Mango Kefir Lassi

I saw that the Law of Attraction for Health posted a recipe for Mango Lassi and I thought I should post mine too!

I used to think lassi was one of those drinks that you needed to pay $5 a cup for at a nice Indian restaurant and that was the only way to get it. Come to find that, like most healthy food, its actually really easy and pretty inexpensive to make at home. And at home I can adjust the recipe to be that much healthier and better.

I Brush My Teeth With Mud

Yesterday, I mixed up a batch of toothpaste in my kitchen. Most people's response is one of three things:

1. Why would you do a thing like that? It is much better to trust the chemists that have come up with a careful formula to make sure our teeth our clean and healthy

2. That is intriguing. It sounds frugal, how and why do you do it?

3. I hate commercial toothpaste for many reasons. I want to make my own too!

Why I Make Toothpaste

 

I Have A Toddler

Once upon a time, when Critter was still little, barely starting solid foods and not getting into stuff as much as he does now, he was on the changing table while I prepared his diaper. I wasn't watching carefully for a split second and then I saw him with an open lotion container squeezing it into his mouth happily.

Working With Whole Grains

We hear the importance of eating whole grains, and labels tell us how many different grains and enriched grains they have. Meanwhile, grains are being blamed as one of the causes of obesity and digestive issues. What does it all mean? Besides reading the ingredients on the label, how can we incorporate more healthy grains into our diet?

What Are Grains?

My Not So Extreme Hippie Prepper Ways

My family lives in a small basement apartment. We don't have room (or a desire) for a TV because the drum set, piano and computer desk take up most of the living room space. So why would I even consider having an extra three month supply of food encroaching into our living space? What possessed me to fill five gallon buckets and stash them in every conceivable place I can?

Recipe: Gluten Steaks

As I look for interesting recipes with whole food ingredients, I often come across recipes that go with a certain diet. While I don't follow any of those diets, I have enjoyed many meals that were paleo, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other variations. This week we tried a dish that is usually vegan (but I did a non-vegan version). It was a great find, really easy to make and tasted a lot better than I expected.

Why I Like Vegetarian Meals

While I am not a vegetarian, a lot of our meals are. The trick is to try and get enough of the nutrients that we miss by not eating meat at every meal. But there are a lot of things I don't miss when we aren't eating meat:

• I find the texture of raw meat rather icky
• There are a lot more health hazards in raw meat and it takes a bit of work to make sure it is cooked properly (especially with a helpful toddler around).
• Meat is usually more expensive than alternatives
• I often have to wonder where my meat came from and what went into it before and after it died, especially if it is on the cheaper side
• Since I still have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking, I occasionally have a bit of guilt when I make a meal and think "An animal gave it's life so it could become that?"

A High Protein Food

 

This meal is not gluten-free. In fact, it is about as far as you can get from a gluten free meal (I manage to take a food that is naturally gluten free and substitute it for one that isn't). The main ingredient is vital wheat gluten.

Once upon a time, I decided I wanted to make homemade bread on a regular basis. After deciding I was really committed and could do this, I decided to save by buying things in bulk for a great deal at Azure Standard. So I got a few 5 gallon buckets and gamma lids. It was exciting to feel like I was really getting on top of my food storage goals. It was a great feeling as I brought in those big bags of beans, oats, rice, wheat and vital wheat gluten. While there was a lot of cost up front, I knew I was saving a ton of money in the long run. If we will eat it before it goes bad, why not buy lots at a time?

Apparently my math skills are somewhat lacking. 50 lbs of vital wheat gluten is about two 5-gallon buckets. That isn't a problem, except I use less than 1/4 cup every time I make bread. So now we are eating all our oats, beans and using up the wheat. Meanwhilst, we are barely making a dent in the vital wheat gluten (by the way, if anyone ever wants some, come on over, I have plenty!). I realized that I probably have a few life time supplies if all I ever use it for is bread.

Thankfully, on the site I bought from, there are often recipes accompanying the product description. So as weird as it sounded, I decided to give it a try. Since it is packed with protein (that's what gluten is) and iron, it was worth a shot. Besides, it still only used 1 cup of flour, so it was a lot cheaper than some of my other cooking experiments.

The verdict: It was good and filling. pThe texture reminded me of dumplings, but chewier. It was soft enough that my toddler devoured it without needing to break it in pieces. In the future we will experiment with frying, baking, breading and other common meat methods since the part that got slightly burnt to the bottom of the pan tasted best.

Basic Gluten Steak (adapted from Azure standard)

1 cup vital wheat gluten (gluten flour)
3/4 cup water
beef broth (you could use another type)

1. mix flour and water together. Break or slice into pieces
2. Put slices in broth, cover, and boil for an hour
3. Prepare and serve as desired (we just put ours on a plate with a side of caramelized carrots)

Be aware that the "steaks" expand A LOT. I thought I had plenty of room in the pan I was using, but they filled it (but weren't stuck together). I separated it into 2 pans and they expanded to fill both of them. I think they just fill whatever space they are in and shrink down after they are done (they still end up bigger than they started though).

If the broth all boils away and the dough is stuck to the bottom, just add a little water and it comes right off.

That is all there is to it! Sure is easy and a lot less messy than preparing real meat!

Have you ever tried gluten steaks? Do you have any ideas or suggestions to enhance the basic recipe?

What Does It Mean To "Eat Healthy"?

When I married my husband, I knew that he tended to eat healthier than me. I accepted the transition and realized this would be a good opportunity to kick some of my unhealthy habits. I was sad at the thought of giving up my fluffy white bread and I was thrilled that he considered frozen burritos to be a standard lunch food. When it wasn't just me depending on the food I made, it was a lot easier to make better meals. But it wasn't until I got pregnant that I really started wondering what was healthy and what wasn't.

It didn't take long to discover that there were lots of different opinions. One source would emphasize the importance of avoiding all fats and say you should stay away from fatty foods like avocados at all cost. Another source listed avocados as one of the top 5 foods to eat while you are pregnant. With so many different, and sometimes contradictory ideas and theorys out there, how could I know what was really true and best for me and my family?

Forty Pounds of Chicken? No Problem!

After hearing about Zaycon Foods from a few different places, I decided it would be a great thing to try out. Getting all natural chicken breasts for less than $2/lb sounded like a great deal! The catch? It comes in 40 lb cases. So after I decided to jump on the bandwagon, I needed a plan of what to do with all this chicken!

Using the internet as a resource as well as talking to a good friend who cans meat, I came up with a plan. It took me a few days to get everything done, but now that I know what I'm doing, I could have done it all in one day.

How I Avoid Going To The Store

The snow has been falling heavily today. Even if I could trust the snow plows to do their job and provide me a clear path, the thought of bundling up myself and baby to walk outside to the car (after unburying it) is far from appealing. Besides, the baby is taking a nap, and there are a lot of things I would rather do than interrupt a nap to drive through the snow so I can spend money buying stuff for dinner (like write a blog post). Today is one of those days that I am really glad we have figured out how to minimize our store trips.

Of course we still have those last minute store runs from time to time, but I have found that a little preparation and planning goes a long way. My husband works hard so that I can be a full time stay at home mom and homemaker. My job description includes a lot of things, as well as one of those ambiguous "details and responsibilities may change unexpectedly and without notice, so be prepared for anything and everything" disclaimers.

One of the nice things about my job is that I am my own boss, so I get to choose what I do and how I spend my time. Since our income decreased when I stopped working to start being a mommy, I decided that part of my responsibility would be trying to find ways that our family can live frugally. I've found lots of ways to do that, and I want to share some of them with you.