Food Blog

I'm no Pioneer Woman, and I could never pretend to be skilled enough to be a REAL food blogger!  But the fact is that a lot of my life revolves around food these days.  I have been making nutrition a real study in the last year and more, at least as far as I have time and resources.  I often wish I had learned these things much earlier in my life, because our overall health and energy and well-being has been greatly improved as I have learned more and more.

When I was young, nutrition meant that my Dad was on one of his kicks to get us to eat whole grain breads, more vegetables, or to drink lowfat milk.  Those kicks never lasted very long at our house!  And after I grew up and was on my own, I had barely enough skill in the kitchen to get by, but certainly not to thrive.  I used to be a mediocre cook, and I used to believe that convenient and fast were best, and I used to have very little understanding of how my food choices effect my body and my health.

And the best thing of all is that I have learned that GOOD, REAL food is both delicious AND helps me to feel much better!  I almost never get headaches any more; I have tons more energy; and I am maintaining a healthy weight.  And my family is enjoying the same benefits!  We do NOT take an extreme approach.  We try not to eat too much.  We try not to eat too little.  We try to make as much of our food at home, with whole ingredients, as is reasonable considering our schedule.  I also make most of our bread myself.  We eat a lot more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats.  We still enjoy our treats here and there, for sure!  We just don't eat them all the time, every day.

Honestly, whenever I get confused about nutrition because of hearing conflicting points of view or extreme positions one way or another, I tend to find myself heading back to the Word of Wisdom for a little perspective.  It can be found here: www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89.  This commandment is full of interesting advice--not just advice about what to AVOID putting into our bodies, but great advice on what we SHOULD eat.  And, as far as I can tell, it doesn't justify any extreme positions when it comes to food, but instructs us on what has been provided for us to use to fuel and nourish our earthly bodies.  I, for one, am extremely grateful that the Lord, knowing the challenges our dispensation would encounter, provided us with guidelines of how to care for the bodies He has given us!

This fall I have had the challenge of finding healthy recipes that I can put into my crock pot to prepare for dinner.  We have such a busy schedule that I have a few times each week when I know I will not be home at the dinner hour to prepare our food.  So, I need things to be ready to go when we arrive.  I have LOVED this adventure, and have found lots of yummy, easy, and healthy crock pot meals!  Check out this concoction that I put together yesterday:

Basil Chicken with Feta Cheese

Oh. My. Goodness!  This is so yummy and flavorful!  Here is the link to the recipe: Basil Chicken with Feta.  The only thing I did differently was to use Kalamata olives instead of green olives, for no other reason than I am in love with their flavor!  I served this with whole wheat pasta instead of rice, as suggested in the recipe.  I find that I do need to include a carb with every meal these days, as my 12-year-old son will be back in the kitchen within an hour--*starving!*--if I don't!  I also served steamed asparagus on the side, which was a lovely complement.  BTW--this website has tons of great crock pot recipes.  The Orange-Apricot Pork Chops are to die for!

Another fun thing I have been making in my crock pot lately is a variation on my blueberry steel cut oatmeal for breakfast.  It's a perfect alteration for fall!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal!

I make this in the crock pot overnight, and we wake up to the delicious smell of warm pumpkin pie all through the house.  Delicious!  I lost the link to this recipe, so I will just jot it down from memory: 2 Cups Steel Cut Oats, 1 15 oz. Can of Pure Pumpkin Puree, 2 tsp. Cinnamon, 1 tsp. Ginger, 1 tsp. Nutmeg, 2 tsp. Vanilla, 6 cups of Water.  Mix all of this in the crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours overnight.  You have to stir it really well when you get up, and add the sweetener of your choice (we use xylitol).  It's extra fun and yummy to put a dollup of whipped topping on it.  Then it really tastes like pumpkin pie!  Such a warm, filling, and delicious fall breakfast that keeps you full for hours!

I'm also having fun making up salads, and copied a delicious one from a restaurant that had spinach, grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, diced avocados, and parmesan shavings, drizzled with a homemade lemon vinaigrette that adds an amazing zip to an amazing salad.  Yum!  One of my new favorites!  I used to have a picture, but I must have deleted it.  This is a main dish salad because it has chicken in it, but I have to serve this with homemade rolls to provide the calories needed by my growing children and strapping husband!

The BEST thing I have made recently, however, is a delicious homemade salsa with tomatoes we grew in our own garden!

Home-grown tomatoes!

Even though we didn't move in to this house until July, we managed to get a few tomato plants in and they produced a ton of delicious tomatoes, many of which have been used for this delicious salsa from the Pioneer Woman (in place of the canned tomatoes she uses in the recipe): Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa.  My family can't get enough of this salsa, and I love it, too!

I could go on and on about food.  I spend plenty of time thinking about it, planning it, shopping for it, preparing it, and cleaning up after it.  Oh, and I spend a small fraction of that time actually eating it!!!!  Every day it is a little bit like an "art project" for me to provide good quality, healthy, delicious food for my family.  I will probably post more about this in the future, but don't count on me becoming a food blogger anytime soon.  Haha!