Sunday Recipe Wrap Up Link Party

I found this new blog called Cookie Dough and Ovenmitt and they have a neat link up for Sunday Recipes. I really like to cook and try new recipes. In fact my blog has a ton of recipes and some of which are tried and true pinterest recipes. So here is my link up!

Sundays are perfect days for me to share recipes because I just had a whole week of meal making. I usually write out my grocery list on Wednesday or Thursday night, which usually includes checking out my recipes I pinned on Pinterest. I REALLY like Pinterest BUT seriously time management is key. So, I usually pick six to seven recipes and click on the link to get to the blog, and then narrow it down to a couple new recipes I want to try. Then I print out the recipe so I can get off of the computer or my phone before its two hours later and I'm pinning new stuff! I also like to print the recipes because I can always have the paper copy for reference and once again less screen time for my precious eyes!

This special Sunday I'm going to share this awesome recipes I found on Pinterest that is so EASY and CHEAP and did I say easy. I have been making this every week for while and I decided to give it a break so I didn't wear it out but its absolutely delish!

!!!PRINTABLE RECIPE!!!!

YIELD About 2-4 Servings

GINGER BEEF, MUSHROOM & KALE STIR-FRY

{Adapted from GIMME SOME OVEN, check out this blog for original recipe}

PREP: 5 MINS COOK: 25 MINS TOTAL: 30 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

MARINADE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce (if making gluten-free, be sure to use GF soy sauce)
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or chicken/beef broth, or water)
• 3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

STIR-FRY INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. thinly sliced flank steak or sirloin, cut diagonally across the grain into thin strips
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 16 ounces baby portobello or button mushrooms, halved
• 3 cups chopped kale
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE THE MARINADE:

Add all marinade ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade into a large bowl or ziplock bag, then add in the steak and gently toss to combine. Cover/seal and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

TO MAKE THE STIR-FRY:

Once steak has marinated, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving the marinade, and add to saute pan with garlic. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove steak with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add mushrooms, kale, and reserved marinade to saute pan, and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the kale is wilted, the sauce has thickened, and the mushrooms have cooked, stirring regularly so that sauce does not burn. Add in the steak, and toss to combine.

Serve immediately over rice or quinoa, garnished with chopped green onions.

DIFFICULTY: EASY INGREDIENTS: CORNSTARCH, GARLIC, GINGER, GREEN ONIONS, KALE, MUSHROOMS,RICE WINE VINEGAR, SOY SAUCE, STEAK, VEGETABLE BROTH

This is a tried and true pinterest recipe from Gimme Some Oven. It turned out wonderfully and was as easy as she said. I would add this to your recipe list. I added a printable recipe link for easy printout.

Simple (Gluten Free) Chicken Nuggets~Try these even if your not GF, so easy!

My middle son, Weston, asked if I could make chicken nuggets. I'm not a fan of packaged food and rarely ever pay the high prices of packaged organic food, especially when I know I can make it at home. I looked up some gluten free nugget recipes and found a few but they weren't as easy as I wanted. I finally found a easy recipe that I could sway things around and make it my own.

In the recipe I found they were using corn flakes, and I didn't have those but I did happen to have a box of gluten free chex. Perfect! The chex was a great coating, better then I thought it would be. Evem if your not gluten free this is still an awesome recipe to make homemade chicken nuggets. Make a couple batches and freeze some, for a easy lunch. 

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

• 3 chicken breasts or thighs, cut up in 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups gluten free chex, I used the Rice kind
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder

First you will want to turn the oven to 350 degrees. Next cut up your chicken breast or thighs into 1 inch chunks. Using a gallon plastic bag, pour in two cups of rice chex. Use your hands and any helping little hands to crunch up all the chex. Add the garlic and onion powder into the crunched up chex.

 Next, put your eggs into a bowl and mix them up.

I put about 6-7 pieces of chicken in the bowl with the eggs and let them soak about 1 minute. Then, I coated the chicken pieces with the crunched up chex. I placed them on a nonstick cookie sheet. You can also put down parchment paper to help with clean up time. I usually do this but I ran out of my parchment paper. 

Lastly, place in oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked. The chex coating should be browned as well. 

I made a BBQ ranch dip for mine but the boys just wanted some good old fashioned ketchup. We ate along with some garlicky green beans. If I would have had more time I would have made homemade french fries. 

I can't wait to make these again! The boys thought they were awesome! My husband also kept saying how delicious these were. I smiled and said "Good thing you married a chef". We giggled and it was a successful dinner!

Today's Encouragement:

Homemade Healthier Candy Bars (Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free)

Once upon a time I used to eat snickers and butterfingers. It was a joyous time of ignorance. That yummy crunchy taste filled with, I had no clue!! Those were the days when I thought that the caramel was actually caramel. And then I awake from this fairy tale land, and realized it corn syrup...YUCK!

Honestly, I might have continued that eating path if I didn't have kids, get sick from eating certain foods and love cooking/baking so much. I count it a blessing to know the truth behind our food industry. I'm thankful that it has moved me to act. After I watched Food, INC. I was so grossed out and disgusted with Tyson. I went straight to my freezer after the movie and threw away the bag of Tyson frozen chicken breasts. I was that upset! And I don't regret that. They treated those animals with abuse and cruelty. And then they fed them genetically modified grain and pumped them with antibiotics to make them grow faster so they can make profit faster. How could I eat those frozen chicken breasts after knowing that?

There are times I do go out to eat and I'm not always aware of where the food is from or everything they are putting in it. I usually stick with something basic like a salad, shrimp or any gluten free options. Half of the labels on food on are so misleading anyhow. I like to shop at a store called Fresh & Natural, they strive to source there meat from sustainable farms, that do not use antibiotics or gm feed.

One thing I enjoy about cooking/baking is there is so many ways to manipulate the ingredients. Each produces a little different taste, texture or flavor so you can choose. I also like that I can substitute unhealthy choices for healthier choices. I can recreate a brownie by using whole foods, with REAL ingredients and getting in my daily dose of food groups. In this case I made homemade candy bar. i would say it tastes like a snickers mostly but I was going for a butter-finger. 

I used easy, simple ingredients that have health benefits. Here is the recipe!

Homemade Healthier Candy Bars ~Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free~

• 4 tbsp water
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp REAL salt or sea salt
• 3/4 cup peanut butter or any nut butter
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts chopped
• half a package of dark chocolate 

Measure and pour water and honey in a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer for about 8-10 minutes. It should be bubbling for about 6-8 minutes straight without stirring. Only stir if you think it may burn. 

After the honey is done bubbling immediately add the vanilla, molasses and salt. Remove from heat and stir together, then add the peanut butter and stir until creamy. Set aside.

 Get a small glass baking dish and line with parchment or plastic wrap. I poured the peanut butter mixture and spread it into only half of my pan. Depending on the size of your pan, pour the mixture but allow it to be about 1 inch thick. Spread out the pecans or walnuts on top of the mixture and gently press nuts into the mixture.

Put in freezer for about 5-7 minutes, take out and cut into bars, then set in freezer again for another 8-10 minutes. During that time melt your dark chocolate. You can either melt in a pan on stove or microwave for about 45 seconds, then mix and keep heating at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted and creamy. 

Take the bars out of the freezer and gently separate each bar in the pan with about 1-2 inches between them. Pour just enough of the chocolate mixture on top of each bar so it covers the top of the bar. When you have finished this, place the finished candy bars in the freezer for about 20 more minutes.

Place leftover bars in freezer and enjoy as desired!

This made 8 bars for me! They were so yummy and better then eating a store bought candy bar any day. Mostly because I knew what was in them and I made them with love! But they really were a nice treat for the boys and I. The peanut butter mixture tasted much like caramel in snickers! These bars are packed with protein from the peanut nutter and nuts, vitamins from the organic fair trade molasses I used, health properties from the honey and healthy pick me ups from the dark chocolate.

From my kitchen to yours.....Enjoy!

Affirmation of Today

Easy Peasy Oversized Pizza Rolls

When I was younger pizza rolls were one of my top 3 favorite foods. I knew it was a good day if my mom made pizza rolls..lol. I was not very good at being patient though, because as soon as they were ready I was trying to pop one of those little goodies into my mouth. They were so hot I had to bite the corner and let some of the hotness out, then I would blow on it for a couple seconds and try to take a bite. After that my tongue would get burned and I'd be trying to cool it down again. Yet I can't tell you how many times I repeated this trauma to my tongue. Finally, when I was older I realized the smart thing to do was put them in the freezer for a few minutes, so I could actually enjoy eating them.

I honestly can't remember the last time I ate a pizza roll. After I started to feel sick from certain foods and taught myself to read food labels by devouring every book in the library, pizza rolls were banned in my house. I couldn't believe the ingredient list, it was horrid!

There are many foods I have given up over the years, but I also have found or created healthier variations for my of my favorite treats. Pinterest is awesome for giving ideas like this and has inspired me to think outside of the frozen freezer section. My kids have never eaten a pizza roll and I'm so happy they can enjoy one of my childhood favorites. Of course it not the exact same thing, BUT once you start making things healthier and eating it more regularly you get used to the change in texture or sauce flavor. This recipe is so quick and easy too. The time it takes to make them may be a little more then freezer section pizza rolls, but I assure you its no wasted time. Your body will thank you down the road!

Happy homemade pizza roll making!

Easy Peasy Oversized Pizza Rolls

• 24 cheese sticks
• 2 packages turkey pepperoni
• Italian Seasoning
• 24 egg roll wrappers
• olive or any cooking oil
• Jar of original spaghetti sauce OR  can of seasoned crushed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350.

Lay out a egg roll in a diamond shape, Place 6-7 pepperoni in a line towards the corner near you. Place the cheese stick long ways on top of the pepperonis. Then sprinkle some seasoning on top of the pepperonis. Then start rolling from the corner closet to you. After you roll it just a little, take in the sides and roll. Then before you close it up spread some water at the end corner of the egg roll. The water helps it to stick and stay together. Finish rolling it up! 

Pour a bit of oil over each roll and spread it out evenly

Bake @ 350 for about 20 minutes, then flip them all over and bake about 5-7 minutes. 

Pour some pasta sauce in a little dish, and use this to dip your pizza rolls.

Enjoy! From my kitchen to yours :)

Peanut Butter, Banana, Avocado Smoothie

I was already running a few minutes behind and we still hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I knew I didn't have time to make our usual eggs breakfast. Cereal is more like a treat or snack in our house. In fact, its usually eaten after dinner for a "dessert". Well, that's what it should be I think, with all the sugar in it! I looked at my fridge and thought hmmm, peanut butter and banana is good together but I really need to use up these avocados and that's how this post came to be.

I needed enough protein to keep my energy good until my next meal, some good fat to keep my mind focused, and a natural sweetener to make it all the better. That's what you have when you mix peanut butter, banana and avocado together. Since avocado has a fairly neutral favor, it so easily mixes with just about anything.

Peanut Butter, Banana, & Avocado Smoothie (Enough for 1 person, if  you double makes enough for one and three little people)

• 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
• 1 Banana
• 1/2 Avocado
• 2 Tbsp Yogurt (I used plain)(Optional) -yogurt adds creaminess
• 2 Tbsp flax (Optional) great fiber addition
• 1 Tbsp honey (Optional) it adds just that extra touch of sweetness
• 1 1/2 c Almond Milk or Regular Milk
• 4-5 Ice Cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until all ingredients are mixed. Enjoy!

Share your favorite smoothie recipes, I'd love to try them!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Dairy-free options)

**WARNING**-Making cinnamon rolls takes time. Start the dough the night before and refrigerate the finished cut up rolls or  start about 1 1/2 hours before you need or want them done.

We really enjoy a yummy homemade treat like these cinnamon rolls! But we don't have to cheat or get off our diet to have one. Eating REAL food is about balance, and eating REAL food.

When you don't have to starve yourself, and you get to eat foods you enjoy eating it feels less tempting for me to overeat or "cheat". I think the number one benefit I love about feeding my body right, is the way I feel. I feel light, clear-minded, healthy, less gassy, I feel good about myself and I have energy to do what I need to do! Which, clearly I need lots of energy to keep with three very energetic boys, a household of responsibilities, grocery shopping, family chef, etc. You get the picture.

On the contrary, when I give in and eat something I know I wouldn't normally, I just feel yucky. I feel bloated, heavy, and it usually sets me on a lazy path. Thankfully, since I can't stand that feeling I usually push myself to get on the elliptical for at least 30 minutes to burn away some of the guilt or shame from feeling lazy and eating horrible. 

This is the best recipe that I have made for these gluten free cinnamon rolls. I think the key to making these is following the recipe. They are soft and gooey, a perfect gluten free treat. You can make dairy-free along with gluten-free, with the substitutes and options I wrote below. Happy Baking!!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Dairy free option)
                              Adapted from food-pusher.com

Dough:

• 1 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup butter or (Healthy balance "butter" sticks for dairy-free)
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 2 1/2 cups Namaste Gluten Free Flour Blend
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup non-gmo cane sugar 
• 1 1/4 tsp yeast

Filling:

• 1/2 cup organic coconut sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 1/3 tbsp butter, very soft or(Healthy balance spread for dairy-free)

Topping:

• 1/2 ounces of cream cheese (optional) (Omit for dairy free)
• 2 tbsp butter, softened or (Healthy balance for dairy free)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar or (stevia for sugar free)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

In a microwave safe dish pour milk and butter, microwave for 50-60 seconds until butter is softened but not completely melted. If hot allow to cool to warm.

In a medium sized bowl add gf flour, salt, non-gmo sugar, and yeast. In standing mixer or bowl pour the warm milk and butter, add egg and then pour dry ingredient on top. Mix to moisten the dry ingredients scraping the sides. Then mix on high for three minutes using paddle attachment. If mixing by hand I would use your hands and mix for about 3 minutes very well. Cover using a clean dish towel and side aside in a warm place for 35-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the first three filling ingredients together. Set aside. Grease baking dish of 10x7 or 8x8 if only cooking some. Cut a 20 inch piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on the counter, spreading out an even, thin layer of gf flour. Shape dough into a ball and gently press down forming into a square. Use a rolling pin to shape into a 12x18 inch rectangle.

Next, spread the softened butter on the surface of the dough. Spread the filling evenly on top of the butter. Gently roll the dough into a log. You may need to spread some flour as your rolling especially if its sticking to your fingers. 

Cut the dough in about 3 inch sections or however thick you'd like your cinnamon rolls. Gently place rolls into baking dish and cover with a clean kitchen towel until about doubled, which should be about 30 minutes.

Bake the cinnamon rolls at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until turning a golden brown on top. While rolls are baking mix up the topping by adding all ingredients together and whisking in a bowl. When your rolls are all done, let them cool for about 5 minutes and then you can began frosting.

Enjoy!!!

Crock-pot Cranberry Orange Sauce! ~Only 4 Ingredients~

A simple recipe that's a great treat, snack, or tag a long to a meal. I honestly didn't know that this would turn out as amazing as it did. I thought this recipe would be a good substitute to the alternative, which is a can filled with who knows. But it turned out so filled with flavor and zest! I will honestly make this again just for a snack. My kids really enjoyed it as well. I can't wait to learn how to put recipe printouts on my blog. I love that about other blogs.

Crock-pot Cranberry Orange Sauce

2 bags fresh whole cranberries (12 ounce bags)
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sweetener, I used xylitol. ( You can also use honey, coconut sugar or stevia)

1. Place all ingredients in crock-pot, stir to blend together.
2. Cook on whichever setting you choose, I used high for 3 hours
3. Serve warm or chilled


Enjoy!

~Honest Motherhood

Cauliflower Pizza Crust {Gluten Free}

I finally received my food processor! YAY! AND I used it for making cauliflower crust. BAD NEWS, Seth dropped it the next day and it broke :( The "I don't think its fixable, glue-able broke". I'm glad I used it to make one thing at least. The worst part is this was a gift and it cost someone else money.

Good news, you don't NEED a food processor, you can use a cheese grater too, even though its a bit more work. 

On a better note, the cauliflower crust tasted better then I thought. It held up together better then I thought and everybody really liked it. My husband joked and said that I can make recipes out of anything. He was shocked when I told him the crust was made of cauliflower. He said I could make a meal out of weeds from outside. Lol.

The process was a bit longer, but the result was worth it.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust
1 head of cauliflower {Buy a medium/small for one crust OR large for 2 crusts}
2 eggs
1cup cheese
2 TSP Oregano
2 TSP Basil
2 TSP Salt

1. First you will need to cut the cauliflower up into pieces. You can either add cauliflower to a food processor or if you do not have a food processor you can use a cheese grater.

2. Use a dish towel and place all of the cauliflower inside it. Then pull four sides of dish towel together so the cauliflower is locked inside, squeeze all the water out. Get out as much as possible. Husbands can help with this step or a strong older son. lol

3. Next, add cauliflower to a mixing bowl, add eggs, seasonings, and cheese. Mix well.

4. Shape into a ball.

5. Gently press out the ball into a crust, I pushed up the edges so when I put the sauce in it would stay inside crust when cooking.

6. Then preheat oven to 350 and bake crust until golden, about 5-7 minutes. Not long.

7. Pull out crust and top with ingredients, cook until cheese is melted. 5-7 minutes @ 350

Enjoy!

PB&J Oatmeal {Gluten Free}

My kids already really like PB&J sandwiches, and I really like peanut butter or some kind of nut butter, so I decided to see what I could come up with. The jelly is a great sweetener for oatmeal without adding tons of sugar. I used my homemade jam with chia seeds. The peanut butter gives a BLAST of protein and the yogurt makes it creamy goodness.

My kids always seem to be hungry like right after breakfast, so I really try to give them something filling that will hold them off until a small mid morning snack, or lunch time. When the boys eat TOO much before lunch then lunch doesn't get eaten. And at our house we really strive to have everybody eat whats on their plate before they can have a snack, dessert, or even a next meal. So if my child is full and doesn't eat lunch, I don't force him but I will save his plate until he says he is hungry again. If he refuses the next time he is hungry, I know that he probably just didn't like what I made, BUT he will have to eat it this time. Even though food grows on trees, its still not cheap!

My children are not very picky eaters but they are used to what mom makes, just like any child. I do try to make foods healthy and kid friendly. That is why I thought PB&J oatmeal would be a great filling breakfast, and something they would continue to ask for. Oatmeal is not necessarily one of our favorite breakfast foods, and so that's why being creative and coming up with better ways to eat it is a goal.

Breakfast always seems like a challenge to me, I'm trying to use little to no cereal BUT cereal is convenient when we don't have time to cook. AND its definitely better than fast food OR a bakery.  Eggs are wonderful almost everyday! BUT not everyday..lol :( Oatmeal is a nice once a week thing. Pancakes always come with syrup SO that is a treat and I rarely make that. It should actually be more of a dessert. Same with cinnamon rolls and other carby breakfasts. Rice cakes with nut butter or jelly on top are good for a fast breakfast too. We don't eat to much breakfast sausage, because its expensive for quality organic meat.

Also when choosing a PEANUT BUTTER its best to ALWAYS buy ORGANIC, peanuts are HEAVILY sprayed with pesticides and CHEMICALS more then other nuts. So if you have to go conventional its BEST to buy ALMOND BUTTER or make your own almond butter at home. Also try SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER and CASHEW BUTTER.

Please post some of your breakfast favorites!

PB&J Oatmeal 
Oats {Gluten Free}
Peanut/Nut Butter
Jelly/Jam {Make homemade Jam Here}
Yogurt {rBST Free}
Honey to taste

*I decided not to put amounts because everybody's family size is different. Make enough oatmeal for your family, and let everybody add desired amount of toppings, OR when your oatmeal is done, place about 2TBSP of peanut/nut butter, Jelly, and yogurt PER 1 cup of oatmeal made.

1. Make desired amount of oatmeal.
2. Either place cooked oatmeal in separate bowls and let everyone add toppings, OR add 2tbsp of each topping per 1 cup of oatmeal.

Roasted Veggies Mexican Casserole

This is such a great one dish meal. All of my family really enjoyed it and it will be going in my recipe book that I'm working on. Its fairly easy, and inexpensive to make. You don't have to use meat but I choose to put in chicken because my husband is serious meat man. To him no meal is ever complete without meat BUT to me I could be a vegetarian some days.

My kids eat almost everything I make, sometimes they say it takes a little different but if they are hungry enough they will eat it. Also, in our house we have a rule that if you don't finish your meal you have to eat it before you eat anything else. Food is TOO expensive to be picky and waste.

Last week at the butter I buy was $2 more! Now that is some serious inflation. Food prices are rising everyday, so its important to me to find healthy recipes that I can afford.

Roasted Veggies Mexican Casserole
1 can corn OR one bad frozen corn
4 sweet peppers
1 onion
1 can black beans, rinsed, and pureed or smashed up
1lb shredded chicken or ground beef, cooked {optional}
2 cups cheese
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
corn tortillas to layer, I  used about 6
2 cups enchilada sauce
salt
avocado and sour cream to top it

1. Place some oil in your pan and let it warm up.
2. Chop up your sweet peppers and onion,open bag or can of corn, put into pan with warmed up oil.
3. After about 10 minutes add cumin and chilli powder, mix up.
4. When veggies are roasted, slighly browned turn off pan, keep veggies in pan until ready to put casserole together.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Either use blender and puree black beans or smash them up if you don't have a blender.
6. Cut tortilla's in half, pour a little enchilada sauce on bottom of baking dish, then cover the bottom with the cut in half tortillas {I cut in half because I think you can cover more of the pan}
7. Pour and spread out black beans on top of tortillas in baking dish.
8. Layer half the chicken, veggies, cheese and enchilda sauce.
9. Then, layer the tortillas, other half of chicken, veggies, cheese and enchilada sauce.
10. Place in oven for about 15-20 minutes, really just until cheese is melted and everything is warmed.
11. ENJOY a warm homemade meal with your family.

We always strive to sit together at least once a day and share a meal. I remember reading about how important it is for families to sit down and eat together. I can tell you that when we sit down together it really has a calming effect on our day, helps us to all be in the same place at the same time, doing the same thing, and enjoy each others company :) Are some meal times kinda crazy, YEP! But by the time everybody has their plates filled with food, everything calms down and peace sets in, at least for a little bit ;)

!Kombucha! {Helpful Video Link Tutorial}

Kombucha is a raw, fermented tea, but don't run away from it yet! It is filled with good gut bacteria called probiotics. Its known and said to have many health benefits even beyond your precious tummy.

I really liked this article for What is Kombucha, if you have more questions. the article goes into more detail about its origins.

Fermented foods used to be a part of our ancestors diet, but in these days we have such accessibility and refrigeration that fermented foods have been put on the back burner. I believe its part of the reason our GUTS are so torn up! With our American diets killing us, we need to check back into history and see what our ancestors did. 

When you make kombucha you will need a culture called a scoby.

What is a SCOBY?  
SCOBY stands for symbiotic culture of friendly bacteria and yeast and thats just what it is.

Where can I get a SCOBY?
1.You can buy a starter culture from Cultures for Health. 2. You can ask a friend that brews kombucha if they have a SCOBY, since a new SCOBY is made everytime you make a new batch of kombucha.
3. Or you can start your own using a bottle of store bought raw, unflavored, original kombucha. { I found mine at woodmans}

I really like this videa by holistic habits and used it to make both my own SCOBY and my kombucha. She does a great job explaining exactly what to do and how to make kombucha and also how to make the SCOBY.

Its easy to make kombucha regularly after you have your SCOBY, so try it out and see what goodness you can come up with! You can make flavored juices with it, sodas, popsicles, and I'm sure more then what I know. I hope this little article helped. These are all the questions I had when I first learned about kombucha.

Have Fun!

Tostones {Fried Plantains}

The people in your life are definitely an influence, especially when your young and impressionable. Where you grow up, the foods you've eaten, the culture around you all impact your ways of thinking about life. Young minds especially need to be nurtured and disciplined when young, so they will grow with the ability to be respectful, honest, and moral adults.

My childhood took place mostly in a large city, with a melting pot of culture. My school was bilingual, as many children only spoke Spanish. The way I talked, dressed, acted was all influenced by the lifestyle around me. My father lived in a different town then my mother and I, so when I went to his house to visit, I remember him asking me why I talked like that. He was referring to my south side accent that I acquired. At times it still comes out without trying. I responded to my father by saying " talk like what". To me it was normal.

In that time of my life I spent a lot of time with some amazing Puerto Ricans I'll never forget! I pretty much lived with them. They were my family and by marriage are permanently now! Their Mother was an amazing cook, and I really feel like she has helped me learn a lot about being a woman. Now that I look back, she was always teaching me something. She took care of her home, children and cooked. When I think of her, I can hear her saying "Limpia la casa!", meaning clean the house in Spanish :)  Stern yet loving, kind, and beautiful.

She would always make the most delicious food, and I still today crave it. She would make these banana like things called "tostones", a fried plantain, and they were my absolute favorite! They went perfect with rice and beans. Yum! I should have just paid attention better and I would know how to make this stuff, BUT its always better coming from a loved one.

I finally did learn how to make my "tostones". I'm still learning and I'm sure I'll get the rice and beans down soon :) Here is my recipe for healthy homemade tostones.

 Tostones {Fried Plantains} 

1 plantain
1-2 TBSP Coconut Oil
Salt for taste

Cut the ends off your plantain, and carefully slice the peel of the plantain. Take out the plantain and cut into thin slices.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil in your pan, then add plantains, making sure they are not overlapping.

Cook on medium heat until slightly browned or darker, however you like them. {I like mine a bit more browned, it has a good flavor}

Cover a plate with a paper towel and place the tostones on the plate, sprinkle with desired amount of salt.

¡Buen provecho!

I may not be puerto rican in decent but the culture runs through my veins and in my heart!

No Bake Delightful Granola Bars {Gluten Free}

 

I have made granola bars in the past, but they were crumbly, and just not good. So I went back to buying store bought bars, but now that I'm eating gluten free it became more expensive to find quality gluten free granola bars. I also wanted to make them kid friendly. When I make something, my goal is to make something the whole family will like. Sometimes this momma's house does feel like a restaurant with all the good food, but this momma's restaurant only has one thing on the menu per meal ;) Lol.

Delightful Granola Bars


2c Rice Cereal
2c Gluten Free Oats
1/2c Peanut Butter
1/4c Light Brown Sugar {I used Coconut sugar}
2/3c Honey {Or Brown rice syrup}
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Vanilla
1c Nuts {I used Walnuts}{optional}
1/2c Mini Chocolate Chips or cocoa nibs {Optional}
1/2c Cranberries {Or your dried fruit of choice}
1/2tsp Salt



First you need to pour honey, peanut butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan and cook on low heat until mixture is melted together.

 Next, add your oats and crispy cereal to a bowl and pour warm honey mixture on, mixing it all well.

 Add your vanilla, cinnamon, cranberries, and nuts.

 Lastly add your chocolate chips, BUT be careful not to mix them to much or they will melt!

 Next line a large pan with plastic wrap, and spray plastic with non stick spray OR spread some oil on it, so your bars won't stick to it when they are done. {I used coconut oil to spread on it}

 Then place the pan in the freezer for about 1 hour.

 After the hour take out the pan, and VERY CAREFULLY pull the bars out using the plastic wrap.

 Slice the bars with a sharp knife, carefully. {You can taste test any that break ;)}

Cut into desired size bars.

I individually wrapped my bars and placed them in a baggie for a quick snack. I placed some in the fridge and some in the freezer, there were quite a few. I made these a couple weeks ago and they are almost gone now!

These bars turned out great and I'm really thankful to have found a gluten free recipe for some good granola bars! Here is a link to where I found the base of this recipe, Averie Cooks, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.