I Always Get Ahead Of Myself

I guess I should back up a moment.....I got all excited about "clean eating", but didn't really put any meaning to the specific term.  So in a nut shell, clean eating is consuming food as close to it's natural state as possible.  Now, there are a few more things that go into this whole lifestyle of clean eating, but that's pretty much the bare minimum.  Clean eating also entails:

• Eliminates refined sugar
• Cooks healthy meals
• Packs healthy meals
• Makes healthy choices when dining out
• Drinks a lot of water
• Eats 5-6 small meals per day
• Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
• Always eats breakfast

So now that you are scared out of your mind, and running for the door, let me stop you with this:

YOU DON'T HAVE TO CONQUER THIS ALL IN ONE DAY!!!!

Take baby steps.  I didn't get to this point over night.  It's taken me hours of reading labels, books, and magazines to fully develop my own sense of clean eating.  And that's the beauty of this;  you can make this your own journey, your own lifestyle!  And taking one step in the direction of trying to eliminate the junk is a step toward a long and healthy life.

A few suggestions on how to get started:

• Get to know your labels!  Read, read, and read some more.  Make sure that you can pronounce all of the words on the label.  A good rule of thumb is to choose the products with fewest ingredients.  (Also, being able to pronounce what you are eating is always a good thing!)
• Intimacy with your grocery store is sexy!  Knowing what aisles are filled with natural healthy foods, and what aisles have the junk is key to making your shopping experience pleasurable.  And after all the label reading you will be doing, you and your grocery store will be quite well acquainted!
• Pick one or two staples in you kitchen to make on your own.  This is your first leap of faith into really making the commitment to changing your eating habits. (We will get to changing those financial habits later on....let's stick with the fun stuff for now)  My suggestion would be to start by making your own stocks/broths and bread.  These are two very basic items that can contain tons of sodium, preservatives, and hidden junk.  Especially bread.  I really enjoy Bread Experience.  This website will give you everything you ever wanted to know about baking bread.  I am still toying around with this as you know.  Just keep reminding yourself - learn from your mistakes!

Once you have taken those three steps we can move on to bigger and better projects! PSSST!  Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to tell you about my new gadget and obsession.  Let's just say dry rubs were involved!

What a Christmas!!!!

It's been a little crazy since October!  My computer went on the fritz, the holidays came around, and work was literally exhausting.  Not to mention shopping, traveling, and two active children at home.  My first attempt at making marmalade and pretzels turned out to be a success!!!  I was as busy as a bee in the kitchen making Christmas gifts for friends and family.  I put together baskets with homemade whole wheat pretzels and jars of lemon-ginger marmalade.  As exhausting as it was to be baking and canning during this time of year, the joy of watching everyone enjoy the product of my labors in the kitchen was priceless.

I also have to give HUGE kudos to my boyfriend Greyson.  He armed my kitchen with much needed equipment.  A top of the line Foodsaver, an 8 gal. stock pot, and comfy slippers. (I mean seriously, if you have to be on your feet in your kitchen cooking all day....why not in slippers?)

So yes, I have been on a bit of a hiatus, but I'm back with full kitchen armor!  Recipes to follow....

P.S.  You won't believe my most recent purchase this month, and the shenanigans I've been getting into in the kitchen!.  Let's just say Boar's Head is getting a run for their money in my kitchen!  Any guesses as to what I'm up to?  Guess you'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out!

 T'boftë mire! [It's Albanian for "Bon Appetit....but I'm sure you knew that!  ;-) ]

Tomatoes and Bread

*Posted on original blog on 10/10/10

Well, the tomato sauce is made. It was a fairly quick process that took place on Saturday.  I used twelve pounds of beautiful roma tomatoes purchased at Madison's in Findlay Market.  One of the tasks at hand to prepare the tomatoes was to concasse tomatoes.  For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it simply means to peel and deseed the fruit.  Let me tell you, this is one of my very LEAST favorite things to do in the kitchen. So off I went, carving an X into the bottom of the tomatoes, blanching them for 30 seconds, transferring them to an ice bath, and then peel, peel, peel.  When I got to the part of deseeding I had had enough!  Peeling is a must, deseeding....well, I don't mind the seeds.  I pulled my trusty wand mixer out and went to work crushing and pureeing those suckers!  The color was absolutely amazing!  When it was all said and done I had a beautiful scarlet red sauce on my hands.  Oh the beauty of a freshly made tomato sauce.  Sauteed up some garlic and onions, added that to the sauce, and let it reduce by 1/3.  Again my wand mixer didn't let me down.  The onions and garlic disappeared with the press of a button!

Now to get this stuff canned!  I packed the kids into the car and headed to purchase the rest of the canning supplies.  By the time we got back it was too late to start canning.....guess it will wait till Monday!

It's football sunday....now normally for me this is a mini holiday all on it's own, but the kitchen is calling me!  Hi-ho hi-ho it's off to bake bread I go.  Last time I made bread it turned out pretty well considering I hadn't made homemade bread in thirteen years.  This time I modified a touch.  One, I followed the instructions completely this time....haha!  Two, I replaced the oil with applesauce this time.  Cut 50 calories and a gram of fat off, so we will see how this turns out.  I'm patiently waiting for the bread to rise as we speak!  The Bengals are winning, but irritating me none the less.....I'll be back in a day or two to report on the saga of the bread baking!!!!

Guten Appetit! (p.s.  we are going to learn "Enjoy your meal" in several languages....there will be a quiz!)

LET ME GET YOU UP TO SPEED!

* Posted on original blog on 10/8/10

As I said earlier, I'm on a mission to cut the "crap" out of my family's diet.  And by diet, I don't just mean food.  I'm working on our financial, enviromental, and physical health all at once.  Why, you ask????? Well, let me clue you in.  In August, I plucked my little girls out of suburbia to start a new chapter in our life.  After my divorce, bills were piling up, the house was way too huge, and my health was in bad shape.  I knew that if I didn't make a change quickly it was going to be bad news for the three of us.  Downsizing was the name of the game.  I immediately found a quaint little two bedroom apartment in a wonderful neighborhood closer to the city, signed the lease, handed over first month's rent and deposit, and moved right in. 

Second step in my game plan was to create the ever dreaded budget!

And so it began.....crunching numbers, evaluating wants vs. needs, and thinking about the future.  It was a real eye opener when I realized how much things were going to change.  Instead of getting discouraged, I look at this as a challenge and a new adventure.  For anyone that knows me, competition is a huge motivator for me. 

Let the games begin!!!!

After pairing down the bills as much  as possible, it was time to face my spending on groceries.  Now.....coming from a culinary background (and being a self proclaimed foodie) I really, really, REALLY, enjoy purchasing quality products and brands when shopping.  And of course, being on a budget does not quite always *almost never* allows for that.  So that's when the wheels started turning and the game went into overdrive!!!!

How much of these pre packaged foods can I make in bulk and from scratch?  Will it be more economical?  And thus the adventure began!

In the next few weeks I will post pictures of some of the yummy goodness that I have already conquered.

Here's a list of what has been made thus far.  ENJOY!

*Whole Wheat Bread
*Chicken Broth
*Chicken Stock
*Bean Soup
*Chili
*Dal
*Italian Chicken Soup
*Spaghetti Sauce
*Italian Meatballs

Here is a list of current projects I am working on:

*Canning Tomato Sauce
*Canning Ketsup
*Another round of Bread
*Pretzel Sticks
*Wheat Thins
*Jam/Jelly

Let me know if you have any requests.

Until next time! 

Bon Apetit!!!!!

Stupid Internet hackers!

Well, unfortunately my original blog was hacked while my computer was at the shop. So by tonight I will have my new blog up and running. I have to go to work right now, but consider me chained to the computer till this blog is back and up to date. So much has been happening in my kitchen since my last entry. Can't wait to share it with you all. Subscribe to the new blog so you can be notified once I get it back up to speed. Sorry for the inconvenience

Cheers,

Jill