Chicken Avocado Soup

I made chicken avocado soup for lunch today. I thought it was really good. Just a simple and tatty soup. Matt thought it was okay. The avocado is what made it for me. It melts in your mouth. :)  The soup is so simple and requires only a few ingredients: chopped green onion, garlic, shredded chicken, chicken broth, and a diced tomato. Then add in avocado right before serving and garnish with cilantro if you want. The original recipe called for lime juice when serving also but I omitted it. 

                     

I'd make it again but make sure I have some crusty bread to accompany it. Matt's a carb lover and so I think that would help. I was fine with just soup. 

Here is the link: http://www.mamamiss.com/2013/03/27/eats-chicken-avocado-soup/

     

Rich Chocolate Syrup

I had my first cup of hot chocolate of the season this morning and it was delicious! I've been making my own chocolate syrup, very similar to Hershey's without the high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. It is so easy and just takes a few minutes on the stove and is well worth the time and effort because it is that good. Or at least I think so. I've made chocolate milk and poured it over chocolate bread pudding and decided to try it out in hot chocolate. Just stir the chocolate into the milk and heat. 

1 1/2 c sugar 

3/4 c cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

Dash of salt

1 c water

Mix together then heat on stove stirring occasionally until it reaches a boil then simmer 1 min. Recipe makes a little more than 1 mason jar can hold.

Here's the original recipe link: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/03/homemade-chocolate-syrup.html#more

Super smoothie!

We love smoothies at our house and this one I made this morning was delicious and packed full of good stuff. 2 big handfuls of spinach leaves, 2 shredded carrots, 2 bananas, 12 oz of frozen blueberries, and 2 cups water created this deliciousness.

                                  

                                  

   

                                     

Breakfast muffins that are healthy and good, oh and sugar free!

Seriously, who doesn't like banana bread? It is delicious, however, the healthiest part of it is the bananas. These muffins are equally delicious and so much healthier. Made with 100% non GMO whole wheat flour, unsweetened applesauce, raw honey, eggs, and bananas, for a muffin, they scream healthy. I adapted the original recipe a bit adding 3/4 c of applesauce instead of 1/2 and a full cup of honey instead of the 3/4. I also added a teaspoon of vanilla and sprinkled a layer of cinnamon across the banner. Molly and Sophie beg for them and I have to limit them to 2 a day. I'd be making muffins every other day if they had their way. Make sure you spray the muffin tin with non stick spray since there isn't any oil in the muffins. Today this batch made 22, last batch made 23. You could also make it in the loaf form.

Here's the link to the recipe:
http://8weekstoabetteryourecipes.blogspot.com/2012/09/banana-bread-8-week-friendly.html

Homemade strawberry jam

I saw this recipe for homemade strawberry jam on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. We eat a lot of pb&j sandwiches for dinner and go through lots of jelly. Because really you need a good amount on the sandwich to achieve an equal balance. :) Sophie especially loves jelly and would prefer to nix the peanut butter. I'm so glad she likes this jam because its so much healthier. The secret, they do not have any idea what is in it except for strawberries. 

Chia seeds would be the reason the girls would refuse to eat this jam and therefore I don't tell them. The chia seeds are necessary to thicken the jam. Letting it sit overnight allows the chia to gel thickening the jam. 

I changed two things from the original recipe: added extra strawberries and honey. I can't tell you exactly how much extra but I thought more strawberries would've tasty and I new sweetness could be a factor compared to the store bought variety so I went with extra raw honey as well. One other thing I forgot, I used frozen strawberries instead of fresh just because they're cheaper. Although I do plan to make it with fresh next strawberry season. The recipe says you can cut strawberry chunks up and add in. I think this is a must. More like the store bought and biting into a strawberry chunk in the middle of the sandwich is delicious! 

Here's the link to the original recipe http://thankfulexpressions.blogspot.com/2013/07/strawberry-rhubarb-refrigerator-jam.html

Lunch today...yum!

For lunch today I made a super healthy and delicious new recipe, chicken and avocado twice baked sweet potatoes. The favors went well together; nothing was over powering. Matt said it reminded him of fall. It is a good fall meal. I should have burned my new pumpkin spice candle while we were eating too. Although the 100 degree temperatures definitely rule out the presence of fall. I know this would not be a kid friendly meal at my house. Sophie's napping so she hasn't eaten yet. I'm waiting for the "yucks" and "gross". Oh well. She'll get over it and enjoy whatever I fix for dinner tonight. 

Here's the blog where I found the recipe. http://thingsmybellylikes.com/2013/08/30/chicken-avocado-twice-baked-sweet-potato/

It's easy to cook from scratch

I think one of the biggest reasons people don't cook from scratch is because of time and it can be intimidating.  While cooking from scratch may take a bit more time, it's not that much. Here is what we had for lunch today: Parmesan chicken strips, roasted green beans, and strawberry potatoes (there's nothing strawberry about them. Just little and red). 

The chicken is super easy. Just cut chicken breasts in to strips, dip in egg, then in breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese with a little garlic and pepper. Bake at 400 until done. Today I used spelt flour because I was out of breadcrumbs. They weren't as tasty this way but did the job. Kiddos approved! 

To roast the green beans, wash and trim the ends of the beans, drop in a ziplock bag, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt and garlic powder. Dump on a cookie sheet and bake at 400.

I cooked the potatoes in the microwave. Easy and quick!

Zucchini brownies

I love, love, love brownies. Probably more than cookies, cake, and ice cream. There is something about a gooey chocolate square ( or two, three, hey, why not 5!). brownies from the box are my favorite. It's hard to make one from scratch that is box like. My mom does make a good "from scratch brownie" though.   

A friend posted a zucchini brownie recipe on her Facebook page and I was intrigued. Then I was given two monstrous zucchinis. I'm not a huge fan of eating just zucchini but I do love zucchini bread and these brownies seemed like the thing to try. Plus, they're healthier than box mix brownies.

Here's the recipe link:  http://www.delightedmomma.com/2012/05/flourless-zucchini-brownies.html

These brownies are a bit on the oily side because of all the almond butter but very tasty. You can't taste zucchini at all.

They are moist and some chocolate chips do not melt completely leaving you with an extra treat. I thought they were

Delicious with a glass of milk. My husband wasn't too fond of them hours after I baked them, saying they were ok.

However, today he said they were better. I think I agree. My girls loved them too! They turned up their nose at the 

Thought of zucchini and almond butter in brownies but had no complaints when eating them. I'd say this recipe is a 

Keeper. 

Farmers Market

Last week I was unable to go to our local farmers market because of parkville days. I was only slightly annoyed...I was really looking forward to more peaches fresh off the tree. Oh well. The local grocery store's were sufficient. This week I opted not to get peaches because I purchased nectarines at the store. I need to switch my shopping day back to Sunday so I can shop the farmers market first. 

Today I picked up a black diamond watermelon. I learned from talking to the lady selling it that they are rarely grown anymore because of the difficulty in growing them. She said her brother rose to the challenge and swears by these melons. Says they are the sweetest. And tells me if I don't think it is sweet to bring it back and get a new one. I thought that statement made it worthy of trying. If only they had them pre-chilled I could taste right away! 

I visited my same onion and tomato guy and picked up some raw honey as well. 

here we go!

here we go! it's a food adventure for our family as I seek to transform from processed to fresh to organic to "made from scratch". I'm starting small. I still don't understand how families afford to go full blown organic. sheesh, that stuff's expensive! but I'm trying to find a way to switch over to some things.

you may ask, why and what was the turning point. quite frankly it was the news report about carmine in yogurt. carmine I found out is dead, dried up red beetles. D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G!!! it was then that I set out to make my own yogurt (post on that is coming later). and from the yogurt, more ideas formed and I ventured over to the health food section of hyvee. the farmers market is also a place I'm starting to frequent. we had the most delicious tomatoes the other day. I know...pictures. I'm a terrible food photographer. with this blog, I know I must be better.

I'm not going to be a full out crazy person when it comes to food. I enjoy my highly processed, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup-y foods just like the rest of you. but, I'm not going to eat them as often. I'm buying a bag of chips this week to have with one of our meals. I think moderation is good and one shouldn't deprive themselves from the goodness we've manufactured in the lab.

I'm thankful I have a supportive husband who willingly tries my creations and is on board with me (he made cheese! - blog about that later too). my kids, well, they'll learn. and it's better that they're learning at a young age and not when they're in their 30s. and like I said, they won't be deprived...a cookie every week at the grocery store, treats at grandpa and grandma's house, parties and even at home.

it's an adventure, here we go!