Transition Foods

 The hardest part about incorporating a new lifestyle is how to blend your old life with your new life, especially when you have a family that isn't interested in your new lifestyle. It's so difficult because I have all of these new convictions, new knowledge, and dedication to do this for my and my families health. But when they, mainly my husband is not on board that can make things tricky. I knew that the kids wouldn't be that difficult to transition because they naturally do not like meat, well real meat anyways, they love chicken nuggets and hot dogs but I do not consider those real meat and haven't for a long time. But my husband on the other hand was another story. But he wanted to start eating healthier which I was happy about, at least he was taking that step forward with me in my journey.

 Image via Veggieboards.com

But, I made the classic mistake of going too far too fast. After my initial introduction of no red meat and meatless Monday went over well I was feeling great about it. I took that part slow. But then once I decided that I was going vegan for the first time I wanted to make all of our meals plant-based. This was a bit trickier because I went against my instinct to take it slow. I was smart enough not to clear out the pantry and fridge and start over with all new plant-based options, I knew that would be too much even for me, not to mention way too expensive. So I replaced things as they ran out with new plant-based items. Since I make all of the meals and do all of the shopping for our family this was easy to control. But then I made a mistake I wasn't into the idea of making a meal for them and a different for me especially wanting them to give up animal products like I did. So I just stopped buying certain products hoping that my husband would just forget about them, mainly milk. I'm laughing as I write this now because I had high hopes that would soon be dashed. I quickly learned that he would not forget and after a couple of heated discussions I soon realized that my new lifestyle changes were not worth ruining my marriage over. It never got to that point but it wasn't worth arguing over. It wasn't my place to make those decisions for him especially since I'm the one who decided to change years into our marriage. It makes me sad knowing that he still eats mostly the same way but he has accepted some new changes and I'm happy with that. I have managed to keep the dinners that I cook plant-based but I do still buy animal products that he can add to the meals to make it like he likes, mainly cheese. Some meals he will do this to and others he will leave all plant-based. I feel this is a good compromise, the main part of the meal is plant-based and healthy so that is a step in the right direction for him. He also is willing to give things a try which is great but he will quickly speak up if he doesn't like it.

Some of the easiest food changes I've made are mayonnaise, margarine, chicken nuggets and baking. Vegenaise is a great eggless mayo replacement. I can find it a my local grocery store and even found a large jar at Costco. Earth Balance is my new favorite margarine replacement, we were big Country Crock fans and I find this to taste the same, with no casein or whey. Baking has been easy too, I've made a ton of vegan cookies and even Duncan Hines cupcakes. For Duncan Hines just check the ingredients but most of their cake mixes and frostings are animal product free. I'm still working on the perfect egg replacer that actually keeps the cake together better but the taste is spot on and using a fork to eat the cupcakes fixes the crumbly problem. Gardein's crispy tenders and Madarin orange crispy chick'n nuggets have been a yummy addition to our meals. The first time I made the the orange chick'n with a stir-fry my husband kept asking me why I was eating meat. All I could do was giggle. He was shocked at how yummy they were, I even turned my in-laws onto them. Costco has them available in a large bag, so these have become a staple. Last week I put them on top of a salad with the orange sauce as a dressing and it was amazing!

Image via namelymarly.com

Other products that I love and my family will eat are Gardein's beefless grounds, burger patties and Life Lite Smart Dogs. These aren't their favorites but they will eat them. I know these products aren't the healthiest way to eat and some might call these vegan junk foods but they are great and much healthier when trying to incorporate the whole family in a plant-based life style. There are many other brands of beelfless grounds and "meat" products that I've tried and that work but the brands listed above are my favorites. It is so easy these days to go plant-based. There are countless products and tons of information out there, it really is much easier than you might think.

However I will not lie, vegan cheese just doesn't do it for any of us. That is the one thing that I just cannot seem to get on board with. It makes me sad to say that but I'm not going to lie about it. I love the taste of animals products and I try not to compare them to their vegan counterparts because I know they will not be the same but I just cannot do cheese. Luckily I've finally gotten to the point where I can just eat things without cheese or a cheese substitute. This has been very freeing. I'm not a slave to cheese anymore. There is only one cheese product that I have been able to tolerate so far and that is the Daiya Havarti Style Wedge. But I do not use it much at all. 

Milk has been a super easy item to replace because I already liked almond milk and rice milk. I do not like soy or hemp milk though. But to each their own. My favorite almond milk is Silk Unsweetened Original Almond Milk which is Non GMO Project Verified and my favorite rice milk is Costco's Kirkland Organic Rice Milk. I don't exactly drink these by the glass full but they are great in cereal, baking and cooking. I've also completely replaced Daniel's bottles of cows milk with these.

I know there are many more products that I've purchased and used but these are some of the staples that have helped me and my family transition to a healthier way of eating without changing our weekly meals too much. So my advice is take it slowly. Replace items as needed when transitioning. Do not go cold turkey especially if you have a family that isn't on board. We still have a freezer full of meat because I used to stock up on marked down meat. I still occassionally make a meal that has meat as the main dish and I just eat the side dishes and a big salad usually. I still buy dairy, eggs and meat for my husband. I don't like to but I do because I love him and respect his wishes.

Sorry if this was kind of a boring post but I wanted to share the things that have helped us transition and keep transitioning as a family. I feel it's very important to be honest and real. It's hasn't been the easiest transition for us but it's been easier than I thought it would in the beginning. It is so worth it for long term health.
 

Pinned it, Made it, Loved it: Healthy Pumpkin Banana Nut Muffins

Healthy Pumpkin Banana Nut Muffins

I adapted the ingredients from the pinned recipe to use what I had on hand. What I used is listed below.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 overly ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
15 oz can Tbsp pumpkin puree
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F and grease muffin tins.

Mix flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a large bowl. 

Whisk until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine sugars, bananas, applesauce, pumpkin, and eggs. Mix the wet and dry ingredients, just until combined. 

Fold in walnuts.

Fill muffin cups 3/4ths full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Yield: 15 large muffins.

Super easy and healthy. Enjoy!

((linking up with Craft-O-Maniac & C.R.A.F.T.))

Zucchini Houdini

That's what I was last night, a Zucchini Houdini. I only made two of the four zucchini disappear but I made some magic in the process. These dishes are so delicious and easy they are must for that extra garden zucchini you've been staring at on your counter for a couple of days now dreading another meal with the basic recipe you use it in. These two are sure to be crowd pleasers and are great for the cooler nights we've been having.

Zucchini Beef Pasta Bake

This makes a ton, so unless you have a large family you will have lots of left overs.

1 lb ground beef

1 lb cooked pasta of your choice, I used penne

cooking spray

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

2 small zucchini, finely sliced into rounds (or one large finely sliced and sliced into rounds then halfed again)

1/4 c parsley

1/4 c butter

3 tbsp flour

4 cups milk

1/2 c parmesan

2 cups mozzarella cheese (or cheddar in my case)

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Spray large and I mean large lasagna dish (14x10 or larger), set aside.

In a large frying pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil, add beef and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While your browning the beef (and cooking the pasta as in my case), heat another medium pot on medium heat, melt the 1/4 c butter. Once melted, add flour to the pan and stir to make a paste.

Gradually whisk milk in adding salt and pepper to taste. Keep whisking until it begins to bubble and thicken up, then remove from heat. (over years of experience making a rue I find it easiest to add about 1/2c to 3/4 c milk at a time, allow to simmer and it will start to thicken up, once it starts thickening up add more milk and wait to thicken again, keep doing this until you've added all the milk.) Once removed from heat, stir in parmesan.

 Once beef is browned stir parsley, cooked pasta and raw zucchini through and pour into lasagna dish.

Pour white sauce evenly over pasta mixture, sprinkly with cheese. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

This next dessert reminds me of the Little Debbie spice cakes, I cannot seem to find any in the Northwest, but they sure are good. As soon as I tasted the batter, I was sooooo excited! Unfortunately this doesn't make as much as the pasta dish. So if you are making both for a big crowd, I would double this recipe.

Zucchini Spice Cake

2/3 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 small zucchini shredded and drained

1/2 c chopped nuts ( I used walnuts)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 pan.

Mix brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir in zucchini and nuts.

Spread batter in pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely. Frost with Spice Frosting.

Spice Frosting

3/4 c powdered sugar

1 tbsp softened butter

1/8 tsp ground cloves

3 tsp milk

Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable.

Hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as my family did.


Partying @

 

 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Nut Cookies

Sometimes all it takes is a little time. After a couple of days of looking at my vinyl wall decor my husband said he liked it. After he mentioned that he didn't really like it, I didn't say a word about it. Then out of no where he said oh by the way I do actually like that after looking at it. So that was nice.

Friday I baked up some yummy goodness. We have a lot of zucchini from the garden that needs to be used so I've been looking for clever ways to use it. I've already baked a chocolate zucchini cake, but it turned out kind of funky because they said to put orange and cinnamon in it so I don't want to share the recipe, even though Brenden liked it. After I adjust it, then I'll share. I've also grated 4 cups worth and put in the freezer for later this winter. These tasty little morsels are already all gone.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Nut Cookies

or Choczucchinut Cookies for short

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the egg and vanilla, mix well, then stir in the shredded zucchini. Sift together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, stir into the zucchini mixture. Finally, stir in the oats, pecans and chocolate chips.

Drop dough from a teaspoon onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Leave at least 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies will stay soft and moist because of the zucchini. These are super good right out of the oven, with milk of course.

Partying at:

 

First day of school & Blackberry Muffins

I cannot believe that I dropped my 6th grader off at school today. I just cannot believe how fast he's grown and how fast summer went by. I'm very excited about his new school, the teachers seem really nice. We are entering a new season in our lives now. I'm excited for this year. God is moving in my life in big ways. I have a renewed faith. I'm excited to start the mom's groups this fall and get to know some nice ladies.

Sunday after church we went over to my in-laws, while we were there I decided to pick all of the blackberries they have along their back field. After giving up because it was too hot, I ended up with over 6 cups of blackberries. Yesterday I made blackberry cobbler and blackberry muffins. The crust for the cobbler didn't turn out like I like it. It's fine, just not a true cobbler to me so I'm not going to share that recipe, I want to find a better one, but I will share the muffin recipe. They turned out fluffy and delicious. They were a good start for the first day of school, not too much for that nervous tummy.

Blackberry Muffins

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 larger eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp milk
1 cup sugar
8 tbsp melted butter (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups ( I used 2) of fresh blackberries, if you use frozen make sure to thaw and drain first

Preheat over to 400 degrees F

Grease standard 12 muffin pan, this will make 18 large muffins. Instead of making 6 more muffins I baked the remainder in a bread pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.

Add wet mixture to dry and mix together until just moistened. Add the berries, lightly fold over, don't over mix. Batter should be lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool 2-3 minutes before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

 

Crafting Schedule...Too much to do, not enough hours in the day.

In a previous post I talked about having a schedule to dedicate certain days to certain crafts in hopes that I can get alot done, not get bored and have plenty to blog about. Below is my list of days and what I hope to accomplish.

Mondays will be my scrapbooking day, I've gotten way behind on Hannah's baby book which is my main scrapbooking project. If I don't dedicate a day to this I will never get all of the pages done and I want to get to the point where I can scrap about recent events.

Tuesdays will be dedicated to sewing, I have so many ideas and so much fabric but I never commit. So this will be my day to create those ideas and learn.

Wednesdays will be card making. This is the craft that I do the most. It's super easy, quick and there are no limits. I usually have everything I already need and I always need a card for something. But alot of the time, the holiday or special event will sneak up on me and I won't have time to create something cool. So I have a whole list of cards I need to make and I want dedicate Wednesdays to that.

Thursdays will be for my repurposing/decorating ideas. This is one of my favorite things as well but it's usually the slowest to come to fruition. Usually because I don't have the items needed on hand and when your on a one income budget I usually can't just run to the craft, thrift or home improvement store to get what I need. This is super frustrating, because when I see something cool or have great idea I want to get started right away, one because I'm excited and two because I don't want to forget about it.

Fridays will be for baking, mainly because this way we have something tasty for the weekends and with fall coming up we'll be with family more and I like to share and get opinions.

For Saturday and Sunday I will just go with the flow.

Another topic I want to start sharing more, is my coupon finds. Pretty much every week since I started couponing with the exception of the past two I've found great deals for super cheap and free things and I've even made pennies on the dollar on some. I would like to start sharing these finds. Not like the couponing websites do with links to coupons and stores but just what I found to show you the savings possibilities.

For example one of my greatest purchases was at Albertson's (I only go here for free stuff). But I needed some cool whip, so I got a large tub of store brand cool whip, a loaf of Franz bread (usually can't afford this) and two boxes of pasta, all for .99 cents!! With a little preparation you can save alot of money.

So, hopefully this fall my blog will be in full swing with lots of different things. At least that's the plan.

 

Tye Die Cake

This past weekend was a big weekend for our family. Saturday was my 30th birthday and Sunday was Brenden's 11th and Father's Day. Saturday we kept it low key and got dinner from a local mexican restaurant that I love, I opted for German Chocolate Cake from Cold Stone instead of a cake and watched True Grit at home, good re-make. It rained all day anyways. Pretty much since it was my birthday I didn't want to cook or bake.=]

But on Brenden's birthday/Father's Day we had the family over for a bbq, cake and ice cream. I wanted to do something different for the cake. I've been seeing alot of the rainbow cakes lately so I thought I'd try that. I did mine a little differently by putting it in a bundt pan, it turned out more tye die, but great and was sooo easy. The top did stick in the pan but I just took a serrated knife and cut the top flat, it actually helped you see the cool colors better. Brenden loved the colors and everyone loved the cake.

Recipe:

Cake:

2 white cake box mixes

gel food coloring

Frosting:

tub cool whip

1 box vanilla pudding

Mix cake mixes as usual. Separate evenly into 6 different bowls, each was around a cup.

Add food coloring to desired color, it took quite alot to get the vivid colors. It was brighter in person than on camera.

Layer colors with desired amount into desired pan/pans.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 min, depending on pan size.

For frosting, thaw cool whip, add dry pudding mix, mix well.

The cake itself was super soft and moist so I just dobbed some frosting on top and called it good. Joe said this was the best cake I've ever made, the colors make it taste better. But again, it's all Betty.

Linked up to:

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie - Edited

Today is my Mother-in-laws birthday so I decided to make her a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The rhubarb is from her yard and she's been super helpful lately so I wanted to do something special. I'll be making another one for us this weekend. Hopefully the first one tastes good.

Apparently today is National Rhubarb Day, my husband just told me over the phone. **It's actually National Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie day not rhubarb day. What a weird coincidence.**

Before baking

After baking

I used the two ends of my frosting tip to create the polka dot affect.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

2 disks chilled homemade pie crust

1/2 lb. strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 1/3 lb. fresh rhubarb, ends cut off and cut into bite size pieces

1/3 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Roll 1 disk of crust to fit a 9 inch pie dish, roll to 1/8 inch thick.

Lay in bottom of pie dish, chill.

Mix strawberries, rhubarb, flour and sugar in a big bowl.

Pour into pie dish.

Roll 2nd pie crust to fit over 9 inch pie, roll 1/8 inch thick. Make decorative holes. If you don't want decorative holes, just cut slits with knife for ventilation.

Cut crust around edges leaving 1/2, fold over and pinch bottom and top crusts together.

Pinch edges for more decoration.

Bake 45-55 minutes.

I had some extra pie crust and one apple so I decided to make a hand pie and it didn't use all of the apple so I just baked the extra. Hannah will enjoy those later this evening.

Besides this, I just recently went on my first couponing adventure. The haul is very small, but I'm very proud of my savings. They say to aim for 50-70% and I saved exactly 70%. Hopefully the more I do it the more I'll save.

This was from Safeway. The original retail cost was I think $8.57 and I ended up spending $3.77. Like I said not much but it made me happy and the lady in line behind me was impressed.

Linked up to: