This one went fast!

Dinner with the BK can be tough at times as with any teenager. I remember being picky when I was young, heck sometimes I'm still picky! I never liked my mom's homemade mac & cheese I had to have the stuff in the box that Kraft made. Wow, how healthy was that? I'm sure you remember the days of eating cold raw hotdogs, fried bologna, ramen, and candy like there was no tomorrow. Those were the days I guess. I didn't have to worry about clogged arteries, migraines (I had them but had no idea what they were from), good health, and the waist line!

I try to please everyone in the house with good food. Sometimes it proves to be a bit of a challenge. Will I start making things that taste like those you can find in boxes and cans? No. I don't cook with processed ingredients and MSG as they do. I firmly believe that helps add the flavors you find in things like Hamburger Helper and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Not only does it give flavor it gives you ailments I wish more would realize are connected. You are what you eat!

I will, however, for BK's sake make things that I think he'll enjoy that mimic those of convenience. Last week I made Sloppy Joe's. I have yet to master Sloppy Joe's made with lentils but I will eventually do so. For now, I find fake meats with the fewest amounts of processed materials. I used those along with fresh veggies and a sauce I used to make for my meat version of Sloppy Joe's. Now, I'm not an advocate of the fake meats as I've said before but when you have a teenager who for his whole life ate a certain way it is difficult to up root his entire food selection. He does eat some items I make that have no fake meats. He ate my chili last weekend! I was very happy!! I'm almost done with that recipe, by the way (it will go in my book!). So, back to dinner. We had Sloppy Joe's, green beans sauteed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and garlic. I always blanch and shock my veggies first then saute them. The hubby loves them! BK eats some, even J munches them. We had potato salad because this past weekend we did a birthday party for my little girl (blog to come) and I really wanted to master the recipe so we ate a lot the week before. :) I also made tater tots. My vice. I love eating them on the sandwich. J loves them as well!! I bake them with a bit of seasoning and they are good to go!

Pretty simple meal and it was quite a success! The boys said it's their favorite Sloppy Joe's so far. I will, however, master the lentil version!!



Cheers and happy eating!

It's forbidden

Lately on Tuesdays we've been having one big 'ole salad for dinner! But, I've also used this night to make up things we've gotten from our CSA loot and/or make whatever is in the fridge. I do love to experiment. Why not do so on Tuesdays when we have a salad to back it up if my experiment is a major fail, right?

This Tuesday was no different. I had a bunch of collard greens in the fridge just waiting for their time to be enjoyed so I made them, vegan style. So many recipes call for ham bone. I really hoped they would turn out just as good without, not that I would really know though. I cooked them up with onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and veggie stock. They cooked for about 40 minutes. The aroma in the house was fantastic! Makes you want to eat everything from the tiles on the floor to the popcorn on the ceiling! Yum! As another side I made forbidden black rice. I admit I only bought forbidden rice because anything that is forbidden is good, right? I made the rice with onion, garlic, red and yellow bell peppers. I then added Northern White Beans.



And, dinner was served. The salad was tasty as always. I enjoy using balsamic vinegar as my dressing and pepperoncini for garnish. The collards are a bit of an acquired taste but they were good. I just think if you're not used to the taste it might take a little butter and salt to coax your taste buds. J wasn't sure at first but eventually ate them just fine. I had two helpings so they weren't bad at all! The rice had a great nutty flavor that we both enjoyed. I will definitely make them again. As for J, she just about jumped out of her highchair to get more. She LOVED it! Loved it!

I love experimenting. I love trying new things. And if I mess up I have salad which, in my book, is always a winner!

Cheers and happy eating!

Udon noodle goodness!

In many parts of the world it's still winter. It's cold, rainy, snowy, all those things and more. But, here in lovely Arizona we are experiencing spring like temperatures. Most days we've been in the 70's with some 80's. This week it dropped a bit but we'll be right back in the 70's in no time. I do love AZ weather. The summers get quite hot but luckily I work indoors and swim often when outdoors. That can keep a mom cool. Last summer we started J in swim lessons and she'll be right back at it this year. She loved the pool last year!

With spring and summer just around the corner it's time to start thinking about quick summery type meals. Things that aren't too heavy and don't take much effort. With all the heat of summer who wants to exert a lot of effort, right? I know I don't!

I made an Udon Noodle Salad the other night. Light, refreshing, simple, yummy!



I used a recipe from this cookbook (one of my favorites, you should check it out if you haven't!)
The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great

I was able to find udon noodles at my favorite Asian food market, Kimpo but I'm sure you can find them anywhere really. This recipe called for bell peppers, cucumber, green onion, sugar snap peas (it actually called for snow peas but I had sugar snap), and carrots. The dressing was rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, agave nectar, and chili paste. Very simple dressing. It was very crisp, a sort of "clean" meal. It felt as such anyway.

I did make a side of miso soup which can be time consuming. There are a lot of components to making it but you could easily find a starter at places like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I just happened to have all the ingredients to make my own.

I also cut some tofu into slices and baked them. I marinated in some soy sauce (Bragg's Amino Acids), hoison sauce, chili paste, ginger and garlic. I eyeballed that and let them sit for about 30 minutes before baking. They were very good. Huge hit with my nearly 1 year old, J.

Cheers and happy eating!

Shameless self promotion.

I'd like to get my blog out there if possible. I really enjoy writing it and I love when people feel inspired by what I have to say. I love sharing health amongst everyone! Brings me joy.

I've nominated myself to get my blog out there. Please go to the website and "like" my blog. You can find it by searching alphabetically, A House Full of Health.

Feel free to share on your networking sites. Thanks so much!!

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/dinner/top-100-food-mom-blog-2011-nominate-a-food-blog/

Chocolate Pudding

I haven't been much of a baker in my lifetime more of a cook. I've always felt that with cooking I could be more creative whereas with baking if I don't follow the "rules" precisely it doesn't come out very well.

Of course, in my case I don't always follow the recipes anyway. I don't follow the "rules." I guess I have issues when things come from a box, maybe I read the directions differently than from a book. Who knows, I just can't seem to get it right. One night I was making brownies for my family when I forgot to add water. Do you know what happens when you don't add water? Yes, you get a brick ala chocolate! Luckily my BK was there to say, hey! what the heck are you doing? We had quite a time trying to add water after it had all been mixed. What an adventure.

Lately, I've been trying my hand at vegan desserts. I haven't baked much but I've made some great desserts. Last night I made a chocolate pudding. Wow, so darn good!!

Here's how I made it.

1 1/2 cups silken tofu, crumbled.
1/4 to 1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 to 1 tbl agave nectar (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend several minutes until smooth and creamy. Chill until ready to serve.

For the one I made last night I firs added 1/4 cup maple syrup then tasted it, I ended up adding 1/2 cup. The agave nectar is dependent on your taste for sweet. I added about a tablespoon of it (I eye balled it).
My version ended up tasting very close to the real one you would buy in the store.

Cheers and happy eating!

This weeks menu. 3/4/12-3/10/12

Here we go with this weeks menu! Enjoy!!

Sunday 3/4/12:
Chili with cornbread. Yep, trying out my chili again with some changes from last time. Last time I made it, it was good but lacked depth that meat used to give it. I will get it right one day!!

Monday 3/5/12:
Udon Noodle Salad with baked tofu. This recipe, out of The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss and Help You Feel Great sounds and looks fantastic!

Tuesday 3/6/12:
It's salad night! Salad and whatever else we find lying around or that we want to make from our CSA basket. I tell you, making salad on CSA pickup day makes things so much easier.

Wednesday 3/7/12:
Sloppy Joe's with tater tots and vegetables (what we get from CSA). The other night I put out a variety veg tray that was a hit so I think I may do that again.

Thursday 3/8/12:
I actually didn't write anything down. Oops! I may look for something simple from Trader Joe's. It's going to be a busy week.

Friday 3/9/12:
Leftovers or something...it's No Cook Friday Night!

Saturday 3/10/12:
It's our little girls first birthday party. We'll be having black bean burgers, veggie burgers, quinoa salad, potato salad, veggie tray, cake, chocolate mousse. And, whatever others feel like bringing. Yum!!

Cheers and happy eating!

4th Ave adventures for CSA pickup

It seems to always be an adventure when venturing down to 4th ave. Whether it be the people watching, the countless different styles of food, or the, make you feel alive, nightlife. I don't get down to 4th ave much anymore but I do try when I can. It's nice to know that CSA pickup is right off 4th near a little cafe, which is awesome by the way, called Epic. I get my 4th ave fix when I take baby J down to pick up our loot! We love doing this together so if naps are in order we get to go instead of the hubby.

This week was a little adventure for us for sure. To start my car is kind of on the smaller size. Well, let me preface with the fact that my other car is even smaller so I'm quite grateful for car #2. Car #1, my car actually that my hubby is driving since I can't (my accident left my left arm in pain so driving a stick shift is difficult), is a VW Beetle so yes, that's SMALL. Car #2, my hubby's car that I currently drive, is a Toyota Rav4 so it could be smaller for sure. But, for me this car is still just too small for all an 11 month old comes with.

So, I realize upon getting ready that my car is full of a jogging stroller (in the back hatch) which is good for zoo trips and the like, a stroller that fits the car seat (in the back seat) which is great for daycare pickup, and a small folding stroller great for small trips such as CSA pick up. This stroller was in the front seat. So, one stroller in the back hatch, one standing in the back and the other in the front. Too funny, I think! Once I have J in the car in her backwards facing car seat which seems quite large and then fit myself in the front the car is packed!

The drive down was fairly uneventful seeing as J fell asleep. She does make cute noise though while sleep. :) Getting down to the area that CSA pickup is I always find parking hard to come by. The signs are confusing to me because the way I logically see them the hubby says isn't the way to follow them. So, do I park here or did permit parking started here? Or do I park here where it says END or not park in front? I don't know! So, to make it easier I just park on 4th near Epic Cafe.

After parking I waited for the baby to wake, I never wake a sleeping baby, and play on my phone. Listen to music, people watch. It's all fun! When we decide it's time to go get our yummy loot I get her smaller folding stroller out of the front seat, load her in with bear in toe (and a blanket for a chilly day) and start to head North. This is when I hear a loud screeching noise that did not sound good. So we turn to find a guy on a motorcycle just lost his bike as it slid down 4th with him lying in wait way behind. Wow! That's crazy. The guy at the shop next to Epic came out and said he sees at least one of those a day. The tracks for the trolly merge from the driving lane to the center lane at that point so I'm sure the poor guys wheel caught and BAM he was down! He got up and it took 3 men to pick up his quite fancy looking bike. I'm sure the guy was sore the next day!!

Well that was excitement for the day so we continue on. Once we get there it seems it was baby central. Lot's of folks with babies, one small infant screaming it's head off! Oh well, I too have a baby. She, however, is gazing around at all the neat things to see. We grab our loot and head over to the bread section. Of course they only take cash or check neither of which I have with me because the stroller is too small to hold my purse as well as the CSA bags of food. :) We head back to the car where I grab cash and once again head back in for bread. Since it was the hubby's birthday I figured he'd enjoy a loaf. Especially an extra sour loaf.

I did notice a dad and daughter sitting at one of the outside cafe tables at Epic enjoying a bowl of soup. It was sweet to see! One day that may be the hubby and J. So adorable.

I must say it's always a pleasure to visit 4th ave. I do love our little adventures. Who knows what next week has in store for us.

Anyway, we got carrots, beets, collard greens, fennel, romaine lettuce, garlic and red cabbage this week in our CSA basket. The romaine went right into the salad.



Cheers and happy eating!