Daily Motivation - Rules to Live By

I love this!  I am currently redecorating my office and this will look perfect on my wall.  What a great reminder of 'rules' to live by!    

 

  Source: Unknown

Naturally Dyed Pink Frosting

We decided a week out from my daughter's birthday that we were going to do a little party with two of her friends.  The problem is that I don't know how to do anything 'little'.  Our playdate turned in to a full fledged Pinterest inspired party complete with tissue poms, tulle chairs, a Barbie 'theater', yummy food, and a Barbie cake!  

I struggled with the cake at first.  We try to keep our treats naturally sweetened, usually with honey or maple syrup.  I knew that I wanted her cake homemade and I found a lot of recipe possibilities.  The problem was that I didn't have a lot of time to experiment and see what would or wouldn't work in terms of baking it in to a tall Barbie cake.  I ended up making the King Arthur's Tender White Cake recipe using all organic ingredients. 

The one thing I didn't want to compromise on was our desire to keep artificial food dyes out of our food.  We've witnessed first hand in our family how Red-40 can affect a child's behavior and it was not pretty.   How would Barbie's skirt be pink though?!  Easy.  Beet juice!  I made a basic buttercream frosting out of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (soooo much sugar, eek!).  After it was all blended together I added in 1 tsp of beet juice from a freshly juiced beet.  It worked perfectly!  Thank goodness too since I finished frosting it 10 minutes before the party started.  Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator...

With Valentine's Day coming up this would be a perfect way to tint frosting without using artificial food dyes! 

My cake decorating skills might need a little work but my now 5 year old thought it was the best thing ever and that's the opinion that matters most! 

Pink Buttercream Frosting
8 Cups Sifted Organic Powdered Sugar
1 Pound Organic Unsalted Butter (4 sticks), softened to room temperature
2 Teaspoons Organic Vanilla Extract (check that the ingredients are only alcohol & vanilla beans!)
1 Teaspoon Beet Juice (I used our Jack LaLanne juicer to juice one peeled beet and it was plenty)

1. Add butter to stand mixer and beat on medium speed for a 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated.  Scrape down sides after each addition.
3. Add in vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed for a few minutes.  
4. Add in beet juice 1 teaspoon at a time until desired color is achieved.  I wanted a light pink so 1 teaspoon worked perfect.  Scrape down sides and mix well.  
5. If you're frosting is too thick for your needs you can add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.  

*This recipe makes a lot.  I had some left over after giving Barbie a thick coating to even out her skirt.  If you're doing a smaller cake or cupcakes you could probably get by with half of the recipe above.  

Inflammation & Our Need for Whole Foods

I watched a video clip by Susan Blum, MD, MPH last night and it was a good reminder of the concept that 'not all calories are created equal'. She discussed 100 calories from an organic apple vs 100 calories from a snack pack of pretzels and how they affect our bodies on a cellular level. (Confession: there was a time when I consumed 100 calorie pack snacks every.single.day!)

The food we eat imprints our cells with information. Healthy food, such as the apple, are like a green light to our cells and allow them to be healthy and function properly. Unhealthy foods, like the pretzels (and most other things in the standard American diet), send out a red light to our cells and can lead to poor cellular function that can damage our body and lead to negative side affects such as inflammation. 

Years upon years of poor diet choices can lead to a myriad of problems including chronic inflammation in our bodies which is evident through muscle pain (Fibromyalgia) and joint pain (Arthritis).  Chronic inflammation is problematic because it means that instead of the body healing, the immune system is essentially attacking itself.  Inflammation can also affect our body as a whole with symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, and a feeling of puffiness.  This is why it is so important for us to remember that food is a source of nourishment and natural medicine for our body.  Be proactive!

The best thing you can do is spend the majority of your time grocery shopping in the (organic) produce aisle. Focus on whole foods - foods that are unprocessed, unrefined, and appear in their most pure form. I am always brought back to Michael Pollan's quote from his book Food Rules....

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (No Bake)

There was a time when pretty much everything I consumed was out of a package (I know, I know...) and granola bars were a staple!  They were a common breakfast and snack item for me.  I remember even keeping a stash on my nightstand when I was pregnant and nursing for those middle of the night cravings.

Fast forward a few years later and I've come a long way on my food journey.  I try to keep the packaged foods to a minimum.  Luckily, granola bars are one of those that I've been able to easily make and keep on hand for our family. 

We love anything with peanut butter and chocolate around here so it's no surprise that this is one of our favorite granola bar recipes. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Makes 12-14 bars

2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
1 Cup Crispy Rice Cereal
3 Tablespoons Flax Seed, Ground
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Coconut Sugar  (can sub brown sugar)
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil (can sub brown sugar)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

1. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lining it with foil and rubbing a little coconut oil around the bottom and edges then set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine oats, rice cereal, and flax seed and set aside. 
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine honey, peanut butter, coconut sugar, and coconut oil.  Once mixture starts to bubble around the edges, turn up heat a little and stir constantly for one minute.  
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. 
5. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine ensuring that all dry pieces are coated.
6. Pour mixture in to prepared dish and use your hands or a spatula to press down evenly.  Press hard, this is an important step so the bars to end up falling apart.
7. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the mixture and lightly press down.  I like to use mini chocolate chips and wait a few minutes so they don't melt as much.  
8. Let mixture cool for a few hours or overnight. 
9. Transfer to a cutting board and cut in to bars (I get 14 out of our pan).  Store in an airtight container, separating layers with a sheet of wax paper to prevent bars from sticking together.

Disclaimer - The product links on this web page are Amazon affiliate links. 

Our Favorite Popcorn Maker

We love popcorn around here!  Unfortunately, I spent way too many years eating microwave popcorn out of a bag.  Most of it is high in sodium, high in fat (hello, 'movie theater butter' anyone?!  eek!), and there are chemicals in the lining of the bag that I'd rather not chance vaporizing in to my food.

Luckily, I came across a great deal on a stove-top crank popcorn maker this year.  (Our is similar to this one) We have gotten so much use out of that thing and the kids love helping me make popcorn!  We heat up 1-2 tablespoons (a.k.a. a big spoonful) of organic coconut oil over medium heat with a few kernels of popcorn.  Once the kernels pop we add in 2/3 Cup of kernels, close the lid, shake a little, then crank away.  We like to do family movie night at the house so this popcorn maker makes an appearance fairly often.

Right now our favorite popcorn is the Amish Country Purple.  I think I'll order this variety pack next time so I can try the Ladyfinger and Baby White as well.  Yep, now I want to go make some popcorn....

Disclaimer - The product links on this web page are Amazon affiliate links.

Salad in a Jar

I really enjoy a good salad but I'm not a fan of pulling out the cutting board each day and chopping up 56456 different types of vegetables.  I feel like I spend more time prepping the salad and making the dressing than I do actually sitting down to eat it.

Introduce: Salad in a Jar!  When I actually take the time to make these up I gladly enjoy salads for up to a week.  Mason jars work perfect for this.  The white storage jar lids pictured below are my favorite!

 

Since I knew I would eat these at home, I chose to use a smaller jar and leave out the lettuce and dressing until serving.  If you want to prep it all in the jar, make sure you put the dressing on the very bottom, then layer vegetables, followed by lettuce.  It's important that the dressing be on bottom and the lettuce always be on top. 

Veggies pictured above from bottom to top are: broccoli, red bell pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms.

On a side note, I received a new dressing emulsifier for Christmas (thanks, mom!) and I'm really excited to try out one of the recipes on the side of the bottle, Cumin Vinaigrette.  Yum!


Disclaimer - The product link on this web page is an Amazon affiliate link.