Search This Blog

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Crock Pot Chicken

As many of you know, I am due any day to have our second child...so I have decided that I need to start making more crock pot dinners so that I am spending less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying my growing family! So, yesterday I threw this meal together and it turned out great!

1 lb. semi-frozen chicken breasts (thick-cut)
5-6 diced tomatoes (I had some frozen from summer time, so they were so fresh and tasty)
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
3-4 whole carrots, sliced
1 cup water (more or less to cover the ingredients)
Lots of Sea Salt
Lots of Italian Seasoning (grinder includes basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
Little Ground Pepper
Garlic
Onion Salt
*I didn't measure any of the spices, so you could add lots or a little to your liking!

1. Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. After 3-4 hours, open crock pot and stir well...also adding more spices if you would like.

I served this over a small amount of brown rice, but you could enjoy it plain or over brown rice pasta if you wish. The chicken was tender and fell apart as we ate it! Next time, I will likely add other veggies such as green beans or zucchini, but I just used what was in my fridge this time. The prep time was about 5 minutes and we got to enjoy the italian smell all day long!

Blender Batter Waffles

A friend of mine found this recipe and shared it with me. I of course altered it to what we had in our cupboards and to our personal taste, but it was a very quick, yummy breakfast! You do all the mixing in a blender, so it's easy clean up as well!

1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup almond milk (you could use rice milk, coconut, milk, greek yogurt, etc.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup uncooked whole oats (any combination of flours or grains-brown rice, buckwheat, coconut, whole wheat-I just happened to have lots of oats on hand)

1. Blend on high for 3 minutes (less if you have a Vita-Mix) streaming in extra almond milk to proper consistency. The recipe also stated that you should cover and leave at room temperature overnight to soak up nutrients, but I just made it all this morning.

Then add:

1 egg
1 tbsp MILA (Chia Seed)
Possibly extra almond milk

2. Blend 1-3 more minutes.

Then add:
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3. Blend for another 30 seconds. Then, bake in a hot waffle iron using non-stick olive oil or coconut oil spray. My waffle iron uses about 2/3 cup batter per waffle.

This batch made two plain waffles, then I added 3 tbsp. raw peanut butter/almond butter and blended that in to make my hubby some peanut butter waffles. I topped my plain waffle with raw maple syrup and fresh blueberries, while he topped his with raw honey and berries! This is definitely a treat meal, but it was awesome for a Sunday family morning. Plus, it only took 15 minutes total to prepare. I can't wait to try them again adding new and different things each time!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Salad Time

Even though the weather is cold, I have been craving salads lately. So, whenever I can find some decent produce, I buy it (that can be tough)! I have also been craving RubyTuesdays salad bar! You can get really creative with salads and add whatever you like. Here is one of my recent faves!

Several handfuls organic spinach
1 carrot shredded
1 cucumber diced and peeled
1 medium tomato diced (or cherry tomatoes)
4-5 mushrooms sliced
Small handful of walnuts, broken up a bit
Small handful of almonds, sliced a bit
Small handful of craisins
Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Another good idea is to grill/cook chicken in advance and keep sliced chicken in the fridge to add as protein on salads! You could also add any other vegetable or fruit that you enjoy! Salads don't have to be bland or boring, mix it up!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Snack Time!

A lot of you reading this have kids, and I often hear from people that they themselves can eat healthier but it's so hard with kids...or my kids won't eat any of that healthy stuff...or snacks are the hardest part! In our house, we don't have too much trouble with that. Don't get me wrong, our 3-year old loves treats and we definitely let her splurge sometimes when we are celebrating something or if we're having a vacation meal...but, overall we offer her healthy choices and she loves it! Here are just a few of her favorite snacks that we try to keep around the house at all times.

Organic Granny Smith Apples (plain or with almond butter)
Oranges
Grapefruit
Sweet Potato Fries (see previous recipe)
Raisins
Organic Fruit Strips/Leather (Target has great ones)
Carrot or Celery Sticks (plain or with hummus)
Cucumber slices
Avacado by the spoonful
Raw nuts
Trail Mix
Organic, Unsweetened apple sauce
Frozen Berries
Organic Granola Bar (occasionally)

We do allow her to snack often throughout the day, since she is eating healthy foods she needs to be eating often. I always try to keep a few snack options in my purse for when we are on the go...raisins, fruit strips, trail mix, and granola bars are easy to take with you so you don't get stuck somewhere with a crabby, hungry child!