salt salt bo balt

so... I don't want to burst another bubble, but mine was recently burst when I learned that not all salt is created equal.

Table salt (what is in restaurants, or maybe in your cupboard - Morton's brand, and others) is a highly processed chemical concoction.
This post HERE helped me understand the difference between True Sea Salt and commercially processed salts.

She does video blogs too and I find these very helpful to see the visual evidence.


Here is the brand she recommended : Redmond Trading Co. RealSalt

this is a super simple, and inexpensive way to make a change in your kitchen. baby steps! :)

Lentil Veggie Soup

I found this soup recipe on accident, actually... I was searching on google for my friend Carly's lentil soup recipe, I found this one instead... the one I initially was looking for is on my list to try, but for now... this is the recipe I have used and has gotten the hearty seal of approval from my family and dinner guests... As one college guy said "lentil soup is so hipster" ... ya, well, so what... it tastes good and is good for you :)

INA GARTEN'S VEGGIE LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients

• 1 pound French green lentils
• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)
• 4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus additional for drizzling on top
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)
• 3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

Yummy!! I freeze portions of this soup for Ian to take to work for lunch and in 4 serving containers for future dinners.

Note: the only thing that takes a lot of time is chopping the veggies (which in cooking more frequently, has gotten faster) but it is still a "chop intensive" recipe. :)

My ex

This post has been a long time coming. With our switch to real, whole food eating, one thing has always lagged behind for me has been a artificially caramel colored glass of fake sugar: Diet Coke.

I've been a proud diet coke drinker for over a decade. And I was just that, proud. Proud that I didn't drink the regular coke. Proud that I found something to outsmart my body and not consume calories, but taste good in the mean time. Pride oozing out of that silver can. Diet coke was my idol.

However, the more I read, the more I began to question my choices. Sometimes the truth comes at ya, and you just don't want to listen... so you justify, rationalize, and just plain lie to yourself to make it go away... This was me for the last 2 years or so. I knew Diet Coke wasn't good for me, but it was calorie-free. It wasn't REAL coke.

I would keep Diet Coke stocked in our fridge for years, but about 8 months ago, when we really made big changes, I knew Diet coke would have to go. Ian and I made a deal that we would only have Diet Coke when we went on dates with each other... (eliminating it from our shopping list) Date Night would happen every week (yay!) or less frequently and we would also sneak a few diet cokes on the side, here or there.

But sometimes, it takes a while for something to sink in. Sometimes the truth has to marinade in your head for a while before you realize the implications. This is my diet coke story. Sure I knew it was bad, but why? Why so bad? Why is aspartame (Diet Coke's "sugar" replacement) the #1 chemical in all of food and drink to avoid (according to Dr. Mercola)?

The chemical cocktail in these drinks is frightening to say the least. When you actually look at the ingredients one by one, you realize that drinking a Diet Coke is no longer a simple "water alternative" for "healthy people." It is the latest LIE propagated by the companies that profit the most from the sales of Diet Coke!

Remember Monsanto? I've posted about them before (and they are the "bad guys" in many food documentaries, and for good reason). They are the ones behind the technology of the Genetically modified seeds (Seeds that are genetically altered with a bacteria to withstand unlimited amounts of pesticides and will kill any bug who tries to eat it). They are the ones behind the rBGH cow hormone given to cows to stimulate growth hormone and milk production ... {Dangers of rBGH HERE}

They are also behind aspartame. When I found that out... it was so not surprising, it was surprising! Another chemical Monsanto has created that is highly controversial and yet is only yielding scary symptoms in the humans that consume it!

People, diet coke containing aspartame (or most anything that is "sugar free" or "low fat" or "low carb") is dangerous. And, I did some digging and realized that the studies that show aspartames safety are funded by companies like Monsanto *if not Monsanto itself!). AND... so many former Monsanto lawyers and executives now sit at the helm of the USDA, FDA, and EPA. Hence, it legal use in the USA still today.

So... that would be like the umpires being paid by the home team to make the home team win... no matter who or what gets in the way... and, all newspapers and articles written about the legitimacy of the "win" being paid to skew the info in such a way that it looks legitimate. I cry foul. (hah!)

The specific ingredients in Diet Coke that are scary:

Dangers of Aspartame: HERE - for peets sake, it turns into formaldehyde in your body after you consume it!

Dangers of Caramel Color: HERE 

Dangers of Phosporic Acid: HERE

Dangers of Natural Flavors: HERE

Dangers of Phenylalanine: HERE

Ingredients of regular coke:

Ingredients in diet coke:

phenylalanine

Ingredients in diet cherry coke:

For a visual explanation, watch this! : Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World Documentary to watch for free .. HERE

Some proven side effects from consumption of diet sodas:

Infertility (some doctors even call Diet Coke "instant birth control"- if male or female consume)

Headaches/migraines

And THIS list is from the FDA itself!:

• Headaches/migraines
• Nausea
• Abdominal pains
• Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain)
• Sleep problems
• Vision problems
• Anxiety attacks
• Depression
• Asthma/chest tightness.

More exhaustive list of side effects can be found HERE

Not happy things... So, opt for water, lemon, cucumber or berry homemade flavored water, making your own fruit juice, raw milk or again, just drink water.

So for now, I've given it up completely. No more diet coke for me. I've been convinced by the evidence and I was ready to make the dive off the cliff.

Personal note::: I consumed diet coke daily while pregnant with my two kids. This sickens me. To the point, where I really just can't even let my mind go there. If I do get pregnant again (which we would like to, maybe soon :), my diet and lifestyle will have been drastically different than my two previous pregnancies. The Lord is totally in control, but we are praying that the changes we have made will have a positive impact on future pregnancies, Lord willingly, resulting in shorter NICU stays, or if He wills, a full term pregnancy. Part of my journey to health was because of my two preemies (30 weeks and 33 weeks - both healthy and amazing miracles today :)... so avoiding diet coke (and aspartame) now and if the Lord wills me to be pregnant, will be one of my highest priorities, diet wise.

And, I'm sorry if these food posts offend you... Really, it is not my intention. People are more important than food. I know that. I love people who drink Diet Coke, but as for me, I choose, now, to say, no thank you. And, this blog is an outlet for me to share what I have been learning... whether is it foodie, Bible stuff, or just pictures of my kids... :)

Chicken Bone Broth

I've been making my way through the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and a traditional food that has nourished people for centuries has been bone broth. Broth made from the nutrients found in veggies and bones of healthy animals.

Chicken soup is good for the body and soul and by making it yourself you know you aren't purchasing a chemical mix of tons of msg and other additives.

I found this recipe on the Nourished Kitchen blog. I've been perpetually making broth for many weeks now. It's so simple and can be the base of many soups and casseroles as well as a great body warming drink to consume by itself.

Broth is so great because as you heat the water and bones and veggies all together, the nutrients from the contents seep into the water, making the water a liquid, easy to assimilate, form of vitamins for your body. Helpful for the winter months as we don't get as much vitamin D from sun exposure. Here is some more info on the healthfulness of bone broth.

I freeze cubes in my baby food silicone freezer thingys and voila! 2oz portions of homemade broth whenever I need it!

You can use a raw whole chicken (Costco has organic chicken for $2.99 per pound) OR... what I have been doing... you can roast your chicken in the oven to make the meat super flavorful and yummy and then use the leftover bones and frame of the chicken for the broth, since the nutrients you are trying to get to are in the bones. My friend Carly just posted her fav recipe and it was a huge hit in our house this week... Even reese ate it. Which is amazing... YAY!


Nourished Kitchen's Perpetual soup

ingredients

• 1 whole organic 
chicken (or the frame of a roasted chicken) 

• 2 
sweet bay leaves

• 1 tbsp 
black peppercorns

• any  
vegetable scraps you have on hand

• filtered water

1. Place one whole chicken or the frame of a roasted chicken into your slow cooker with sweet bay, black peppercorns and any vegetable scraps you have on hand. Cover with filtered water and cook on low for one week.

1. After twenty-four hours, you may begin using the broth. As you need broth or stock, simply dip a ladle or measuring cup into the slow cooker to remove the amount of stock you need. Pour it through a fine-mesh sieve or, preferably, a reusable coffee filter which will help to clarify the broth. Replace the broth you remove from the slow cooker with an equivalent amount of filtered water. If you’re using a whole, fresh chicken, you may also remove chicken meat from the slow cooker as desired for stir-fries, in soups or in 

1. At the end of the week, strain off any remaining broth and discard or compost the bones. The bones from your chicken should crumble when pressed between your thumb and forefinger. Their softness is an indication that much of the nourishment from the bones – minerals, amino acids – have leached from the bones and into the broth you’ve enjoyed all week long. Wash the insert of your slow cooker and start again.

instructions

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't like a good chocolate chipper every once and a while!?

Well, most chocolate chip cookies you purchase in the store, bakery, or from a fast food joint come with about 30+ ingredients, most of which you can't pronounce and the ones you can pronouce are just plain bad for you... So, I have experimented and adapted some of my favorite recipes for this special treat that we make if we have guests over...

DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cup of Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher sea salt
1 Cup of Kerrygold Butter, softened (or melted) - 1 big block (or 2 sticks of organic butter)
3/4 cup Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (Sugar)
3/4 cup Fair Trade Organic Brown Sugar (or sucanat)
2 Pastured Free-Range Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup of Good Chocolate Chips... I use THESE (only 3 ingredients. Happy dance!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix up dry ingredients and set aside
3. Mix up other ingredients (eggs, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla)
4. Slowly add dry ingredients into bowl using an electric hand mixer on low.. Confession:: I have added everything to one big bowl all at once and it turned out great too :)
5. Add Chocolate Chips.
6. Scoop into balls and bake for 8-10 minutes depending on your cookie softness preferences

These things are good. Dangerously good. And yes, they have sugar. So, it most definitely is a TREAT and not a NORM! :)

You can also double the batch and keep some in the freezer for a quick dough on the go! (Much better for you than the big dough tub from Costco)

eating out

One thing that has been a challenge is finding good food to eat when we go out to eat. It is a challenge. One that has led us to eat at home more often than we ever had before. I guess that's a good thing after all. But... I found a cool foodie blog called "food babe" and she writes on another cool blog called "100 days of real food" and her articles specifically on restaurants and food chains are very thought provoking. The one on Subway literally made my husband shed a tear. It is what convinced him on the real food thing. So, its worth a read! But again... I warn you ... it's not pretty :/

Here are just a few:
Starbucks
Subway
Chick-fil-A and another
Supermarket Birthday Cakes
Candy and Chocolate
Even Whole Foods

I don't post these links to bum you out, to give you a guilt trip, or to make you feel horrible... I post it for the power of information. Just knowing how these foods are made and served helps you make informed choices. Ignorance isn't bliss when it comes with health hazards that will harm us. I wish it weren't the case. I wish we could trust restaurants to care about our health, but they don't. Like most everything else, they care about money. Cruddy food, cheap labor, junk ingredients and why do we assume it will produce anything but un-health in our bodies. Take care of your body! You'll thank yourself for it!

So what do you do when you eat out?? Well, in addition to limiting the frequency of our meals out, we have to be wiser in what we choose. Sure we still occasionally go to Islands and let the kids (and me ;) have tiki tenders and cheddar fries. But it is totally the exception and definitely not the norm anymore. We used to eat out 5+ meals a week (in addition to Ian eating out every weekday meal, 5 per week, at work) So our family was going out to eat for 12+ meals!? Yikes! Now, we have limited it to about 2 times a week and I am packing Ian's lunches so thankfully he isn't going out nearly as often anymore).

Some suggestions that I have found helpful...

1.) Eat at better places
tons of organic, hormone-free meat, restaurants are popping up everywhere. Mi Corazon in Glendale and Wild Carvery in Burbank, along with the good ol' Full O Life cafe, Sharky's, or Hook Burger.

2.) Bring your own food for your kids
I usually pack berries, crackers, frozen peas, raw cheese, a quesadilla or even homemade meatballs on occasion. Not only will it save money, you know exactly what your kids are eating.

3.) Avoid meat if you can
Meat is the biggest offender in the health category because of the potential for added hormone & antibiotic exposure. In addition, when someone is cooking your meat, you don't know what oils they are using (and I can almost guarantee they aren't using high quality oil) Best to go veggie if you are on the fence about it. Places like Poquito Mas, though not organic, they do use fresh meat so that is better than a regular fast food joint.

All in all, sometimes I know you just can't help it, and you eat whatever, but sometimes we under-estimate how many times we actually eat out in a week and until you realize the percentage of food that it comes out to be, it can be shocking.

I know for a while I thought organic, whole food cost way more than eating out... but it totally doesn't. Sure, it takes more time in preparation and in cooking but the health ramifications are so worth it in the end to make it yourself... or to make it yourself more often than not :) Again, we are not perfect, and  that's not the goal! Little changes can have a big impact. Even eating out one less time per week can be so helpful! Do what you think is best and realistic for your family. Your wallet (and waistline) will thank you!

Anywho... it's all just Food for thought :)

Zucchini Bread or Muffins

Need an easy recipe for some tasty treats... My kids and hubs love this recipe and it really is super simple.

Reese calls them "cookie bread muffins" ;)

ZUCCHINI BREAD MUFFINS

adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups organic whole-wheat pastry flour 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup of soy-free chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix up all of the dry ingredients.
3. Make a hole in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – Be careful not to over mix.
4. Mix in the grated zucchini. Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.
5. Right when you take them out of the oven, stick the chocolate chips on the top of the muffins or loaf. 

• Bake for 15 – 20 minutes and let them cool before giving to little hands :)
• You can also put them in loaf pans and bake for about 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!! These puppies won't last long so make a double batch to freeze for leftovers!