learning curve!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">To celebrate the changes I have made and the changes you have made or are planning to make, I think we all deserve a treat. Best of all, it's guilt free and the perfect way to incorporate some plant based protein in your loved ones diets! </span><br />
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For this recipe, I used my high speed Vitamix, but I think a good brand of regular blender should work. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #6aa84f;"><strong>Chocolate Walnut Brownies</strong></span><br />
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<b>***UPDATE! My husband still really likes these brownies, even after he made me disclose the ingredients. A big WIN for me!***</b></div>
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1 - 19 ounce canned white kidney beans, about 2 1/4 cups </div>
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1 1/4 cups milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)<br />
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1/4 cup real maple syrup</div>
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3 tsp ground vanilla bean*</div>
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1/4 packed brown sugar **</div>
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4 tbsp coconut palm sugar</div>
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1 cup cocoa</div>
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1 cup whole wheat flour</div>
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2 tsp baking powder</div>
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1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt</div>
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1 cup walnuts<br />
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<strong>INGREDIENT NOTES:</strong><br />
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* I believe you can substitute a good quality vanilla extract, but I think you would need about 1 – 2 tablespoons for the intensity of the vanilla in this recipe. </div>
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** these brownies are not super sweet, more bitter sweet. If you prefer a sweeter brownie, I would be inclined to add another 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of brown sugar. I prefer the bitter sweet and like to use better choices of sweeteners whenever possible. The choice is yours, but try to keep the brown sugar to under a 3/4 of cup to keep things as guilt free as possible!</div>
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Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper with one strip going one way and another strip going another. I use a tiny dot of coconut oil or lard to anchor the paper to the pan. Set aside.<br />
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Preheat your oven to 350°F.</div>
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In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder whisk to combine. Set aside. </div>
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Place rinsed and drained beans into your blender. Add the all the ingredients except the flour mixture and nuts. Blend on high until the batter is super smooth. </div>
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Pour into a medium sized bowl making sure to scrape out as much of the chocolatey goodness as possible. </div>
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Add the flour mixture and the walnuts. Stir to combine well. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scrape the batter into the prepared 9" x 9" baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula or knife. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bake at 350°F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until skewer or toothpick comes out clean.</span> </span><br />
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Let cool on a wire rack in in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely. I use the parchment paper as handles. </div>
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These brownies are tasty naked, but I just happened to have a chocolate mix in my fridges made of coconut oil, maple syrup and cocoa. When this mixture is cold, it creates a lovely chocolate crust I reheated this mixture and let it cool to room temperature. I spread it all over the top of the brownies and chilled in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until the topping was hard. Then I cut the brownies into squares, ready to be enjoyed. Remember to keep your brownies in the fridge to prevent the topping from melting!<br />
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From what I remember, I used the following proportions to make my chocolate topping:<br />
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1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil<br />
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. cocoa<br />
2 tbsp. maple syrup<br />
1/2 tsp vanilla extract<br />
a pinch of pink Himalayan salt<br />
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Combine these ingredients over a low heat and whisk to combine and create a smooth chocolate sauce. Let cool to room temperature before you drizzle or cover your brownies. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #93c47d;"><strong>Chocolate Walnut Brownies</strong></span><br />
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<strong>INGREDIENTS:</strong><br />
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1 - 19 ounce canned white kidney beans, about 2 1/4 cups </div>
1 1/4 cups milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)<br />
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1/4 cup real maple syrup</div>
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3 tsp ground vanilla bean*</div>
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1/4 packed brown sugar **</div>
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4 tbsp coconut palm sugar</div>
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1 cup cocoa</div>
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1 cup whole wheat flour</div>
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2 tsp baking powder</div>
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1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt</div>
1 cup walnuts<br />
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<strong>INGREDIENT NOTES:</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">* I believe you can substitute a good quality vanilla extract, but I think you would need about 1 – 2 tablespoons for the intensity of the vanilla in this recipe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">** these brownies are not super sweet, more bitter sweet. If you prefer a sweeter brownie, I would be inclined to add another 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp of brown sugar. I personally prefer the bitter sweet and like to use better choices of sweeteners whenever possible. The choice is yours, but try to keep the brown sugar to under a 3/4 of cup to keep things as guilt free as possible!</span></div>
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<strong>METHOD:</strong><br />
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In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder whisk to combine. Set aside.<br />
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Place rinsed and drained beans into your blender. Add the all the ingredients except the flour mixture and nuts. Blend on high until the batter is super smooth.<br />
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Pour into a medium sized bowl making sure to scrape out as much of the chocolatey goodness as possible.<br />
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Add the flour mixture and the walnuts. Stir to combine well.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Scrape the batter into the prepared 9" x 9" baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula or knife. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bake at 350° F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until skewer or toothpick comes out clean.</span> </span><br />
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Let cool on a wire rack in in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely. I use the parchment paper as handles.<br />
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Serve these brownies naked or add the chocolate topping. Chill in the fridge until the chocolate topping is hard. Cut into squares an enjoy. I kept my brownies in the fridge so the chocolate topping did not melt.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-39786332551454447342016-04-11T14:28:00.000-04:002016-04-11T14:28:23.878-04:00My Shop the Kitchen Meal Plan<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Monday! </span><br />
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My next post is about my process to create a menu plan based on "shopping my kitchen". I hope it will give you some ideas on how you can do it too!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The weather outside is frightful. We had snow AGAIN, <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">but I'm feeling super content despite the lethargic start to our spring. I feel well rested, and am in my happy place, all </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">thanks to a wonderful Sunday. Let me explain...</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was up super early to deliver the child to her job for a 7 AM start; I made a quick visit to the grocery store to pick up some fresh produce for the week and was home by 7:30. A promising beginning I would say. After<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> my usual large cup of warm water to officially start my day,</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> I even treated myself to a cup of </span></span></span><a href="http://kickinghorsecoffee.com/en/home" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kicking Horse</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> coffee, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">my favourite Fair Trade brand</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. I'll take that double double please, it's one of my guilty pleasures.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Next up was a little banter on the Global News Feed about the government's approach to restricting E-cigarettes and vaping in public spaces. Then, I got to spend some quality time in my rec room near our wood stove with my laptop to do some writing. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">A weekend treat for me! </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Yes siree, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Sunday was a good day despite the fact that we still needed the wood stove in April, but it is Canada after all, and the weather can sometimes be a little crazy. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My last 2 budget posts inspired me to challenge myself and prepare my meals for the week entirely from items I had on hand. My goal was to shop my freezer, fridge, and pantry. This little challenge arose because I had just emptied, re-organised my freezer, and updated my inventory list the week prior. I needed to make some space. Why did I have to make space you ask? Why to add some more stuff of course! I had to make room for some of the <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">pork my mother-in-law stored for me in her freezer. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">You see, I purchased half a side of organic and pasture raised pork from a fabulous local farm (Strattons Farm) at the end of the summer and I didn't have enough space for it all, so my Mother-in-law helped me out. So long story short, while tidying and sorting, I found a few items that had been missed in previous inventory list additions and provided a visual reminder to make use of several items that had been kicking around in the freezer for far too long.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Check out my crazy full freezer! You can see why it's so important for me to keep an inventory list! Believe me, it works. This freezer is very busy. My freezer stores blueberries and strawberries from last years growing season, my half pork order, sale items purchased in larger quantities, several organic whole chickens, and my Bulk Barn purchases, like nuts and seeds, to keep them fresh. You will also find my home prepared items like cooked beans and lentils, several jars, both large and small, of chicken stock and marinara, as well as freezer friendly make ahead meals too. And last, but not least, let's not forget the small bits and pieces of leftovers... Gravy pucks, leftover cooked meat and single servings of soup, sauces and the like. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
Michelle's Freezer, Fridge, & Pantry Finds</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I found several bread bags with 3 or 4 slices of bread, including a collection of bread heels. Some of these were white (shhhhh, sometimes I cave to my daughter's wishes for squishy bread), some bags contained whole wheat, and other were multi-grains. I see a large bread pudding in my future. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also discovered half a package of smoked salmon from our Christmas Eve feast and the remainders of the ham from my Christmas Dinner part 2. The smoked salmon would elevate my creamy salmon, pasta and peas recipe to a new level as it is normally made with tinned salmon. I think that a few slices of that ham, finely diced will be a nice add in to a quiche.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since spring is here, I decided that I better get my large jar of beef barley soup used up. <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">After all, we won't be feeling like heavy soups like this, when and if the warm weather comes. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I made a huge batch in January and froze a second meals worth.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I discovered 2 part bags of broccoli florets, both about one third full, one half bag of peas and unopened bags of mixed veggies, peas, and corn. I always like to have a few bags of frozen veggies on hand for those rare occasions that I have no fresh produce in the house or I need a super quick veggie side! I knew that the opened bags of frozen veggies really needed to be used up ASAP! Generally, I only use broccoli florets in my broccoli soup, but I would have to get creative with them since soup was already on the menu. I'm thinking that the quiche I've already thought of would be good spot for these and as an add in for a mixed veggie side. Presto, 2 part bags of broccoli florets used up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I found a great stockpile of goodies to use up this week. I still have a loaf of bread, some Ozery Bakery Morning Rounds and some banana bread from a few weeks back which will be great for breakfasts and lunches too. I also had part of a container of leftover homemade Vitamix strawberry ice cream waiting patiently to be re-invented, I was thinking strawberry milkshake! These items, plus my regular inventory of organic pork and roasting chicken, frozen fruit, chicken stock, marinara sauce, and 2 bricks of cheese (bought on sale) made for a great jumping off point for my "no grocery store" meals!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, after checking over my freezer, I shopped my fridge and discovered a few items that needed to be used up too: I found a container with 2 servings of l mashed potatoes from last week, half a head of cabbage, a half dozen carrots, 3/4 of a bag of apples, 4 stalks of kale, 6 oranges, 3 lemons, half a head of broccoli and a half pound of butter PLUS my regular staples of nut butters, eggs, wraps, and condiments including Dijon mustard, mayo, and jam. Looking even better for a shopping free week of meal prep! I'm thinking that the veggies and the apples will become a warm cabbage and apple slaw - a perfect side with roast pork, the oranges can be used in fruit salads for breakfasts and lunches, and a few of the carrots will work in the mixed veggie side dish with the broccoli florets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My pantry is always well stocked with baking essentials like flour, various sugars, baking powder and dried fruits as well as a variety of dried herbs and spices. I still had plenty of onions, and potatoes from a few weeks back and I try to have plenty of oats, <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">pasta, dried lentils & beans, canned tomatoes, pasata, and a few tins of salmon on hand. These are great pantry basics to have. I also have my lots of home canned apple sauce from last fall and several tins of maple syrup.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is the dinner meal plan I created for last week. It was based completely on the goodies I had stashed in my freezer, refrigerator and pantry (almost).</span></div>
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Sunday:</b> Roast pork, roasted potatoes, gravy, applesauce, and a side warm cabbage & apple slaw (sautéed shredded cabbage, carrots, chopped kale and apple chunks with a little cinnamon and maple syrup Mmmmmm). And for dessert, strawberry milkshake made with my homemade strawberry ice cream and some additional frozen strawberries. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Monday:</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Beef barley soup with added frozen peas and homemade "Red Lobster inspired" biscuits made a little more healthy. I cut back the butter and sneak in some red lentil purée and brush on half and half seasoned butter and olive oil mix instead of all melted butter. There were even leftover biscuits for lunches!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Creamy fusilli pasta, salmon and LOTS of peas. There wasn't enough smoked salmon so I also used the tinned salmon. It worked well! For dessert, blueberry lemon muffins (with some hidden healthy lentil puree). These also doubled as lunch snacks too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday: </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday dinner ditto - roast pork, gravy with roasted potatoes. Because I only had a few roasted potatoes, the leftover mashed potatoes from the fridge allowed the three of us to have potatoes. Since I only had half a head of broccoli, I bulked up our veggie serving with some leftover warm cabbage and apple slaw. Who would have thought that half a head of cabbage plus the other veggies would make so much? For dessert, apple bread pudding made from those odds and sods of bread found in the freezer and the last of the apples.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Thursday:</b> Broccoli, onion & ham quiche with a potato crust, I used some of the frozen broccoli florets and some of the frozen ham, diced and a little shredded cheddar cheese. I even managed to use the last of the warm cabbage slaw (cause you can never have too many veggies!) and more apple bread pudding for dessert.</span></span><br />
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Friday:</b> Hot pork sandwiches, apple sauce and peas and corn mixed. Although we had no fries, this is my favourite diner food! My hubby prefers his open faced, but I go for the 2 slices of bread version. It's your choice!</span></span></div>
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Saturday:</b> Chicken cacciatore using a whole chicken (cut into pieces) and the marinara from the freezer, linguine from the pantry & mixed veggie - steamed fresh carrot julienned & frozen broccoli florets. I made it just a little more special with a grating of real parmasean cheese. No cellulose fibre fillers in our cheese! Yuck. Behold, my c<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">hicken cacciatore served family style on whole wheat linguine.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> did end up having to run to the store to pick up some more milk for the fam for cereal and drinks and another dozen eggs to make the quiche. All in all, I think I did well with only having to spend another $10.57 for last weeks groceries and we did not lack in having tasty and nutritious meals that even included dessert.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, in the end, I pretty much shopped my kitchen in order to make our meals for last week. With a little creativity and ingenuity, you can shop your kitchen to make sure you use up your leftovers and make aheads. I used up all the perishables in my fridge so no biological experiments to send to the green bin! My freezer still has a few more things for me to use up before the warm weather shows up, but I am well on my way to using up the older and fall/winter foods in my freezer. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-36354728354162088242016-04-09T12:56:00.000-04:002016-05-03T16:05:54.435-04:00Greening Up Self Care and Soap<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9o8IBECGjKvm76nGgxiTpPX4HgYHtOmydWGVcP_cZCc4NP_izIVjYlpaFIVVY75btla1e5DMS1cR4eXJzmvPQLSKRRoW5Ifmbs2PoWhgD0qmOqidHY5km-9VQbut1YOT0zJolRmybeg/s640/blogger-image-1336357080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9o8IBECGjKvm76nGgxiTpPX4HgYHtOmydWGVcP_cZCc4NP_izIVjYlpaFIVVY75btla1e5DMS1cR4eXJzmvPQLSKRRoW5Ifmbs2PoWhgD0qmOqidHY5km-9VQbut1YOT0zJolRmybeg/s640/blogger-image-1336357080.jpg"></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello gentle readers. Today I am writing a slightly different post. For those who know me, one of my other interests is my attempt to be an Eco-holic so that I can try to do my part to become environmentally conscious and responsible. To begin, I would like to introduce you to 2 great environmental web sites and organization that have the planet's and humanity's interests at heart. The first is the </span><a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/about/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">David Suzuki Foundation</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and the second is the </span><a href="http://www.ewg.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EWG</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Both of these groups are working to make the world a better place. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">David Suzuki is the co-founder of the David Suzuki foundation, a non-profit foundation which is a group that works with government, businesses and everyday Canadians to conserve our environment and find solutions that will create a sustainable Canada through science-based research, education and policy work. Essentially, the goal is to help us see what we can do to stop destroying our world. He has spent a life time devoted to educating people about the wonderful ways of nature. He has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and provide solutions. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The EWG is a non-profiit and non-partisan organisation dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. The EWG focusses in 6 general areas: toxics, food, agriculture, children’s health, energy, and water. Both of these groups and those that are committed to working with them are working hard to make our planet cleaner, safer, and sustainable.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have been following my blog, you know that I have been working to improve what goes IN my body, both for health, ethical, and environmental reasons. Today, I would like to write about what goes ON my body. Over the past few years, I have been a lot more mindful of the scary things found in our self-care/beauty products. I find it astounding that this industry is not regulated in North America. The institutions that are supposed to protect us from questionable ingredients and products are turning a blind eye and letting the Maybelline's, P&G's and the Johnson and Johnson's of the world sell us products that are harmful to us and the world in which we live. Making money and a handsome profit is paramount regardless of the end results.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is important that we work diligently to adopt a greener lifestyle. One of the areas to do this would be to green up your beauty and self care products. I try very hard to avoid ingredients found on the </span><a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwrZ24BRC098fr-OqnuMkBEiQAKQ9lgGucX25xlRPPFiQ5PHNWuuDR41DGuzzxFQK3hO4uafEaAhvG8P8HAQ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Dirty Dozen"</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> chemical list: ingredients that are strongly suspected of being endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, or causing cancer. Many are harmful to fish and other wildlife. There are chemical fragrances linked to cancer and neurotoxicity, and the list goes on. The side effects of these ingredients don't sounds so great to me, and it's perfectly OK for companies to put these ingredients in your lotions, soaps, and make up. YIKES! I think I will take a pass and look for better, greener and more sustainable choices.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike Europe, the beauty and self care industry is unregulated in North America and the manufactures of these products can put almost anything in them. I wonder why there is such a difference in what is considered safe. Certainly our scientists are just as clever as the ones overseas. Then why are they not standing up to say the chemical additives in our beauty and self care products are bad for us? I don't have the answer, but it certainly is puzzling.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is also mind boggling to go down the soap and shampoo aisles at the store. I can't get over the sheer volume of products just to clean ourselves, which I daresay are pretty much the same products no matter the brand; just minor differences and packaged in a different plastic bottle. And let's not forget about all that plastic. Why is it that soap has to come in a plastic bottle anyway? Is it really that difficult to rub a wet bar of soap in your hands to lather up? I guess what I'm trying to say is, an easy way to green up your self care and beauty products is to consider the packaging. Is it plastic? Is it excessive? Are there better alternatives? Green beauty is as much about HOW it is packaged as it is WHAT is packaged.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, many companies hide behind the terms "trade secret" or "proprietary" so that they don't have to share the ingredients with those of us who would really like to know what we are slathering all over ourselves. If you are interested in finding out how safe (or unsafe) your favourite shampoo, lotion or mascara is, I highly recommend the </span><a href="http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Skin Deep</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> database run by the EWG. It will give you the low down on what is in your products and how safe it is. By the by, EWG also has a database for your favourite cleaning products too. Sadly, most of these are pretty scary. Myself, I'm a firm believer in white vinegar, baking soda, and castile soap. Please check out </span><a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Queen of Green</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> on the David Suzuki Foundation site! Anyway... that is another topic. Back to the beauty and self care.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The main purpose of my post today is to ask each of you to invest some time to learn a little more about the dirty secrets of the beauty and self care industry and <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">check out a few of the links I have shared. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Weigh the pros and cons of greening up your products and see what you can do to minimize your health risks and make better choices regarding what you put on your bodies.</span> </span></span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once you have decided to do a little green cleaning, there is good news! There are more and more healthier and safer self care/beauty care products available on the market. Just be mindful of "green washing". Sadly, many of the conventional manufacturers of beauty and self care products will say their product is "natural" or "contains natural ingredients" just to snag business from those wanting safer ingredients. Although there may be natural ingredients, you will still find many scary chemicals in the product as well. As with food, reading the labels will be the key to successfully greening up! Remember to stay away from the </span><a href="http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dirty Dozen</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">!</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, natural or eco-friendly products have slightly more expensive price tags than the conventional ones, but I am a firm believer that the quality of ingredients is BETTER and SAFER and worth the cost. As with the food industry, food that is ethically and organically raised/grown is generally a little more expensive, but the end result is better food and better for your health, better for the environment and it allows for a kinder world. Safe shampoos, makeup and lotions, at a slightly higher price points equals better health and ultimately, a better planet. A WIN for all! </span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have touched on why I think it is important to consider the benefits of green beauty. Better and safer ingredients means less cancer and illness; less pollution; ethical sourcing and ultimately, a healthier planet. It's only the tip of the iceberg and I welcome you to investigate this topic in more detail for yourself. Please, check out the EWG and the Suzuki Foundation. I also highly recommend the </span><a href="http://adriavasil.com/books" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">books written by Adria Vasil</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Adria also has an excellent </span><a href="http://adriavasil.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">web site</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> too. Join me and become and Eco-holic too - even if it's only part-time. A little something is better than nothing. There is so much more to saving our planet than just the blue boxes and the green bins.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: inherit;">Michelle's Go-To Soaps</span></strong><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first step to green up my beauty and self care products was to fix up my soap. We have always been a ZERO body wash family in my house because I couldn't stand the idea of all that plastic. Over the past several years, I have stocked a variety of better bar soaps so now the ingredients are better for me and my family as well as the planet.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My absolute favourite brand of natural soap is </span><a href="http://www.groundsoap.com/pages/ingredients" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ground Soap</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> which is available on line and made in Cornwall, Ontario. I really LOVE these soaps! They are luxurious, gentle on me and eco friendly. They make so many different kinds, you can find one, or two or three that work with your skin type or your specific needs.</span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY6_bRu0Y9RlpA2fRqVls_d5CiIhg7O80BFCVqHeqPTAWYhsSaag3bzNDj_cxNZ0SB96Aif_XhgttSJleNibRYoQat8YFFPbSfoyHHIFK6ykWs5dohEtl89BamPrgZYBanwDETwcSDm4/s640/blogger-image--666489231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY6_bRu0Y9RlpA2fRqVls_d5CiIhg7O80BFCVqHeqPTAWYhsSaag3bzNDj_cxNZ0SB96Aif_XhgttSJleNibRYoQat8YFFPbSfoyHHIFK6ykWs5dohEtl89BamPrgZYBanwDETwcSDm4/s640/blogger-image--666489231.jpg"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Upside: Canadian Made, minimal and re-useable fabric packaging that you can save for crafts or whenever you need a small square of beautiful fabric,</span><a href="http://www.groundsoap.com/pages/ingredients" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> natural vegetable ingredients</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, the products are 95% to 99% certified organic, and natural essential oils are used for scent. There is even a bar that has no added scent at all. These cold pressed soaps are paraben, sulphate free and cruelty free and completely biodegradable. Wow! Ground Soap bars are a generous 6.5 ounce size and last a very long time as long as you don't float your soap or let it sit in water for long periods of time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As an aside, c<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">old process is the method of soap making that Ground Soap uses. It allows for all of the moisturizing and healing properties in the ingredients once the the soap is made. A definite plus!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Downside: I really haven't found any, but because these are made with natural ingredients, these soaps "melt" a little faster than conventional soap when they are allowed to stay wet or sit in a pool of water. For this reason, I have a separate soap dish for them that we take in and out of the shower with us.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcYoTJGM1U0QPD8oQvwdYgRcqzSY5ZAOZLXuhSVnqTwLKxF1WXcuC6NgDB0esWCtbEIGa6Sn136v4MUNJblrSxNyfCo7vbx8VcjJOqt_Jkd14kTEcNyyLjTEKwzX5NeG1mekETPLpKS4/s640/blogger-image-1060916778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcYoTJGM1U0QPD8oQvwdYgRcqzSY5ZAOZLXuhSVnqTwLKxF1WXcuC6NgDB0esWCtbEIGa6Sn136v4MUNJblrSxNyfCo7vbx8VcjJOqt_Jkd14kTEcNyyLjTEKwzX5NeG1mekETPLpKS4/s640/blogger-image-1060916778.jpg"></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aum Bar - INGREDIENTS: Organic Olea Europaea (olive) oil, Organic Cocos Nucifera (coconut) oil, Water (aqua), Organic Mangifera Indica (mango) seed butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (shea butter) fruit, Theobroma Organic Cacao (cocoa) seed butter, Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli) oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (orange) peel oil, Allantoin, Prunus Serotina (wild cherry) bark powder, Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli) leaves, Vanilla Planifolia (vanilla) powder</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94vFuElG6ZdBlpeKop6hyphenhyphenZ2-afXgDB__dwMygK6dL0Yy-pcO9n5UvqZW-6n4zDadnkjKF2TXj7i1dRukoLq2xRNxtVJmeWpPQfhGP306G4jiOu-7tEeIPw89GDAVek_JjKH_DlCjf6HA/s640/blogger-image-356530856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My second go to brand is made by<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://puresoapworks.com/aboutus.htm" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Soap Works</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">When I first started looking for a soap alternative, I discovered The Soap Works brand at the </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Bulk Barn here in Ontario, but I believe they are available in Bulk Barns across Canada. The Soap Works also has places to buy on their site. I initially chose this product because of the lack of extra packaging and price point. Upon further research, I was happy to discover that these soaps were free from a lot of the toxins I had been reading up on, so I have continued to use this soap regularly.</span></span></span></span></span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94vFuElG6ZdBlpeKop6hyphenhyphenZ2-afXgDB__dwMygK6dL0Yy-pcO9n5UvqZW-6n4zDadnkjKF2TXj7i1dRukoLq2xRNxtVJmeWpPQfhGP306G4jiOu-7tEeIPw89GDAVek_JjKH_DlCjf6HA/s640/blogger-image-356530856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94vFuElG6ZdBlpeKop6hyphenhyphenZ2-afXgDB__dwMygK6dL0Yy-pcO9n5UvqZW-6n4zDadnkjKF2TXj7i1dRukoLq2xRNxtVJmeWpPQfhGP306G4jiOu-7tEeIPw89GDAVek_JjKH_DlCjf6HA/s640/blogger-image-356530856.jpg"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Upside: Canadian Made, minimal packaging and you buy what you need; no phosphates or lauryl sulphates; better ingredients than conventional manufacturers, phosphate free and not tested on animals. Years ago, I emailed them with a list of bad ingredients found on the </span><a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwrZ24BRC098fr-OqnuMkBEiQAKQ9lgGucX25xlRPPFiQ5PHNWuuDR41DGuzzxFQK3hO4uafEaAhvG8P8HAQ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Dirty Dozen"</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> chemical list and with 2 exceptions, a clean bill of health. A great starting point to green up if you suffer from sticker shock when looking at the BEST alternatives. These bars cost a little more than the conventional and over-packaged offerings on the market, but much cheaper than the higher quality and organic offerings. An excellent way to test the waters so to speak or for those on super tight budgets who would also like to use safer products.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Downside: The sourcing of ingredients is not as pristine as I would like and many of their products use palm oil, which of course encourages clearcutting and habitat decimation for Orangutans. NOT a good thing! The sourcing of the of the sodium tallowate is ecologically questionable as well. Some, but not all, of the product offerings contain artificial colour and coal tar extract.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, a decent option, not a great option, but certainly better than P&G's Ivory Soap which has been greenwashed to be "natural". This soap, like so many on the market is filled with petrochemicals, hormone-disrupting fragrances and preservatives as well as rainforest-razing palm oil. YUCK.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In our house, we primarily use the </span><a href="http://puresoapworks.com/tea_tree.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tea Tree Oil</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and the </span><a href="http://puresoapworks.com/camomile.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chamomile</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> soaps.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Tea Tree Oil soap is an excellent bar for every day showers. It is particularly good to clean "stinky guy" after he has toiled outside for the day and "teenager feet" due to the astringent, antiseptic and antifungal cleaning properties of Tea Tree oil. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tea Tree Oil Bar - INGREDIENTS: Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Melaleuka Alternifolia (Australian Tea Tree Oil) Leaf Oil</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHpxzWOh8kA_KnxOILrvkkCC9VQ84S1pv7ngsxGmmzKLvLoJFnrVKteOOos0FKQopd-ga_ES91y8mrTK4zwDb9nOAI3KOuTref5YUtXwcMiQqzLLKY5_lp8tG4NU0UmM6VJU82B_SEvY/s640/blogger-image--1473386639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Camomile soap is especially good for oily and acne prone skin, but not overly drying. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Camomile Bar - INGREDIENTS: Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract (Chamomile flower), Beta Carotene Colour, Yellow Iron Oxide, Parfum (Orange*, Clove*, Cedarleaf*, Rosemary*) </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">*essential oils </span></span></div><div align="justify" class="Ingredients"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span></div><div align="justify" class="Ingredients"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A great way to store your soap is in beautiful canisters in your bathroom. </span></span></div><div align="justify" class="Ingredients"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br></span></span></div><div align="justify" class="Ingredients"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmjPQX4iMI6AkkrNgHj5vnmRKsv3Ei8t0cp3o7t5SGfSs5O-iv59S0RKnreWnncYzOZFIeoaGu0iwwY1IJopMpItV5GQLjidXvZCTmEp4QbrqgiCRABWZugXmTWCN5kf6pV4dI6cuGtE/s640/blogger-image--581278734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmjPQX4iMI6AkkrNgHj5vnmRKsv3Ei8t0cp3o7t5SGfSs5O-iv59S0RKnreWnncYzOZFIeoaGu0iwwY1IJopMpItV5GQLjidXvZCTmEp4QbrqgiCRABWZugXmTWCN5kf6pV4dI6cuGtE/s640/blogger-image--581278734.jpg"></a></div><br></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizY21_7HoA0ul2shDLG5I440uBrqdu8uWiaKTbX1sRFBD21wD3GZzt9oSIsjdoByUR_0ENwM4eIkfZmgV7LaIzPzyvA42bHBoeyiN3js7svNfnyJeO-vBtlUPv7P9DwMLl8VQo9jq9Noc/s640/blogger-image--1656397848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My goal today was to pique your interest and <strong>open your mind</strong> to the idea that we should all look a little deeper into what companies ("family company" or not) are selling us, especially the companies that are part of unregulated industries like beauty and self care. We need to be knowledgeable and pro-active and deserve to know exactly what we are putting ON or IN our bodies. I truly hope you will give Ground Soap a try. This is an amazing company with wonderful product. If you aren't ready to dive into the world of handmade soaps, the Soap Works brand is well worth your time and may fall into a more comfortable price point. There are many varieties from which to choose. Whichever brand you choose, I think you will agree that this is a good first step to green up your beauty and personal care products!</span><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-42231800774560298522016-03-13T21:04:00.000-04:002016-03-13T21:04:45.807-04:00Eat In, Eat Real, On Budget & Chicken Stock <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqhjyVOq0cVy855wJOpU6BObJpeQ9_YTHaOEyfGZanN5I2yc1OyArsdTruID7secv-gJhpq_re5dnWmC6NTeb304bnJUUeeSD0CDHIDx6utkcMLJObz6mE7YJszZ6WNe4TmEChV_u69Q/s1600/IMG_3264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqhjyVOq0cVy855wJOpU6BObJpeQ9_YTHaOEyfGZanN5I2yc1OyArsdTruID7secv-gJhpq_re5dnWmC6NTeb304bnJUUeeSD0CDHIDx6utkcMLJObz6mE7YJszZ6WNe4TmEChV_u69Q/s400/IMG_3264.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins, perfect to make ahead and freeze. <a href="http://theeverydaymichelle.blogspot.ca/2014/03/sweet-potato-oatmeal-muffins-non.html" target="_blank">Recipe on the blog!</a></span></td></tr>
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When I went from working part time to full time. I started doing a lot of the planning things so that I could maintain my sanity. I knew that eating real food was non-negotiable. There was no way that I was going to buy made for me meals in the grocery store or do take out. Sadly, I also found that working everyday really cut into my cooking hobby. In order that I continue to love cooking, I needed to get super organized. Over time, I worked out my meal planning and shopping system. I became diligent at keeping track of what is in my freezer, fridge and pantry and I started to do a great deal of meal prep work one day of the weekend. It's so nice not having to think about "what's for dinner" while driving home... I already know! It's nice to know that I have everything I need in my house to get meals together for the family and that we will be eating real food and on budget. So yes, I actually do the things I talk about in my blog! A little time spent organizing and planning is time well spent when it reduces stress and makes coming home after work a breeze! For those of you who find cooking to be a chore, trying these strategies may result in you finding out that cooking can be a little more enjoyable and definitely less stressful.<br />
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Last June, my full time contract ended and I was, again, unemployed. We were back to a single income household. As I told you before, I am the queen of saving and frugal, perhaps, to a fault. I am happy to say, that my great-grandmother would be proud of me. You see, she raised a family of 3 children, on her own, and through the Great Depression in a drought on the Canadian Prairies. She told me stories of how thrifty she had to be, just to get by. My dad told me that my grandfather use to say "it's not what you make, it's what you spend". Apparently, penny pinching is in my genes, so with job hunting not going so well, it was time to see just how much pinching I could do with my pennies (I guess that's nickels since we don't have pennies in Canada any more)! Don't get me wrong, my family and I are not in dire straights or anything, but it seems to me that with all the price increases and uncertainty of our economy, that it wouldn't hurt to figure out how to save money and stretch that dollar as far as possible. With that said, I think that no matter what your income or socio-economic background, you owe it to yourself, to the Earth, and to future generations to be budget conscious and not wasteful in all that you do... and not just the kitchen.<br />
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<strong>Food Management Strategies</strong> <br />
On my last post I talked about preparing a meal plan for the week based on your sale items in the flyer and what you already have on hand. When doing up your meal plan and shopping list, it's easy to take a quick peek to see what you already have in the pantry and fridge. The chest freezer may be another story all together. If you are like me, you may lose track of what food you have in the freezer because older foods get buried at the bottom and then forgotten. To overcome long, lost food, I organized my freezer into food category zones like lunch snacks (banana bread, muffins, cookies, and the like), meat, veggies, fruit, bread, etcetera. I also started to keep an inventory list of all items in the freezer. When I use something, I cross it off the list; when I put something into the freezer, I add it to the list. I like to make my freezer inventory list and date it. To help make this system work, it is key to make sure my additions and deductions from the list are accurate, otherwise, I will have to root around in the freezer regularly which is such a time waster! Also, I make sure to date the freezer items so that I use the older items first. If one stays on top of what is in the fridge, pantry, and freezer, it will be so much easier to plan the meals and do the weekly shopping. With proper tracking, you won't end up with unnecessary extras because you buy something "just in case"; freezer items won't get forgotten and freezer burned; and all the fresh produce in the fridge will get used before turning into biological experiments. Ultimately, you won't over spend on needless extras; you will save money because you are buying exactly what you need, when you need it and you won't be wasting food because it got forgotten and spoiled.<br />
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Although my freezer inventory list isn't completely fool proof, it does help a lot! I usually do a complete inventory every 6 months or when I have to defrost my freezer since I have to empty it anyway. This helps keep the inventory list accurate to compensate for items I occasionally forget to add or subtract.<br />
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How you track your freezer inventory, or write your menu plan, or write your shopping list is up to you. Using a good old fashioned pen and paper list works well, or even a check list app on your smart phone. Ultimately, you need to find what works best for you. Perhaps it's 100% pen and paper; perhaps it's 100% digital or something in between. Whatever you decide upon, remember you need 3 things accomplished: 1) A menu plan for the week, 2) A shopping list for only the ingredients you NEED, and 3) To use up the ingredients you have tucked away in your fridge, freezers, and pantry. Bottom line, the idea is to make a menu plan that uses up what you have in the house before it spoils and to take advantage of sale items in the weekly grocery flyer. This way, you save money because you don't waste food AND because you take advantage of sales. </div>
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Just a quick comment about your fridge and pantry. I highly recommend that you take some time and go through your fridge and panty and do a serious edit and purge. Toss out any expired items or items you know you will not use. De-cluttering is therapeutic and it allows you to see what you have on hand more efficiently. Anything to make meal planning and shopping easier is a WIN for you!<br />
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<strong>Cook Once, Eat Twice</strong><br />
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Take advantage of <strong><em>"cook once, eat twice or even thrice"</em></strong>! This strategy saves both time and money. It doesn't cost a whole lot more in utilities or time to cook a double batch of something. YAY to saving money on the household bills too! It can be a great time saver and money saver to plan a Sunday meal that is large like a roast of pork or a couple of chickens or a double batch of marinara, or two <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/10/05/glazed-lentil-walnut-apple-loaf-revisited/" target="_blank">lentil/walnut loaves</a> or two chicken stews. Plan to serve your super sized meal again later in the week as is, or "ditto" as we call it in my house. You can make it new again with some new side dishes or re-invent it as another dish all together. For example, a roast of pork can be served as a Sunday dinner with a mix of roasted veggies like potatoes, beets, carrots, and butternut squash, a side of steamed broccoli, apple sauce and gravy. Later in the week, you can serve this meal again by reheating the main components in the microwave or carefully in the oven and warming the gravy on the stove top OR you can make a veggie stir fry and toss in the leftover roast pork, cubed to reheat at the end. Perhaps one of your planned weeknight meals is pasta with marinara sauce and sautéed veggies. <br />
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Make a triple batch and split amongst containers. You will have one for the meal this week, one to freeze for another night next week or when you are especially rushed and then divide the remainder in 1 cup servings to be used for homemade pizza. I usually simmer this marinara further till it thickens enough to "mound" on a spoon. You can make your own pizza dough or use store bought whole grain pitas. I recommend Pita Break pitas made by Ozery Bakery because they don't use preservatives or miscellaneous chemicals. If you have made a second lentil/walnut Loaf, you can crumble the second one up for Taco Tuesday or stir some into your marinara for a vegan spaghetti meat sauce. You can add a few more mixed frozen veggies to the chicken stew, thin it with a little more chicken stock and serve it up as soup. Oh, the possibilities by planning ahead!</div>
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<strong>Meatless or Reduced Meat Meals</strong><br />
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There are so many reasons to consider more meatless meals. Some of these include that we are not getting enough veggies and far too much animal protein in our diets, or our quest for an abundance of meat has resulted in unethical factory farming practices or excessive greenhouse gas production, just to name a few. However, more relevant to the theme of this blog post, plant based protein is SO economical, especially in comparison to even the most economical meat in the grocery store. A bag of beans or lentils can provide a lot of really affordable protein, a lot of bang for the buck I would say! Even if you aren't ready to dive into 100% plant based meals, stretching your animal protein with some plant based will also help stretch your grocery dollar. When I make my traditional Québécois Tourtière, I <shudder and gasp!> sneak in a little green lentil; when I make a spaghetti meat sauce, I sneak in a little quinoa or red lentil with a whole lot of diced veggies; when we have burritos, I make sure that there are some re-fried beans to accompany the half batch of seasoned ground meat. In addition to mixing plant based protein with meat, we also eat completely meatless meals. Introducing meat free meals to an omnivorous family can be a challenge, but I have found a handful of completely plant based meals that please the palates of my omnivorous family. Even a vegetarian based meal like a veggie frittata (Italian egg omelette), easy on the cheese, is a welcome and budget friendly option. If you are looking for cool ways to incorporate more plant based protein into your recipes, check out <a href="http://www.lentils.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Lentils</a>. They have a wonderful website that shows you how to add these little Canadian grown gems into your diet. You can never go wrong by saving some money AND getting some extra fibre into your family!</div>
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<strong>Your Freezer Is Your Friend</strong><br />
One of the easiest ways to help stay on budget is to not waste food. Embrace your freezer and take advantage of preserving raw and already cooked foods. It's a good thing we just talked about keeping a freezer inventory list! Freezers are great to stock up on really well priced sale items, assuming your weekly budget allows for it. Just remember to date and keep a good inventory. Meat, cheese, certain fruits, herbs and breads all freeze well, just be mindful to use the oldest items first. As we talked about, cooking larger amounts and freezing part of it for another day is a great way to save time and money, but don't underestimate the value of your freezer for preserving leftovers.<br />
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Don't throw out those smaller portions of gravy or the single servings of meat or spaghetti sauce! Save these small portions in your freezer. Sometimes I have a little gravy left over after making a Sunday roast. Ok, for those of you who have witnessed me making gravy, I ALWAYS have leftover gravy, and lots of it. Instead of tossing it out, I freeze it in my silicon muffin cups and then put my gravy pucks into a freezer bag or sealed storage container. This allows me to have add gravy to a simple weeknight meal or to a casserole. I also do this for apple sauce, pesto, marinara, and even cheese sauce. Place the silicone cups into a muffin tin. Spoon in what you would like to freeze, smooth out the tops and freeze. Pop the pucks out of the silicone cups and place them into a plastic container or a freezer bag. When I need a condiment for a weeknight meal, I just have to grab however many "pucks" out of the freezer. SO convenient, made at home and without the chemicals too.<br />
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If I have single servings of never frozen before chilli, spaghetti or marinara sauce, I freeze and label it accordingly. This way, for occasions when a quick single serving is required, I have one on hand. Even shepherd's/cottage pie can be put into a container upside-down for a single serving in the near future.<br />
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When I have a little extra chicken or turkey leftover, I chop it up, spread it out and freeze it on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. Once the meat is frozen, I can package it in a freezer bag. The meat cubes are loose and individually frozen so I can grab as much or as little out of the freezer to make chicken salad, or wraps, or whatever my heart desires. This also works with some kinds of fruit, including pineapple, berries, and bananas. I've even frozen apple slices, after a quick dip into a vinegar/water solution to prevent browning.<br />
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Another of my favourite freezer tricks is to use my scoops to freeze tomato paste and hummus. For the tomato paste balls, I use approximately a 1 tablespoon size which works out well since many recipes call for 1-2 tablespoons of it! <br />
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I usually use larger scoops for my hummus so each scoop is about 1 small serving. How convenient!</div>
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At Christmas time, I use a lot of egg yolks in recipes for our Christmas Eve Feast. Instead of throwing out those egg whites, I put them into a 500 or 750 mL jar for storage. I leave at least 1.5 inches of headspace and store them in a freezer. I label the jar to indicate how many egg whites are in it. <br />
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Sometimes I have a jar that only has two egg whites. As time passes, I occasionally prepare another recipe requiring only egg yolks, so I continue to add egg whites to the jar (adding fresh egg whites on top of the already frozen). At some point, perhaps 10-12 months later, I usually get a hankering for angel food cake, which takes 11 egg whites. Now I have the egg whites that I need to make the cake. I thaw these egg whites in the fridge overnight. When they have thawed, I leave them on the counter to get to room temperature for optimal whipping. No fuss... no muss!<br />
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Last, but not least, I love to make chicken stock. I used to make a large stove top stock pot full so I would have to save up my chicken carcasses. Where you might ask? Why, the freezer of course! Now I prefer to make it in my slow cooker. I can fit 2 small carcasses plus veggies in my 3.5 L slow cooker. I end up with about two 750 mL jars and two 500 mL jars, with sufficient headspace, to freeze. <br />
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As of late, I have discovered that I can save up my scrubbed carrot peels, tops and ends of my celery and onions. I keep these bits in a bag in the freezer and use them in my stock. This way, only have to add a small amount of fresh veggies to the stock. Ultimately, I am minimizing the waste and using as much of my food as I can... even the scraps! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not the prettiest of posts, but certainly it will be tasty in 12-24 hours or so!</span></td></tr>
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I could go on with what and how I freeze things, but I think you get the idea. Take a look at what kinds of food you prepare. You may find several items that will freeze well, either as a make ahead meal or the leftovers. If you would like a tip or suggestion on freezing something specific, leave me a comment below or click the Ask Michelle button on the homepage of my blog. For now, I leave with you my Slow Cooker Chicken Stock. <br />
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I have a 3.5 L Cuisinart programmable slow cooker. If yours is smaller, you may only be able to use one chicken carcass and less water, but don't chintz out on the veggie scraps. There is a lot of flavour in them!<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;"><strong>Slow Cooker Chicken Stock</strong></span><br />
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Ingredients<br />
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2 chicken carcasses</div>
3-4 cups of saved up veggie scraps (onion ends, celery ends, carrot ends & thoroughly scrubbed carrot peels, garlic bits)*<br />
1/2 fresh carrot, cut in thirds<br />
1/2 fresh onion (depending on how many onion ends in the scrap bag)<br />
1/2 stalk of celery, cut in thirds<br />
2-3 peppercorns<br />
6 sprigs fresh parsley **<br />
2 fresh thyme sprigs **<br />
2 bay leaf<br />
2 tbsp raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar***<br />
8-10 cups of water, or enough to completely cover the ingredients just to the ledge the lid sits on.<br />
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* I use whatever "fits" in my slow cooker with the chicken carcasses, and the fresh veggies. Press everything down before adding the water.<br />
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** In a pinch, when I don't have fresh herbs, I have used 1 tsp dried thyme leaves and 1 tbsp dried parsley. The dried herbs get caught in the sieve.<br />
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*** The raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar I like to use.</div>
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Method<br />
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Place chicken bones and apple cider vinegar in the slow cooker. Add thawed veggie scraps, fresh onions, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Press down firmly. Pour in 8-10 cups water. Cover and cook on low for 12 hours. Sometimes, I even slow cook my stock for 24 hours.<br />
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Discard chicken bones, to the green bin if your community has this service. Strain stock through cheesecloth-lined sieve into large bowl, pressing vegetables to extract liquid. Ladle the stock into mason jars, leaving at least 1.5" of head space. We don't want any cracked jars. I like to use 750 mL jars, but if you would rather fill several 500 mL jars, that works too. Put the lids on and refrigerate until fat congeals on surface, about 8 hours or overnight if you wish. <br />
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Skim off the fat and discard. This can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month or so. If you don't use cheese cloth, make sure you are using a really fine meshed sieve to strain your stock.<br />
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You can use this stock in your favourite soups, stews, or stir fries. Just freeze the stock in the quantities you use most. Pictured below is a <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/shepherds_pie_soup.php" target="_blank">Shepherds Pie Soup</a> from Canadian Living. I used my chicken stock instead of the beef broth called for in the recipe and snuck in some hidden healthy lentils too. Super tasty either way!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-32248229944620779052016-03-08T15:30:00.000-05:002016-03-08T16:16:10.961-05:00Eat In, Eat Real, On Budget & Ranch Dressing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have always been quite frugal. As a child, I managed to keep my Christmas candy until almost Easter, my Easter candy till at least June, and my Halloween candy till Christmas. I managed this great feat not because we were given so much, but because I savoured each piece and wanted to make it last. Later, this saving thing extended to my piggy bank and ultimately to my bank account. I have always been budget conscious and not one to spend more than I made... I am a real saver, sadly, sometimes to a fault, but that is another story!<br />
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During my starving student days, I learned that cooking at home was far cheaper and better for me than eating out, despite the fact that my mom told me so, I had to discover it for myself. Stretching a dollar in the kitchen while not losing out on the quality of my meals became a badge of honour, even way back then. Now, while all grown up, with a family income far better than that of a starving student, my budget conscious self reigns supreme in my kitchen. I don't have to use a calculator while grocery shopping anymore for fear of spending more than the actual cash in my wallet, but I work diligently to stay within my budget while providing healthy meals and snack choices for my family.<br />
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Groceries are expensive and we have seen a drastic increase in the prices of real food. Sadly, a couple of red peppers, organic or not, cost more than the cardboard, sugar and chemical laden Pop Tarts in the breakfast aisle. Because my health and well being are important to me, I prefer to eat whole foods found in the perimeter of the grocery store. I buy very few processed, made for me foods, but when I do, I try to minimize the chemical additives and make sure these items have good nutrition profiles. Some of my go to products would include coconut, olive and grape seed oils, some breads, pitas and wraps, plain yogurt and a few condiments.<br />
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Given that food is becoming more expensive, I try very hard not to waste any of it. If I buy it, I want to make sure to eat it. Not wasting is one of my strategies for staying on budget. Buy it and use it, or just buy what you need. <i><strong>"Waste not; want not"</strong></i>, I believe is the saying, and it is as relevant today as it was years ago when my parents used to say it to me. Mom and dad, I'm not rolling my eyes anymore!<br />
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Over the next few blog posts, I will share my favourite budget and time saving tips for eating real, not made in a factory kitchen, food. If you are the person in charge of meal making, and would like a glimpse into how I stretch a dollar in my kitchen and make time to prepare mostly real food, the next few posts are for you! Let me share my time saving and budget friendly tips with you. <br />
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<span style="color: #93c47d;">My Top Tips To Eat Well and Stay on Budget - Part 1</span></h3>
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<b>ONE: Set A Budget</b><br />
Set a monthly and weekly food budget. Your food budget is part of your variable household expenditures and the amount you set is dependant on how much of your family income is left after fixed costs like rent/mortgage, utilities, house insurance and car payment and insurance. The remainder of your monthly earnings is divided amongst variable expenses like transportation, groceries, medical/dental, clothing, entertainment/eating out and miscellaneous/other expenses like pets, charities, interests and hobbies. For more information on setting budgets, please visit my budgeting and family financial hero <a href="http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/">Gail VazOzlade</a>. She has an excellent web site and some excellent books on balancing your budget, getting out of or staying out of debt!<br />
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While on the subject of budget, you should also get a feel for the cost of your usual grocery items. I know prices change, but getting a "feel" for how much your groceries cost will help with your budgeting process. Decide ahead of time what items need to be organic, or fair trade, or just conventionally grown/raised. Know that organic or fair trade will cost a little more, so it is important to take this into consideration. Realistically, a family of 6 will need a higher food budget than a family of 3. If you are dedicating most of your grocery dollars to real food, little to no money on take out or convenience items, you should be able to meet budget requirements if you work hard on getting the most bang for your buck by shopping the sale items, buying budget friendly foods (for example, ground beef instead of steak or house brand vs national brands for the occasional made for you products) and buying only what you need. <br />
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<b>TWO: Know What's In Your Culinary Toolbox</b><br />
Take some time to write down all the meals in your cooking repertoire. Prioritize them based on how much your family enjoys them and how long it takes to prepare. For example, the best loved and the speediest to make should be at the top of your list. You should also categorize these best loved meals based on weekend vs weekday meals, make ahead or make ahead components or super speedy (30-40 minutes, start to finish), and of course low, medium to high price points. It is also helpful to know which meals you can throw together off the top of your head. These are the meals you reserve for nights you need to be fast if you haven't got a made ahead meal or some of the components ready ahead of time and in the fridge. I have always found making a meal referencing a recipe takes a little longer to prepare than the ones I have committed to memory. If you have meals that you use a recipe for, I recommend that you copy them onto recipe cards or recipe binder and stored in one place. This will make your recipes easily accessible when you need them and assist in your planning process and during preparation time. <br />
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I do a general repertoire for breakfasts, lunches - both packed and stay at home lunches as well as snacks and desserts too. The better you know ALL the meals in your arsenal, we can call this your <i><b>"culinary toolbox"</b></i>, the easier it will be to make your meal plans, prepare your meals and stay within budget. <br />
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<b>THREE: Simple Can Be Better</b><br />
When figuring out your meal repertoire, don't underestimate how simple meals can be satisfying and tasty. More importantly, cooking simple meals may also help keep you on point sot that you cook real food and are not tempted to order in because time is short. Healthy and satisfying meals don't have be fancy and all gourmet like on those cooking shows either, they just need to taste good and be nutritionally sound. Sometimes a simple meal of a roasted chicken leg or broiled pork chop served with two steamed veggies (at least half your plate for veggies) is all that you need. You can fancy it up a bit with a quick spice rub or condiment for the meat, perhaps some apple or cranberry sauce, or a dollop of pesto. Even some leftover gravy can make a bare bones meal feel like Sunday dinner! Don't forget, a hearty soup and sandwich or salad can be most satisfying too!<br />
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<b>FOUR: Prepare A Weekly Meal Plan</b><br />
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Once you know what's in your culinary tool box, your next step is to make a meal plan for the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Create a weekly meal plan based meals in your culinary tool box AND the whole food items on sale in your grocery flyer and the items you already have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer (always shop your pantry first!). Choose your favourite store or the store offering the MOST deals that work with your menu plan. I know some folks visit a variety of stores but I think the extra gas to drive around and value of my time to shop in a number of stores just chew away any money saved. <br />
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Below, I have prepared a sample menu plan for a week that was based on the items on sale in my favourite grocery store and the items I already have in my pantry, fridge and freezer. This allows me to put only the items I need on my list. Also, remember that your meals can be warmed up versions of a previous meal. For example, in my Sample Meal Plan, one of the breakfasts was warmed up pancakes from a previous Sunday breakfast. I am assuming that I made a really big batch and froze enough pancakes for a quick week morning breakfast. I can also do the same for the Sunday French toast breakfast on the Sample Meal Planner. You could also make a bunch of extra pita pizzas and freeze them for a future boxed lunch for the kids too.<br />
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<b>FIVE: Weekend Prep</b><br />
Spend some time on the weekend to prep your meals or some of the components. If you have something that requires lengthy simmering like a pasta sauce or some assembly like a lasagna, or even the sauce or marinade for a stir fry or slow cooker recipe, take care of some or all the prep on the weekend. The more organized you are for the week means that meals can be put together quickly and easily so you won't feel the need to do take out or eat factory made food to simplify your life. <br />
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Some of my examples for weekend prep include:<br />
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Plan to make a batch of easy cookies, quick bread, muffins or granola bars for the week. These are excellent in lunches and freeze well. No need to buy the icky junk in the grocery store bakery or the boxed cookies.<br />
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When I have bananas that are really spotty, I will make banana bread to freeze for the upcoming week. My family loves banana bread for a lunch or anytime snack or dessert. In fact, I think my family ignores the fresh bananas on purpose, just so I will make it!<br />
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Making sauces, marinades and condiments like apple or cranberry sauces or pesto ahead is a great time saver. For instance, I like to make my stir fry sauce and store it in one of my many 500 mL mason jars. This way, all I need to do is give it a shake and pour it into my stir fry! Who needs bottled sauces? Sorry VH! <br />
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I often make a batch of my favourite spaghetti sauce and then transfer the finished sauce to a plastic container or a 750 mL mason jar. If refrigerator space is tight and spaghetti isn't on the menu until Thursday or so, I will often freeze my sauce. If you decide to do this kind of thing with your make ahead meals, make sure you allow for the appropriate head space in your freezer containers, especially if you are using jars. I generally leave at least 1.5 inches to prevent the jars from breaking.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx9pJP4cOkEZDcwq5lNm588pN_jkIbmUGhBoZWowqM4d0oUIqwScaduXP4-KPZ5Ngvy6mcudMjjyQF9xqD33dXNBtRkdDmpCuC_vv9ngQHRMl9v9lxYCs8jXHDYXCx7Xh0awoqfGh8So/s640/blogger-image--618460848.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx9pJP4cOkEZDcwq5lNm588pN_jkIbmUGhBoZWowqM4d0oUIqwScaduXP4-KPZ5Ngvy6mcudMjjyQF9xqD33dXNBtRkdDmpCuC_vv9ngQHRMl9v9lxYCs8jXHDYXCx7Xh0awoqfGh8So/s640/blogger-image--618460848.jpg" /></a><br />
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My family loves a Canadian Living recipe for<a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/slow_cooker_pulled_pork.php" target="_blank"> Slow Cooker Pulled Pork</a> which I serve on top of brown rice instead of a bun. As an aside, slow cookers are another great way to make sure you eat home cooked meals. Is there anything better than coming home to the smell of dinner already cooking? Anyway, the recipe has a sauce which I prepare and refrigerate in a mason jar. In the morning, I do a quick sear on the meat (if I have time, but it's not critical in my opinion), pour some sauce in the slow cooker, plop the meat in and smother with the rest of the sauce. I use wide mouth jars so I can get a rubber spatula in to scrape out every bit of sauce. 10 minutes in the morning, and dinner will almost be ready when I get home! Make the rice, chop the raw veggies garnish and prep my steamed green veggie and dinner is on the table in 30-40 minutes (faster if I've cooked the rice on the weekend!).<br />
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If a soup is on the menu, I make it on the weekend and store it in a glass jar. Then all I have to do is warm up the soup and whip up the side - maybe a sandwich or salad and biscuits! "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy"!<br />
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Pictured below is a sample dinner of broccoli soup (made in advance and warmed up) with a little cheddar cheese, a mixed green salad with strawberries, sliced almonds and a little goat cheese (I freeze smaller chunks of goat cheese to thaw and use as a salad garnish), and some seasoned cheese drop biscuits (measure the dry ingredients on the weekend and store in a sealed container for when you need it). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkYuyawRqe5wsJ7YrFFqfcstuSymJh8VQ4o0Z1C23r2TL2N12w6_rgMekOcZcmADeoxFaWIH_cEjl6SorKPp_4IJyuOrg7m1t1f0hE8qNpB-_pZTyBXkDleqW92hIFeTB5Pn5ANp7E2U/s640/blogger-image-862181765.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkYuyawRqe5wsJ7YrFFqfcstuSymJh8VQ4o0Z1C23r2TL2N12w6_rgMekOcZcmADeoxFaWIH_cEjl6SorKPp_4IJyuOrg7m1t1f0hE8qNpB-_pZTyBXkDleqW92hIFeTB5Pn5ANp7E2U/s640/blogger-image-862181765.jpg" /></a><br />
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I try to have a salad at least twice a week with dinner. Greens, organic if you can, are so good for you! Add extras like red pepper, grated carrot or not! Even a handful of raisins, dried cranberries or some fresh fruit make the salad a little more special. I also find the addition of dried or fresh fruit helps to encourage the kids to eat their greens!<br />
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I haven't purchased bottled dressing in over a year now because I have found that with the right recipe, homemade is so much better. To make it a little more convenient, I make up a couple kinds and store them in my mason jars. It only takes about 5 minutes per dressing and then you have the convenience of ready made that tastes a whole lot better with fewer or no chemical additives. WIN-WIN-WIN, hurrah!<br />
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<b>Homemade Ranch Recipe</b><br />
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My husband and youngest are big fans of Ranch Dressing. This being the case, Ranch Dressing was the first dressing I worked on. The catch was to make it "taste" as close as possible to the Kraft version to appease the taste buds of my fussy teen. I've come pretty darn close. You will see that I use store bought mayo in this recipe, but it is something I have not been brave enough to try, especially since it requires raw eggs. Perhaps one day I will give it a go. I also use plain organic 2% to 3.5% fat organic yogurt. I find it makes for a lovely dressing and also some amazing homemade fruit yogurt cups for lunch. <br />
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I store the dressing in my 500 mL mason jars and pour from them too at serving time. If you want to make serving time a little more pretty, use a little jug or a put a small ladle in the jar. In the picture, I made a half recipe of the Ranch Dressing and used a 250 mL mason jar.<br />
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Ingredients<br />
1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise, regular fat is best<br />
1 cup plain yogurt<br />
2 pinches of onion powder<br />
2 pinches of garlic powder<br />
1/2 tsp dried dill or 1 tsp fresh***<br />
1 tsp, heaped, dried parsley <br />
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt<br />
A few grinds of pepper<br />
4 tsp water<br />
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Method<br />
Put all the ingredients in a 500 mL wide mouth mason jar and whisk well. If necessary, add a few more drops of water to get a pourable consistency. It's THAT easy!<br />
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This dressing will need at least an hour for the flavours to develop. If you want a more pronounced flavour, add a little more of the seasonings after letting the dressing sit for a few hours. You can always add more onion powder, garlic, parsley or dill, but do so gradually. I learned the hard way not to add too much garlic or onion powder, because the dressing got stronger in flavour after chilling over night. Keep in mind that the shelf life of your homemade dressing will depend on how old your yogurt and mayonnaise are. If your yogurt and mayonnaise are fresh, your dressing will last for 7 days, but because it is homemade, try not to let it hang around too long. Make what you need for the week.<br />
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Feel free to play around with the quantities of seasonings. Make the flavours more pronounced by increasing the amounts of seasonings. You can make it yours. My recipe was designed to mimic the bottled stuff... A win for this mom, but perhaps not flavourful enough for your tastes.<br />
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<strong>***BUDGET TIP!***</strong><br />
Sometimes I have fresh herbs like thyme, parsley or dill in my fridge. If I don't think I'm going to use them before they spoil, I carefully dry them on a clean dish towel and then store them in a freezer bag in the freezer. I can grab what I need when ever I require that particular herb. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-17201539874480543582016-03-01T13:30:00.000-05:002016-03-02T08:34:00.485-05:00Recipe Books; Bolognese Sauce, Marinara & More<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the past few years, I have prepared special cookbooks for a few family members. These cookbooks were a collection of recipes that were particularly enjoyed by the recipients and catered to fit their lifestyles. The first collection was given to my sister. I had gone to her house years ago to do a bunch of meal prep for her before her daughter was born. I spent an entire weekend cooking up a storm in her kitchen and freezing several months worth of dinners. She was thrilled with the meals I had prepared, and so for Christmas that year, I made my first recipe book gift. This book included all the recipes I had prepared for her, plus a few more that I thought she might enjoy. Each recipe page had special tips ranging from budget to preparation and substitution. I later made one for my oldest daughter. Her recipe book was geared to a student's life and had some of her family favourites; tips for shopping, staying on budget, substitutions and how to do some "make ahead" meals. In both cases, my recipe books were put together in such a way that I could add recipe pages down the road to reflect changes in preferences or life circumstances. A gift that keeps on giving and one that can only come from me. My latest Christmas recipe book gift was to my niece. I put together a collection of budget friendly and easy meals that a young mom with a growing family could use plus some super healthy meals that reflects eating more plant-based. </div>
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Making homemade Christmas gifts like this lets me use my creativity, hone my desktop publishing skills, AND give a meaningful, heartfelt gifts, perhaps the closest thing I will get to being "published", HA HA HA! Today, I thought I would share a couple of pages from my recipe books. Let me know what you think!</div>
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Just as a heads up, this blog post looks best on your desktop or lap top or tablet.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-60127593371359050612016-01-20T09:28:00.001-05:002016-03-10T08:52:28.961-05:00Christmas Clean Up - Part 2 and A Gluten Free Flour Mix<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my last post, I told you about my pre-Christmas cleanup. I didn't get it all done, but we are well under way and things are looking pretty darn good. It's amazing how the fresh paint and the decluttering made things so much better! Everything in my downstairs has a place and when I get a chance to finish up with my labeller, I will be able to actually find all the things that have new homes! Ha ha ha! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes when one is busy with a project. November was gone in what seemed to be a blink! Before I knew it, December was here, so I had to switch gears and get back to Christmas prep, which leads me to the food portion of my Christmas clean up. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I would like to share with you some of the things I did to make many items on my Christmas menu a little healthier while addressing special dietary requirements. I am learning that small changes in your usual recipes can make your life easier and healthier while accommodating those folks at your dinner table with special dietary needs. No one wants to make two different meals to accommodate dietary needs or exclude anyone either.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This was the second year we served an organic and pasture raised turkey. The flavour was better and we know that the bird had a better life before giving his so that we could feast.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I made my mashed potatoes dairy free by whipping them with a combination of homemade almond milk, oven roasted garlic, a generous pinch of Himalayan pink salt, freshly ground pepper and a glug of olive oil. Yep, these mashed potatoes rocked! They were flavourful, and we didn't miss the butter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A little orange juice, orange zest, a shake of cinnamon and nutmeg were whipped into our baked sweet potatoes. We didn't miss the sugar or the cream!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My gluten free flour mix thickened the gravy instead of my usual all purpose flour.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I used a combination of fresh and frozen fruit in the jello fruit salad. I'm still working on a healthier option to replace the store bought jello, perhaps next year. Rome wasn't built in a day.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am pleased to say, I found easy ways to do a little cleaning up on my baking. To begin with I have switched to unbleached flour and my baking is still white/neutral in colour when it needs to be. Fewer chemicals is a win! I also cut the sugar in half for my sugar cookies since we always decorate them with royal icing. I think it worked well. Now if only I could find a beautiful non-chemical green food dye and I would be over the moon!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I made half my shortbread cookies naked this year so only some had the artificially coloured cherries. The naked ones were pretty too! These were not dairy free, but I don't think ii can wrap my head around coconut flavoured shortbread if I substituted the butter for the coconut oil. I'm not even sure it would work. Thoughts? Has anyone tried?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I made my own candied orange and lemon peel. Not a whole lot of work with a lot of yummy bang for my buck! My homemade candied peel had no preservatives or artificial colourining and great flavour. I even used organic oranges and lemons which made them even better! I used these peels plus other goodies to fancy up my store bought mincemeat and in my Holiday Bread that we enjoy Christmas morning.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In addition to my homemade lemon and orange peels, I used a combination of chopped dried cranberries and apricots to replace the commercially made mixed peel that were added to the raisins. Again, I decorated with a few commercially prepared red and green cherries, but at least the artificial ingredients were kept to a mini,um. Perhaps next year I can convince my youngest that cranberries and pumpkin seeds will be a just as pretty!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHRURbXgXneF8Gs_uwx9eajbbVBIX7B0tvUsT6B017VOETdrbghWxFyrrjm152-cXdhynja8x9okVFpjJNwhMP6ZDgsFUKy1YKdrCqo70rcMucMqvnRAI7SAVE25bSJCT8a4HZprpjOw/s640/blogger-image-1840600430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHRURbXgXneF8Gs_uwx9eajbbVBIX7B0tvUsT6B017VOETdrbghWxFyrrjm152-cXdhynja8x9okVFpjJNwhMP6ZDgsFUKy1YKdrCqo70rcMucMqvnRAI7SAVE25bSJCT8a4HZprpjOw/s640/blogger-image-1840600430.jpg" /></a></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is the second year I have made 2 versions of Magic Cookie Bars. I make the conventional kind made with the sweetened condensed milk and a version that is gluten and dairy free. For my conventional ones. I made my own graham crackers this year... no store bought ones with mystery ingredients. I was thrilled with the results. I will definitely continue to make my own. They are SO much better...sorry Honey Maid! In order to further clean up the conventional ones, I used half sweetened and half unsweetened coconut AND my unsweetened coconut was sulphite free. These bars are very sweet and I think I could use all unsweetened coconut next year without a family uprising. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I used two recipes from Oh She Glows to make my gluten free diary free magic cookie bars. For the gluten free graham crumbs, I made </span><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2013/11/05/gluten-free-and-vegan-graham-crackers/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gluten Free and Vegan Graham Crackers</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and for the magic cookie bars I used OSG recipe for the </span><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/12/18/lightened-up-magical-coconut-bars/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lightened Up Magical Cookie Bars</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> but I used the regular coconut milk instead of light coconut milk. The traditional cookie bars are on the left and the dairy and gluten free ones are on the right. Both versions were very good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I used my gluten free flour mix in my </span><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2011/12/15/sinless-sticky-toffee-pecan-pudding/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Date and Toffee Pudding Cake</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> this year (another recipe from Oh She Glows). Last year I used Bob's variety but all I could taste were the beans in the flour mix so I experimented this fall with my homemade mix and was pleased with the results. Keep in mind, when using my mix, the cake is better the next day because it is a little "grainy" when it is fresh. After a day in the fridge, the "graininess" disappears. Since my daughter does eat some eggs, I added an egg and reduced the almond milk by a quarter cup in the recipe which provided a more familiar texture in the end product. Don't get me wrong, the cake as it is in the original recipe is marvellous, but I am balancing the palates of those who still prefer more conventional baking. The goal for me is to be able to cook/bake something, preferably, a single dish, that will please all! I made the cake a few days ahead and stored it in the freezer. The cake and the sauce froze and thawed beautifully and both warmed up just fine too! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And finally, the pièce de ré·sis·tance,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> I made gluten free and dairy free pastry using my homemade GF Mix and a recipe from Canadian Living for the pastry. <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/baking_and_desserts/gluten_free_apricot_fig_tarts.php" target="_blank">You can find the pastry recipe here</a> - just scroll down past the filling part for the Gluten Free Apricot Fig Tarts. I substituted some of the GF flour called for with oat flour and added a scant 1/4 tsp of Xanthan gum extra to the mixing bowl when making this recipe (see below for complete instructions). It was a huge success. The recipe originally called for butter, but since I couldn't use the butter I used Crisco to keep it dairy free. Lard would work too if it isn't necessary to keep it vegetarian. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The pastry worked in my baby mincemeat tarts and for our Christmas morning quiche. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The top picture shows my GF tarts and the bottom, my traditional ones. BOTH were YUMMY!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAsbKw8uh2IfqKC1u5x32fqP-NPgauY1ud54nCqzxUExleiue09sOFc3-XeYST8bijY7td3II0nVGQGmlCm7vJEVRzvMWdtr4MHYC_NRZyYMY-eT1igYSmPoHazuDkED_yeUCeJeudbw/s640/blogger-image--2063152601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnyQxqfo08QFyphO5ae78K3hmHdcGbKgWZ0r9J7XoDvTd7KVVCzKQ1Ye-13ahFY1crK46LwtmI3qlifJptZPFcvASVNgCLylP-uCNx0iSurKY3zktFueRde-Pl8SMZMkkLSpQIVFnnb4/s640/blogger-image-722200668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnyQxqfo08QFyphO5ae78K3hmHdcGbKgWZ0r9J7XoDvTd7KVVCzKQ1Ye-13ahFY1crK46LwtmI3qlifJptZPFcvASVNgCLylP-uCNx0iSurKY3zktFueRde-Pl8SMZMkkLSpQIVFnnb4/s640/blogger-image-722200668.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Last but not least, our traditional smoked salmon, goat cheese and dill quiche was delightful. I was trilled that the pastry was light, tender and flakey; a HUGE success! </span>I didn't put the cheese in part of the quiche so that those who can't eat dairy could enjoy the quiche too - another successful example of one dish to serve everyone at my table!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I would like to leave you with the recipe for my Gluten Free Flour Mix. I have been experimenting with it over the past year and have successfully used it in a few muffin recipes, date squares, in my date pudding cake (by Oh She Glows), in pastry (by Canadian Living), in fruit crisp topping, and as a thickening agent. Keep in mind that I like to add a some homemade oat flour into the recipes I use it in (except when it's a thickens agent). I do this for the same reason I sneak a little whole wheat flour into my conventional baking... just to add a little nutrition. For example, in a recipe for raspberry muffins I use, the recipe calls for 2 cups of AP flour. I use 1 cup of the mix and 1 cup of oat flour and the muffins are as good as the original recipe with all regular AP flour. For my gluten free pastry, I used 1/3 cup oat flour with 1 cup of the GF flour mix and a healthy pinch of Xanthan gum. Trial and error is the way I figure out exactly how much oat flour can be added without messing up the end product. Personally, I wouldn't use more than half oat flour in any recipe with the GF mix because I think the end product might end up too heavy with an unappealing texture. I have yet to try this mix in a cake or cupcake recipe. I would love to hear about recipes in which you successfully use this mix.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2 cups brown rice flour</span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Spoon the various flours into the measuring cup and then level off with a knife. This ensures that you were not packing the flour when you measure.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the wire whisk, whisk all ingredients thoroughly to make sure you have a homogeneous mixture.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Store this in a sealed container in a cool place.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">**I have used this flour mix for muffins, fruit crisp toppings, and date squares. When I use it in the previously mentioned items, I usually take a look at the original AP flour requirements in the recipe and then use HALF GF flour and HALF oat flour.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">**I have tried this GF flour mixture in pastry using a Canadian Living recipe with great success. I did add 1/3 cup oat flour to 1 cup GF mix and a scant 1/4 tsp more of xanthan gum. I have yet to test with a cake recipe.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">**I have used this flour mix successfully for thickening gravy and making béchamel sauce (cream sauce) with NO oat flour; wherever AP flour is called for as a thickening agent.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-54350678237487968602016-01-07T11:22:00.000-05:002016-01-07T11:23:57.429-05:00Pre Christmas Clean Up Project<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Welcome to 2016! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration. Finally, things are quieter and I have a chance to blog. I have been away for a while and now that I am sitting at my keyboard, I must say, I have truly missed it. In today's post, I have decided to catch you up on a recent project that has absolutely nothing to do with food. It does, however, have a lot to do with making me feel better. I hate clutter and mess. It drags me down. On the flip side, I can be really good at creating clutter and mess, especially when I let our "stuff" get the better of us and accumulate. It had been at least 6 years since I've tackled a major purging of things we have outgrown or moved on from and the result has been a basement that was starting to look a little junky. It was time for a therapeutic sort, edit and purge AND to get our basement ready for Christmas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">In November I wanted to work on getting our rec room and TV rooms finished. We started this project 10 years ago and since I am between jobs right now, I decided it was high time to move this longstanding work in progress forward. Quality projects take time, but this was getting ridiculous! So, step 1 of my Christmas Clean Up was to find my long lost basement and rejuvenate it to be an inviting space again. I had a lofty goal of getting 90% of my project completed before Christmas. Sadly, the second week of December hit and I ran out of time for this project. Completion would have to be put off until the new year, but I would like to share what I've done so far!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">There was much editing, organizing and super cleaning required first and foremost. Then, armed with my hole filler, sanding pad, paint and assortment of brushes and rollers, I set out to colour me beautiful, one wall at a time! The inspiration for my wall colour was from this beautiful cuddle quilt my mother-in-law made for me.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tAAlPAPDklMvj6RTX0PtpzF6IKezQAaWKOyRsraAUgGa-BiesrwZLrN_MZpj-1Y9NckC7dbGkWrNpCGrWfReyrGudtFhVNP50TKkKMnwMw4LQZYCMHqKorRzqtEsWUrrZ0AzZgmRCRQ/s640/blogger-image-1826365162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tAAlPAPDklMvj6RTX0PtpzF6IKezQAaWKOyRsraAUgGa-BiesrwZLrN_MZpj-1Y9NckC7dbGkWrNpCGrWfReyrGudtFhVNP50TKkKMnwMw4LQZYCMHqKorRzqtEsWUrrZ0AzZgmRCRQ/s1600/blogger-image-1826365162.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Several years ago, my husband built a cabinet to house our electronics. He chose a gorgeous espresso coloured stain. Then he built a shelving unit above our TV and the cabinet. This shelving unit remained a natural wood colour for many years. F</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">inally, this unit got painted! The espresso coloured paint closely matches the stain too. Our entertainment centre is finally looking polished. Now, I want two more cabinets to finish the project. For now, i</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">t's coming along now and I'm pleased with the results so far. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7I1V4YGtRqIuRLkF1vGKZ6lruNB7b4OMc-TZ-R1HCL6O4sB_ASqKwdaj0mOBM0qwTcMiSA58m_sffZPnmZjMyTsTlCc7iU_WaRbuT4ANRQs2E8Ca4llpbTK5kXVEF07En3Sggpk6-qw/s640/blogger-image--1928327604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7I1V4YGtRqIuRLkF1vGKZ6lruNB7b4OMc-TZ-R1HCL6O4sB_ASqKwdaj0mOBM0qwTcMiSA58m_sffZPnmZjMyTsTlCc7iU_WaRbuT4ANRQs2E8Ca4llpbTK5kXVEF07En3Sggpk6-qw/s640/blogger-image--1928327604.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Even though I have purged a whole lot of "stuff", I found that displaying a lot of unrelated things, no matter how neatly, still looked junky and felt cluttered. In order to make my shelves and cubbies look cleaner, I used a variety of bins, baskets and boxes in which to store my stuff. Then I grouped similar baskets, bins and baskets together to help give a more streamlined and uniform look. The only thing that would make this better would be to use only one kind of basket or bin, but </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I've been trying to do my basement cleanup on a tight budget and make use of what we already had.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrIMDXd1i2_sT3RaDRgcjxRuEPqunXgBZN1WS6nOJXxdhQILzQDC2a83ol9-eD6k-bdz8AbKppq6BhSsJEOtgTDz58GEqGXEnDKjCjxnQlMhovSH22VkBrX2qO_xbSmbO0Q3fsH9O7n8/s640/blogger-image-687079592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrIMDXd1i2_sT3RaDRgcjxRuEPqunXgBZN1WS6nOJXxdhQILzQDC2a83ol9-eD6k-bdz8AbKppq6BhSsJEOtgTDz58GEqGXEnDKjCjxnQlMhovSH22VkBrX2qO_xbSmbO0Q3fsH9O7n8/s640/blogger-image-687079592.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This bookcase is another project my husband made. It is still a natural colour and I am thinking it will stay that way (it matches the natural wood kindling box he made too). Again, I have tried to create some continuity with similar baskets and bins on the shelves to hide a variety of items including my beloved mason jars in a variety of sizes; office items like files, taxes, and paid bills; an assortment of Frisbees, sidewalk chalk and miscellaneous outside toys; a collection of housewares I'm keeping to hand down to our youngest when she leaves the nest; plus a whole lot more. Before I tackled this bookcase, the contents used to be arranged on the shelves, and even though I kept things neat, it looked so busy and cluttered. I am pleased with the results and I think it looks so much more "together" and orderly.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oi-nVgJqBWATHYcNkWFqU6UsKhMzokjg7DRtvQ09BIEZIdBn8MCaAM9cKiW936Zu3eu-oyBjXaQXgeBc-loPVbEhr2mK-PgufoqnyIaxMxnUukrk7h6LL8mgaEb8Cst_g0EEPEW2s3Y/s640/blogger-image--41380381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oi-nVgJqBWATHYcNkWFqU6UsKhMzokjg7DRtvQ09BIEZIdBn8MCaAM9cKiW936Zu3eu-oyBjXaQXgeBc-loPVbEhr2mK-PgufoqnyIaxMxnUukrk7h6LL8mgaEb8Cst_g0EEPEW2s3Y/s640/blogger-image--41380381.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX1ilzBa43uE1HmAgSwNiV0JcyhBANZcEiAvlBWlLI13aM2ZaIp02wRgB1Ikjy2H_aAV1fG9mB-rgYXw0zqOrbfn9HErfP1N5-M5KGbR-mMUy-P7e18MzKD7XgDAC55hHCH9tD0B_IOo/s640/blogger-image-1630288425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeX1ilzBa43uE1HmAgSwNiV0JcyhBANZcEiAvlBWlLI13aM2ZaIp02wRgB1Ikjy2H_aAV1fG9mB-rgYXw0zqOrbfn9HErfP1N5-M5KGbR-mMUy-P7e18MzKD7XgDAC55hHCH9tD0B_IOo/s640/blogger-image-1630288425.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Since most of the things are neatly tucked away in bins, baskets, and boxes, I used my favourite organization tool... my Brother labeller! This allows me to attach labels to the box , bin, or on the shelf. Now I have visual cues to help locate items, not to mention, now my husband and daughter can find their stuff! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">It's still a work in progress, just not as much work left. Only a little more painting and a little more carpentry required; things are feeling more ordered and I am feeling a little more at peace! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvV8I8eoMpyPezJIVU9NF4WnBAXSqDUu8Aas6H0XbnMEf9Ug0beF7yrdJ_7N4M-L2RHyKP7hXEo5ocDm00DbtPOCs7T7Pbz3iWcn3p3AKN5lhr5y1D1WaUOO6OOyMh7RlMoXQHw94-Vw/s640/blogger-image-462973804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvV8I8eoMpyPezJIVU9NF4WnBAXSqDUu8Aas6H0XbnMEf9Ug0beF7yrdJ_7N4M-L2RHyKP7hXEo5ocDm00DbtPOCs7T7Pbz3iWcn3p3AKN5lhr5y1D1WaUOO6OOyMh7RlMoXQHw94-Vw/s640/blogger-image-462973804.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<strong>Budget Tip:</strong> If you know that the contents of a bin or box is going to be temporary, use green painter's tape to label. The label tape is expensive, so I reserve it for permanent labelling.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-64698026753375460132015-12-06T08:19:00.000-05:002016-06-09T16:17:26.253-04:00Homemade Chocolate Syrup<div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The other day, we ran out of chocolate syrup. Yes, I still buy the chemical laden chocolate flavoured poison. It's not my fault though! The last time I tried to make my own syrup, it did not go so well. My family mutinied and refused to use it. The syrup was too thick and it didn't mix well with the milk, so eventually it got pitched. Cook's error, me thinks! I think that was 5 years ago. If I recall correctly, my husband snuck out and purchased a bottle of the Nesquick. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now that my family is getting used to the idea that many of the store bought products are being made in-house by me, I decided that I would try my hand at chocolate syrup again. Perhaps it will be an easier sell. Also, because I do have strong feelings about protecting the environment, I would be quite happy to strike yet another Nestlé product off my shopping list given this company's stronghold on the bottled water industry; an industry that I think has horrific ramifications on our planet. Stepping off my soapbox now... And back to yummy chocolate syrup. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The store bought chocolate syrups have chemicals put in them to enhance flavours and extend shelf life. Most certainly, these are things I would prefer not to ingest. In case you were wondering, the ingredients list on, hopefully the last, bottle of Nesquick is as follows: sugar, water, maltodextrin, cocoa, colour, salt, citric acid, potassium sorbate, artificial flavour, and ferric phosphate. Between you, me and the fencepost, matodextrin, potassium sorbate, artificial colour and flavour, and ferric phosphate sound SO tasty... NOT! True, chocolate syrup is super high in sugar, but if we are going to indulge in a sweet treat like chocolate milk, every now and again, I would certainly prefer to do it without the chemicals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yesterday, I made some chocolate syrup and stored it in a mason jar. This morning, I checked the syrup and was pleased to find that it had thickened just slightly AND was still pourable. I transferred it to a squeeze bottle for easy use. The syrup itself tastes pretty darn good too; so far, so good! I even made myself a little chocolate milk today and I thought it was excellent. All that's left is the family taste test! Cross your fingers... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Chocolate Syrup UPDATES 1 and 2</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been a few days since I made the chocolate syrup. My husband gave it a try the other night and said it was pretty good - much better than my last attempt, especially since it "poured properly" and mixed easily with the milk. Two thumbs up. The kid tried it and said - "Nah - it's too chocolatey". Next time I make her a chocolate milk, I will use less syrup and see how it goes. As an aside, I know when I tried the syrup plain, I found that it certainly packed a chocolatey punch, so it stands to reason that a little will go a long way in a glass of your choice of milk. I'm hoping that by the time this batch of syrup is gone, my family's tastebuds will have forgotten how the Nesquick tastes so we can all enjoy chemical free chocolate syrup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been over 2 weeks now and I have since made a SECOND batch of syrup. The kid has not tried it again, but my husband is quite happy to use it. I would also like to report that this chocolate syrup is excellent with almond milk and it is yummy on a bowl of vanilla ice cream with bananas and walnuts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Chocolate Syrup</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3/4 cup sugar </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1/8 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1 cup water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1/4 cup maple syrup</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whisk the cocoa, sugar, and salt together in a medium/large pot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whisk in the water until well combined and smooth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over medium heat, cook the mixture stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Add the maple syrup, stir well and bring back to a simmer. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the syrup cool to room temperature. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once cool, pour into a glass mason jar (I like the wide mouth ones so it is easy to scrape out every last bit of syrup) or your favourite squeeze bottle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Store in the refrigerator. The syrup should keep for 1 to 2 months, if it lasts that long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you find that the syrup is too thick after refrigerating for a day, simply pour back into a bowl and thin with some water. Add a teaspoon at a time, whisking well between additions until the desired consistency has been achieved. Pour it back into the jar or squeeze bottle, and you are ready to go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">***NOTE</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have done a little research about cocoa. I discovered that the cocoa I have in my pantry is Dutch processed cocoa which is a little different than natural cocoa. Check this out to learn more about cocoa <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/difference-dutch-process-natural-cocoa-powder-substitute.html" target="_blank">here</a>! From my reading, Dutched cocoa is made from cocoa beans that have been washed with a potassium solution before roasting and grinding. This neutralizes their acidity and results in a darker and less intense flavoured cocoa. The natural cocoa is just roasted and ground cocoa beans, but because the cocoa beans are naturally acidic, the flavour is sharper and and more "fruity" and colour is more reddish. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Perhaps, if I used the natural cocoa, the flavour might be more appealing to the kid? I will let you know how it goes when I give it a try!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">***UPDATE***</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I really liked the taste of the natural cocoa versus the Dutch processed. Given that the natural has less processing, I think it will be my go to choice for cocoa from here on in!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-19018927374742405282015-10-10T13:44:00.000-04:002015-10-10T13:44:39.389-04:00Thanksgiving 2015 Pre-amble and Dessert<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> have our traditional Thanksgiving feast all planned and ready to go! Pasture raised turkey ordered; CHECK. Menu sorted out with all dietary needs sorted out; CHECK! Grocery shopping done; CHECK. Pumpkin puree from farm fresh pie pumpkins made and waiting to be turned into pumpkin pies. I plan on making my regular, tried and true pie which is always a family favourite. In addition to my traditional pumpkin pie, I also plan to try my hand at a dairy free version using coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. If this goes well, then, next time, I will try a gluten free crust. Cross your fingers for me! So that I can accommodate my dairy and gluten free requirements, I am making my apple crisp which I have tested thoroughly with great success and TWO thumbs up from my omnivorous family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I was at the apple orchard again. I was there a few weeks ago to pick a bushel of MacIntosh apples for the apple sauce I can every year. Normally, I pick half a bushel of Cortlands for pies, crisps and salads at the same time. Sadly, they were not ready when I was there so I had to make another trip. </span></div>
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After picking my apples, I found some of the most adorable pie pumpkins available for sale. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I decided I would try my hand at making my own pumpkin puree for the pumpkin pies this year. This gives me another opportunity to support a local farmer and another way to skip the factory kitchens PLUS no BPA infused cans touching my food. A Win/Win/Win scenario me thinks! FYI: a rule of thumb is 1 pie pumpkin = 1 pie. </span></div>
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Isn't this the cutest little pumpkin ever?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">First of all, you need to take a really sharp knife and cut the stem off close to the pumpkin. Then, cut the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds and the stringy bits. </span></div>
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Place the pumpkin halves face down on a parchment lined roasting pan. Roast in a 350° F oven for 35-50 minutes until a fork or a knife is easily inserted isn't the skin and flesh of the pumpkins. Roasting time will vary depending on the size of your pumpkins.<br />
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Let the pumpkins cool so you can handle them. Then, with a spoon, scoop out all the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin into a food processor and purée till smooth. Today, I used my Vitamix to blend, but next time I will use mynfood processor because it is hard to get every last bit of pumpkin out of the blender. Once the pumpkin is puréed, gently pout into a fine mesh strainer so that the excess moisture drains. It will take a few hours. For my 2 pumpkins, I got 1 1/4 cups of water. For pumpkin pie, it is important to remove the excess moisture so that the pies set. I would think you can skip this step if you are making a pumpkin quick bread liaf or muffins. </div>
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Since I prepared this today and will be making my pies on Sunday morning, I stored the purée in mason jars and refrigerated till pie making day. </div>
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Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! ❤️❤️</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-15845178219501805542015-09-18T15:23:00.002-04:002015-09-18T15:23:39.619-04:00New To Me Products and Pita Veggie Pizzas<div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am over the moon! I have discovered 2 new to me brands of "made for me products". I know that much of my blog is about making your own things, but sometimes a busy person needs a little help. When you can find a company that makes its products with the same love you do in your own kitchen and without the use of chemicals, then go for it. Your tummy will thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first is a bread company called </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Silver Hills Bakery</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. This bakery makes wonderful sprouted whole grain breads and bagels. Their products are non-gmo, vegan, dairy-free, and use organic ingredients. To find out more about this Canadian company, </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.silverhillsbakery.ca/" target="_blank">click here</a></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">! I like their breads for sandwiches and toast, not to mention, I find their breads a little lighter in texture so I think this bread will appease even a white bread only person. There is a variety of breads and bagels and you can even get hamburger and hot dog buns too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I absolutely love their bread toasted with a spoonful (or 2) of my homemade chia seed jam! Below are pictures of my Strawberry and Blueberry Chia Seed Jam and my Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam by Oh She Glows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second brand is the Ozery Pita Break Bakery; another Canadian find. This bakery makes a variety of pita products - some savoury and some sweeter, perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. There are no chemicals, preservatives or additives; when they use all purpose flour, it is the unbleached variety AND they are particular about the quality of all their ingredients. To find out more about this company, <b><a href="http://ca.ozerybakeryinc.com/home" target="_blank">click here</a></b>! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I want to share with you my Pita Pizzas. For this recipe I used the Pita Break Multi Grain large pitas, but you could certainly use their One Buns for a snack size pita pizza too. The regular size pita's make a perfect base for a single serve pizza, so if you are pressed for time, or just don't fancy making your own dough, these large pita's have you covered when you want to have homemade personal pizzas. If you are super hungry, 2 will fit the bill! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I don't have any of my homemade marinara for pizza sauce, I will flavour a cup and a half of pasata with some sautéed minced garlic and some oregano and basil, dried is best, and cook it down till the sauce is thick and mounds on a spoon. If I have some leftover marinara, I usually reduce it a little more too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favourite pizza as of late is a veggie pizza. I like to play around with various veggie combinations. Some great choices are:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sauteed mushrooms</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sauteed onions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sliced green onion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sauteed kale</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wilted spinach (excess moisture squeezed out)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sauteed, diced zucchini</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">diced red or yellow bell pepper</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tomatoes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kalamata olives, sliced</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I feel like a little meat on my pizza I cook up my favourite Italian sausage and slice it or dice it finely. The classic pepperoni would work too, but I have been opting to avoid deli meats as of late. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, a little mozzarella cheese, grated or crumbled. If my cheese has been frozen, (I freeze cheese when it goes on sale) I find that it doesn't always grate well so I have opted to crumble it over the pizza. Also, I have been using a lot less cheese in my foods lately because I prefer to eat it as a "sometimes" food. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pizza Sauce</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/3 bottle Pasata, a little more than 3/4 of a cup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large garlic clove (a heaped teaspoon of garlic granules works too)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tbsp dry oregano (not powdered)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">several grinds of black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place all ingredients into a small saucepan, stir well to combine. Simmer over a medium heat for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about a third and the sauce "mounds" on a spoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This makes enough sauce for 8 pita pizzas, about 2/3 cup. If you are only making 4 pita pizzas, you can freeze the remainder in a 250 ml jar for another day. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ozery Pita Break Whole Grain Pitas</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (4 per pack)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/3 cup pizza sauce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup grated mozzarella cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 oz sliced cremini mushrooms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup kale cut crosswise into 1/4" ribbons (stem removed)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 1/2 roma tomatoes, sliced thinly OR 8 or so cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a heavy fry pan, saute the mushroom slices in about a teaspoon or so of your favourite oil, over a medium heat. I tend to use olive or grapeseed oil. Once the mushroom slices are golden brown and have released their moisture, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl or plate. Using the same pan, sautee the kale ribbons over a medium heat with about a teaspoon of oil. Stir regularly and cook the kale until slightly wilted and soft. Set aside in a bowl or plate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dice the red peppers and slice the tomatoes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat your oven to 425° F and make sure your rack is at the halfway mark. Place the 4 pitas on a large baking sheet. Spread about about 2 scant tablespoons of sauce on each pita. Evenly distribute your mushroom slices over the sauce. Then evenly distribute the kale. Sprinkle the red peppers and then the cheese. finally, top with the tomatoes. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake pizzas for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remove the pan from the oven. Let stand for a few minutes and then transfer, one at a time, to a cutting board. Using a good 6" chef's knife or pizza wheel, cut the pizza into quarters. Serve with a mixed green salad and your favourite homemade dressing. YUM!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-58086914622854618112015-08-28T14:53:00.001-04:002015-08-28T15:12:41.525-04:00Erika’s Sweet 16 Birthday Cake<div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2">For those of you who have been hanging out with me, you know that my focus has been to share ways of eating better; my </span><span class="s2">favourite</span><span class="s2"> family strategy of “hidden healthy” and to experiment with new to me plant based ingredients and </span><span class="s2">recipes</span><span class="s2">.</span><span class="s2"> SPOILER ALERT</span><span class="s2">!!</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">There are absolutely no veggies in this post and ALOT refined white sugar too</span><span class="s2">! But since this is a post about birthday cake, I personally think its ok to indulge once and awhile… after all, it IS a celebration and we don’t eat cake every day!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2">It has been</span><span class="s2"> my </span><span class="s2">tradition as a mom </span><span class="s2">to make a special cake for </span><span class="s2">both </span><span class="s2">my daughters’ birthdays. Sadly</span><span class="s2"> this little tradition</span><span class="s2"> ended early for my oldest because she decided that she didn’t like cake. We changed to homemade ice cream cakes NOT made with cheap ice cream and fancied up with crumb crusts, </span><span class="s2">fancy</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">flavours</span><span class="s2">, </span><span class="s2">and add-</span><span class="s2">ins like gummy bears, candy coated chocolate candies, chocolate chips</span><span class="s2">, and candied fruit peels</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">No DQ ice cream cakes in this house</span><span class="s2"> (had one once and I’m not a fan)</span><span class="s2">! </span><span class="s2">My youngest, now turning 16 </span><span class="s2">still </span><span class="s2">LOVES cake and has decided that she is still not too old for a theme birthday cake. </span><span class="s2">The tradition lives on!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2">Almost every year, I have made a different cake for her. When she was younger, I created a surprise theme cake for her parties </span><span class="s2">including a bunny</span><span class="s2"> cake</span><span class="s2">, </span><span class="s2">train cake</span><span class="s2">, and </span><span class="s2">a </span><span class="s2">pool cake</span><span class="s2">. Now, she tests my talents</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">with her own requests. 2 years ago, she wanted a happy face cake; last year she asked for a frog cake; and this year, she asked for a cat cake with pink fur</span><span class="s2"> and blue spots if I can manage it</span><span class="s2">.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBs1kIHpT8hDxIUFvg3zlgg1V2Pnpf9JU6tqZl4ZzpGSA-MLLvJeveMjtpXKI1fo6uvvgqMwTBekxXV5xmICb-Wn-iiaNFkKPC6O0RW54X62Vjz6FmO436Iz-DXMoKEMFKObuNrL43EyE/s1600/Frog+Cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBs1kIHpT8hDxIUFvg3zlgg1V2Pnpf9JU6tqZl4ZzpGSA-MLLvJeveMjtpXKI1fo6uvvgqMwTBekxXV5xmICb-Wn-iiaNFkKPC6O0RW54X62Vjz6FmO436Iz-DXMoKEMFKObuNrL43EyE/s400/Frog+Cake.JPG" width="400"></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2">Early on, in my mom career, I used to buy made at the store cakes and I used cake mixes</span><span class="s2"> too</span><span class="s2"> because I didn’t trust my baking abilities</span><span class="s2">. I even used frosting out of a can...</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s2">shhhhhh</span><span class="s2">! </span><span class="s2">As I learned more about my food supply and the factory kitchens, I adopted t</span><span class="s2">he credo</span><span class="s2">, <em><strong>“if </strong></em></span><em><strong><span class="s2">I</span><span class="s2"> can’t pronounce it, </span><span class="s2">I don’</span></strong></em><span class="s2"><em><strong>t eat it”</strong></em> which </span><span class="s2">is probably the reason that I </span><span class="s2">try very hard to minimize my consumption</span><span class="s2"> of prepared foods</span><span class="s2">. Gradually, year after year, I drop</span><span class="s2">ped</span><span class="s2"> a few more </span><span class="s2">“</span><span class="s2">made for me products</span><span class="s2">”</span><span class="s2"> from my shopping list, opting to make them myself. </span><span class="s2">One of the first items to get dropped was cake, and low and behold, I found out that with a good recipe and wholesome ingredients, cake, in any </span><span class="s2">flavour</span><span class="s2">, wasn’t so scary after all! </span><span class="s2">Nothing beats real ingredients </span><span class="s2">when making food for your family</span><span class="s2">!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you want, you can always improve your homemade cake by selecting premium ingredients such as unbleached</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">flour (organic if you can find it) to further reduce your chemical intake <span class="s2">or</span><span class="s2"> Fair Trade ingredients </span><span class="s2">to give </span><span class="s2">your cake a social conscience</span><span class="s2">. You can even give your cake a humane spin by </span><span class="s2">us</span><span class="s2">ing</span><span class="s2"> eggs, butter, and milk from pasture raised chickens and cows. However you want to improve your cake, </span><span class="s2">the choice is yours. Just remember</span><span class="s2">,</span><span class="s2"> the </span><span class="s2">most important thing you can do for yourself, and those that you lov</span><span class="s2">e, is to make the cake yourself with real ingredients and whole lot of love!</span></span><br>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>White Vanilla Cake</strong></span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(a Work in Progress, inspired by Canadian Living)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity"><strong>Ingredients</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> cup butter, softened </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">2</span> cups granulated sugar (try 1 1/2 cups next time; VERY sweet) </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">4</span> eggs </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> cup milk </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">1/3</span> cup orange juice concentrate, thawed </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> tbsp orange zest </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> tbsp. vanilla </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">4</span> cups sifted cake-and-pastry flour </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">5</span> tsp baking powder </span> </span></div>
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<span class="content"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> tsp salt</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Directions</strong></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Measure the sifted flour into a medium bowl. </span></span><span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pour the milk, orange juice concentrate, and vanilla into a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk to combine.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In a large bowl, cream butter thoroughly; by hand, or with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat thoroughly between additions.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, continue to beat. Add 1/2 the milk mixture and beat till mixed in. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat to combine and then repeat with the milk and the remaining flour mixtures.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fill your baking pan or pans no more than two thirds full, otherwise the cake batter will spill over the sides of the pan. If you have extra batter, quickly grease a few custard ramekins to make mini cakes. Again, do not feel more than two thirds full!</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This will fill a 13 x 9 cake pan, OR TWO 9" round pans OR (probably) THREE 8" round pans. Make sure you don't fill more than 2/3 full otherwise the cake batter will overflow.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today I used TWO 9" round pans and had extra batter so I filled 2 Medium ramekins and 2 small ramekins. My small ramekins overflowed because they were too full. Live and learn!</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bake the 13 x 9 cake for about 40 minutes, until golden, a cake tester comes out clean, and the cake springs back when touched. </span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bake 9 inch rounds for about 30 minutes; bake 8" foot about 25-30 minutes; bake mini ramekin mini cakes for about 20 minutes</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cool for 20 minutes in the baking pan, on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and completely cool on rack.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Continue with cake preparation or wrap thoroughly and freeze for up to 2 weeks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Frosting Re</strong></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2" style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>cipe</strong></span><span class="s2"> </span></span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">My go to easy buttercream frosting recipe is by Canadian Living. It is rather sweet but it spreads nicely and is super easy. <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/vanilla_buttercream_icing.php">http://www.canadianliving.com/food/vanilla_buttercream_icing.php</a></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2">For my pink cat, I decided to try my hand at chemical free food colouring, one that is made from real food; nothing artificial. I have seen posts using cooked blueberry for purple, cooked beets for pinks; turmeric for yellows and matcha tea for greens. Today, I used raspberries that I cooked down and pressed through a jelly bag to remove the seeds and excess pulp, and then reduced a little more by simmering gently till slightly thickened. I was left with the most gorgeous red syrup. </span></span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuUxYd-tfT79M_fozoFth6zRgHqAw9WNK0Hgj9TzpLYZcsOgpj3lzUgy4uCPVYeVw5rkuAh01subBavIzF8M6-44pHDtyzrrnXnLuOuY4POS8Y6H7q3E8pPZKbWa98agoDvncUawkIsw/s640/blogger-image-361937859.jpg"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I made my recipe according to the recipe and then set aside about 3/4 cup of frosting to keep white. I added the raspberry syrup to the remaining frosting. to maintain the consistency, I added a few spoonful's of sifted icing sugar. The frosting picked up a subtle pink hue. Sadly, not as pink as I would have liked for my cake, so I ended up using a teensy bit of store bought food colouring gel to deepen the pink colour. Ah well! The frosting did change colour and it had a hint of raspberry flavour too which was quite lovely. If I had been making a regular layer cake and not one for a theme cake, the natural frosting would have been perfect. Next time, I will see if increasing the volume of raspberry syrup and thickening it a bit with cornstarch while cooking it will allow me to add more colour without diluting my frosting. I will keep you posted.</span><br>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Making the Cat Cake</span></h3>
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<span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>What You Need:</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">White </span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">frosting for cheeks, chine, eyes and whiskers (I set aside about 1 cup of white frosting before tintin</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">L<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">icorice shoe string snipped super short for whisker dots, eye dots, and mouth</span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3 Ice cream sandwich wafers (Bulk Barn) or large graham crackers, cut into triangles with a serrated knife - 2 large and 2 small for the contrast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">ONE black wine gum or black jelly candy sliced thinly and cut into a small triangle for the nose</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Ice your cake like you would for any layer cake with the pink frosting. Put short slits into the cake where you want the ears to go. Spread a little frosting on the bottom of the triangles and gently press into the slits you made. Frost the ears, front and back. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">With the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, pat the icing all over to make the icing look "fluffy".</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">With a large piping tip, pipe 2 large cheeks, a chin, and 2 eyes.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Place nose above cheeks, insert the licorice mouth, and pipe the whiskers. Carefully place the whisker dots on the cheeks.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Gently press the green eyes on the piped eyes, and then then place the eye dots on.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Take the smaller triangles and gently press onto the ears for the contrast.</span><br>
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<span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I hope you try your hand at making your own cake and frosting. With a little practice, you can accomplish anything, you just need the right ingredients, the right tools and a good recipe. The occasional treat, even high in refined sugar is SO much better for you than the chemical laden ones from Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker!</span> </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-82016798206535824882015-07-28T16:07:00.001-04:002015-08-29T14:29:05.639-04:00Fruit On The Bottom Yogurt<div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My family has always enjoyed yogurt, particularly, the fruit on the bottom kind. For the past year or so, I have made a conscious choice to buy organic (would love to find grass fed too, but that is not to be). Sadly, the organic yogurt carried at my grocery store offers only a few flavours, of which, only one is liked by my daughter and it is the already stirred kind. In order to stop the yogurt flavour boredom from which my family is suffering, I decided to try my hand at my own fruit on the bottom yogurt, and I must say, I am pleased with the results.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So why should I make my own fruit on the bottom yogurt?</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can serve organic yogurt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can guarantee that the fruit on the bottom is more fruit than fruit flavoured "gel"</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can eliminate the refined sugar </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can control the amount of sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can prepare the flavours that my family loves, so nothing goes to waste </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can minimize the single serving waste because I use 125 ml canning jars and reusable lids.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think this is a win-win especially since it is easy to do and doesn't take much time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I started thinking about how to make this, I knew I didn't want to use the refined white sugar to sweeten the fruit or the yogurt. This meant, I would have to use honey or maple syrup resulting in a thinned down the yogurt. In the past, I have made a cornstarch or arrowroot thickened fruit sauces and sweetened with a little maple syrup which was excellent on pancakes or spread on toast. Sadly, the starch method would not be an option to thicken the yogurt. Hmmm! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thinking cap back on and then the AHA moment!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drumroll please... Enter my favourite plant based thickener... Chia seeds - weird, wonderful, are amazing! They thicken milk for chia seed pudding; when mixed with water, they can be substituted for eggs in baking; they can thicken fruits to create chia seed jams. With all this thickening power, I decided they would be a perfect ingredient; and let's not forget the nutritional punch chia seeds bring to the party. Yes, we have chia seeds for the win!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So far I have made 2 flavours: blueberry and mixed fruit. For my blueberry flavour, I used fresh blueberries because we had just been picking. For the mixed berry version, I used frozen berries that came in a raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, and blueberry mix from the grocery store. I also varied the preparation of the fruit jams to see how they would perform with the yogurt. My blueberry jam was cooked and my mixed fruit jam was a raw chia seed jam. Spoiler alert... BOTH methods worked perfectly!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today I am going to share my blueberry flavour. I will post the mixed fruit recipe next time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the blueberry jam, I used an excellent recipe for </span><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/26/magical-blueberry-vanilla-chia-seed-jam/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> by Oh She Glows. I mentioned that I used fresh berries this time, but I've made this before using frozen ones. The jam turns out beautifully both ways. I let the jam sit overnight because I actually made the jam to have on hand for toast. It was serendipitous that I had it in the fridge when I got the brainstorm to use it in my fruit on the bottom yogurt!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 recipe <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/26/magical-blueberry-vanilla-chia-seed-jam/" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em;"><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/26/magical-blueberry-vanilla-chia-seed-jam/" target="_blank">Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam</a> (save the leftovers for toast or pancakes!)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Yogurt</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 cups plain organic yogurt, I prefer a 2.5% fat content for creaminess. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 tsp chia seeds** </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mix the plain yogurt with the maple syrup and chia seeds well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Put 1 tablespoon of the blueberry jam in the bottom of the jar. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I used 6 each 125 ml canning jam jars (1/2 cup) with the canning lids and screw bands. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Spread it to cover the bottom evenly. If you like a little more fruit filling, you can add a little more. Cover the fruit with the prepared yogurt and put the canning lids on and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours so that the yogurt thickens up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">**NOTE: If you use more maple syrup in your yogurt, you may need to add a few more chia seeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are the perfect size for a packed lunch or snack. The containers are reusable and inexpensive to buy. I like to make a bunch up on the weekend for the upcoming week. Please let me know what you think. If blueberry isn't your thing, watch for my next post to get the mixed fruit recipe! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-44738446791550180072015-07-13T14:23:00.000-04:002015-07-14T09:05:56.078-04:00Green Smoothies - Breakfast of Champions!<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXPXGEyF8U5tITScNCfKgSpczsi5ABOEXr0NnNABlMtRUSrCz8IOYX4IEjitqmUlISpCrJcPxofPw5WrvjaQaG9hL6-p7KWzMwWxP3bvNIYuaBIzZ105RjfMeQ7T0op3IjgDxESar9Bc/s1600/blogger-image-1601310434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXPXGEyF8U5tITScNCfKgSpczsi5ABOEXr0NnNABlMtRUSrCz8IOYX4IEjitqmUlISpCrJcPxofPw5WrvjaQaG9hL6-p7KWzMwWxP3bvNIYuaBIzZ105RjfMeQ7T0op3IjgDxESar9Bc/s1600/blogger-image-1601310434.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last year I did a post about breakfast cookies and green smoothies. I was happy to tell everyone that breakfast could be easy and quite portable if necessary. I still adore the breakfast cookies, but I have to say green smoothies have been my go to weekday breakfast since I took a temporary full time job. They are fast and easy to make. They pack an excellent nutritional punch and can be consumed right away or taken to go. Win - Win - Win I say!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am not big on breakfast first thing in the morning and certainly not at 7 AM. Instead, I try to start my day with a warm lemon water which has great health benefits. Half of a fresh squeezed lemon, a 1-1/2 cups filtered water and topped with 1/2 cup boiled water provides me with a good start to achieving my daily requirements of vitamin C, helps to promote a healthy digestion system, and is a tasty way (once your taste buds get used to it!) to get some water into the bod after 8 hours of sleep! As a side note, lemons are acidic and can be hard on tooth enamel so I usually drink my lemon water out of a straw... just in case. While I am drinking my lemon water, I make our lunches for the day and blend a green smoothie for 2 to tuck into our lunch bags (my favourite way to transport is in a 500 ml mason jar with the canning lids). Later in the morning, around 9:30/10:00 am my tummy is ready to welcome the green smoothie breakfast I packed in my lunch bag. My husband quite enjoys his as a mid morning snack since he likes his cereal first thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Over the past several months, I have perfected my version of the green smoothie. I think it has the perfect amount of sweetness. When my daughter was home for a visit, I got a two thumbs up too. This smoothie recipe can be made in a regular blender but it reached new heights of healthy decadence in my Vita-mix!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I started blending smoothies, green or fruity, I had a heck of a time not ending up with a blend full of smoothie big enough to feed a small army. Finding the right quantities and proportions for the ingredients was key, after all, there is only so much smoothie one can drink at one time. Sometimes my smoothie was so thick that I had to thin it down with more liquids or the too thin so I would add more fruit/greens. Before you knew it, my blender jar was overflowing. Not a good thing! Now after several years of smoothie making, I have managed to eyeball the fruit/greens ratio to liquids so I can consistently make a smoothie for 1, 2, or 3.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My recipe for my favourite green smoothie is pretty consistent in yielding essentially two 500 ml mason jars, the perfect size for breakfast or a mid morning/afternoon snack. This</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> recipe is based on my blender jar which is 64 ounces when I measure out the spinach. If your blender jar is smaller, you may want to add a handful or 2 more greens once you've reached the 1/3 mark. You can also use a little more or less maple syrup too, depending on your taste. I find that if my pineapple is nice and sweet and my banana is quite ripe, I need only 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Ingredients</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fill your blender jar about 1/3 full of baby spinach, organic please, and gently packed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 slice 3/4" or 1" thick pineapple ring, fresh or fresh frozen; not canned</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 Tbsp hemp hearts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 medium/large banana, preferably with many brown spots (I keep a stash in my freezer)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 medium avocado</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2-3 tablespoons maple syrup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 to 1 1/2 cups milk of your choice (dairy or non), a little more depending on personal preference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Method</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the ingredients to you blender in the order given. Start with 1 cup of the milk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Blend on high, stopping if necessary to scrape down the sides and make sure the ingredients blend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the remainder of the milk as necessary. Continue to blend on high until your smoothie is smooth. You may wish to add a little more milk at this point if you prefer your smoothies less thick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Pour into drinking vessels of choice. I like using the 500 ml wide mouth mason jars with the canning lids if I am taking my smoothie to go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Substitutions and Options</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hemp seed can be substituted for 2 heaping tablespoons of almond butter or peanut </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">butter </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Spinach can be mixed with some kale, for my tastes, I would only switch out about a handful because kale has a strong flavour. Typically, I use more spinach than kale, but if you like the "extra green flavour", add more kale than spinach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Maple syrup can be subbed with a good quality raw honey, local if you can get it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">No milk, no problem - cold filtered water or cold green tea will work too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tips</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When fresh cored and peeled pineapple is on sale, I buy a bunch and then slice it. I then lay the slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat sheet and freeze the rings. Once frozen, I transfer them to a freezer bag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As Kermit the Frog says... <em>"it's not easy being green"</em>! This green smoothie is creamy, tasty and an excellent start to your day OR as my husband can attest, it is also a great mid morning snack. This is truly a guilt free pleasure any time of day!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-32544100259242888862015-06-24T22:10:00.001-04:002015-06-24T22:10:45.840-04:00Burrito Bowls: Two or Three Ways!<div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNPKLHAQqPJ7nzFtL2EScQ15LT2nwArmsNLfZnIuUA2Uc42u1IyAl54gEdTHEjPi3zCmHQ-63HIPqkBsG_psfW6RpIjFObFBCj3uf-Jo1Y7TRQ0NDOUjnv3zOnSepUsigoRarCZy9oz8/s640/blogger-image-107032948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNPKLHAQqPJ7nzFtL2EScQ15LT2nwArmsNLfZnIuUA2Uc42u1IyAl54gEdTHEjPi3zCmHQ-63HIPqkBsG_psfW6RpIjFObFBCj3uf-Jo1Y7TRQ0NDOUjnv3zOnSepUsigoRarCZy9oz8/s640/blogger-image-107032948.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On my recent food journey, I found one of the largest stumbling blocks to eating more plant based and less refined sugar has been my family's resistance to embrace this healthier lifestyle. It has been a tricky juggling act but I have found that my favourite techniques have been "hidden healthy", learning just how much I can hide without getting caught and working diligently to modify my traditional recipes to closely replicate the originals while improving on the nutritional value. Some days, I've even resorted to cooking 2 separate meals which is a total pain in the you know where! So, when I come across a meal that requires very little finagling to provide a meal that makes both me AND my family happy, I can truly do the Happy Dance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I was "away", my daughter introduced me to burrito bowls, which we could also call <i>"deconstructed burritos"</i> in the foodie world... ooooo how fancy! This is such a simple meal and easy to customize based on what you have on hand. You can make it completely plant based and without much effort, provide the meat eaters in your family with the meat they want. Yes, you can satisfy the vegans, vegetarians and the omnivores without cooking 3 completely different meals! Wahoo! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The hardest part about the Burrito Bowl is the prep work, and certainly if you have a knife, a box grater, a blender, a pot and 2 fry pans, you've got this covered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Basic Burrito Bowl Components (some or all of the veggies ROCK)</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Brown Rice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Refried beans</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kale, mixed greens, or romaine lettuce, sliced finely into ribbons</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carrot, grated</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Zucchini, grated</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bell peppers, yellow, red or orange, OR a combination finely diced</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Green onions, finely chopped</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tomatoes, finely diced/chopped</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Seasoned ground meat - beef, chicken, or pork (pasture raised and organic if possible)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sour cream or <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/05/my-favourite-vegan-chili-with-homemade-sour-cream/" target="_blank">dairy free sour cream</a> (scroll down the page to find the recipe) or organic plain yogurt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Old cheddar cheese, grated</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fresh limes</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons oregano</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon chile powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon cumin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons onion powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 lb ground beef, chicken or pork - pasture raised if possible</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mix all ingredients together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brown ground meat until well done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Add 1/2 cup of water and seasonings and let simmer until liquid is absorbed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Add additional salt if necessary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Refried Beans</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon olive</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 medium onion, diced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 cloves garlic minced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 tsp chilli powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 cups black turtle beans or one 19 oz can, drained and rinsed </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2/3 cup chicken or veggie broth, plus more if needed (veggie broth for vegan or vegetarian)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Salt and pepper </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add the onion and cook until tender.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook for a few minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stir in the beans and slowly add broth, cooking until the beans are warmed through, about 5-6 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mash the beans coarsely with the back of a wooden spoon (I used a potato masher first), adding more broth to moisten, if needed. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Season with salt and pepper, to taste. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stir in the cilantro** at the very end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>**Note:</b> If you don't have any fresh cilantro and IF you happen to have some cilantro pest cubes in the freezer, you can toss 2-3 thawed cubes in to the mix instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Assembly</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a large shallow bowl, I like to use a pasta bowl, put a scoop or two of rice, meat (if using), refried beans, carrots, zucchini, greens, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Squeeze some fresh lime over the whole works; add a big dollop of sour cream, regular or non dairy and a sprinkle of cheese (if desired). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There you have it... a meal for omnivores, vegans and vegetarians alike with not a lot of extra effort. For the vegans, HOLD all animal products. For the vegetarians, HOLD the meat, and for the omnivores, EVERYTHING into the bowl! This is the perfect meal to satisfy a variety of tastes - at the same time. I know I will need more of these kinds of meals to make meal preparation easier for me when I would prefer a plant based meal but my family would not. I will have to put my thinking cap on for that!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>BUDGET TIP</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes I mix a spoonful of mayonnaise in with about a 1/2 cup of yogurt to round out the flavour. It is almost a dead ringer for sour cream. Since I always have plain yogurt and mayo on hand, this is a great option because I don't always use sour cream in large quantities so the rest of the container usually spoils before I do. No tossing money in the green bin for this girl!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-87834821888765559962015-06-17T17:41:00.001-04:002015-06-18T10:09:23.884-04:00Back After A Year Long Hiatus<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today is my first day back at blogging. I haven't written for well over a year and it isn't because I don't enjoy doing it. Sadly, life got busy, I took on a temporary job, I struggled with some difficulties and, in a nutshell, I just couldn't find the time. Today I have some time, or rather, I have decided take some to blog despite the fact that my house is upside down and there are a number of things I really should be doing. So, today I am sitting at my keyboard and making an attempt to write, proof, and post something worth sharing. Wish me luck!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Just to catch you up, I have been busy practicing my passions... cooking and eating. I have been working on my <strong><em>"eat more plant based journey"</em></strong> and have dabbled in a variety of food choices including "raw", "dairy free", and gluten free". I have embraced the green smoothie as an almost daily breakfast of champions; I have been buying fewer made for me products like salad dressings, granola, and jams, opting to make them in my own kitchen from scratch (or as close to scratch) as possible. I have tried a variety of meatless dishes that have incorporated more lentils and beans and have been met with a less than thrilled family... <sigh> BUT on a happier note, I have managed to re-create much healthier versions of my "traditional" desserts using less conventional/traditional ingredients (shhhhhhhh) with great success and cutting down on our refined sugar intake! I am still working on my ever present task of "hidden healthy" to help my family eat better, even if unknowing. I am also lucky to have sourced out cleaner and more ethically raised chicken, turkey and pork. Hopefully soon, I will be able to find some grass fed beef and then I can feel better about eating meat when that is on our family meal menus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I have spent much time perusing other wonderful food blogs such as <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/" target="_blank">Oh She Glows</a>, <a href="http://www.joyoushealth.com/blog/" target="_blank">Joyous Health</a>, <a href="http://pureella.com/" target="_blank">Pure Ella</a>, <a href="http://www.thefirstmess.com/" target="_blank">The First Mess</a>, and <a href="http://www.mynewroots.org/site/" target="_blank">My New Roots</a>, just to name a few. I have spent a great deal of time reading about these ladies and have been busily getting to know them through the stories, food and recipes they share; not to mention salivating over the gorgeous pictures they post. YUM-YUM-YUM! Food blogs like these provide me with great inspiration and help me to learn about a whole new way of cooking and eating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I still regularly visit the more traditional food web sites like <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/" target="_blank">Canadian Living</a> and <a href="http://chefmichaelsmith.com/" target="_blank">Chef Michael</a> when I am looking for particular recipe. Sometimes I make the recipes as written, while other times, I tinker with them subbing out some ingredients for healthier options or because of dietary requirements... just to practice. As a side note, I do find it interesting that even the more traditional cooking sites like Canadian Living and Chef Michael are providing recipes using less typical ingredients and even providing wonderful food for those with specialized dietary requirements (gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etcetera). At the end of the day, I do find one common thread within the pages of all that I have been reading and that is to use REAL food, fewer or no "made for you" ingredients, and to enjoy whatever it is you create. With that said, I would like to share a few of my successes in the year of my hiatus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">My vegetarian pizza made with a homemade whole wheat crust, my marinara sauce lovingly topped with diced bell peppers (organic only please), sliced mushrooms and zucchini, kale, sliced tomatoes and a few handfuls of mozzarella cheese. This pizza is perfect for our Friday pizza and a movie family night!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">My <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/beet_borscht.php" target="_blank">beet borcht</a> by Canadian Living. A hot and hearty soup for dinner. Topped with a healthy dollop of organic yogurt for a vegetarian option OR how about some Vegan Sour Cream by <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/05/my-favourite-vegan-chili-with-homemade-sour-cream/" target="_blank">Oh She Glows</a>? Who could not love this soup with it's gorgeous crimson colour and the sweet and tart flavours? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Who would have thought to add <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/butternut_squash_mac_and_cheese.php" target="_blank">butternut squash mac 'n cheese</a>? Canadian Living, that's who! I was inspired by their recipe and decided to give my Mom's classic recipe an update and apply some hidden healthy. I opted to play with my Mom's recipe because it used real cheddar cheese instead of a cheese product. You can blitz the sauce with your immersion or regular blender and you will end up with a gorgeous cheese sauce and not a single sign of a vegetable. Can you see any squash? My family </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">couldn't either. this mac & cheese was cheesy, comforting and creamy... just like my mom's traditional recip! I am still tweaking this recipe and will share it once it is perfected!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Going forward, I hope to continue with some regular blogging. I miss the creative outlet! So until I come back, please check out some of my favourite foodie sites. Do try some of their recipes, but most importantly, cook for you and your family. Eat REAL food, lovingly prepared by YOU and feel better!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-36015414781860402382014-08-15T21:28:00.000-04:002015-08-02T15:20:23.200-04:00Gazpacho - A Lovely Summer Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I was younger, my mom found this wonderful recipe for Gazpacho and we made it regularly during the summer. I LOVE this soup. It is a wonderful, cold soup - perfect for those hot days when you don't feel like heating up your kitchen. It is refreshing, light and full of all kinds of healthy! Serve it as an appetizer or as a light meal with a whole grain pita and a bean salad. YUM! All you need is a good knife, a peeler, a blender and a fridge. Sadly, our family recipe went missing so I set out to re-create the recipe of my childhood. I believe I have succeeded!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Start by preparing your veggies. Peel your cucumber, halve and clean out the ribs and seeds from your peppers, trim your green onions and celery. Chop everything in a medium dice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Throw the chopped vegetables into the blender. Add 3 cups of the tomato juice to start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Peel and mince the garlic clove. Measure out your olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Add it to your blender.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blitz everything until a uniform soup results. Depending on the size of your blender, you may have to do this in two batches. Transfer the gazpacho to a container to store in the refrigerator. I prefer glass, but that's just me. Use whatever container you have on hand. Add more tomato juice as necessary to get the soup consistency you enjoy. You can add the additional tomato juice to the soup in your storage container and shake or whisk it in. I like my gazpacho to be fairly "fluidic" so I have used as much as 5 cups of tomato juice, but I always start at 3 cups and add a little more at a time to get the best consistency. I like to chill this soup at least 3 hours or over night to let the flavours combine. The soup keeps well for several days too, so you can snack on the left overs. I even found out that I could pour it into single servings (not the added veggies though - add those at serving time) and freeze the soup. Once thawed in the fridge, the gazpacho is as tasty as</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> freshh! Who knew?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At serving time, finely dice the remaining cucumber, red and green peppers and a medium tomato of your choice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pour the soup into your serving bowls and sprinkle the finely diced veggies into each of the bowls evenly. If you like, you can add one extra drizzle of olive oil too.</span></div>
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<span class="text" id="cphMiddle_cphMain_lblDescription" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><em>A wonderful summer soup, refreshing yet substantial. This recipe serves 6-8 people.</em></span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> can of Roma tomatoes – 796 mL (in season Roma tomatoes , 5 or so fresh, skinned and seeded, could be substituted) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="content"></span><span class="content"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> sweet red pepper, halved and seeded </span></span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> stalk celery </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">2</span> green onions, green and white parts </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> English cucumber, peeled and cut in half </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> good sized garlic clove, minced </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">2</span> tbsp (30 mL) red wine vinegar </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> tbsp (15 mL) olive oil </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">3 to 4</span> cups tomato juice (approximately) </span></div>
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<span class="content" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="ingquantity">1</span> generous pinch or 2 of a good quality salt </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="content"></span><span class="content">A few grinds of pepper</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 medium tomato (garnish)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instructions</span></h4>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reserve the other halves of the red, and green peppers, and cucumber for garnish at serving time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="text"></span><span class="text">Roughly chop the cucumber, red and green peppers and green onions.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finely dice the celery.</span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Add all chopped veggies, canned tomatoes, 2 cups of tomato juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, salt and pepper to the blender. Blend on high. Do in 2 batches if necessary.</span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pour the soup into a large pitcher. Check the consistency of the soup, Add the remainder of the tomato juice, more if required; stir well and chill for several hours – minimally 3 hours, but preferably over night so the garlic mellows a bit!</span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finely dice the reserved red and green peppers, cucumber and the tomato.</span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pour the soup into bowls, sprinkle with a generous serving of diced veggies.</span></div>
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<span class="text" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you want, you can drink this soup as a quick snack, simply by pouring just the soup into a tall glass. Such a speedy way to get a whole bunch of goodness. Who needs V-8?</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-43148572613039143112014-08-05T10:13:00.001-04:002014-08-05T10:13:11.497-04:00What To Do With Orange Peels: Part 2<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It seems like forever since my last post. Truth be known, I have had this post ready for some time now. The catch being, I wanted to fine tune the attached video. I did a practice one when I first wrote this and had great intentions of doing a better instructional video. Alas, this is not to be (for now). The summer has been busy and I haven't been able to catch a family member to hold the camera; so until that happens, my experimental video will have to do. I will try to do better in the future... after all, Rome was not built in a day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my last post, you heard about my trials and tribulations as a child against my arch enemy the orange! I also shared one of my favourite green cleaners with you! I hope you have had a chance to make a batch of your own. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Zesting & Freezing the Orange Peel</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another favourite use for the orange peels is to cook with them. Sometimes a recipe calls for just orange zest, but I have no need for the fruit and I am not hungry enough to eat it. In order to prepare myself for this eventuality, I will zest the oranges before peeling and sectioning the oranges. Then I put these fine shreds into a small wide mouth mason jar which is stored in the freezer. I make sure to put the new zest at the bottom if there is already zest in the jar (last in, first out). So the next time I need zest but no orange, I am prepared!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sometimes, I already have two jars of cleaning solution in the fridge and have sectioned a number of oranges for a salad. Now what? I don't want to waste that gorgeous peel so I remove the pith from the orange peel with a really sharp knife. Then toss it into, yes, a small wide mouth mason jar, and store it in the freezer until I need it. When I use this orange peel, I will finely chop it as you will see later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have prepared a short video tutorial to show you how I remove the pith. If you use a really sharp knife, you will be able to run it horizontally along the peel to remove the white pith. Mind your fingers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-align: center;">Once I have removed the pith, I take the peels and pop into that glass mason jar to store in my freezer for another day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finely Chopping Orange Peel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-align: center;">Some recipes don't require the fine zest of orange (or lemon) peel and a finely chopped peel will do just fine. When I need finely chopped orange peel,mi can grab whatever I need from my freezer.</span></div>
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I take each piece of peel and slice through the peel lengthwise, making very tiny ribbons.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once the peel has been sliced into ribbons, I turn the pile and cit again in the opposing direction, creating a super tiny dice. If necessary, keeping chopping until your dice is as fine as you want it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Keep in mind, that you can do this with lemons too. I have often used recipes that call for just the juice, so why not juice you lemons, remove the pith and save the peels for a rainy day!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-61500417240562288602014-07-07T10:58:00.004-04:002014-07-07T14:57:16.418-04:00Orange Peels and What To Do With Them: Part 1<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a child, I usually got some form of fruit in my packed lunches, back in the day when we only needed REAL fruit with the wrappings Mother Nature already put on them. I remember apples, bananas, peaches, and one of my favourites, green grapes! Occasionally, mom would tuck in an orange, and unless I was super hungry, it would often end up back at home. You see, oranges, as much as I liked them, were my lunchtime nemesis!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was not a picky eater. I was quite adventurous with foods and ultimately, there are very few foods I dislike based on taste. Oranges, on the other hand, were a different story. I disliked oranges, not because of how the orange itself tasted, but because the Battle of Orange vs. Michelle never ended well for me. Oranges were (and still are) a pain in the butt to eat for me so I generally preferred not to eat them at all. Far too much work! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was not efficient at peeling them, and it always seemed to take most of the lunch period to get that peel off, only to reveal that icky white layer. There it is, in all of it's bitter glory! It almost laughs at me with that evil "muhawhaw" sort of laugh, reminding me that in order to enjoy the sweet juiciy goodness of the orange, I would have to endure the horrible taste and texture of that white pith with every bite. To make my orange eating experience worse, let's not forget all that tasty juice squirting EVERYWHWRE as I clumsily split the thing into its sections. Yes sir-ee, peeling and eating oranges was definitely not on my list of fun things to do! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could tell you stories and go on about the mental scars left on my psyche from all of those orange encounters, but there isn't time! Let's just say, my orange consumption was very rare for many years to follow, except at Christmas-time when we got Clementines that are EASY PEEL!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fast forward many years and a tutorial I watched on a cooking show about how to peel and section oranges with your knife! What a novel idea. I was elated! Once again, I could enjoy oranges and not have to endure that icky white pith and the endless orange juice showers. I put orange sections on our mixed greens salads, I put orange sections in our fruit salad, I ate oranges all by themselves. I put orange sections in all sorts of things using my new found knife skill. I even started putting orange sections in my youngest daughter's lunches. Apparently, I did not pack oranges for my kids ever. In hind sight, perhaps I did not wish my daughters to have the mental scars of anguish from doing battle with my orange nemesis! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This leads to the point of this post. After a few years of happy peeling and sectioning, and joyful orange eating, it donned on me to ask "What does one do with the leftover peels?" Oranges are expensive enough, so I might as well us as much of it as you can! I am pleased to say, have found 3 things to do with them... another tip from Michelle's frugal world! </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cleaning Solution</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first is using them in a homemade and Eco-friendly surface cleaner. I found this idea while surfing around Pinterest, but I can't remember the exact site I found it. Subsequently, I cannot take credit for this brilliant gem of information. The essential oils in the peels have a lovely fragrance and do a great job at cutting grease. I generally make this cleaning solution on a day that I am peeling and sectioning several oranges for a recipe. I take these peels (making sure there is no fruit left on the peel) and put them into a 750 ml mason jar. If your recipe does not have enough peels to actually fill the mason jar, that's okay. You can add more orange peels and vinegar to the cleaning solution the next time you have some orange peels to add. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once your orange peels are in the jar, fill the jar with regular white vinegar so that the peels are basically covered. Put a lid on the jar and store it in the refrigerator. I generally leave this solution to soak for at least a week and it is ready to use. You can continue to add more peels to an existing jar of cleaning solution. If you add more peels make sure you add enough vinegar to cover everything. You will need to let it stand for another week. I generally do this until my jar is completely full. I also have two jars in the fridge at any given time. One jar that I'm using and a second jar that is a work in progress so I am never left short. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the past 25 years, I have used a 50-50 mix of vinegar and water to clean my home. I don't mind the smell of vinegar, and find it dissipates quite quickly. The addition of the citrus peel is a nice addition and it seems to improve the cleaning power. I know that some people cannot stand the smell of cleaning with vinegar. Subsequently, they choose not to use vinegar in green cleaning. If you are one of these folks, you will find the addition of the orange peels amazing and the smell of vinegar is not discernible at all! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To use the solution, pour the solution into a spray bottle, about half full. Top the remaining half with water. Shake to mix. I use this solution to damp dust, wipe down all the surfaces in kitchen and bathroom. I even use it on mirrors, and it is really good for finger marks on door frames and light switches. It's my go to general cleaning solution AND it satisfies the ecoholic in me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a point of interest, this cleaning solution can be done with lemon peels too or a combination of lemon and orange. Happy cleaning!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799013880069993440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568987702464516770.post-44703425419798415022014-06-18T12:53:00.001-04:002016-05-08T01:54:49.991-04:00Father's Day Dinner - Salads - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Of course we can't just have meat for Father's Day! What goes better with ribs than a potato salad and a cabbage and apple salad? The nice thing about both of these salads is they are make ahead. Perfect sides for entertaining because you can make them in advance! The other nice thing about salads is they make it easy to include MORE veggies into our daily meals. As an aside, some folks might find having 2 "creamy" salads on the same dinner plate is a bit of overkill, but since my goal was to use up things in my fridge and take advantage of what was in season, slightly mis-matched meals happen. If I hadn't had a craving for potato salad, I might have been inclined to cook the baby potatoes and serve them with a little butter and chopped parsley to avoid "<em>creamy dressing monotony".</em> No one complained though, and the plates were empty, so I guess I'm golden!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our local farmer's market has been on the go since May and I have been going every Saturday to take advantage of our local and fresh produce. Randy laughs at how excited I get over a bag of mixed greens... please go easy on the arugula Bea (FYI, for my taste buds, a LITTLE arugula goes a long way)! Fortunately for me, my favourite vendor, provides us with a heads up on Facebook as to what goodies are going to be at the market on Saturday. This helps a lot with meal planning. I always shop the farmers market first, before going to the grocery store just in case they are out of some of the items I was planning to get. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For my local Quinte West readers, I strongly urge you to visit Bea and Dan at the market. You can't go wrong with fresh, tasty and CHEMICAL FREE produce! Please visit their web site --> </span><a href="http://www.navheifarms.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Natural Themes Farms - Produce</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> And just in case you are interested, these folks also have a variety of indigenous plantings for your garden --> </span><a href="http://www.naturalthemes.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Natural Themes Farms - Native Plants</span></a> ... <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a well deserved shout because of the eco-holic in me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This past Saturday, I was able to procure some beautiful baby potatoes, green onions, carrots, and spinach. The spinach was earmarked for breakfast smoothies and some side salads through the week; the carrots and the rest of the veggies for our Fathers Day feast, (oh, and the carrot tops ended up in a pesto for the carrot soup I made)! The baby potatoes and the green onions definitely rocked our potato salad and the carrots were great along side of the shredded green and purple cabbage (already in my fridge) in my supercharged cabbage and apple salad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The following dressing recipe for the potato salad is actually a salad dressing I have been making as a substitute for the store bought variety which I no longer buy. Now that I have fine tuned the seasoning, Erika doesn't mind it as much and has finally accepted the fact that Kraft Ranch Dressing will no longer be found in our fridge. My recipe is quite mild in flavour as I was mimicking the store bought version. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you would like a more flavourful dressing for your tossed green salads, feel free to increase the quantities to 1/4 tsp for the onion powder and the garlic powder; 3/4 tsp parsley and 3/4 tsp dill (fresh or fresh-frozen). Keep in mind, no matter which seasoning proportions you choose, the flavours will take at least 2-3 hours in the fridge to develop and intensify. I like to make my dressing the day before for best results. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since I already had a batch of my Ranch-like dressing in the refrigerator, I used it for dressing the potato salad. The only catch is, I had already used it some of it for salads and then I didn't measure how much was actually left before I poured it into the potato salad... DUH! If I had to GUESS, it was a little more than 1/2 a cup. Given this conundrum, I am providing you with the full recipe for my dressing. If you have any leftovers after dressing your potato salad, I strongly urge you to try it on your favourite mixed green salad! You might just be able to give up store bought Ranch dressing too.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Potato Salad</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Serves 4-6</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1.5 quarts of baby potatoes, mine were red skinned, purple and white </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 eggs, hard cooked from happy chickens</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4 green onions, whites finely chopped, greens thinly, sliced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 stalks celery, finely diced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 lime, juiced thoroughly</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 tsp salt, a few grinds of pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Make ahead 2 hours or the day before is recommended)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 cup organic yogurt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 cup mayonaise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 pinches of salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/8 tsp onion powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/8 tsp garlic powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 heaped tsp dried parsley (fresh is you have it)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 tsp dill (I had some fresh stuff in the freezer) If using dried, I would start off with 1/4 tsp or so, and after about an hour, check for flavour. I find dried herbs can be more intense in flavouring than fresh. You can always add more, it's hard to take it out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water, until just tender. The time will depend on the size of your potatoes... but 6-10 minutes should do the trick.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Drain, and cool quickly in an ice bath. Drain again and pour out onto a cookie sheet lined with a tea towel. I like to make sure that there is no extra moisture on the potatoes.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hard cook the eggs and let cool.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Peel the eggs, place them in a large mixing bowl and then mash with a fork. Make sure the egg white in small bits.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the baby potatoes to the eggs. For the small ones, cut them in half; for the ones that are bigger then single bite-size, cut them in quarters. Toss the eggs and potatoes. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add the salt, pepper, diced celery and green onions. Toss again to evenly distribute everything.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Add a 1/2 cup of the dressing and the juice of the lime, gently combine. If your salad still looks a little dry, add a few tablespoons more of the dressing and stir. Repeat as required until you get desired consistency... just make sure your salad is not drowning in the dressing, unless you like it that way of course! </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Scrape your salad into a sealed container and let stand in the refrigerator for at least two hours. You will want the dressing and potatoes to be very well acquainted and the salad nice and cold at serving time. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now on to my cabbage and apple salad (on steroids)... I assume it's a hit at every potluck I attend because I come home with an empty bowl!</span><br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">OOPS! I forgot the garnish for the picture.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">Cabbage and Apple Salad - Supercharged</span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Serves 6-8</span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">***For shredding the cabbage, I like to use my knife, but feel free to use your food processor. I use my box grater with the course shred size for the carrots.***</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 cups red cabbage, shredded </span></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/3 medium head green cabbage, shredded</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 medium carrots, grated</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 large leaves curly kale, stemmed and sliced <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJEQFgfv7iw" target="_blank">chiffonade style</a> (in RIBBONS)</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 tart/sweet apples like McIntosh or Empire, chopped with skins on.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 cup dried cranberries</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dressing</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 cup organic yogurt</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 cup mayonnaise</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar</span></div><div><font face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">1-2 tsp maple syrup (optional)<br></font>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2 pinches salt</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Garnish</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3/4 cup toasted walnut pieces or</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3/4 cup pumpkin seeds or</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a combination of both</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Combine the shredded green cabbage, carrots, and cranberries together in a large bowl. Put back into a large Ziploc bag or large sealed storage container. This allows the cranberries to plump up with the moisture from the veggies. Store the shredded red cabbage separately, otherwise it will turn the salad pink.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">About an hour before serving time, you can take the cabbage mix and red cabbage out of the fridge and combine together. Add in the chiffonade kale and chopped apple. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This salad is SO pretty</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Starting with about half of the dressing, pour into the salad and stir till combined. Continue adding the dressing until the salad is well coated but not drowning. Put back into the fridge to stay cold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">At serving time, sprinkle salad with the nuts/seeds for a garnish. If there are nut and seed allergies, leave them out of the salad, put them on the table and let guests sprinkle there own garnishes themselves.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yes, it was a super tasty Father's Day dinner. There was no family mutiny, I ended up with leftovers, and it was a nice family dinner. Randy's mom joined us too!</span></div>
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