How-Tos Archives • Page 4 of 13 • New Nostalgia

The Perfect Vegetable Tray-Keep It Full In Your Refrigerator & Watch Your Kids Devour Their Vegetables!

This vegetable compartment carry along tray has been one of my most favorite recent purchases. I just LOVE IT! I was keeping cut up vegetables in mason jars in my refrigerator, and they were pretty and great for creating salads, but I didn’t like that I had to grab one at a time, open all the lids, grab the dip and then set them out for the kids to eat. Too many steps, and I found we were not eating raw veggies as often as I liked.

I thought about how my girls devour their raw veggies when we are at parties with veggie trays. I thought about why that is, and a light bulb went off as I figured figured out a few reasons why that is.

1. Easy to grab veggies.

2. Dip right there ready to go.

3. It is pretty

4. It is convenient.

5. They can choose the veggies they like and leave the rest.

I decided to search Amazon and the perfect vegetable tray, one with an area in the middle for dip, and one with a lid so I could store it in the refrigerator easily.

I found this one. The perfect one. I love it. It is easy to clean, easy to carry, easy to snap the lid right on and take it off. It is not too tall to fit on my refrigerator shelf. It takes up a bit of refrigerator space but boy, it is worth it! What else would I want taking up space in my refrigerator other than healthy, beautiful vegetables ?

I pull it out every afternoon when the kids walk in from school and set it out on our table. They come by, grab a veggie and gobble them up. If it is out and in sight, with dip available, they will eat their vegetables.

I fill it at the beginning of the week and usually once more mid week. I love grabbing it when making a dinner salad and adding veggies that are already chopped or just need a bit more chopping. So easy!

The handle on it is a plus. I have grabbed it and gone to the park and taken it to my inlaws pool house. The perfect healthy snack that is always ready to grab and go!

Get this! You will love it.

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Drinks/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

6 Reasons Why You Should Drink Green Juice

mason jar of green juice surrounded by greens, parsley and broccoli

MY NAME IS TENIEL AND IM A CRAZY JUICER! ARE YOU?

Along with raw food I adore my green juice.

Juicing is part of my everyday routine. It would feel some what strange not to have my green juice in my day.

I have lots of reasons why I love to juice:

1. I find it refreshing

2. It helps me add so many extra greens into my diet

3. It easier on my digestion

4. Its very alkalising (very important)

5. Quick release of nutrients into my body

6. Recipe combinations are endless

I like too keep my juices as green as possible. By this I mean my juice is about 95% greens and the rest are spices and lemon.

This is the way I like to make my juices, as I don’t wont to overload on fruit sugars each day. (Fruit is great, but I don’t need them in my juice so why add it.)

I understand my combinations are not for everyone. So adding an apple is a great way too add a little sweetness.

Pictured below are the typical ingredients that go into my green juice most days.

Kale
Celery
dandelion
aloe leaf
cucumber
ginger
turmeric
lemon

woman drinking green juice and green juice ingredients

To make your juicers extend further and add extra nutrients I always add the following as a base for every juice I make

Lemon/lime
Celery
Cucumber

We have so many wonderful greens that are full of vitamins and minerals.

So remember to think outside the box and add some different greens to your juices

You don’t always have to be stuck with kale or chard!

Here are some of the greens I like to rotate in with my juice

greens to juice, burnweed, dandelion, stinging nettle, marshmallow

Most kids love juice. So it’s a great way too sneak in some greens with fruit if you need to.

These days I do not need to sneak greens in. The kids see what goes in and they are fine with it as long as I add some

fruit to make it palatable for them. I often include an apple or pineapple along with celery, kale, lemon, ginger, turmeric and cucumber for them.

kids drinking green juice with green mustaches

Other great greens to add include:

Beet top greens

Radish top greens

Cilantro

Basil

Parsley

Aloe leaf

So If you don’t juice I hope I have inspired you to try it. Its a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen as they

love to help use the juicer and make something themselves with some supervision.

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Raw Foods Contributor

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19 Favorite Food Rules For Healthy Eating

Cover for Michael Pollan's book: "Food Rules"

FOOD RULES -an eater’s manual

by Micheal Pollan

I am a fan of Micheal Pollan.

He was the first one that I have read who was able to take the incredibly complicated question of

“What Should I Eat?”

and answer:

“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

“Eat food and avoid edible food like substances.”

I read his first book, In Defense Of Food, a year ago and just really jived with it. I was so happy to see that he came out with a short, easy to read, manual that expands on the answer.

Each page gives a simple tip on what to eat. I read the book in 30 minutes and loved it.

Here are some of my most favorite rules from the book:

#2 Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

(for example–neon colored tubes of flavored gel called Go-GURT!)

#3 Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

(ethoxylated diglycerides??)

#4 Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

(it is a reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed)

#5 Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

(exception to this rule, are “special occasion” foods–see Rule 60)

#6 Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

(another sign that it is a highly processed food)

#7 Avoid food products with the word “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “non-fat” in their names.

( Refined carbs can make you fat. Sugar makes you fat. Many low-fat or no-fat products boost the sugar and salt to make up for the flavor lost when removing fat)

#10 Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.

(imitation butter-aka-margarine-is the classic example. Artificial sweeteners..)

#11 Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

(real food is alive food…therefore it should eventually die)

#12 Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.

(read ingredients on a package of Twinkies or Pringles and imagine what those look like raw or where they grow…ya can’t!)

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#22 Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

(antioxidants, fiber, omega- 3 fatty acids, energy dense!)

#23 Treat meat as flavoring or special occasion food.

(become a “flexitarian”–someone who eats meat only a couple times a week)

#25 Eat your colors!

(colors from nature are full of polyphenols, flavonioids, carotenoid, which all fight disease!)

#34 Sweeten and salt your food yourself.

(you will find you are consuming a fraction as much sugar and salt as you otherwise would–example oatmeal–buy plain not flavored, sweetened or colored!)

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

(ha..like that one. It’s kind of a “duh”)

#37 “The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead”

(I expand on that here)

#39 Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself.

(if you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often! Too much work!)

#57 Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

(Gas stations have become processed corn station. Ethanol outside and high-fructose corn syrup inside!)

#60 Treat treats as treats.

(special occasion food is great as long as every day is not a special occasion. Save them for weekends or for true special occasions!)

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

In Defense Of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

by Micheal Pollan

Gardening/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

Square Foot Garden Progress & What To Do With All Those Tomatoes!

Collage of herbs including dill and basil

Square foot gardening is one of the BEST projects I have ever done. I cannot tell you how much joy it is to grow fresh herbs and vegetables with minimal amount of work! I have two, 4×2 feet garden beds along the side of my home. It is the only place other than our front yard that gets enough sun, so we were limited, but thanks to square foot gardening I can still grow an abundance of organic food for our family!

I built these beds 3 years ago, other than the initial work of building the beds and mixing “Mel’s Mix” (the KEY to square foot gardening & my gardening success), square foot gardening is one of the easiest things I have done. There is next to NO weeding. Watering is minimal as the Mel’s soil mix absorbs and retains moisture, and the only thing I do each season is add one bag of compost to each bed at before planting.

Two months change in a square foot garden

Impressive results, huh? Every year the garden has performed beautifully and I have just had a ball with it. Right now I am harvesting the sweetest tomatoes, lots of herbs, and patty pan squash. My banana peppers are about a week away from harvest. I will be going to my local garden center and buying some kale starter plants for a cool fall harvest, as we live in Nebraska and the time is right.

I’ve been eating tomato sandwiches, making fresh marina sauce, and eating lots of tomatoes on toast (my version of bruschetta.) I even have enough to share with neighbors. I’ve just started a Tomatoes! board on Pinterest that has lots of great ideas, so check that out if you, too, have an abundance of tomatoes.

{Tomatoes On Toast–Click here for recipe}

Do you garden? What is your favorite thing to grow? Have you ever thought about square foot gardening?

All New Square foot gardening- grow more in less space!

This is the book I used. Best way to garden!

Click here to order, and I will get a small percentage.

Thank you!!

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6 Steps To Eating Well On A Budget

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by Meghan Newsom
Health & Gluten Free Recipes Contributor

It’s no secret that it’s expensive to eat well. It’s even more expensive if you are on a strict gluten free diet. The thing I hear most from friends and family as to why they don’t put better food inside their body is because it’s just too expensive.

While eating an organic plant-based diet IS a bit more expensive than the normal American diet, I have found lots of tricks to keeping our grocery budget low while still being able to enjoy a healthy whole foods diet in our home.

These 6 tricks to eating well on a tight budget have helped our family, and I know it will help yours as well!

1. PLAN PLAN PLAN!- Always plan ahead of time. Know what you are going to eat each night for dinner, and plan for lunches and breakfasts as well. While you are planning your menu, keep a piece of paper beside you to jot down specific items you will need from the grocery store. Take an inventory of your pantry as well and jot down any staple items you will need to re-stock for the week.

2. Budget– With our household, we keep a strict budget to keep us on track. We pay for things in cash and this really helps me not overspend when I go to the grocery store (since it’s the only place we are really allowed to spend money!). Taking cash with me helps me know that I’ve got to be extremely mindful of what I put into my shopping cart. It’s kind of embarrassing when you get to the check-out and you don’t have enough money to pay for everything!

3. Keep Staples On Hand- This little tip has helped me eliminate about $20 dollars a week from our budget. I keep brown rice, quinoa, dried beans, sushi rice, lentils and gluten free pasta on hand. By buying these items in bulk when our budget allows for it, I always have “filler” items for times when our budget runs out. Notice that I said DRIED BEANS instead of CANNED BEANS. Buying dried beans and cooking them in the crockpot then freezing them saves our family so much money. I also love that I know exactly what goes into our beans- just beans!! (no preservatives from the cans).

4. Make Your Own Snacks- Instead of buying processed, pre-packaged foods, I always make our own snacks. I make our own granola bars, pop our own popcorn and make our own “ice cream”. Whenever we have deserts, I either buy a Bob’s Red Mill mix that is on sale at Big Lots! OR make my own. The only pre-packaged snacks we buy are high-protein granola bars for my husband’s bike rides.

5. Produce- There are several ways to save on produce, and none of them involve shopping at a health food store or even your local grocery store. We have saved money by joining a local CSA, shopping at farmers markets (the best time to do this is when they are closing down and the farmers want to get rid of their produce), and recently shopping at locally owned grocery stores. There is a store in our area that sales only organic produce that they buy off of farmers at farmers markets. We are able to get a HUGE box of produce that will last us 2 weeks for only $35.00. I have several friends who are able to save money at co-ops as well as costco.

6. Stay Away From Pre-Packaged Foods– This little tip is especially helpful when you are on a gluten free diet. Gluten Free packaged foods are a lot more expensive than their gluten-contaning counterparts. When you can, stay away from prepackaged foods and opt to make your own. I do this in our home by making our own dressings, our own popcorn, french fries, salads etc. There are some prepackaged foods that are staples in our home like cereals and condiments. But, as a general rule pre-packaged foods can really add onto your grocery bill.

Do you have any tried-and-true ways you help your family save money on your grocery budget? We’d love to hear your ideas!

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Meghan Newsom

Health & Gluten Free Contributor

Meghan’s site: eat.live. make.

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Do You Sprout?

by Teniel Moore, Raw Foods Contributor

Sprouting is one of the cheapest, simplest and most nutritious foods you can eat. My favourite things to sprout are lentils, buckwheat, quinoa & mung beans. These have never failed me.

I know lots of people that do not sprout nuts and seeds simply because they think its too hard and don’t know where to start.

Well why sprout you may ask?

Soaking softens the skin and begins the sprouting process, also soaking makes it so much easier for your body to digest the grains or seeds. Gas causing enzymes in legumes are released into the soaked water. (make sure to discard the soaking water)

When you sprout it truly increases the amount of nutrients in the food compared to the dried grain/nut/legume. When you sprout the vitamins minerals and protein increase.

And also the calories and carbohydrate content decrease. So its a win win all around.

So now I’ve told you how super nutrient dense and good for you sprouting is, let’s find out how to do it.

What you will need:

~ Organic grain or legume of choice

~ A sterile large glass bottle with some fine mesh cloth to cover, or nut milk bag or sprouting jar

~Filtered water for soaking

So lets get started.

Soak your grain or legume in a large glass bowl or jar with heaps of filtered water. Cover and let sit on bench overnight. If you remember, its best to change thesoaked water at least once or twice. But this is not crucial.

The next morning you will need to drain the grains or legumes and rinse well. Drain the water away. Place them into your sprouting jar you have chosen to use pop a breathable cover over the top. You can use an elastic band to hold in place and set up on an angle to make sure all the water strains away. If you buy a proper sprouting jar it will have an attachment that lets the jar sit up on an angle.

These are mung bean sprouts soaked then rinsed and ready to sprout.

Now all you need to do is repeat the rinsing every 8 hours making sure to drain well each time.

What I usually do is this:

~First rinse in the morning, then do another that night.

~Repeat again in the morning and again at night.

On the second or third day of doing this you will see gorgeous little sprouts growing. You can keep doing this process until you get the sprouts the length you like. It should take no longer than a few days. Once done do a final rinse and very good drain and store in the fridge. They will last around 3 days in the fridge.

These are mung bean sprouts after 3 days ready to eat or you could leave them another day if you like.

Here is some sprouted buckwheat. So easy to do and they grow the cutest little tails. I then dehydrate the buckwheat till it goes crunchy and add it raw cereals.

Its great to add texture and crunch to the top of a smoothie. I also make my own buckwheat flour by grinding the buckwheat up in coffee grinder. Then I have wonderful sprouted buckwheat flour ready to use in cooking.

Lentils and mung bean sprouts are great to snack they are crunchy and delicious. Throw them in salads on top of raw crackers and even in a green smoothie!

Mixed sprouted salad.

Mixed sprouted salad recipe

A selection of mixed sprouts and legumes

Mix in some crunchy almonds (soaked and dehydrated if you can)

A generous drizzle of organic olive oil or organic flax seed oil

Pinch of Himalayan salt

Cracked pepper

Generous sprinkle of cumin powder

Generous sprinkle of cinnamon

Generous sprinkle of garlic powder

Generous drizzle of coconut nectar or maple syrup for sweetness

Generous sprinkle of kelp seasoning granules (optional)

Squeeze of lemon juice

Mix well and enjoy. Best eaten straight away.

Raw Foods Contributor

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A New Gluten Free Site You Will Want To Know About

I am so excited to share my latest project with you all! Lacy and Meg GF is all about connecting the gluten free community with valuable information to help them live a healthy and happy gluten free lifestyle!

One of our biggest goals is to create a network of a gluten free community so that no one feels alone or without the information they need in their gluten free journey. We will be sharing delicious Recipes, Stories of fellow Celiacs living without gluten in their lives, Sound and reliable education shared from Lacy Wright, R.D., lots of free printables, and product reviews.

Our biggest accomplishment, Living Gluten Free: The Basics ebook is going to be released later this month! You can sign up for our e mail list to be notified AS SOON as it hits the interwebs!

Please come by and learn more about us, and participate in our community by sharing your story, or sharing some of your delicious recipes with Lacy and Meg GF!

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