Sweet

Sweet potatoes. Do you like them? I can't say that I do. But that is what TR came home from the grocery store with. 1 sweet potato.

So like a good little wife, I cooked it up for supper. Actually I only cooked up half of it, 'cause those things are massive and I had no idea how it was going to go over. Benjamin tried it, spit it out. Chloe wouldn't try it and we didn't push it (you can criticize my parenting later). I only put three little pieces on my plate. TR took a big helping.

I finished mine. But that last bite was a chore. I just can't quite get past the mushy texture. The flavour is not that bad. But I think that it will be an acquired taste for me. But the nutrient content is superb and it's really not that expensive, so I think that we will be eating in our house a little more. TR really liked it and that's enough to make me want to make it for him.

So, do you like sweet potatoes? If you do, please give me suggestions as to have to make it more creatively! Maybe I could even grow to enjoy them :)

Answer to you questions

Hey Leanne, just thought I would answer your questions here so you would for sure see it.

~ I don't think that organic corn is GM. I will have to do some more research as to whether all other corn is. I'm not sure where I heard it (maybe Jordan Rubin's book??) but corn and soybeans are usually GM. I'll have to check into that again, 'cause I really can't remember the source.

~ I liked your suggestion for the stuffing. Today I made a chicken casserole (gravy, chicken, veggies all mixed together and put in a dish topped with mashed potatoes and then topped with stuffing) I used to just put stovetop stuffing on the top, but alas I can't do that anymore. Today I just cut up some bread and added it to a butter/broth/spices mixture and coated it. Then I added it single layer on top of the potatoes. It was AWESOME! Even better than stovetop. They were nice and crunchy and tasted a little like stuffing seasoned croutons. LOVED IT!

Hamburger Soup

I made the most AMAZING hamburger soup the other day for supper. As in AMAZING! But you might not think so, so if you don't think it's amazing don't blame me! But it really hit the spot for me and I just find my taste buds wanting more!

The recipe came from the Health and Hospitality book: It's simply called 'Hamburger Soup'. Here's my version:

~Cooked hamburger (I put it through the chopper 'cause I like it fine)
~Green lentils
~Pot barley
~Carrots
~Onions
~Tomato juice (I used some of my garden tomatoes. I just skinned them and cooked them, strained them and added the juice to the soup)
~Taco Seasoning
~Celery salt (real celery would have been good but we didn't have any)
~Salt and pepper

Now you'll notice that I didn't add any amounts and that is because I didn't measure! I just did it until it looked/tasted right. I thought it was perfect, but TR said it would have been better with some potatoes.

The lentils and barley take the longest to cook, so I cooked them for a while in water and then when they were mostly soft I drained most of the remaining water and added the other ingredients.

Served with whole wheat biscuits fresh from the oven.

We are out of ground beef, but I seriously want to make this again soon so I think I will try it with some of the moose steak I have in the freezer. I'll let you know if it as good :)

My new favourite lunch!

Okay so I just had to post my new favourite lunch!

Tuna, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, grated organic cheese, garlic powder.

I mix all that together and then eat it with Tostito chips.

YUM!!

Turkey Dinner

How do you make a healthy turkey dinner? Easy. Well, mostly easy.

~ Organic Chicken or turkey. No this is not going to be from your grocery store :) We used chicken that we bought this summer from a local farmer. I'm not entirely certain if it's organic, but definitely healthier than the grocery store variety.

~ Mashed potatoes. From the garden of course! Mashed with butter and cream. Ideally this would have been organic cream, but alas G.P. is so far away :(

~ Corn. I would love it if I had a place to buy organic corn. But since I just couldn't imagine our supper without it, the stuff from the can just had to suffice. I say this because corn is genetically modified and therefore a big "no-no" on our list.

~ Stuffing. Made from homemade brown bread. Seasoned with the regular spices, butter, chicken broth that I made myself. (It also had some store bought chicken broth because the first time we ate it was at Mom's and I forgot to bring my own. When we had it for leftovers I added some more spices and broth 'cause it was lacking in flavour)

~ Gravy. Made from the broth I made from our chicken bones. Thickened with organic oat flour. (super good! I think I will always use oat flour as a thickener. It is a lot smoother than whole wheat flour)

~ Pumpkin pie. Homemade crust made with butter and whole wheat flour. Homegrown pumpkin, spices, cream, local eggs.

So, altogether it was really good. The only thing I want to experiment with is the stuffing. The bread got really crumbly when it was being mixed and didn't stay in squares very well. Good flavour but a little mushier than I like it.

2 Carts

This may get to be a bit long-winded. So beware!

I am about to let you in on a little secret: You can get some healthy foods right here at our own grocery store!

I am trying to reduce how often I go to the store so the new system I am trying is this: Buy as many non-perishable items as I think we'll need at the beginning of the month so the rest of the month is just quick trips. That makes for one big trip at the beginning of the month! Luckily my inlaws were able to come with me this time as we piled two carts to overflowing :)

~1 box of diapers -$28.99 (Huggies brand. I like buying the 'green' brand, but just had to settle this time since I know Benjamin will hardly ever be in them and therefore exposed to their chemicals.
~Green Peppers - $4.09
~Broccoli -$0.96
~Rubber Ball - $1.34 (a purchase for Chloe from her grandparents)
~ Romaine Lettuce - $1.49
~ Heinz Organic Ketchup - $5.79
~ p/Corn - $2.98 (puffed corn twists. A treat for the kids)
~ 2 boxes of Knox Gelatin - $2.89ea (I will be attempting to make healthy jello:)
~ 3 bags of dried white beans - $2.38ea
~ Organic Wheat Square cereal (like Shreddies) - $4.59
~ 3 boxes Organic Corn Pops - $4.99ea
~ bag of dried pot barley -$2.38
~ Real block of Parmesan - $11.21
~ 4 PC bittersweet chocolate bars - $4.49ea (I chop this for chips and use it for baking too)
~ 2 boxes of Power cereal - $9.99ea
~ PC organic Raisin Bran - $4.69
~ Hellman's Real Mayonnaise with olive oil - $6.29
~ 5 bags of Krinkle cut regular chips - $5.99ea
~ 6 blocks of PC organic old cheese - $5.99ea
~ Toilet paper (PC green) - $8.09
~ Sparkling juice - $ 2.99 (this is a splurge. It has the least amount of additives and is a nice treat for us when we'd like to have something special.)
~ 3 bags of tostitoes - $2.97ea (read the labels, the whole grain ones have more additives than the regular!)
~ 1 Lactania Whipping cream - $4.19
~ 5 bags of organic Gala apples - $4.39ea (on sale! Hooray!)
~ 10 2L jugs of PC Unfiltered 100% Apple Juice - $3.99ea
~ 3 Healthy Harvest Whole grain pasta boxes - $1.97ea (on sale! Hooray!)
~ 2 Ocean spray 100% Cranberry-Grape Juice - $9.19ea
~ 2 PC Celeb Margarine - $2.99ea (for Chloe while she is off dairy)
~ 15 1lb block of Neilson Butter - $3.99ea ($59.85 altogether!)
~ 1L Pure Maple Syrup - $18.89
~3 Orange Juice - $2.35 (50% off for near expiry date)
~ 2 PC Peach Tangerine Juice - $1.65 (50% off for near expiry date)
~ 3 Tropicana Grapefruit Juice - $4.98ea

I received my $15 off for coupon day, along with a gas coupon. The total of all these groceries was . . .

$427.88

*I would just like to add a little side note: All the juice I buy is 100% juice, not from concentrate. The only exception to this is the 100% Cranberry Juice from concentrate, which is for Chloe to aid in her digestive tract.
**I have a few more items I need for this month at from S.A. and the drug store. I will keep you posted as to what else gets stocked in my cupboard :)

Celebration!

So I am officially done babysitting!

In order to celebrate this exciting moment in my life I decided to splurge.

I bought a salmon. You know the expensive fillet. The one that's farmed and not as healthy as the whole wild salmon, but much tastier!

And . . . It was AWESOME. I have sure missed those salmon. With some Mrs.Dash lemon pepper. YUM!

It's going to be hard not to buy another one. It's really too bad that it's not wild salmon. Then it would be healthier and much easier to justify.

But altogether I'd say it's a pretty good way to celebrate :)