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October Unprocessed: The Inspiration Behind Journey to Complete Wellness

Sep30

october-unprocessed-2014 logo

One year ago, I took the October Unprocessed Challenge and spent the entire month of October 2013 eating only REAL, unprocessed foods.  It was a huge learning experience for me!  During the challenge, I felt terrific and full of energy all day long.  I discovered some wonderful new foods and recipes, and I connected with a whole world of like-minded people committed to improving their health and supporting each other.  It became a lifestyle change for me and my family.  I found healthy replacements for a lot of the foods we ate.  Overall, I felt great about all the positive changes I made to improve the health and wellness of my family.  Although it certainly was not easy at times, the rewards definitely outweighed the challenges.  To learn about ALL the benefits and challenges I encountered during this experience, check out my blog post here.

Upon completing the challenge on October 31, I was inspired to start this blog, Journey to Complete Wellness.  What a blessing that has been!  I invite you to join me and over 16,000 others in this year’s October Unprocessed Challenge by taking the October Unprocessed 2014 pledge here.  Who knows what it will inspire YOU to do?

If an entire month seems too overwhelming, you can take the pledge for a week, or even a day.  It is not as difficult as it may seem.  You are allowed some “deliberate exceptions” (foods you can’t live without), and you take the challenge on your own terms.  The main goal is to become aware of the foods you are putting into your body.  It was truly an eye-opening experience for me!

Any step toward wellness is a step in the right direction.  You can do it!

I plan to track this year’s progress in this blog, so stay tuned for some new and exciting REAL-food recipes!

Please leave a comment below if you decide to sign up!  Good luck! 🙂

Healthy Summer Recipe: Watermelon & Fruit “Cake”

Jun26

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Here is a fun and healthy recipe to take to any summer potluck. We’ve already made this for a few occasions, and it was a huge hit! This is a super-easy (and healthy) recipe to make and the kids love to get involved! My 6-year-old daughter designed this watermelon cake for her cousin’s birthday party. You can use any fruit you like in this recipe, but this is what we used:

 Ingredients:

1 Whole Watermelon

2 Kiwi, peeled, halved, and cut into ¼ inch slices

½ fresh pineapple, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 can (11oz) mandarin orange segments, drained

Fresh strawberries (about 20)

Chocolate chips (about 20)

¼ cup blueberries

Red grapes (about 20)

Green grapes (about 20)

Instructions:

  1. Lay the watermelon on a cutting board.  Find the thickest part of the watermelon (the center). Cut a 3½-inch slice of the thickest part of the watermelon. Lay the slice flat on the cutting board and cut the rind off, making it as close to a circle as possible. (Ours ended up being 7 inches in diameter). Place this slice directly on the dish you will be using to serve. (We used a round cake taker because we were transporting it to a party.)
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  3. From one of the remaining watermelon halves, cut a 2 ½-inch thick slice. Lay it flat on the cutting board, and cut off the rind, forming a circle (our circle ended up being 4 ½ inches in diameter.) Center this slice on top of the larger slice.
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  5. Cut the remaining watermelon into bite-sized pieces to mix in with your other fruit if desired.
  6. Now comes the fun part, where you may want to get the kids involved! Decorate as you wish, using any fruits you like and arranging them into patterns if desired.  If you like the way ours came out, just copy the picture.  Otherwise, get creative with your designs.  The possibilities are endless!!
  7. If you’re transporting the cake to a party, you may need to make additional adjustments when you arrive.
  8. Enjoy!! 🙂

 

 

 

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Apr7

This is a great smoothie to soothe a sore throat or cough.  My kids love the taste, and they love the pink color!  It’s also a great way to benefit from the healing properties of raw honey if you don’t like eating honey straight.  🙂

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Ingredients:
½ cup apple juice

½ cup filtered water

1 ripe banana

1 Tablespoon raw honey (local is best to help with seasonal allergies)

1 cup frozen organic strawberries

Instructions:
1.  Place all ingredients into blender except the strawberries.  Blend until smooth.

2.  Add the strawberries.  Blend until smooth.

Notes:  This smoothie is thick.  If you would like it thinner, add more liquid.  Do not feed raw honey to infants under 1.

Yield:  20 ounces

Real Food: Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Mar22

March 22, 2014 030I 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!

 

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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
  1. In a food processor, grind oats until fine. Add eggs, cinnamon, and banana, and grind until smooth.
  2. Heat butter or coconut oil over medium heat in a skillet.
  3. Add half of the batter (about ½ cup) pancake mix to the skillet.
  4. Cook until you are able to slip a spatula underneath the pancake and lift it without the pancake breaking. Flip the pancake.
  5. Cook until lightly brown.
  6. 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.

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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:
  1. In an 8″ non-stick saute pan, melt 1 Tablespoon coconut oil over medium heat.
  2. Saute green pepper and onion in coconut oil until soft.
  3. Remove peppers and onions from pan.  Set aside.
  4. Add the teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan.  Pour the eggs into the omelet pan.  Do not stir.
  5. Once edges harden and you are able to get a rubber spatula underneath the eggs without them breaking, carefully flip the eggs.
  6. 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

October 18, 2014 018 Pine Orange Banana

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:

pineapple orange banana green smoothie

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

Yield:  24 oz.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Raspberry Green Smoothie

Jan13

I have a new favorite smoothie (and it is kid-friendly, too!)

Over the past week, I have tried this recipe with many different additions and variations, but so far this one is my favorite.  My 11-year-old daughter loves it, too!  Here is the recipe:

Raspberry Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

 

INGREDIENTS:

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½ cup apple juice (preferably freshly juiced in a juicer, but store-bought works, too.  Our favorite apple to juice is Gala, but try different types to see what you like best )

½ cup water

¾ cup tightly packed organic greens (I use baby spinach & spring mix, but any greens you like will work)

2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen raspberries

DIRECTIONS

  1. Blend apple juice, water, and greens in a blender until greens are dissolved.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth.

A few notes:

1. It is very important to use frozen raspberries and banana.  If you don’t have frozen, you may want to add a handful of ice.  I have found that you cannot taste the greens at all if the smoothie is very cold.  If you let it get warm, you will begin to taste the greens.

2. You do not need a fancy blender.  Mine is over 12 years old, and is still working just fine.

3.  If you prefer it thicker, use less liquid.  Feel free to play with it and add nuts, seeds, pineapple, different berries, different types of juice or milk in place of the apple juice and water, etc.  I love smoothies because you can play with the recipes and adjust according to your own preferences.

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!  Enjoy  🙂

 

Save Print
Peanut Butter Raspberry Green Smoothie

Prep time: 

Total time: 

Ingredients
  • ½ cup apple juice (grape juice or orange juice will also work)
  • ½ cup water
  • ¾ cup tightly packed organic greens (I use baby spinach & spring mix, but any greens you like will work)
  • 2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
Instructions
  1. Blend apple juice, water, and greens in a blender until greens are dissolved.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
Notes
1. It is very important to use frozen raspberries and banana. If you don't have frozen, you may want to add a handful of ice. I have found that you cannot taste the greens at all if the smoothie is very cold. If you let it get warm, you will begin to taste the greens.

2. You do not need a fancy blender. Mine is over 12 years old, and is still working just fine.

3. If you prefer it thicker, use less liquid. Feel free to play with it and add nuts, seeds, pineapple, different berries, different types of juice or milk in place of the apple juice and water, etc. I love smoothies because you can play with the recipes and adjust according to your own preferences.

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Nov22

Here is another dish that has made it onto my Thanksgiving menu.  It is delicious and contains only “real food” ingredients.

Roasted Autumn Vegetables with Cranberries

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Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash

1 large onion

1 cup broccoli

1 red pepper

4 Tablespoons olive oil

Himalayan Pink Salt (or Fine Sea Salt)

4 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Feta cheese to top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel, halve, and remove seeds from squash and cut them into large chunks.  Peel onion and cut into large chunks.  Chop broccoli into large chunks.  Slice red peppers.  Toss vegetables into the olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Bake on a parchment or waxed paper-lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes.

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When vegetables are well caramelized, top with cranberries and Feta.  Enjoy!

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Save Print
Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Cook time: 

Total time: 

Ingredients
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 cup broccoli
  • 1 red pepper
  • 4 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Himalayan Pink Salt (or Fine Sea Salt)
  • 4 Tablespoons dried cranberries
  • Feta cheese to top
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, halve, and remove seeds from squash and cut them into large chunks. Peel onion and cut into large chunks. Chop broccoli into large chunks. Slice red peppers. Toss vegetables into the olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Bake on a parchment or waxed paper-lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes.
  3. When vegetables are well caramelized, top with cranberries and Feta. Enjoy!

 

Recipe: Unprocessed Pumpkin Dip

Nov17

With less than two weeks left until Thanksgiving, the pressure is on to find some terrific new recipes that are both healthy and delicious to serve to my guests.  Today I feel like I hit the jackpot!

I discovered and tried this amazing recipe for “Pumpkin Fluff Dessert Dip” on 100 Days of Real Food.  My entire family loved it, including my picky 9-year-old who won’t even look at anything orange!  All ingredients are real food ingredients, which gives me even more reason to love it!  This recipe certainly makes the cut on my Thanksgiving menu!

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix (found in the spice aisle)
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • Optional garnish: A few extra sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice (or just plain cinnamon)
  • Optional dippers: Sliced apples and whole-wheat graham crackers
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of your mixer fitted with a whisk (or use a large mixing bowl and electric beaters), combine the heavy cream, cream cheese, syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Turn the mixer to low and blend until the cream cheese is broken up and no longer in big clumps. Turn the speed up to high and blend until the mixture thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Turn the speed back down to low and carefully blend in the pumpkin puree. Scrape the bowl with a spatula if necessary.
  3. Serve with sliced apples and whole-wheat graham crackers. Store leftover dip in the fridge.