Taco Night!

Everyone loves Taco Night, right?  I've mentioned that Tex-Mex is my favorite type of food so I usually make tacos once every month or so.  Our tacos have evolved over the years, and thanks to Simply Scratch I've made one more real food change!

Here's our latest and greatest taco recipe:

Taco ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 can black beans - drained (I use Meijer organic back beans)
- 1/2 small onion - diced
- 1 recipe for homemade taco seasoning
- 2/3 cup water
- tortillas (I use Old El Paso Stand n' Stuff corn shells)

Toppings:
- Mexican shredded cheese blend
- homemade salsa/pico de gallo
          - 10 Roma tomatoes diced (with seeds and filling discarded)
          - 1/2 small onion diced
          - handful of cilantro chopped
          - juice from half a lime
          - salt as needed
          - mix together and refrigerate
          - may need to be drained before using

Steps:
- brown turkey in a large skillet
- add onions and black beans once turkey is cooked
- add taco seasoning and water
- cook on med-high for about 5 minutes (or as desired)
- cook shells as directed
- top as you like
- enjoy your "beef smilies" (Friends, anyone?)

Even if you have your taco night just the way you like it, but you are still using the taco seasoning from the package you might want to try the seasoning link above. It was really delicious and we couldn't tell a difference between that and the package which was our problem with other homemade taco seasongs. Give it a try and Happy Taco Night!

Earth Day (a week later)

I suppose there is a spectrum for how much or how little effort you put into taking care of the Earth. Six months ago I probably fell in the low-middle; I did the easy stuff, but I didn't go out of my way. By nature I'm a rule follower so I did the basics: recycle, don't litter, drink out of reusable water bottles, turn the water off while brushing my teeth, and turn lights off when I leave a room (Bryan might disagree on this one). I've found that since I've started reading more real food blogs and changing the way we eat I've made some little changes that have bumped me up a few notches on the spectrum.

Here are some of my new green ways:
I use these and these divided containers to pack Anna's lunch.  I like them because it's one container that keeps everything separate.  I usually have to use one of these little reusable cupcake liners for one more space. I also pack my lunch using reusable containers (usually for salad).  I've drastically cut down on the number of plastic baggies I use in a week.  Anna's lunch has recently been half a PB (natural) and J (all fruit spread) on 100% whole wheat bread (Aunt Millie's 100% natural), sliced apple, cucumber with hummus, and a treat.  Right now she likes these fruit snacks.  These do not have any artificial dyes, but the 2nd ingredient is corn syrup and the 3rd is sugar so they aren't exactly healthy but just slightly less terrible than original fruit snacks. It's really hard to stop giving her a treat even though she doesn't need it.  I'll work on healthier treats over the summer.

I also bought these popsicle molds for smoothie pops and popsicles.  If you are a fan of 100 Days of Real Food you might have discovered that many yogurt products are touted as healthy and low-fat, but they are actually just one more processed food that is full of sugar, artificial dyes, and unreadable questionable ingredients.  The exception to this rule is plain yogurt sweetened with a natural sweetener like honey.  I'm not going to lie - I think it's really gross and bitter even when mixed with fruit, so I'm not there yet.  I make my smoothies in the blender with organic vanilla yogurt (contains sugar which is why it tastes better) and frozen fruit (strawberries and peaches is my fav).  I pour the leftovers into the molds and make yogurt pops.  The Weelicious cookbook and website have recipes for yummy natural popscicles to try this summer.

I was able to use my newest Target dollar bin find today at the grocery.  Several weeks ago I was at Target looking for summer clothes for our Disney trip and other things I just couldn't live without when I found reusable mesh produce bags; I was super excited because I didn't have to put in any effort to  search for them and possibly pay for shipping.  They held up well with our heavy produce (apples and cucumbers) today.  I suppose I will continue to use less plastic produce bags throughout the summer when I start receiving my CSA box!

The experts, or at least people on Today/Oprah/whatever, say making small changes like some of the ones I've been able to make go a long way.  So, like making the changes to eat real food, making changes to be kinder to our Earth can be made with baby steps.

Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

Anna turned 5 on Friday; I can hardly believe it. Bryan and I wanted to do something special for her. Five is a big year and last year's birthday wasn't what I ever thought it would be. Lucy was in the hospital on Anna's birthday last year, and our lives were in constant limbo.  I spent my days at the hospital being a mom to Lucy and my evenings being a mom to Anna. I tried my best to keep things normal and balanced for Anna, but planning a birthday party and big birthday celebration wasn't going to happen.  So we kept things low key; Anna chose Harry's for dinner, and we gave her some gifts (a bike and some clothes I think).  Anna was amazing through it all, and even though she doesn't remember all of the stress, emotions, and commotion those 2 1/2 months we decided to go to Disney for her birthday this year (for all of us). It was one of the best decisions we've made for our family. We all had a blast. Anna loved meeting the characters (especially Rapunzel) and riding the rides (especially Space Mountain). We loved seeing her joy and excitement.  It was nice to get away from work stress and spend the week together as a family.

I don't know if you've been to Disney, but there is food (mostly delicious) everywhere.  You can't walk 20 feet without being bombarded with a restaurant or food stand. We had a food plan (1 quick service meal, 1 sit down meal, and 1 snack each day), and I think we overrate the whole week. I tried making healthy choices, but the dessert always got me. It's OK though - it was a celebration!

We went to this restaurant, The Wave, which offered fresh, organic, sustainable food, and I have to tell you it was the best food I've had in a really long time - maybe ever.  I had the chicken breast with mushroom risotto.  It was the perfect mix of sweet and savory and I think Gordon Ramsay would approve (you have to watch Hell's Kitchen).  I had my first experience with creme brûlée, and I might be a changed person :). If you find yourself in Disney World be sure to head to the Contemporary and eat at The Wave for dinner (or breakfast or lunch). I advise being on a dinning plan so it doesn't seem like you are actually paying for the food (it was way more than anything I would ever normally pay for).  

Even though I broke lots of rules I'd been careful to follow the past few months. I did try to be conscientious of my choices. These are a few things I did to try to keep real food in the picture while on vacation:
1. We went grocery shopping for healthy snacks when we got to Orlando: apples, peanut butter to go cups, carrots, and 100% fruit strips
2. Choose fruit for snacks: Disney offers whole and cut fruit at many stands
3. Choose vegetarian options: I had a yummy veggie pizza at Epcot (roasted red peppers, mushrooms, squash, and zucchini), a delicious black bean and veggie burrito as well as hummus with chopped veggies several times.
4.  We went to several breakfast buffets so I tried to fill half my plate with fruit then add 1/4 eggs and 1-2 pieces of bacon and a treat (or 3 - I'm a sucker for sweets).

Now I'm trying to get back on track after our week long sugar binge!

Looking Pretty without Parabens

In my last post I referenced how overwhelming making healthy changes is because it's not just the food.  I don't want to be a crazy "that's going to kill you" person, but reading different blogs makes me wonder what's ok and what's not ok to be putting into our bodies, using in our homes, putting onto our clothes, and storing our food in.

I'm not a scientist, and I feel like there are so many contradictions as to what's safe and what's not safe.  I don't feel like the government has our back on labeling foods processed with GMOs and artificial dyes, so I don't think they have our backs on any household products either.  Don't take my word on it - read up and make your own choices about what's being used in your house.  100 Days of Real Food and Food Babe have some interesting articles to read on these topics.

These are some products I've started using with great results.  Click each product to link to their website for more information on the product.  The cleansers I've switched to have no parabens.

• Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser - my face is clean and feels moisturized.  I haven't had any breakouts since using the product for about 3 months.
• J Beverly Hills Shampoo and Conditioner - I like the Addbody from their Blue Line Botanically Infused Hair Care.  I buy it from a local salon.  I don't have to use any product in my hair and it stays looking nice (I'm not really a hair person, so it's good enough for me), and it smells AMAZING!
• Molly's Suds - this is an all natural laundry powder that leaves your clothes smelling like NOTHING!  Apparently clean smells like nothing.  This idea is hard to get used to; I know.  I tried this for the first time last weekend and I am very pleased with the results. Bryan's undershirts were clean and without stinky pits so that's something to brag about :).  I also bought 3 sets of dryer balls for a total of nine balls.  These were a little expensive up front, but they should last about 3 years so that's not too bad.  (Look for a coupon code on 100 Days Of Real Food.) The dryer balls are a little annoying to hear bumping around, but there were way less wrinkles in the clothes. I like what this little company stands for, so be sure to read their story.
• Nourish - if you are looking for natural bath products without the chemicals and parabens, I highly recommend their soaps (I haven't tried any other products). I found these a few years ago while on vacation in Hilton Head.  These soaps do smell, but the fragrance is from natural sources like lavender, lemon, coffee, and other earth products - you know, the stuff you can pronounce and know exactly what it is (a full list of ingredients is on their web site). You can order online or shop in one of their 3 stores while on vacation.

I feel like I'm on the path to a natural household but I still have some changes to make - the biggest one is an all natural cleaner.  I think I'm going to try this one from 100 Days of Real Food.  I've been buying a lot lately, so I just want to give my credit card a little break.  Don't worry about us breathing in toxic chemicals from traditional cleaners - I don't really clean enough for it to be a problem :).  I read in the comments that vinegar and water should be used on wood floors and furniture rather than the cleaner. I'll let you know how it works. 

Share your favorite all natural product in the comments!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner and Some Enchiladas

As the primary grocery shopper and cook in our family, I get to make the choices about the foods we eat for the most part (yay me).  I've taken on the responsibility of educating myself about real food and why it's important to eat this way and finding recipes that will work for our family.  I often feel overwhelmed by all the information about chemicals, GMOs, and artificial additives in our foods and other personal and household products; I read and digest what I can and improve things little by little in our home.  I really enjoy the recipe search and the satisfaction it gives when we find a winner.  I started the blog to record the winners, warn you of the losers, and encourage other families to take the plunge into real food even though it's not the easiest way (but probably a healthier way).

This was all my idea; Bryan didn't encourage it, but he's going along for the ride (he's a keeper).  There are a few things that I'm not willing to demand he stop eating/drinking: diet soda and cereal.  Neither is a beneficial food to his diet, but he will choose to stop when he wants.  Many of my experimental dinners come with a questioning look upon his face, but he's a trooper and tries everything.  There have even been a few dinners that make me feel like Super Wife; he eats seconds and tells me how delish the food is - except he doesn't say delish.  I think Bryan knew I was a keeper when I made him cookies.  It's easy to love cookies, it's easy to praise sugar.  It's something special to love and praise real food. 

Bryan's new favorites:

Open on Sunday Chicken Sandwich 

from: Food Babe

Food Babe is hardcore about real food.  I feel like I don't even have a drop in the bucket on my real food journey when I start reading her posts, but I know I do - some change is better than no change.  Don't be discouraged if you realize you are breaking a lot (all) of her rules; keep pressing on making the changes you can, and then make her sandwich.  

Read this blog post for information on the badness of the yummiest fast food chicken.  It's sad; it's one of our favorites too.  Does it mean that I'm not going to eat fast food anymore?  No, but maybe it will be less frequently.  The bottom of the post has a recipe for Open on Sunday Sandwich.  It takes a little time to prepare, but it was worth it!  I would only cook the chicken for 20 minutes next time because I thought it was a little dry, but Bryan loved this sandwich. 

Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

from: Cookie and Kate

Kate's site is one of my favorites!  I've found a bunch of recipes to try; some are better than others.  This enchilada recipe is one of the best we've had.  These were easy to make, and Bryan couldn't get enough; he even loved the chopped avocado on top (cheer for small new food victory).  These were a little on the sweet side, so don't be afraid to add a spicy pepper, hot sauce, or other spices to jazz it up a little.  We said we would probably add some cumin and a little chipotle pepper spice next time.  We had leftover enchiladas and left over bean mixture, so I will just plan on freezing half of the sauce and half of the bean mixture next time. 

Cook on Super Wives or Husbands - whatever.

My Perfect Eggs

I love perfectly cooked eggs; don't you?  Eggs are packed with protein and vitamin D (Incredible Edible Eggs), so I think eggs are the perfect addition to a salad, a quick and healthy snack, or served as the main dish.  Right now I'm just eating large eggs from the grocery, but I'm interested in trying fresh pastured eggs from chickens that are allowed to roam rather than caged birds.  I'll let you know how it goes when we get a chance to try them.

Hard-boiled Eggs
I've been experimenting with different ways to cook hard boiled eggs so they taste and look just right AND the shell peels easily. I used to cook my eggs The Better Homes and Gardens way, but I couldn't get the shells to peel easily so I tried a few different methods and this is the one I like best.

- boil water in a saucepan
- add eggs once water is boiling
- boil for 15 minutes
- remove eggs right away and place into ICE water (key to easy peeling)

Tips:
- use eggs that are 1-2 weeks old
- eggs will keep for about 1 week
- crack and roll gently to peel
- other recipes suggest putting the eggs in the water and bringing to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from heat, cover, and set for 15 minutes.


Scrambled Eggs
I watched Alton Brown make scrambled eggs this way several years ago, and I think they are the best. His recipe is more detailed so I've adapted it to my needs and likes.  This is a method rather than a recipe, so use the egg/cheese/milk mix that you like best.  I like to use 1 egg and 1 egg white with a little shredded cheese for breakfast many mornings. Pre-shredded cheese is not real food approved, but I haven't made that switch either. I'll get there.

- spray or butter your pan
- add eggs (cheese, milk, etc) to pan
- scramble with a silicone SPATULA LIKE THIS - this is the key
- add cheese
- let set for a minute
- scramble
- remove from pan right when the eggs are fully cooked and no liquid is in the pan. Let's ban dry brown scrambled eggs, shall we?