Shopping List for 6/11

Produce
broccoli (S1)
garlic (S1,D2)
Berries (S2)
onion (D1)
spinach (D1)
lemon juice (D2)
Romain lettuce hearts (D3)
avocado (D3)
tomato (D3)
iceberg lettuce (D4)
burger fixin's (D4)
kabob veggies (D5)

Refrigerator
4 eggs (B1, Des1)

Freezer
frozen winter squash puree (D1)

Bulk food
raw cashews (D2)

Canned
coconut milk (Des1)
tomato paste (D1)
beef broth (D1)

Meat
lean ground beef (D1, D4)
kabob meat (D5)

Baking/spices
agave nectar (B1)
vanilla extract (B1)
baking soda (B1, Des1)
grapeseed oil (B1)
EVOO (S1, D1, D3)
cornstarch (D1)
garlic powder (D1)
chili powder (D2)
turmeric (D2)
cayenne pepper (D2)
pine nuts (D3)
balsamic vinegar (D3)

Condiments
mustard (D2)
burger fixin's (D4)
Italian dressing (D5)

Health Food Store
almond flour (B1,Des1)
70% dark chocolate chips (Des1)
goat cheese (D1,D3)
nutritional yeast (D2)
Gluten-free pasta (D2)

Monday Menu 6/11

Breakfast (B1)
Gluten-free Pancakes: I guess I'm feeling in the mood for comfort food. There's a lot of that in this week's menu. I've made these before and they didn't set up well for me- but the pancake pieces were to die for! I've been missing a good flapjack breakfast and with the tips listed on this page, I'm sure success is not far away!

Snacks
(S1) Roasted Broccoli: She says that she's never met anyone who has not liked this recipe. I'm intrigued..... Enough to try it.....

(S2) Berry Salad: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, you name it! Throw it all together to make a salad. Be sure to eat some protien with it (nuts, seeds, etc.) to balance out the sugars from your berries.

Dessert
(Des 1) Black and White Cake: I've made this recipe many times and it's a hit with everyone. You would never know it was grain, dairy, and sugar-free. I don't use the white chocolate chips. I add dark chocolate chips instead to keep the sugar content down. It's great with fresh strawberries!

Dinners
(D1) Shepherd's Pie: Gotta love comfort food! Use either goat cheese or omit the cheese altogether to make it dairy-free.

(D2) Vegan Mac n Cheese: Another intriguing recipe.

(D3) Avocado Salad: Romain heart, tomato, avocado, pine nuts, goat cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. One of my favs.

(D4) Burgers: Get out the grill and wrap your burger in iceburg lettuce instead of a bun. Top with your favorite toppings with corn on the cob on the side.

(D5) Kabobs: Grab some skewers, a meat like chicken or steak, and chopped veggies- onion, peppers, tomatoes, etc. Once you assemble your kabobs, marinate in Italian dressing and grill those babies up!

To everything there is a season.....

Click on image to make larger

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

 A great explanation of how sugar affects the body. This one hour-twenty nine minute video is worth your time.

Shopping List 5/28

Produce
spinach (B1)
bananas (B1, D1)
limes (B1, Din2, Din3)
apples (S1)
carrots (S2, Din2, Din4)
green pepper (Din3, Din4, Din5)
red pepper (S2, Din3, Din4, Din5)
celery (Din4, Din5)
cucumber (S2, Din4)
green onions (Din5)
iceberg lettuce (Din1, Din5)
sugar snap peas (S2)
tomatoes (Din1, Din4)
onions (Din2, Din3)
cilantro (Din2, Din3, Din4)
jalapeno (Din3)
lemon Juice (Din4)
garlic (Din3, Din4, Din5)


Refrigerator
hummus (S2)
eggs (D1)


Bakery
corn tortillas (Din3)


Freezer
frozen fruit (B1)


Bulk food
tortilla chips (Din1)
brown rice (Din2)
walnuts (Din4, D1)
roasted peanuts (Din5)

Canned
black beans (Din1)
curry paste (Din2)


Meat
chicken (Din1, Din2, Din3, Din5)
Steak (Din3)

Baking/spices
canola oil (Din5)
olive oil (Din2, Din3, Din4)
ginger (Din4, Din5)
cumin (Din3)
oregano (Din3)
salt (Din3, Din4, D1)
pepper (Din3)
baking soda (D1)
vanilla (D1)
cinnamon (D1)
coconut oil (D1)



Condiments
salsa (Din1, Din3)
gluten free soy sauce (Din5)
rice or distilled vinegar (Din5)
red pepper flakes (Din5)

Health Food Store
flax seed (S1)
coconut milk (Din2)
quinoa (Din4)
almond meal (D1)
peanut butter (S1)

Monday Menu 5/28

1 breakfast, 2 snacks, 5 dinners and 1 dessert

Breakfast

(B1) Green Smoothie: Green smoothies are quick and full of nutrients. You can follow this recipe or have fun with it and add your own fruits and veggies. No fancy blender required. I have a regular old Walmart brand blender and it works just fine.

Snacks

(S1) Apples and Peanut Butter: Slice up an apple and dip in some natural peanut butter and you've got one tasty snack. I like to get the freshly ground peanut butter at my local health food store. It's a bit more expensive but the taste is worth it. I've also heard almond butter is good too.

(S2) fresh veggies and hummus: I love me some hummus. I use it on everything. Cut up your favorite veggies and dip in hummus. I especially love carrot sticks, red bell peppers, sugar snap peas and cucumbers with hummus.

Dinners

(D1) Chicken n' black bean taco salad:

Ingredients:

2 lg. chicken breasts (Costco sized) thawed

or 4 sm. chicken breasts

3 cans black beans

8-12 oz. salsa

shredded lettuce

cubed tomatoes

1 pkg. tortilla chips

Directions:

Thaw chicken, place in crock pot.

Poor in salsa.

Drain  and rinse one can black beans and add to crock pot, add remaining 2 cans of black beans with juice.

Turn crock pot to low and cook for 6-8 hrs. High for 5-6 hrs.

During last hr. of cook time, remove chicken and shred. Place shredded chicken back into crock pot for remaining time.

Serve with shredded lettuce and cubed tomatoes over tortilla chips.

*This is one of my all-time favorite meals to make when I'm short on time. I also love that it gives us left-overs.

Enjoy!

(D2) Coconut-Chicken Curry

from Better Homes and Gardens Annual Recipes 2006

Prep: 30 min. Stand: 30 min. Cook: 16 min.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut in bite-sized pieces
1/2 C red curry paste
1 T olive oil
1 lg. onion, coarsely chopped
1 13.5 oz can unsweetened or reduced-fat coconut milk
1 1/2 C matchstick sized carrots
1 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
Hot cooked brown rice
Snipped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine chicken and curry paste; let stand at room temp. for 30 min.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add oil, onion, and chicken. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 min., stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
3. Remove chicken from skillet. Carefully add coconut milk to skillet, scraping up crusty bits. Add carrots and lime peel. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 min. or until carrots are crisp-tender. Return chicken mixture to skillet. Simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 min. or until liquid thickens slightly. Serve with rice and snipped cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

*If you like to eat Thai curry, you will love this. It is not spicy-hot like you might imagine most Thai food to be. It is absolutely amazing.


(D3)-Fajitas

MmMm. I love me some fajitas.
For gluten free, use corn tortillas.
I also use chicken for my fajitas instead of steak because that's what I've got on hand.

(D4)- Quinoa Salad

I just tried this for the first time at a BBQ a few weeks ago and I'm totally hooked on Quinoa now. This is perfect for the summer.

(D5)  Szechwan Chicken Lettuce Wrap

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp canola or peanut oil
8 oz, chicken
1/2 medium sweet green or red pepper, diced
1 cup celery cut into slices
2 tsp/ minced fresh ginger or dash of ginger spice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice or distilled vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp dry roasted peanuts
2 green onions, sliced short
2 large Iceberg lettuce leaves

Directions:
Heat skillet over medium heat 3 minutes. Add oil and coat pan evenly. Add chicken, red or green peppers, celery, and ginger. Cook and stir for 3 min. or until chicken is opaque. Stir in garlic. Add soy sauce, vinegar and pepper flakes. Continue to cook and stir mixture for 1 minute. Stir in peanuts and green onion. Remove pan from heat. Put mixture in lettuce leaves. Roll and eat like a burrito. 2 servings.
* hint: this is spicy. If you don't like spicy don't add the red pepper flakes


Dessert
(D1) Banana Bread

I use 4 VERY ripe bananas instead of the 2 that is called for. It turns out much better. Also, make sure to line your bread pan with wax paper or tin foil, this will allow you to remove your banana bread with ease.




Natural Deodorant

I have been on a quest to remove personal care and beauty products that contain harmful chemicals from my routine. I've been doing a little research and have found that most beauty products contain fragrances and chemicals that can cause cancer and that are endocrine disruptors. Now- it seems like EVERYTHING causes cancer now-a-days. I don't want cancer, but I also don't want to stay locked up in a bubble.

The thing that got me as I was reading about this stuff, was that beauty products contain a lot of chemicals that can disrupt the balance and function of your endocrine system. For me, this is a big issue. My endocrine system is already incredibly disrupted. I have several endocrine disorders. They made it difficult for me to produce my adorable, perfect, chubbsters baby. As in 5 years difficult. I really DON'T need my endocrine system disrupted further.

So in the quest of mine, I have a couple of requirements from the products I switch to:

1. I don't want to smell like the health food store.
2. It has to be reasonably priced.
3. I don't want to smell like the health food store.
4. It's got to work effectively.
5. I don't want to put dirt on my face and call it makeup. 
6. I don't want to smell like the health food store.

Amazingly, there are a lot of products that fit these requirements! But I want to tell you about one of them.

This is a toothpaste. But I don't use it as a toothpaste. It has become my official deodorant.... Hear me out....

Most deodorants, if you look at the warning label (you may need to open the little label accordion folder thing on the back) you will find two warnings. One says to not use on broken skin. What that means is that you can't put it on after shaving. When you shave, it breaks the skin open. Ladies, I don't know about you, but I'd like to be able to wear deodorant on days that I shave.

The second thing the label may say is that you should not use if you have kidney disease. I've never met anyone whose kidneys were by their armpits. The chemicals in deodorant travel to your kidneys through your blood stream. So that means that the nasty aluminum (some deodorants contain 60% aluminum!) is getting into your bloodstream and may be disrupting your endocrine system- or worse.    

So I switched to a natural deodorant. Its performance stunk. And so did I. I tried another one. Same verdict. I was about ready to bag it and go back regular deodorant- I mean, cummon- beauty must come first! But then I heard about this stuff. The recommendation came from Nature's Knockout  who got it from a man who uses heavy machinery and sweats buckets. Thieves Dentarome Plus is a completely natural toothpaste which has the consistency of lotion. It's not gummy or sticky like Crest is. It dries quickly and smells like cinnamon. I'm game for trying weird stuff.

Love it! It lasts all day. It completely keeps me dry and I don't smell. (Can I get a woot, woot for not being stinky!?) I'm not one who sweats much, but from what I hear and from others who have tried it, it really works for even the most abundant perspirer. And the husband agrees too! He and I are both converted.

I can't help but feel pretty clever using it.

I thought I'd pass it on.

On a side note, Nature's Knockout is a really fun site to check out. Fun hair and make up tutorials using all natural products, as well as information on beauty products and their safety.