Keep It Fun And Healthy

I don’t know about you but I LOVE nut butters. I have never made my own because I didn’t realize out easy it was. I’m telling ya, everyone can make nut butter as long as you have a decent food processor and there's not turning back. I’ve had some left over vanilla beans from the vanilla I made a while back and wanted to use them, so I decided to use them in the almond butter. I made this about a week ago and it’s already half gone! It’s like a yummy creamy dessert. Once you try fresh pure nut butters you will never go back to store bought. Only 3 ingredients and no added oils! So here it goes: Start out by toasting your almonds until they start to smell yummy. Pour your almonds in the food processer and start to process. You will need to process for 8 to 10 minutes and stop several times to scrape down the sides, so be patient. Stage 1 Stage 2- Powder Stage 3-The natural oil starts to come out and its starts to ball up. Stage 4-Almost there, just a f...

Who likes Chinese food? I love it with all my heart, but I don’t like all the MSG they use in their meat. Why not make your own? I tried a new recipe this week and was very satisfied with the outcome. AND I wasn’t even hungry 2 hours later. Why is that? You could eat and eat at a Chinese restaurant and are hungry 2 hours later. Check out this tasty dish I made the chicken in the crock pot which I highly recommend because it cooked for 1/2 the day and the chicken was so tender and flavorful. This can also be done on the stove top. I started out by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. I also chopped up 1/2 of an onion. Place your chicken in the crockpot once its seasoned. To make your sauce, mix together your onion, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, olive oil, garlic cloves, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Pour your sauce over you chicken. Cook on low for 4 hours. After 4 hours remove your chicken and chop into cubes. Mix up a mixt...

Summer is going by fast and I’m ready for it to slow down.  Fall will be here before you know it. I don’t know about you but I don’t like to heat up the oven much during the Summer because I heats up my apartment. I really wanted something that tasted like Summer and that was quick and easy to whip up. I decided to make pasta! I think you will really like this dish. The lemon flavor is not too much but just enough tang. And the basil taste so fresh, it hit the spot I started by making garlic olive oil. Mince 2 garlic cloves and sauté in olive oil until edges start to turn brown. Once your oil is done pour into large mixing bowl. Sauté 1/2 cup of chopped onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Chop a handful of basil, preferably fresh Add basil to garlic oil Add the rest of your ingredients; pine nuts, parmesan, lemon, and onion. Add your cooked pasta in with you sauce and toss.   I grilled up some chicken breast to put on top but this can be serve by itself or as a...

Today I have a fun recipe for you. I’m always trying to find ways to fit in Summer vegetables to make sure I use them before they go bad. I’ve made meatballs with spinach and wondered what zucchini would taste like. They turned out really well. You couldn’t really even tell there was zucchini in them so it turned out to be more of a hidden ingredient. A great way to get in a serving of veggies. I started out by chopping up 1/2 of a zucchini in the blender and laid it out on a paper towel to dry while I mixed the other ingredients together. Add the Italian seasoning to 1/2 pound of lean ground beef. The Italian seasoning is a mix I brought from the locally grown market and consisted of basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, onion, rosemary, pepper, cayenne, and pepper. Mix the rest of your ingredients in with your meat. I added bread crumbs, onion powder, zucchini, and freshly grated parmesan. Mix all together using your hands. Make into round meatballs. I made 9 out of this batch. ...

Hello friends!  Today I have a special treat for you. Jillian McKee is a cancer activist and asked if she could share a little bit about cancer and the foods we eat. I thought this was something I could learn a little more about myself and wanted to share her article with you. Jillian McKee works as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Good Nutrition Strengthens the Body During Cancer Treatment and Recovery Cancer is a disease characterized by cells that undergo rapid multiplication. It happens when certain cells loose basic control functions that regulate cell division. As cancer cells divide, they begin to absorb more nutrients otherwise needed by healthy cells. Eventually cancer cells develop a mass called a tumor. Medical science has developed treatments that are proving more successful in slowing and even reversing cancer. However, to improve potential success, the patient must play an important role by maintaining a positive attitude and ...

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Russia to work with orphans. I still can’t believe that it has already come and gone. It was such a blessing to be able to go and work with Change30. I feel that we accomplished a lot and am ready to return as soon as I can. Matt and Jackie, the founders of Change30 , have such big hearts and are doing so much for the Russian orphans to make sure they are equipped for the big world. Check out their website to see all the exciting things they are doing. I thought about you all while I was gone and took several pictures of the food I ate. This trip was a different experience than the other 2 trips I’ve taken over there. We stayed in the city and had breakfast everyday at the hotel. They made one meal and everyone received the same meal. See what we had: The first morning I walked in and sat down and they placed this in front of me. I immediately got a little nervous. I starting thinking about what snacks I brought because I thought I was go...