Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Evaluation - any suggestions?

Although we've always eaten fairly well and over the last 5 years have had... 
  •  lots of vegetable and fruit options at every meal 
  • less and less homemade baked goods  
  • made our own granola
  • added more meatless meals
  • made the kids in charge of more meals
  • taught the kids how to make their favorite treats


... there's more to improve on when it comes to eating right in our home. 
Mostly eating less, drinking more water, not getting bored and exercising daily helps me.

Right now I'm transforming our home into a good oil (2017) and good sugar (2018) home. Step by step.

The only oils we now have are avocado, olive, sesame, coconut, butter and heavy whipping cream.

I've determined not to buy any more white or brown sugar. We'll use up what we have and transition to raw sugar, honey, molasses, and real maple syrup. 

I will continue to buy the junk maple syrup for my husband and kids but won't eat it myself. 
The budget only goes so far. 
Any ideas for doing better?

Straight up Food plug

I saw this book at my sister in law's home and like some of what it says. I'll have to borrow it and see what kind of good healthy food I can make from it. The author encourages a lot of changes in the average diet. I am not ready to give up milk, salt and oils. There are some good balances everyone has to make in their diet. I have never done the extremes. I'll share a few really good recipes I find here. Go to her blog for ideas and many recipes : http://www.straightupfood.com/blog




Challah (Jewish sabbath) bread

These great visual instructions above are courtesy of 
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-challah-bread-181004 

Here's the recipe from www.Allrecipes.com. I like it because it uses honey.



My feeble attempts below don't exactly match, but it's a start. I was a little afraid to 
smash it together at the end, but it looks a lot better when you do.




Good eating habit reminders & snack ideas

These are posted on my Sister in law's dining room windows
to help her kids remember good eating habits.




Mashed Cauliflower



I used garlic powder, salt, pepper and chicken bouillon.
The cauliflower must be well cooked and hot when you blend it. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Cooking with Alma - The Best



Lumpia Shanghai aka egg roll

1 lb ground turkey or pork
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 T butter (if you’re using ground turkey)
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
1 T chopped green onion,
1 T celery stalk + 2 T chopped celery leaves
6 cloves garlic
2 T cilantro stems & 2-4 T cilantro leaves
1 yellow onion, chopped in long strings
2 peeled and chopped carrots in long strings
2/3 c. - 1 c. cabbage in long strings
2 small cyte, chopped (can be found at Fred Meyers)
1 c bean sprouts
2 T avocado oil (for veggeis) + 1 ½ c avocado oil (for finished egg rolls)
– you can use canola oil as substitute, but it’s not recommended-
2 – 25 count super thin spring wraps
Option: 1 egg, 1 tsp water whipped – otherwise just use water to moisten last flap of wrap in place.

6 T either Banana sauce or soy sauce (to dip)

Take 1 pound of ground turkey add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce 1 teaspoon of salt 1 tablespoon of butter 1 teaspoon of pepper and 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon. One tablespoon each chopped green onion & celery. Optional - sauté onion and celery in butter before adding. Mix well and let it marinate for 15-20 min at room temperature. 



Meanwhile, process (smash w potato masher to get flavored out before slicing): 6 cloves of garlic and 2 T cilantro. Then chop one yellow onion, 2 peeled carrots, 1 c. cabbage, 2 small cyte (you can find at Fred Meyer), 1 c bean sprouts (these can be chopped ahead of time, but you should wait to wash the bean sprouts). 



Pour 2 T avocado oil into a large nonstick pan. Place onion, garlic and cilantro stems into pan. Sauté until soft and brown.

Add the marinated meat. Brown and chop into small chunks. When it's cooked add carrots & cyte. Add one c water. All of this is Cooking at level 5-6. Put the lid on and Cook until slightly soft.






Turn burner down to 3-4. Then Add rinsed bean sprouts and put the lid on. When bean sprouts look glossy, mix gently w spatula. Add cabbage now (2/3 - 2 c) You want more sprouts than cabbage.

Taste broth. Add up to 1 tsp more salt if needed. Add 2 T chopped celery leaves. Stir well. Check carrots. If they are soft, add 2T - 1/4 c. cilantro leaves. Turn off the stove. Keep lid off. 


You can let it sit for 5 min, drain and wrap or serve over rice.


Have 2 - 25 count super thin spring wraps on hand. You'll have 40-50. Options- drain, place vegetable mix in fridge. Let it sit overnight. The next day - Wrap when cool. Then you can freeze wraps. When you want to eat it, thaw the wraps, place in hot oil until brown, turn, drain and eat!  

Wrapping - it'll be soggy so you have to wrap and eat immediately. No leftovers.

Wrap all of the spring rolls first. Place 1 T of cooked and drained mixture into bottom 1/3rd of spring roll wrap.  



Take the Closest flap to you in kite formation and fold upward. Form into a compressed rectangle.


Fold the right side into the center.


Fold the left side into the center, being careful o keep the rectangle shape on the sides so that when rolled, it's perfectly formed. 





Roll upwards and seal with water or egg/water mixture so the flap is flat against the top. Place flap down on a plate or dish. 


Keep going.





Tuck any side flaps towards the center before rolling up. You want the sides to be square.





Heat 1 1/2 c avocado oil.


Prepare a plate with 3 layers of paper towel to place finishes egg Rolls on. When the oil is moving, it's hot enough. Put 3-4 in at a time.





Don't let them stick together. 5-10 seconds in oil. You're just browning the egg roll.





Transfer egg rolls that have cooled for 1-2 min in to serving plate (also covered w paper towel). 


Serve hot with banana sauce (looks like ketchup, see below) - Asian stores sell it.

Takes about 1 hour if veggies are chopped ahead of time. 30 min cooking, 20 min rolling, 10 min cooking. About 3/4 c oil will be left. Most of the oil is left in the paper towels. Save the used oil in the fridge. You can use it again when you sauté something else.

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