Caramelicious...

Today was a fun day for our Feingold following kiddos :)  I have been feeling bad about our kids not being able to eat wonderful apple filled items this fall so I decided to give them some special fall treats that are Feingold approved!!!  The first wonderful treat that I made was caramel popcorn!!!  I visited with a wonderful friend yesterday and she showed me how to make popcorn on the stovetop!!!  I don't know why I had never done it before, but I decided to make it with a wonderful carmel drizzle!!!  I found a wonderful recipe from Kelly the Kitchen Kop and adapted it to our own.  You can find Kelley the Kitchen Kop's recipe here. Enjoy!!!

Ann's Feingold Friendly Carmel Popcorn

Stovetop Popcorn:

• 1/4 c. butter (I use butter instead of oil, because it is better for you.)
• Enough popcorn to make the bottom of the pan one kernel deep
• Turn stove to Medium high, cover with lid and gently shake the pan until it is finished popping. (This can take a few minutes)
• Vent the lid to let the steam escape as necessary.  (I use a vented lid)
• When the kernels stop popping, dump the popcorn into a bowl.

Caramel Topping:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or Sucanat (I prefer sucanat for the extra nutrients)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• Pinch of sea salt
• Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and stir continuously on medium high heat.
• Once the syrup comes to a boil, continue stirring while it boils for an additional two minutes.
• Immediately drizzle the caramel over the popcorn and stir to cover as many kernels as possible.
• YUM!!!

The next treat I made was to replace the beloved caramel apples.  I found a wonderful deal on Bartlett Pears this week and made caramel pears!!! I found a recipe for caramel that did not use corn syrup and used it for our pears. I would post the recipe on my site, but I loved how she posted some videos along with the recipe and I didn't feel I could do it justice by simply putting a recipe on here :)  We used sucanat instead of brown sugar and used pears instead of apples.  It was a great treat, but one tip I wish I would have figured out was to grease the wax paper!!!  Enjoy the recipe link for the Caramel Apples, old timey style here.

"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so." -Genesis 1:11

Feingold Diet for our Family

One of the things that has been a struggle in our family was the realization that my son has been displaying some ADHD/Autistic behaviors. I have been nervous as any mother would be and did the first thing that I do when I have finished praying about a situation...I begin research! I looked up so many things on the Internet and came across information about the Feingold Program. The interesting thing is that I had taken a wonderful online class last October (I think) from Kelly the Kitchen Kop called Real Food For Rookies and during one of the classes was taught about the dangers of artificial food additives in our food. This was the first time I had heard about the Feingold Association, but I am glad it wasn't the last. Since our family moved only a couple months later, I let Feingold drift from my mind, but a couple weeks ago I was snapped back into reality! I called the association to find out some information and spoke with a wonderful lady by the name of Jane Hersey who has written several books about her family's experience with Feingold. She and I both agreed that my son was probably dealing with a chemical sensitivity and I was confident after the call that the days ahead would be different!!!

Through many ups and downs of  life on the Feingold program we can now say success!!!  The hardest part was trying to give my children foods that don't have tomatoes!  They love pizza and pasta and meatloaf and you name it...it has tomatoes :(  Well, I am happy to say that we found a solution to that just last week!  We decided to try Feingold's "untomato sauce" which has beets and carrots and some spices mixed together to make a scrumptious sauce!!!  I couldn't believe that it was good and the kids ate an entire jar of it in a week!    I made an accidental adjustment to the recipe and it turned out great so here is my version of the "untomato sauce":

Ann's Untomato Sauce

1 can sliced beets  (drained and not pickled)
1 can sliced carrots (drained)
1/2 cup celery juice
1 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of white vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar (You could probably substitute honey, maple syrup, rapadura, or sucanat here, but I haven't tried them yet because it is such a tiny amount of sugar)

Mix all of the the ingredients in a food processor and puree until it is about the consistency of applesauce.  That is it, just put it in a jar and refrigerate or use immediately.   I used the sauce as a pizza sauce for tortilla shell pizzas and the kids went bonkers for it!!!  I tasted them and agreed with the kids!!!

Even if you are not on Feingold, beets are excellent for you as are carrots and this is a great way to add them to your diet!!!!  Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I forgot to take a picture of the sauce before making it. I will try to take some pictures of the other Feingold recipes I come up with :)

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

1 Samuel 25:6

The Wonderful World of Coconuts

A couple weeks ago my husband had a "blonde" moment as he asked me, "What does a coconut look like?" I gave a brief description and later went shopping. While at the store, I decided to buy a coconut. I have always loved coconut so I knew we could find some use for this. We had done some research about coconuts and found out that the juice inside is water & not milk which I kept calling it. The water is very high in electrolytes and has been even known to be put in IVs for people needing fluids!!! Wow, God's Gatorade!!! We used a drill to get the water out & then a big scary knife to crack it open. Then we made coconut milk (in the Vitamix, of course)!!! What a fun experiment!!! There are some amazing sites out there with recipes for making your own coconut milk, but here is what I did.

       Coconut Milk

• I took all of the coconut meat & peeled the brown stuff off. 
• Then I chopped it into about 1 inch pieces & put them in the Vitamix. 
• Next, I poured about two cups of warm water in & turned it on.
• After everything was blended well, I took my juicer & put the mixture in it. 

I was able to use & reuse the coconut puree a few times & got about 1 liter of coconut milk!!! I did have to mix it with cow's milk to get the kids aquainted with it., but now they are enjoying coconut milk in their oatmeal every morning!!! Here is their morning recipe:

Coconut Raisin Oatmeal:
(sorry, but I didn't get around to taking a pic of the oats)

• 1 packet instant regular oatmeal
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 small box of raisins (or dried fruit of choice)

1. Put the oatmeal in a bowl
2. Pour in the milk
3. Mix in the raisins
4. Microwave for about 20-30 seconds (or more if you prefer it hotter)
5. Enjoy!!!

The Diva enjoying some yummy coconut milk!!!

Coconut Oil

Another thing that we found out about coconuts is that the oil is AMAZING for you!!!! I have a genetic disorder called Carnitine Uptake Deficiency which basically makes it so that my fat is not burned for energy. Apparently, when you eat coconut oil, it bypasses the carnitine system and raises your metabolism!!! This is very cool for me!!!! I have started eating coconut oil (instead of butter) every morning on either Cinnamon Raisin Bread or whole grain waffles... YUMMY!!! Just make sure that you use a brand that has a smell of coconuts when you open it.  I am still looking for that, but since it is pricy I use the one I already have. Check out this site for all of the info on coconuts!!!

More Vitamix Fun...

We did two more experiments over the weekend that were a ton of fun!!! We made cupcakes & apple-plum sauce/baby food!!!

Cupcakes
I was just curious what would happen if you mixed a box of cake mix in the Vitamix. So I did it. Would it change the flavor???? I was hoping to get some secret amazing flavor that could only come from blending it...

Doesn't it look like it has the glow of Heaven...LOL!!!

Pros:

• It was extremely easy to pour the mix into the individual cups.
• It did warm them as it blended them so I could eat the batter without fear of raw eggs.
• The batter seemed fluffier.
• The cleanup was super easy!!!! (Just a few drops of soap and a couple cups of water, turn on the Vitamix for a couple minutes & rinse. I think the cleanup is what is so great!!!)
• Cupcakes seemed to need less time to cook!!!
• They tasted great when they came out!!!

Cons:

• They still tasted like cupcakes instead of some expensive French dessert :)
• I only had one box!!!

One of my favorite taste testers!!!

Overall, the Vitamix made some yummy cupcakes, but I am sure that you could do well with another appliance. For our family, I will continue to use the Vitamix for cake mixing until I get a Kitchenaid Stand Up Mixer (my dream appliance)

Apple-Plum Sauce/Baby Food

I am very pleased to see that making baby food for My little JuJuBee will be simple in the Vitamix!!! I had a few granny smith apples & two plums so I made a wonderful apple-plum sauce!!!

 I cored the apples & de-pitted the plums, threw them in the blender with a little water & voila!!!! I threw in a little cinnamon & maple syrup for sweetness. It smelled AWESOME!!! The kids enjoyed it, but I am used to too much sugar in my apple sauce. I really am trying to break my sugar addiction, but it is easier said than done!!! I put two small containers in the freezer for when the baby gets old enough to eat them. I have to say that this was the easiest way to make applesauce & when my sugar addiction is over I can see myself eating this often!!!

 Apple-Plum Sauce:

4 small Granny Smith Apples

2 Black Plums

3oz water

Dash of Cinnamon

Maple Syrup or other sweetener as desired

-Core the apples with an apple corer

-De-pit the Plums & cut plum in quarters

-Pour 3oz water & then layer fruit

-Throw in a dash of Cinnamon & sweetener

-Blend to the desired consistency

-Put in fridge to cool or eat warm!!!

Yum or Yuk?!?!?!

!In my quest for better health and weight loss, I have decided to take small steps toward big results. My DH had an amazing idea several months ago to buy a Vita-Mix 5200 Blender. These blenders have a 7 year warranty and people continuously sing their praises about them. Unfortunately, my DH & I have only used it a few times after spending a small fortune (roughly $400) on it, but I decided to change that. I will be trying new (hopefully healthy)recipes!!!

In the past we have made great snow cones & slushies, milkshakes, & some protein shakes & smoothies. It really is powerful (2 horsepower motor) and did great on the few things that we tried, but my DH was becoming discouraged that we had paid so much for a "snow cone machine". I searched for more recipes (although, the blender did come with a wonderful hardbound cookbook), but I wanted to watch people in action. I found several videos of people making various things and got excited!!! Now, I am going to try to make something every day in the Vitamix!!! Yesterday, I cut up two large lemons (with peel still intact) and blend them with water for some lemonade!!! The verdict was not great at first because I forgot about sugar!!! (Insert sour face here...LOL) After adding the sugar and a couple strawberries it was much better!!! I had so much leftover that I decided to make whole fruit popsicles!!!! We will be trying them tonight!!!

This morning I used my Vitamix to make SCRAMBLED EGGS!!!!!!!!!!! I was so curious about this recipe so I did it!!!

                                              

                                                Vitamix Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:
6 Whole Eggs
1/4 C. Water
1/4 C. Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray
Shredded Cheese to garnish (optional)

Spray Blade with Cooking Spray. Start on Variable 1 & turn it to variable 10 quickly then on High. Let Blend for 8 minutes (steam will come out of the vented lid). Scrape out with Spatula, Garnish & Enjoy!!!

Steam Escaping from the lid!!!

The Result:

It was a ton of fun, but it was not my new favorite way to cook eggs. My kids, on the other hand, went crazy over them! They were a lot softer than your typical scrambled eggs which made it appealing for future baby food for Julia, but the older kids liked it, too! It was kind of messy (as you can see in the picture to the right) and we will probably stick to eggs on the stovetop, but the experience was worth it!!!

Kid approved!!!

I am not affiliated with Vita-Mix nor do I receive compensation from them.

I have not been trained as a doctor and the posts here are simply ideas that I am trying to implement in my own life. If you would like to use the advice here that is awesome, but please, please, please make sure you know your limitations so that you do not get hurt or die from taking my advice!!!