Why grocery stores gross me out

I highly doubt that most of the people that read my blog know that at one time I would consider myself a junk food lover.  So to be a year and half down this organic road that I have took it just amazes me how my body and attitude have changed.  

Our Christmas basically sucked around here.  All 3 of my kids came down with the flu.  One of the worst days was when I had to take them all to the urgent care center and it was filled with bodies of people all waiting for a doctor.  We had to sit on the floor.  I felt the worst for J2 who was trying to hold back from vomiting...Ugh.  To make matters worse, I came down with the flu a couple of days later.  My husband was the only one to escape it and did his best to throw meals together for those of us that felt like eating.  It totally changed our plans as we were supposed to visit grandparents the day after Christmas.

I do 99% of the food shopping in my house and we had pretty much used up our last CSA share delivery for the year.  With me being sick, we pretty much ran out of our stockpile of food.  So, I had to venture out yesterday to buy some food.  

Shopping trips in the past were pretty easy for me.  I could basically drive up to any old grocery store, throw a bunch of stuff in the cart and be done with it.  If I was lucky, I would have some coupons to use to save some money. I just know too much now from reading and writing this blog.  These are some of my shopping rules now:

1. If it is a piece of meat, if it's not organic, it must say that the animal wasn't treated with any antibiotics and that there are no artificial ingredients in in.
2. Eggs must be free range.
3. Bread will not have high fructose corn syrup in it and I will be able to identify all ingredients in it.  Same for hot dog buns and hamburger rolls.
4. No sugary cereals.
5. No granola bars
6. No gummy fruit snack type of thing
7. Wild caught fish only.  Period.
8. Certain veggies and fruit will have to be organic or I will not buy them.
9. Yogurt must be a color consistent with the color of yogurt.  No florescent colors. No "add-ins"
10. Cheese has to be made from cows not treated with rGBH hormones.
11. No artificial colors, preservatives or flavorings in anything.
12. No MSG
13. No corn syrup. Ever.

Therefore, if you go by my list and try to shop, one will find that it is an utterly depressing experience.  Why?  Because  most of the food in our grocery stores is crap.  There I said it.  I was amazed on just walking down the aisles and not stopping at all because none of it was anything we eat anymore.

I ended up going to 3 different grocery stores to get the necessary food to feed my family.  What was disturbing also was the price differences on organics between different store chains.  I was exhausted after spending the whole afternoon shopping.

How do I know I am better for it?  Because anytime I slip up and eat something that doesn't meet my requirements I feel horrible.  Sick horrible.  I think that my body was just so used to eating all the garbage that was in our food, that I was used to it.  Now that I am eating cleaner, my body looks at this all like some sort of bacteria or illness(like the flu) and revolts. 

I remember craving foods like Doriotos, store bought cookies and bread.  I don't anymore.  It took awhile but I really don't anymore.  It wasn't easy to start eating this way but I think it helps that because of my son I wasn't going to give myself an easy out and say that it was too hard.

No I am not perfect.  You won't see me drinking a glass of kefir anytime soon and there are some veggies that truly make me gag but you know what I am trying and that is what counts.

If you say it is too hard, too expensive or too time consuming to eat a clean and healthy diet, it's because you haven't reaped any of the benefits of eating that way. So...research food, grow a garden or cook a loaf of bread.  You deserve it.

Thanks for reading.

Turnip recipe that people actually eat!

The lowly turnip.

If you are a member of a CSA, then you are pretty much guaranteed during the winter months to get some turnips in your share.  Remember when I got them last year?  Had no idea what to do with them.  This year I wanted to make a turnip dish that I would actually enjoy eating.

I did do some research about the lowly turnip.  I always have a feeling that a vegetable that I don't eat on a regular basis must have some nutritional value.  I was surprised what I read and found out about the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits of the turnip.  After reading this, we should all be eating them, right?

I did a little research on turnip recipes.  There was a plethora of recipes out there for turnips.  I found this one and it intrigued me because frankly everything tastes better with bacon.  I changed the recipe around a bit and added some Wildtree products.

Turnips with Onions and Bacon

Ingredients:
2 pounds of turnips
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced
4 slices of bacon
1 TBSP Wildtree Garlic Galore
1 tsp Wildtree Rancher's Steak Rub

Directions:
1.  Peel and cube the turnip.  Cook in a saucepan until very tender.  Drain and then mash.  Add the butter while mashing the turnips. Add Wildtree spices.
2.  Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Crumble bacon and add into mashed turnip mixture.   Remove some the bacon fat but leave about 2 TBSP.  Cook onion on low heat on skillet in bacon fat until caramelized.
3.  Add turnip mixture into skillet and stir thoroughly until heated through.
4.  Serve.

What do you think?

It tasted really, good.  Seriously.  I enjoyed eating it and you know if I can eat it, you can too!

Thanks for stopping by!

So we stink as parents....

I hope that no one out that thinks that we all sit around here eating kefir and kale chips while we watch movies.  That unfortunately is not the case.

It absolutely kills me, yes, KILLS me when other parents tell me all the healthy, earth-crunchy food their kids consume on a regular basis.  Has you ever heard this conversation?

"I made a spaghetti squash casserole last night with spinach and cauliflower  and little "Rocco" ate the whole thing up!  He couldn't get enough!"  

If I told you that my husband sometimes pays my kids to eat stuff would you throw a child rearing manual at me?

Well, sometimes that is the case.  

My kids are awesome.  Don't get me wrong.  However, they WILL NOT try any new foods if they can help it.  So.....we have on occasion offered them cold, hard cash to try something new.  Actually, the only one this works for anymore is my 10 year old J2.  He learned awhile back the value of a dollar and will pretty much do anything if cash is involved.

My daughter J1 won't have anything to do with this scheme if she can help it.  I think it all stems back to "the Crab Cake Incident of 2006". Six years ago, I bribed her a new My Little Pony if she would eat a crab cake that I made.  She sat there for about 2 hours trying to get up the courage to eat this crab cake.  I kept on telling her that she didn't have to do it but she wanted that My Little Pony so bad that she sat there until she mustered up the strength to do it.  She has been scarred for life I think.

Which brings me to what happened today.  

I made some collard greens for my husband with greens that I got from my CSA share.  My husband loves greens.  He came home from lunch and immediately started bribing the kids $2.00 to see if they would try it.  

Okay.  I will admit that collards are not the most visually appealing dish out there.

J1:  "It looks like the Little Mermaid vomited!"
J2:  "No.  It looks like sea otter puke!"

I think you are getting the picture.  This went on for quite a long while.  J2, as usual, was the only one desperate eager enough to try.  You see he wants to buy this new Halo Mega Blocks set and the only way he can do it is if he eats enough things he finds that are disgusting on a regular basis OR does about 4 months of chores for me.

Here is a photo of him actually eating the collards:

Verdict:
J2:    "It wasn't that bad but it was still bad.  Pretty bad."

Would you try it again?

J2:  "Yes.  For $5.00.  Wait.  I would do it for $2.00 again".

So, my parenting tip on getting kids to eat healthy.  COLD HARD CASH!

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

365 Days with Wildtree-Italian Medallions

Here is one of the recipes that I do in one of my freezer meal workshops.  Whether you make it as a freezer meal for later or cook it up right then and there, it is so easy to prepare.  You can use Wildtree Zesty Lemon Grapeseed oil instead of the Roasted Garlic.  That is what I did.

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Italian Medallions

2 pounds of boneless chicken tenders
4 Tablespoons Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil
2-3 tsp. Wildtree Italian Salad Dressing Blend

Mix all ingredients in a freezer bag.  Remove air and either marinate 2 hours or freeze.  Defrost bag in fridge. Grill, bake at 350 or pan fry until cooked thoroughly.  Serve with rice and grilled or roasted veggies or for a lighter fare serve with lettuce as a salad.

Note:  I cooked up the chicken with some sliced onion and steamed broccoli.  I also cooked some penne pasta and combined it all in the end for a one dish meal.

Verdict:  The kids ate it so I guess it's a keeper.

Thanks for stopping by!

A glimpse of what my life is like....

This is the scene when my five year old wants his sandwich and wants it now.

"Mom, give me a sandwich or I am going to DIE!"

You can tell the dog has heard it all before....

Um...No Thanks!

I am majorly going through some sort of depression lately and I think it all stems back to coffee.

I usually make my own java in the morning but when I am out and about I usually stop by my local Dunkin' Donuts to get my coffee made.  For the past 4 years, the same lady has been making my coffee there.  No matter what time of the day I would walk in there, she was working.  I would even kid her about it. 

"Don't they ever give you time off?"  She would laugh.  She told me once that her husband was the manager and that she worked there pretty much 7 days a week.  

She knew EXACTLY how to make my coffee.

About a month ago, I noticed new folks working at the counter at Dunkin' Donuts.  I even peered around the corner to see if my favorite coffee lady was there.  I asked if the place had changed owners but the worker kind of grunted at me and told me that they had a new manager.

I have been back 4 times and every time they mess up my darn coffee!  The last time I was halfway down the road, tasted it and realized there was no way I could drink it.  What a waste!

So today, J3 and I are running around like chickens with our heads cut off finishing up those last pre-Thanksgiving errands.  I had one more place to go to pick up the anti-anxiety medication "Composure" for my dog that made my car a biohazard the last time she was in it.  J3 was getting hungry and anxious.  I wish I could have given him the "Composure" but I restrained myself.  So....I promised I would take him to Dunkin' Donuts.

Since they have been screwing up my coffee lately, I thought I would order the Mint Hot Chocolate that they were advertising on the windows.  I ordered.

"Do you want milk in it?", asked the young Dunkin' Donuts worker.

"Um...yes, milk", I said puzzled thinking isn't that a given.

We left.  I tried. I really tried to like this Mint Hot Chocolate.  It's taste reminded me of some really, bad medicine that one is forced to take.  Almost borderline Mylanta.

Are my eating habits changing this much that I can no longer order a measly hot chocolate when I am out?

I looked up what is in the Dunkin' Donuts Mint Hot Chocolate.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Peppermint Hot Chocolate Powder {Sugar, Non Dairy Creamer [Contains Partially Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Caseinate (a milk derivative), Dipotassium Phosphate, Sugar, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Silicoaluminate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavors, Annatto and Turmeric (Colors)], Cocoa Powder processed with alkali, Maltodextrin, Whey Powder, Nonfat Dry Milk, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Silicon Dioxide, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Sodium Citrate}.

I highlighted what I didn't recognize or know that is bad for me.  Wondered why I had a stomachache. Nothing natural about this product.

My advice today:  Make your coffee at home and save some money.

Thanks for reading.

Wildtreeing a Turkey

I am not cooking this Thanksgiving.  We are going somewhere else for Thanksgiving dinner but I didn't miss out on cooking one this year!

Tess from Off the Vine Market called me last week and asked if I would like a fresh pasture-raised turkey in my CSA share this week.  I don't think I have ever had a fresh or a pasture raised turkey so I jumped at the chance.

My husband was equally as enthusiastic because roast chicken or roast turkey is his favorite dinner.  I kind of realized at that point that his experiment going vegetarian after watching "Forks Over Knives" was over.  It lasted a whole 3 days.  Three days of eating vegetarian.  That's it.  It was 2 more days longer than I was expecting.

This is the turkey pre-oven.  I put a few cloves of garlic, a chopped up onion and a chopped up carrot into the cavity.  J3, my 5 year old, cracked me up when he told me that he thought that the inside of the turkey looked "creepy".  I guess it kind of does.

At this point, I brushed some Wildtree Natural Flavored Butter Grapeseed Oil onto the turkey. I then sprinkled one of my favorite Wildtree products on it-Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub all over the bird.

This is the turkey after the grapeseed oil and Rancher Steak Rub were added.  Notice my lame job of tying up the bird.  I still can't figure out how to do it right.  What am I supposed to do with the gaping hole cavity? Still haven't figured that one out yet.

At this point, I use my handy kitchen secret weapon:  the digital meat thermometer with timer.  If you don't have one, run don't walk to Bath, Bath and Beyond and get one(don't forget your coupon!).  If you know someone that is serving you a dry bird each year, buy them one as a gift.

What is so cool about this little device is that you program it with the temperature you want to cook it to.  In this case, 180 degrees for the breast.  This thermometer also keeps track of the time as well so I set it for 3 hours.  It will give me an alarm when the turkey reaches either point.

Here it is just in the oven! I know-the bottom of my oven could use a cleaning.

Now what to do with that horrid, little bag that I had to cringe to remove out of the cavity.  Oh, how I hate that task!  It reminds me that I am indeed am going to eat something that was living and breathing probably 72 hours ago.  Yuk!  I digress.....

Ugh!  I hate how they tell you to remove the neck and "giblets" and get rid of the liver.  Why do they give you the stinkin' liver anyway?  I digress again....

Put those "giblets" and neck into a saucepan that you have added a few tablespoons of Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil.  Add some carrots, onions and garlic again.  Add some peppercorns, thyme and a bay leaf.  Add some chicken broth.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Put into a pyrex bowl and chill in the freezer.

Pretty much you just wait around for the turkey to cook.  I did pour some white wine over the turkey at one point.  I did notice that this fresh, pasture-raised turkey was the only turkey I have ever cooked that had no fat on the bottom of  the roasting pan.

Look at that beauty coming out of the oven!

Look at that beauty again on the cutting board!

Okay enough posting pictures of a turkey.  Here is my recipe:

Roasted Turkey

(I adapted this recipe from Eating Well Magazine, November 1997 issue)

12 pound turkey

1 TBSP. Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub

2 TBSP. Wildtree Natural Butter-Flavored Grapeseed Oil

Chunks of onion, garlic and carrot for turkey cavity

1/4 cup dry white wine(you could also use chicken broth)

2 TBSP. Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups Wildtree Chicken Broth(prepared)

10 whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp. thyme

3/4 cup dry sherry

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 TBSP. water

2 TBSP. cornstarch

1.  Position oven rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 425.  

2.  Remove giblets and neck from turkey cavity and reserve for stock. Discard liver.  Trim visible fat from turkey.  Rinse inside and out with cold water; pat dry.  Put turkey into roasting pan(I put it on a rack as well).  

3.  Put chunks of onion, garlic and carrot into cavity and tie legs together.

4.  Brush bird with butter-flavored grapeseed oil and sprinkle with Rancher Steak Rub. 

5.  Put bird in oven and roast for 20 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 and continue roasting basting with wine(or broth) occasionally until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest park of the thigh registers 180 degrees(2 1/2 to 3 hours).  If the bird is browning too quickly, tent it loosely with foil).

6.  Meanwhile in a heavy, large stock pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add carrots, onions, garlic and reserved giblets and neck; cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned about 15-30 minutes.  Add chicken broth, peppercorns, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.  Strain through a fine sieve.  Chill until ready to use.  Skim off fat.

7.  When turkey is done, transfer it to a carving board.  Tent loosely with foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes.  

8.  Strain drippings from roasting pan into a small bowl; chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Add sherry to roasting pan; cook over medium heat scrapping up any browned bits.  for about 1 minute.  Strain into saucepan.  Add reserved giblet stock and bring to a simmer.  Skim and discard fat from chilled pan juices; add juices and Worcestershire sauce to simmering stock.  Combine water and cornstarch.  Add to stock and stir until thickened.  This is your gravy!  :)

Let me know if you try it and what you think!  Happy Thanksgiving!