Sleepy Baby

Absolutely had to share these! Wouldn't you just love to be able to fall asleep like this?! I mean that in a few different ways: 1.) Wouldn't you love to be given the time to fall asleep in a chair? and 2.) Wouldn't you love to look this cute doing it?! 

Tex-Mex

Heyo!
  Ok-so last night, I ended up making the Tex-Mex meal from my previous post. MAN was it good! I made a few additions- I sauteed some onions in some butter, then added them to the browned ground beef. I also topped the meal with some sour cream, and some shredded cheese! Let's just say that there weren't any leftovers! YUMMO!
Make this tonight-ok, maybe tomorrow! :)

Great Dinner Ideas

Most of the time when you grab a flyer at the store, it ends up just being tossed in the trash (or the recycle bin, hopefully!). 

However, the flyer at Whole Foods is so awesome! It of course has a ton of coupons, and on the back on the current issue-TONS of meal ideas! 

  This week has been really stressful for some people, trying to figure out if they were going to get their paychecks etc. So, I found these ideas really helpful, because they are inexpensive, and they only have a handful of ingredients. They have ideas for making your meal: Irish, Cajun, Asian, Tex-mex, and Italian.
Hopefully this is easy to read-the link wasn't working so I just had to type it out. I like how it also tells you how much it costs per serving. It's nice to think about, if you went to Chik Fil A or your choice of fast food, and got a meal-you can compare how much you're spending. You're getting a great home cooked meal, sitting down at the table with your family-for a great price! Now, these prices are based on shopping at Whole Foods-so I think that makes this EVEN better! Healthy, grass fed beef meals, for under $5.00/serving! Can't get much better than that! 

grass-fed beef skillet dinners for four

family-friendly, budget-friendly, quick and easy

These are great for weeknight meals or in simple homage to events such as Mardi Gras or St. Patrick’s Day. Each one begins with a pound of ground grass-fed beef. Feel free to substitute ground turkey or, for vegetarian versions, replace the beef with tempeh and a little canola oil.

    Seasonings: 

SEASONING

Irish : 1 cup chopped onion + 1⁄2 cup lager or pilsner beer (after browning meat and onion)

Cajun: 11⁄2 tsp salt-free Cajun/Creole seasoning

Asian:  2 TB soy ginger sauce + 2 TB water

Tex-Mex: 1–2 TB chili powder

Italian: 1 TB Italian seasoning + 8 thinly sliced oil-packed sundried tomatoes

Veggies: 

Irish:  2 cups thin-sliced organic green cabbage

Cajun:  1 cup chopped onion + 1 cup thinly sliced celery + 1 thinly sliced red bell pepper + 11⁄2 tsp more salt- free Cajun/Creole seasoning

Asian:  1 cup pineapple chunks + 1 chopped red bell pepper + 6 thinly sliced green onions

Tex-Mex: 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes + 1 (15 oz) can rinsed and drained black beans

Italian:  1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes + 1 bunch thinly sliced lacinato kale (tough stems removed) + 2 tsp chopped garlic

TO SERVE

To Serve: 

Irish:   spoon over 4 baked potatoes and top with 1⁄4 cup grated Irish cheddar

Cajun:  toss with 4 cups cooked brown rice + 1 (15 oz) can rinsed and drained kidney beans + 1 tsp more salt-free Cajun/ Creole seasoning

Asian: toss with 2 cups prepared and drained rice vermicelli noodles and serve in lettuce cups

Tex-Mex:  ladle over squares of cornbread from our bakery, top with diced avocado and serve with lime wedges

Italian:  spoon over or toss with 3⁄4 lb pasta, cooked and drained

COST PER SERVING*

Cost Per Serving: 

Italian : $3.73

Cajun : $2.66

Asian : $3.99

Tex-Mex : $3.68

Italian : $3.18

GO ORGANIC!

Go Organic! 

Irish : only about $1.19 more per serving using organic potatoes

Cajun : only about 33¢ more per serving using organic red bell pepper and rice

Asian : only about 28¢ more per serving using organic red bell pepper

Tex-Mes : only about 32¢ more per serving using organic tomatoes, beans, avocado and lime

Italian : only about 27¢ more per serving using organic sundried and diced tomatoes, and pasta

Food from last night

Salad was a huge hit! Nolan loved it, he is such a good eater! We ate almost half of it! 

Pulled Pork!  I used this bbq sauce (the burgundy packaging), and it was DIVINE! Honey bunny is a great company-Made with canadian organic clover honey (not sugar) Gluten-free, kosher certified, and no preservatives. If you can't find this at your local store-I found it at Whole Foods, you can find it on amazon! :) 

Man were these good-and sooooo easy, just plop it in the crock pot, with some Mug Root Beer (i've found this is the best tasting one)---drain, and then add the bbq sauce. 

No excuses, but....

Ahhh, i was doing so good-updating and blogging! Ok so, i know this isn't technically a good post-but here is what we are having for dinner tonight---I am super excited!
  This yummy Layered Salad, and these babies

I will try and take some photos of everything when it's finished! I'm sure they'll be wonderful-one of my favorite, go to cook books is The Pioneer Woman. So many scrumptious recipes, just like i'm used to! Butter, butter, and maybe a bit more-don't forget the cream! Shoot, I could even use the cream that I find in the awesome new milk that we are drinking! But, that's a topic for another post! :)

Last night we had this awesome casserole for dinner-i would highly recommend it! It was super easy to assemble, and tasted so good! Everyone loved it!

Cheers!

Ch, ch, ch...Chia! (yes, like chia pets

Let me introduce you to... Chia seeds! Chia seeds, friends-friends, Chia seeds!

 Though TINY, these little boogers are PACKED with goodies! Did you know that just ONE tablespoon, you can get 150% of your daily value of omega-3, and 4 grams of fiber?!! That's right, in just ONE tablespooon! They also contain five times the calcium in milk, two time the potassium in bananas, and three times the anti-oxidants in blueberries! 

  Where do they come from? The typically grow in Southern Mexico, and are a part of the Mint family. 

Chia seeds were a main component of both Mayan and Aztec diets and served as the basic survival food of Aztec warriors. It’s been said that a single tablespoon of the seeds could sustain a warrior for 24 hours.  

        You can do pretty much anything with them- put them in salads or in a protein shake, I use the Arbonne protein powder. It's vegan, it's chocolate (also comes in vanilla), and it tastes darn good! 

Now, here comes the goofy bit-if you add Chia seeds to a liquid, they will become kind of Tapioca-like in texture. If you are a texture sensitive person, mixing them in a drink may not be the route for you! However, don't be afraid to just eat them plain! They are about the size of a poppy seed, and taste kind of like a sesame seed-kind of nutty! 

But when it comes to managing appetite, chia seeds—which have a mild, nutty flavor—are true superstars. The reason? When added to water, within minutes chia forms a gel (tapioca like!). In the stomach, this gel slows the body’s process of converting carbs to sugar. Because of the way they form a gel, the seeds also produce a feeling of fullness in the stomach, so those who eat the seeds soon feel less hungry

             Need to know where to get them? I got mine in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods-LOVE that place! You can also get them Here . A friend of mine also uses chia powder! She also found it Here - she uses it as a flour substitute in things like muffins and bread! If your kids are like my oldest, you have to be a bit sneaky with certain things. If he sees one speck of pepper-he pushes half of the dish aside-where did that kid come from?! Anyway, you can also just half the flour-and replace with the chia powder, GENIUS! When I get the recipe, I will share it! 

The next morning...

Ok, here it is-the long awaited morning after picture-ha, just kidding. I forgot to mention in the previous post, that I have rosacea-around my "t-zone." The mask doesn't do much for the rosacea, although it does seem to calm it a bit.

Without further adieu: 

Significantly less red, still a bit splotchy-BUT not too bad after only one use! 

Keep an eye out for my next post-I am going to tell you a bit about Chia seeds!