Strawberry & Mango Popsicle Recipe

Man, is it hot down here in Houston this weekend! Days like today, and probably every other day until October-ish, make me crave something refreshing to snack on. After a long day of playing with our new water table in the backyard (thanks Ya-Ya and Papa!) my son and I retreated into the house for some air conditioning and a snack. Luckily, I had whipped up a batch of Popsicles the day before.

This recipe was super easy, and made up on a whim. I just used what I had in the my refrigerator and I am sure with a little experimenting, you could use any fruit that's in season. Next time, I'm going to try and sneak some type of veggie in my pops!!! These would  be really great for a teething baby or toddler, possibly frozen in an ice cube tray and used inside of a mesh feeder.

Now lets talk price:

Lime               $0.30
Strawberries $0.99 for conventional or $2.99 for organic
Mango            $ 0.33

Depending on which strawberries you choose you are either looking at $1.62 for the conventional recipe or $3.62 for the organic recipe. Either way you go, these are a much better alternative to most Popsicles found in your grocery store.

Strawberry & Mango Popsicle Recipe

Makes 4 twin pops

1 Mango, peeled and cubed
1 lb of strawberries, tops removed and sliced
Sweetener of choice, I used maple syrup
Juice of a lime

Puree mango in either blender or food processor, set aside in bowl. Juice 1/2 lime into the bowl and mix it up! Now, puree your strawberries and sweetener together. I used 1 tsp if maple syrup and they tasted great, but if you want a very sweet Popsicle I would recommend adding a little more. Now squeeze the other half of the lime into the strawberries and mix.

I wanted my Popsicles to look pretty, so I layered the mango and strawberry separately using  a funnel. I have the Tovolo Twin Pop Mold and really like it! (Also the price on Amazon was cheaper than what I found in store, bummer!) Just be gentle with the Popsicle sticks and run your mold under water before trying to pry them out.

Happy Summer!!

Proud Mommy Moment!

I have to share a very happy, proud moment that happened this past weekend on Mother's Day. My son will be one at the end of the month and we had a huge party for him last weekend. I have been debating for a while whether or not to give him cake, cookies and other stuff that we normally do not feed him. I have been a hawk since day one and watched carefully as to what we feed him. There have been a few bites of frozen yogurt here and there but for the most part, he's been eating only fruits, veggies, meat and whole grains. People have told me to relax, that he is just a kid and should enjoy treats and cookies. I know most people are just trying to help and don't really know exactly what is in our food, but I refuse to give my son a bad start in life due to peer pressure or laziness. My hubby and I decided that on his birthday, he could eat what he wanted. A friend handed him a chocolate chip cookie, he took a bite and then put it down on the table. He was completely disinterested! I was so happy. Then came cake smash time...he only played in the cake!! He took a bite of icing and then decided he was done. I can't tell you how proud this made me feel. All my hard work, all my firmness in my beliefs of feeding him only the cleanest, only the best food has paid off. Some people were surprised to see him happily munching on a red bell pepper strip later in the party, but those who have been around my son a lot knew what his normal eating habits are.

It just makes me want to persevere in my clean eating journey, this event gives me courage to say, "No!" and feed him the best. It does take extra time to make clean food, to not just open the package of baby food or pick up a Happy Meal on the way home. It takes courage to tell family members that you love and adore that they can't feed your child custard and chocolate. All these extra efforts are surely worth the feeling that I had this past weekend, and that I have right now typing this. My son, the clean eating almost one year old will eat anything and everything, except sugary sweets!

Confession Time...

Okay, so I must admit something. My Whole30 challenge was a complete fail, I lasted about a week and then gave in and ate a muffin. A very healthy, delicious muffin. But still, a fail. I can chalk it all up to not being prepared what so ever and having a crazy weekend. My family came to stay the weekend with us to help me attempt Once a Month Cooking. We spent the better part of two days shopping, chopping and cooking and I was famished. I had nothing prepped for my special diet and was starving and light headed at the end of the second day. So, I grabbed a muffin.

I wish I had stuck it out because I felt AMAZING during the week that I was Whole 30 compliant. Tons of energy, no moodiness and zero tummy bloat. It was amazing, so I'm going to give it shot number 2. I am much better organized to start this again. I just went to Sprouts and went grocery shopping for the week and have my menu all planned out. I am surprised at how inexpensive my grocery bill is and I'm excited to share my menu plan with you a little bit later.

M.I.A

My goodness!! I can't believe it has been almost a month since I lost posted on my blog. Life has just been so crazy the past couple of weeks and my blog and clean eating have taken somewhat of a back seat. We had family in town from New York, celebrated the Persian New Year and battled tonsillitis all within a couple of weeks and I am exhausted!!! We had a good month, besides my poor sweet baby getting tonsillitis.

After a crazy month like I had in March, I feel like I need to recharge my batteries and regain some strength. In all the rush and chaos I found myself grabbing granola bars, Lara bars and lots of grains to fill me up...except that I never felt full. So I would turn to fruit or something yummy, and I still was not full. I was bloated and feeling foggy, but not satisfied.

So, after a couple of weeks of feeling like garbage and having no energy what so ever I have decided to start a month long challenge, The Whole 30. You can check out the website here.

BASICALLY I am attempting the unthinkable and going without grains, sugar or dairy for 30 while days. Yeah I know, sounds crazy to me too. So far today has not been so bad. I had a lot of errands to do in preparation of my hubby's trip to Cali so two of my meals were eaten out.

I had a salad at the mall with mixed organic greens, chicken, tomatoes and cucumbers and a side of fruit. My hubby had some delicious looking Chinese food and at first I wanted to kill him. How could he eat rice in front of me?! But I know that I have 29 more days left and he did not sign up to do this challenge and I did. Plus, he skipped his usual chocolate chip cookie from the cookie place just for me!! Pretty sweet, huh?? So that was breakfast. No dressing on the salad, I smashed the tomatoes up and just used to juice from that to give my brain the illusion of a dressing.

Lunch was a turkey burger wrapped in ice burg lettuce from a burger place. I resisted temptation of picking on my hubby's order of french fries or drinking a soda. I actually quite enjoyed my lettuce wrap with pickles, tomatoes and avacado.

For dinner we had roasted carrots, zucchini and filets that we grilled. I baked an apple with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top for "dessert." Taste like a crustless apple pie!!!

All in all, today has not been so bad. I did really want a cookie from the mall but other than that, it wasn't horrible. I don't feel starved, im actually pretty full. I did snack on a banana and some pineapple today. The best part is I was not in a lazy funk this afternoon. Its 11pm and I still have energy.

Lets see how tomorrow is...

Clean Eating Chocolate Sauce

We ate pretty well tonight for dinner; steak, a small baked potato, asparagus and salad. After dinner I was craving a little something sweet. My family loves frozen yogurt for dessert on the weekends and it might seem like a pretty innocent treat, but I have no way of telling what is in my cup of yogurt. There could be high fructose corn syrup, food dyes and the milk they use is most definitely not organic. The unknown is pretty scary to me and I have just learned not to eat something that I can't easily identify. So usually I will just buy some organic ice cream and have a little here and there, but that gets kind of boring after a while. The best part of a frozen yogurt place, at least to me, is the toppings bar. I needed a little something to top my ice cream off with tonight and that is how the clean eating chocolate sauce came about, and it is delicious. Much better than Hershey's chocolate syrup and certainly much better for my body.

What exactly is in Hershey's Chocolate Syrup???

HERSHEY'S Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP; CORN SYRUP; WATER; COCOA; SUGAR; CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE); SALT; MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES; XANTHAN GUM; POLYSORBATE 60; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLA VOR Eek!! I'm not sure why they need all of that in their syrup, but what I made tonight had 4 ingredients in it total and was delicious! Here's the recipe: 1/4 cup organic maple syrup (the real deal! not pancake syrup, read your label) 1    Tablespoon Unsweetened 100% dark cacao 1    teaspoon organic unsalted butter 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract Heat the maple syrup over low heat, add the cacao. Mix together well. When thoroughly heated add butter and vanilla. Let cool and drizzle over your ice cream or dessert. This recipe makes 4 generous servings at 61 calories per serving, according to myfitnesspal. Enjoy!

Homemade Citrus Dressing

I went on a one day rampage where I threw everything out that had an iffy ingredient in it...GMO, flavor, added color or preservatives. It left me with brown rice, fruits and veggies and not much else. I think the most common ingredient I threw away was salad dressing. I really love having a salad before my dinner but was not sure what to do as far as a dressing that wasn't crazy in calorie content or hard to make.

Well guys, I have fallen in love with this dressing!! You probably have everything you need to make it in your pantry already..which is awesome because who wants to run to the store just for some salad dressing?? The best part is this is low-cal so if you are like me and trying to loose weight, this will be a keeper! I recycled a bottle of Honest Tea that my hubby drank to use to keep the dressing in and it is quite convenient.

So the recipe is:

8 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed citrus juice. (I used a grapefruit because they were on sale.)
2 Tablespoons of oil, I used olive oil
2 Tablespoons of honey
2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons of mustard, I used an organic brand from Kroger's

Put everything in your bottle and shake, shake, shake!!! A little tip: add the oil before the honey, it will make the honey slide off the measuring spoon easier.

And that is pretty much it, super easy and probably takes 5 minutes at the most. This stuff is good!! According to my fitness pal recipe maker it is about 62 calories a serving, if this recipe made 8 servings. Oh, don't forget to store this in the refrigerator.

Clean Eating Meal Plan for 2/26/13 - 3/4/13

Wow, I can't believe February is already almost over! Today was a cold, windy day in Houston and I was a tad bit lazy. This weeks meal plan was thrown together on the fly as I made a mad dash to get to the grocery store before rush hour hit. Anyways, this is what we are eating this week:

Tuesday-

•   Dinner: Baked Chicken, Roasted Potato and Butternut Squash, Mixed Veggies

Wednesday-

•   Breakfast: Banana Muffins from 100 Days of Real Food. I am obsessed with this blog. Lisa and her crew are amazing. You can find her recipe here.
•  Lunch: More than likely something delish from Ruggles Green! I have a doctors appointment and so the hubby and I will be out and about.
• Dinner: Steak with an awesome rub, baked potato and asparagus

Thursday-

• Breakfast: More Banana Muffins, Cantaloupe
• Lunch: Leftovers from dinner for the hubby and Three Bean Chili for me
• Dinner: Alfredo with Mushrooms, Salad with Homemade Citrus Dressing , Broccoli

Friday-

• Breakfast: Overnight oats with cranberries and almonds
• Lunch: Leftover Alfredo
• Dinner: Almond Encrusted Fish, Green Beans, Roasted Potato

Saturday-

• Breakfast: Eggs, Toast, Pears
• Lunch: Leftover Fish, Greens Beans
• Crock pot Chicken, Brown Rice, Carrots

Sunday-

• Breakfast: Pancakes, Eggs, Grapefruit drizzled with honey
• Lunch: Leftover Chicken, Brown Rice, Carrots
• Chicken Tacos, Bell Peppers and Onions and Refried Beans

Monday-

• Breakfast: Pancakes, Eggs, Orange Slices
• Lunch: Maybe a date with my hubby?!?!
• Dinner: Cajun Red Beans and Rice, Salad with my Homemade Citrus Dressing and corn muffins

As you can see, I utilize leftovers alot! It makes it easy for myself and the hubby usually doesn't mind. We just finished baking the banana muffins and they are delicious! What is everyone else eating this week??

Veggie Latkes for My Sweet Pea

My little sweet pea, my son, turned 9 months old yesterday!! He has one little tooth barely sticking out on his bottom gums and likes to "chew" food now. It is so cute to watch him pick up little pieces of food and chew away. He thinks he has teeth though and is over eating purees which has made mealtime a little difficult. I usually just give him a little bit of whatever we are eating and mush it up for him but that is not always possible and sometimes we are eating at different times. So in honor of his 9 month milestone I decided it was time to introduce him to a new food, veggie latkes.

 

 

 

 

Veggie Latke Recipe

 

1 potato, preferably organic

1 head of broccoli, preferably organic

1/2 to 3/4 cup carrots

whole wheat flour

 

First, steam your broccoli and carrots. When the veggies are done steaming put in a food processor until they are in small enough  pieces for your baby or child. Mix the veggies together in a mixing bowl. I added a little flour to thicken everything up and formed small patties.

I used a very tiny amount of EVOO in my pan so that the patties wouldn't stick and cooked them for a couple of minutes on each side.

After letting my latkes cool, I put them in a freezer bag so I have some easy lunches and dinners on hand that are full of vitamins and nutrients that are so good for my growing son.

Onions would be a great addition to this recipe if it was being made for grown ups or an older kiddo.

 

My son gobbled these up!!! He ate an entire Latke with some applesauce for dinner and loved it. It was a very healthy 9 month celebration. Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

 

 

Clean Eating: What is it and How do I Start??

Clean Eating in our house means:

• Not consuming ingredients that we can't pronounce or cook with ourselves. Read your labels! You would be surprised as to what is really in your food. This includes food dyes (which can cause hyperactivity in children) and natural flavorings, some of which have been linked to Alzheimer's disease. You can read more about that here .
• Lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, meat and whole milk.
• Buying as much organic food as possible. We buy organic meat, dairy, grains and follow the dirty dozen list and only wild caught seafood. Obviously, not everyone can afford to buy organic food and it is not readily available to everyone. You have to do the best with your budget; eating conventionally grown fruits and veggies is better than eating frozen pizza and ramen noodles.
• No sodas, no energy drinks, no Crystal Light, no fruit juices. Water, water, water!!! I do drink coffee and green tea once or twice a day. I also start my day off with a glass of room temperature water with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• No refined sugars or flour. No Splenda, corn syrup or cane juice. I use honey or maple syrup in place of sugar in recipes. I have yet to find a bakery close to me that bakes fresh, clean bread so we use Ezekiel bread for sandwiches and toast in the morning. I MIGHT attempt to bake a loaf of bread one day, I am a horrible baker and burn everything!

How we started:

1. I threw anything and everything away that had a funky ingredient in it. No more preservatives, flavorings, food dyes, High Fructose Corn Syrup, cancer causing ingredients.
2. Made a meal plan, a list and went to the grocery store. I live in Houston and am fortunate to have access to tons of grocery and health food stores. I love Costco, HEB and Trader Joe's. We buy our meat, eggs and some produce from Costco. Everything else I will buy at HEB or Trader Joe's if I feel like driving to the galleria area.
3. The trial and error process began and still continues to this day. Sometimes my dinner is a hit and other times, my hubby's Persian palate is disappointed. He likes everything to have a lot of flavor and I could care less if I'm eating a piece of bland chicken and brown rice.

And, that is where we are at today in our journey. We haven't quite perfected our clean eating and there are times when we do eat something that isn't up to our standards but we try our best to give our bodies the best fuel possible. What are some things that your family does to eat cleaner?

Lunch Date at Ruggles

I may have died and gone to a real foodie's heaven! I have found a restaurant that boycotts the use of GMO's, is environmentally friendly and try to serve local ingredients. The best part, the food is amazing. It is so reassuring to be able to order off of there menu and know I'm not eating genetically modified garbage. My hubby and I enjoy eating out on his days off work for lunch, and chose to eat at Ruggles both times so I think it's safe to say we have started to obsess with this place.

On Tuesday, we were running around the Galleria area and stopped by their River Oaks location. We had our son with us and I was a little worried that they wouldn't be so baby friendly and may not have high-chairs or it might be too quiet inside. It definitely was a little hard to find a table because they were so busy but it was worth the wait!! I ordered the Ruggles Green Blackened Shrimp Salad and it was the best salad I have ever eaten in my life, seriously. Delicious blackened shrimp on top of a bed of fresh greens, strawberries, blueberries, pistachios and a delicious citrus dressing. I have raved about this salad to everyone and if they sold the dressing I would have bought several bottles. My hubby ordered the Hydroponic Butter Lettuce Wedge and the Ruggles Green Kobe Beef Burger with a tabbouleh salad as a side. I had a bite of his burger and it was amazing!! Very clean tasting and the bun was delicious.

Earlier today we stopped by the City Centre location for lunch, again with our son and I must say this location is much more baby friendly. We ordered and let our son play on the faux grass park in front of the restaurant and ate outside. My hubby ordered the Wedge again and the Turkey Reuben and I ordered a house salad and the Spicy Chicken Tacos. My salad was huge and the dressing was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised with the tacos, the chicken was not drowned in some tomato-ey sauce but instead had an amazing spice mix on it.

Ruggles Green has truly made my hubby and I fans and I am sure we will become regulars at the City Centre location. You can check out their website here.

P.S. Try the melon iced tea!!!

I Can't Belive It's Not...Zero Calories??

We all remember the famous Fabio commercials for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, with his long blond hair and soap opera music in the background. Perhaps the advertising pros at ICBINB were using Fabio's accent and hair from the crazy ingredients found inside their spray butter.

Let's examine this product a little closer, shall we? I unfortunately have been a consumer of this condiment. Actually, I know a lot of people who have this in their fridge. I have sprayed this on rice, sweet potatoes, toast, used the spray in place of butter to cook eggs...the possibilities are endless. And with the zero calorie claim, most people feel free to spray away!! Not so fast guys, you might want to chunk the spray butter.

 

The ingredients inside the yellow bottle are: Water, Soybean Oil (Most likely GMO sourced), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Sweet Cream Buttermilk (Definetely not organic) , Xantham Gum (Again, GMO), Soy Lectithan(GMO), Polysorbate 60(GMO), Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Natural Flavor, Vitamin E Palmate and Beta Carotene

 

To me the first thing that comes to mind when reading the label is, "How the heck is this calorie free with EVOO and buttermilk in it and how is it sodium free if salt is the fourth ingredient listed??" Hmm..just how is that possible? The serving size is just one spray as a cooking spray or five as a topping, and if you were to use just five sprays you would actually be consuming 2.64 calories. You see, this bottle of spray butter actually contains 900 calories, not zero. A teaspoon of the stuff contains 20 calories and a tablespoon has 60 calories in it. You might as well spring for the real deal and have actual butter for just 40 calories per tablespoon more.

 

But, that is sadly not all.

 

 

Polysorbate 60- Made of corn, palm oil and petroleum, wait what?! Petroleum based ingredients are known to cause cancer and endocrine disruption.

 

Calcium Disodium EDTA- May cause blood in urine and kidney damage

 

Potassium Sorbate- Prolonged use leads to allergic reactions, diarrhea, nausea and nutrient loss in food

 

Vitamin A Palmate- May cause liver toxicity and birth defects

 

The hidden bombshell lies within the "natural flavor," a.k.a Diacetyl. Whenever you see this term you can almost bet there is nothing natural about this ingredient. Diacetyl (DA) is an artificial butter flavoring found in not only ICBINB but frosting, corn chips, margarine, gelatin and pancake syrup. Diacetyl can also be found in strawberry, banana and dairy flavorings. So what is the big deal with a little extra flavor in our food?? Chronic exposure to diacetyl has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. It has also been known to cause respiratory problems and other health problems. You can read more about that here.

 

I think the moral of this story is to eat clean, eat simple and read ingredients. If you can't pronounce it then its most likely not real food, and more importantly if you have to google an ingredient to figure out what it really is that is not a good sign. Also, skip anything that lists natural flavors as an ingredient. The natural flavorings are not so natural and can come from crazy sources.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



Tonight's Dinner

Yumm!!! I'm so in love with Swiss Red Chard and so is my hubby, which is a miracle in itself. He is so skeptical to try anything new and green! Tonight's dinner was an organic, whole chicken with organic brown rice, sautéed Swiss chard and carrots. This is probably the first ever entirely organic meal I have prepared. It was so clean tasting and I am satisfied without feeling gluttonous. So how much did tonight's dinner cost us?

Drumroll please........

My delicious, nutritious entirely organic dinner cost around $5.50 for two!!!!!!!!! Yes that's right, five dollars and some change. You couldn't go to a fast food joint and feed one person for that, let alone two!

I bought a whole organic chicken from Kroger's for $10.82 and put it in the crock pot. After it was fully cooked, I completely deboned it and weighed portions for my hubby and myself for tonight's dinner, tomorrow's lunch and dinner. It was super easy and delicious. When you do the math, that's about $1.80 a portion. Not bad!!

My organic brown rice was from the bulk section of HEB. Seriously, take advantage of the bulk section in your grocery store! You can buy as little or as much as you want or need for the week. My rice was $1.99/lb and I used a quarter pound for dinner.

Our veggies were from our wonderful Bountiful Baskets box. Fresh garlic, half a bunch of carrots and the red Swiss chard.

I felt like I was a serious chef last night!!! I am shocked at how cheap tonights meal was. I have always wanted to go completely, 100% organic and use only organic meat but never attempted to because I thought it would be too expensive.

Hmm...I'm going to have to give this some more thought and consideration. Maybe an organic budget challenge is in store?!?!

Bountiful Baskets

One of my favorite ways to save on organic produce is to order from Bountiful Baskets. They are a non-profit Food Co-op that delivers fresh produce and other goodies to a site once a week. My site, the Copperfield Pavillion just recently started offering the organic option along with conventionally grown produce, fresh bread and a juicing pack.

 

 

My hubby always jokes that I am going to pick up a cucumber and a couple of apples and I will admit, I was very skeptical when I ordered my first basket. The picture shows everything that was in my basket this morning, minus the Keurig of course! For $25.00, I think it was a steal!! My hubby wasn't convinced so I hopped across the street to Kroger's and priced everything out.

Our Basket:

4 Oranges                           Kroger's Price $1.49 Each
2 Red Bell Peppers                                    $2.49 Each
1 Avocado                                                  $1.19 Each
4 Mangoes                   Kroger's did not have Organic Mangoes, but the conventional were $1.25 each
2 Bulbs of Garlic         Again, no organic garlic
1 Pound Bag of Limes                               $2.49/lb
3 Pound Bag of Apples                             $2.49/lb
1 Bunch Spinach                                       $2.49
1 Bunch Red Swiss Chard                        $3.48
1 Bunch of Carrots                                    $1.49
6 Tomatoes                                                $2.99/lb

My total at Kroger would have been $39.55 for everything and that is just calculating the conventional price for the mangoes and not including the garlic. So at least a savings of $15.00!!!! Plus we get to try a new food tonight for dinner, the swiss chard. With the money I saved by going with Bountiful Baskets I was able to buy a whole organic, free range chicken and some organic coconut milk.

Check them out and hopefully, there is a site close to you! Does anyone else utilize Bountiful Baskets or another Co-op??

How my Clean Eating Journey Started

My journey to Eat Clean started two weeks after my son was born. We were in the midst of a growth spurt and he needed to nurse every hour on the hour which meant we spent a lot of time sitting on the couch watching TV or Netflix and heating up a microwaveable meal for lunch. Any Mom wants to lose weight ASAP after her baby is born and so I stocked up on the low cal, microwaveable foods because they were easy and convenient, and supposedly healthy. The calorie info seemed legit enough for me at the time. Yes, I am cringing right now thinking about the sodium, GMO's and junk that is in microwaveable food. YUCK! Anyways, I was trying to find something interesting to watch on Netflix and saw the Food, Inc. documentary and decided to press play. If you haven't watched Food, Inc. yet you need to!!! You will probably never want to eat fast food again and it might change your life.

After Food, Inc. I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and then Fork Over Knives. My hubby came home and I made him watch them too. I was in disgust. How could I be feeding my family such junk??

It has been 8 months since my husband and I decided to Eat Clean and there have been some ups and downs. I have lost 50 of the 62 pounds I gained while pregnant and haven't bought a bag of potato chips because I can't get over the thought of the GMO's hidden inside of them. I also have left the grocery store buying way too much "organic junk food" and spending ridiculous amounts of money on groceries. It's a life change and I know it will take a while to find the right balance between Eating Clean and overspending on food.

Clean Eating is definently not the most convienent way of life, you have to put some thought into planning your meals and must resist the temptaion of peanut butter cups and diet sodas...my weakness. But, you will feel so much better!!! So, give clean eating a try, your body will thank you.