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Cleansing Chicken Soup, Portable Puzzles & Lots of Kleenex

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign withPollinate Media Group™ and Kleenex but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #KleenexTarget  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO”
 
My little Avery has been blowing her nose and coughing for the past week now.  I can’t tell if it is allergies or a cold, but it sure is messing with her asthma!  She is our soccer player so she would say it is messing with her game!  Usually her allergies are in the spring and fall, and once we have a freeze she gets better.  Well, we have had our freeze and she still has an asthma cough and runny nose.  I sure hope this doesn’t mean she now has indoor winter allergies.  That would mean I have to dust. {grin}

I’m over her constant cough, especially when I hear her coughing during the night in her sleep.  My poor girl!

I decided to dig out my super healthy and Cleansing Chicken Soup recipe.  I made this often when I was going through cancer treatment, and it was always comforting to know I was filling my body with nutrients.  It makes a huge amount and freezes beautifully!

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**I used a very large crock pot, and it barely all fit!  I started it at 10:00 pm and it was ready the next day for lunch.  I also pureed mine after removing the chicken and bones, I was not too into all the chunky vegetables, so I used my hand blender, then added the shredded chicken, peas, and parsley in at the end for texture.  
Cleansing Chicken Soup
1 Whole Chicken (free-range, pastured or organic)
1 Tbsp, raw apple cider Vinegar
3-4 qts of filtered water
4 medium size onions coarsely chopped (I will only use 2 next time)
8 carrots peeled, coarsely chopped
2-4 zucchinis coarsely chopped (I used 2)
4 Tbsp of extra virgin coconut oil
½ c frozen green peas (I added these at the end after pureeing)
4 inches grated ginger
¼- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 lb green beans
1 bunch parsley
5 garlic cloves
2-4 Tbsp Celtic-Sea Salt (I added 2 tsp pepper)
Directions:
If using whole chicken: make sure to remove gizzards, and fat glands from cavity.
Place chicken or chicken pieces in large stainless steel pot (I used a large crock pot) with water, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, cayenne pepper, extra virgin coconut oil, and all vegetables (except parsley). Let stand for 10 minutes before heating. Bring to a boil, remove the scum that rises to the top. Cover and cook for 8-12 hours. The longer you cook the Stock the more cleansing it will be. **See my notes above about pureeing. 15 mins before finishing the stock, add parsley.(this imparts additional mineral ions to the broth)
Remove from heat, take out chicken. After it cools, remove chicken meat from carcass, discarding bones. Drop meat back into the soup. 

In addition to comforting soup, I brought out our Portable Holiday Puzzle.  I wanted to give little one something fun but low- key to do. Every November at the start of the holiday season we bring out a puzzle and keep it portable on a large bulletin board.  The cork of the board helps keep pieces from sliding off to the floor.  We love being able to move the puzzle from one room to another, but most of the time it stays at our dining room table.  When it is time for dinner, we simply move the board.  When company comes, we slide it under the couch out of site.

Another way we are helping my poor girl feel better is by keeping stocked up on super soft Kleenex tissues. I use boxed Kleenex tissues for home, but I especially love their little pocket packs.  We keep them in my purse, in the car, in lil’ ones soccer bag…they are just so cute and handy.  Avery loves the fun prints on the packages, and I am grateful for something soft to use on that cute little nose of hers!

Right now Target has a coupon for $1 of 4 packs or larger of Kleenex.  Stock up and be prepared for the season!

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Healthy Eating/ Meals/ RECIPES

Menu Plan For The Week – 28 Healthy Family Friendly Recipes

Breakfasts:
~Breakfast Burritos
~Toad In A Hole
~Chia Oats
~Whole Wheat Pancakes
~Glazed Cinnamon Scones {Special Sweet Saturday Breakfast}

Lunches: 
~Black Bean Soup
~Broccoli Soup

Dinners:
Sunday:
~Spinach Tortellini Salad
~No Knead Dinner Rolls {make before church}

Monday:

~Chili Corn Bread Pockets
~Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Tuesday: {kids have Bible Club & eat there…a serving of veggie orzo will make a hearty after school snack and get some nutrients in them}
~Orzo Pasta With Caramelized Fall Vegetables

Wednesday:
~Brown Butter Spaghetti With Baby Kale & Roasted Butternut Squash
~Easiest Homemade Wheat Bread

Thursday:
~Popcorn Chicken
~Sauteed Green Beans With Honey Almonds

Friday:
{We order out for family night}

Saturday:
~Hawaiian Ham & Cheese Sliders {Special Weekend Saturday Lunch or Evening Dinner, depends on schedule, will use turkey or chicken instead of ham}

Snacks: {I will choose a few from these, as we have all the ingredients on hand. What I choose

depends on what I am in the mood for & what my kids want}
Banana Pumpkin Muffins
Chewy Granola Bars
Cashew Cheese Dip
Cheezy Kale Chips
Fudgy Buttons
Crockpot Applesauce
Carrot Cake Raw Bars
Apples, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chips
Zucchini Bread {recipe coming soon!}

Beverages:
Pumpkin Spiced Chai
Everyday Green Smoothie
Pumpkin Cocoa
Green Tea

Other:
Homemade Pesto {gotta use up all the basil in my garden as the weather is turning cool!}

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Meals/ RECIPES

14 Favorite Fall Recipes

Healthy no fat pumpkin bread and other fall treats
  1. Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Maple Oatmeal
  2. Healthy No Fat Pumpkin Bread
  3. Banana Pumpkin Muffins
  4. Cranberry Apple Citrus Vinaigrette
a collection of fall recipes

 

  1. Best Homemade English Muffins
  2. Perfect Pumpkin Pie
  3. Mable’s Corncakes
  4. Crockpot Homemade Applesauce
A collection of favorite fall recipes

 

  1. Kettle Corn Krispie Bars
  2. Cincinnati Style Chili With Dark Chocolate
  3. Acorn Squash & Sweet Potato Soup
  4. Orzo Pasta With Caramelized Vegetables
  5. Pumpkin Brownie Bites
  6. Amazing Apple Candied Pecan Salad

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I’m giddy excited for fall weather & how it makes me want to bake and make comforting foods.  I hope you enjoy this roundup of my favorite fall recipes!

What recipe do you love making for fall?

GF, Vegan & Raw/ Healthy Eating/ Meals/ RECIPES/ Sides

A Quick Lunch Salad & How To Keep Your Salads Interesting

Sometimes reaching my goal of getting leafy greens into my body everyday can get boring.  Especially in a salad form!  I have made it my mission to find ways to motivate myself to keep up the salads and buy ingredients to take them from boring to delicious!  
Here are 2 key ways I do this:
1. I use a mandolin to slice my veggies, then store them in mason jars.  Cut em’ once, store them for the week.  
2. Splurge on ingredients that make compliment greens and make them delicious. A couple ways I do this with seasoned/ glazed nuts & sesame sticks.  I have even been known to crush wheat crackers and sprinkle on top for a little bit of crunch.  I also like to do it with fruit, from dried cranberries to sliced apples & clementines.
Sliced colorful veggies including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and carrots
A mandolin is the best and fastest way I have found to slice veggies.

Sliced colorful veggies

Add beans for protein…or hard-boiled eggs.

Sweet and spicy pecans from Trader Joes
Splurge on the extras.  These Sweet & Spicy Pecans from Trader Joes are amazing, and I also love their sesame sticks. It may add a few extra calories, but to me it is so worth it when I think of all those flavonoids, anti-oxidants & vitamins I am getting from the veggies.
Coming soon—>How to make your own salad dressing using no oils, only the natural oils from nuts!
More Ways To Get Your Greens From New Nostalgia:
Salads/Salad Dressings:
Cooked Greens
Smoothies & Juices

FAMILY/ Healthy Eating/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Meals/ Parenting/ RECIPES

14 Healthy School Lunch Recipes Your Kids Will Love

 

How do I  know your kids will love these? Because mine do!  With summer break coming to an end, I decided to gather my favorite recipes to add to my girls school lunch boxes.  I will refer to this list often, to keep me out of the “peanut butter and jelly sandwich” rut.  Even if I do give them a pb & j sandwich, at least they will have some interesting and yummy sides!

Heavenly Hummus Sandwich
The apples and sweet dried cranberries make this sandwich kid friendly.
Udon noodles with sesame seeds and peas
The clementine juice in these noodles give a hint of sweetness.  We never have leftovers when I make these noodles.  Can be eaten hot or cold.
orange homemade fruit roll up
These are so easy to make and very versatile.  Use what fruit you have on hand, especially those that are starting to go soft.
chocolate peanut butter chia pudding with raspberries
This can be breakfast, lunch or snack.  It has wholesome oats in it and the amazing superfood, chia.  Chia has great fiber, protein and more omega’s than flax!  They are flavorless and help thicken  this pudding.
slieced applesauce bread
This bread is simple and delicious.  Uses ingredients that we always have on hand.
Peanut butter banana chia seed roll ups
Another great way to use those chia seeds!  These are protein filled thanks to the peanut butter and chia.
Whole wheat banana honey muffins
These muffins are so moist and this recipe makes a ton of them!  I freeze at least half.  You will love this recipe.
Crockpot apple sauce in mason jars
Great fall recipe, but really we make it all year long.  Just grab an extra bag of apples when you are at the store, throw them in the crockpot, and enjoy the amazing scent this recipe gives the entire house!
These are delicious and have gone viral on Pinterest, with many raving about the recipe.  It is a must try!  You will love knowing there are no preservatives and less salt in your kids crackers!
Black bean soup with spoon
This soup is perfect for a lunch box thermos.  It is a breeze to whip together the night before.  It is one of my MOST easy recipes, and has lots of great fiber and protein.
Crunch roasted chickpeas
I’m amazed at how a simple bean can become a healthy crunchy snack with just minutes in the oven.  Use these in place of chips!  Much more healthy & full of nutrition.
Lunch box smoothies
My girls LOVE when I put these in their lunches.  I take them straight from the freezer and by lunch time they have thawed perfectly.  I love knowing they are getting such nutritious berries and fruit in their lunches.
Cheesy Kale chips
These are actually vegan, but get a cheezy flavor from nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast is packed with vitamin B12 and is a popular ingredient in the vegan world, often used in place of Parmesan cheese.  These kale chips are a weekly staple in our home.  So nutritious. So delicious!
Orzo and roasted fall vegetables
My girls beg me to make this recipe.  They love the little bits of pasta, and the amazing flavor comes from roasted veggies that have been chopped so small that the girls have no idea that they are eating kale and a load of other veggies.  Winning!

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Other posts on School Lunches from New Nostalgia:
School Lunch Plan: No More Baggies & A Free School Lunch Planner

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Meals/ RECIPES

My Go-To Italian Pasta Salad With A Secret Key Ingredient

Italian pasta salad with vegetables.

This is one of my favorite pasta salad recipes, I’ve been making it for years.  It is not really even a recipe, it is another no recipe, recipe!

It just takes one pound of any shaped pasta, (I like using whole wheat pasta for extra fiber), 3-4 cups of chopped fresh veggies of your choice (I use carrots, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper and sometimes peas.)  The dressing is your favorite Italian dressing about 1/2 bottle or to taste.  The secret key ingredient is red wine vinegar.  I sprinkle on about 1/4 cup or to taste.  That is it!  

I took it to our family 4th of July potluck and came home with only one little scoop left, which I had for lunch the next day.  The flavors are even better the next day.

I like having this in the refrigerator during the summer to eat as a quick and refreshing lunch.  The more veggies the better.  I have been trying to have more veggies in it than pasta when I make it for myself at home.  Gotta get those plant foods in!

Go-To Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
1 lb pasta, drained
3-4 cups chopped fresh veggies (I use carrots, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper and sometimes peas.) 
1/2-1 bottle of Italian dressing (I used Paul Newman’s)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Optional: shredded parm cheese

Toss all together and refrigerate until serving.  Can be made a day ahead.  

Meals/ RECIPES

Super Delicious Spicy Peanut Sauce

Super delicious spicy peanut sauce in a jar
 

This sauce is amazing used  as a dip for spring rolls, egg rolls or as a sauce to top udon noodles.  It is a breeze to whip up and smells delicious as it cooks.  I think I will double it the next time I make it, as it is something I would love to have handy in my refrigerator for a few days.  Make sure you adjust the spice to fit your tastes…or leave it out all together if spice is not your thing.

Enjoy!


Spicy Peanut Sauce:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, chopped
1-4 tablespoons red pepper flakes*
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 
2 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoon tomato paste or ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

  • In a pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and cook the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and combine. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.
  • *If you’re not fond of spice, you can reduce or omit the amount of red pepper flakes in the recipe. 
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Spring Roll recipe coming soon!

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