Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Made this tonight and was quite pleased with the results. It's modified from a mothering.com recipe.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can diced green chilis
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more or less to taste)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, diced

topping ideas:
shredded cheese of choice (we didn't bother)
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips (could easily omit these if going low-carb)
chopped cilantro
sliced avocado (would have been divine if I had any in the house)

Mix all ingredients except chicken, bell pepper and toppings in slow cooker. Put chicken breasts on top and press down slightly to cover with liquid. Cook on low for 5 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Place back in slow cooker and cook another 2 hours on low. (This last step of cooking again wasn't really necessary, as my chicken was fully cooked after the 5 hrs on low. However, letting it cook again for a while on low did thicken it up some and gave a richer flavor). In the last 5 mins stir in bell pepper and continue cooking on low while you prepare toppings. You could also easily throw the bell pepper in from the beginning, but I prefer mine with a little crunch.

Serve in big bowls with plenty of toppings :)

Amazingly Good-for-You Chocolate Almond Shake

When I need a tasty, chocolaty treat, I make this shake. It's thick and creamy like a milk shake, but it's actually healthy, too!

Ingredients (all are approximate, I just go by sight):

1 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 frozen banana
2 Tablespoons almond butter
1/2 Tablespoon OptOmega oil
1/2 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses (you could omit this if molasses is too strong for you. The reason I have it in right now is for the extra iron needed during pregnancy)
3 scoops Chocolate Whey Nutrimeal
water or ice as needed to thin or thicken the consistency

Blend everything in a blender until well combined. I like to keep my bananas frozen because it makes the shake smooth and thick without having to add extra ice. If your banana is not frozen, I would definitely add extra ice to make it colder, but then you may have to add extra water to thin it out some, too. You can make it super thick like a milkshake or you can make it thin enough to drink with a straw. The beauty of making it at home is you can make it how you like :)

Hot and Sour Slow-Cooker Soup with Pork

This is a really delicious and healthy soup. We had it all on it's own for dinner and it felt satisfying enough. It's pretty low-glycemic and you could make it even more so by substituting agave for the brown sugar. I made it with pork because I think the flavor works best with the soup and is pretty traditional, but you could easily substitute chicken or even beef (use beef stock instead of chicken). Also, you can add more red pepper flakes when serving if you need more heat like I did.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless pork ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces or even a bit smaller
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade turkey stock)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained

Procedure:
Layer veggies in bottom of large slow-cooker (at least 4 qt, which is what mine is and it barely fit)
Layer on pork pieces
mix brown sugar, stock, red pepper, salt, pepper and tomatoes in separate bowl and pour on top of veggies and pork
cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours or until veggies are tender and pork is cooked through

It's official...

...I'm now a shareholder in a goat herd! After visiting three somewhat local goat farms, I was able to feel comfortable enough with one to sign up as a shareholder. The farm is immaculate and the animals are superbly cared for. The owner feeds grass and alfalfa hay as well as her own grain that she has mixed specially for them. It's got oats, flax, black oil sunflower seeds, and some other goodies that I just can't remember. She let Laina and I feed them organic animal cookies (the ones designed for kids - ha, I mean children) because she said the ingredients are better for the goats than the feed-store-bought "goat cookies". She is really big on proper nutrition for her goats, not only so they produce top-notch milk, but also so they can live long and healthy lives. I love that she cares so well for the herd.

There were also chickens, ducks, a cat, a dog and a horse. And she hopes to have extra fruit from her trees and veggies from her garden to distribute to share-holders next season. I love that! And yes, even with all these farm animals, her place was so clean. That, coupled with the great care she gives her animals, sold me on the farm.

I get to pick up our shares of the milk on Wednesdays, and last Wednesday was my first pick up. The milk is awesome and Laina keeps asking for "goat milk". It's really cute.

I know many people want to know why I am choosing to do this whole share-holder thing and get raw milk. The more I research not only this subject, but more and more about food in general, I'm convinced that eating as much raw food as we can is so beneficial to us. But, instead of re-hashing out all the details here, check out this great post I came across: http://www.cheeseslave.com/2009/08/24/got-raw-food-50-ways-to-increase-enzymes-in-your-diet/. The author of the blog talks briefly about raw milk in that post, and also has a link to "Top 10 Reasons to Drink Raw Milk" which is also very informative. So, in addition to the reasons she states, one other thing that I will add is that I love the idea of Laina going with me to the farm to pick up farm-fresh food. Milk for now, and hopefully all kinds of other goodies in the future. I want her to see where food comes from, in it's natural state, and appreciate the work that goes into producing it.

I have Zucchini!

I was out of town for almost 3 weeks and my wonderful husband took care of the garden for me. He put in automatic waterers which is super awesome! I returned to HUGE squash plants. They were so big they were taking over everything else in the garden. Yes, it is a small garden, but I was hoping to get some of my other plants growing, too.

I found out that you have to have two squash plants to actually get any fruit. Only one of my zucchini plants actually survived, and I also purchased a small patty pan (white squash) plant. I checked on the garden yesterday and didn't see any fruits, but tons of flowers. Today I decided to go out and pull up the squash plants, to allow the other plants some room. I pulled up the patty pan and had my hands on the zucchini plant ready to yank, when I spotted, lo and behold, a zucchini!! A big one, too! And there is a second one which is pretty small, and several more flowers which look like will produce fruit! Yay! Now my regret in this situation is two-fold. One, I hope the two squashes weren't actually pollinating eachother, and now I've in essence killed them both. And two, on closer inspection, it turns out the patty pan WAS producing fruit. Too bad it's withered up on the walkway now.

above you can see the biggest zucchini fruit. I think I'll either use it today or tomorrow. Mmm.

Here you can see the patty pan after demolition :(
At least I have room to plant some lettuce now.

Above is almost the whole garden. In the foreground (but behind the flowers) I have a Japanese eggplant. Behind and to the left is the zucchini, and behind and to the right is one of my cauliflower plants. I have 4 of those but none seem to be doing too hot. The leaves are pretty holey from the hail we had a while back (below).

My Anaheim chili pepper. It already produced one pepper a while back which I let turn red before picking it and trying it. It had some heat! This time I'm going to pick it while it's still green because that's how I think of Anaheim chilies.

Next year I think I'll do jalapenos instead of the Anaheim, though. I also want to try tomatoes next year, probably the little cherry ones. And I will try beets again. I have them planted way in the back, but I think they didn't get enough sun. They also got a lot of hail damage.

Garden Update

My little garden is coming along, rather slowly, but it is growing. I planted the peat pots which had zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, cauliflower and bell peppers. The squashes actually all died, unfortunately. But, fortunately, I had some extra seeds so I just planted those right outside in the soil. I also transplanted some basil I had inside. And planted my beets which just sprouted, looking so pretty with their red stems.

I picked up a scalloped squash plant at the farmer's market last weekend, along with some marigolds and an Anaheim chili plant. I hope to transplant those this week. Finally, the last thing I hope to plant is lettuce. I'd like to get two varieties, probably a romaine and a red-leaf. I hear they grow well into the cold so I'll still have something fresh even when fall hits.


Little Laina really enjoyed helping mommy in the garden (with daddy's gloves)!

Lessons for a Healthy Life from Ikaria

I saw a great Dateline about a tiny Greek island called Ikaria and what it's inhabitants do to maintain their health and live long and well. Here are the eight tips summarized, but be sure to check out the full article (with video), too.

1. Fresh goat's milk (straight from the goat, not pasteurized)
2. Mountain living (work hard and lead an active life with everyday moderate-intensity activity)
3. Mediterranean diet (veggies, fruits, whole grains, olive oils)
4. Lots of healthy greens (greens high in antioxidants abound on the island)
5. Drink herbal teas regularly
6. Get lots of sleep (napping is commonplace)
7. Take your time (have a low sense of time urgency)
8. Embrace community and family

I love them all and want to incorporate each and every one of them into my life and my family's life. In reality, it might only be possible to practice a few of them. But I will do what I can little by little and keep adding what I can to the mix as we go along.

Mini Greek Pizzas

These mini Greek-inspired "pizzas" are fun to make and even more fun to eat - even Laina thought so!

For the crust I used soft, flat pitas (the kind with OUT a pocket). The sauce is whipped up from a good dollop of plain yogurt, a squeeze of half a lemon, minced garlic, and dill. Spread that over the crusts and then top with thinly sliced cucumber, tomato, and red onion, chopped black olives and shredded smoked salmon. Yes, salmon. (My favorite is the honey-smoked one from Costco.) Then sprinkle a tad more dill over the top. Laina loved every bit, including the salmon!

Growing Good Things

I've never been much of a gardener, but with the help of a friend, I am going to plant my first vegetable garden this year. I am really clueless about gardening, so it's nice to have help and support from someone who's done it successfully before. We are going to plan where to put the garden tomorrow, and then I'll need to start preparing the site.

I've already got seeds started and it's pretty neat to watch them grow. I got little peat pots and planted seeds for bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and cauliflower. I also got seeds for beets but those will go directly into the ground later.

The reason I'm doing this is two-fold: first, a different friend of mine, Beth, was interested in doing joining a CSA (Crop Sharing Association, I think), and we were talking about possible sharing a "share". But there is a substantial cost involved (if I figured it out, I probably would actually save money in the long run, but it is a chunk of change up front). We also talked about growing our own veggies and sharing those. That is definitely the least expensive route to go. When I knew I could get help from my experienced gardener friend, I decided to give growing a shot. The second reason I'm growing my own veggies is that I know they will be more nutritious than what can be bought in the store (which has been grown who knows where in nutrient-defficient soil and travelled for who knows how many miles).

And I guess maybe there is a third reason, but I am hesitant about it - it may turn out to be very fulfilling to grow my own "crops" and eat what I grow. But I'm hesitant about this because if I fail and nothing grows well, then that will just be a big bummer. But I am hopeful that with the help of knowledgeable friends, I will be able to grow at least something edible!

Wish me luck!

Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach and Turkey Wrap

Sorry no pics of this one, but it sure was tasty! I love anything with red peppers.

Ingredients for 2 wraps:
2 whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla or wrap
2 thick-cut slices turkey deli meat (the kind w/out nitrates is of course much preferred)
1 roasted red pepper (see below for making your own)
couple handfuls baby spinach
mayo (the kind made w/canola oil is healthier)
prepared pesto (I used Classico Traditional Basil Pesto)
shredded mozzarella
grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

To roast a red bell pepper (on a gas range, sorry folks, I'm not sure how you would do this on an electric stove, though I think I've heard you can broil them in the oven to get the same effect): Place washed and dried pepper directly on grate with heat around med-low. You want the flames to be high enough that the pepper's skin chars. Turn the pepper frequently until the skin is more charred than not. Then wrap the pepper in a clean dish cloth and let sit for about 5 mins. Peel the skin off with your fingers. Slice open the pepper and remove stem, seeds, and membranes. Then cut into strips.

To assemble the wrap: I spread a thin layer of mayo on each tortilla, then spread a dab of pesto on top of that. Layer the turkey, spinach, and then peppers. I grate the mozzarella and Parmesan right on top until it looks good to me. Season w/salt and pepper. Wrap up and enjoy!

"The Case for Nutritional Supplements"

I'd like to share an excerpt from Dr. Tim Wood's "The Case for Nutritional Supplements" which I found highly educational. I would love to post the whole study but it was pretty long, and don't want to bore those of you who may not be interested...If you would like to read the whole study, just let me know and I can email it to you.

"Why would medical professionals have a negative bias against
nutritional supplements? Several reasons come to mind. Most doctors
receive no more than a few hours of nutritional training during their
medical education. They know little about nutrition and the important
role it plays in human health. Second, many express concerns that
their patients might use supplements as an excuse to eat poorly. This
concern has proved to be unfounded. Surveys show that supplement
users tend to be health-conscious and to follow generally healthy
habits. Third, many doctors have a low opinion of the nutritional
supplement industry - and rightfully so. Too many supplement
companies sell substandard products that fail to meet pharmaceutical
standards for potency, purity, and efficacy. Too many companies fail
to pay sufficient attention to safety. And too many companies make
false and outrageous health claims for their products. Clearly this
industry needs an overhaul to win the respect and confidence of
doctors and the general public. But just as clearly, there are very
reputable supplement companies in business today; companies that have
adopted pharmaceutical standards for product quality, safety and
efficacy; company’s that deserve the public’s trust.

These issues aside, I believe that the most significant barrier to the
open consideration of supplement use in mainstream healthcare is the
closed mind. Primary prevention, the focus of keeping healthy people
healthy, lies outside the acute-care paradigm, and so it is ignored.
Some in the mainstream pay lip service to prevention, but few base
their practices or research careers on it. And sadly, because primary
prevention is “alien”, it is often derided as “ineffective”, “too
slow”, “unreliable”, “clinically unproven”, and “only partially
effective”.

Unfortunately, these attitudes carry over to nutritional supplements.
As tools of primary prevention, nutritional supplements also lie
outside the acute care paradigm. When they are evaluated within that
paradigm for short-term treatment / curative benefits, one or two
nutrients at a time, on chronically ill people, they often fail.
These failures, in turn, are judged as evidence that supplements have
no benefit whatsoever.

Clearly it’s time to challenge these notions and views. Change may
begin at the grass roots level, as rising healthcare costs threaten to
close the doors of access to good medical care. Today, too many
Americans literally can’t afford to get sick. Our alternative is
primary prevention. We can choose to take charge of our health by
adopting prudent lifestyle strategies and habits for staying healthy
long-term. Nutritional supplementation can play an important role in
this endeavor. The science, when approached broadly with an open
mind, is convincing on this point. As components of healthy living,
nutritional supplements can help people add years of health to their
lives."

Healthy Snacking

I made up a yummy, healthy and fun snack the other day and it even looked pretty so I had to share. I sliced a raw red bell pepper into thick strips, spooned on some tuna salad, and then topped with a chunk of avocado. I think next time I will actually cut the pepper into larger strips, more like cups so they hold more tuna. You can make the tuna salad up however you prefer, but I like to make mine with a little mayo (get the kind made with canola oil so it's healthier), mustard, and pepper. So easy and so delicious! It's low glycemic, the tuna is of course a great source of protein, and the red pepper is a super source of vitamins A and C and also has lycopene!