The Ultimate Smoothie

Many of you already have my smoothie recipe, but many have been requesting it from me. For those of you who are new to the smoothie world, get ready for the ultimate way to con your kids into eating their veggies and fruits. Just make sure that they don't see what you are putting into their drink. They will never know, I promise. As soon as you get the basics down, you can freestyle it, put in whatever you have around the kitchen. My little one would live completely on smoothies if I let him. Since he is Autistic and very picky about textures of food, this is how I get his nutrition into him. I don't have to worry about what he eats because I know that he is getting everything in this shake. Everytime I give a class and I show them what I put in them, people always say that their kids will never drink it, after they taste it and the kids at the class taste it, they are hooked. I have only had about 2-3 kids refuse to drink it and they are usually the ones who see what is in it. I make these a couple times a day for my little one, my others drink it about every other day. I especially make it if they are having a meal that isn't the healthiest, this way I can justify a little of the junk.

I have a Vita Mix blender which is what the Commercial smoothie companies use. It gets it really blended and smooth. You can use whatever blender you have, but the more powerful the better. I always make a full container full, but if you don't have a powerful blender, start small.

Basic Smoothie Recipe

I start with frozen fruit, you don't have to, but it gets the drink slushy. I like the triple berry mix from Costco, it hides the flavors best or frozen strawberries. Any fruit will do , but these are the best to start with to get the kids hooked.

I usually put in about 2 cups. I then put it one banana, an orange, peeled and quartered, a handful of RAW spinach, a couple baby carrots and a T. of flax seed meal. I fill up the container to cover the fruit with pineapple juice. I buy this at Costco as well in a three pack of Dole Cans. You can buy those at Walmart. Pineapple juice is real sweet and hides it all. You can use orange juice also. Blend this up until it is completely smooth. You will not see the spinach.

You can add anything to this smoothie. I add raw zucchini, raw cabbage, even raw brocolli. Just keep the fruit at about 2/3 and veggies at about 1/3. My little one will drink anything. I add millet, yogurt, quinoa, etc. Put in any fruit that you have on hand. You can also add ice if you want too. Start with the basic and then play with it. You can add a little honey if you need to but it really is sweet. I love these in the morning.

One more recipe that I keep getting emails for is the blender wheat waffles, here you go!

Blender Waffles

1 C. Whole Wheat kernals (not flour)

1 C. Milk

Blend on high until smooth.

ADD:

1/2 C oil

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp salt.

Blend again until all mixed.

Cook on waffle griddle. I top with fruit and whipped cream. These are real yummy and very hearty. If your kids are not used to whole wheat, make sure you give them ample time in the morning for a bowl movement! You can throw in flax and other grains with this, just keep it mostly wheat. Add more milk if needed.

P.S., My kids loved the Valentines Day celebration! Guess I have to do it every year now!

Valentines surprise

Thanks so much for all the great Valentines Ideas. My kids are going to be so surprised in the morning as all they have received in any form of Valentines celebration ever has been going out to eat at night. They have no idea that they are waking up to a candlelight breakfast at the wee hour of 6am (piano lessons are at 6:45). I have the kitchen all decorated with hearts, flowers and cheesy Valentine paraphernalia. I have a heart on each of the plates with 10 reasons why I love each of them and a little gift. I am so excited to see their surprise, especially my only girl who is so frilly and was born to an unfrilly mother. She will be so happy with me. I am making their favorite breakfast, I am not even using whole wheat flour! So, if you want to just have a breakfast without worrying so much about getting your whole wheat fiber, try out these strawberry crepes. They are delicious! If you don't have ultra gel, you can just add a little more flour if needed. Lemon oil is also optional.


Crepes

1 3/4 C milk
3 eggs
2 T melted butter
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 1/4 C flour
2 T Ultra Gel
3 T sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

Combine all and mix in blender until smooth. Lightly butter small frying pan and heat over medium heat until sizzling. Pour about 2 T batter into pan, swirling to coat bottom. Cook until golden on bottom. Flip and lightly cook other side. I serve these with all different kinds of fruit. Strawberries sliced with a little sugar, apples chopped and cooked with a little sugar and brown sugar until soft, blueberries, etc. I add real whipped cream on top after I roll them up. To make French Apple filling, try out this recipe below. Delicious!

French Apple Filling

3 1/2 sliced fresh apples, slices about 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 T cream
1 T ultra Gel

Melt butter in medium frying pan. Add apples and saute until tender. Sweeten to taste. Add cream and Ultra Gel and stir gently into apple mixture. Cook until thick. Add nuts if wanted.

Happy Valentines Day!

The Emergen-C RX

In case you haven't noticed, everyone seems to be sick right now. My family is getting it's very first dose of the "bugs" in well over a year. Other than my husband who is down flat with the flu right now, the rest of us have escaped for the most part in great health for a long time now, Tate and I just had a bit of a cough. What I attribute this all to is daily doses of Emergen-C and of course good nutrition. We started with the Emergen-C last year when it seemed we were getting one little thing after another. I started giving everyone one of these most everyday and no one seemed to be able to really catch a bug. Sometimes they would try, but it just never seemed to materialize. These come in lots of flavors and my kids think they are great. If you are feeling sick, you can take up to 4 a day. If I feel something comming on, I take the max or if someone else has something, we all take the max (I give the little ones half the dose). Emergen-C contains seven mineral ascorbates including 1000 mg of Vitamin C. It is also pumped full of the B vitamins and gives you a good energy boost. It is my morning coffee. There is no caffeine and all the ingredients are very well balanced.

Another great thing to use to boost your immune system is Oil of Oregano and Garlic. You will smell like a pasta dish but they are also a natural immune system enhancer. I purchase my oil of oregano at Sprouts by Nature's Answer. It should tell you what dose to take, I take 4 drops 2-3 times per day. It is also very important to be getting you Super-B complex daily. I will discuss those benefits another day and the list is very long. My kids and I are having a contest to see who can not get Dad's germs. Since Homemakers don't get sick days, I will not have the option of laying down for a couple days. I simply cannot get sick so double dose of Oregano for me. We have a snow trip planned for the weekend, that's our motivation. I let you know the results after the weekend.

Just a tip: the regular box of Emergen-C sells for about 10 bucks for about 20 packets. Costco has a big box of 80 for $15. Stock up though, Costco has a way of discontinuing items.

Drink Up!

Valentines Day Help

The other night we had a little Enrichment activity at church and told a few Valentine ideas we had for our children and spouses. Well, I had very little to contribute. We have never done much for Valentines Day in our house. I came home and was telling my husband about the class and some ideas, my daughter overheard the conversation and said, "Hey, wait...other kids actually get things for Valentines Day from their parents?" She just realized she has been deprived. We take them to dinner most of the time but nothing creative. So, fellow readers, give me some cute ideas. I am not quite sure I want to start something at this point, but maybe it is time. I had a friend who would tie a string to each of the childs bed and in the morning, they would have to follow the string around the house to a special prize. I am not one to do big presents, but something cute and thoughtful. Help me out. Also comment any good ideas for spouses, other than the obvious of course, lets keep it clean.

The Benefit of Flax

There are so many wonderful foods out there that provide us with so many health benefits, unfortunately it seems to be a secret. I still never understand why America is so behind on the natural foods, I guess because we are lazy and want everything the easy way - a pill, something prepackaged and premeasured, something a Dr. gives us and just tells us to take without really understanding it. We really have everything we need to be healthy and to combat disease right in our supermarkets.

Flax is a wonderful and easy to use seed. This is an ancient food that has been used for hundreds of years for all kinds of purposes. This seed is rich in linolenic acid which is a plant-derived omega 3 fatty acid. This is similar to what is found in salmon. It also is rich in lignan which is a powerful antioxidant and is high in fiber. Because our diets are so poor in fiber, Americans are suffering greatly from many intestinal diseases such as Chrohn's and Colitis, just to name a few. Flax seed is so important for digestion, to provide a good fiber base to help clean out the system.

What does Flax treat? As mentioned, flax oil is great for Chron's and Colitis because the oil form seems to be able to heal the inner lining of the inflamed intestines. The linolenic acid is very helpful in lowering total cholesterol and LDL levels. It may also help lower blood triglyceride and blood pressure.

You don't want to overdue your flax, as this is just the omega3, and you need to have the omega 6 as well. I buy the big jar of Flax oil capsules at Costco and take 2 a day. I also buy the flax seed meal and sprinkle it in my smoothies, you don't need much. You can add it to muffin recipes, cereals, etc. You just want to make sure that it is ground up first, as the seed itself will just come out undigested. Once ground, keep it refrigerated to keep it from going rancid.

Flax is easy to find and relatively cheap. Grab a bag today and enjoy a better digestive system tomorrow!

The World is figuring it out.

Back in the early 90's when I first really started researching good foods, it was almost impossible to buy anything from a store to snack on. I literally had one bag of chips I could buy at Trader Joe's, everything else had to be made. I couldn't understand why no one could understand what we are eating is making us sick and fat. Slowly, the companies are catching on and now , it is quite easy to buy prepackaged snacks and foods. Yesterday I went in to one of these new markets, Fresh & Easy that are popping up everywhere. I don't know if this is just and AZ thing or not, but when I really went through the store, I was instantly in love! There is so many good foods to choose from. The instant oatmeal is free from junkie fillers and tastes great. We had the strawberry cream this morning. They have good whole wheat and honey pretzels and tortillas, great chips and organic pastas. The best thing is, the prices are great. They also carry hot dogs and lunch meats that are preservative and nitrate free. They mark things half off all of the time in the produce and meat section. The prices aren't real great on the meats and produce but when the markdowns happen, which is in the afternoon everyday, the prices are smokin'. I bought 10 packages of the hot dogs yesterday, which usually cost me $5 per package at Sprouts for on $1.99. I bought the hormone free chicken for half price too. A 10 lb bag of oranges was about $3.5 dollars and a 10 lb bag of potatoes was $2. They also had a really good deal on tomatoes. I talked to the manager about the store and he told me a bit about it. He said that what Fresh & Easy did was research the big stores to figure out what people buy most. The big chains make most of their profits off of only 10% of their food. Fresh & Easy sells this 10%. They also buy directly from the manufacturer and package very simply to save cost. I was so impressed with the manager and the store, that I actually brought my cart all the way back into the store when I unloaded the bags into my car. I hope these stores stay in business. They even sell fresh whole wheat pizza dough for only $.99. I get so easily excited when it comes to food! Try it out. If you don't live in AZ, sorry. AZ is just getting cool.

Start the Day Off Right

Like I have said before, I am a huge breakfast fan. Breakfast is so important to get the body going, giving it a reason to wake up and greet the day. Now, I am not talking fruit loops. A good hearty, warm breakfast. It doesn't have to take much time, in fact most breakfast dishes are quick. Breakfast foods also freeze well so you can make a big batch and freeze them. I love to try out new recipes, especially pancakes. Here is one of my favorite from a little Bed and Breakfast we stayed in Patagonia, AZ. You must serve this with real whipped cream. Syrup will ruin it. Enjoy!

Honey 'n' Spice Blueberry Pancakes

2 cups whole Wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 T Sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter
2 T honey
1 egg
2 C buttermilk (Regular Milk OK too)
1 C blueberries, fresh or frozen


Stir Dry ingredients together. Mix in wet ingredients. Cook on griddle.

Eat Your Food Naked.

OK, so leave your clothes on, keep the food naked. For instance, lets have a little chat about peanut butter. If you are one to have a jar of JIF in your cupboards, go take a look and listen up. Peanut butter is a simple thing, in the melodic words of Barney, "first you take the peanuts and you squishem' you squishem'" The end. That should be peanut butter, throw in a little salt and you have your spread. Well, the good people of JIF along with most other peanut butter manufacturers like to add a few more ingredients. Lets take a look:

JIF
roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, fully hydrogenated vegetable oil, mono and diglycerides and salt.


Real Peanut Butter
roasted peanuts, salt.

What does this all mean? It means that your good, nutritious, naked peanut has been adulterized. To hydrogenate something, it means to change the form. It is forcing a liquid form of oil to change to a solid form by introducing a catalyst, usually nickel. What this does is make the fat molecules take on a different shape which are foreign to the body. The body doesn't know what to do with them and this makes this form of oil far worse than any saturated fat. Cancer, heart disease, digestive problems, obesity. Just to name a few. Costco has a great natural peanut butter that is very affordable and tastes great. So, you have to stir it the first time you use it - no big deal. Just take the time to think about what you are eating. Keep your food naked and chances are you'll look better naked too!

A "stick to your ribs" breakfast

I have had a couple of fellow E.H. chicks email me some oatmeal recipes that are great for our chilly weather. I would love to pass them on. Try them out, see what you think! Its a good way to sneak in those new grains! I hope you all are trying them. So far, the ladies who have ,reported that their kids have loved it all! FYI, my greatest fan , Anne, found a website, everythingkitchens.com that has the yogurt maker for a better price and has many other great items. She also said that she found the square containers at Walmart. Thanks, Anne, for all your research!

Master Oatmeal Mix

3 C Rolled Oats

3 C 7 or 11 grain mix

1 C powdered milk

3 tsp cinnamon

1 C Raisins (opt)

1 C Dates (opt)

To make, Boil 3 cups water with 2 cups mix (can double or decrease as needed). As soon as it doubles, remove from heat and let stand until it thickens and cools.

**From Cindy Thomas, hope I got it right!

Oatmeal Quinoa Cereal

1/4 C Quinoa

3/4 cup water

Boil 10 mn

Add :

1/4 Cup quick oats

1/4 Cup water

Boil about 1 mn more

Add a little milk and brown sugar and anything else you like

**From Laurie Lee

In Bed for Back Rubs

I don't know about you, but 8:00 pm is bewitching time at my house. This is the time of day that I no longer want to be a mother and need everyone to go to bed so I will still like them. However, they seem to feed off this and work very hard to make bedtime a ritual of not obeying, hurting each other and waiting until mom starts to elevate the voice (pleasant way of saying "screaming). I am tired of this ritual and am quite tired of not being heard until I get mad, so here is a little game that has changed all of that - My friend Tracy was telling me one day how she started to give her son back rubs at night to bond with him better and to help him calm down. She told me how much this helped both of their relationships. I thought that was a perfect idea for one of my boys that desperately craves my attention. We all need to be touched and nurtured, especially by our mothers and it seems that it is so hard sometimes to just find the time to spend with each of them. I decided to give this a try. Of course, he loved it and the other little ones wanted one too. I decided to make a game out of it, If they were in bed by 8pm on the dot, they would get a back rub. If I didn't have to ask them and they were in bed, they would get a back rub with lotion. I didn't know how long this game would work, but it has now been one month and it is golden. I don't have to get mad at them every night and they can't wait for bedtime to get their alone time with mom. I love it too, to just be with them one on one. My older ones don't play this game but the little guys think it is the best game ever. Little do they know how this simple back rub has transformed my evening ritual from one that I dread to one that I look forward to.