The Spice of Life! Green Goodness Smoothie

I'm just started learning about using various spices for their nutritional benefits. I must say that growing up, I assumed spices were something people had a ton of, barely used, and were only used for flavor. Now in my 30s, with my own spice cabinet, I'm finally starting to figure out which ones enhance the flavor and which ones have the best bang for your health buck!

Not all spices are created equal, either! One should consider purchasing organic over conventional (especially if you desire the nutritional benefits) and look into brands that use non-GMOs.

I plan to replace my conventional spices with brands like Simply Organic or Frontier (both a part of the Frontier family and I'm not getting paid to promote them). I would love to just go out and purchase a whole set of them but as you know, organic is not cheap. One tip I found helpful is to buy organic spices as you need them for a recipe here and there, so eventually you'll have an entirely organic (and non-GMO) spice cabinet! 

One particular spice I've come to love at the moment is Turmeric! It's actually what gives ballpark mustard its deep yellow color! Who knew? Also it's one of the main spices used in Curry powder. It's a natural anti-inflammatory and helps encourage healthy cell growth in your digestive tract and colon, making it a great spice to add for anyone suffering from IBS, IBD, or Crohn's. It's even used to aid in cancer prevention! 

Other than adding it to your meals, try it in your morning smoothie! Add a little extra flare to your taste buds! 

OTM Green Goodness Smoothie Recipe

1-2 handfuls of chopped kale (or spinach)

1 cup of mixed fruit (pineapple, mangos, strawberries, apple)

Half a banana

Tbsp of Chia seeds

Tbsp of Almond Butter

Tbsp of Sunflower seeds

Tbsp of Honey

Tsp of TURMERIC

1/2 cup Almond Milk

1/4 cup Good Belly Probiotic 

Blend all ingredients together. I add Apple Juice as needed until I have a smooth, liquid-y consistency!

Makes approx. 3 cups so share it with someone you love!

The Kitchen is Calling! Replacing eggs with Chia seeds

Finally back from a hiatus and it feels damn good!

I've been itching to get back in the kitchen and make amazing recipes I find on some fabulous blogs! One in particular is The Food Babe, she is a pioneer when it comes to informing the public about harmful ingredients in the things we love and actually has gotten some large companies to remove them from their products! Kraft Mac n Cheese and Chick-fil-A are two that know her well!

Feeling motivated to make yummy, good for you, feel good food from organic, whole ingredients, I decided its time to get back to the kitchen and back to blogging! 

I'm sure most people do this, but I find some of my best tips by reading the comments under a recipe I've just found! Like substitutions or tips from their experiences. I decided to share my experiences making these two very yummy recipes I found from FoodBabe Recipes. Enjoy!

Almond Butter Brownies!!

I substituted a Chia seed/water mixture for the egg though if I could have found my coffee grinder, I would've used the Flax Seed. So 1 Tbsp Chia Seed + 3 Tbsp water for each egg. Let sit for 15 minutes before using and it'll gel up! Very cool and a sneaky way to get Chia's amazing benefits to your family! ;)

They were ooey-gooey yummy and I could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting! I'll be making this again very soon!

Noodle-less Vegetable Lasagna!!

I used the Chia/Water mix instead of egg here too and it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference when mixed with the Ricotta so I will definitely do that again! Any way that I can sneak healthy stuff into food I will because I'm a sneaky mama! LOL

I also wanted to add a little extra B12 since this was a low-protein meal. I did this by sprinkling about a 1/4c of Nutritional Yeast flakes (it has a subtle nutty-cheesy flavor, so I figure it'd go unnoticed... And it did! Yay me!)

Sorry there are no "hot out of the oven" pics... It was devoured! :)

Have you been called back to your kitchen? Tried either of these recipes? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Organic on a Budget

How do you maintain your diet of organic and non-dairy food while living in an environment where most of the food in the pantry is typical American conventional grocery-store items?

Well the obvious answer would be to just buy your own groceries. And yes that is exactly what you should do, BUT if you are also trying to live on a strict budget, hence why you are living with said person in the first place, it's a bit more of a challenge.

Specifically, we are living with my mother-in-law! I know what?! Living with your hubby's mom has got to be dreadful!  So far, a week in, it's not been too bad. I think we are definitely gaining a greater understanding for each other's way in the home and we still aren't trying to step on each other's toes. I realize it's her house, her stuff, and she is gracious enough to allow her son's young family to stay with her until we can afford to move on, but I do not want to compromise my own lifestyle preferences for the convenience of space or money (money to an extent, I mean we are trying to SAVE EVERY PENNY)

I nurse my wee little babay, who is 8 months old this month. She tends to be extra fussy and spits up a lot when I have dairy of any proportion, so I have been dairy-free now for a few months. Easy peasy right? Well yea, sort of, if you don't want to eat out anywhere. I mean you may not realize how much dairy (milk) is an ingredient of until you are trying to avoid it... now I did find this amazing blog that has TONS OF RECIPES where you would use breast milk in place of dairy milk. This is interesting and may cause you to cringe just thinking about drinking breast milk, especially someone else's!

I like this idea, though I don't think my mother-in-law or step-dad-in-law would appreciate not knowing or as I would expect if they knew, not even try it. But I don't blame them! It's only because I was curious what it tasted like that I even took a few sips of my own after I pumped some one morning. It tasted just like cream, with a light and subtle sweetness, definitely a sticky feeling if on your fingers, but I think it's a great use for the stored breast milk if I don't end up donating it.  Well that was a tangent huh? :)  Unless I get the courage to start using my own breast milk in my meals, I will continue to purchase non-dairy items like rice milk, coconut creamer, Soy-free, Dairy-free Butter, and Almond milk and ice cream. This is where the budget comes into play. It's almost $4.00 for a half gallon of Rice Milk, we use it for our coffee, my husband goes through cereal like he's not eaten a meal in days, and for those recipes that call for milk. So price shopping is necessary for staples like this.

And next, she is used to eating meat purchased straight out of the meat cooler, whatever's on sale. Personally I don't care to eat non-organic meat for my weekly meals I prepare at home. I may not be able to get organic when I go out with friends to dinner at a nice restaurant or stop at Taco Bell while on a road-trip, but those times are few and far between. Especially while I'm nursing, and therefore everything I eat, my babay eats, I'd prefer to keep myself pesticide-, hormone-, antibiotic-, and corn-fed-free 99% of the time.  Well I decided to just be the woman my hubby married, I stand up for myself and say what needs to be said, I offered to buy the family's meat as a deal with the grocery-shopping. I mean we are trying to save every penny and buying all of our own groceries, organic meat and all, gets pretty expensive. So we'll see how well this set-up works out for our pocketbook  and our health!

Here are a few tips I use when I purchase organic meat:

1. Look at the price per lb, anything $3.00/lb or less is a great deal.
2. Look for whole chickens and cook it whole in the slow cooker. (I cook mine dry lightly salted and peppered on LOW for about 6-8 hours) You can get at least two meals for a family of four depending on how you prepare your leftovers. 
   
   
3. I find buying the larger portions when on sale are the best bang for your buck. Whether it be a large roast or loin, even a large filet of fish. Divide it into smaller portions when you get home, and freeze the individual dinner portions.  Then thaw only what you want to use, leaving the rest for a another day, another meal, while keeping a few extra dollars in your pocket!

So there ya have it!  If you have any tips you want to share, let me know! I'd be happy to see what else I can do to save save save!