Chicken and Veggies

People ask me all the time what I eat, especially those who know me well. I've even been asked to say exactly what I've eaten the day before. Eating healthy really isn't that hard once you've started it. And if you have healthy food already in your house it's easy to just throw something together without a recipe.

Today is an example of that. One night a few weeks ago I didn't know what to make for dinner. I wasn't really feeling inspired to cook and spend a while experimenting on something new. When I looked in my fridge I found squash, zucchini, chicken, onions and garlic. So I chopped up all of the veggies and chicken. I started by cooking the garlic, onions and chicken in a skillet (If you add those three ingredients and then turn the heat on there is no need for oil or fat because the juices from the chicken and onion are plenty of liquid as long as you keep the temperature low and cover with a lid while cooking). Once the chicken is cooked through I added the rest of the veggies. Then a little salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes until the veggies are cooked to your liking and there you go. A quick, easy, healthy meal with what I had in my fridge. Happy Healthy Eating!!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

I'm always on the look out for healthier snacks I can put in my purse or in the car for the kids when they get hungry while driving or when we're out running errands. I really like these One Organic Food Bars. The blueberry flavor was my favorite. My kids like them both. They also have a lot of protein in them.

I found these at the health food stores.

Donuts

It was national donut day a few Friday's ago. So I went out and bought myself a donut maker and started experimenting. I am loving this little machine! We have had so much fun the last couple of weeks! Besides being extremely low fat, these are so easy to change flavors to make them very unique. They are fast to make and really don't take that much effort.

Basic Donut Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup kamut, spelt, or whole wheat flour

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup rice milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons applesauce

Directions

Stir flour, evaporated cane juice, and baking powder together. Then add egg, rice milk, vanilla and applesauce. Beat with electric mixer for one minute. Pour batter into a large ziplock bag. Cut off the tip when ready to pour into donut iron. Squeeze batter into each donut shape until almost full, make sure not to have any batter in the middle or you will not get your hole. Follow cooking directions of your donut iron, and enjoy!!

Yields about 35 donuts

Basic Glaze

Ingredients

Organic powdered sugar

Water

Directions

In a small bowl pour powdered sugar, add a very small amount of water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. If you need to add a little more sugar or water you can. The consistency should be a little thick but not too thick. Dip one side of donut in glaze and place on to cooling rack until glaze drys, then enjoy!

Variations

Carob Frosting

Melt Carob chips in microwave in a small glass bowl. Click here for more detailed instructions. Dip one side of donut in carob. Then place onto cooling rack until carob sets, then enjoy!
Butterscotch Frosting

Melt Butterscotch chips in microwave in a small glass bowl. Follow instructions on the back of the bag. Dip one side of donut in melted butterscotch. Then place onto cooling rack until it sets,then enjoy!

Banana Coconut Donuts

Ingredients

1 cup kamut, spelt, or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup rice milk 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

4 tablespoons applesauce

Banana extract

Water

Organic powdered sugar

Directions

Stir flour, evaporated cane juice, and baking powder together. Then add egg, rice milk, coconut extract and applesauce. Beat with electric mixer for one minute. Pour batter into a large ziplock bag. Cut off the tip when ready to pour into donut iron. Squeeze batter into each donut shape until almost full, make sure not to have any batter in the middle or you will not get your hole. Follow cooking directions of your donut iron.

Banana Glaze: In a small bowl add organic powdered sugar, a little banana extract and a little water. Stir until sugar dissolved. Add more sugar if needed to make it thick. Taste to see if you need to add more banana extract. Dip donuts in glaze, then place on cooling rack until glaze sets, then enjoy!

Wisdom Wednesday!!

I love it when I can find a second opinion that supports my opinion. On Fun Food Find Friday's I like to post about healthier treats and snacks. A lot of the things I post are things that I give my children instead of candy, or candy bars, or sugary snacks. Now that it's summer it is the time for travel and family vacations. I use a lot of those healthier snacks to give my kids when we travel but I also have a little cooler with fruit and veggies in it. It really does help my children to be more relaxed and not hyper while driving if they are eating healthy snacks instead of all of the sugar. Something every parent hopes to avoid, the "hyper/crazy" kids in the back seat. :] If you want a list of the snacks and treats I use go to my treats tab. For the second opinion click here, and remember happier healthier eating!!

Slow-Cooker Chili Chicken Tacos

Here is another wonderful recipe for the crock pot/slow cooker. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the slow cooker for the summer so the over and stove don't heat up the house on those really hot days. We haven't have very many hot days yet this summer. But we have had one so I pulled out the crock pot. I thought this would be too spicy for my kids at first, but it wasn't. It has the perfect kick to it and a slight sweet after taste. I loved it and so did my kids!

Slow-Cooker Chili Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/2 cup prepared tomato salsa

2 tablespoons diced green chiles (I used the one in the small 4 0z can)

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon dried cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Tortillas

favorite taco toppings

Directions

In slow cooker/crock pot, combine chicken, garlic, salsa, chiles, chili powder, tomatoes, cilantro, and salt. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Before serving remove chicken and shred using two forks and return to slow cooker. Serve in corn, whole wheat, or brown rice tortillas with toppings and enjoy!!

original recipe from www.delish.com

Cornmeal Pancakes with Citrus Syrup

I felt like having breakfast for dinner the other night. These were so delicious!! They have a fresh taste, light feeling but also very filling. My kids loved them! To me these just feel like a summer pancake. I hope you enjoy them!

Cornmeal Pancakes with Citrus Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup kamut flour or corn flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon evaporated cane juice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup rice milk

1 teaspoon applesauce

2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel or lemon peel

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, or regular orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice or honey

Directions

Preheat skillet or griddle to medium heat or 375*. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, evaporated cane juice, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl combine eggs, milk, and applesauce. Then add liquid mixture to flour and blend.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet or griddle. When sides start to dry and bubbles pop turn over and cook for another minute.

For Syrup: In a medium sauce pan combine the orange peel or lemon peel, orange juice, lemon juice and evaporated cane juice. Bring to boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Serve warm or cold, refrigerate remaining syrup for up to 1 week.

Orginal recipe from shine.com

Fun Food Find Friday!!

Surf Sweets Gummy Worms is our Fun Find for today. These are great, you can not tell the difference between these and other gummy worms made with refined sugar and corn syrup.

You can buy these at health food stores and http://www.naturalcandystore.com/