Archive for the Category » Cooking «
22
May
I haven’t said much about the health problems I’ve been having for the last few years. I figure most people have their own problems, many much worse than mine, and don’t want to hear me whine about my aches and pains. I’m usually a glass-half-full type person, too. I keep expecting things to just go away. But they haven’t, and they probable won’t.
I recently ran into a friend at the doctor’s office, and he encouraged me to share a little about what’s going on so he could keep up and pray for me. I was still hesitant, but then realized [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Health
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08
Apr
I might have mentioned that my all-time favorite brownie recipe can be found in Katie Kimball’s e-book, Smart Sweets: 30 Desserts to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth. If you like sweets (who doesn’t?) but want to try to remain as healthy as possible while indulging the urge, Smart Sweets is the ticket. The recipes in this book use less sugar and healthier (natural) sweeteners. Flours include whole grains, soaked and sprouted grains. Some are even grain-free. Katie gives tips on including probiotics and vegetables in dessert or snack recipes. Gotta hide those veggies in every chance you take, right? Real food doesn’t have to be boring, and [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Parenting
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14
Feb
Today is Day 20 of the 30 Days to Less Stuff and More Life Challenge. If you want to jump in, go get the book at Amazon, Simple Living – 30 days to less stuff and more life.
Today we talk about one of my favorite ways to simplify my very busy life…meal planning. Simplifying food doesn’t mean you succomb to bad eating habits, and cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated or hard. No, I don’t use a box for much of anything, and I’ve even greatly reduced my canned additions to a few cans of beans and tomatoes and an [ ... ]
22
Jan
So, I’ve mentioned once or twice that I’m refining our dietary habits, partly out of health consciousness and partly out of necessity due to food allergies. As a result, I am becoming a alternative cookbook hoarder. But it’s all digital, so no fear of my kids getting buried in a landslide of heavy books. Digital is also super easy to peruse recipes, bookmark interesting ones, and keep track of the whole collection. The same cannot be said of traditional, hardbound cookbooks.
My best friend who has never talked to me nor knows me in real life in any way, Katie Kimball, [ ... ]
Category: Book Recommendations, Cooking, Family Life, Parenting
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14
Jan
When my husband and I got married, I was not a great cook. Capable, for the most part, but not great. Over the past 16 years, I have improved a lot. It didn’t happen overnight. But each year, we made minor changes, sometimes major changes, to our diet. I took cooking classes, not because I was so horrible, but just because I enjoyed learning new techniques and trying new cuisines. I gathered a few recipes from here and there, and we have a somewhat eclectic recipe selection now.
I started baking most of our own bread six or seven years ago [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Health, Parenting
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07
Jan
Life gets complicated, and I’m always looking for ways to streamline my meals. Usually it feels like rowing upstream. However, I employ a few tricks that have a return on investment in the time management department. A few extra minutes here often saves an hour later. That adds up!
Cook extra. Doubling a dinner recipe not only gives me twice the amount, it provides another meal, either for lunch later in the week or a freezer meal on a night I don’t have time to cook.
Use the crockpot. When cooking for a crowd, like I do every day, I use the [ ... ]
14
Oct
If you are interested in reforming or refining your eating habits, run, don’t walk, to buy Katie Kimball’s book, Healthy Snacks to Go: Over 45 recipes to get you on your way with real food, fast. It’s on sale now for 99 cents (Kindle version). You can’t beat that with a stick.
I have her book, Smart Sweets, which I seriously love. So, I am perfectly confident that Healthy Snacks is just as fabulous. I just bought it and can’t wait to look at it.
If you don’t have a Kindle, never fear. You can download a free Kindle app for your computer to [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Health, Parenting, Travel
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04
Oct
My best cooking friend Shelley from OneRoastVegetable.com is rebroadcasting her super popular cooking for the freezer class called Fresh From the Freezer: Healthy Meals for Busy People.
Two things you need to know. The class started Tuesday (the first video is already up and ready for you to watch) … and it’s FREE.
I know it’s hard to believe, but after more than 6 years of teaching cooking online, Shelley’s letting everyone take this Freezer class and there’s no charge. That’s zero dollars and zero cents!
This class is made up of short video lessons that you watch online, each one showing you [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Finding Our Way to Simple, Health, Parenting
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12
Sep
I am not a food blogger. More importantly, I am not a food photographer. I make these two qualifying statements as I post the following recipe and accompanying photo.
I am a decent cook. I’ve learned my way around the kitchen mostly the hard way, through lots of trial and error. My family and friends have choked down a fair share of burned meats, undercooked deserts, and just plain bad food. But we eat to live, and as I’ve become better in the kitchen we can even live to eat on occasion.
I have two muffin recipes that are absolutely sacred in [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Health, Parenting
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02
Aug
As I’ve tried to remake our menus to include more vegetables and healthier recipes, I’ve gotten stuck on breakfast and lunch. I’ve made some progress with breakfast by adding veggies to omelettes and frittatas, but lunch still has me mostly stumped. I’m asking you for help. What do you do for a healthy lunch that is kid friendly? In exchange, I’m sharing one recipe that we like. It can be adapted easily for allergies and taste preferences.
Grilled Tuna Sandwiches
1 can tuna in water, drained (I suggest the chunk tuna)
1-2 tbsp. mayonnaise or greek yogurt (depends on how wet you like your tuna)
Fresh basil, chopped (as [ ... ]
Category: Cooking, Family Life, Health, Parenting
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