coconut oil

I tease that coconut oil is the new "windex" if you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  It fixes everything! I've only dabbled in the uses for coconut oil and haven't done a ton of research on other uses. But the various uses I've used it for I'm hooked.

1st use: Popcorn/Kettle Corn it adds a great flavor
2nd use: my face in the dead of winter when moisturizer just didn't cut it. My skin suprisingly soaked it up with very little "greasy feeling". It has good amounts of the antioxidant vitamin E, which is very protective.
3rd use: My feet. Towards the end of winter you start seeing those cracks (unless you get pedicures) coconut oil does the trick.
4th use: I have started giving Isaac a spoonful every day. He seems to like it and coconut oil has anti-viral qualities. I found this, "The antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of coconut oil are directly attributed to the medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in the oil." We are constantly fighting the new cold around here. Isaac is at the prime age of colds between ages 1-2 is the worst. So anything that will help works for me.
5th use: Peter and I sauteed peppers, onions, garlic and spinach in coconut oil instead of olive oil. It was to die for, it added such a different flavor it made the vegetable exciting again.

Coconut oil has gotten a bad rap in the past for being a saturated fat and has been seen as a bad oil, hence that it's solid at room temperature. The reason this doesn't apply to coconut oil, say supporters, is that about half the saturated fat in the oil is medium-chain fatty acids, which are easier to digest than the more prevalent long-chain fatty acids in most other oils, including butter. Coconut oil can also positively affect our hormones for thyroid and blood sugar control. People who take coconut oil also tend to have improvements in how they handle blood sugar since coconut can help improve insulin use within the body. Coconut oil can boost thyroid function helping to increase metabolism, energy and endurance. It increases digestion and helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

Of course everything in moderation if you are ingesting it. I wouldn't use it for all of your cooking but the research shows a little can go a long with way with a lot of benefit. 

The best news of course is although it is pricey they sell it at Costco! 

veganaise

I've never really cared for mayo. I would always cut it with half mayo and half sour cream to hide the tang. So I decided to give veganaise a try. The price almost scared me off but I probably go through one jar of mayo a year so I thought it may not be so bad after all. I was absolutely shocked by how much better it tastes. It has such a milder flavor and you don't need much. I decided to try it out on two of my old-fashioned recipes, Apple Waldorf Salad and Horseradish Carrot Casserole. This is one of my favorite things my Grandma O. makes. I decided to change some things and drop the casserole part. In the salad I also decided to add coconut, huge improvement.

Apple Waldorf Salad

2 apples chopped

3 celery sticks chopped

1 cup of Walnuts

1 cup shredded coconut

dollop of Veganaise

Mix in a bowl

Horseradish Carrots

The old recipe calls for saltines and butter and boiling the carrots first. I slice up just as many carrots as I can cover the bottom of my casserole dish. I just mixed the carrots with a dollop of veganaise (enough of each to coat) and an equal size dollop of horseradish and mixed them all together in a casserole dish. I put them in the oven on 400 for about 45 minutes which gives them time to caramelize and develop their sweetness. The veganaise keeps the carrots really moist and horseradish believe or not just adds a really small kick. Isaac chowed down on the carrots so they couldn't have been too spicy!  

My new cooking Friend 

One thing to note, I will probably buy the Veganaise made with grape seed oil next time. I think it is slightly healthier and this original kind contains Soy and I'm not a huge fan of Soy. I found both at Fred Meyer in the Natural Foods section. 

nine favorites list of 2012

I always seem to hear about the best things by word of mouth from family and friends. I always think to myself "I'm so glad I heard about that." Well here is my word of mouth top nine favorite things I discovered this past year ( in no particular order ). I was planning on doing 10 but really only felt good about 9. I thought I would spare a lame 10th.

1. Mom's Spaghetti Sauce 

This sauce is actually what inspired me to write this list. I want to shout it from the rooftops don't buy any other sauce. It tastes completely home made from Italy (not that I would actually know) and has chunks of roasted garlic in it. And even better they sell it at Costco!

2. Ancient Harvest Quinoa Veggie Curls

Keeping with the theme this goes with our pasta sauce. We are about 75% Gluten Free in our home so I'm always trying out different Gluten Free pastas. This one is the best! They add different veggies, such as beets, to the pasta and it actually tastes great. They sell it at Fred Meyer and it is relatively inexpensive like a little over $2 a box. Isaac loves this pasta :)

3. Dr. Bronner's Face Soap 

I read about this in Whole Living magazine and it got voted one of the top natural facial cleansers. It is very mild, all natural, and only about $4.

4. Pinterest 

Ok so I discovered this in 2011 but Pinterest is like facebook once you get it changes your life and you think how did I ever function without it? I can credit Pinterest for helping me plan Isaac's birthday party, giving me countless recipes and inspiring to weekly meal plan with a cute printable meal planner PDF. It provides endless inspiration, brainless fun, and the motivation to DIY! I am fortunate enough to keep in in check. I check in every couple of days and for maybe 10 minutes. This is the only downside people say is it can consume all of your free time!

5. Trader Joe's Automatic Dishwasher Detergent

I have always used all natural dishwasher detergents and with each brand I bought they seemed to work less and less and I was spending more and more. Peter and I both thought that our dishwasher was horrible and we just needed to buy a new one. We were practically hand washing all of our dishes to then put them in the dishwasher. Well it isn't the best but I finally thought what if it is the detergent It is important to me that it is chemical free and all natural because it is going on all of your dishes, dishes that you eat off everyday and this food goes into your body. A friend told me to try the Trader Joe's brand. Turns out it works amazing and it is a great deal cheaper than all of the other "all natural" brands I believe it is a little over $2 a box! It's Phosphate-Free, Chlorine-Free, No dyes or fragrances and is Biodegradable. 

6. Epsom Salts

I've always been a big fan of baths. No matter how stressful of a day I've had a bath always makes it better. Well I recently discovered Epsom salts and they take a bath to a whole different relaxing level. Some of the health benefits include relaxing the nervous system, easing muscle strain, healing cuts, treating cold and congestion, and most importantly drawing toxins from the body. There are amazing scents and best of all Epsom Salts are inexpensive! Are you seeing a trend? 

7. Mom Groups

I could not of gotten through without my mom support groups. Evergreen Parent Baby gave me a wealth of information and allowed me to meet so many great friends. (I've since graduated) but from there spun a monthly "Book Group" with 10 other moms with very little reading involved and a Best Friend Emily. We are running partners and her husband and Peter and I hit off immediately. I also attend MOPS at Woodinville Alliance Church and that gives me 2 hours of uninterrupted conversations, great speakers, a spiritual boost, and great brunch. Isaac gets two hours of social time and gets to play with new toys. Woodinville Toddler Group is another weekly social event that both Isaac and I look forward to every week. I still learn a lot about development and love the family event nights and Isaac loves seeing his friends. Not to mention structured craft time (that I don't have to plan or clean up) and circle time what a bonus!

8. Amazon

Amazon has become my new best friend. It has everything under the sun for babies. I almost always get free shipping and has the lowest price without having to leave my home!

9. Aveeno Dry Shampoo

I have very oily hair and let's face it a shower is a privilege not to mention blow-drying your hair. This gives a few extra days without a wash and a blow dry, and it adds volume, which I desperately need with my flat straight hair. The Aveeno brand is sulfate-free which is why I chose this brand. 


Goal for 2013 discover a great "all natural" laundry detergent. The jury is still out on this one!

10 month photo shoot

As always great pictures taken by my friend Carmen. We did this shoot at Discovery Park in Magnolia and I love them all. With age the pictures of Isaac just get funnier and funnier. Of course he just started walking so he kept taking off from the shot! It was really cold and Isaac's face kept getting redder and redder and then he go more and more unhappy :) So great to have these memories, we are so lucky to have Carmen!

baby's first pumpkin

Its been fun going to the pumpkin patches this year because we live so close and there are so many options. This year was extra special thanks to baby i. We went to Fall City Farms which definitely is my favorite so far but this year is the last year they are having pumpkins.

 

What a difference a year makes. This is the caption of one years time when I was pregnant and Ali was pretending to be with a fake pumpkin bump. Now Micah is one month old! Also last year I roasted a pumpkin for chocolate pumpkin muffins. Now we are gluten free and the pumpkin was roasted for baby food!

new kick

I've always wanted a juicer and thought...I will probably never use it or if so only for brief periods of time. They are a pain to clean and a pain to store and not cheap. My friend Emily said "why don't you just borrow ours and see if you like it" I thought what do we have to lose. Wrong...I'm hooked and now I want one. Peter and I were at the Walla Walla Farmer's market with Peter's parents and they were selling fresh juice. We bought one and I have never forgot the taste, amazing! Beets, apple, ginger, and carrots. It's only been a week but I look forward every morning to my daily concoction. But I'm a creature of habit so who knows this one could stick. Isaac hates the noise of the juicer but is also drawn to it and wants to be near it so I hold him and juice while he squeals. I've always battled keeping my iron levels up and never enjoyed taking iron supplements because they make me nauseous. Turns out beets are really high in iron. Isaac's iron levels now are a little low so I thought maybe I'd start giving him a couple sips of beet juice daily. I found the same juicer as my friend's used on amazon for $30 so we will see if I take the leap!

red lentil soup with lemon

This soup is to die for. We first had it when Peter's sister Elsa made it for us after we had Isaac. The combination of flavors are genius and it is so satisfying. Isaac even liked it! It is from one of my favorite websites: 101 cookbooks

2 cups / 14 oz / 400 g split red lentils, picked over and rinsed well
1 tablespoon turmeric
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
fine grain sea salt
1 large onion / ~ 2 cups, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of three lemons, or to taste
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, chopped
plenty of cooked (warm) brown rice, to serve
plenty of plain Greek yogurt, to serve

Put the lentils in a pot with 7 cups / 1.6 l water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart - twenty minutes or so. Puree with a hand blender. Add more water until the soup is the consistency you like, then taste and add more salt if needed. Keep the soup warm/hot.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the onion. In a skillet over low heat cook the onion in 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter along with the cumin and mustard seeds, stirring occasionally. When the onions have softened, roughly 10 or 15 minutes, add the cilantro and cook for a few seconds before removing from the heat. Add the onion mixture to the soup, then add the juice of the lemons, one lemon at a time - until the soup has a nice bit of tang. Also, add more salt to taste at this point if needed.
Just before serving, add the last of the butter to the skillet, when hot add the spinach and a good pinch of salt. Stir well, and cook just long enough for the spinach to collapse.
Serve by placing a scoop of rice in each bowl, then soup, spinach, and a dollop of yogurt.
Serves 6.
 

Banana Pancakes with Maple Whip Cream

I thought well it's kind of boring that I post recipes that people have already come up with. So this one I kind of made up myself. Both Peter and I are banana junkies but as soon as one brown spot appears neither one of us seems to eat them. So I always let them go totally black and then come up with ways to use them. Peter loves to cook breakfast and is really good at it. So we have started to eat more breakfast for dinner, (my little trick to get him too cook dinner). So we came up with this!

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 small, very ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Melt butter, let cool. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mash banana with fork and add the rest of the  wet ingredients to it along with the melted butter. Add wet to dry. For whipping cream just whip and add Maple Syrup while whipping (to taste).

I made up extra dry ingredients to have on hand and then wrote what was left to add on the jar for the hubby to make with or without banana.

mexican bowl

Cheap, Easy, and Healthy. This is a regular dinner that Peter and I love. I always have the ingredients on hand (except avocados). Beans and brown rice together make up a complete protein. Super Yummy!

Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

I got this recipe off of Pinterest and it is hands down both Peter and I's favorite dinner I have ever made. It is so good and really easy to make, not to mention really healthy.

click for recipe

homemade chai tea concentrate

My friend Eileen gave me this idea from a blog she read. What makes it unique is the sweetened condensed milk. It adds the sweetness to the tea and also makes it creamy with just one scoop. This recipe is super easy to make and you can just throw a jar in the fridge and whip up a warm, spicy, and sweet drink. I call it Christmas in a cup. There are also the health benefits, Black tea is full of antioxidants, cinnamon boosts your metabolism, and ginger calms your stomach. 

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

Mix together in a bowl and add to a jar, store in fridge. Brew a cup of black tea and add a spoonful of your concentrate.

Breakfast Cookies

Since I have been home everyday I have been in a breakfast slump. When I worked I would just force myself to eat something because I knew it was the last thing I was going to be able to eat until lunch. Now nothing sounds good. In high school and college I used to eat breakfast cookies that were manufactured in Bellingham. They sell them at Fred Meyer and Top Foods and are really delicious. However they are $2 a piece. So I decided to make my own. I found this recipe and it is really easy and super delicious. No sugar, butter, or flour. I had all of the ingredients already on hand except for these two things.

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2       cups gluten-free rolled oats

1             cup unsweetened coconut flakes 

1             tablespoon golden flaxmeal

1/2          teaspoon salt

3/4          cups coarsely chopped pecans

1/2          cup dried blueberries

3             very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4          cup coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid

1             tablespoon agave nectar

1             teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, pecans, and blueberries. Stir in bananas, oil, agave nectar and vanilla until well combined.

Press 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue with remaining mixture.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.

Yield: about 15 cookies.