Summertime is s'more time!

Even though I am always looking for new recipes and yummy things to make, I rarely watch cooking shows. I watched Cupcake Wars once because a neighborhood bakery was competing.  They were the first ones out of the competition so that was sad.  So, last night I saw a rerun of that Jeff Foxworthy cooking competition.  I don't even know what it's called, and don't care enough to look it up.  It was kind of cute, because it's all these regular folks who do something else for a living, but really love to bake.  The producers were careful to ensure there was something for everybody:  The firefighter, the guy who loves his truck, the guy who thinks he's the best at everything but it kind of a douche, the professional woman, the southern belle, the college student, the mom with pearls, and the crybaby.  (Stop crying!  jeez.)

Last night one of the recipes they had to make was gourmet s'mores, using a recipe of one of the judges.  They had to make graham crackers, and chocolate for the top, and even homemade marshmallow!  They looked amazing.  I had previously tried my hand at making marshmallows... epic failure by the way, which is why you didn't hear about it.  But I didn't really have all the ingredients and I was trying to sub.  I don't think you can sub anything when making marshmallows.  They are pretty touchy.  Because I knew www.thegraciouspantry.com had a (mostly) clean marshmallow recipe, and www.thenakedkitchen.com had a graham cracker recipes, and cripe, who CAN'T melt chocolate? I could make my own CLEAN version of s'mores!  YAY!  Gracious Pantry says the marshmallows aren't totally clean because of the gelatin.  Ah well, you can't have everything and, let's be honest, if you can get this close, isn't that a win!?  It is in my book.

I think on the show they had four hours to do the whole thing.  Let me tell you, it will not take that long!  I think it took me about an hour or an hour and a half from start to finish.  

First, make the graham crackers.  Because it takes a long time for the marshmallow to get really fluffy and firm, go ahead and start that while your crackers are baking.  Then once you have the marshmallow on the crackers, melt your chocolate.  Don't dip into the chocolate too soon, but allow it to cool a bit so your marshmallow stays firm.  I will remind you later.

FIRST!  Make the graham crackers.  

I originally got this recipe from The Naked Kitchen but their website has been down a while, so I'm glad I saved it below (with slight modifications).  If you are just making crackers (not these s'mores), you will want to brush the tops with egg wash and add coconut crystals to the top before baking.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (the coarser the grind the better)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (for a cinnamon graham use 2 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp pasture butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 1 egg white
• 6 tbsp raw coconut crystals
• 2 tbsp raw honey or coconut nectar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add the butter and with your fingers, fork or pastry cutter work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a texture like coarse wet sand.  (It will seem very dry, but if you dig into it with your hands you will feel the "wet sand" texture.  Don't add any extra ingredients thinking it is too dry.)
In a small bowl whisk together 1 egg white, 6 tablespoons coconut crystals, honey and vanilla.
Add the egg white mixture to the flour mixture and stir until you have a crumbly dough (like a pie crust dough).

Sprinkle a little flour onto a piece of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet. Place the dough onto the parchment and sprinkle a little more flour over the top. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. 

Cut out biscuits using a small round cookie cutter.  (I only had a small juice glass that was the size I wanted so used that).

Transfer to a fresh sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Bake 12 minutes or until browned.
Immediately remove to a wire cooling rack. The crackers will crisp as they cool.

SECOND!  While the crackers are baking, start your fluff.

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-agave-sweetened-marshmallows-recipe/

On the link above, The Gracious Pantry then puts them in a dish and makes actual marshmallows.  I stopped when it got to that part because I wanted fluff and, let me tell you, this was some serious fluff!  I think it's important to make sure you have a very clean bowl and beaters.  Because it was like making meringue, I even chilled mine a bit.  I thought it might help.  Not sure it made a difference, though. The fluff needs to be used right away if you want to pipe it through a pastry bag.  If you have leftover, I suggest you follow the link (above) directions on making them into marshmallows.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 packets unflavored gelatin (total of 1/2 ounce)
• 1 cup honey 
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

Directions:

Stir gelatin into water in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds.
While that’s in the microwave, pour the honey into a large mixing bowl.
Add vanilla.
Add warm gelatin/water mixture.
Blend on high for 12-15 minutes until the mixture is white and fluffy and has quadrupled in size.

Transfer about 2/3 of the fluff to a clean pastry bag and pipe onto cooled cracker.  Get almost to the edges and make sure you put a good helping on each one.

LAST, but most certainly not least!  Melt some chocolate for dipping

Ingredients:

1/2 cup good quality dark chocolate chips 

1 TBSP coconut oil

Melt chocolate and coconut oil together to make of good dipping consistency.  Allow to cool slightly before dipping so fluff doesn't melt.

Once cool enough (but not hardening), dip the fluff covered crackers into the chocolate, coating the fluff and top edge of the crackers.  Cool in the refrigerator to allow chocolate to harden.  If you like, you can make a double batch of chocolate and dip again once cooled.  I'm going to!

And because once I get started I just can't quit, I decided to make more graham crackers the next day.  I dipped the tops of the graham crackers in melted chocolate, allowed to cool in the fridge a little, then piped marshmallow on top.  I then dusted them with unsweetened coconut!  Snowballs!!!!

Workin' for a Livin'!

The good news is, I started a new job on May 6.  The bad news is, the commute is a little longer.  The good news is, I really like my job.  The bad news is, I don't have as much time for testing recipes and researching interesting clean eating information.

So here I sit on a Saturday morning with my first cup of coffee.  The house is quiet because only I would get up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday when I don't have to be anywhere.  But 6 is a whole lot later than 4:45, so I feel like I slept in!  And I am pondering what to make/eat this weekend.  I have no plan.  I always have a plan.  But, gosh, I am just tired!!!

That got me to thinking that probably a whole lot of you are just too tired or too busy to be dealing with a lot of prepping and planning.  You might still have younger children, end of school events, or a plethora of other things to keep you busy.  But you still want to eat clean.  So how do we do that?  Heck if I know.  HA!  Actually, I think it still can be done.  We just have to really simplify.

One thing we can't skip is the list. I love my lists.  Just look in my purse.  Well, don't really because ... ACK!  Never know for sure what you might find in there.

Okay, this ^^ is what you'll find there.  It is very scary!  But in that mess, there are lots of post-its, old bills and envelopes with notes scribbled on them.  So scribble out your menu for the week on whatever is handy.  Just make sure it's not the back of the service bill for AC.  Must pay the AC guy!  (Never tick off the AC guy.)  Here are some of the simplest things I can think of to make and might go on my menu this week:

MON - Baked beans and burgers
*If you don't want to deal with the slower cooker, try Honey Lime Slaw instead

TUE - Tortilla Soup
*This makes a fair amount so you can have it for lunch the rest of the week, or make them eat leftovers of soup later.  That will really save some time!

WED - Black beans and rice
Saute half an onion (or so) and one or two cloves of garlic (crushed) in 2 TBPS olive oil.  Add one can of rinsed and drained black beans and one can of Mexican style stewed tomatoes.  Stir and heat through.  Serve over brown rice.  (About 4 servings)  This recipe can be doubled or tripled for a larger family.

THU- Black bean quinoa salad
*I like this one because it uses quinoa which cooks very quickly.  Another good one to make extra of for your lunches.

FRI- Breakfast.   bacon and egg sandwich   Or, depending on how your week has gone, just make some eggs and bacon, a little side of fruit.  Just wash it, don't even slice it... or better yet just give them a whole banana... it's the end of the week for cryin' out loud!

What I like best about this menu is that I have most of the ingredients in my kitchen most of the time.  When you get a chance to go to the grocery store, just be sure to stock up on pinto beans, black beans, quinoa, tomato sauce, brown rice, eggs, and bacon.  You can make a lot of quick, clean foods with those ingredients and a few spices.  Plus this is the time of year that all the good stuff will be coming into season.  Summer time is the time for lighter meals, so grab the berries, tomatoes, cukes, whatever they are selling at the roadside stand, and ENJOY!

Eating Clean!

The other day on my Facebook page, Clean Eating -- It's a Lifestyle, I mentioned that I had planned to post a jerk chicken recipe but it was such an  epic failure that I wasn't going to bother.  My sister posted, "Thank you for saying not everything you make is fabulous.  I was having some kitchen envy there."

So let me be totally clear!  I am not a chef.  I have no training in health or nutrition.  I am not a professional anything-to-do-with-food!  I am a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter.  I work full-time outside the home.  I am worn out by Friday evening.  I get up early all week, so like to sleep in a little on the weekends.  I prefer red wine, although if I'm going to drink white, I love me some Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio!  I prefer the beach to the mountains, but any place I can get quiet time works for me.  I am just a person who got tired of fighting my weight, tried every eating plan and diet you can imagine, and finally found one that works really well for me. So, basically, I am just like you.  Or your neighbor.  Or someone you know.   Just someone who is learning along the way and wants to share a clean eating lifestyle so others can see that is can truly just become part of your life.  While I have a great life, no need to be envious.  Especially of my cooking!!  No expert here.

I hope you will "like" my Facebook page and follow my (very) occasional blog, and come along the journey with me.  We can share recipes or a glass of wine (no, it's not clean).  We can learn together and laugh together.  And, with any luck or effort, we might even lose some weight together!

Have a clean eating day!!!

Sharing the Clean!

I started on my clean eating lifestyle about a year ago.  On our walk the other evening, MR and I were talking about how it really is easy now to just eat the right thing.  It has truly become our lifestyle!  After I had been doing this for a while, one of my sisters was asking a lot of questions about it, so I decided to set up a Facebook page where I could share what I learned.  Amazing enough, almost 800 other people were also interested in knowing what I had discovered along the way!  Among those ~800 is a Long Time Friend (LTF).

We only get to see LTF and his wife (LTF2) about every 3 months or so.  When we saw them this past summer, about 4 months into our new journey, they noticed right away that we had lost weight and were feeling good!  They had some questions, which we gladly answered.  Then LTF started following my Facebook page, Clean Eating -- It's a Lifestyle, and following a clean eating lifestyle himself.  When we saw them again in November for a weekend away, he brought along his Magic Bullet and whipped up his smoothies each morning for breakfast.  Definitely starting to see some weight loss there!

We just got together with them again in February for dinner and cards.  Turns out LTF2 has also joined in and you could see right away they were both looking slimmer and healthier!  LTF was shrinking out of his work shirts, so took some of the ones MR couldn't wear anymore.   LTF reported he was under 200# for the first time in a long time! MR spoke to LTF again the other day and he said his shirts are getting too big again, even the slim fit ones!  And LTF2 is cooking a lot of Paleo recipes as part of their journey.

I am so very pleased for them, and for anyone who just takes on the challenge of their weight, their fitness, whatever challenge they face, and does something about it.  It's easy to eat junk because it's cheap, easy and available everywhere!  Eating clean takes more thought and planning, but I can personally attest to the benefits, and that truly, today, it is now just a part of who I am.  I just do it.  And, even better, it is a part of MR's life too.  Past "diets" have resulted in me eating one thing while the family ate something else.  So, you think eating clean is hard and time consuming?  Try cooking two separate meals every night!  MR embraced this one without hesitation.  It was easy because I cook things he likes!  Just CLEAN!  And he lost the weight right along with me (even though he's always been hot!).  Even #1 son will eat what the clean foods I cook.  He is 24 (and skinny as a rail), so he still eats some junk, but when he eats what I cook it is healthy and he doesn't complain, so that's a start!  Same thing for Baby Girl.  She is away at college and does her own cooking.  It's hard for her because of her class schedule and work, but she really makes the effort, and it shows!  (She's going to run in her first half marathon next weekend!)

I am so thankful that through this I have been able to share it with others and they are seeing the benefit as well.  I know firsthand that badgering people into losing weight, quitting smoking and/or drinking, or whatever other vice they may have, will not work.  What works is modeling the behavior and sharing the information when asked.

And just to reiterate something I have said before...  Clean eating has not only helped me lose weight, it has allowed me to reduce my medication level for my thyroid (down from 125 mcg to 88 mcg) and I also sleep so much better.  For years I was happy to get more than 4 hours straight of sleep.  Now I routinely sleep 7 hours without waking up.  If I do wake up, I go right back to sleep.  That used to never happen!  So there are many benefits to eating clean.  Try it out and you'll see what I mean!

Brisket with Onions - Slow Cooker Recipe

4 large carrots, peeled, and cut into 2" chunks
4 or 5 large onions, rough cut
1 T kosher salt
2 tsp ground white pepper
6 T whole wheat flour (may omit, if desired)
1 T ground ginger
2# brisket
4 T oil (I use coconut oil)
1 cup red table wine (may omit, if desired)
1 cup beef consomme
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and separated
1 T dried thyme
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Put carrots and onions in bottom of slower cooker.
Mix salt, pepper, flour and ginger in a large bowl and mix well.  Coat the brisket on all sides with flour mixture.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Place coated brisket in skillet and brown well on all sides, including edges.
Put meat over onions and carrots in slow cooker.
Add the wine and consomme to the skillet and stir to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add garlic and thyme to the liquid and simmer 10 minutes.
Pour the liquid over the meat in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for about 8 hours.  In the last 30 - 60 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar and cover again.

Comfort Food!

Today MR and I both worked from home.  Because of that, I had the time to make something especially yummy for supper.  We went with mac and cheese and also mock chick-fil-a nuggets.  Talk about your comfort foods!

The recipe for the chicken nuggets can be found here.  http://thedomesticman.com/2012/12/27/gluten-grain-and-garbage-free-chick-fil-a-nuggets/
I did not take the time to marinate for an hour (just let them marinate while I mixed together the dry ingredients).

The macaroni and cheese was adapted from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook

Clean Eating Mac and Cheese

1 cup whole wheat pasta (shells or elbows)
1 T butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T corn starch (or other thickener)
1-1/4 cups milk (I used cow's milk, but you could probably use almond or soy)
1-1/2 cups cheese (I like to use sharp cheddar)

Cook pasta as directed.  While that's cooking, melt butter in saucepan.  Add onions and saute until tender.  Mix in corn starch.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Add cheese and continue to cook until cheese is melted.  Drain pasta and stir into cheese mixture.  Transfer to a baking dish.  Cook uncovered at 350 for about 30 minutes.  If desired, garnish with tomato slices and bake 5 more minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand about 10 minutes.

New Year - New Recipe

I did my traditional New Year's Eve celebration again this year.  For many of the past 30 years, I have done exactly the same thing.  This year was not an exception.  Around 9:00 I started falling asleep on the couch.  At about 9:30 I went to bed.  Slept straight through and woke up around 6:30.  Whoo hoo!  Happy New Year!  Lame, I know.  But it is by choice, so that's okay.  What really warmed my heart was checking Facebook this morning and seeing that my (grown) children spent it together.  That was not part of the original plan, and they live about 2-1/2 hours from each other, so it was awesome to see that they we able to connect last night.  Truly... Happy New Year!

But before I got comfy on the couch last night, I did make supper. We spent the weekend at Baby Girl's place, so the groceries are limited.  Poor college students don't usually have much in their fridge.  We had bought a few things, but didn't want to buy a lot and then have it not get used.  So the other day I took some chicken out of the freezer (don't worry, I bought it a long time ago... can't be cutting into the college kid's budget).  When it came time to make it into something, I had lots of ideas, but limited ingredients.  I am happy to say this was very tasty, and is more proof that you can eat clean on a limited budget.  I don't typically drink store bought juice, but if I do, it needs to be 100% juice and no added sugar. If I were at home, I might have used fresh squeezed oranges (but probably not, because besides being cheap I am also lazy), and fresh pineapple (this is more likely just because I love fresh pineapple).  So this is what I did....

Pineapple-Orange Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup pineapple-orange juice  (100% juice with no added sugar)
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP butter
olive oil

Mix the juice and honey together, then add the chicken.  Marinate for an hour or so (you can probably skip this step if you're really pressed for time).  Drizzle a little olive oil in a pan with burner on med high heat.  Brown chicken on both sides in the olive oil then add about 1/4 cup or so of the juice from the marinade.  Cover, turn heat back to med low and cook chicken through, about 10-15 minutes on each side (turning once).  When chicken is done, remove to a plate.  Turn heat back up to med high and add 1 TBSP butter and remainder of marinade.  Deglaze pan, scraping up any bits in the bottom.  Continue to stir and sauce will get bubbly and slightly thick.  Pour over cooked chicken and serve.