Check Me Out, I Made Soup!

Usually Sunday night is our Family Movie Night. We pop popcorn on the stove and find a movie on the DVR list or on Netflix to watch. It's the one night of the week that we set aside for the family. 

Well...popcorn doesn't really fit into our new clean eating thing. At least, not the way we usually make it! Popped in a pan with oil and then pour popcorn butter and salt all over it...Mmmmm....I mean, uh, so not healthy, right?

I know that we still can eat popcorn if it's prepared right, but this past Sunday we made up a new tradition. 

Sunday morning at church some dear friends of ours gave our kids a Mayo Clinic Kids Cookbook. 

It's a really great cookbook. It's written for kids, so it has lots of descriptions of cooking terms, weight measurements, nutrition facts. The girls were super excited. 

So that night, as I was trying to come up with a replacement for popcorn, I thought we could give a recipe a try for dinner.
 
First of all, I consider it a MAJOR accomplishment that I had any ingredients on hand to make any recipe on short notice. That almost never happens.

Truth is, I didn't have all the ingredients, but I decided to wing it. That is something else that rarely happens in my kitchen...but I'm learning to broaden my horizons.

We picked a vegetable soup that seemed pretty easy. Of course, I had never made soup before...so I was just guessing that it was easy. 

Since I really didn't have many ingredients that were listed...I ended up using the recipe more as a guideline...and just did my own thing. I have to say...it was pretty fun!

But the most fun was finally having "time" to teach my 7-year-old how to cook. She was really interested and had a lot of fun reading the directions and cutting up the vegetables. It was good bonding time for the two of us!

I call this Vegetable Dump Soup because I basically grabbed whatever veggies I had in my fridge, and you can do the same.

Bring all the vegetables and broth to a boil in a soup pot.

 
One of the main things that I changed from the original recipe is that it called for Vegetable Bouillon. I swapped that for homemade vegetable broth. 

A few weeks ago, as I was perusing the internet, I read a comment left on a blog somewhere about how you can use all the vegetable scraps that usually get thrown away. Put them in a gallon freezer bag and keep it in the freezer, adding to it until it's full. Once it's full, cook it in a pot of water for a couple hours to make your own Vegetable Broth, strain out the yucky stuff, and then freeze the broth. So I did just that and it worked beautifully! 

I really didn't expect to use the broth, much less use it as soon as I did, but I'm sure glad I had it! It made the soup taste amazing and it was WAY less sodium than bouillon.

Add pasta and EAT!

I'm really in awe of how well this last minute dinner worked out. It used up some broth (boosting my confidence in my efforts), it used up some vegetables that were on their last leg, it provided family time, and it tasted awesome!

It went so well, that our new Sunday night ritual is to find a recipe out of the Kids Cookbook for dinner, and then scrap the movie night for a game night. One more step in the right direction for a mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy family!

 Vegetable Dump Soup

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I used:
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 cans diced tomato, no salt added
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used Rotini)
• 1Tbsp olive oil

Heat oil in a soup pot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

Then add in the carrots, celery, and mushrooms.

Stir in tomatoes, spinach, basil, and broth. Turn to medium heat and cook until boiling. Once soup is at a boil, put the lid on and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Next, cook pasta in a separate pan, following the directions on the box. Do not add salt. Drain pasta and set aside.

Once soup is ready, stir in the pasta.

Serve and enjoy!


The nice thing about this kind of soup is that you can use almost any vegetable, any pasta, or any kind of canned tomato (no salt added). It is definitely going to be my new go-to dinner for nights that I don't have a lot of time. Plus, combining the fact that you can use what you have around your kitchen and that it's a meatless meal, it's pretty easy on the budget!

Who knew making soup was so great? Probably you. But I sure didn't!   

      

 

   

Homemade Fruit Popsicles

One of the issues I'm coming across with trying to eat healthier/clean is snacks. Everyday after school and/or nap time the girls want a snack. But gone are the days of Cheez-its and Doritos...and this mom is starting to run out of ideas already...So...

Jillian and I used some free time to make homemade fruit popsicles today. 

I found a picture of them on the internet, but there were no real directions. 

Basically, if you have ever used a food processor or blender, you can make this!

Pick whatever fruit you like, as long as it blends well. 

We chose Strawberries, Mango, and Kiwi.

The strawberries were frozen so that was pretty simple, just toss them in the processor!

For the kiwi, you have to peel the outside and then chop into chunks. Do the same with the mango. If you are like me and had not bought fresh mango until doing a crazy detox, then you probably have NO idea how to cut up a mango. This is where I went to figure it out: How to cut a Mango.

All chopped up and ready to blend! Sometimes you have to add a little bit of water while you are blending so the fruit doesn't get stuck. Just add little bits at a time until it is blending smoothly.

Once you are all blended, all you need is mini plastic cups and then something to use as a stick. 

This wasn't greatly planned on my part...I could have bought actual popsicle sticks...but I didn't. Toothpicks were too small, so I came up with plastic spoons! I don't know what is cheaper, but this is what I had, so it's what I used. And if you ask me, they worked great!

Set up the cups on a cookie sheet or plate and then layer the fruit in the cups however you want. I had some extra strawberries so I made two with only strawberries.

Place the spoon or stick in the middle of the fruit cup and then place in the freezer. I let them freeze for at least a couple hours. 

When they are frozen and ready to eat, run some warm water over the plastic cup to help them slide out of the cup.

And there you have it! Ready for an after school snack!



Here's the best part:

Strawberry, Mango, Kiwi Popsicle

• 51 calories
• 9.6 g sugar (all from the fruit)
• 12.9 g total carbs
• .5 g fat

 (The nutrition facts are from myfitnesspal.com)


I used:

• 1 small bag frozen strawberries
• 1 fresh mango
• 4 fresh kiwi
• mini plastic cups
• plastic spoons 
• made 8 layered cups and 2 strawberry cups

 Of course I waited for the taste testers to give me the official review...and they gave four thumbs up! Not to mention, they are coming up with all kinds of other fruit combinations to try!

What Happened to the Waffles?

This weekend was a first for us.

Usually on Saturday's, if we don't have to run off somewhere, we have a big breakfast of eggs and waffles (the big kind) or pancakes. The kids love it and my husband really enjoys making it for the family. 

Well this weekend, in light of changing our eating habits, I cancelled the standing order for waffles and said that I was going to make breakfast. We had some veggies in the fridge left over from my detox so I decided to throw them into some scrambled eggs. 

A little back story: My mom used to put onion and green pepper in scrambled eggs when I was younger and I HATED it, so that's really why I have never done it before. Now, of course, I appreciate her efforts, but as a kid I thought it was torture...vegetables for Breakfast. Pure torture.

But this day I was on a mission: make a healthy breakfast that is still special enough to get the kids excited.

I pulled out some onion and green pepper, and as I was chopping it, my 7-year-old, Olivia, came up and said, "You should put some spinach in it. That's really good!". I'm sorry, what did she say? Did MY child just request SPINACH in her eggs?? I must have heard wrong...

"How do you know it's good?"

"Because Grandma puts it in our eggs when we go to her house."

Huh...well thank you Grandma!

Ultimately, I put in green pepper, onion, spinach and some skim milk. The milk makes the eggs a bit fluffier (another tip I learned from Mom). 

Throw it in the skillet....

And Voila! I added some freshly grated Asiago Cheese.



I admit that even while I was making this, I was not excited about eating it. I still had those memories of hating vegetable in my eggs...but I told myself to get over it and eat it...and turns out...it was delicious! I was really surprised at how much I liked it! And the best part is, the kiddos liked it, too!

We ate it with fresh pineapple and whole wheat toast with almond butter. The almond butter was new to all of us, 3 out of 4 liked it. 

To most culinary artists or health experts, this breakfast may be laughable. But for us, while easy to make, it was another step forward. And a delicious one, too! 

I realize you don't really need a recipe for scrambled eggs, but the point of this blog is learn. So I am writing this for the person out there that has never made scrambled eggs or even thought of putting vegetables in them. You can really throw any vegetable that you like into it and if you want it to be a truly CLEAN meal, you would use everything organic. We choose to eat cheese, but have switched to fresh deli cheese instead of prepackaged.


 Scrambled Eggs with Veggies

• 2 eggs per person (we used 8 eggs)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup spinach (with or without stems)
• 1/2 cup fresh grated cheese (optional)

Whisk the eggs and milk together first, then add in the green pepper, onion, and spinach. 

Heat greased skillet on stove at medium heat, then pour in egg mixture. Cook on medium and using a spatula, continuously scrape the eggs off of the bottom of the pan until fully cooked. 

Top with grated cheese.


Post a comment if you have any other great egg combinations to share!

Dr. Oz 3-day Detox Recipe

Dr. Oz's 3-day Detox Cleanse

This detox is shorter than most, so it is much easier to fit into your schedule. Plus, the smoothies can be made ahead of time and keep well in the fridge in case you are on the go. 

For my personal experience with the detox, you can go HERE. 

If you want the Dr. Oz print out, you can get it Here.

You will need:

• 3 cups Raspberries
• 3 cups Blueberries
• 2 Mangos
• 1 Pineapple (or 3 cups)
• 2 Green Apples
• 3 Bananas
• 6 Lemons
• 2 Limes
• 6 cups Kale
• 1 Avocado
• 3 Cucumbers
• 1 cup Spinach
• 12 stalks Celery
• 2 liters Coconut Water
• 1.5 cups Almond Milk
• Cayenne Pepper Spice
• Ground Flaxseed (6 tbsp.)
• Almond Butter (3 tbsp.)
• Coconut Oil (3 tbsp.)
• Green Tea Bags (3 total)
• Stevia (3 tsp)
• Lavender Drops
• Epsom Salt
• Multivitamin
• Omega-3
• Probiotic 

Breakfast:

• 1 Green Tea, 1 slice Lemon, 1 tsp Stevia

Blend: 

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. Flaxseed
• 1 cup Raspberries
• 1 Banana
• 1/4 cup Spinach
• 1 Tbsp. Almond Butter
• 2 Tsp Lemon juice 

After Breakfast take 1/2 multivitamin and Probiotic.


Lunch: 

Blend:  

• 4 Celery stalks
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 cup Kale leaves
• 1/2 Green Apple
• 1/2 Lime
• 1Tbsp. Coconut Oil (melted)
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 1 cup Pineapple

After lunch take 1/2 Multivitamin and Omega 3 supplement.

Snack:

IF hungry between lunch and dinner, repeat your favorite shake.

Dinner:

Blend:

• 1/2 cup Mango
• 1 cup Blueberries
• 1 1/2 cup Coconut Water
• 1 cup Kale Leaves
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
• 1/4 Avocado
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Flaxseed

At the end of the day, take a detox bath. 2 1/2 cups of Epsom salt and 10 drops of Lavender oil. 


Make sure to drink LOTS of water! If you get hungry it will help fill you up and it will help flush the toxins. You also want to get some exercise each day, but not anything too strenuous. I just did some exercises in my living room, I didn't run any of these days. And be prepared to PEE. I was using the bathroom at least every hour.

If you don't have a bathtub like myself, you can take a shower. Turn the water on hot and make it steamy. Then you can rub the salt and oil on your skin. I bought a lavender scented salt and thought it worked fine. Just let it sit on your skin and stand in the shower while it is steaming, like a sauna. I stayed in for about 15 minutes. 

This isn't really about losing weight, and more about flushing your system, but I did lose 3.5 lbs. It's worth it if you stick to it, if nothing else you get the satisfaction of knowing you did it!

Good luck!

Let's Talk Detox

My little smoothie helper, ready to blend!

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (NIV)

I DID IT!! 

I survived 3 days of green tea, fruits and vegetables blended together, and no solid foods!

Here are the main things I learned doing this detox:

• Fresh Mango is REALLY good
• Green Tea on an empty stomach makes me nauseous
• I really miss having a bathtub
• Flexible straws are the key to drinking gross smoothies
• I now know where to find items such as Flax seed, Coconut oil and water, and almond butter 
• I have more will power than I thought I did!

The reason I did this detox was to start over. I have a major sugar problem and after the holidays I just couldn't give it up completely. There was always a family function or birthday party where there was cake or sweets. Not to mention, we are potty-training my 3-year-old so we constantly have M&M's and Rolo's for when she pees and poops...and M&M's are my weakness. I swear they were taunting me from the bowl for the last three days. So I found this detox and decided to give it a shot. It's only 3 days, right? 

Three. long. days.

Day one was not too bad. The breakfast smoothie is pretty good once you get used to the taste of the Flax seed. It reminds me of wheat germ, which I ate as a kid, so that wasn't too bad. I went grocery shopping that morning so my mind was occupied half of the day. When I got home, I made the lunch smoothie...and that's where I began to doubt that I could go through with it. I'm not going to lie...that one is pretty tough to swallow...literally. But I forced my way through it. Then came dinner, and that one wasn't too bad either. I figured it HAD to be better than lunch! So I took a drink and...it burned my throat! 

What?? Why is this burning my throat? Is there something wrong with me? Have all the fruit juices caused acid reflux that has burned through my esophagus?? Maybe I shouldn't drink this...this was a bad idea...Then my husband says "Didn't you put Cayenne Pepper in it?" What? Oh...yeah...     

Day two wasn't as easy as the first day. The hunger really set in. Breakfast went down quickly because my taste buds knew it was the best tasting thing they would get all day. So by 10:30 I was HUNGRY. 

Drink water, drink more water, drink MORE WATER. 

I have never craved an apple and peanut butter as bad as when I made Jillian's lunch that day. They looked SO GOOD. When I made my lunch smoothie that day, I tweaked it a little. I put in slightly more of the things I liked and slightly less of the things that I didn't. It made it a little more tolerable. The real issue with the lunch shake is the consistency...I'd describe it as glop-ish. (Is that a word?) Since it took me about 2 hours to drink down all of the shake (it makes two full glasses) I didn't get too hungry until dinner. You want to learn about will power? Make your family dinner for three days while you are doing a detox. I threw frozen chicken pot pies in the oven because we had Awana that night (I know, those are so far from Clean...but it's a process)...normally they aren't anything special...but that night, they might as well have been Filet Mignon. But I sucked it up and drank my spicy shake. 

Day three was a lot like day two. Many temptations and thoughts of quitting, but I told myself it would be ridiculous to go through two days of this just to quit on the last day. So I toughed it out and drank my shakes and my water. 

And as I said before...I SURVIVED!

At the end of each day, you are supposed to take a HOT bath with lavendar oil and epsom salt. Well, I live in a 100 year old house that only has a 3/4 bathroom. So I took a really hot shower with no fan on, rubbed the salt and lavendar on my skin, and then stepped aside from the water and cranked up the heat, essentially making my own sauna. I stayed in the shower for a total of 15 minutes. 

The point of the bath is to get you sweating out the toxins so I figured as long as that happened in the shower it would get the same results. The shower was the thing I looked forward to every day. It was very relaxing. And when you get out of the shower, I read that you can put coconut oil on your skin like lotion. At first that was really strange, but man did I smell good!

So what did I gain from this detox? I have to be honest, I don't have any major revelations for you. But what I feel like I gained was faith in myself and my willpower, 3 whole days of putting nothing in my body but whole, healthy foods, and I did lose about 3.5 lbs. It helped me break off from processed sugar and it got me exercising daily again. I've been running a couple times a week, but I needed to get back to strength training and I was able to do that this week. 

Most of all, it helped me rely on my will to succeed and I had to find that will in God. Every time I felt like I was about to give up, I prayed that God would give me strength. Like the bible verse above says, God gave us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. And we need to embrace that power and live the best life we can for Him.

Now I'm ready to go! I went running with a friend this morning, had a protein shake for breakfast, might whip up some eggs for a snack, and I haven't touched those evil M&M's (even though they are still taunting me). I'm very much looking forward to making a new clean recipe for dinner tonight...and being able to eat it, too!      
  
Turns out, an effort in cleansing my body also became a chance to cleanse my spirit. God works it wonderful ways!