Meal plans and the week ahead

Happy Easter everyone! We have a somewhat busy week this week. Today we are going to Kevin's parents' church for Easter. Then we'll be heading over to my mom's house for a family dinner and egg hunt. Kevin is off on Monday. Tuesday I am meeting my friend's mom at a local country club for some baby shower planning. Thursday I have to drop our milk jars off to Diane. Friday is my flex day. Carson and I will be meeting up with my friend Kati and her son, Anthony, for some walking, talking, and shopping. We might try to do a quick pedicure, too.... we'll see if Carson and Anthony are sleeping in their strollers at the same time. ;) We don't have any firm plans for Saturday. If its nice, we'll stay home and work outside. If the weather isn't the greatest, we'll head down to the Detroit Science Center for the day.

Here's the plan.... I haven't decided what extras I'm going to tackle yet this week. I'll fill them in as the week progresses.  I need to move some raspberry bushes one day this week, but that's really the only definite thing so far.  And that will depend on the weather. 

On a side note... we went to Bordine's yesterday to buy a couple fruit trees.  We had planned to go on Friday, but the rain kept us from going.  But thankfully we had awesome weather all day long yesterday, so we went in the morning.  The rabbits killed three of my new fruit trees last year (2 made it).  So I replaced the Bing Cherry with a Ranier Cherry, and the Braeburn apple with a Golden Delicious apple.  They didn't have the semi-dwarf peach trees in yet, so I'll have to replace the peach tree once they do.  And these new trees are wrapped so the rabbits can't eat the young bark.  So anyway, we planted them yesterday afternoon.  I also did a lot of clean up work outside, but there is so much more to do.  :) 

Anyway... on with the plan...

Sunday - Easter; church; family dinner
B: yogurt; fruit; gf strawberry banana coconut muffins
L&D: at my mom's, much of what we're having are things I'm trying to avoid or really limit... so I am bringing some raw veggies with homemade ranch veggie dip and guacamole, and an asparagus salad

Breakfast options:
strawberry banana coconut muffins; fried eggs with sausage; yogurt with fruit; kefir smoothies

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; egg salad avocado boats; big ol' salads; raw veggies with dip; fruit rolls; crispy almonds and pecans; yogurt; fresh fruit; sliced cheese

Monday - Kevin is off
primal mushroom pizzas; lettuce salad; fresh fruit

Tuesday - Spring Meadows CC
misc. leftovers

Wednesday -
zucchini egg bake; roasted cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms; applesauce

Thursday - drop off milk jars at Diane's
salads with grilled marinated flank steak, hard boiled eggs, cucumbers, carrots, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette

Friday - flex; shopping with Kati and Anthony
TBD... possibly eating at Ben and Kati's house

Saturday - Detroit Science Center? Work outside?
TBD.... depends on what we end up doing

Paleo Salmon Florentine

I saw a recipe on Cross Fit Santa Cruz Central's blog that looked delicious - for paleo salmon florentine.  And was it ever!  We all loved it!  This will definitely be going into our recipe rotation.  It doesn't take long to prepare, which is great for us on work nights and it's very healthy.  This would be a great dish to serve for company, as it presents very well.  I didn't really measure anything, just threw in however much looked good.  I had one large salmon filet that my uncle caught in one of the rivers up north in the fall.  His salmon is seriously the best!  Yum!  I used more mushrooms and more spinach than the recipe below calls for, too.  Just use what sounds or looks good to you. 

Paleo Salmon Florentine

2 salmon filets
1 T olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
9 oz. mushrooms, sliced
9 oz. baby spinach, fresh
1/4 C coconut milk
3 T white wine
spices: about 1/4 tsp. each!
sea salt (optional)
pepper (fresh ground)
cayenne pepper
paprika
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saute pan, heat olive oil, and saute onion... add garlic, and cook until translucent. Add sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Add a splash (about 3 T white wine), cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are soft and tender. Now add spinach and cook until wilted. Pour coconut milk over everything and mix well. Pour all ingredients onto a baking dish. Place salmon filets over top of spinach mixture and sprinkle with spices. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet
Grain Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious
Primal Cave Friday at Primal Toad

Primal Butternut Squash Soup

I made this soup for dinner last weekend.  I needed to use up another butternut squash and thought a soup sounded good.  I had some locally made polish sausage (some would call it ring sausage) in the freezer, so I decided to add that.  And I just threw in some veggies that I had in my freezer.  You could add whatever veggies you have on hand for this.  Corn would be great, but it's not primal or paleo, so I didn't add it.  If I would have left the peas out, it'd be considered paleo.  This soup came together really quickly and it tasted great!  All three of us enjoyed it a lot. 

Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 large butternut squash, cooked
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 pound locally made, nitrate-free polish sausage, diced
2 cups peas
2 cups chopped zucchini (I used yellow zucchini from my freezer)
1 cup coconut milk
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

If your squash isn't already cooked and mashed, you'll need to do this first. 

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add in all the veggies, stock, coconut milk, and spices.  Stir to combine.  Let simmer for about a half hour.  Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet

Paleo/Primal Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot

I made these for dinner on Friday night.  It was the first time I've actually made stuffed peppers, but I've had them many times before.  Generally, they have rice mixed in with the meat.  My friend, Jaime, mixes in quinoa.  Both are excellent choices, but unfortunately neither are primal friendly.  I scored some organic red peppers for an amazing price last week... on the reduced produce rack.  I got 8 huge organic red bell peppers for 99 cents total!  Amazing!  I will only buy organic peppers since conventional bell peppers contain an obscene amount of pesticides in them.  I never make exceptions on peppers.  

So anyway, I decided to make stuffed peppers in the crockpot for dinner on Friday.  I did not use a recipe, just added what sounded good.  They turned out so delicious!  We all loved them.  Carson said they were his favorite dinner, he loved them so much. 

Paleo/Primal Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot

2 extra large red bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1/4 pound italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 egg
spices to taste - garlic powder, oregano, cumin
1 jar pasta sauce, homemade is best

Slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds.  Set aside.

Mix ground beef, sausage, onion, celery, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, egg and spices in a medium bowl. 

Take each pepper half and fill with 1/4 of the meat filling.  Place into 6-quart crockpot.  Once all peppers are in the crockpot, spoon your favorite homemade pasta sauce over top of each stuffed pepper.  I used about 1/2 pint on top of 4 pepper halves. 

Turn crockpot to low and cook for about 6 hours.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have a very low key week this week. Hopefully that means we'll be productive. I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning these last 3 weeks or so and would like to finish it up this week. And hopefully the weather is somewhat decent this week, too. 

Today we're headed to church at Resurrection Reformed.  We may go to Longway Planetarium this afternoon since we didn't go a couple of weeks ago, but we'll just see how the afternoon plays out.  We may save it for another day again.  Thursday I will be down in Detroit and Windsor all day for a tour with some U.S. Dept. of State officials.  Kevin may be off on Friday for Good Friday - I think he is, but he doesn't - so if he is off, I may try to work extra each day this week so I can just use a few vacation hours and have Friday off, but at this point I'm working.  Friday is my day to pick up milk and we're still on every-other week CSA pick up, so I'll swing by the mill, too.  Saturday we have no plans at the moment, but we may be doing an Easter dinner with my in-laws since they're going to be gone on Easter Sunday in the afternoon.  So we'll play it by ear for now. 

Sunday - church (RRC); Longway? 
(chop veggies for week; prep snacks and lunch items; make kefir; thaw ground beef and stock; clean out front coat closet and playroom closet)
B: fried eggs; sausage; grapes
L: egg salad avocado boats; misc. leftovers
D: butternut squash soup with sausage

Breakfast options:
kefir smoothies; fried eggs; banana pancakes; bacon; veggie omelets

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers from dinner; big ol' salads; egg salad with avocado; sliced cheese with cucumbers; raisins; dried banana chips; pickles; sliced local pepperoni

Monday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
paleo salmon florentine; peaches

Tuesday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
paleo salisbury steak; broccoli, carrots, green beans; applesauce

Wednesday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
leftovers

Thursday - Detroit and Windsor for work
(thaw chicken)
crockpot turkey veggie egg drop soup

Friday - p/u milk and CSA
(clean out shelves next to refrigerator in kitchen; clean out linen closet in bathroom)
crockpot rotisserie chicken; roasted veggies; applesauce

Saturday -
(make chicken broth; hard boil eggs; make deviled eggs and egg salad; clean out dresser drawers in master bedroom)
B: omelets; kefir smoothies
L: deviled eggs; salads with carrots, cucumbers, orange bell peppers, avocado, sliced chicken
D: paleo chicken enchilada bake

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars (grain-free)

Carson and I made a new snack last week... peanut butter coconut bars.  I got the recipe on Nourished an Nurtured.  I thought they'd be a nice snack to have on hand that would be full of protein and healthy fats.  They are really tasty, too.  Carson and I both loved them.  Kevin won't try them because he just doesn't think he'll like them (he doesn't care for nut butters).  I thought the texture would be a little different, more like a larabar or something... but I didn't pay attention to the instructions on Nourished and Nurtured.  You process these until they're smooth, so they really resemble more of a fudge.  I cut them into small squares, about 1.5"x1.5."  It's just the right size.  These have been great to keep in my refrigerator at work for times when I need a little energy boost and they're healthy, semi sweet snack for Carson, too. 

For this batch, I used half crispy almonds and half crispy pecans, dates, and I did not add the honey, as I thought they seemed plenty sweet already. 

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars

2 cups crispy almonds and/or pecans
1/2 cup dates or raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (soft enough to scoop easily)
1 Tablespoon honey, optional (I thought the bars were sweet enough w/out it)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Coarsely chop nuts in food processor. Then add all other ingredients and process until smooth. Grease an 8X8 square baking dish with coconut oil. Pour the nut mixture into your dish and refrigerate to harden.  Store in the refrigerator.


This post is linked to: Sugar Free Sunday at Flip Cookbook

Meal plans and the week ahead

I cannot believe today is supposed to hit 80 degrees!  Granted, it's supposed to start raining and storming (even thought its not yet and it was supposed to have been already... we'll see if it actually storms or not), but 80 degrees... yeah!  :o)  Yesterday was awesome and this week looks pretty great, too.  Carson and I planted some peas, beets, and spinach in the veggie garden yesterday.  We got a lot of yard work done, too.  It was so nice to be outside nearly the entire day and night. 

Today we are headed to church.  We're going to make a trip to Tractor Supply Co. this afternoon to check out the baby chicks and bunnies and pick up a few things.  Thursday I am going out to dinner with some friends and I need to drop our milk jars and cooler off at Diane's house.  Friday is my flex day.  Carson and I are going to do something fun, but I'm not sure what yet.  If the weather is nice, we're going to go to MSU for the Butterflies in the Garden.  Saturday we are headed to Grand Rapids for my niece's 3rd birthday party. 

Here's the plan... I haven't decide what all I'll do for extras this week, so only today is filled in.

Sunday ~ church; TSC
(make kefir; hard-boil eggs; make egg salad; cook ground beef; prep veggies for week; make parmesan cheese crisps; make apple pie larabars; clean out cabinet under sink)
B: fried eggs; sausage
L: egg salad avocado boats; raw carrots and cukes; berries from freezer with cream
D: grilled salmon; roasted veggies; applesauce

Breakfast options:
fried or scrambled eggs; sausage links; egg-sausage-veggie muffins; avocado-asparagus-cream cheese omelets

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; big ol' salads; egg salad mixed with mashed avocado; raw veggies with ranch; cheese crisps; fresh fruit; apple pie larabars

Monday ~
(clean out far right drawers in peninsula; clean out upper cupboard above peninsula)
balsamic glazed pork chops; asparagus; cauliflower; carrots; peaches

Tuesday ~
stir-fry with chicken, green beans, broccoli, peppers, onions

Wednesday ~
(clean out cupboard with plates in it; clean out utensil drawers in peninsula)
spaghetti squash casserole; asparagus; peaches

Thursday ~ drop milk bottles/cooler off at Diane's; dinner with friends
S - Mongolian BBQ with friends; K&C - leftovers

Friday ~ flex; MSU Butterflies?
(hard boil eggs; make mayo; make egg salad; make kefir; plant shell peas; dig raspberries up for Melissa; clean out side flower bed)
crockpot beef roast with carrots  crockpot paleo stuffed peppers; broccoli and green beans from freezer; applesauce

Saturday ~ Rebecca's bday party
(clean out and organize Carson's art table; clean out and organize tv stand)
dinner at SIL's for Rebecca's birthday

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

This was another idea that I got from Life as a Plate.  AndreAnna made these amazing looking and sounding appetizers by wrapping salmon cakes and asparagus spears in bacon.  I'd like to make the appetizers the same way she made them for a party one of these days.  But I decided to just make the salmon cakes and wrap them in bacon as a main course for one of our dinners this week.  I used canned salmon instead of the salmon fillet that AndreAnna used, too.  Just because I have some in my pantry to useup.  I also changed up some of the ingredients for what I had on hand.  Use the link at the beginning of this post to see the original recipe.  I've written it below as I made them. 

Wow, these were delicious!  We all enjoyed them a lot.  I prepped the salmon cakes and wrapped them in bacon, then put them in a glass Pyrex storage dish on Sunday afternoon.  Then I just had to remove the lid from the container and pop them in the oven to bake for dinner on Monday night.  This made making dinner a cinch on Monday! 

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

1 can salmon
pat of butter
1-2 Tablespoons finely diced onion
1 garlic clove, finely diced
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 Tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 egg
bacon

In a saute pan, melt the butter and saute the garlic and onions until translucent.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, blend the pine nuts for a few minutes.  You want to take them past the chopped, crumbly stage, but not quite all the way to a butter stage.  These will help bind the salmon cakes together while giving them a nutty taste. 

Put the drained salmon into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the blended pine nuts, garlic and onions, mayo, dijon, cheese, seasoning, and egg.  Mix well.  You can put this mixture into the fridge for a half hour or so to firm it up, or you can just assemble the salmon cakes now.  Chilling the mixture makes it easier to work with, but I just kept going. 

Form salmon cakes with your hands.  Wrap bacon around the cakes and place the ends of the bacon underneath the bottom of the cake.  I used two pieces of bacon.  Place in a glass baking dish. 

You can either refrigerate the assembled cakes until you are ready to cook them, or bake them immediately. 
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, checking often. The length of time you need to cook them will depend on how thick your cakes are, as well as the thickness of the bacon.


This post is linked to:
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Gluten Free Recipe Parade at Heavenly Homemakers
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health

Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

I made beef stew for dinner one night this week.  I've made beef stew many, many times over the years.  We love it.  It's a great, hearty winter meal.  I don't really ever make it the same way twice.  It just depends on what I have in my pantry and freezer, usually.  This week, I made it with some cut up beef roast, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, celery, and onions. We are avoiding most potatoes and grains right now, as we are trying to eat primal.  I would normally put potatoes in my beef stew.  And I'd normally use some flour to make a roux to stir in at the end to thicken up the stew.  Both of these options were out.  Of course, I could sub arrowroot powder for the flour to make a roux, but I got an idea to use butternut squash as a thickener from Life as a Plate.  So I thawed some butternut squash and stirred it in towards the end.  It really worked, too!  And it was a great way to get some squash in Kevin's and Carson's diet since they're both not crazy about the texture. The couldn't even tell it was there, yet we had a good, thickened stew.  It was delicious!  We sent some leftovers for Kevin's mom to have for lunch while she was watching Carson this week and she loved it, too.  We've found that if she's eating the same thing we send for Carson, he's more likely to eat it without any resistance... even though he'll love something and chow down two helpings of it at dinner at home, he'll tell her he doesn't want it since he knows he's got his grandma wrapped around his little finger.  ;o) 

Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

stew meat (I cut off about 1/3 of a beef roast and chopped it up for the stew)
veggies of your choice ( this time I used carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, celery, and onions)
beef broth, homemade is best
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
other spices of your choice
1 cooked, mashed butternut squash

Put the meat, veggies, broth, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and spices into your crockpot.  Cook on low all day.  About a half hour or so before serving, stir in the cooked and mashed butternut squash.  I just used some from my freezer.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Gluten Free Recipe Parade at Heavenly Homemakers

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

A few weeks ago, I tried a recipe for cheesy white chicken chili from my friend Melissa's blog.  Melissa writes that this chili has won several chili cook-off competitions and always goes over well.  I can see why because it is delicious!  We all loved it!  I'm sure I'll make it again and just count it as part of the 20% non-primal food allowance on the days that I do 80/20.  :)   I did add some of the optional sour cream and homemade cream cheese, but only about half of the recommended amounts below.  I also only added about a quarter of the shredded cheese.  This would be great without all the cheeses, as well!

Cheesy White Chicken Chili

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans green chilies
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
30 oz. chicken broth, homemade is best
3 cups chicken breast meat, cooked & chopped or shredded
4 cans white beans, drained, home-canned or soaked are best
1/2 - 1 cup sour cream, optional (I used less than 1/2 cup)
4 - 6 oz. cream cheese, optional, homemade is best (I used about 2 oz.)
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen peas
12-16 oz. grated Mexican blend cheese (or you can use any combination of Monterrey Jack, pepper jack, or cheddar, stay away from mozzarella b/c it is stringy when melted... I only used a handful)

In 4 or 5 qt. pan, heat oil over medium-high heat and soften onion and garlic. Add green chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook a few minutes, then add broth, chicken, and 3 cans of the drained beans. Mash the fourth can of beans (use a potato masher, fork or pastry blender and mix in a little bit of the broth from the soup to make it a little easier) and add it to the pot.

Turn heat to low, wait until it is hardly simmering and add cheese slowly until completely melted. If you add the cheese while the soup is bubbling ferociously then the cheese will clump and stick to the chicken.

You can add the sour cream, cream cheese, and/or corn if you would like, but the soup is great without them, depends on your taste.


This post is linked to:
Grain Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious

Egg Salad Avocado Boats

Last week, I posted a recipe/method of serving tuna salad in avocado boats.  I mentioned in the post that egg salad is delicious in avocado boats, too.  I made these for lunch one day last week and snapped a picture, so thought I'd post it.  I make a very simple egg salad.  All three of us love it.  Carson often requests it, even.

Egg Salad in Avocado Boats

avocado, halved and pitted
hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise, preferfably homemade
dijon mustard
celery, diced

Chop up your hard boiled eggs into a medium sized bowl.  Add some mayonnaise and dijon to your liking and mix up.  Add diced celery to your liking and mix.  Spoon into avocado halves (a.k.a. boats) and enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Sugar Free Sundays at Flip Cookbook

Meal plans and the week ahead

Today we're headed to church.  We're going to give the First Baptist Church in Swartz Creek another try this morning.  We may head up to Longway Planetarium this afternoon for a children's show.  We'll see what the weather ends up being... if it's raining, we'll go to Longway.  Otherwise, we'll save it for another weekend.  Tuesday we're going to see a Berenstain Bears live production.  Soccer is done now, so we have our Wednesday evenings back.  We had fun, but it'll be nice to have our evening back now that the weather is starting to get nicer.  Friday is milk and CSA pickup after work.  Saturday we will possibly be celebrating my nephew's birthday.

I will be meeting up with another cow share owner one night this week... probably on Wednesday.  We live about 2.5 miles apart and are going to start sharing the responsibilities of picking up our milk... so I'll only have to go every other week from now on.  This will be great, especially with the price of gas going up.  We'll figure out schedule and whatnot when we meet up this week, but I'm really hoping I can start this week... picking up the milk on the weeks I work Fridays.  Especially right now when CSA Farmer's Market is only on every-other-week pickups and they fall on my work Fridays.  I have to be out in Argentine, anyway.  Plus, its easier for me to swing out that way to get the milk and CSA on my way home from work than it is to make a special trip out there on my flex Fridays.  So hopefully that works out.  I'm looking forward to getting to know this couple.  Diane and I spent about an hour and a half on the phone chatting last night.  Sounds like we have a lot we can both learn from one another. 
Here's the plan...

Sunday ~ church; Longway?
(chop/prep veggies for week; hard-boil eggs; make kefir; make peanut butter coconut bars)
B: fried eggs; bacon
L: leftovers
D: beef roast in the crockpot with carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes; chocomole

Breakfast options:
fried or scrambled eggs with bacon or sausage; grain-free blueberry banana muffins; yogurt with granola; kefir smoothies

Lunch and snack options:
big ol' salads (greens, chicken, cucumbers, avocado, hard boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, leftover cooked veggies, etc.); leftovers from dinner; apples with almond butter; sliced cheese; raw veggies with homemade ranch; peanut butter coconut bars; peaches or applesauce

Monday ~
bacon wrapped salmon cakes with asparagus; yellow beans; applesauce

Tuesday ~ Berenstain Bears at FYT
beef stew in the crockpot; peaches

Wednesday ~ meet up with Diane?
ham from freezer; roasted carrots, brussels, and cauliflower; applesauce

Thursday ~ nephew's birthday dinner and gifts
(make kefir)
almond crusted chicken; peas; corn; broccoli  dinner at SIL's house for nephew's birthday... we're having sloppy joes

Friday ~ milk & CSA p/u; funeral home
(culture milk for soft cheese; start beef stock in roaster)
quiche with ham, broccoli, leeks, and provolone

Saturday ~ Joel's bday party?
(make butter; hang soft cheese; continue cooking beef stock)
B: kefir smoothies; leftover quiche
L: leftovers
D: turkey noodle soup in the crockpot

Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash

I have a few more butternut squash that I need to use up, so I tried a new squash recipe this week for Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash.  I found the recipe on Grain Free Foodie.  This was awesome!  I don't think I've ever put pecans on top of a squash or sweet potato casserole, but I'm sorry I haven't yet because it is so good.  I did not add any honey to the filling and it was plenty sweet, although I'm sure it'd be tasty with the honey in the filling, too. 

Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash 

Filling:
1 small butternut squash
1-2 Tablespoons honey (I left this out)
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Place in a baking dish with some water in the bottom and roast at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, until squash is fork-tender.  Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle it.  Scoop out the flesh and mash into a 2-quart or 8x8 glass casserole dish.  Mix in remaining filling ingredients.  I just did the mixing all in the casserole dish to save a bowl to wash.

Next, make the glaze.  Mix butter, honey, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to carmelize (honey will turn slightly darker). Do not overcook, it will continue to carmelize in the oven. Add pecans, and spread glaze over filling.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until glaze looks consistent and filling looks firm.


This post is linked to:
Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious
Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Sugar Free Sundays at Flip Cookbook

Tuna (or Egg) Salad in Avocado Boats

I've put tuna and egg salad in avocado boats many times over the years.  I got the idea from one of my friends back in college.  I haven't done this often these last couple of years, mostly because I kind of forgot about it, but also because my husband isn't a fan of avocado.  Now that we're trying to go mostly primal in our house, we won't be having bread for tuna or egg salad sandwiches anymore.  So Carson and I will be eating ours in avocado boats from now on.  Kevin just eats his straight with a fork or wrapped in lettuce. 

I mix avocado into our tuna and egg salad sometimes, too.. and Kevin eats that with few complaints usually.  It's delicious mixed into the salad, as well. 

Sorry for the poor quality of this picture.  I'll update once I get some decent pictures.  This was a boring tuna salad with just tuna, mayo, and mustard since I didn't have any of my other typical additions and I was serving it in the avocado boats, so didn't add the mashed avocado.  I'll post the way I usually make our tuna salad below.  I'll try to take a picture of our egg salad this week and post how we like ours later this week. 

Tuna Salad in Avocado Boats

1 or 2 avocado, sliced in half, peeled, and pitted
1 can white tuna
3-4 Tablespoons mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
1-2 Tablespoons mustard
2-3 Tablespoons dill pickle relish or diced cucumbers
2-3 Tablespoons diced celery and/or carrots
1/2 avocado, mashed (optional... if I serve in avocado boats, I leave this out)

Mix tuna with mayonnaise, mustard, relish or cucumbers, celery and carrots, and mashed avocado (if using) ina small bowl.  Fill avocado halves with the tuna salad and enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Grain-Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious

Meal plans and the week ahead

Another quick post today. This week, I'm trying to use up a lot of things from the freezer.

Sunday -
(make kefir; hard boil eggs; make mayo; make egg salad; make nut blueberry protein balls; bake squash)
B: fried eggs; bacon
L: leftovers
D: bunless peanut turkey burgers; asparagus; corn; applesauce

Lunch and snack options -
leftovers; egg salad in avocado; crispy nuts; sliced cheese; fruit; salads

Monday -
B: kefir smoothies
D: pork chops; pecan glazed butternut squash; green beans; peaches

Tuesday -
(bake spaghetti squash)
B: nut blueberry protein balls
D: turkey egg drop soup with veggies

Wednesday - soccer
(cook ground beef)
B: yogurt with crispy nuts
D: shrimp, pea pods, and zucchini sauteed in herb butter over spaghetti squash; applesauce

Thursday -
B: strawberry bread
D: sloppy joes over spaghetti squash

Friday - flex; milk p/u
(wrap gifts; make butter)
B: scrambled eggs
D: pine nut chicken; broccoli; carrots

Saturday - Grand Rapids for Girls' Day Out
B: turkish eggs
L: leftovers
D: S - in GR; K&C - leftovers or order pizza

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

I saw these grain-free brownies on Health Bent and knew at once that I had to try them. I looooove fudgy brownies and these looked and sounded amazing. So Carson and I mixed some up a couple of weeks ago.  We used homemade almond butter, substituted half of the cocoa powder with carob powder, only added half of the optional sweetener, and did not add the nuts (for Kevin's sake). They were very quick and easy to mix together.  The raw batter was awesome (Carson and I both enjoyed cleaning out the bowl and spoons after we had the brownies in the oven :), so I knew the brownies would be, too.  And were they ever!  Yum!  These things are soooo good!  Very addicting!  They don't look done in the middle when you take them out of the oven - they're still quite jiggly - but they set up as they cool.  They are very fudgy and soft, which we all loved, but I can see how it wouldn't be ideal for some people.  But like I said, we thought they were pretty amazing.  :)

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used half cocoa powder and half carob powder)
1/4 cup sucanat (optional... I added about 1/8 cup)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (use the highest % cocoa you can find)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I left these off)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.

In a bowl whisk together the almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with chopped nuts.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.  The brownies will still be jiggly in the center, but they will set up as they cool down.  Wait until they have cooled completely before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Homemade BBQ Sauce

A few weeks ago, I made a beef brisket in the crockpot.  I just threw it in the stoneware with some worschestershire sauce, minced garlic, diced onion, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Then I let it cook on low all day - like 13 hours.  We had it for dinner that night with some veggies and applesauce.  Very simple and so delicious! 

The brisket I used was quite large, so I shredded it all up and made some homemade barbeque sauce from Heavenly Homemakers.  I poured the sauce onto the meat and through it in the fridge for dinner later in the week.  A couple of days later, I got the shredded BBQ brisket out, warmed it on the stovetop, and served it over a bed of spaghetti squash.  Yum, was it awesome!  The BBQ sauce is seriously delicious and SO EASY!  I made it with the ingredients listed below and it was perfect.  I had thought it a little odd to not have a vinegar in there, so I had been prepared to add some... but it didn't need it at all. 

Sorry, no pictures of anything.  Use your imagination.  :)

Homemade BBQ Sauce

3/4 cup ketchup (preferably homemade or organic, definitely one without HFCS!)
2 Tablespoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 Tablespoon molasses, honey or sucanat (I used honey)

Mix ingredients in a small sauce pan. Simmer for a few minutes until flavors are blended.

This sauce was amazing on our shredded beef brisket.  It'd also be delicious as a dip for homemade chicken nuggets.  I can't wait to try this on some grilled BBQ chicken this spring and summer!

The World According To Monsanto

If you're interested in learning more about GMOs, but don't have time to read the book I mentioned in my GMO post, I'd recommend watching the movie "The World According to Monsanto" on YouTube.  Pretty much everything in the movie is in the book and you get enough in the movie to get a good understanding.  Check it out!  If you do a search on the title on YouTube, you can either select the full length movie (as linked above), or you can watch it broken up into parts... which is great if you only want to spend 10 minutes or so a day watching it. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of a taco seasoning packet? The ingredients in our old favorite brand (Old El Paso) include the following: maltodextrin, salt, chili pepper, corn starch, sugar, spice, natural flavor (aka MSG), partially hydrogenated soybean oil, silicon dioxide, yeast extract, ethoxyquin. In some ways, it amazes me that food companies can get so many bad things into a 1-ounce packet of taco seasoning. It also makes me shudder.

I've been making my own taco seasoning for quite awhile now. I can't even tell you the last time I bought a packet at the store. I first started with the recipe on Heavenly Homemakers, which was really good. But it wasn't quite there yet, for our liking. So I tweaked it a bit each time and have found the following recipe to be our favorite. I've basically just increased the amounts of cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Added some oregano and a bit of sweetener. And I use smoked paprika, rather than regular. It is so good! Yum!

Making your own taco seasoning is much more economical, not to mention you actually know what is in your food. It takes less than 5 minutes to get all the ingredients out, measure them out, mix it up, and put everything away. How can you not try this? If you need a little more convincing, go read that list of ingredients at the top of this post again. ;-)

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/3 cup ground cumin
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
3 Tablespoons sea salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons oregano
1 Tablespoon sucanat

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake it up.

I usually add around 3-4 Tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning mix, plus a little water, to 1-pound of cooked ground beef for tacos.

This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Meal plans and the week ahead

Just a quick post today... here's the plan...

Sunday ~ church
(clean out cars; clean in garage; make coconut flour crepes; make kefir; make tuna salad; hard boil eggs; make steel cut oats; make french dressing; make taco seasoning; soak almonds)
B: fried eggs; sausage links
L: crockpot white bean and ham soup
D: meatballs stuffed with garlic-herb cheese; yellow beans; broccoli; fresh pineapple

Lunch options:
tuna stuffed avocado; pesto pea salad; sliced cheese; crispy pecans; fruit rolls; yogurt; hard boiled eggs; apples and almond butter; fresh pineapple; misc. leftovers

Monday ~ pick up blinds
(dehydrate almonds; hang blinds)
B: kefir smoothies
D: tacos with coconut flour crepes

Tuesday ~
(clean off top of refrigerator; clean out/organize cupboards in peninsula)
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup and home dried fruit
D: cheesy white chicken chili; peaches

Wednesday ~ soccer
(make strawberry almond bars)
B: steel cut oats with homemade jam
D: taco salads

Thursday ~
(clean out drawers in peninsula)
B: yogurt with granola
D: kraut bierock from freezer; veggies; applesauce

Friday ~
(make chicken stock in roaster; culture soft cheese)
B: fried eggs; sourdough english muffins from freezer with almond butter
D: butternut squash soup; pumpkin scones from freezer

Saturday ~ Anna's violin recital and birthday lunch
(make butter; freeze stock; hang soft cheese)
B: grain-free banana pancakes
L: at SIL's for niece's birthday
D: pork chops in the crockpot with apples; peas and carrots; applesauce

Roasted Whitefish on Peas

I made this for dinner one night this past week.  I got the idea from Stacey Snacks, but I modified it a little to make it grain-free and simplified it a bit in terms of ingredients.  This was seriously one of the fastest dinners I've ever made.  And it was tasty, healthy, and versatile.  Stacey used cod in her recipe, but I used some Lake Huron whitefish that my aunt's boyfriend caught, filleted, froze, and gave to us.  You could use any kind of fish, really.  And any kind of frozen veggie would work, as well.  Use your favorite seasonings and some olive oil, roast, and voila!  A deliciously fast and simple dinner! 

Roasted Whitefish on Peas

whitefish fillets
frozen peas
garlic powder
salt
pepper
olive oil

Pour out some frozen peas onto a baking sheet or casserole dish.  Sprinkle some olive oil and seasonings on the peas and mix up.  Lay the fish fillets over top of the peas.  Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil. 

Roast in a 475F oven for 12-14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.


This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist
Grain-Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Broccoli-Chicken Bake

I made this for dinner one night last week. I found the recipe on Joyful Abode. This was very quick and easy to prep and it tasted great! It was a tasty grain-free dinner. All three of us really enjoyed it. It's a great meal to prep and freeze if you do OAMC or just like to plan ahead, too.

Broccoli Chicken Bake

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3-4 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 -1 cup diced onions
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Cook the chicken. I just stuck mine in the oven at 350 and baked it for 15-20 minutes until it was done. You can boil it or grill it if you'd prefer. Once cooked, cut your chicken into bite-sized chunks.

If your broccoli is fresh/raw, you should steam it for about 5 minutes. I used broccoli that I had frozen last summer, so I just used it still frozen.

Next, melt butter in a saucepan. Add the diced onions and saute for a few minutes. Then add the arrowroot powder and stir. Next, add the milk. Bring to a soft boil, stirring. Add the cheese and stir. Stir in the seasonings. Taste it to make sure the flavors are good.

Now put the chicken and broccoli in a casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce over top.

You can now pop this in the freezer for later, pop it in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner like I did, or pop it in the oven to cook at 350 for about 20 minutes.

This post is linked to:
Foodie's Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious
Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist

Organic Gardening - Soil Testing

It's that time of year - the snow has almost entirely melted; the ground is thawing; tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are peeking out of the ground; and the air is warming up. Spring is finally showing us that it's here... or at least not far off! It's also the time of year to be thinking about your vegetable and/or fruit garden.  Hopefully you've already ordered your seeds and have sketched out your garden plans.  You also need to be thinking about the nutrient needs of the fruits and veggies you are going to grow.  A lot can be learned from a simple soil test. 

This is the perfect time to get your soil tested for your vegetable gardens. It generally takes about 3-4 weeks to get your results. So you'll want to get your soil samples in very soon in order to have time to address any soil deficiencies or adjust pH prior to planting.  Of course you can also amend the soil after planting, as well. I briefly mentioned the importance of soil testing in a past post on gardening basics, but I thought I'd provide a little more information on the topic.  

Why have a soil test?
The basis for nutrient-dense, healthy vegetables and fruits is a good, fertile, nutrient-dense soil. If you're lacking nutrients and minerals in your soil, you're lacking them in your food. Contrary to what many people believe, vegetables and fruits are not created equal. You need to have your soil tested so that you are aware of any problems or deficiencies in your soil.

What is a soil test?
A soil test will tell you what your pH is, as well as the levels for nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, lime, and magnesium. You can also pay extra for mineral testing, which I would recommend. Your test results should also provide recommendations for addressing any deficiencies. Test results can be difficult to interpret.  MSU has some great information explaining how to interpret your results. 

How often do I need to test my soil?
It is recommended to have your soil tested at least every 3 years. However, if you test your soil now and find out you are lacking many nutrients and minerals, I'd suggest having a test done in the fall or again next spring to see if you were successful in amending the soil.

Who does the testing?
Your university extension office is probably your best bet. For Michigan, contact the MSUE office for your county. For Genesee County, you need to pick up a soil test box from the MSUE office, take your samples, and mail it in to the MSU Crop & Soil Sciences Testing Lab. You can see the fee schedule here.

How do I take a soil sample?
There should be instructions included in your test box, but here are the instructions that I was provided by MSUE - its really a very simple process:

1. Decide whether you want to test soil for the lawn, trees and shrubs, flower garden, or vegetable. If growing more than one item (vegetable and flower) together, use the plant code of what you are planting the most of. Soil sample information form will be included with soil box. Use a spade or trowel and a clean plastic pail to obtain the sample.

2. Collect 10-15 representative soil samples from one type of landscape area – such as your lawn, flower garden, around trees or shrubs, or vegetable garden. Dig to the depth of the plant roots (3” deep for lawn; 6” deep or more for flowers, vegetables; and 8” deep for trees).

3. Mix the samples together in a plastic pail (do not use a metal pail).

4. If the soil is wet, it will be necessary to air dry the soil. Do not use artificial heat (radiators, ovens, etc.) to force-dry the sample and do not mail wet or damp soil.

5. Place 2-3 cups of the well-mixed soil into the soil box.

6. Mail in your sample to the address included in your test box.


This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday on Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

Balsamic Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

I've made this recipe a couple of times now. It comes from one of my Organic Gardening magazines. I think it's really good on any type of salad. Its super easy to make, too. It literally takes about two minutes. This only makes about 1/2 cup of dressing, but it is so flavorful, it goes a long way.  Sorry, no picture.  I'll update if I ever think to take one.  :)

Balsamic Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk all ingredients, except oil in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil as you continue whisking. Keep refrigerated.

Makes about 1/2 cup.


This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday on Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS.

Soaked Raisin Pecan Oat Bread

I made this last month, but am just getting around to posting it. I'm still terribly behind on posting. I'll get there someday, I figure. So anyway, we went to my SIL's house for dinner one night last month. She asked me to bring some kind of bread. I had recently come across a recipe for Cranberry-Pecan Bread on The Nourishing Home and thought I'd make it to take. The original recipe calls for cranberries, but I didn't have any on hand, so I substituted with raisins.  I really liked it with raisins.  Maybe someday I'll try the original recipe with the cranberries, but I rarely buy them, so I'll more likely always use raisins or other dried fruit. This was a very good bread - very moist and flavorful. And I like that it is soaked. I will definitely make this again!  The recipe below makes one loaf.  I doubled it to make a second loaf to have at home since we were taking one to Grand Rapids.

Raisin Pecan Oat Bread

Step One: Soaking

1 cup organic whole spelt flour
1/4 cup Rapadura (or Sucanat)
1/2 cup organic thick-cut rolled oats (not quick-cook)
1/2 cup organic plain whole milk kefir (or cultured buttermilk)
1/4 cup filtered water

Add above ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Add kefir (or cultured buttermilk) and water and thoroughly combine. The mixture will be a very sticky, wet dough.  Cover the bowl and place it in a warm area of your kitchen for 12-24 hours.

Step Two: Baking
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons pure organic maple syrup
1 large egg
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped crispy pecans

After soaking for 12-24 hours, get ready to bake your bread.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add melted butter to the batter and fold into the batter, just until incorporated. Then, add maple syrup, egg, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Thoroughly combine by folding into the batter. Then, fold in the cranberries and pecans.

Place the batter into a well-oiled loaf pan. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the bread is a rich brown color and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This post is linked to Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS, and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

Meal plans and the week ahead

Is it really mid-march already? Looks like we'll see some nice spring weather this week - we're supposed to hit 50! I'm ready for it! Its hard to believe that we were seeing 70 degree temps already this time last year... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this year, too! :)

We've got a fairly uneventful week ahead of us. Today we're going over to my aunt's house for our cousin Tyson's 1st birthday party. Wednesday we have soccer. Friday is my flex day and milk pickup. And that's the end of our plans this week! We're looking forward to it, honestly. :)

We'll be keeping plenty busy still, though. We ended up working some long days last week, so we didn't finish as much in Carson's new room. So some of that will push into this week... painting the dresser (it's primed, at least), buying and hanging the floating shelf, buying and hanging some blinds, and putting the final coat of paint on the doors and hanging them up. Then we just have to get a few things to hang on the walls as decoration and its done! We'll start our next project later in the week... or rather Kevin's next project... working on the tractors. We've got the Steiner (the zero-turn mower) in the garage right now to fix the rear wheel that busted off... so Kevin has a bit of welding to do. Then we'll get that out of the garage and get the Cub Cadet in there so Kevin can get the rototiller running. We're hoping to make a trip to Home Depot one night this week (or on Saturday morning) to price out some roof stuff and some bathroom stuff, as well.

So here's the plan... I haven't figured out what I'm going to tackle in the kitchen yet this week.  I'll fill it in as the week goes on.

Sunday - Tyson's birthday party
(hard-boil eggs; make kefir; make counter-top yogurt; prep spaghetti squash casserole; paint 1st coat on dresser; paint final coat on doors)
B: fried eggs; sausage
L&D: at Tyson's party

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; apples with almond butter; sliced cheese; raisins; hard boiled eggs; raw carrots and celery with ranch; egg salad lettuce wraps; soup from the freezer

Monday -
(thaw whitefish; hang doors; paint final coat on dresser)
B: yogurt with fruit
D: spaghetti squash casserole; green beans

Tuesday -
B: kefir smoothies
D: roasted whitefish on peas; side salads

Wednesday - soccer
(make spicy carrot pickles)
B: dutch baby pancakes from freezer
D: cauliflower soup; cornbread from freezer

Thursday - Happy St. Patrick's Day!
(hang floating shelf; hang blinds?)
B: kefir smoothies
D: corned beef, potatoes, and carrots in the crockpot

Friday - flex; milk p/u
(make grain-free brownies; make butter)
B: scrambled eggs; bacon
D: homemade pizza

Saturday -
(work in garage)
B: omelets
D: tbd

GMOs - what they are and why they're bad

Over the last two weeks, I have been reading the book "Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating," by Jeffrey M. Smith. I just finished it this past weekend and felt compelled to blog about it.

I'd been wanting to read the book for awhile and checked it out from our WAPF local chapter library. I'm very glad I read it. I've been apprehensive about genetically modified (GM) foods for quite a few years now, but I never really understood the depth of the political corruption and cover-up behind them. Wow. I really think anyone even remotely curious about GM foods should read this book. And I wish that our political leaders would, as well. Michelle Obama is such a health advocate, emphasizing our need to know what is in our food... I wish she would read this... and maybe bend her husband's ear about some things!

The book basically covers the many significant health dangers of consuming GM foods. It highlights that GM foods are not a religious issue (as some have argued in the past), rather a food safety issue. However, the U.S. media generally does not pick up on the safety issue. The book discusses the reasons behind this. It was very disturbing to read the factual accounts of Monsanto and other large biotech corporations, in cooperation with government agencies, strong-arming their way through the media, scientific institutions, and politicians.

Not only do I want to recommend that everyone read this book (or at least check out the websites I have listed at the bottom of this post), but I wanted to also provide some information on GMOs. I know much of my own family and many of my friends are unaware of what a GMO even is, let alone the risks associated with them. So here is my attempt at providing a little education on the subject.

What is a GMO and where do I find them?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are made by blasting certain genes from one species (bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans) into the DNA of a food crop or animal to introduce a new trait. Genetic engineering (GE) creates unpredictable changes in foods. The composition of a GM food may be quite different from its natural counterpart.

The major GM crops in the U.S. are cotton, soy, canola, corn, and sugar beets. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, approximately 91% of the soy, 88% of the cotton, 88% of the canola, 85% of the corn, 90% of the sugar beets, and 50% of the Hawaiian papaya in the U.S. markets are genetically modified. Others include a small amount of zucchini and summer squash, and some tobacco. There are others, as well, but these seem to be the biggest offenders. The two main traits that have been blasted into these GM foods are herbicide tolerance and the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide. These traits do not increase nutrition of the foods, whatsoever.

Nearly all processed foods contain one or more of the typical GM ingredients, in one derivative or another - soy flour, soy protein, soy lecithin, textured vegetable protein, corn meal, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin, fructose, citric acid, lactic acid, corn oil, soy/soybean oil, etc.

Common items that probably contain GMOs include: infant formula, salad dressing, bread, cereal, hamburgers, hot dogs, margarine, mayonnaise, crackers, cookies, chocolate, candy, fried foods, chips, veggie burgers, meat substitutes, ice cream, frozen yogurt, tofu, soy sauce, tamari, soy cheese, tomato sauce, protein powder, baking powder, alcohol, vanilla, powdered sugar, peanut butter, enriched flour, pasta, cosmetics, soaps, detergents, shampoos, bubble baths.

So what's the big deal?

"GM foods have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. The effects on humans of consuming these new combinations of proteins produced in GMOs are unknown and have not been studied.

Crops such as Bt cotton produce pesticides inside the plant. This kills or deters insects, saving the farmer from having to spray pesticides. The plants themselves are toxic, and not just to insects. Farmers in India, who let their sheep graze on Bt cotton plants after the harvest, saw thousands of sheep die!

Genetic engineers continually encounter unintended side effects – GM plants create toxins, react to weather differently, contain too much or too little nutrients, become diseased or malfunction and die. When foreign genes are inserted, dormant genes may be activated or the functioning of genes altered, creating new or unknown proteins, or increasing or decreasing the output of existing proteins inside the plant. The effects of consuming these new combinations of proteins are unknown." (Source: Institute for Responsible Technology)

Something else I found disturbing - Antibiotic Resistant Markers (ARMs) are attached to the foreign gene(s) during the GM process. If this makes it into the DNA, the ARM renders the cell invincible to a normally deadly dose of antibiotics. Many scientists have expressed concerns that these ARMs may transfer into our human digestive systems. The effects of this are not entirely known. Of course, the biotech companies insist that the ARMs are not transferred to the human gut. But we know we cannot trust much of what the biotech companies tell us. This raises the question (at least to me) as to whether this process may be one of the reasons we are seeing so much antibiotic resistance in humans these last few years.

Government is protecting the public, though, right?

From what I read in "Seeds of Deception," the answer is a big fat NO. This is very disheartening to me, especially considering that I work for my state government. My organization is (thankfully) filled with upstanding individuals that are really in it for the right reasons - to look out for the best interests of the public and make our state a better place. But this isn't so for all governmental agencies.

The foundation of the U.S. FDA policy on GMOs is a non-scientific, non-binding guideline. They do not perform any of their own independent tests on GMOs, rather they solely depend upon the large biotech companies to perform the tests. If the biotech companies say it's safe, the FDA agrees.

Information was obtained through FOIA to reveal that some "agency scientists did warn that GM foods might create toxins, allergies, nutritional problems, and new diseases that might be difficult to identify. Internal FDA memos reveal that the scientists urged their superiors to require long-term safety testing to catch these hard-to-detect side effects. Nothing was done that would protect consumers. In fact, in the case of genetically modified bovine growth hormone, some FDA scientists who expressed concerns were harassed, stripped of responsibilities, or fired. The remaining whistle blowers had to write an anonymous letter to Congress complaining of fraud and conflict of interest at the agency." (Source: Institute for Responsible Technology)

One might ask how government can get away with something like this, or maybe more importantly why they would even want to. You need to do a little digging and follow the money trail and you will find your answers. Everything revolves around money and profit these days, doesn't it? It makes me sick! Many government officials (mostly in the politically appointed or elected seats) have held previous positions with Monsanto, or other large biotech companies. Others accept financial contributions and then later go on to work at one of the big biotech companies after their duties have been fulfilled "serving the public."

Agribusiness seems to target both sides of the aisle, though they do tend to find more friends on the Republican side. From the information I reviewed at the Center for Responsive Politics, large agribusiness firms lobby the Republicans with almost double the dollars that go to the Democrats, although the spread was closing in recent years. 

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Monsanto spent just over $8 million lobbying in Washington in 2010. Their highest year was 2008 at nearly $9 million. The overall lobbying total (for all companies) for agricultural services for 2010 was $33.3 million. Monsanto was the #1 lobbying client at nearly a quarter of the total and trumping the American Farm Bureau (#2) by over $2.5 million.

Like I said, just follow the money trail...

So how do we know GMOs are dangerous, if government is not requiring the studies?

Various independent feeding studies (by concerned or interested scientists) in animals have resulted in potentially pre-cancerous cell growth, damaged immune systems, smaller brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy or increased density of the liver, odd shaped cell nuclei and other unexplained anomalies, false pregnancies and higher death rates.

"Thousands of sheep, buffalo, and goats in India died after grazing on Bt cotton plants. Mice eating GM corn for the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies. More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, and were smaller. Testicle cells of mice and rats on a GM soy change significantly. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. Rodents fed GM corn and soy showed immune system responses and signs of toxicity. Cooked GM soy contains as much as 7-times the amount of a known soy allergen. Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced. The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may lead to cancer. Studies showed organ lesions, altered liver and pancreas cells, changed enzyme levels, etc.

Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment revealed that the genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us." (Source: Institute for Responsible Technology)

OK, so how do I avoid GMOs?

Buy 100% organic. The easiest way to do avoid GMOs is to always buy certified 100% organic products, which, by law, cannot contain GMOs. You can also look for the Non-GMO Project seal on the packaging.

Avoid processed foods. Nearly all processed foods contain one or more of the typical GM ingredients, in one derivative or another.

Be wary of vegetable oil and margarine. Most vegetable oils and margarines on the shelves in grocery stores and used in restaurants and in processed foods are made from soy, corn, canola, or cottonseed. Unless the label on the bottle of oil specifically says "Non-GMO" or "Organic," chances are it is genetically modified. Some good alternatives that do not typically include GMOs are: olive oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, almond oil, coconut oil, and pure butter.

Be wary of your vitamins. Vitamin C is often made from corn. Vitamin E is often made from soy. Vitamins A, B2, B6, and B12 may also be derived from GMOs.

Where can I get more information?

Check out:
Non-GMO Shopping Guide 
Institute for Responsible Technology
Non-GMO Project
Center for Food Safety



This post is part of Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist, Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

Marbled Brownies

We visited some friends for dinner last night.  I was responsible for dessert.  I debated about what to bring, from fancy, complicated desserts to very simple, yet tasty.  I decided to go for the latter since I knew we'd end up being a little pressed for time yesterday.  I decided to just make some marbled brownies.  I used the chocolate chip brownie recipe from Heavenly Homemakers as my base and then just added some cream cheese batter to swirl through.  I haven't made marbled brownies in a long time, but I used to make them quite regularly, so I just went off memory for the cream cheese mixture... and I used my own homemade soft cheese in place of the store-bought cream cheese brick.  I did modify Laura's recipe slightly by adding in about 1/2 cup of milk and an extra egg since the mixture just seemed too thick for brownies (I like fudgy brownies :).  I also doubled the recipe for a larger pan.  I've posted the recipe adjusted for the larger pan and with the extra egg and milk below. 

I think they turned out pretty well and they seemed to go over quite well with everyone.  My parents had one today and even they liked them (they normally aren't too crazy about made-from-scratch goodies that use whole wheat flour).  They were quite thick and dense, not necessarily fudgy, but definitely not dry like I feel like they would have been without the extra egg and milk.

These were also super easy to throw together.  They were just as easy as throwing together a boxed brownie mix... only these are much better for you, made with good, quality ingredients.  And I almost always have all the ingredients on hand.  I'll definitely make these again sometime. 

Marbled Brownies

Chocolate brownie mixture:
2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups rapadura/sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream cheese mixture:
1 cup/8 oz cream cheese, softened (either use a brick from the store, or homemade)
1 egg
1/4 cup sucanat/rapadura
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, stir together butter, rapadura/sucanat, and cocoa. Mix in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, egg, sucanat/rapadura, and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Set aside. 

Grease a 9x13 baking pan with coconut oil.  Spread about 3/4 of the chocolate mixture on the bottom of the pan.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter in dollups.  Then spoon the remaining chocolate batter in dollups between the cream cheese dollups.  Cut through the mixtures with a knife to create the marble design. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


This post is linked to Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.