| Ingredients: Grapeseed or Olive Oil 1 bunch fresh broccoli or a few cups frozen broccoli 1 (12-16 oz.) bag penne 1 medium onion, minced 6 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp. dried thyme 1/2-1 cup all-purpose flour 3-4 cups coconut milk (This made this dairy free until I added the mozzarella. This recipe is flavorful enough without the cheese added if you need dairy free. We added the cheese to ours but left one bowl without for our daughter who needs dairy free. I tried it both ways and loved it both ways.) Salt Pepper 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces Mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a small block but you can add or omit cheese according to taste and need.) Tomatoes (I used a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes and chopped them up but you can use any tomato chopped up.) | |
Directions: Use some of the oil to grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, bring the water for the pasta and broccoli to a boil. Stir in some salt and the broccoli. This part is going to be up to personal taste but we like our broccoli very soft so I cooked until the broccoli was tender. If you want a little bite in your broccoli, you will want to pull it back out of the water pretty quickly. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon, tossing it into the greased baking dish and add the pasta and a little more salt to the boiling water. Drain the pasta and toss it with the broccoli in the baking dish. While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet, add some oil and start browning the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you prefer. We like the herb and garlic Mrs. Dash. When the chicken is done, toss it in with the penne and broccoli. During this time is also when you should chop the tomatoes. Rinse and wipe out the large pot to make the sauce. Add some more oil to the pot and add the onion and garlic until it starts to brown. Add a few tablespoons of the flour and whisk. Add the coconut milk (or other milk if you prefer) stirring constantly. Add in the thyme and salt and pepper. Add the flour a little at a time until the sauce is thick and creamy. Taste regularly to add more salt and pepper. | |
| Toss all ingredients together in the baking dish. Put the dish in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. If you don't need dairy free, feel free to add the cheese before putting the dish in the oven. I divided the cheese into bowls so I could store it all in separate bowls for leftovers so we had some dairy free and some cheesy. This dish and it's leftovers went fast so I didn't get a picture. But we will definitely be making this again so I will add a picture later. |
Monday, July 14, 2014
Chicken and Broccoli Penne
Roasted Coconut Sweet Potatoes
This is a yummy veggie side dish and it warms up well when left over. If you like sweet potato, you will love this. I am always looking for some healthy vegetable side dishes. My family is very picky when it comes to vegetables, although they are getting better. I have also improved in my tastes for vegetables in the recent few years. This is a dish I could eat regularly. I hope it is one that my daughter will eventually like to eat as well. L still doesn't eat a variety of foods since she got so sick two years ago but she seems to be interested again. She actually touches the food and asks what it is rather than screaming and running away. We are making progress in very small baby steps.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 lbs. (approximately) sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh squeezed lime juice or grated lime zest (optional but adds a nice zing)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400*F. After the sweet potatoes are cut into chunks, put them in a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the melted coconut oil over the sweet potatoes in the bowl. Sprinkle the salt and pepper. Toss the contents of the bowl to evenly coat potatoes in coconut oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring every 10-15 minutes for a total of 40 minutes or until tender all the way through the sweet potato chunks. Toss with lime juice or zest, then serve.
I will come back and add pictures later. I have many pictures but I am gradually catching up for now.
This recipe came from HERE. I didn't alter it at all but I have cooked it different ways in different pans without any problems. Sometimes you don't have enough pans to cook everything at the same time.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 lbs. (approximately) sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh squeezed lime juice or grated lime zest (optional but adds a nice zing)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400*F. After the sweet potatoes are cut into chunks, put them in a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the melted coconut oil over the sweet potatoes in the bowl. Sprinkle the salt and pepper. Toss the contents of the bowl to evenly coat potatoes in coconut oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring every 10-15 minutes for a total of 40 minutes or until tender all the way through the sweet potato chunks. Toss with lime juice or zest, then serve.
I will come back and add pictures later. I have many pictures but I am gradually catching up for now.
This recipe came from HERE. I didn't alter it at all but I have cooked it different ways in different pans without any problems. Sometimes you don't have enough pans to cook everything at the same time.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Weight Loss and Life Update
I thought this might be a good time for an update. I know I haven't been blogging on a regular basis in quite awhile. However, I do plan to add many posts this summer. This month I am teaching summer school so I am not actually on summer break yet. But next month, when I am on summer break, I will work on some new recipes and blog posts. BUT, I wanted to update everyone who wants to know about my weight loss progress.
I have had so many people ask me which diet I am on. They are always surprised and a bit annoyed when I tell them what I am really doing. This isn't a diet. "Diets" do not work. Lifestyle is key. I changed everything about how I think about food. I learned how to cook in a completely different way. It isn't convenient to do this and it isn't a temporary "diet." This is a lifelong change. If you diet and then go back to what you were doing before, it is only logical that you would gain it all back. By doing that, you are repeating the same mistakes you have made over and over again. That just doesn't make any sense. But we seem to do it anyway. And doctors, the people we are supposed to be able to trust and depend on to help us be healthy, are the ones making the same mistakes and telling us to do these diets that don't make any sense. I will never go back and my family will be better for it. It is hard. It takes a lot of time and it isn't cheap with the way our society is now. But I have tested it and it is almost as expensive to buy boxed and canned meals now. It is more expensive to pay medical and prescription bills for the illnesses that come from eating horribly and becoming obese and unhealthy.
As of a week ago, I have lost 79 pounds so far. It has taken two and a half years to get that far but slow is healthier. It gives your skin time to catch up when you have such a large weight loss and it gives your body time to adjust. I still have quite a bit to go but I feel so much better. So I'll share a picture. I took a picture at the beginning of my weight loss and lifestyle change journey. I took another picture at 62 pounds down. I took another picture tonight. The three are fused together to show the progress thus far. You can judge for yourself how well it is going.
I have had so many people ask me which diet I am on. They are always surprised and a bit annoyed when I tell them what I am really doing. This isn't a diet. "Diets" do not work. Lifestyle is key. I changed everything about how I think about food. I learned how to cook in a completely different way. It isn't convenient to do this and it isn't a temporary "diet." This is a lifelong change. If you diet and then go back to what you were doing before, it is only logical that you would gain it all back. By doing that, you are repeating the same mistakes you have made over and over again. That just doesn't make any sense. But we seem to do it anyway. And doctors, the people we are supposed to be able to trust and depend on to help us be healthy, are the ones making the same mistakes and telling us to do these diets that don't make any sense. I will never go back and my family will be better for it. It is hard. It takes a lot of time and it isn't cheap with the way our society is now. But I have tested it and it is almost as expensive to buy boxed and canned meals now. It is more expensive to pay medical and prescription bills for the illnesses that come from eating horribly and becoming obese and unhealthy.
As of a week ago, I have lost 79 pounds so far. It has taken two and a half years to get that far but slow is healthier. It gives your skin time to catch up when you have such a large weight loss and it gives your body time to adjust. I still have quite a bit to go but I feel so much better. So I'll share a picture. I took a picture at the beginning of my weight loss and lifestyle change journey. I took another picture at 62 pounds down. I took another picture tonight. The three are fused together to show the progress thus far. You can judge for yourself how well it is going.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Ginger Molasses Cookies
I know there have been long stretches between posts lately. My goal is to post several new things and catch up over summer break. I have a long to-do list before school starts next year. But I am pretty determined this summer because things are changing this year. I am not sure exactly how things will be yet, but changes are happening. For now, here is a new recipe. This has been a lifesaver for us. L has had more troubles again. She has had more break outs on her skin this year along with chronic sinus and ear infections. This on top of the tummy issues from before which we still believe is from food. Those issues always improved with diet changes but never completely went away. She seems to have become more sensitive and reactive lately. We have scheduled some allergy tests to start at the end of the month. Now that she is almost four years old, the doctors can actually see the problems she is having. Now they believe what I have been telling them since she was six weeks old. So now, we are finally getting some support by a few doctors. Hopefully, we will be getting some real answers soon. For now, we do what we can and these cookies have helped. If she eats these cookies, they seem to help settle her stomach when she is having trouble eating and digesting. I don't know the source of the original recipe but the original recipe has been changed a lot to suit our needs.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup grapeseed oil *
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (The original recipe indicates using a mixer but I do all of this recipe by hand.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Then add the molasses and stir until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir dry ingredients into the wet and stir just until incorporated. At this point, the dough gets very thick. When everything is mostly together, I use my hands to finish mixing the dough. Portion the dough into three pieces and roll each into approximately one inch logs. (Beware: If you have men or children in the house, you will get poop jokes here. You will see what I mean in the pictures. Trust me, it smells much better. Ha!) Wrap and chill for at least one hour. These will be okay in the fridge up to overnight but I wouldn't leave them more than 24 hours without getting them finished. However, the dough does do well in the freezer. If you can't finish them or if you want to make an extra large batch and freeze some for next time, go for it! Just put the dough in the freezer.
Preheat oven to 350 F. On a floured work surface using a floured rolling pin, roll chilled dough out to desired thickness. This is where you have options. If you want a crunch ginger snap, roll the dough thin. If you want a nice, soft molasses cookie, roll the dough thicker. Use a small round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Don't forget to dip the cutter into a little flour too. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for approximately 5-10 minutes. Again, the time is changing factor. In my moms oven, ten minutes is perfect. In my oven, ten minutes is too much. In my oven, five minutes is perfect for soft molasses cookies and eight minutes is perfect for crunchier ginger snaps. If you want the crunchier cookies, go ahead and cook them close to the ten minutes. If you want softer cookies, take them out early. They will cook some after you take them out of the oven.
*The original recipe used softened butter. If you are not dairy free, you could use butter. You could also use a different kind of oil. We prefer grapeseed oil because it is nearly tasteless. Coconut and olive oils are good in many baked goods but are stronger tastes so they don't go with all foods. Feel free to experiment.
And now for the pics:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup grapeseed oil *
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (The original recipe indicates using a mixer but I do all of this recipe by hand.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Then add the molasses and stir until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir dry ingredients into the wet and stir just until incorporated. At this point, the dough gets very thick. When everything is mostly together, I use my hands to finish mixing the dough. Portion the dough into three pieces and roll each into approximately one inch logs. (Beware: If you have men or children in the house, you will get poop jokes here. You will see what I mean in the pictures. Trust me, it smells much better. Ha!) Wrap and chill for at least one hour. These will be okay in the fridge up to overnight but I wouldn't leave them more than 24 hours without getting them finished. However, the dough does do well in the freezer. If you can't finish them or if you want to make an extra large batch and freeze some for next time, go for it! Just put the dough in the freezer.
Preheat oven to 350 F. On a floured work surface using a floured rolling pin, roll chilled dough out to desired thickness. This is where you have options. If you want a crunch ginger snap, roll the dough thin. If you want a nice, soft molasses cookie, roll the dough thicker. Use a small round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Don't forget to dip the cutter into a little flour too. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for approximately 5-10 minutes. Again, the time is changing factor. In my moms oven, ten minutes is perfect. In my oven, ten minutes is too much. In my oven, five minutes is perfect for soft molasses cookies and eight minutes is perfect for crunchier ginger snaps. If you want the crunchier cookies, go ahead and cook them close to the ten minutes. If you want softer cookies, take them out early. They will cook some after you take them out of the oven.
*The original recipe used softened butter. If you are not dairy free, you could use butter. You could also use a different kind of oil. We prefer grapeseed oil because it is nearly tasteless. Coconut and olive oils are good in many baked goods but are stronger tastes so they don't go with all foods. Feel free to experiment.
And now for the pics:
Finished Cookies:
Logs of dough, wrapped and ready to chill:
(now you can see what I mean by poop jokes)
Three of the batches went into the freezer:
I know I have mentioned this before, but I am going to mention it again. If you haven't purchased one of these food savers and you want to do freezer cooking, once a month cooking, meal planning, etc., you should definitely spend the money. It is worth it.:
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Homemade Lotion
Here is the recipe for the lotion I promised after the lotion bars. My mother in law loves this. She has circulation problems in her legs and they itch and break out. This lotion has helped it heal when nothing else has. I never thought about that when I made it but I'm ecstatic that it helped her so much. I hope it can help more people too.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond oil (if you need to be nut free you can use olive or grapeseed)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup beeswax
1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
30 drops essential oil (optional)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a mason jar. Add 1-2 inches of water in a sauce pan and put on medium heat. Put the jar in the sauce pan and shake the ingredients periodically while melting. When everything is melted and mixed, pour into containers. I used some squeeze bottles for this lotion. It seems to be thin enough to use in a pump but I have not tried it that way yet. If you put it in a jar or container that can't be squeezed, you may need to stir it up after it cools.
I made this for Christmas presents. I will update later when I know how everyone liked it. I like it so far. I've been using coconut oil on my hands and body for awhile but it is a pain to melt every time you need to use it. This way I can put it in a container and it is ready to use. It is a little greasy, but I've never found a lotion I thought wasn't greasy or oily. I have had the best luck squeezing it out onto the back of my hand, then spreading it around so the majority of the oil is on the back of my hand. If my palms and fingers feel to oily, I usually just grab a dry rag or towel (or if I'm out- a paper towel) and wipe off my palms. I have really bad excema that flairs up worse in the winter. My hands will crack and bleed. And no lotion works. In fact, most of them burn, break me out, or make the excema worse. Even the prescription ointments I was given didn't work. I also have patches on my arms and legs. I'm lucky that I don't get them on my face like some people I know. But if you or someone you know has trouble with skin issues or allergies to topical products, this may help them.
I did not come up with this recipe myself, of course. I did, however, edit the ones I found until it worked for me. I had four different lotion recipes that I used to change things around until it came out the way I wanted.
I will add pictures next time I make this. I focused on pictures of the lotion bars and completely forgot about them by the time I did this lotion.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond oil (if you need to be nut free you can use olive or grapeseed)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup beeswax
1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
30 drops essential oil (optional)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a mason jar. Add 1-2 inches of water in a sauce pan and put on medium heat. Put the jar in the sauce pan and shake the ingredients periodically while melting. When everything is melted and mixed, pour into containers. I used some squeeze bottles for this lotion. It seems to be thin enough to use in a pump but I have not tried it that way yet. If you put it in a jar or container that can't be squeezed, you may need to stir it up after it cools.
I made this for Christmas presents. I will update later when I know how everyone liked it. I like it so far. I've been using coconut oil on my hands and body for awhile but it is a pain to melt every time you need to use it. This way I can put it in a container and it is ready to use. It is a little greasy, but I've never found a lotion I thought wasn't greasy or oily. I have had the best luck squeezing it out onto the back of my hand, then spreading it around so the majority of the oil is on the back of my hand. If my palms and fingers feel to oily, I usually just grab a dry rag or towel (or if I'm out- a paper towel) and wipe off my palms. I have really bad excema that flairs up worse in the winter. My hands will crack and bleed. And no lotion works. In fact, most of them burn, break me out, or make the excema worse. Even the prescription ointments I was given didn't work. I also have patches on my arms and legs. I'm lucky that I don't get them on my face like some people I know. But if you or someone you know has trouble with skin issues or allergies to topical products, this may help them.
I did not come up with this recipe myself, of course. I did, however, edit the ones I found until it worked for me. I had four different lotion recipes that I used to change things around until it came out the way I wanted.
I will add pictures next time I make this. I focused on pictures of the lotion bars and completely forgot about them by the time I did this lotion.
Coconut Lotion Bars
I was recently (finally) diagnosed with excema. Although I've ALWAYS known I had it. I'm allergic to every lotion out there. My breakouts get worse in the winter of course and I get patches up my arms and around my thighs. And the backs of my hands crack and bleed. But lotion breaks me out and burns like my hands are on fire. And they turn really, really, REALLY red. And it is all getting worse with age. So this year I decided to do something about it and make my own lotion. I even shared the experience and made several bars for family at Christmas. So far everyone has liked my lotions. I made liquid lotion too and I'll post the instructions for that later. This though, is for the bar. I like it the best. But the other lotion is better for using with the child.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup Shea butter (if you need to make this nut free, I believe you could substitute cocoa butter)
2/3 cup beeswax pastilles
1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
20-30 drops essential oils (optional for scent)
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a quart size mason jar (with lid to prevent water from damaging lotion bar mixture). Fill a sauce pan with about two inches of water and place over medium to medium-high heat. Bring the water to a simmer and shake up the jar periodically while the contents melt. When everything is liquid, pour into molds. I had plastic soap-making molds. You could use silicon molds, especially if you like them enough to make them more than once. It is hard to pop these out of glass or metal molds/pans. Let molds set overnight. Carefully pop out of molds. I wrapped them in cellophane to give as gifts at Christmas. I also kept some for myself. These are great to use after showers, shaving and washing dishes.
If these get a little to soft or start melting, you can harden it back up by sticking it in the fridge for awhile. The cold temperatures will harden the coconut oil and Shea butter.
I did not come up with this recipe at all so I need to give credit. I, of course, found it on pinterest. You can find the original post where I got the recipe HERE.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup Shea butter (if you need to make this nut free, I believe you could substitute cocoa butter)
2/3 cup beeswax pastilles
1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
20-30 drops essential oils (optional for scent)
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a quart size mason jar (with lid to prevent water from damaging lotion bar mixture). Fill a sauce pan with about two inches of water and place over medium to medium-high heat. Bring the water to a simmer and shake up the jar periodically while the contents melt. When everything is liquid, pour into molds. I had plastic soap-making molds. You could use silicon molds, especially if you like them enough to make them more than once. It is hard to pop these out of glass or metal molds/pans. Let molds set overnight. Carefully pop out of molds. I wrapped them in cellophane to give as gifts at Christmas. I also kept some for myself. These are great to use after showers, shaving and washing dishes.
If these get a little to soft or start melting, you can harden it back up by sticking it in the fridge for awhile. The cold temperatures will harden the coconut oil and Shea butter.
I did not come up with this recipe at all so I need to give credit. I, of course, found it on pinterest. You can find the original post where I got the recipe HERE.
Snowman Ornaments
These ornaments were so so easy. And I had all of the supplies around the house. If you don't have all of the supplies, they are cheap at your local craft store.
Supplies:
Hot glue
Orange pipe cleaners
Small black beads
Wax paper
Twine
Instructions:
Pour hot glue in spots on the wax paper with the twine looped underneath. The twine is to hold the ornaments on the tree. While it's still hot, trim small pieces of orange pipe cleaner for the carrot noses and carefully insert the small beads for eyes and mouth. Let dry and carefully pull from the paper. I added the ornaments to gifts for decoration. Then they could be hung on the tree.
Note: Again, this was not my idea. Pinterest is a wonderful place. You can find the original blog (or at least the blog I used) HERE.
Supplies:
Hot glue
Orange pipe cleaners
Small black beads
Wax paper
Twine
Instructions:
Pour hot glue in spots on the wax paper with the twine looped underneath. The twine is to hold the ornaments on the tree. While it's still hot, trim small pieces of orange pipe cleaner for the carrot noses and carefully insert the small beads for eyes and mouth. Let dry and carefully pull from the paper. I added the ornaments to gifts for decoration. Then they could be hung on the tree.
Note: Again, this was not my idea. Pinterest is a wonderful place. You can find the original blog (or at least the blog I used) HERE.
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