Every once in a while, my hubby comes up to me with these dreaded words: "hey can you not spend any money this week? I just spent all our money paying bills. Ok. Time to whip out the famous split pea soup, beans and rice, or lentil curry recipes that I am so well-known for. Lately all I've been cooking for my family has been a feature in the legume family. Legumes are cheap and incredibly nutritious. Health magazine listed lentils as one the top 5 nutritious foods of all time. I have been known to make a big pot of something on Monday and by Friday, we're finishing it up. My kids are too young to complain (much). And my hubby doesn't care if he eats the same thing for lunch everyday as long as it's different from dinner. The best part is that lentils and split peas are cheap cheap cheap. Like 50 to 60 cents a pound cheap.
Now if anybody's husband is like mine, he will eat whatever's in front of him and when the meal's over, look up and ask: "Where's the meat?" This attitude can be so frustrating, especially since legumes are a complete protein. There is no need to put any meat in and meat can be expensive. So my solution is this: I go to Kroger to the 'manager's specials' and choose some small 2 dollar steaks or pork or boneless chicken. I cut up the meat in small bits and cook it in with the lentils/beans/split peas. It's large enough that the men see that there's "meat" and cheap enough that it doesn't kill my budget.
The main protein is the legume. I buy the dried, non-processed cheap kind at the grocery store. (Fiesta is fantastic for this) I stock up so I don't have to continuously be shopping. dried legumes are very easy to store in the cabinets. Green lentils, which contain 31% of fiber, don't have to soak overnight. I rinse them and toss them in a pot of water with a little broth and let them cook for 30 minutes. I add the meat at the same time or I stir fry the meat separately, then add, depending. Then I add spices and flavor. I've been known to use barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce. (Both contain salt so watch the salt level) I've used tomato sauce or paste or even canned tomatoes. Onions are great. I've created some amazing curry lentils. Here's the link where I adopted this recipe from:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/red-lentil-curry/detail.aspx
I served this recipe over brown rice. My husband loved this receipe and I never even added meat to this. In order to tone down the spices for the kids, I added sour cream or yogurt. It absorbed most of the flavor and the kids ate it without complaint.
My split pea soup has now become famous. My family affectionally calls it my "green gruel" Because of how it looks but tastes amazing! I soak green split peas overnight. (Green split peas are cheaper by about 10 cents at the grocery store. That really makes a difference when I buy 10 bags at a time.) Here's my recipe that everyone's just raving about:
Soak split peas overnight
Rinse and cook them with water and a bit of chicken broth. (I make my own broth)
Add a chunk of honey ham. I cut into smaller pieces and cook with the split peas (I buy the small slices at the store for 2 dollars) Make sure to cook the ham with the split peas to give the meal flavor.
Add turmeric, olive oil, (or any oil), 2 TBSP of brown sugar, and fish sauce (or soy sauce) and mix together
Serve with brown rice or whole wheat toast
So have fun rediscovering your legumes! Remember legumes are our friends, especially for our bodies. As a disclaimer, I will warn you that the effects of a legume diet will produce very efficient digestive systems. You might want to invest in air fresheners. Just a suggestion.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Smoothies: easy dessert/meal, everything!
I just finished making my children and crowd a smoothie. I make smoothies for all occasions. Usually I reserve the smoothie for a mid-afternoon snack before dinner and after lunch. Today it was for lunchtime because I am lazy and the kids love it. I never have to fight to get them to eat these things. As I speak, Judene is licking the last of her very full glass and she is very careful not to spill any of the precious frozen ooze. This is the same child that wears everything she eats. Everyone and everything else within 50 yards sports the same colors after any meal. Not so with my smoothies. When I don't feel like fighting food down my children's throats, I whip out the smoothie in less than five minutes. The key to this food adventure is the prep-time and tools.
There are some handy tools that I do have at my disposal. I have a deep freezer that I keep in the garage. I also have a blender. I did have a free blender that exploded in my face a few weeks ago. (But I managed to save the smoothie, so it was all good.) My husband, recognizing my dire need to have a blender, (he also likes my smoothies) went immediately to Walmart and bought me another one for 50 bucks. He opted for the stainless steel though all the while joking about the 200 dollar margarita machine.
The prep time doesn't effect me because of when and how I take the time to prep the smoothies. Spring time is great. Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are on sale at the grocery store. I have been known to buy 10 pounds worth of strawberries at a time when the price is a dollar/pound. As soon as I get home and get the kids happy, I unload the groceries. Unloading and putting away groceries include washing and cutting up the strawberries (just washing the blue/black berries), putting them in freezer bags (I buy in bulk at Sam's club), and sticking them in the freezer. The prep time is complete.
So when the time comes to make a smoothie for hungry whiny kids (especially children with sweet tooths), I usually experiment with a variety of flavors but I do keep a staple selection for the blender.
My Classic Smoothie:
Always a fresh banana. (best source of potassium and great cheap fruit to keep around the house.(I don't like bananas by themselves so sticking it in a smoothie is about my only way of eating it without gagging.) The banana prices year round range from 43 to 49 cents a pound. Very doable for my budget.
frozen strawberries. (gives me the frozen mush that we so love in smoothies and icies on a hot day)
Fresh spinach. (folic acid and iron. One of the best sources of nutrition EVER)
Blueberries or Blackberries. I usually freeze or add fresh depending. (Best way to hide the fact that you just added spinach. The purple color fools EVERYBODY!)
Unsweetened Almond milk. Read the labels. Even organic has organic cane juice which translated means sugar. I like to decide how much sugar I give my kids not corporate thank you. I know some folks who make their own almond milk. Even better. I will get on board with that eventually. I would also do coconut milk but I have yet to find one with no added sugar. You could do soy milk as well. My kids don't like unsweetened soy but yours might.
Greek yogurt (optional) If I'm making it an actual meal, then yes. And I used greek yogurt because when I read the ingredient labels on even the plainest of yogurts, there is still a long list of preservatives, etc etc. The ingredient label on greek yogurt: cultured grade A nonfat milk. Pretty simple. I'll stick with that. Plus coupons are easy to find for greek yogurt.
My baby girl is lactose-intolerant and very sensitive to preservatives and chemicals. Normally she can't have yogurt at all. She digests greek yogurt pretty well though. To me that speaks volumes for the product.
honey and vanilla flavoring. I use local honey if I can, to build up my kids' immune system to the local pollen allergies. I get it from a friend who owns a hive. I know not everybody has these resources so even store bought honey is better than sugar, HANDS DOWN. Vanilla flavoring is cheap and lasts forever. I can't do the real stuff, I just don't have the budget for it. I don't use enough to make any real difference other than flavor. I put only the bottle's cap amount in.
Every once in a while I get some cheap or free fruit that I'm not sure what to do with so I freeze and put in the smoothies. I just got some figs in and I googled figs to see if there was any nutritional value. There is. Huge. Apparently it's excellent for your digestive system, cures pimples and known for its healing properties in cancer. My 15 year old nephew thanks me for his new skin everyday.
So have fun experimenting! I'm thinking of trying a mango/strawberry combo next or peaches and cream. Maybe the cream will the be the greek yogurt. We'll see how these experiments do with the kids. If anybody out there has a few flavor combo ideas, let me know.
There are some handy tools that I do have at my disposal. I have a deep freezer that I keep in the garage. I also have a blender. I did have a free blender that exploded in my face a few weeks ago. (But I managed to save the smoothie, so it was all good.) My husband, recognizing my dire need to have a blender, (he also likes my smoothies) went immediately to Walmart and bought me another one for 50 bucks. He opted for the stainless steel though all the while joking about the 200 dollar margarita machine.
The prep time doesn't effect me because of when and how I take the time to prep the smoothies. Spring time is great. Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are on sale at the grocery store. I have been known to buy 10 pounds worth of strawberries at a time when the price is a dollar/pound. As soon as I get home and get the kids happy, I unload the groceries. Unloading and putting away groceries include washing and cutting up the strawberries (just washing the blue/black berries), putting them in freezer bags (I buy in bulk at Sam's club), and sticking them in the freezer. The prep time is complete.
So when the time comes to make a smoothie for hungry whiny kids (especially children with sweet tooths), I usually experiment with a variety of flavors but I do keep a staple selection for the blender.
My Classic Smoothie:
Always a fresh banana. (best source of potassium and great cheap fruit to keep around the house.(I don't like bananas by themselves so sticking it in a smoothie is about my only way of eating it without gagging.) The banana prices year round range from 43 to 49 cents a pound. Very doable for my budget.
frozen strawberries. (gives me the frozen mush that we so love in smoothies and icies on a hot day)
Fresh spinach. (folic acid and iron. One of the best sources of nutrition EVER)
Blueberries or Blackberries. I usually freeze or add fresh depending. (Best way to hide the fact that you just added spinach. The purple color fools EVERYBODY!)
Unsweetened Almond milk. Read the labels. Even organic has organic cane juice which translated means sugar. I like to decide how much sugar I give my kids not corporate thank you. I know some folks who make their own almond milk. Even better. I will get on board with that eventually. I would also do coconut milk but I have yet to find one with no added sugar. You could do soy milk as well. My kids don't like unsweetened soy but yours might.
Greek yogurt (optional) If I'm making it an actual meal, then yes. And I used greek yogurt because when I read the ingredient labels on even the plainest of yogurts, there is still a long list of preservatives, etc etc. The ingredient label on greek yogurt: cultured grade A nonfat milk. Pretty simple. I'll stick with that. Plus coupons are easy to find for greek yogurt.
My baby girl is lactose-intolerant and very sensitive to preservatives and chemicals. Normally she can't have yogurt at all. She digests greek yogurt pretty well though. To me that speaks volumes for the product.
honey and vanilla flavoring. I use local honey if I can, to build up my kids' immune system to the local pollen allergies. I get it from a friend who owns a hive. I know not everybody has these resources so even store bought honey is better than sugar, HANDS DOWN. Vanilla flavoring is cheap and lasts forever. I can't do the real stuff, I just don't have the budget for it. I don't use enough to make any real difference other than flavor. I put only the bottle's cap amount in.
Every once in a while I get some cheap or free fruit that I'm not sure what to do with so I freeze and put in the smoothies. I just got some figs in and I googled figs to see if there was any nutritional value. There is. Huge. Apparently it's excellent for your digestive system, cures pimples and known for its healing properties in cancer. My 15 year old nephew thanks me for his new skin everyday.
So have fun experimenting! I'm thinking of trying a mango/strawberry combo next or peaches and cream. Maybe the cream will the be the greek yogurt. We'll see how these experiments do with the kids. If anybody out there has a few flavor combo ideas, let me know.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Getting the truth out there.
I've been contemplating starting a blog with a particular topic in mind for a while. All of my friends have been so encouraging me especially in this journey. I admit though, I had been putting it off. Mostly because I am not sure I can keep up with being married with two kids (daughter 2 and son 17 months), full-time student and actively involved in my community and keep a blog. Seems like a tall order. On top of that, feeding a growing family under a household budget is tricky in this world. Especially if part of that requirement is making sure my family gets the nutrition and health needed to meet this crazy world's demands of energy. Every time I go to the store, I'm met with pretty expensive packages of nutritionally-sound based foods. However, I have a budget of 75 bucks a week to feed myself, a husband, two toddlers, a mother-in-law and now a 15 year old nephew. I have to feed these folks and still make time to study and go to class. It's also difficult because I do have to be sensitive to family members not wanting to give up certain flavors. My husband likes his occasional dr pepper and we do have arguments about that. No amount of information really makes a difference. He likes it and that's about it. my sweet mom loves her evening desserts and frankly I don't blame her because I enjoy those too. I can't do those crazy veggen diets or raw food only stuff. I can't give up meat. My husband would divorce me over this. He has to have meat at every meal. And frankly who can realistically afford those organically-raised hormone-free no-pesticides steaks? I've seen all those films like "food inc." and "supersize me." They show some scary truths. I want my family to be able to function in a world that literally is set up to rob us of our health and happiness.
Reasons why I want my family to eat healthy:
1) I want to have a better body image. I'm shallow; I admit that. Or my excuse could be that I want more clothing options when I go shopping. Goodwill gets some fantastic clothes in but they are always in the small sizes. Apparently our society grows out of clothes faster than wears out of clothes. My budget for clothes is relatively small too, in case you haven't picked that up.
2) I want my kids to grow up not having to overcome an unhealthy body image in addition to pimples and all these awful things that teenagers deal with. Being overweight is something that we parents can help with before the kids reach their teens. And we can teach our kids healthy choices, even if they choose later different choices. At least I can impart to my kids a realistic powerful tool to fight against unhealthy body image and behavior. (I know anorexia and bulimia are issues too, but here I am addressing obesity because that's what I fight with. I encourage eating )
3) I don't want to deal with constant colds, flues, sickness in my family. I know that some stuff just can't be avoided. Being sick is going to happen. But if my immune system is happy and my body is happy, I bet a lot of sickness will be avoided.
4) I want my husband around a long time. Ladies, if this is NOT your goal, don't feed your husband healthy. Although the studies are overwhelming, if a couple is healthy, their sex life is fabulous. I do know that if a person is in the over-weight category of the American fitness standard, the health risks go up by like 60%.
5) I need the energy only a healthy style can give me. I'm not 18 anymore. I can't keep going for 12 hours straight. Especially my toddlers drain so much out of me. And then there all these expectations on wife and mothers whether we work out of home or not, We are expected to help provide income, care for our kids, keep a neat and tidy house, feed everybody who walks in the door (and it has to taste good), look amazing and fresh while doing it, and be ready for any evening marital activities. And we are to do everything well. I recognize this stereotype is changing and men are wonderful nurturers and great at doing all these things too. However the same standard applies for men. They need the energy to care for their families, provide, honey-do lists, etc etc... Regardless what your family looks like, everybody needs healthy energy to take on their challenges.
So these were the motivations why I wanted to and have changed my family life style. The results so far: I have gone from a size 16 to 10 and hopefully still losing. My kids are easier to deal with, mostly because we stopped frequenting McDonald's as much. The quick fix doesn't make up for the long term crankiness and problematic digestive issues. Yes believably my kid's attitudes are affected by what they eat. My husband sleeps better and has lost weight and our private life has really sprung anew! My nephew who unfortunately deals with weight problems at 15 has also lost weight in the month that he has lived with us. He is totally excited and motivated for more. And the beauty of all of this is that my grocery bill has gone down to 50 dollars a week roughly. How's that you ask? I will share the secrets. This news has got to get out. I'm so frustrated by unrealistic and expensive healthy lifestyles that I had wondered if there was happy medium out there that still produced results. And it all started with how I shopped. And please if anyone out there has any great ideas and found encouraging results as well, please share! I am constantly looking for new receipes and ingredients that are affordable, easy to make, and healthy.
Reasons why I want my family to eat healthy:
1) I want to have a better body image. I'm shallow; I admit that. Or my excuse could be that I want more clothing options when I go shopping. Goodwill gets some fantastic clothes in but they are always in the small sizes. Apparently our society grows out of clothes faster than wears out of clothes. My budget for clothes is relatively small too, in case you haven't picked that up.
2) I want my kids to grow up not having to overcome an unhealthy body image in addition to pimples and all these awful things that teenagers deal with. Being overweight is something that we parents can help with before the kids reach their teens. And we can teach our kids healthy choices, even if they choose later different choices. At least I can impart to my kids a realistic powerful tool to fight against unhealthy body image and behavior. (I know anorexia and bulimia are issues too, but here I am addressing obesity because that's what I fight with. I encourage eating )
3) I don't want to deal with constant colds, flues, sickness in my family. I know that some stuff just can't be avoided. Being sick is going to happen. But if my immune system is happy and my body is happy, I bet a lot of sickness will be avoided.
4) I want my husband around a long time. Ladies, if this is NOT your goal, don't feed your husband healthy. Although the studies are overwhelming, if a couple is healthy, their sex life is fabulous. I do know that if a person is in the over-weight category of the American fitness standard, the health risks go up by like 60%.
5) I need the energy only a healthy style can give me. I'm not 18 anymore. I can't keep going for 12 hours straight. Especially my toddlers drain so much out of me. And then there all these expectations on wife and mothers whether we work out of home or not, We are expected to help provide income, care for our kids, keep a neat and tidy house, feed everybody who walks in the door (and it has to taste good), look amazing and fresh while doing it, and be ready for any evening marital activities. And we are to do everything well. I recognize this stereotype is changing and men are wonderful nurturers and great at doing all these things too. However the same standard applies for men. They need the energy to care for their families, provide, honey-do lists, etc etc... Regardless what your family looks like, everybody needs healthy energy to take on their challenges.
So these were the motivations why I wanted to and have changed my family life style. The results so far: I have gone from a size 16 to 10 and hopefully still losing. My kids are easier to deal with, mostly because we stopped frequenting McDonald's as much. The quick fix doesn't make up for the long term crankiness and problematic digestive issues. Yes believably my kid's attitudes are affected by what they eat. My husband sleeps better and has lost weight and our private life has really sprung anew! My nephew who unfortunately deals with weight problems at 15 has also lost weight in the month that he has lived with us. He is totally excited and motivated for more. And the beauty of all of this is that my grocery bill has gone down to 50 dollars a week roughly. How's that you ask? I will share the secrets. This news has got to get out. I'm so frustrated by unrealistic and expensive healthy lifestyles that I had wondered if there was happy medium out there that still produced results. And it all started with how I shopped. And please if anyone out there has any great ideas and found encouraging results as well, please share! I am constantly looking for new receipes and ingredients that are affordable, easy to make, and healthy.
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