Friday Link Love

November 21, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I am in the middle of testing a few different recipes right now, so sadly I don’t have a new one for you today. Don’t worry though, the rest of the blogging world has some delicious things for you to try! Here are a few of the recipes and blogs that are catching my attention.

Eating Bird Food

Brussels sprouts often get a bad rap, but they are delicious and tasty especially when you prepare them like this!

Kath Eats Real Food

This is a really unique way to use grits and sushi. I love grits and this just looks tasty!

The Lean Green Bean

Need to feed a lot of people for breakfast? Then this is your dish! With family visiting for the holidays this is a great meal to keep on hand.

PaleOMG

I love pumpkin and eggnog and brownies. Good thing PaleOMG made this brownie eggnog pumpkin pie!

Purely Twins

I really like that one of the layers in this cake is made with kabocha squash. The oreo cake is pretty good too….

The Gracious Pantry

And finally if you are looking for a quick and healthy side for your Thanksgiving table, check out these sweet potato biscuits!

These are just a few samples of all the great, delicious, and healthy recipes that are out there. I can’t wait to try all of these and hopefully these give you some ideas on what to serve for the upcoming holiday. Have a great weekend and I will see you back on Monday!

Reader feedback: What are some of your favorite holiday meals? What dish are you most looking forward to?

Slow Cooker Applesauce

November 14, 2014 / ktbuchs87

A while back, I went to an apple orchard with my family. I came back with a whole bushel of apples, which is way more than two people can eat because they start to go bad. There are so many things that you can do with apples, like pies, crumbles, apple butter, baked apples, apple donuts, the list goes on and on. While those are all fine and dandy one of my favorite, and easiest, ways to use up apples is to make applesauce. There are many ways that you can make applesauce, but I find the simplest way is to make it in my slow cooker. I can barely call this a “recipe” as it really doesn’t take much to make, but here is how I make my applesauce!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

2 to 3 pounds of apples (really as many as your crockpot can hold)
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 to 4 sticks of cinnamon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
water

1. Wash and cut your apples into slices, making sure you get rid of the core and seeds. You can peel your apples, but I like to keep the skin on for extra fiber

2. Place apples in your slow cooker and add in lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add in 1/2 to 3/4 cups water depending on how many apples you have. You don’t want to cover the apples with water, just enough to add a little bit of steam while cooking.

3. Cover and cook the apples on low for about 6 hours. Remove cinnamon sticks and either using a hand blender (the easiest way) or blender/food processor, blend the apples to desired consistency. I like them smooth but you can leave in a few chunks if you like.

4. Let the applesauce cool completely and then move to a mason jar or other container and store in the fridge.

I like to use my applesauce to make baked goods like muffins, bread, or cookies. It also is a great topping for pork chops or even as a delicious and quick snack! Now go and cook up those apples!

How To Preserve Food For The Winter

November 12, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Winter is coming. Actually, it’s kind of already here in the midwest. If you haven’t been paying attention to the news or stepped outside, there is a huge cold front that is moving through the country bringing snow and wind and cold. Yay…. Anyway, as the winter season settles in the harvest season winds down. There aren’t many new crops popping up in the dead of winter and while I know that in modern grocery stores we can get any fruit or vegetable at any time of the year, the selection of in season produce is slim. I have been trying to make a push in our household to try and eat as seasonally as possible. There will always be a few fruit and vegetables, like bananas and sweet potatoes, that I will buy no matter the time of year, but otherwise I try to eat what’s in season. Now, just because there isn’t a lot to choose from in the winter time, if you take a little time to plan ahead, you can eat all your summer/fall favorites through the cold months ahead. There are many ways to preserve food, but the three that I’m going to share here are the ones that I use most often.

Pickling

Most people only think of dill pickles when the hear the word pickling, but you can pretty much pickle any vegetable. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, asparagus, summer squash, onions, garlic….. you get the idea. Pickling has been around for centuries and it is a fairly simple process so don’t be too intimidated. Pickled vegetables can be used on a lot of different dishes, from placing kimchi on a burger or making a pickled beet salad, and really add a unique flavor. On the health and nutrition side of pickled food, they provide a great source of probiotics that can help improve your digestion and gut health. All really good things! Check out a few of these online tutorials for pickling and get started. Experiment with different vegetables and spices and enjoy delicious vegetables all winter long.

Sauces, Jams, and Butters

This is my go to way to preserve fruit, especially the bounty of fruit that is available during the fall. If you’re like me you’re probably swimming in apples and a great way to save those apples (other than making a million pies!) is to make apple butter or apple sauce. You can pretty much use these two methods for all fruit. You can make sauce or jam from strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, any berry. Fruit butters are another great way to save fruit and many can be made right in your slow cooker. One of my favorite combos is a pumpkin/apple butter and I usually have a jar or two on hand. I have myself have never made jam, but I have made quite a few sauces like cranberry and tomato sauce. You can find a few good tutorials here for making big batches of jam and on Friday I’ll share a really easy way to make a big batch of applesauce, so check back for that!

Freeze

This is by far the easiest method of preserving your produce and the one that I use the most. During the fall when squash is super cheap I stock up and then freeze the extra. I either peel and dice the squash into cubes and freeze that way or I peel, dice, steam, and puree it and freeze the puree in batches. You can also freeze things like broccoli and cauliflower. Cut and steam the vegetables until brightly colored and then dunk them in a bowl of ice water. This is called blanching and it helps preserve their flavor. Once they are relatively dry, place them in freezer safe bags or container. When you want to use them just steam until cooked through. I like freezing produce because it is a great way to have quick meals on hands. I can use my purees for baking or soup or gnocchi and having vegetables on hand make an easy side dish or add nutrition to stir fry. Plus frozen foods can last for up to three month as long as they are properly stored.

These are my favorite ways to make the bounty of produce available during the warmer months last all winter long. There are other ways, such as canning, to preserve your food so find the method that works best for you. If you take just a little bit of time and effort you can eat well even if the weather is frightful!

Dumpling Soup

November 7, 2014February 26, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Road trips for our family often included a stop at the Cracker Barrel. It was awesome because not only was it a restaurant but an old-timey store too with things like penny candy and old fashioned toys. Whenever we went to the Cracker Barrel I would get two things, stick candy (tutti-fruitti and root beer) and chicken and dumplings. I loved the chicken and dumplings, the creamy gravy and the soft doughy dumplings were my idea of comfort. It’s been a long time since I have had that dish but last winter I got a craving for those dumplings and wanted to try and create something similar but a lot healthier. Long story short, this dumpling soup is NOTHING like the Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings. But I don’t count this recipe as a total failure because I ended up with a really delicious, warming, and comforting soup. This is a perfect cold day meal and it doesn’t take too much effort to put together. While I’ve left out chicken and added beans, you can easily add in cooked chicken to this soup.

Dumpling Soup

For the soup

olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
5 to 6 stalks celery, diced
2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional but adds a nice cheesy flavor)
1 1/2 cups white beans, dried and cooked or canned
1 to 2 tbsp brown rice flour, divided (you could also use coconut or whole wheat flour if not gluten-free)
5 cups water
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper

For the dumplings

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dill weed or other favorite seasoning
1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

1. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onion, carrots, and celery until lightly brown. Add in garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Stir in thyme and sprinkle vegetables with a tablespoon of brown rice flour. If all your vegetables aren’t coated add another tablespoon of flour. Add in beans, nutritional yeast if using, and water. Make sure you have enough water to cover the vegetables and chickpeas. Add in paprika, salt and pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cover.

2. While your soup is simmering, whisk together all the dry ingredients for the dumplings. Add in the 1/2 cup of milk and stir to combine. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.

3. Uncover the soup and drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the soup. Once the batter is gone, cover the sip with a lid and leave for 20 minutes. DON’T lift the lid during this time to check the dumplings because that will lengthen your cook time. At the end of the 20 minutes uncover and check dumplings. They should be fluffy and a little brown around the edges. If some of the dumplings have fused together just break apart with a wooden spoon.

4. Ladle both dumplings and the soup into bowls and enjoy!

The dumplings and flour help make a wonderfully thick and creamy soup. While I didn’t get exactly the recipe I was looking for, I got a really yummy soup that is perfect for the cold weather that is coming. This is also a really good soup to share with a group of people. Perfect for family gatherings in front of the fire. Isn’t that a cozy picture? Have a great weekend everyone and see you on Monday!

How To Grocery Shop For Health

November 5, 2014 / ktbuchs87

If you are the regular grocery shopper for your family, you probably have your routine down pat. You know exactly where to go, what to get, and what aisle everything is in. I know for me, I can pretty much grocery shop on autopilot and get everything I need in less than 30 minutes. But when you decide to make a big change in the way you eat, the grocery store suddenly turns into unknown territory. You’re now hunting the aisle for foreign ingredients and wondering whether lacinato kale and curly kale are all that different from each other. It can be frustrating to try and navigate your store and have no clue what to buy. I thought that I would share a few tips from my own grocery shopping routine to help you get in and out quickly and healthfully!

Plan Meals First

I always start my grocery list with a menu. During the week, I stick to simple meals that stay generally the same, I just change the flavors/seasonings based on what I have on hand. I save my new or more complicated meals for the weekend when I have more time. Once I have a menu written out, I can add the ingredients I don’t have in my kitchen to my list. This way you aren’t left wondering what ingredients that meatloaf dish needs while your standing in the grocery aisle. Meal planning is also a great way to start eating better. When you have a plan, you can stick to what you need and steer clear of the impulse buy in the chip aisle.

Use this template to plan and write out your list. Or find another one you like better online!

Change Your Route

Speaking of the chip aisle, wave good-bye. You probably have a specific route you take through your store and probably include a few less than healthy aisles. If you want to start eating better, I suggest changing your route. I personally like to start in the produce aisle. I fill my cart with all of the fruits and vegetables I will need for the week and then I move on to the other items I need in the store. I also don’t wander up and down each aisle, I go to the specific ones I need and avoid the temptation of the less than stellar aisles. For me this includes the aisles for tea/coffee, canned goods for diced tomatoes/tomato paste/tomato sauce, dried goods like rice and beans, and the frozen foods section for fruits and vegetables. While there are healthy things in the aisles of your store, your best bet is the produce section and the frozen food aisles. However you choose to eat, make sure you are shopping for those things and try to avoid the food aisles that have nothing you need.

Consider Multiple Trips

I know this might not be a popular tip for everyone, but consider making more than one trip to your grocery store or going to multiple stores. I do this for two reasons. One, I am fairly frugal with my grocery budget and I want to make sure that I am getting the most for my money. There are some stores that have better deals on food that I buy regularly and it is worth it to me to go to a few different places. My rotation of stores right now is Jewel, Aldi, and Whole Foods. Between those three I am able to get good prices on all of my food and eat healthy on a budget. The second reason I suggest multiple trips is that stores stock their products at different times of the day/week. I try to get to the store on the days/times that they restock the produce so I can get the best pick. Also multiple trips tend to save you money because you can buy only what you need instead of overstocking because you only go once. Again, I know that some of you are too busy for multiple trips during the week, but give it a try and see if it works for you.

Just Ask

If you’re totally changing the way you eat, chances are there are going to be some food items that you are unfamiliar with. Rather than just wandering around and getting frustrated, ask a worker. I have found that most of the time they are happy to help and it cuts down on wasted time to just ask someone for help. Plus if you get a really great employee, they can help you with how to prepare and eat that ingredient. So don’t be afraid to ask!

Grocery shopping is a vital part of eating well and it is disheartening when you feel lost. It can feel easier to just give up and go back to your old habits because you know what to do. Don’t give into the temptation and slip back to your old ways, try these tips and give yourself some time to get used to your new way of eating. Soon you will be flying through the store with ease and will be on your way to eating a healthy meal!