Oh Honey{crisp}!

A few weeks ago I ordered a case of Honeycrisp apples from Bountiful Baskets.  I hadn't ever tried them before and I kept hearing all these rave reviews about them!  Like they're the best tasting apple IN THE WORLD!!!

So I thought to myself.  Wow, I've really got to try these!  So I ordered the case.  And then I picked them up.  And holy cow!  They were GINORMOUS!!!   I'm not kidding!  I mean check this out:

They were almost as big as The Tod's head!!!  And no, that's not some fancy schmancy trick photography on you!  No illusions were created in the taking of that photograph!  Dead serious!  They received shocked and amazed looks from everyone who saw them!  Each apple was a meal all unto itself!  In fact, The Tod started that apple and it took all four of us to finish the thing!  It was that huge!  Are honeycrisps always that large???

And yes, they were pretty tasty too, if I do say so myself!

Dude Food: Football Parties

Yesterday was the end of rivalry week.  And I'm happy to say that my team squeaked out a 1-point victory at the very end.  Phew!  We watched it over at my sister in laws house, and The Hubs had gone out and bought a bunch of snacks to contribute ~ chips, cheese balls, dips, sausages...you know, {cough~cough} healthy stuff!

You know the old saying, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and I totally didn't plan any football treats so that there could be healthier options for me.  Oops!

I could give you a list of excuses about how worn out from Thanksgiving cooking I was, how there was no room in the fridge right now since it is loaded with leftovers and bla, bla, bla.  But the truth is, I really had no plan in place.

It's situations like these that I need contingency plans for.  The plan I can pull out super fast and pull together some good healthy treats like its nothing.  So I need to think up some good dude food that is FAST, and super EASY to make.

So I'm digging deep.  Trying to remember some of the fast finger foods I have made in the past.   Making lists.  Planning.

Some of my ideas so far:

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

These are so super easy!  

Get your mushrooms, a variety of types if you'd like, pull the stems out, turn them upside down and fill with pesto.  You can make your own pesto if you're so inclined, but if we're going for the super fast, and super easy, then just go buy a nice bottle of pesto.  Eat them raw, or heat them on a low heat in the oven for a few minutes.  Easy Peasy!!!

 Southwestern Black Bean Burritos

I love how fast these are too.  

I make them sometimes on those I-don't-want-to-cook-nights.

These are so easy, and you can play around with the amounts depending on how many people you will be serving, or how spicy you want them.  Here's what you'll need:

*  Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers {found frozen at Costco and other places}

*  Salsa

*  Shredded cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese or pepper jack cheese {or a combination of all of them!}
*  Flour tortillas

Thaw the black bean burgers and crumble them into pieces in a bowl. Add salsa and cheeses to taste. Mix together and spoon into flour tortillas and roll up.  Sprinkle cheese on the top and bake until heated through.  I like to add smashed avocados on top of my burrito after they are finished cooking.  Yummy!

Fresh Jalapeno Poppers

I'm not sure where my recipe for this one is, but it basically entails de-seeding the fresh jalapenos, stuffing them with cheese and microwaving them until the cheese melts.  {You might steam the jalapeno in the microwave covered with plastic wrap for a few minutes until they are softened a bit ~ I don't quite remember without the recipe in front of me!  Sorry!} .  You can serve these with a raspberry all-fruit jelly as a dip and it's pretty tasty too!

You might be able to fill these with cashew cream, if you're not doing dairy, but I haven't officially tried that yet.

Apples and {Healthy!} Caramel Dip

This one may not look exactly like real caramel, 
but it tastes surprisingly quite close to it!  
And!  It is a much healthier version!

* 1 cup dates

* 1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk or other milk of choice {combine 1 cup nuts + 2 cups water, blend and strain through cheesecloth, then measure amount needed for recipe}

* dash of sea salt

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 3-4 apples, sliced

Throw everything except the apples into the blender, starting with 1/4 cup of your almond milk and adding more if needed to help it blend.  You want to keep your mixture nice and thick though.  Once it is thick and creamy, spoon it into a bowl and dip your sliced apples in.

~~~

Let's see.  What other healthy, easy and quick items could be added to my list?  I'm thinking an assortment of sandwiches, but haven't figured out which ones yet to add to my list.  And probably a trail mix with nuts and dried fruits.  But what else?

Please leave me a comment if you have any other ideas for me!  I'd love to hear them!

Kid Friendly Thanksgiving Craft!

Look what we did with these cute lil' gourds!

I think they turned out so cute!

 And all it took was: 

hot glue

googly eyes

colored foamy crafty stuff

and popsicle sticks!

Oh and the gourds too!

Now that's a project I can handle!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!

So What I Meant To Tell You {But Was Too Scatterbrained To Remember}

Let me explain.

To all of you who came to The Inaugural Lunch Bunch luncheon last week, and to those of you who couldn't come, or want to start participating from a distance, this is the goal of the group as I see it:

This is about eating whole foods, and getting away from anything with processed ingredients in it.  And it is about learning, trying out, and sharing and supporting each other with healthy recipes and tips.

For our next get together we will be bringing healthy holiday treats.   I recommended the Raw Food Dessert type cookbooks for treats not because I want to turn you all into raw food vegans or anything, but because there is  A LOT to learn about making delicious treats made with real fruits, real sweeteners, healthy fats and real CHOCOLATE without a lot of dubious ingredients or fillers in them!  It's truly eye opening and exciting!

Do you have to bring a raw food dessert or treat with you to our next gathering?  Nope!  It's just a suggestion if you want to try it.   If you have a favorite healthy treat you want to share that is made with healthy whole food ingredients, then by all means, please bring it to share! 

So here are two of my favorite raw food dessert resources for you if you'd like to try something along this route:

First Awesome Resource:

And The Second Awesome Resource:

 The blog Sweetly Raw by Heather Pace.  It's loaded with healthy yummy dessert recipes throughout. AND she has her own ebook or two if you want to download them. 



If you're looking into some of these raw food desserts for the first time and are running into strange ingredients and don't know where to find them, please let me know!  I've had to source them all out myself since starting to cook this way and I can help you source them locally and on the internet if you'd like!  

We haven't officially set the date for the next get together but I anticipate it will be towards the first or second week of December.  I will let you know once we have figured it out.  In the meantime, have fun experimenting with your healthy holiday treats!  I can't wait to taste all your {healthy} creations!  My mouth is watering already!

Cheers!

Talking To Your Plants

I'm sure you've heard before that talking to your plants is beneficial to them.  They grow better {or something}.  So yesterday as we were doing some final yard clean up before our first really big winter storm hits, Big Sis and I discussed it.

We wondered, what sorts of things do you say to plants anyway?

Do you just talk to them like they're a friend?  "Hey!  How's it going?"

Do you talk about the weather?  "So!  Nice weather we're having!"

Do you just shower them with compliments all the time?   "You look pretty today.  Yes you do!  You are so pretty!"

It reminds me of the MythBusters episode where they actually tested this theory out.  I don't remember the outcome though but do remember scenes of them telling plants nice things vs. shouting mean things at them.

We decided that whatever you do you must talk from a loving point of view.  I believe no one {or anything} will flourish in an environment filled with hate.

Now I've never really talked to my plants before this.  So what did we end up saying to our plants yesterday?

Well, to the rosebushes as we harvested the rose hips off, we thanked them.  Thanked them for showering us with so many beautiful blooms this year.  We thanked them for offering us highly nutritious rose hips {they're a powerhouse of Vitamin C, peeps!} that will continue to bless us through the cold and flu season.  We thanked them for offering them to us and to the birds who will also enjoy them throughout the winter.  We thanked them for filling the measure of their creation.

To the sad little bush in the front yard that was struggling with a lot of deadwood.  We cut it back almost to the ground like a neighbor with the same {healthy} bush does.  And told it how much we love it and just want it to be healthy.  Followed up with, "this hurts me more than it hurts you!"    :D

Do you believe in talking to your plants?  What sorts of things do you or would you say to your plants?

The Inaugural Lunch Bunch Luncheon

I want to thank all my wonderful friends who came to the Inaugural Lunch Bunch yesterday.  It was truly so much fun!  And to those friends who couldn't come, we missed you!  But never fear!  If you missed it, we still have the recipes for you to try on your own!  But sadly, {as I hang my head down in shame} I forgot to take pictures.  Next time I make any of these, I will try to remember to snap a pic and update it.

The Fabulous Menu

The Becaninni

• Multigrain roll, or bread of choice
• Roasted red pepper hummus
• Spinach leaves
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Artichoke hearts

Assemble ingredients in a sandwich fashion.

Fruit Salad {Yummy, yummy!}

• Plain yogurt or kefir, enough to coat fruit
• Chopped apple
• Chopped grapes
• Chopped dates
• Orange or tangerine, squeezed

Combine in bowl and cover with as much yogurt or kefir as you like.

 Quick and Easy Tomato Soup
{and Food Storage-able too!}

• 1 ½ c cooked or 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 14.5 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice {or from a bottle if you want to be able to store it}
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup plain unsweetened soy milk {can come in a shelf stable box if you want to store it}
• Salt
• Ground cayenne
• 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro or parley, for garnish

In high speed blender, combine chickpeas and garlic and process until finely ground.  Add tomatoes, cumin, lemon juice, oil, ½ the soy milk and salt and cayenne to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Add as much of remaining soy milk as needed to achieve desired consistency--not too thin, not too thick -- blend until smooth and creay.  Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.

Transfer to large saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until hot, about 5 mins.
Garnish with cilantro or parsley.

Rawesome Peppermint Brownies

• 1 c. almonds ground into flour
• ½ cup agave nectar
• ½ cup cold pressed coconut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Blend together.
• Slowly incorporate:
• ½ cup cacao
• 8 drops Peppermint essential oil

Do not over mix or heat.  Pour into a square pan and let set in freezer. Stores in freezer or refrigerator. Serves 16 1” square pieces of brownie.

 We will be meeting again soon and next time we will be focusing solely on healthy holiday treats! 

I will post more info soon with the links to some of the books and info I had if any of you want to check them out.  So start experimenting and I can't wait to taste all the healthy holiday goodness you are going to make!

And never fear, if you can't make it, or want to join in on our fun, we will post a linky so you can blog it and link it up for everyone to enjoy along with you!

~ ~ ~

The Becanini Sandwich was featured in The Holistic Kitchen Cookbook available on Amazon. I'm so honored to be included. Go check it out!

You Are More Than Your Job

One of my elementary school teachers died last week.   As I was reading her obituary, I was struck by what a wonderful, full life she led.  She was much more than just a teacher. 

I mentioned this to Big Sis at breakfast this morning and we were laughing how she used to think teachers lived at the school and didn't have lives beyond that.  And funny when The Tod saw his preschool teacher at church one day and was totally confused because he {usually} only sees her at school.  I guess he didn't know that teachers go to church too.

But it makes me think...how often do we only see one side of a person?  And why do we judge people so harshly sometimes when we really have no idea what they are going through?  We need to remember to be kind to people and not judge them.  Heavenly Father loves us all.  "...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good".