What I Buy and Why - Honey -- Third Video Blog Post!

Below is the third video for my What I Buy and Why series, and I'm talking about honey! I haven't always liked honey. Maybe just because I didn't know what to use it for and it was SO sweet by itself. I'm still not really a spoon licker, but I love it for sweetening tea, granola bars, and I even put it in warm milk for relief from heartburn! I also have a prenatal multivitamin that I really don't like the taste of, plus it's huge, so if I start to gag on it (which I used to do very often, not as much anymore) I coat it in honey so I can manage to swallow it. As you'll hear in the video and can read more about below, honey can be quite nutritious when you know what kind to purchase.

Disclaimer: I am not formally educated in nutrition. This video the conveys the opinion I have developed through my own research.

Here is more information about honey for your reading pleasure:

What's So Special About Raw Honey

Making Sense of Honey Labels

6 Health Benefits of Raw Honey

Menu

Monday - Quesadillas, fruit

Tuesday - Turkey kraut burgers, broccoli

Wednesday - Chicken tacos

Friday - Southwest stuffed sweet potatoes

Sunday - Chicken dumpling soup


I haven't managed to make my next video yet, but it is coming! They always take more time and thought than I expect. There's another recipe coming soon, too.

My All-Time Favorite Green Smoothie

Over the past few years I have made many different smoothies. Some were great, some were good, and some were just good enough to get down. I try to keep green smoothies as a part of my regular diet, mainly because on most days it adds spinach to my diet that wouldn't have been there otherwise. And this smoothie is not just good enough to get down; I really like it.  This smoothie is also another way to sneak flax meal into my diet which never hurts.

I talked about my opinion about green smoothies and recipes a couple years ago, and though my opinion hasn't changed since then, my recipe definitely has. I was also making huge smoothies back then since I was marathon training. Now I usually drink 8 - 16 oz. depending on if it is a meal, part of a meal, or a snack.

After much experience, I would call this the perfect green smoothie. Of course you may have a different idea of what makes the perfect smoothie, but this is what I make almost every single time. It's been that way for about a year and I don't expect that to change. This isn't a foundation, a concept, or a mix and match kind of thing. This is a set recipe that I love, and it's basically the only smoothie I make anymore because it's so yummy and made from ingredients I pretty much always have. Plus, Marshall likes it! So feel free to make it your own, but just know that you will no longer be making my favorite smoothie; you'll be making your own smoothie.

I have yet to learn how to make a smoothie look pretty in a picture, so excuse the mediocre sludge looking pictures and just try this! 

Ingredients:
1 cup milk -- I often use unsweetened almond milk for my smoothies
1 cup spinach -- I use less if my bananas aren't as sweet
1 heaping tablespoon flax meal
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
1 banana

Directions:
Blend together milk and spinach until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again until smooth. Enjoy!


I hear rumors that if there are foods you eat a lot while pregnant your baby is more likely to enjoy those foods, so that's another reason to keep drinking these! : )

Menu

Monday - Sausage potato kale skillet -- Marshall calls this a Rachel classic. We love it.

Tuesday - Tim is making chicken noodle soup and I am making bread.

Wednesday - Corn cakes, bacon, fruit -- These corn cakes are delicious!

Thursday - Single skillet chicken thighs with bacon, Brussels sprouts and apples -- Can't wait to try this!

Friday - Pepperoni pizza


I don't know what we'll be doing this weekend so I'm not going to make a menu plan. We are getting back to soup Sundays so a soup of some sort will probably be that day. I'm thinking a simple pesto pasta with toasted walnuts for Saturday. We may have company once or twice this weekend so that might change things.

Believe it or not, I am going to post another What I Buy and Why video soon! (First one on beef here, second one on dairy here) Keep an eye out for that. I'll probably post it next week. There will be another recipe before that though.

We've had chilly weather and lots of rain! Happy Fall : )

Buttery Coconut Oil Popcorn

I love popcorn. It's one of my favorite snacks regardless of the time of day or if  I have a movie on. I'll not only eat it for an afternoon or evening snack, but sometimes for lunch....or even dinner sometimes if Marshall is gone : )

I used to think of movie theater popcorn whenever I thought of popcorn. I loved it when I was a kid. In fact, I think I usually liked the popcorn more than the movie, not because the movie wasn't good but because the popcorn was simply unbeatable. Hot, salty, and buttery! Or shall I say "buttery". I wonder what that stuff really is because I'm sure it isn't just butter. I'm probably better off not knowing though because I loved it as a kid and I'll let my own kids enjoy it as well if they so desire.

When I heard about popping popcorn in coconut oil a couple years ago I was honestly confused and could not imagine that being good. I certainly didn't want my popcorn tasting like a tropical island. However, after hesitantly hopping on the coconut oil bandwagon, I gave it a try.

I was not only pleasantly surprised, but I was amazed at how good it was. I liked it so much that I haven't made it any other way since. Well, I did make one change. I added butter to coat it at the very end, and now there is no turning back.

If you want this to taste like movie theater popcorn you will be disappointed because that's not even what I was going for. But if you want this to taste delicious, be healthy, and satisfy your salty/crunchy craving, there is no reason you shouldn't make this. And I think that once you try it you'll be hooked, just like me : )

This popcorn and movie theater popcorn cannot be compared, and I happen to prefer this version.

Buttery Coconut Oil Popcorn

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

1 tablespoon butter

Salt to taste

Directions:

Place oil and popcorn kernels in a large pot over high heat, covered. Leave it be until a lot of the kernels have popped, and if your pot isn't quite big enough, carefully dump some of the popped popcorn into a bowl and place the pot back over the heat to finish popping. Once it has finished, transfer the popcorn to a large bowl. Place the tablespoon of butter in the still hot pot (the heat should be off though), and let it melt. Dump the popcorn back into the pot, cover it with the lid, and toss until the popcorn is well coated with the butter. Season with salt to taste.  

It will take some time to figure out what setting you need to use on your stove. I have an electric stove and I set it to 7 and it works perfectly, but all stoves are different.

Enjoy hot and enjoy often!

Menu

Monday - 3 bean turkey chili, cornbread casserole -- Marshall and I made this together tonight and it was so yummy.

Tuesday - Tim's making shepherd's pie for house church

Wednesday - Crockpot corn chowder -- though I'll probably spice it up a little more than the recipes says.

Thursday - Leftover 3 bean turkey chili and cornbread casserole

Friday - Chicken nuggets (but with turkey) and roasted sweet potatoes


I'm so looking forward to Fall cooking. I have some favorite recipes I can't wait to make, along with some new recipes to try. The 3 bean turkey chili is one I really enjoy and the Crockpot corn chowder is a new one.

Enjoy your cooking this week!

What I Ate Wednesday

I haven't done a what I ate Wednesday post in a while, and though my eating has been back to normal since the start of my second trimester (should've done one of these posts during my first!) I know people tend to like these posts. My goal with these posts isn't to show exact amounts (though they obviously all do except the dinner picture), and definitely not to make you feel like you should eat like me because everyBODY is different. My goal is to give you some ideas of things you might like to eat that you've either forgotten about or never tried.

Breakfast - Buttered toast, black grapes, and a cup of intensely beetroot tea with honey

Mid-morning snack - Apple with peanut butter

Lunch - Simple banana muesli (oats, milk, bananas, and cinnamon), Quaker sweet chili rice poppers, carrots, olives -- random, I know.

An afternoon glass of kombucha

Dinner - Spicy shrimp sauteed with cabbage and onions, buttered bread on the side -- Yum! Loved this meal.

An evening pot of chamomile with honey and milk

I wouldn't call anything about this day of eats particularly inspiring, but maybe you completely forgot about apples with peanut butter, have never heard of Quaker sweet chili rice poppers (they're delicious!), or like the idea of chamomile with milk and honey for dessert. Hopefully something grabbed your eye : )