My Weekly Meal Plan

Oh today is Monday and I am feeling it. Even with celebrating the New Year we are going to keep it extra extra simple this week.

On days like these I just breathe deep and try to focus on the little things. Because even they seem really big right now. Life is good and we are so blessed! I am feeling a tad bit overwhelmed right now though and I'm not afraid to own it.

Yoga pants are still on (in fact I slept in them last night because all my other jammies were dirty) and I think it's a good day to just stay in them! It's funny that on days like today I choose to stay in yoga pants cause isn't it really all about being flexible. ;)

I don't think there has been one week since I have been posting the meal plan that I have exactly followed it but it really does help to have a plan in place and then be flexible.

I'm trying to remember that with more than just meal planning......As we are super close the the New Year and thinking about Resolutions I want to work on being a better planner and living more intentionally in many areas of my life but I also need to remember that flexibility is key and it's not about perfection but about
learning and growth.

I read Tell Your Time a few years ago it's a time management book that takes very little time to read.... I LOVE THAT! I'm going to read it again before the New Year because I need a little refresher. I have also started reading 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life I feel like it will be a good motivator too. I have just downloaded Organizing Life as a Mom  (it's on sale by the way use code ROCK2014 until January 4th) onto my Kindle because I need to ask myself the tough questions and say no to some things so I can say yes to others. Am I the only that finds that almost painful? (yes these are affiliate links)

I have always thought I was a strong advocate against busyness but that must be the proud side of me cause when I get real with myself I struggle to let go of my favorite "busy" things and focus on what truly matters. But I won't go into all my thoughts and ponderings right now.....maybe another time.  For now may you have a

Blessed New Year!

My Weekly Meal Plan 

Monday:
Spaghetti (yep the sauce is already made and bottled in food storage....not a day to tackle sauce making)

Tuesday:
New Year's Eve Menu

Wednesday:
Lefovers

Thursday:
Minestrone Soup

Friday:
Macaroni and Cheese

Saturday:
Nachos My Way

Sunday:
Cauliflower and Curry Soup

Dill Pickle Dip

When I first started dating Ryan it didn't take long for his family to introduce me to dill pickle dip. I'm not sure why I had never had it before but I don't remember trying it until then. I thought it was pretty good and was fine with adopting the dill pickle dip tradition........

That was until I started learning about ingredients! Then that poor little container of fun family tradition became the enemy. I mean those tiny letters on the back of the container was an ingredient list that was way to long with many big words some of which were monosodium glutamate also known as MSG.  Which is a big hit list item on my ingredient list.

Ryan was great to be understanding (his family less so...not that I blame them) but I still felt pretty bad and wondered if I could ever figure out how to make it healthy and still taste like the dip he loved.

Well a few years down my healthify all the foods we love road, it was time to take on the dip! It was so easy and we even liked it better than the old store bought version. I was happy to bring back a fun little tradition!

We have been loving this dip for years now, sorry I'm just getting it posted. But hey I made sure to do it in time for you have it this New Year!

Hope you all have a fun and Happy New Year!

Dill Pickle Dip

1 cup Veganaise (did you know my sister has started making her own, I need to get her recipe)
1/2 cup sunflower seed sour cream
1 Tablespoon Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1 heaping teaspoon Dill weed (more or less to taste)
1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 medium dill pickles chopped fine

Stir all ingredients together. Great to dip veggies and/or crackers in.  Good with potato chips too but you didn't hear that from me. ;)

New Year's Eve Menu 2013

By the time New Years hits we are ready for some more simple fare. We also celebrate 2 birthdays between Thanksgiving and New Years so we are pretty much partied out.  But there are still a few leftovers and some wonderful friends we haven't got to spend time with yet..........so we are grateful for yet another reason to celebrate!

New Year's Eve Menu 2013

Fajitas
Bean Dip (leftover from the 7 Layer Dip)
Cheese Ball (leftover too)
Root Beer (I tried this at Halloween, it's made with herbs.....it needs a little work but I think it will be really good this time.......if it is I will share)
Nut Mix (yep leftover from Christmas)
Candied Nut Mix (Okay so I tried candied pecans in the crock-pot for Christmas they were pretty tasty only too much candy and not enough nuts so I want to try again.....wish me luck!)
Veggies, Fruit, Crackers and whatever other healthy snacks we come up with ;)

My Simple Healthy Life eBook

Buy Now for $5.95

It's finally finished and I'm so excited to share My Simple Healthy Life with you! I have been working on this eBook for quite some time and I think it's my best one yet. In fact I like it so much that I'm going to update and format my other books in this more simple style. And of course add my newest recipes to them.

When I created my first ebooks I was concerned about not using up too much ink on printers (that was before eReaders) I now have a Kindle as do many of you or something like it so who's worried about ink. I love lots of colorful pictures in books especially recipe books.

With My Simple Healthy Life I decided to take a truly simple approach. I love looking through books with herbal remedies, and DIY household items but I started to notice something......There was NO WAY that I was ever going to make all 200+ recipes most of the books contained. Honestly a lot of times it kind of became overwhelming.

So this book has really been in the making for the past 18 years as I have found and formulated the things we most often need and use. Some recipes have come and gone but these have stuck around and we have used them often {many of them every day}for years now.

Tried & True and often used from My Simple Healthy Life to Yours!

To download a sample click here or on icon.

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Click here to browse my shop!

My Weekly Meal Plan

There will be plenty of time spent in the kitchen the next few days finishing up all our holiday baking and fun preparation. So all week meal time is even more simple. Although I really keep it pretty basic most weeks.

I'm making bean burritos tonight and the rest of the bean are going to be made into bean dip to use for Christmas Eve dinner prep. Multitasking at it's best!

Have a fabulous week and VERY VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love, Joy and Peace to each one of you and may God bless us EVERYONE! 

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Bean Burritos

Tuesday:
Christmas Dinner

Wednesday:
Christmas Dinner Leftovers

Thursday:
Barley Soup (right from the bottles in food storage!!!!)

Friday:Lentil Soup

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Creamy Cauliflower Sandwiches

Christmas Punch

My kids love, love, love this punch. We have had it nearly every Christmas for....wow like over 10 years now. The only time I make it is at Christmas so they really look forward to it.

We very rarely have bottled or from concentrate juice around here unless it is fresh or in the form of smoothies. Even just orange or apple juice is quite the treat and it's really rare and of course it's always 100% juice. Water is typically my beverage of choice. (I know so boring....but it's the liquid our bodies need and it's so affordable.)

Alright to this recipe is really simple and hard to mess up and should be adjusted to fit your taste. I like it a little on the tart side it almost seems carbonated that way but it's not. But if you like it sweeter feel free to adjust. Also sometimes when I feeling really adventurous I will add in some Calc-Punch just to up the nutrients cause you know me.....but it's totally optional. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Punch

1-2 quarts (depending on how sweet you want it) apple juice (can use from concentrate or bottled just be sure it's 100% juice organic is best, we use grandpa's homemade bottled apple juice he presses from his apple trees MMmmmmMmm)
2 quarts orange juice (I always squeeze some fresh but usually add some concentrate too)
1/2-1 small bottle Cranberry Concentrate (I get this at the health food store you can get unsweetened or apple juice sweetened, it you get unsweetened you will probably want more apple juice.)
Juice of 8-12 limes (I like more but less is good to depends on the limes and depends on your tastes)
1 Orange thinly sliced to float in punch bowl

Combine everything in a large punch bowl. Stir, add ice, taste, adjust to taste. 

Neighbor Gift Idea - Plus Free Printable

You know I don't remember if I have ever shared what I give my neighbors at Christmas time! I think I have mentioned it in passing once or twice but never really shared.  Well I'd say it's high time I started letting you in on our fun.

Think of it as my neighbor gift to you! All of my wonderful internet neighbors. ;)

Most years my favorite things to share have been fun treats. My neighbors are always so impressed.... because more often than not my neighbors think will love on nothing but carrots and lettuce or something and that we are all deprived.

One year I did a treat plate with some caramel corn, peanut brittle and a couple of other fun treats I can't remember now which. But her comment was, "Your treats are amazing I can't believe you can make those healthy!" Man do I wish she was still my neighbor I would love to have her try this Toffee.

This year I was seriously thinking figuring out some sort of a soup in a jar because there are just so many treats around and I thought soup might help balance it out. I still think it sounds fun.....but since we haven't lived here long and we are in a new and growing neighborhood, we have lots of new neighbors this year many whom I am sure feel so bad for us cause we are so deprived. ;)

So here's what we decided to take them instead......

I just made up a bunch of this Hot Carob Mix and found some mugs I liked and then......oh let me tell you I have been thinking about making homemade marshmallows for a LONG time but kept putting it off cause well I had never even made unhealthy marshmallows before so I was a little unsure of myself.

But then I came across this recipe that has already been healthified. And......I still messed it up. It ended up being a big glob of ugly....lets just say it looked more like a science project. Oh but they are yummy! I was able to cut a few into squares that looked pretty good then the kids were not upset when I said we could have the ugly ones.

The Ugly Ones

Then I figured out what I did wrong and made another batch using only 2 1/2 Tablespoons gelatin and beating them so they were not quite so stiff so I could spread them into my pan better. If you attempt the marshmallows (which I highly recommend you do) just be sure to read all the instructions on this post and the one she links to.  I used part honey and pure maple syrup in mine.....I love the flavor!

Do you know how long it's been since I have had marshmallows? Oh my goodness like 15 years.....some of my kids have never even had a marshmallow.....well that is until now. Maybe the neighbors are right we are deprived. Can I just tell you though homemade ones are So. Much. Better. then the ones you buy! But of course that's a given right.....isn't everything!

Although I had a lot of fun making marshmallows (oh did I mention I can't wait to try them with my Cocoa!!!! Oh how I used to love marshmallow in hot cocoa!) I think I had more fun making these cute little tags.

Do I have a download?  You betcha! And don't worry it doesn't have our name on it.

Click here to download tags.

 

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

Christmas Menu 2013

Christmas Menu 2013

• Creamed Peas and Potatoes - (yep going to give it another go it tasted good before just need to make the sauce thicker I think I'll even try them in the crock-pot, I'll let you know how they turn out)
• Sweet Potatoes with pecan strudel topping - (a recipe my sister made at Thanksgiving and I loved it so much I want to make it)
• Veggie Platter - (My platter usually has broccoli, cauliflower, different colors of bell peppers, carrots, celery, jicama (one of our favorites) and sometimes mushrooms, onion and radishes)
• Relish Tray (2 kinds of olive and pickles)
• Whole Grain crackers
• 7 layer dip
• Curry dip
• Dill Pickle Dip -(Ryan always loved that nasty stuff you can get at the store....I of course won't even buy it at the holidays....I figured out how to make my own version....and he even likes it better....SCORE.....this was quite a few years ago.....how come I haven't posted that recipe.....don't worry I put it on my recipes to post list! It's posted now!
• Cheese Ball
• A Salad - (I haven't decided which one yet we usually do the Broccoli Salad or the Crunchy Cabbage Salad....but again I'm in the mood for something new so I may think of something else.)
• Dried Fruit and Nut Mix - (pretty self explanatory...this year it will have macadamia nuts, pistachios, peanuts, almonds, raisins, dried cranberries and cherries, currents and maybe a few carob chips) 
• Ginger Bread Cookies
• Peanut Brittle
• Candied Pecans - (Something I have been wanting to try......I can't help myself....for some reason I think the Holidays are the perfect time to try new things.
• Our Traditional Christmas Punch
• I was thinking about also doing Pumpkin or Pecan Pie but we already have a lot of food here and Ryan's birthday is just a few days later and he loves pie so I think I will save the pie for then.
  

Toffee

Okay so I wouldn't categorize this in the healthy nourishing food section. But this time of year with the junk food around every corner.....this is a so much better version.

Years ago I made some Toffee Pretzel Crunch that my oldest daughter really enjoyed. She requested it every Christmas and I made it a few times. Then one year I tried making it and totally burnt it......I tried again and it was better but still  had a kind of burnt flavor.

So I gave up and haven't made it since. I wasn't sure why it had worked before but then pretty much failed 2 times in a row. I hate to waste food so I get a little nervous to keep trying when one batch completely fails.

Then this year for Missy's birthday she wasn't really excited about any kind of cake or really her birthday for that matter. She is 17 now.......dang wasn't I just 17?!?!?!

So I asked her, "What if I made you some toffee?" I could see her being excited about that so I started trying to figure out how I could make some really good without burning it. As I thought about it I decided to use the organic sugar instead of Sucanat. I like the rich flavor of Sucanat and the dark color but it seems to have a lower burning point....although next time I think I will add a little in just for the richer darker flavor.

And because I found I didn't have to get it clear up to the hard crack stage of 290 degrees or more and still have it be a hard candy. I just needed to get it up to about 270. Honestly I like it better cause it's not so dang hard!

Trying to push it up to that higher temperature just made the candy making process so much more iffy. This was simple and worked really well.  Maybe I have found the secret too all my candy making woes! It works to not push it clear up to temperature.

Obviously this is not a recipe I will make often......it's funny back in my sugarholic days I would not have been able to get enough of this. It is super tasty! But a little bit was sweets enough for me. In fact Missy's birthday was over a week ago and there is still some hanging out in the pantry.

We just don't crave it. This is such a wonderful feeling for a past addict.  It's so nice to no longer be addicted to sugar! You can read about how I kicked the sugar habit here.

Easy Healthified Toffee

1 cup chopped and toasted almonds or pecans
1 cup coconut oil (remove 1 Tablespoon if using ghee)
1 Tablespoon ghee (optional)
1 drop natural butter flavor (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1 cup Raw and/or Organic Sugar
1 Tablespoon agave or maple syrup
3 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla 
carob chips (enough to sprinkle over the top)

Toast nuts in a dry hot skillet until just golden brow. Stir them frequently and be sure not to burn they toast quickly. Sprinkle half of the nuts onto a small cookie sheet or cake pan that you have placed a sheet of parchment paper in.

In a medium sized sauce pan melt the coconut oil, optional ghee, butter flavor and salt. Add sugar, syrup and water.  Stir constantly at medium high heat until candy thermometer reaches 270 degrees. You may need to play with your stove and have it more on medium because you don't want it to get too hot too fast because it will burn. It gets to temperature pretty quickly so don't rush it.

As SOON as it hits 270 degrees then pour it as quickly spread it over the nuts in your pan. Wait just a minute then add desired amount of carob chips to cover the top. The toffee is still really hot so it will quickly melt the carob chips so within about a minute you can gently spread the carob with a knife and then add the rest of the chopped nuts on top.  Let cool completely. May put into fridge or freezer or just your freezing cold garage. (I guess that depends on where you live. But right now my garage is about as cold as my freezer. ;)