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Friday, September 19, 2014

Essential Oils

Well when Western Medicine fails, or just costs too damn much, you gotta go back to the basics, so I've been trying some Essential Oils lately, not that they are cheap but they are cheaper than when our insurance charges for a Dr's visit, or what they don't cover at all which is most things in general.

The biggest shock was when my son, age 4, actually let me apply some Lavender oil to his temples, forehead and wrists. Not sure if they've had any real effect yet though he's been pretty good for the last 60 minutes or so. Also had a Lavender incense burning and made a homemade Lavender air freshener for the living room out of rice and a few drops of Lavender oil and Peppermint oil.

The week of 9/19/2014's menu...

I don't make this as often as I used to, but I'm craving it so I'm making it tonight! I still have yet to perfect a fried chicken, and since I only make it but once or twice a year now, I'm wondering if I ever will ;-) I guess there's always hope. Now that I'm trying a still modified but somewhat stricter form of the Paleo diet for myself, I noticed on the cheat-day, like a friend mentioned to me, I do feel sick when I eat garbage food.

Garbage being my own vegan cupcakes (The cupcakes, NOT the frosting) ;-) which contain no actual garbage other than cane sugar and cream cheese, but I guess that's technically garbage. So instead I'm trying to just eat fruit when I crave something sweet but to be honest I'm not sure how long that'll hold up, LOL. My homemade banana bread has yet to make me feel icky but that could be because I've been eating a small sliver of that almost daily for two years, it's dairy free, and the entire loaf only contains a cup of sugar, plus the bananas of course...maybe my system is just used to that banana bread is all...Well here's the menu for the week....enjoy!

Friday: Mostly oven baked fried chicken with fried okra











Saturday: Meatballs and spinach & arugula salad (These are my own recipe, I've not blogged it yet, perhaps I will later in the week. I use half ground beef and half ground lamb, and the typical seasonings that you'd find in a meatballs, some grated cheese and of course, some breadcrumb)

Sunday: Cheat-day, the hubby's homemade pizza with Applegate salami

Monday: Braised chicken w/artichokes and pearl onions and a spinach & arugula salad










Tuesday: Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken over Jasmine rice











Wednesday: Another cheat! Lamb & Pecorino Pasta (I omit the red pepper & I use Capatvi pasta. Since I'm trying to go as low carb as possible, I'll load up more on lamb and cheese for my plate and give the husband and child a bit more pasta)


Saturday, September 13, 2014

Very vanilla vegan cupcakes



These are so delicious but they are not really my recipe, but I'll go ahead and post here to share. The recipe I found online uses SOY milk, I DO NOT! So I guess maybe since I changed it, it's kind of my recipe now ;-)

I do not do the vegan frosting but of course you can make it vegan. Don't think just because they are vegan that they taste disgusting. These are some of the best cupcakes you'll ever have. I often just tell people they are 'vanilla' cupcakes and after they tell me how wonderful they are then I drop the bomb on them that they are vegan and they are shocked. Most people are VERY small minded and simply refuse to eat anything vegan for no good reason, and I don't know why. Just because there's no eggs or butter doesn't mean it tastes bad.

In the past I've made these and brought them to parties and people have flat out refused to even try them for the simple fact that they don't contain eggs and butter, I just don't understand that mentality which is why I don't tell people they are vegan now until after they try them. Trust me, they are loaded with plenty of sugar so don't fear ;-) Even though I make 'real' cream cheese frosting people are still afraid. Well I am here to tell the world you CAN EAT VEGAN food and enjoy it! You can even eat the vegan frosting and still enjoy it, I just prefer the real cream cheese. I had to start making these because my son is lactose intolerant so we had no choice. But he's not a huge fan of frosting so he eats the un-frosted ones.

Very Vanilla Vegan Cupcakes
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar (I use pure cane)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbs Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Almond Milk
1/2 cup of oil (Coconut, Veg or Canola)

Preheat oven to 350, Mix all of the dry ingredients together and then in a separate bowl mix all of the wet ingredients together. Add the wet to the dry (Don't use a mixer! Just use a wooden spoon and don't over stir! It's okay if there's a few lumps. If you over stir these cupcakes will be tough.)

I use a ice cream scoop to add the batter to the cupcake liners. This will make about 24 cupcakes. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Cream Cheese frosting
1 stick room temperature Butter
1 brick room temperature Cream Cheese
1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1-2 cups Powdered Sugar (Depends how sweet you like it) I use about 1-1 1/4 cup

Add 1 stick of butter to your standing mixer on low at first, and then raise the speed to medium. Add the vanilla and beat for about 1 minute. Then add the cream cheese. Continue to beat for about 1 more minute. Stop the mixer and add about 1/2 a cup of the powdered sugar. Start the mixer on low until the sugar is incorporated and then back to medium, wait about 30 seconds and stop. Add more sugar and repeat. Keep adding until it reaches the sweetness level you like. Scrape down the sides so all the butter, cream cheese, and sugar is evenly mixed.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Tonight's Dinner, chicken, avocado, bacon & blue cheese chopped salad.

Tonight's dinner turned out GREAT! I mean I knew it would, how could any meal that contains bacon and blue cheese not turn out fantastic? Well it also had all natural chicken, and some tomatoes and AVOCADOS! Oh and I guess I could mention the lettuce but you hardly even notice that.

This is what I made. (salad)

First I started the bacon while I washed and chopped the hearts of Romaine, and the plum tomatoes. I made sure the save the bacon grease to saute the chicken in. I add the blue cheese crumbles, chop up the bacon and then I made the salad dressing. I did alter the dressing just a tad, I didn't add the garlic as we like garlic, but garlic does NOT like us. Instead I did add just a pinch of garlic powder to the dressing. It still tasted wonderful.

I also forgot to buy the green onion but the salad tasted fine without it. I was a bit bummed, but I think instead next time I may try to pickle some red onions instead and put a few of those on top as a garnish. ;-)


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Menu for the week of September 11th, 2014



People are always curious as to what I'm making for the week, so here it is. With the exception of Sunday & Monday, everything else is new to me. I spent two and a half hours on Pinterest over the weekend browsing various Paleo sites prowling for recipes. I'm certain I'll tweak all of these. The cheat day will be Chris's homemade pizza which he'll make on Monday. He makes a homemade crust, which I believe is from a Bobby Flay recipe but even he tweaks that some. We use a can of crushed organic tomatoes, Sargento mozzarella, and top with Applegate nitrite free, humanely raised, antibiotic free, & hormone free salami. That stuff tastes great and is well worth the price, plus we get two pizzas out of it (you MUST freeze the rest, since there's no preservatives in it).

None of these recipes, other than the canned crushed tomatoes and Sargento cheese, are processed in any way. All ingredients are antibiotic free, hormone free, nitrite free, & organic when possible. Salad dressings will consist of olive oil with vinegar, lemon, or mustard. Breakfast consists of cage free eggs, with fresh baked bread, or homemade banana bread for our son. Lunch for me is usually almonds bought from the bulk bins and some grapes, rice and beans for the husband, and Applegate lunch meat sandwiches, Annies organic fruit chews, and whole grain fish crackers (hey he's a kid, let him have some fun) for our son. He also LOVES Lara Bars, he calls them 'candy bars.'

Here's the menu for the week:

Thursday: Chicken, bacon, avocado, blue cheese chopped salad

Friday:  Mediterranean skillet chicken w/artichokes & tomatoes, spinach & kale salad, *orzo w/cheese and diced olives 

Saturday: Spinach & bacon stuffed pork loin chop w/blue cheese souffle & spinach & kale salad

Sunday: Greek Salad w/ chicken

*Monday: Homemade Pizza (Cheat day)

Tuesday: Roasted citrus & herb chicken (bone in drum sticks & thighs), *jasmine rice, vegetable (I won't know which vegetable until I go to the store and see what looks good that day)

Wednesday: Honey-whole grain mustard baked rosemary chicken, stuffed tomato, *jasmine rice

* denotes non paleo ingredients for the husband who WANTS to lose weight ;-) but refuses to eat low-carb. I'll have small servings of these items, about 3 tablespoons.