FAQ's--by request

When I started this blog I had been devoting a lot of time to cooking and coming up with new recipes with healthy ingredients. Sadly, work and other things have been taking a lot of my time lately.  I continue to talk to people each day about the benefits of eating all-natural, organic, whole foods. I get a lot of the same questions, and so I have decided to post a little info.

The first question everyone asks is "How much do you spend on groceries?" Of course it is possible to spend A LOT. I have to admit that in the beginning I definitely broke my budget. I was excited to try new things, and I was having a blast creating new dishes. I am feeding four now since my girls no longer live at home. I had a few weeks when I spent over $200.  My average is $175 a week, but it is important to note that we are eating every meal from home. Eating out is something we rarely do. I take leftovers for lunch to work. The kids take water bottles and healthy snacks/lunches from home to school. After over a year of eating this way we have settled into sort of a regular rotating menu consisting of our new family favorites. This helps the budget by allowing consistency at the check out.  At this point I guess I could be blogging about healthy organic eating on a budget. I am spending the same as we always did on groceries and I find this has more to do with all of those things that I no longer buy. There are certain "staples" I keep stocked in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

 Here is a list of staples:

Pure Spring Water
Green Tea Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed)
Sesame Oil
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Beef tallow from grass-fed beef
Flaxseed Oil
Organic "grass-fed" butter (unsalted)
Grass-fed cheeses, by the block
Organic cage-free eggs
Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Apple Cider Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
Low-sodium soy sauce
Jars of organic marinara sauce
Jars of organic preserves and jams
Bags of garlic
Bags of organic sweet onions
Bags of sweet potatoes
Bag of organic lemons
Bags of walnuts
Bags of almonds
Bags of pine nuts
Organic nut butters
Organic mixed greens
Various mustards; honey-mustard, dijon, stone-ground, creole
Raw unfiltered honey
Pure maple syrup
Organic coconut sugar
Sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, pepper
Whole ginger root
Fresh and dried herbs such as; basil, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, coriander, thyme, sage, cinnamon, cayenne, marjoram, chinese five spice, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, sesame seeds, saffron, etc.
Organic wheat flour
Ground flaxseed
Whole-grain breads, organic flourless breads
Whole grain pasta
Quinoa
Brown rice
Wild rice
Beans such as; lentils, field peas, black beans, red beans, blackeyes

Yes, those are the staples. Seems like a long list. A lot different from the items I used to keep in my pantry. I need only buy fresh meat and in-season fresh produce. I buy as much local and organic as I can. I refuse to buy anything that is not all natural, hormone and steroid free, nitrate and nitrite free, sugar free and low sodium.  Most of the meat and produce I buy is farmed right here in Louisiana, and of course our fresh caught fish and shrimp is local as well. 

The second question I get, after I tell people how much I spend and what I buy is "What do you eat?" As I said, we have settled into a regular rotating menu of items we all like so I call them our new family favorites. I have posted a couple of these recipes and I will continue to post them. Here is a list of what we eat from week to week. I will put a (*) in front of our special dinners we may have on Sundays or for a special treat.

Our new family favorites:

Organic Chicken spaghetti with whole grain pasta, shaved grass-fed cheese, salad of organic mixed greens with homemade balsamic vinaigrette

  Locally farmed all natural pork chops baked with herbs or pan cooked and smothered with onions,  served with a rice medley and vegetables.

Organic Garlic-Herb Balsamic Chicken atop organic mixed greens with walnuts and red onion and a warm balsamic vinaigrette, served with fresh lemon- butter steamed asparagus or baked sweet potato.

Pan seared wild-caught Ahi tuna steaks, homemade Asian broccoli slaw with mandarin oranges and almonds, and sesame-garlic bok choy with leeks.

Caribbean style grilled organic chicken with fresh grilled pineapple, yellow pineapple rice, and sauteed garlic green beans.

All-natural homemade turkey burgers with avocado and grass-fed cheese on a cracked wheat bun with homemade oven baked sweet potato fries.

*Grass-fed beef or venison roast with homemade gravy, brown rice and organic salad of homemade roasted and marinated beets with  mixed greens, red onion, grass-fed cheese and walnuts.

Whole baked organic chickens with baked sweet potatoes or rice medley, and a vegetable, such as steamed broccoli, balsamic asparagus, oven-roasted brussels sprouts, or sauteed fresh squash and zucchini.

*Baked wild caught salmon filets encrusted with curry, turmeric, and ginger served with baked sweet potato and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette. 

Wild caught salmon filets that have marinated in Ponzu, soy, garlic and lemon and are pan-seared in sesame oil, served with a spicy medley of quinoa, brown rice, vegetables, herbs and seasonings.

Fresh caught shrimp tacos or tostadas with homemade quacamole and freshly fried corn tortillas and
 homemade salsa.

Beans seasoned with all natural pork loin served with brown rice and cornbread.

Lentil stew made with locally raised beer braised pork ribs, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, herbs and seasonings. 

Fresh caught shrimp fried rice with stir-fried vegetables.

Homemade organic chicken soup with herbs, vegetables and whole grain pasta, quinoa or brown rice.

Organic eggplant marinara and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

All-natural locally raised pork loin cooked with sauerkraut, onions and beer, served with brown rice, and in season steamed or oven-roasted vegetables. 

French onion soup made from a grass-fed beef stock and organic onions.

Southwest style organic chicken breasts with black bean jambalaya.

Grilled marinated portobello mushrooms topped with grass-fed cheese, a salad and in season steamed or oven-roasted vegetables vegetables.

*Grass-fed beef meatballs and organic spaghetti sauce over whole grain pasta.

Club sandwiches made with Sara Lee low-sodium hormone free, nitrate and nitrite free oven roasted turkey, grass-fed cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, served with organic beet chips and fermented pickles.

Homemade fajitas made from organic chicken or grass-fed beef with homemade chips and guacamole.

*Grilled grass-fed beef steak topped sauteed baby bellas and onions, steamed broccoli and organic salad with balsamic vinaigrette or steamed lemon butter asparagus.

Our regular "dessert" items now are organic yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola, fresh fruit, organic banana, pumpkin, sweet potato, lemon or blueberry bread, spiced upside down cakes, or smoothies made in our Ninja. I make fruit smoothies and ones that taste like milk shakes made from healthy ingredients.

Of course some nights I just throw something simple together with ingredients I have on hand. Those meals are great too, and every now and then one has made it to the regular menu.  Now that I have compiled this list for anyone reading, and myself, my intention is to post the recipes to these favorites. I would like to post recipes for my vinaigrettes soon since I have had a lot of requests for those. Then maybe my smoothies, desserts and so on until I have covered all of the new healthy foods that we love to eat. I haven't mentioned breakfast or lunch because we are a typical family who have a quick breakfast in the morning, leave the house, and then come together each evening for a nice dinner. I will go into what we eat for breakfast and lunch in a future blog post. We try to have at least one nice cooked family breakfast a week. Lunches are packed, and are sometimes leftovers.  I welcome questions, comments and suggestions to my blog.
                                                                       Until next time,
                                                                          ~Sherry

Garlic & Herb Balsamic Chicken

                                  

This quick, easy and delicious chicken is one of my favorite work night recipes. Perhaps someone out there is already making this exact chicken, but I threw this together one night after work with ingredients I had available and it has been on the menu ever since.

We always have organic chicken breasts or tenderloins in the fridge. I buy raw honey, extra virgin olive oil, bags of garlic, and balsamic vinegar of Modena in bulk so as to never run out. These are staples in my  kitchen. I can always mix up a vinaigrette with numerous variations. Oregano, basil, and rosemary  are three herbs I use quite a lot. I try to have fresh and dried versions on hand. I often use all of them together and sometimes I am more drawn to the scent of one over the other. They are all good. Definitely also staples in my pantry.

 Here are the ingredients for this recipe:

4-6 Organic chicken breasts, cut into tenderloins
Extra-virgin olive oil (organic if you have it)
Balsamic vinegar of Modena
Fresh cloves of garlic, sliced
Oregano, basil, rosemary, sea salt, pepper
Raw honey
Dijon Mustard

Instructions:

To prepare the chicken simply coat a large skillet or dutch oven with a generous amount of evoo, approx. 1/3 cup,  over medium heat on your stove. Add the cloves of garlic. I use plenty of garlic. It is a cancer fighter and we love it. The garlic becomes like candy to me after it is cooked in this recipe. Use as much or as little as you like. I personally have used anywhere from 8-10 large cloves of garlic so that you get bits of it with each and every piece of chicken. Just as soon as the garlic looks like it is starting to brown, which will take about 2 minutes, go ahead and put the chicken in the pan. Season it very  lightly with sea salt and pepper and then heavily with the herbs. Turn the pieces over and do the same to the other side. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the chicken about 6 minutes on one side, then flip it and cook it about 6 minutes on the other side. Scoop the garlic up when you turn the chicken and spoon it over the chicken. Both sides should be crispy and browning. You should have a lot of browned bits stuck to the pan. Before the chicken starts to stick to the pan you need to deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar of Modena. Pour the vinegar into the pan, approx. 1/3 cup. Turn down the heat to medium, put a lid on the pan, and then shake the pan to coat the chicken well with the balsamic vinegar. Take off the lid, flip the chicken, and then cover the pan and shake it again to coat the other side. Remove the fully cooked chicken to a serving platter while you mix the warm balsamic vinaigrette in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add about 1/3cup of evoo to the pan, 1/3 cup of raw honey, 1/3 cup of dijon mustard and a couple of dashes of the balsamic vinegar. Stir well with a wooden spoon or whisk, picking up all of the browned bits, until it is slightly reduced and creamy, about 2 minutes. Spoon some over the chicken.

I like to serve the chicken on a bed of mixed organic greens. Usually I will add some walnuts and red onion. Sometimes I add some grated or crumbled grass-fed cheese. I pour the warm vinaigrette over the salad and refrigerate any leftover. My favorite sides to serve with this are my homemade oven-roasted and marinated beets, steamed lemon-butter asparagus or baked sweet potato.  

This meal takes about 30 minutes start to finish. It has become a family favorite because it is so tasty and versatile. I feel good when I serve this because it is healthy, and I don't have to wear myself out at the end of  a hard day. The house smells wonderful when it is cooking and everyone can't wait to join each other at the table by the time it is ready.

Southwest Style Shrimp Fiesta

After a long work week I enjoyed a day off today and the opportunity to cook something special for the family. I posted on facebook that I was cooking and even the girls, who no longer live at home, showed up for dinner tonight. It was great having all the kids home and the family eating together. A fun menu like the one I had planned sort of lures them in. For some reason when I decide to have a mexican dinner I go absolutely LOCO in the kitchen and we have a lot to eat. Maybe it goes back to my first memories of eating Mexican at Pancho's buffet in New Orleans. Eat, raise the flag, eat some more,. raise the flag,  haha! 

We started off with some homemade guacamole that I made with fresh ripe avocados, fresh squeezed organic lime juice, sea salt and one tomato, a serrano pepper and some cloves of garlic minced in my Ninja. I mashed it all with a potato masher and it was the best guacamole I have ever had. I am known for making good guacamole but I added a little extra love to this batch. Never had it this good in a restaurant, and definitely not any store bought variety either. It's easy. If you have never tried before I highly recommend it.( Avocados should definitely be on your delicious and healthy foods list since they contain high levels of monounsaturated fats, phytosterols and antioxidants like vitamin E, and vitamin C.)  Of course we had some chips with the guacamole. They were also homemade from non-gmo corn tortillas. If you can't find these where you shop you can order them online. I cut the tortillas into quarters and then deep fried them in grass-fed beef tallow. Grass fed beef tallow is one of the best sources of CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, known to help fight cancer. I use the tallow for the occasional frying I do, as well as for roux, sauces and gravies. Good stuff.

 For our side dish I could not resist making this dish that I had thrown together once before. I am calling it a Chile Rellenos Frittata. I am pretty sure it is my version of the classic chiles rellenos. It consists of oven roasted, peeled and seeded poblano peppers that I stuffed with a mixture of carmelized onion and garlic with a fresh all-natural  chihuahua cheese. Then I beat some eggs and cream together, pour it over the top, season, sprinkle with a little cheese and bake in the oven until it looks like the above photo.  I will be posting a step- by -step recipe for this soon because it is so, so good. Twice now it got totally wiped out.

Next I literally threw together this little southwest slaw. It is a bagged southwest slaw mix that I combined with a pepper jelly dressing I whipped up in my Ninja. I can't believe I thought of this. My homemade green pepper jelly, a little olive oil and a little organic sour cream. It was very similar to a regular slaw dressing, but with that pepper jelly kick, and of course no mayonnaise was involved. You can eat this all by itself but I made it to put on top of my entree. For the entree I had something very, very yummy planned.

David picked up these fresh caught Louisiana shrimp for me this afternoon. We sat at the kitchen table and peeled them together. For my southwest style shrimp I lined a large pan, coated it with olive oil, spread out the clean and peeled shrimp and then seasoned them with fresh minced garlic and serrano peppers, salt free fiesta lime seasoning, and a lot of fresh squeezed lime juice. I baked them at 400 degrees for a few minutes until they became the lovely pink shade you see in the photo. It was extremely difficult not to just eat these shrimp like popcorn. Somehow I managed to resist. It may have been the voices calling to me from the other room "Is it ready yet? When are we eating? I'm starving!" --Sound familiar? It doesn't even matter what time we eat. I guess just smelling the food makes them become impatient hungry people. As soon as the shrimp were ready I wrapped the foil around them to keep them warm and proceeded to start frying the corn tortillas in the already hot and waiting pot of beef tallow. I kept some flat for tostadas and I used tongs to bend others into taco shells. Then I combined guacamole, shrimp, the pepper jelly southwest slaw and cheese to make these absolutely delicious shrimp tacos and tostadas. Seriously one of the best southwest style meals I have ever had. The best part is that I have plenty of the components leftover and I am planning something delicious, quick and easy, yet slightly different for dinner after work tomorrow.

Sweet, Spicy, Fresh and Fruity Labor Day Menu

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with the intention of creating something completely different for our Labor Day dinner. I was drawn to the fruits and decided to pick up two pineapples, two mangoes, 4 plantains, limes and the very exotic looking starfruit. I have never eaten plantains or starfruit.I picked up other items that appealed to me and came home still not really knowing what I was going to cook. I spent a few minutes online looking at recipes for plantains and to find out how to eat a starfruit. I found a recipe for skillet fried plantains with cheese at "Laylita's recipes.com" She said in her home country they use a fresh farmer's cheese and since I had some fresh goat cheese in the fridge I decided to go for it. Happily I had chosen plantains ripened to the level that she recommended. Large black areas on the peel. I also found out that the starfruit is very simple to eat. Just wash them well, cut off the ends, gently slice off the brown tip on each ridge, and then slice into little stars...so cute! But I still wasn't sure if I was going to put them in a salad or what.

 It seemed that everyone was making barbequed chicken, and so my mouth started watering for some too. David and I did not want to light the grill because of the unbearable heat, and honestly I have been trying to avoid carcinogens. We very rarely cook on the grill anymore as one of our many efforts to fight David's cancer. He will hold out as long as he can and then he just can't help it. Usually when the weather is nice. So I opted for oven bbq which the kids and I love anyway. The first thing I did was cut up my whole organic chickens into pieces. Buying and cutting whole chickens is much more economical and lucky for me I learned how to do it when I was about 14 years old. There is probably a youtube video if you want to learn.
 

This is my favorite piece. I cut the wing with a big chunk of the breast attached.



I then lightly seasoned the chicken with sea salt and pepper and proceeded to making my own homemade sauce. The first thing I did was to cut and slice one of the pineapples. If you have never done this it is very easy. Again,  watch a youtube video...that is what I did the first time, ha ha. We eat one pineapple a week because it is delicious, aids in digestion, and it contains an enzyme called bromelain that among other things FIGHTS CANCER. Then I gently peeled the mangoes and removed all the flesh possible from the pit. Mangoes too have a long list of health benefits. Yes, they are a cancer fighting food. One of the important ways they fight cancer is by helping to ALKALIZE the body through the various acids contained in the fruit. If you have never eaten fresh aliced pineapple and mango you really must.
                                                                                           

 

I plugged in my big Ninja food processor and put in about half of this pineapple and all of the mango. After pureeing it measured exactly 4 cups. I scraped it into a saucepot on the stove and added a few things: I can of organic tomato paste, 2 tbl Mrs Dash Salt-Free Southwest Chipotle seasoning, 2 tsp allspice, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, the juice of 2 limes, 1 cup of raw unfiltered local honey and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. I kept the heat on medium-low because I just wanted to help the ingredients to marry together to create a nice sauce. When I asked David to taste it he said it was sweet at first and then the spice hit you as a bit of a surprise, not too spicy, and that is exactly what I wanted. -Sidenote: Since I really didn't know what I was going to make and I was seriously winging it I didn't have fresh peppers of any sort but if I had I would have roasted and pureed the peppers into the sauce rather than using a seasoning, but it was good.

So I lightly basted the chicken and put it into the preheated oven at 375 on a lined baking pan. After about 20-25 minutes I took it out and flipped the pieces over and basted the other side with sauce after I drained some of the pan juices off.  I then let it cook about another 20-25 minutes. I took it out again and flipped it this time so that the tops were facing up and gave it a really good final coating of the sauce. To my amazement I had made EXACTLY enough sauce. At this moment I was thinking I couldn't do that again if I tried. I let the chicken bake another 20-30 minutes until it looked done yet still juicy. This is the chicken:

 

David and the boys liked the chicken. I will be totally honest and tell you it was not as good as David's good old bbq on the grill. We have a special sauce we really love that we now know is not so very healthy for you. This Pineapple-Mango Sweet & Spicy Sauce is a good all natural and healthy substitution free of extra sugars, salt, preservatives and carcinogens. Especially if you are in the mood for something a little different.

 I will not be showing pictures of the plantains. They did not photograph well, but they were pretty tasty. We all thought that they tasted like potatoes. Later I went online and sure enough a lot of articles were commenting about their potato taste. If you let them get solid black before cooking them they will be sweeter...so I have read. While my chicken was cooking I was oven roasting some butternut squash and a large yam. I peeled, cubed, blanched and seasoned them, then put them into the oven on a lined baking sheet I had brushed with a little olive oil. I flipped them once and then took them out when they looked crispy and done.  I then threw together a salad of organic mixed greens, the squash and yam, with walnuts and a warm homemade maple-onion vinaigrette. (We will talk about my vinaigrettes in another post.)  We had the plantains for an appetizer and this was our dinner:

You may wonder what happened to the starfruit??..or maybe I have gone on so long that you forgot all about starfruit completely, ha ha. Well I could not find a place for them in my dinner. I wanted to showcase their uniqueness. After dinner it seemed that everyone got a "sweet tooth." I started thinking about what I could make for dessert with the starfruit, which tastes like green apple or pear, and ingredients I had in the house... a light bulb went off!  I had organic whole grain flour, my homemade pear butter, banana, honey, cinnamon, organic butter, coconut sugar, and farmhouse eggs so I quickly threw together this yummy Starfruit Upside-Down Spice Cake. It was so cute...and delicious warm from the oven.

I really had fun experimenting with some new ingredients. When I look at what I made I do feel that perhaps my choices were slightly more a fall menu than one for Labor Day. I will chalk it up to the fact that YES, I do long for fall to be here. I am ready for warm comfort foods, scents of pumpkin spice, and COOL WEATHER.

An easy night for me. A simple family favorite.

Ironically, after just posting about school lunches and healthy sandwiches the other day my oldest son requested club sandwiches for dinner. He seriously loves sandwiches (anyone remember Dagwood?) He is so funny. He will actually make his own honey mustard with mustard and a little raw honey and then put it in a jar with his name on it.  I am not sure how many teenage boys are doing that. Anyway, once in a while I am ready for an easy night. Such as tonight knowing that I will be doing some big cooking tomorrow. Back before we began on the path to healthier eating I would put a lot of bacon on the club sandwiches and various types of meat that I now know contain nitrates, nitrites, hormones, steroids, additives, etc  So the sandwich I make now is a much healthier version.

 I start with 3 slices of toasted organic whole grain bread, slather a mustard of choice or mashed avocado. I prefer creole stone ground mustard. I have mentioned this before, but just a reminder, mustard contains the miracle spice TURMERIC. Place some freshly sliced swiss or grass-fed white cheddar, leaves of organic iceberg, kale or spinach, sliced tomato, sprouts or red onion or both! and if you don't make avocado spread then you can place thin slices of avocado on top of everything. You want to make everything THIN, and not put too much of any one thing, but just a little of each so that you can CLOSE THE SANDWICH, haha. I then add Sara Lee low sodium, nitrate and nitrite free, hormone and steroid free, gluten free, all natural oven roasted turkey from the deli...it is very, very good and the same price as the unhealthy sandwich meats. Take the third slice of toast and spread some mustard or healthy spread of choice. I almost forgot to mention that my youngest son does not like any type of spread so I put a little raw honey on his bread to hold the sandwich. He loves it. Then you lay the third piece of toast on one half of the sandwich and  place the other half on top. Press slow and gently to slightly compress. Slice the sandwich diagonally and have toothpicks handy! (Who doesn't love foods held by a toothpick.) Stab a toothpick into each corner and then slice the sandwich diagonally again to form 4 triangles held with toothpicks. Lay them down on a plate ends touching. You can sprinkle some seasonings on the sandwich for flavor and visual effect. 

This is one of those rare meals that I will serve with chips. Either homemade or Terra brand sweet potato and beet chips....and of course, THE PICKLE! If you can find a naturally fermented brand of pickles they are actually very good for you. Fermented foods help to promote healthy bacteria in your stomach which promotes good digestion and health. They are kept in a refrigerated section in stores that sell whole foods or health foods or can be easily made at home. You can find a good recipe at www.myhumblekitchen.com.

 Well, that is enough about sandwiches. I am planning something very good and different for Labor Day tomorrow. I bought a few things today that I have never bought before.  When I come out of the grocery store with some new healthy foods to experiment with the excitement reminds me of when I was a little girl and my mom would buy me a new coloring book when we went shopping. I could not wait to get home and start "creating" 

Here is a picture of David's club sandwich...he and the boys can eat...I can only tackle half of one.

Packing a healthy homemade school lunch for your child

There are some great recipes out there for things you could make for your child's lunch. Occasionally we may actually have time to whip up a batch of something fabulous but most of the time we just don't. Working moms are already accomplishing a lot to get a healthy dinner on the table. So I want to discuss quick, easy, and healthy lunches that we can feel good about sending with our children to school. Still much better than the tasteless processed and frozen foods served in school cafeterias today.

One of my boys has always been quite picky. He is so much like his dad in his food preferences. He loves meat, and he loves his sweets. Sadly I can't help but think that David's love of meat and sugar contributed greatly to his cancer. These things create an acidic body, and cancer thrives there. We want to create an alkaline body with a variety of healthy foods. I have encountered a certain mentality about healthy eating that it's okay to let the kids have what they want since they are young. It seems that most people think healthy eating is something that you begin at a certain age when you are starting to be concerned about illness and disease. Yes, many of our generation never gave much thought to what we were eating. We didn't know as much about what causes cancer, and we certainly didn't know about the things that were being added to or sprayed on our food. Knowing what I do now about how much what we eat affects us, of course I only want to give my children foods that will ensure that they  hopefully never have to deal with cancer.

That being said, kids do like certain things and working moms do want the lunches to be affordable and easy. I am going to list a few ideas for children who have no dietary restrictions due to lifestyle choices or allergies. Most lunch boxes today are insulated with ice packs and so it is easy to take things that need to stay cool. 

The good old sandwich is the first thing that comes to mind. Most kids like sandwiches. I have found organic nut butters to be a delicious and healthy protein. Whether it is peanut, almond, or hazelnut, a good nut butter with no added sugar, or sweetened naturally with pure maple syrup or honey, is delicious on a good organic bread such as Ezekiel. Whole grain breads are loaded with fiber and nutrient rich. There are many great choices. One of the best things you can do for your child is to never buy white bread again. 

When buying sandwich meats our family loves Sara Lee all natural, low sodium, hormone free, nitrate and nitrite free turkey. Cooking some organic chicken at home and making chopped chicken is very good for sandwiches too. Swiss cheese is the best sliced cheese you can purchase. It is the lowest in sodium and contains substantial amounts of Vit A, protein and calcium while also remaining low in fat. However, I do prefer to buy cheese by the block. Pre-sliced and shredded cheeses contain additives. I do not use mayonnaise, but mustard is actually a healthy choice. In case you did not know, mustard contains the miracle spice TURMERIC which gives it the golden color. Add things like lettuce or spinach leaves, tomato, sprouts and avocado if they are not picky. If they will eat a veggie sandwich, even better! My young cavemen need their meat.

Sorry, but I just don't feel that there are any chips I would recommend. To satisfy the need to "crunch" I pack fresh organic fruit such as apples or grapes, vegetables such as organic baby carrots and celery sticks, nuts or granola. We buy large bags of all natural almonds salted lightly with sea salt and everyone loves those. We have also grown very fond of certain organic varieties of Clif bars and KIND granola. Make batches of your own healthy dried fruit and nut trail mix. 

My kids love their dairy so Stonyfield organic yogurt cups are a great choice for them as well as cubed cheese. We make sure to buy all natural cheese from grass-fed pastured cows. Kerrygold is a great brand and is some of the best cheese we have ever tasted. Grass-fed dairy is hormone and steroid free and contains higher quantities of nutrients a growing child needs. I do not buy anything that contains added hormones or steroids. Just stop and think for a moment about how this can positively affect your children.

Finally, we must not forget their drink. Here is where a lot of kids may not be thrilled, but if mine can adjust I know that it is possible for all. No juice boxes! I just don't trust any of them. I mean, it wasn't long ago that we found out that NAKED juice, one of the top and most expensive brands, contained formaldehyde! The kids need WATER...pure natural spring water. I don't even trust filtered or purified. Do a little reading on the various types of drinking water and I think you will come to the same conclusion.

As a final comment, those who know me, know that I love to bake and often make treats for my kids. If you have the time, of course! lets show the kids some love and give them something to put a big smile on their face. I enjoy baking loaves of banana bread, pumpkin bread, blueberry bread, sweet potato bread, etc. sweetened with all natural things such as raw local honey, pure maple syrup, and organic coconut sugar. I use organic and whole grain flours, flaxseed, organic farmhouse eggs, organic butter, etc. It is super easy and just imagine your child at school saying " LOOK, my mom made homemade  banana bread...YUM"  Next time I bake I will be sure to take some step-by-step photos and post a recipe!

Public School Lunches--Not what they used to be!

 Some of you have heard me go off on school lunches before. It is the beginning of a new school year so just a reminder that these lunches are not what they used to be. Since Michelle Obama took on the program our children are not being fed better and healthier food choices, but rather, less satisfying, less filling, and just plain LESS.

Some of the children attending public schools may not have been fed anything at home before arriving at school and, in fact, the school lunch may be their best meal of the day. 

Very small portions of tasteless processed and frozen foods are what they are receiving with a tiny amount of a fruit or vegetable. These kids are starving when they get home from school for a reason. If you have children or grandchildren in school you need to see it with your own eyes....or start packing a lunch

Savory Marinara Sauce!

I have been finding every way possible to use my jars of homemade organic marinara sauce. This summer I used fresh tomatoes from my father-in-law's garden to make my own sauce. I combined the blanched and peeled tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil, carmelized vidalia onions and fresh cloves of garlic. I used my Ninja to puree these ingredients along with organic tomato paste, fresh basil, oregano, a little sea salt, and pepper. Then I followed the BALL guidelines for canning using sterilized jars and lids, organic lemon juice in the bottom of each jar as a preservative, and a boiling water bath to seal the jars. I can't tell you how pleased I was when I opened the first jar and it smelled and tasted delicious. I will totally be making my own sauce from now on when tomatoes are in season. We had eggplant marinara, organic chicken spaghetti with whole grain pasta, grass-fed beef meatballs and spaghetti, and vegetarian pasta bake which the kids really loved. Here is a little info:

 Marinara sauce is a fabulous source of vitamin C. Each serving provides 67 percent of the daily recommended value based on a 2,000-calorie diet, making marinara a good choice for promoting a strong immune system. You also take in 40 percent of the vitamin A you need each day as well as 10 percent of the iron and 7 percent of the calcium when eating marinara sauce. The vitamin and mineral content of tomatoes in marinara sauce may have benefits for diabetics. Research published in the December 2010 issue of the “International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition” reported that eating tomatoes may help lower the risk of hypertension. The researchers theorize that this can help diabetic patients lower their chances of developing cardiovascular disease, a risk factor for diabetes.

Because tomatoes feature heavily in marinara sauce, the sauce contains a high level of lycopene. This nutrient has antioxidant effects, and it may also help prevent a range of cancers. Evidence in the December 2010 edition of the “Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine” indicates that the lycopene in marinara sauce may stop oral cancer by treating premalignant lesions in the mouth. More research is needed to support these findings.

Just a few good reasons why you should be eating eggplant

My favorite dish of this summer! --ORGANIC EGGPLANT MARINARA-- Here are the step-by-step photos!

1. Peel and slice two medium organic eggplant. Lay the slices on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and let them "sweat" for about 30 minutes or more. This draws out the water so that the cooked eggplant will not be "mushy"---you will thank me for this tip!

2. I use an indoor grill to brown the eggplant on both sides. Brush with just a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle (more or less) of basil, oregano, and pepper.

                                                     3. Brown on both sides.

4. Spread a little organic marinara on the bottom of a square dish ( I use my homemade marinara which is made from blanched and peeled organic tomatoes, carmelized onions and garlic cooked in olive oil and pureed with basil, oregano, sea salt and pepper) Place a layer of eggplant on top and then some fresh mozzarella cheese pearls or slices. You could also use fresh goat cheese. Then repeat with sauce, eggplant, cheese and ending with sauce.

 5. This time I had fresh mozzarella slices so I just tore the slices into pieces and scattered around very rustically. My kids will eat this thanks to this cheese.

 

6. Sprinkle some herbs on top!

 

 7. Now it is ready to go into the oven. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until it is nice and bubbly with melted cheese. IMPORTANT TIP: DO NOT USE TOO MUCH SAUCE OR IT WILL NOT BE AS GOOD AND IT WILL BE A MESS. SPREAD THE SAUCE LAYERS VERY SPARINGLY.