Category Archives: Food

Health Juice!

11 Sunday Nov 2012

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This is my little concoction to keep me and my kids healthy this fall and winter. My husband won’t touch it (you’ll see why when you read the ingredients), but we love it and so do both of my nieces. OK, it’s not really my concoction. It’s straight from the Bragg Organic Raw-Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar bottle in my kitchen. I noticed it one day when for some reason I decided to read the label. It’s officially called the Bragg Vinegar Health Drink. I dubbed it Health Juice because pretty much anything that’s called juice is OK with my kids. I mean, they chug this stuff! The ingredients are simple and always plentiful in our house.

The label says: 1-2 tsps Bragg Organic Vinegar in 8oz of purified water and 1-2 tsps Organic Honey, 100% Maple Syrup, Blackstrap Molasses or 4 drop herb Stevia.

I use local honey from Alstede Farms in Chester, NJ to sweeten the drink and, like I said, we love it. I know it sounds weird and quite possibly icky if you don’t normally use vinegar for anything other than salad dressing, but it’s super good for you. The combination of the vinegar and the honey helps chase those germs away and strengthens your immune system.

I have been making individual servings for us every time we needed a dose, but today I saw this pretty bottle at the store and thought, ” Dude! I should totally make a big bottle of it and keep it in the fridge!”. Yes, my inner voice is apparently an 80s surfer. So I bought it and mad a batch. I quadrupled the recipe and now we’ll have a lovely bottle of Health Juice waiting for us when we need a pick me up. Sometimes I’m knocked over by my own brilliance. *smirk*
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Why Organic?

06 Thursday Sep 2012

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Labeling for products that meet the USDA-NOP s...

Labeling for products that meet the USDA-NOP standards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been asked quite a few times why I buy organic. Most of the people asking me are honestly curious about the benefits, but others are trying to start a debate. Usually they ask if the taste of organic produce is really any better, why would I spend so much extra money and if there is any difference nutritionally. I try to keep my answers short and to the point. I try not to come off sounding too “better than you” or judgmental. It doesn’t always work and I know that some walk away believing that I am a conceited food snob. That’s fine, I’m not choosing organic for them. I’m choosing it for my family.

To address the first question, do I think organic produce tastes better? My answer is, sometimes. If it’s locally grown and in season, the answer is yes. If it’s imported from across the country or the world, there’s probably not much difference. Just picked tastes better in my opinion. That’s all it is though, my opinion.

Why would I spend sooo much money to buy organic produce, meat, milk, juice… yada yada yada? Well, the answer to that is, our health insurance sucks. This is our supplemental healthy insurance. With all of the studies that have been presented linking pesticides to several forms of cancers, respiratory issues, allergies and so on, I’m doing all I can to keep us healthy and out of the doctor’s office. More here, here and here.

Is organic produce better, nutritionally speaking? To my knowledge, yes. There are more nutrients in the soil and the plants grown in the soil. The less pesticides, the more vitamins and minerals. More here.

Finally, to the debaters, I try to gently make it clear that this “Organic thing” is not a phase I’m going through. It’s not a fad for me. It’s the way I’ve been feeding myself since I was about 24 years old. I’m now about to turn 38. If I’ve inspired some people along the way to start eating organic, that’s awesome. If I’ve annoyed a bunch of people with my answers, eh… I guess that’s their issue.  I like who I am and I love that my family is healthy the majority of the time.

Even now, writing this, I wonder if I’m being too “better than you”. Should I even bother publishing this? Do people really want to know why organic is important to me? I guess, based on how many times I’ve been asked, somebody out there might want to know.

 

 

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On the water infusion bandwagon.

13 Monday Aug 2012

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There are a million and one water infusion recipes out there now. They are easy, refreshing and a great way to use up the clippings from you herb garden as well as the fruit that’s on it’s way out in your crisper. I’ve been trying to create and consume a new flavored water at least 4 or 5 times a week.

Miles helps me with the smashing of the fruit and herbs, adding the water and of course the licking of the spoon. He asks me each day if we can “have an infusion”. It makes me happy to get him involved with the whole process and he ends up drinking more water. It’s a big win in my book.

In case you are not aware of the water infusion trend, all you need is:

A large pitcher

Any combination of herbs and/or fruit that sounds good to you

Cold Water

A big smashing spoon

Ice or a pitcher with a built in ice core

If you are using fresh herbs, tear each leaf in half before dropping it into the pitcher. Slice up the fruit and add to the pitcher. Smash the herbs and fruit with the large spoon, releasing all the yummy flavors. Add cold water and ice. Stir. Lick the spoon. Let the infusion sit for an hour or so in the fridge. Drink all day.

Today’s infusion is lavender, basil and mango water!

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What does it mean to be a “natural mama”?

01 Friday Jun 2012

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*Eat right when you’re pregnant.

*Give birth without drugs.

*Eat right when you’re nursing.

*Nurse for as long as you can.

*Give you baby a variety of home cooked purees when they switch to solids.

*Always make the meals organic.

These are a few of the “rules” that natural mamas tend to follow.

Creating a healthy, chemical free environment for us and our babies is a top priority. This includes what we feed them, what we clean the house with, what we bathe them with and what they play with.

All of these are wonderful standards to try to live up to. Sometimes though, we can drive ourselves absolutely batty in the process. Just making fresh juice for my 3 1/2 year old and myself every morning can stress me out beyond belief when we have a busy day ahead of us.  I’ve set these goals for myself and I try my hardest to reach them. The truth is,  some days, I do better than others.

But, with all the hard work I create for myself to be uber-mom, there’s one simple thing that I do every week to improve their lives immensely. No, it’s not brewing up a giant jar of kambucha, like slightly more intense natural moms like to do. It’s bringing them to the farm to visit the animals and pick up our CSA share. Miles especially loves saying hello to all his animal friends each time and scaling the tall hay mountain set aside for kids to play on. What I love is seeing his eyes light up when I carry the box of produce and eggs to the car. I have to show him each vegetable and basket of berries, so he knows what we’re going to be eating that week.

When we get home from the farm, he helps to wash the produce and as I put it in the fridge, he sometimes gets a sample of the goods. So far he’s been able to try 3 different kinds of lettuce, fresh asparagus, strawberries, mint, basil and cilantro. He wasn’t so keen on the radishes, but most everything else has been a hit. Just picked produce tastes loads better than week old and that is something that he is learning to be true.

Basically, being a natural mama isn’t just what you feed them or surround them with. It’s also what experiences you share with them that will teach them the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Show them the connection between what they see growing in the ground, on the bushes and trees and what goes on their plates. Letting them hold and wash the vegetables will make them more likely to want to taste them. I started having Miles help me wash the vegetables each week when he was about 2 ears old. This is when he started chomping on carrots, celery and broccoli like it was a bag of chips.

I’m not saying that every kid out there is going to go for this, but it definitely couldn’t hurt to try. The younger the better! For kids, new is exciting, no matter what it is.

 

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Marathon Pizza

20 Friday Apr 2012

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My son, like most kids, LOOOOOOOOOVES pizza. He loves it in any form. I could give him anything with the elements of pizza and he would happily eat it. Pizza casserole, pizza soup, pizza mac and cheese… you get the picture. Knowing this, I try to make our “pizza” as healthy and as varied as possible.

Last night I made mini pizzas with slices of organic marathon bread from Wegman’s. It’s packed with protein (flax, sesame and sunflower seeds) and even has ground carrots and dried fruit. It has a great taste besides being the best “crust” I could think up at the time. I topped it with tomato sauce, goat cheese, spinach leaves and cheddar. We all have our topping preferences, so mini pizzas work out perfectly.

Miles had one with goat cheese and one with cheddar. He prefers raw spinach instead of cooked, so he had his on the side. Needless to say, dinner was fast and painless!

Strange New Smoothies (Even Stranger!)

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

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Yesterday was another warm one and I needed a speedy meal to fix for the whole family, since I was out the door to choral rehearsal right after. So of course I decided to make smoothies. While last time around I used cooked squash to add veg and body to the smoothies, I decided to go a different route last night. Secret ingredient? Frozen peas. I know, crazy right? Actually it turned out to be pretty wonderful. My husband couldn’t figure out what the ingredients were, but he chugged the whole dang thing. In fact, we all did (well, Juniper ate his with brown rice cereal). I did manage to get some photos of the ingredients and a bit of the finished product before it was all gone.

Recipe:

1 large banana

2 cups of frozen strawberries

3/4 cup of frozen peas

1 cup of plain whole milk yogurt

1 tsp of cinnamon

Honey to taste (I used brown rice syrup in Juniper’s, then added honey to the rest)

Milk- add enough to suit your desired thickness

Oh so refreshing! Give it a try, I dare you.

Follow me on Pinterest!

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Clothes, Food, Places I love, Products, Quickies

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Red Pinterest logo

Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Hello all!

Today I took the leap and joined Pinterest. At first, I really had no interest in another internet time waster. I don’t get much down time, what with raising two little ones and all. I definitely couldn’t imagine having the time to spend a couple of hours a day trudging through images of pretty things. But, as two of my girlfriends were talking it up a couple of weeks ago, I started to wonder what all the hub bub was about.

After requesting an invitation and then being invited, here I am, a bona fide Pinner of images. It all so simple… and exciting! I can find recipes, DIY crafts and home decorating, cool new products and search for a dress for my 20th (Yikes!) high school reunion all in one place. Plus, I get to see what my friends are into these days.

Besides the obvious fun factor, I’m now thinking it may be the perfect way to get my natural products line (that will soon be on Etsy) off to a running start. What better way to gain new customers than to share lovely photos of my products on Pinterest?

Anyway, the link is below if you care to follow me. Thanks!

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Making my own sunshine.

15 Sunday Apr 2012

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Good morning! It’s a partially gloomy Sunday morning in Somerville. The sun has been in and out, keeping us guessing since we woke up. So, I decided to make my own sunshine today by starting off with a tall glass of ridiculously yummy juice. I skipped a few days of juicing this week because we had house guests that kept us busier than usual. We had a wonderful visit, but my body truly missed the juicing that it’s gotten used to. I feel so much healthier and lighter today after getting my fruits and veggies.

Carrot, Golden Beet and Apple Juice to the rescue!

Recipe:

One handful of organic carrots (I get the 10 pound bag from Costco)

One small organic golden beet

One small organic apple

P.S. I always water down my juice a bit, otherwise it’s just too sweet.

I hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend and getting some sunshine, where ever you can find it.

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Strange New Smoothies

06 Friday Apr 2012

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Last night felt like a good night to try out a new smoothie recipe. My husband was off to band practice after work, so it didn’t seem right to cook a whole chicken for just Miles and me. Besides, with a smoothie, Juniper could easily have some too. I decided to add some veggies to the mix to make the smoothie even more filling and nutritious. I just happen to have half of a cooked kabocha squash in the fridge and that fit the bill perfectly. If you’ve never had kabocha squash before, you really should try it. It’s sweet and mild tasting and happens to purée perfectly. It’s wonderful for baby food.

Here’s the recipe below. Give it a shot!

1 large banana
1/2 a cooked kabocha squash (skinned of course)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup organic whole milk yogurt
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
As much milk as desired for preferred thickness

BLEND!

All dairy can be replaced with non dairy options. I used brown rice syrup in place of honey so that Juniper could share in the yumminess.

I wish I had a photo to share, but we drank it all up to quickly!

Busy Mama’s Breakfast Cookies

31 Saturday Mar 2012

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Three and a half years ago, I was stressed out, half crazed and completely famished due to first time motherhood. I was more worried about keeping my son fed than feeding myself, as most new mothers are. I just couldn’t find the time or energy to cook anything for myself during the day and I was losing weight far too fast, according to my family.

So, one day, when Miles was about two months old, my sister came to visit (and to fatten me up). She baked and cooked and baked some more, until my freezer and refrigerator were filled with yummy, nutritious foods. The most important aspect of these foods where that they could be defrosted quickly and eaten on the run. My favorite of all was the fruit and nut breakfast bread. She’d made a double batch, so that I would have plenty to last me until I had time to start cooking for myself. Well, breakfast bread soon turned into snack bread, lunch bread and running out the door bread. After my sister’s bread was gone, I started baking my own.

Over the years, the bread recipe has morphed into breakfast cookies that the whole family loves. Now, after the birth of my second son, Juniper, I bake them on the weekends to enjoy during the week. They are HUGE, so it’s easy to see why they are called breakfast cookies. I hope that you love them as much as we do. Enjoy!

1 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup melted butter

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 milled flax seeds

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups fruit (dried and/or pureed) -In this batch I used apple sauce and chopped dates.

1 cup chopped nuts or seeds – I chose raw unsalted pumpkin seeds for these

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together dry ingredients in large bowl. Blend together all wet ingredients in small bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients with a spoon, not a mixer, in large bowl. Fold in fruit and nuts. With a large serving spoon, spoon batter on to a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

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