October Unprocessed: Days 8, 9, and 10

Oct10

I was feeling a little bit tired earlier in the week, but I seem to have gained my energy back over the past few days! 🙂

Day 8: Wednesday, October 8

For breakfast, I had some of of the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie I had made yesterday.

For lunch, I had leftover ground beef/onions and some of the roasted squash I made for dinner yesterday. To drink, I finished off the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.

For a mid-afternoon snack, I had an apple. My daughters had ice cream when they got home from school, and normally I would have some with them, but I am not even craving ice cream anymore. I was perfectly happy with an apple!

For dinner, I was out with my daughter and got her Broccoli and Cheddar soup from Panera Bread. She couldn’t finish it all, and I couldn’t let it go to waste, so I did have her leftovers. I also finally finished off the ground beef and squash.

For a snack later, I had a little bit of trail mix containing raisins, dates, cranberries, walnuts, dried apples, and coconut.

Day 9: Thursday, October 9

For breakfast, I had some scrambled eggs and an orange.

For a mid-morning snack, I made a smoothie with the ingredients I had on hand. It didn’t turn out to be one of my favorites, so I most likely won’t be making this again. I juiced 1 empire apple (about 1/3 c.) and added 2/3 cup water and a handful of organic baby spinach. I blended that until smooth, and then added 1 Tablespoon Peanut butter, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 cup pineapple, 1 banana, and 3 ice cubes. I think the reason I didn’t like this much is because it wasn’t cold enough. I usually use frozen banana, but I had run out and needed to use a fresh banana instead. In my opinion, the colder the better when it comes to green smoothies. The warmer the drink gets, the more you can taste the greens.

I snacked on some trail mix, a roll of turkey, more smoothie, and I also made some peanut butter balls using dates, oats, chocolate chips, and flax seeds.

For dinner, I had a salad with Grapeseed oil and a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash spice blend without salt. I made Baked Ziti for the rest of my family, and I did have a little bit of that as well.

Day 10: Friday, October 10

For breakfast, I had a roll of turkey when I was making my daughter’s lunch. I also had a few of the peanut butter balls I made yesterday, and I made some fresh apple juice using 2 empire apples, cinnamon, and a few drops of lemon juice.

For lunch, I had eggs and cheese, apple slices and broccoli.

After lunch, I chopped up a head of broccoli and roasted it for a snack, and I ate the ENTIRE thing in one sitting. That I have never done before. It was really good! You can find the recipe here.

I made this Pumpkin Dip from 100 Days of Real Food and served it to my family with celery, apple slices, and graham crackers. I took the dip to a gathering tonight, and everyone loved it! At the gathering, I also had some salsa, chips, and celery.

Overall, I am feeling great and am full of energy, although I do feel a cold coming on. I have no cravings, and I feel like I don’t need to eat much to feel full. REAL food is full of nutrients and it fills me up quickly. Over the weekend, I’m planning to go to a family gathering that will contain many family favorite recipes, many of which are not unprocessed. I will do my best to eat as healthy as possible, but I will allow myself to cheat a little bit and indulge on some of those family favorites. Have a Happy Columbus Day Weekend!

Recipe: Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Aug6

If you have been looking for ways to use up all those delicious blueberries that are in season right now, give this healthy smoothie recipe a try. This drink is very filling and it would serve as a delicious breakfast, lunch, or a snack! Enjoy it any time of the day! We have been making this smoothie a lot lately, and I’m happy to say that ALL of my daughters love this one! 🙂

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup yogurt (I like Stonyfield Banilla)

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup organic spinach or other greens (optional – I usually don’t add this because my daughters will not drink it if they know there are greens in it.)

Instructions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Notes:

Make sure at least one of your ingredients is frozen to make your smoothie cold. If you do not have any frozen ingredients, you may want to add some ice.

This smoothie is best served immediately, especially if you are using the greens.

If you are adding greens, blend the greens and the liquid until smooth before adding the remaining ingredients.

Enjoy! 🙂

Strawberries: 10 Ways to Eat Them

Jul7

10 Ways to Eat Strawberries

Nothing says summer like fresh strawberries! In my previous post 9 Reasons To Pick Your Own Strawberries, I mentioned that I had been on 6 fun-filled strawberry-picking excursions with my daughters last month (and I’ve even been again since that post!) One would think we would have more strawberries than we know what to do with, but the truth is I’ve been having trouble keeping the strawberries long enough to make anything out of them. My girls devour them (sometimes even before we get home!) It wasn’t easy, but I did manage to save some strawberries to make a few things. Here are 10 delicious ways to use those fresh-picked, juice-dripping strawberries!

1. Eat them just as they are!

Of course, this is the healthiest (and our favorite) way to eat them, and they don’t last long.

2. Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries!

Who doesn’t love the combination of chocolate and strawberries, right? And truly, they couldn’t be easier to make! It requires 2 ingredients – Fresh picked strawberries & Baker’s Dipping Chocolate (you can find this in the baking aisle of your local grocery store – next to the chocolate chips.)

June 26, 2014 079 crop

Simply melt the chocolate as instructed, dip your strawberries, place on a tray on waxed paper, and enjoy! If you prefer the chocolate a little bit harder (as we do), place in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Strawberry Jam

This was our first attempt at making strawberry jam. Although this particular recipe didn’t go over well with my family, I’m including it in here anyway since we spent the time making it. Based on the reviews, it is very popular and it does seem like most people enjoyed it. We halved the recipe since I didn’t know if we would like it and I wasn’t sure how much it would make. It ended up filling 4 mason jars (8oz each). Since I normally try to minimize the amount of sugar I put into recipes (and this time I didn’t), for us it seemed way too sweet. I think next time I would use much less sugar. You can find the recipe we used here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-jam/

4. Strawberry Parfait

This is one of our favorite choices for breakfast. Simply use your favorite yogurt, fresh strawberries (chopped) any other desired fruits, and granola. Layer and enjoy!! 🙂

5. Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Nothing beats a refreshing, fruit-filled smoothie on a hot day! You can use any fruit you have on-hand, but here is one of my favorite combinations:

1 cup milk
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 frozen banana

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy!! 🙂 Note: Make sure at least one of your ingredients is frozen to make your smoothie cold. In the absence of frozen fruit, you may want to add some ice to make it cold. If this doesn’t appeal to you, try my other Strawberry Banana smoothie recipe, my Strawberry Banana Peanut Butter smoothie, or create your own yummy combination!

6. In a salad

I love strawberries in my salad! I also like to add blueberries, grapes, pineapple, cashews, and chocolate chips in addition to the lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers! 🙂 The fruit adds a wonderful juiciness that practically eliminates the need for salad dressing. YUM!!

7. In your cereal

We love adding fresh berries to our cereal. Yum!!

8. Freeze them.

If you have more strawberries than you know what to do with, you can freeze them for later use. To freeze, begin by removing the stems. Lightly rinse them and allow to dry. Then, place them on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag.

9. Topping for cheesecake, ice cream, or pancakes

My kids absolutely love this stuff!! Here is the recipe we used (next time I’m going to double it!):

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh-picked ripe strawberries
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Wash strawberries and remove stems.
Chop strawberries
Combine sugar, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups strawberries in a saucepan. (Set aside remaining 1/2 cup strawberries.)
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat. In a blender, puree mixture. Add in the 1/2 cup strawberries you had previously set aside.
Store in refrigerator.

The original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Supreme-Strawberry-Topping/Detail.aspx

I was also hoping to make strawberry pie and strawberry shortcake with fresh-picked strawberries this year, but unfortunately strawberry season is now over in my area so I’ll have to try those out next year.

10. Strawberry Pie

Update 7/9/15: I made Strawberry Pie with my daughters this season, and it was delicious! The link to the recipe I used may be found on my blog Stacy Loves here.

11. Strawberry Ice Cream

Update 6/16/16

This strawberry ice cream, made with freshly picked strawberries, is the perfect treat on a hot, summer day! The recipe can be found on Stacy Loves here.

What is your favorite way to eat strawberries? Do you have a favorite use for strawberries that is not included here? Please leave a comment below.

Perfect Summer Potato Salad

Jun12

Nothing says summer to me like a cool, refreshing mix of potatoes, eggs, cucumbers, and celery mixed with the perfect blend of spices in creamy mayo.

To make it healthier and minimize my use of processed ingredients, I made my own Italian salad dressing. If you’re running short on time, store-bought dressing will work. But if you have a few minutes, give the homemade dressing a try and you will see how simple it is to make. This delicious substitution is healthier and less expensive than the store-bought, and it gives me peace of mind being able to control the oils I use and to eliminate the high fructose corn syrup that is present in virtually all store-bought dressing.

The following recipe is my idea of a perfect potato salad. Feel free to add or eliminate ingredients to your liking (for example, my family doesn’t like onions, but add them if you like).

Ingredients

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and cubed into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup Italian Dressing (recipe below)

½ teaspoon salt

pepper, to taste (I just use a few shakes)

½ cup mayonnaise (we use Kraft Real Mayo)

1 medium stalk celery, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 cup cucumbers, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Instructions

Add potatoes to a pot, adding just enough water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook until tender. Drain and cool.
After potatoes are cool, stir in Italian dressing, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, toss with cucumbers, celery, eggs, and mayonnaise until potatoes are well coated. Enjoy!

Italian Dressing recipe (makes 1 1/3 cups)

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup olive oil

2 ½ Tablespoons Grapeseed oil

1 Tablespoon water

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon honey

1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon thyme

¼ teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (if you don’t have any, just use regular salt)

Pour ingredients into a 2 ½ cup glass measuring cup. Transfer to a glass salad dressing bottle. Cover and shake well. Refrigerate to store.

Recipe modified from http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2010/07/perfect-homemade-italian-dressing.html.

Recipe: Roasted Broccoli

May16

I am always trying to get more vegetables and Superfoods into my diet. Broccoli is a Superfood and cancer-fighting food.

I’ll admit, I’m not very motivated when it comes to washing, cutting, preparing, and cooking vegetables. Especially since I’m usually the only one in my family who will eat them. Unfortunately, more vegetables rot in my refrigerator than I would like. I have good intentions when I’m at the grocery store, but unless I buy them for a specific purpose, I usually forget about them and they sit there until I get the motivation to do something with them. Or they rot. And it really bothers me when I have to throw food away.

So, I was really excited when I found this super-easy recipe for roasted broccoli. I made it with dinner last night, and I had to stop myself from eating the entire thing in one sitting. I easily could have!

I found this recipe on Facebook in January and tried it for the first time then. Here is the link to the original post on Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/i6oZ17zgvm/#

Here is my recipe, just slightly different:

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 lemon (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Place broccoli, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper in a ziploc bag and shake. Alternatively, place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

3. Spread out on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake about 30 minutes.

Broccoli will be crunchy and delicious! If desired, squeeze lemon over broccoli. This is optional, but I do this because I love anything with lemon. Enjoy!

For lunch today, I served the leftovers with rice and a little bit of shredded cheese. The broccoli wasn’t as crunchy as it was when I first cooked it, but it was still delicious! I plan to make this again VERY soon!! I think I could eat this every day. Now if I could just get the rest of my family to try it! 🙂

Real Food: Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Mar22

I love this pancake recipe because it is simple to make and it is made with just a few ingredients, all of them being REAL food ingredients. I also love that this recipe contains no white flour or white sugar.

I just finished reading the book Wheat Belly by William Davis, and while it did not fully convince me to go 100% gluten free, it did reinforce my belief that we should strive to minimize our consumption of products made with white flour.

My daughters do prefer traditional pancakes over these, but I do enjoy these and my 9-year old daughter does as well. Enjoy!

Save Print

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Serves: 2 pancakes

Ingredients

2 eggs
⅓ cup rolled oats
½ banana, sliced
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ tablespoon butter or coconut oil, for cooking
Pure maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

In a food processor, grind oats until fine. Add eggs, cinnamon, and banana, and grind until smooth.
Heat butter or coconut oil over medium heat in a skillet.
Add half of the batter (about ½ cup) pancake mix to the skillet.
Cook until you are able to slip a spatula underneath the pancake and lift it without the pancake breaking. Flip the pancake.
Cook until lightly brown.
Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with pure maple syrup.

Notes

This recipe only makes two pancakes. I only have a mini food processor, so it doesn’t hold a lot of batter. You may want to double the recipe for more servings. Also, the pancakes are thinner than traditional pancakes.

Recipe: Omelet with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, and Feta

Mar5

When I was taking the October Unprocessed Challenge this past October 2013, I ate A LOT of omelets and eggs in many different forms. I also tried sun-dried tomatoes for the first time during that month, and I absolutely LOVED them! I was surprised at how flavorful they are. I tried to come up with different recipes to use them in, so one day I put them into my omelet with some leftover Feta cheese I had, and I loved it. Here is the recipe I came up with.

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons Feta cheese

2 Sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil), chopped

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon coconut oil

¼ cup green pepper, diced

¼ cup onion, diced

Instructions:

In an 8″ non-stick saute pan, melt 1 Tablespoon coconut oil over medium heat.
Saute green pepper and onion in coconut oil until soft.
Remove peppers and onions from pan. Set aside.
Add the teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan. Pour the eggs into the omelet pan. Do not stir.
Once edges harden and you are able to get a rubber spatula underneath the eggs without them breaking, carefully flip the eggs.
Add the cheese, peppers, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook until cheese is melted, and fold in half. Enjoy!

Yield: 1 Omelet

Recipe: Pineapple-Orange-Banana Green Smoothie

Feb19

In an effort to get more greens into my diet, I try to have a green smoothie every day. When I’m running short on time, this is the one I always fall back on. It is quick, delicious, and I usually have all ingredients on hand.

I try to keep frozen bananas stocked in my freezer at all times. I usually buy them in the reduced-produce section at the store when they are very ripe. I take them home, peel them, break them in half, and then put them into a freezer bag for future use. It’s a great time saver, and also a great way to keep costs low! 🙂 Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

¾ cup orange juice (I prefer freshly juiced from a juicer, but store-bought also works.)

¾ cup organic baby spinach, packed tightly

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt

½ cup fresh pineapple chunks

1 frozen banana

Instructions:

Blend orange juice and spinach in a blender until smooth.
Add yogurt, pineapple, and banana and blend until completely smooth.

Yield: 24 oz.

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