Ginger

The health benefits of ginger are endless!
They have properties rich in anti-oxidants,
anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer; and provide natural remedies for numerous disorders - especially for stomach and digestion problems.

My favorite ginger recipe is Ginger Tea.   Yum, you'll love this warm or cold!

Ginger Tea

6 cups of water
1 inch strip of ginger peeled (but not grated)
1 inch lemon rind
1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
juice of one lemon
4 bags of green tea

Boil water, ginger, lemon rind, and honey for a 3 minutes.  Add juice from the lemon and bags of tea and let sit for 20 minutes.  Garnish with mint if desired.

Ginger Tea

Ginger Potatoes

4 large potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
1 green Chile
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tomatoes
1 tablespoons curry

Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes until done.  Heat oil and add ginger, curry, green Chile, turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.  Add potatoes and salt and cook for 5 minutes.  Then add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add ham if desired.  This is sooooooooo good :)

Ginger Potatoes

PEANUT BUTTER GINGER NOODLES

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoon ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1 package of noodles (any kind will work, but I like spelt noodles)
Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup peanuts

Boil water and cook noodles until al dente.  Whisk all ingredients together and cook over medium heat until peanut butter is melted.  Add noodles and peanuts and you have a delicious meal.  Sometimes I skip the peanuts and add whatever vegetables I have on hand.  Add chicken if desired.   Make no mistake, this is DELISH!!!!

Peanut Noodles

There you have it, my favorite ginger recipes.  You can easily freeze ginger after it's been peeled it.   Once ginger is frozen, it's sooooo much easier to grate too. 

I bought some pears with the intention of making gingered pears and if I find the time to make it I might update my ginger blog.  But, I'm a little preoccupied with a good book, cuddle time with the kids, and watching Dancing With the Stars.   Yes, all at the same time.

What's your favorite ginger recipe? 

Thanks for reading,

Kristin 

Family Comfort Food

Although I love to experiment with all sorts of recipes, I tend to be the master of only a few recipes in the kitchen.  When I asked the family what they consider my masterpieces, they rattled off a few recipes but spaghetti sauce and stuffed shells topped the list.

Home-made Spaghetti Sauce
*Inspired by Chad's Dad Bill

INGREDIENTS:

Chopped:
1 cup celery
1 cup onion
5 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 pound quality ground beef
3 Italian Sausages - cooked
3 12 oz cans of tomato sauce (preferably made from your own tomatoes)
1 12 oz can of tomato paste
1 12 oz can of water
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 T oregano
1 T parsley
2 T sugar or 3 packets of Steevia
1 T Rosemary
1 cup of fresh mushrooms

Saute celery, onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Drain grease and add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours.  We cook ours on the top of our woodstove.

Spaghetti Sauce!  Out of no where, I found my Grandma's glasses in the garage.  Just when I needed them the most!

VEGETARIAN SPAGHETTI

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound Soba or whole wheat noodles
2 T. Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 can drained chick peas - smashed
2 tsp. crushed red pepper (more or less depending on taste)
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 8 ounce can of tomatoes
1/4 cup starchy hot water

Cook noodles as directed.  Heat olive oil and saute garlic and red pepper for 5 minutes.  Add chick peas with thyme, salt and pepper.  Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and 1/4 cup starchy hot water and cook for 3 minutes until dissolved.  Add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve over noodles with Parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti El Cecci or Vegetarian Spaghetti

Mega Meat-Stuffed Shells

Salt

Box Jumbo Pasta Shells

2 T EVOO

1 lb. meat loaf mixture (ground beef, pork, and veal - can find at Marketplace)

3 garlic cloves

1 small onion, finely chopped

Black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup Italian-style bread crumbs

½ cup grated Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

A few fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 425 and, in a large covered pot, bring the water to a boil for the shells. Salt the boiling water and cook the shells for 8 minutes; they should be firm at the center. Drizzle them with EVOO and set aside in shallow baking dish.

While the pasta is working, brown the meat in EVOO. Add the chopped garlic and onions to the meat; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; and cook mixture for 5 minutes more. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs, and half the cheese and combine. Fill the shells with the meat mixture.  Add tomato sauce to the bottom of the pan and put shells on top.  Sprinkle cheese on top of shells and then add the remaining tomato sauce  Then bake for 11 to 12 minutes to set the filling in the shells and crisp the pasta at the edges.

 **As a vegetarian alternative, I stuff a shells with tofu.

Mega Meat Stuffed Shells

We've had a rough week, so comfort food seemed to be in order.  You know, unexpected bills, broken iPad, lost iPod Touch, temporary layoff in the family, etc.  But, when I came home from work yesterday, guess who was waiting for me like I was Princess Kate?   Nothing like kids to brighten your day :) 

Gus and Greta waited for 20 minutes for me to get home

What's your comfort food?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin

Amazing Avocado

Avocados are rich in vitamins A, C, and E and are full of other nutrients like potassium.  They contain folate, monosaturated fats and antioxidants.  Regular consumption of avocados helps us in many ways like preventing different types of cancer, boosting the immune system, enhancing vision, and preventing bad breath.  That's one powerful fruit.  I like avocado because it's a healthy fat which tastes great and fills you up.  This week I've experimented with a few different oddball recipes, some great and some mediocre.

To start with, I of course made an awesome salad with avocado. 

Avocado Lettuce Salad

Next up I made a delicious chocolate avocado milkshake.  LOVED this!!

Ingredients:
1/2 and avocado
2T. of cocoa powder
splash of vanilla
2 packets of stevia
1 1/2 cup milk (I used soy milk), and a handful of ice cubes.

Avocado Chocolate Shake

Not only is this DELICIOUS, it's super healthy and satisfying too.  Super good!!!


For dessert one night, I made an avocado mousse.  While I thought this was good, I also found it to be a little too rich for me, and I'm one of those that rarely finds anything too rich or too sweet.    Here's the recipe:  Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Avocado Mousse - I stuck these on our deck in the SNOW from April 16

For breakfast one day I made a delicious Blueberry Avocado Smoothie - YUM!!!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 avocado
1 cup blueberries
1 cup greek yogurt
2 packets steevia
couple ice cubes
Blend and enjoy!  This was an AWESOME way to start the day.  Loved it!!

Blueberry Avocado Smoothie

And, here's a perfect, healthy substitute for mayo:

1/2 cup avocado
1/2 cup greek plain yogurt

This is also super healthy and super good!  I added this to the top of my black bean burger and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!  Too bad I forgot to take a picture!

Avocado is full of the good fats, but since it does contain a lot of fat I allow myself 1/2 an avocado at a time.  To keep the an avocado fresh after it's been cut, keep the inside nut with the fruit.  When I make salsa in the summer with avocado I keep the large nut in the salsa so the avocado doesn't brown.

What's your favorite avocado recipe?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin

Armpit Candy

Commercial deoderant has been suspected to be a contributing factor in breast cancer in women and alzheimers in both sexes, so why not consider a change?  Women shave the pits causing small cuts in the skin and then use deoderant containing all sorts of crazy chemicals including aluminum.   I had been using Kiss My Face organic deoderant for years which is reasonable and works although your pits still sweat.

Kiss My Face - works great for me

I ran out of Kiss My Face deoderant, and I was in the organic store, had just gotten paid, and decided to treat myself to some expensive organic deoderant.   That's right, I spent $7.50 on lavendar organic deoderant and  guess what, it did not work AT ALL!  The next day I put it on and when I went for a bike ride I stunk and had sweaty armpits. 

Jason Deoderant - does not work for me

After my experience with the expensive, all natural deoderant, I decided to try my own.  You will never believe this (I didn't) but giving myself a splash of baking soda under the arms works every time and a whole box costs less than a buck and it's perfect, because I can clean the sinks with the residue.  PLEASE TRY IT - baking soda under the arms!

But, being the occassional over-achiever, I needed to make some real deoderant, and it was suprisingly easy, cheap and works GREAT!!!

MIX
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
Add 3 tablespoons coconut oil or more until the deoderant is a right consistency
Drops of essential oil (I had peppermint on hand)

Add to the empty deoderant container and you have an all natural deoderant that actually works!!!


I had such an awesome week.   Once a year I attend the Wisconsin Rehabilitation conference and always learn a lot and return refreshed.  I rode motorcycle with my friend Clark and thankfully his wife lent me her motorcycle gear - and what an adventure!! 

Motorcycle Ride to the Osthoff Resort

I was able to partake in some spa time and ate at some GREAT restaurants.  Here's some of my favorite eats:

Root Vegetable Soup and Bruschetta

Wood Fired Basil Tomato Pizza

If you ever get to Sheybogan, I HIGHLY recommend Il Ritrovo - the food is out of this world!  The ingredients that do not come from Italy are locally grown and organic.  I can't wait to get back (next year).

And, since I wasn't able to run outside with my friends, I used the dreadmill and actually enjoyed it because I did some speed work which actually made the experience rather fun (OMG, did I just say I had fun on the dreadmill?)

I digress, now if you use el cheapo, chemically-filled deoderant, I hope you'll give it a second thought.  At least give the baking soda under the arms a try.   Does anyone else have any tricks for a natural deoderant?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin

Easter Treats

Easter is up there as one of my favorite holidays.  My parents always host a wonderfully, huge Easter egg hunt for the kids on their property after church and it's a BLAST for everyone :)

But, we started this week by dying Easter eggs.  Instead of buying a kit, we made our own dye and of course we used farm fresh eggs.

• Food Coloring
• 4 ounces white vinegar
• 2 ounces water

Mix and dye the hard boiled eggs.  We decorated ours with glitter (first roll in glue).

Easter Eggs, Complete

Easter eggs, done.  Farm fresh eggs, of course

With the dyed eggs, I made my Grandma Evelyn's famous hard boiled eggs.  We all love hard boiled eggs but my Grandma's were the best and they always remind me of her.

My Grandma Evelyn's Deviled Eggs!  Oh, I miss her today!!

Grandma Evelyn's Deviled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs
Miracle Whip (not may)
Mustard
Finely chopped onion

Cut eggs and half and scoop out yolks.  Add Miracle Whip and a little mustard and onion.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Yes, this recipe is a little vague, but you get my Grandma's idea.

None of this is healthy - but it's EASTER!  Here's the bunny cake that I insist on making every year with the kids.   It's basically two white cakes cooked in round pans.  Once the cake is cooled cut two ears out of one of the round cakes for the bunny ears and what remains is the bow tie.   Decorate with whip cream, licorice, coconut, and jelly beans.  Adorable, right?

Easter Bunny Cake

And last but not least, I made this cute popcorn cake.  This cake is FULL of the super bad stuff, but it tasted pretty good and it looked adorable.  I actually made this last weekend for Gus' birthday cake.

POPCORN CAKE

2 cups of popcorn
1 bag of small marshmallows
2 cups of M and M's
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cup pretzels

Mix popcorn, M and M's and pretzels in a bowl.
Melt butter and add marshmallows until the marshmallows are melted.  Mix together and add into any pan.  I used a bunt pan and it turned out pretty cute.

Popcorn Cake

And finally, we made some adorable rice krispie eggs.  We made the typical rice krispie treat recipe off the box, formed them into eggs (wait until they cool so they don't stick to your hands) and then squish in some jelly beans.  We loved making these, and giving them out as treats to our friends.

Rice Krispie Egg Treats

What's your favorite  Easter recipe?


Happy Easter!

Summary of the Cleanse

March is the PERFECT month for a proper body cleanse - mostly because the weather is variable and for me it's a "transition month" from winter activities to the warmer weather activities.

Here's a summary of my March cleanse:

-Participated in a detox yoga class (think AWESOME)
-Drank detox tea all month
-Kombucha with spirulina DAILY (super yum)
-Ate detox foods (such as kale smoothies and cabbage soup)
-Took all natural organic cleansing supplements
-Weekly Epsom salt baths
-Hot stone massage (ahhhhh)

THE GOOD RESULTS

So, as a result of the cleanse, I feel really great!  I did not lose more than a few pounds, but I do feel as if I was able to eliminate toxins from my body.    By the end of the month, I slept better, had a ton of energy, and noticed my eyes were brighter.  My only physical complaint (one I've lived with forever) is my need to pee more than the average person but after a month even that was better  - it musta' been something in the supplements. 


THE BAD

The supplements actually are meant to bind you up so your "business" eliminates everything from your intestinal walls, so my "business" went from daily to every other day which was hard to get used to.  I also developed a temporary rash on my hand which is a result of toxins releasing through my skin.    Gross, but if you are going to try the supplements you need to know (I wish I woulda' known).

I over-did it on the kale smoothies, so I do not see another one in my future - EVER.

My home-made kombucha recipe did not work out, but I'm not giving up!  I recently read that 2 tablespoons of raw, organic apple cidar mixed with water has the same affect as kombucha, so I'm going to give that a try.

WINNING RECIPE:

My FAVORITE cleansing breakfast though was quinoa with prunes:


CROCKPOT QUINOA:

1/3 cup quionoa
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of chopped prunes

Cook for 8 hours on low in the crockpot.  Optional:  add cinnamon, soy milk and steevia.  Delicious.

Crockpot Quinoa

I look forward to my next cleanse in the month of November (another transition month in terms of activities).

Has anyone else ever tried to cleanse the body of toxins?

Thanks for reading!

Kristin

Snacks in Mugs

This week I've been experimenting with delicious, one serving snacks made in minutes with every day ingredients.

FLAXSEED MUFFIN IN A MUG

Spray a mug with cooking spray and microwave 1 tsp. of butter until melted (15seconds for me)
After melted mix in:

1/4 cup flaxseed
1 egg
2 packets of steevia (or you could use sugar / splenda but that would not be as healthy)
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of cinnamon

Microwave for 1 minute (times may vary) and out comes an awesome tasting, 230 calorie, warm, healthy muffin.  You can also add walnuts to this recipe, but flaxseed has some healthy fat in it already, so I don't think it needs it.

Flaxseed Muffin - on my Grandma's tablecloth, on her dishes, with her butter dish in the background

Next up, I made this delicious apple pie in a mug recipe.  I wasn't sure I'd like it because I don't particularly like red hots, but trust me this is GREAT!  I can't wait to try this again when apples are in season.

APPLE PIE IN A MUG

1 braeburn or Fuji apple cored and cut in 1/4 inch pieces
15 red hots
1 graham cracker

Add apples and red hots to a mug and microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir well and microwave for another minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes, add graham crackers and ENJOY this guilt-free apple pie in a mug (only 140 calories)!

Apple Pie in my Grandma's Dishes

And finally, here's a delicious healthy blueberry muffin in a mug:

Ingredients:

4 T. whole wheat flour (I've had good luck with Bob's Red Mill lately)
3 packets of steevia (or Splenda / sugar)
2 T. brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 T. blueberries
7 T. of milk - or enough milk until it looks like cake batter

Microwave on high for 2 - 3 minutes.   Again, another winner and and only 200 calories compared with a  500 calorie muffin from a coffee shop.

Blueberry Muffin in my Grandma's Mug

I LOVE these mug recipes because they are a quick, warm, satisfying, healthy snack or breakfast.

Now, I'm off with 10 little 7 year old children for a birthday party for my little Gus. Here's a picture I took of him on Friday (his actual birthday).

Happy Birthday Gus - Gus said, "This is the best day of my life."  Awwww

Happy April Fool's Day!

Kristin