Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

My sweet daughter Missy is actually the formulator of this recipe. She has become such a good cook! It's so nice to have more than one cook around here now that my kids are older. I don't think that you can start your children too young when it comes to helping out in the kitchen.

There are a lot of things especially when it comes to academics that it is better to start late than too early (like math for example sometimes their minds just aren't ready for certain concepts). But when it comes to helping out in the kitchen....although lots of supervision at first is a must and obviously no sharp objects until age appropriate....I think letting them get in and get their hands dirty helps them learn a life skill that they will use......FOR LIFE! ;)

The thing I love about dishes like this is they are so yummy yet so quick to make. If I be sure to get my rice cooking in the rice cooker ahead of time then from start to finish the rest of this dish take less then 30 minutes to make.  Most of my recipes are like that I don't think a good healthy meal needs to always take lots of time preparation.

Not only that but it's full of those Indian spices like Turmeric (the main ingredient curry powder) that is full of health benefits. Just Google health benefits of Turmeric and I think you will see what I mean.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small slice of ginger, minced
3 cups cooked chickpeas rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen or fresh peas
1 can coconut milk
1 can diced tomatoes
1 heaping Tablespoon Sucanat
1 Tablespoon Real Salt
2 1/2 Tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon Veggie Broth Powder
dash of cayenne (optional)
cooked brown rice

Directions:

• In large skillet lightly saute sweet potatoes, onion, garlic and ginger in coconut oil for a couple minutes. 
• Then add frozen peas, chickpeas, coconut milk, diced tomatoes and seasonings. 
• Stir well, cover and let simmer until potatoes are done to your liking. 
• Serve with rice. 
• Also good topped with fresh cilantro and lemon and/or "sour cream" made with Vegenaise, lemon juice and salt.

My Weekly Meal Plan

Last week as usual life happened and I didn't get everything done I had planned. Well it's a new week and hopefully I will get a bit further with my purging. This past weekend I was able to get the kids involved a bit so that is a good thing. I'm always such a proud Mom when I see my kids getting rid of things they know they aren't using or have PLENTY of and would like to have others be able to benefit from having what they simply don't need.

I still need to tackle my closet although it won't be a very hard tackle because I'm not one that buys much in the way of clothes but I always seem to have plenty so there is some I can give away that I know I just don't ever wear. Then I hope to get to my kitchen and pantry.

Right now my pantry is not my favorite thing to clean and purge because it really needs to be remolded like my last one was so the space is being used properly. But I struggle for some reason to change it since it is new. I'm pretty sure though that I won't put up with it for too many years before I decide it's just worth customizing for our family.  For now though I just make it work and spend way too much time having to clean it.



My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Pomegranate Quinoa Pilaf 

Tuesday:
Stir Fry

Wednesday:
Sweet Potato Soup

Thursday:
Spicy Italian Spaghetti

Friday:
Chilaquiles

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry 

Hard Lotion Bars

I told you about hard lotion bars and shared this recipe with you a few years ago. Since that time I always have a lotion bar on hand. Although most of the time this Skin Cream and this Lip Balm covers most of our dry skin needs...... sometimes during the Winter our skin needs something a bit more stronger.

That's where these hard lotion bars come in. We love them and use them often this time of year. I have also found that any or all of these recipe are fun to make up and give as gifts! They are unique enough and work so well that they get used up and leave your friends, family and special someones hoping you will give them more again this year. ;)

We have found these work so great for dry winter hands (you know the kind where the edges of your fingernails just hurt from dry cracked sores).....they are also excellent for feet with dry cracked skin on the heals and/or toes. I notice too that in the winter my kids get not only dry chapped lips (the Herbal Infused Lip Balm is perfect for that) but dry chapped cheeks and noses. Lotion bars are perfect for that too!

I first heard about making a hard lotion bar from Practical Ideas for Practical Moms and then I saw them at Passionate Homemaking!  I had all the stuff I needed for them since I had been experimenting with making my own Natural Deodorant so I thought these would be fun to try too!

If you don't want to make your own you can buy them at MadeOn  These are great for those extra dry Winter hands and feet especially for people who get the dry cracked sores on them.  Below is the recipe I used!  Enjoy soft silky hands even in the Winter!

 

Hard Lotion Bar

4.25 ounces Beeswax
4.25 ounces Shea Butter
5.5 ounces Coconut Oil
70 drops of essential oil, optional

Melt ingredients in crock pot or double boiler.
Mix well,  add essential oils if wanted once everything is melted.
Using a turkey baster or small ladle pour into molds of choice.
After all the bars were made I wrapped them in wax paper just like you would a present.
Then if you want to get creative you can print up your own fun labels for them!
Lots of fun and makes a great gift for all those people in your life with rough hands! ;)

The Simple Healthy Life of a 17 year old girl

Hi there! I’m Missy. I’m 17 years old and crazy about life. Today I want to tell you a little bit about my life growing up in the Simple, Healthy Home.

   

As a little girl I really didn’t think much about it. It was just life. I had really never known anything else and what I had was good. Why change? I knew I was a little different, but I didn’t care. I just wanted food to fill my stomach, books to read, something to write in where no one would be able to see my handwriting and spelling. But mostly I needed time to pretend I was Laura Ingalls and my little brother to play with me. 

I knew my family and I could eat some things and didn’t eat others. I didn’t know why, other than the fact that my mom said so. When I started getting older I began to wonder more. Why was I so different? Why did we homeschool? Why did we believe what we did? Why did we eat weirder than anyone else I knew? I caught on to the homeschooling thing pretty fast, and all my best friends have very similar beliefs so that’s never been an issue either. But being a teenager and the food thing…. :P

As I got older I went more places on my own. And food is everywhere! You can’t go to a social gathering anyplace without at least some cookies, or pizza, or soda, and chocolate, and…. You know what I mean. Lets just say that I get hungry like everybody else and give in to the call for food, healthy or not.

I realized pretty fast that some things don’t have a very pleasant effect on me. And other things I just don’t have a taste for, at all. (Bacon and Soda. *gag*) The thing is I didn’t know why some food wasn’t good for me, and I probably never will understand it all like my mom. But I do know that the world has some really bad habits when it comes to food. Especially at social gatherings.

People ask me what it’s like being a teenager with the Simple, Healthy Lifestyle, because we all know teens aren’t exactly what you call healthy. Late nights, early mornings, and lots of Junk Food. Let me just say that it isn’t easy, and I don’t always make the best choices. But it really isn’t that complicated either. What is it exactly that I do? Here are 8 things I do in teenage social food situations.

1. If you can, bring something to share.

2. Don’t go completely starving or it will be harder to resist the temptations.

3. Eat what you know you can have.

4. Have like-minded friends that are a little weird themselves. That way you can probably eat more of what is there. ;)

5. Invite everyone to your house! (Homemade Waffles, Kettle popcorn, Quesadillas and Limeade, Mmmmm. Everybody loves it!)

6. If you know you aren’t going to gorge yourself you can eat a little of whatever you want.

7. Homemade stuff is better than processed nastiness. (It taste better too.)

8. Just listen to your body!

I’ve changed a lot since I was a little girl. I know there is a very clear reason why I do what I do and what my family does. Even if I don’t quite understand all of it yet. All I really need is good food to eat, books about everything to read, a huge variety of music to listen to, weird family and friends to spend my time with, something to write with so one day people can read it. And most importantly, time to learn, study, and dream. 

If you’re scared of being “weird,” don’t be. It really isn’t that hard, and it’s actually a lot of fun! You just have to know the reason why you’re doing it all. :D

Missy, The Happy Friend

My Weekly Meal Plan

It appears that my weekly meal plan is also turning into a sort of update and/or mini journal both with things about the blog and my life. It's maybe a funny spot to put it....but since I know I will be menu planning every week it at least keeps me more consistent in keeping some sort of record. I'm sure most of the time it will kind of seem all over the place....sorry about that......Welcome to my mind! ;)

So let's see the Summer Squash Patties turned out great using sweet potato.....we will for sure do that again it kind of takes that yummy summer recipe and makes it great for winter too.

Also that same week we were trying to come up with a really good curry recipe using sweet potatoes and chickpeas.......remember? I had two recipes I was going to pull ideas from. Well it was Missy's night to cook so I showed her the recipes and told her to figure something good out. (This is where all the years of work in letting my kids "help out" lots in the kitchen pays off big time!)

She went right to work and man oh man was it ever good. I had her write down what she did and we will give it a few more tries to be sure we have the recipe amounts just right and some good pictures then I will post the recipe!

I added google+ to my social media sites.......check my sidebar----------->
(the tomato and there is a badge with my family picture too) If you use google+ I'd love to connect up with you there! Click here to get to my new Simple. Healthy. Tasty. google+ page.

I am about done reading through the time management books I was telling you about last week.....they are helping me to stay inspired and motivated both in purging my home and in goal setting. I'm determined this year to bust out of this survival mode that I have pretty much been in since we moved and make it a year of learning to really thrive during this season of my life!



I finished my purging goals last week and I'm excited to move on. This week my plan is to conquer my bedroom, my bathroom and my closet. I used to really struggle when it came to getting rid of clothes. But once I realized there are only certain things I like to wear and that comfort is my top priority....It's lots easier to get rid of clothes I know are really just clutter and not something I wear or love. The No Brainer Wardrobe among a few other things really helped me to see that! Now it's books that I really struggle with purging.......but I'll get to that later.

I have also been working on making goals for the year.....I want to be much more intentional but so often I find myself with huge ideals and expectations that I get overwhelmed and give up on my goals before I even get started. So I have decided that I must get much more REAL with myself!

I never thought of myself as a perfectionist but that was only because I wasn't one in the way I defined it. But again I'll get to more of that later and maybe even share some of my goals for this year. In the meantime I hope you have a great week!

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Sukiyaki

Tuesday:
Chili Cheese Fries

Wednesday:
Very Veggie Sandwiches

Thursday:
Stir Fry with Quinoa

Friday:
Pineapple Mango Fried Rice

Saturday: 
Leftovers

Sunday:
Lentil Soup

Sweet Potato and Mango Tacos

I love buying sweet potatoes in bulk but I can only find bags or boxes of them from November to Early February then I just see them available to buy one at a time the rest of the year.

So that means that we eat a lot of sweet potatoes this time of year.  We love them! I had a fun time throwing together these tacos the other night and even surprised myself at how tasty they were.  I made a bunch and there were not any leftovers.

I didn't have any fresh mango so I just got some of the frozen chunks of mango out of the freezer, put them in a bowl and let them thaw a bit then cut them into smaller pieces. It worked great and tasted nearly as good as fresh.

I used cooked chickpeas for the beans because that is what I had cooked up and in the fridge already but I think next time I will try cooked black beans. I think pinto would be good too or even kidney.....you could probably just choose your favorite kind of cooked bean.

For sure an instant favorite filled with lots of healthy ingredients that I'm sure you could mix and match using what you have on hand.

Sweet Potato and Mango Tacos

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas, black beans or other favorite bean
1 cup frozen corn
3-4 cups chopped baby kale
2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons Real Salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1-2 limes
12-24 (depending on size) corn tortillas, cooked how you like them (we warm ours in a frying pan with a little coconut oil)
2 mangoes peeled and diced or 2 cups frozen chunks, thawed and diced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
Brown Rice, cooked
Cheezy Sauce (optional)
Ranch Dressing (optional)

If you don't have your rice cooked you will want to get that going first.

In large frying pan saute sweet potatoes and onion until sweet potatoes are crisp tender (about 8 minutes). Be sure not to over cook you don't want them to end up mushy. Next add beans, corn and seasoning. Cook until just warm them add the kale and the juice of 1/2 to a whole lime. Cook just until kale is wilted.

While mixture is cooking you will also want to be warming up your tortillas.

In medium sized bowl stir together the mango, jalapeno, green onion, cilantro and juice from 1/2 of lime, you may add some lime zest too if desired. Salt to taste.

In your corn tortilla place a little cooked brown rice. Top the rice with cheezy sauce if desired then heap on the sweet potato mixture and mango salsa. Top with ranch dressing or other favorite topping. Enjoy!

My Weekly Meal Plan

So I realized that I have pretty much been in survival mode since all our moving.............that has been just over 2 years now! I think my adrenals took a beating and haven't been very happy with me. I have been trying to be nicer to them and they seem to be slowing responding.

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to decide survival mode is NOT the place I like or ever want to be in. I have tried to be patient with myself and give me time to bounce back......but I don't think I quite understood the spiral I had already started down before the move ever happened. (I will share more about that later.)

Right now though I have decided it's time to THRIVE again not just survive. And I decided the first thing I need to focus on to start thriving and being more intentional is to go through and purge my house. Obviously we did a really big purge during the moving process but I used to purge about every six months and I really haven't done much purging since we moved here.

So I'd say it's high time! I read Clutter's Last Stand years ago....I should probably pull it out again. I know that I can't truly thrive with a lot of clutter using up my energy, time and brain space.....causing me to be constantly overwhelmed.

So what's my plan? Well since I'm running in survival mode and already overwhelmed I am taking the very simple approach. Last week I cleaned out and purged my herb cupboard. Today I cleaned and purged the Laundry Room. Tomorrow I'm going to start on my office closet then the office that will probably take me the rest of the week.




Then I will start planning what to tackle next....hopefully that will start to inspire the kids and I can get them in on the game plan. Since life won't stop for me to purge my home I only plan to spend 30 minutes to an hour a day on this project. It will take a while doing it that way and I'm usually one that wants to dive into a big project and just work on it until it's finished.

BUT if I'm truly honest with myself right now I know that jumping in over my head will send me quickly spiraling down again and my adrenals will start yelling and I will become nearly paralyzed with overwhelm......and that will not be good for anyone.

 
Here is a list of books that I'm reading or have read to help keep me motivated.

Tell Your Time
Clean Enough
One Bite at a Time
Getting it Together
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life
The Unwired Mom
Simple Living 

So what does all this have to do with menu planning?

Well not a whole lot except that everything including fixing meals is harder and takes longer when the clutter is trying to take over. That and as usual the plan is nice and simple this week as it is every week!

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Indian Tacos

Tuesday:
Mushroom Stroganoff

Wednesday:
Smothered Chimmichungas

Thursday:
Minestrone Soup

Friday:
Sweet Potato and Mango Tacos (pictured above)

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Crock Pot Lasagna

Blender Pancakes and Coconut Syrup

This post was last published in July of 2008.....I'd say it's time it took center stage again. It's really a great recipe. Enjoy!

I think these are quickly becoming our new favorite pancakes. Believe it or not after much searching and trying I finally took my Mom's tried and true old recipe and "healthified" it to our tastes and we have a Simple, Healthy, Tasty pancake recipe that the whole family loves! One of the things I like best about it is that I don't have to grind my wheat into flour first. I just put the whole grain right in the blender.

Blender Pancakes

1 cup rice or almond milk

3/4 cup whole kernel grain (I used hard white wheat, spelt or kamut )

Egg Replacer for 3 egg whites

1 Tablespoon Sucanat

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons coconut or olive oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pour milk and wheat into blender. Liquify (on high with a regular blender on speed 3 or 4 with a high speed) for 4 minutes. Continue to run at a lower speed and while still running add the rest of ingredients. Add baking powder last and stop blender as soon as it is thoroughly mixed. Pour right onto hot griddle from blender cook and turn over to cook on other side just like any pancake.

NOTE: I usually double this but depending upon the size of your blender you may want to try it first cause it does foam up some once the baking powder is added. If it only takes up half your blender or less you know you can double it without any problems! Also Spelt and Kumut both work in this recipe for those who have wheat allergies.

When I was looking for a good blender pancake recipe I came across some coconut syrup on a blog. It sounded very yummy but of course I had to healthify it! We really like how it turned out though, very rich and Taaaasty! ;)  MmmMmmmm give it a try!

Coconut Syrup

7-8 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 drop natural butter flavor (optional)
3/4 cup rice milk mixed with 3/4 T. vinegar
1 cup Sucanat
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Place oil, rice milk and Sucanat in a saucepan. Turn stove on to medium and stir until oil melts and Sucanat dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the "fizz" to reduce before serving.

High Protein, No Powder

I just had to let you know about this giveaway! Many of you know how much I love my Blendtec Blender and that it is my most used plug-in kitchen tool EVER. I use it by far more than the rest.......at LEAST once a day usually more. I can't recommend it enough.

And since I know everyone can't win and a Blendtec can be a pretty big investment I thought some of you might like looking into getting  $100 Off + Free Shipping On Blendtec Refurbished Blenders I own 2 Blendtec Total Blender, multiple blender jars including the twister jar . Blendtec for sure makes my time in the kitchen faster and easier!



As part of the launch of her new book, Tiffany is giving away a Blendtec over at her blog Don't Waste the Crumbs. While your there be sure to grab her new ebook High Protein, No Powder! I was able to review a copy as part of the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle and it was one of my very favorites. Full of excellent recipes with great ingredients and lots of good information too! Get your copy now while they are on sale.

My Weekly Meal Plan

Just a quick reminder that Coffee Table Conversations start next week! If you aren't signed up you still can! I'm looking forward to "going" I hope you are too.





Now on to this weeks meal plan!

So this week my fridge is looking pretty bare and I need to do quite a bit of shopping but I may put off the big shop until Friday and just pickup a couple things like onion and celery to get by for the week.

I have red potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots that need using. There are frozen peas and a bunch of chickpeas that I cooked up in the crock pot this past weekend. I also plan to cook up some pinto beans later on in the week.

It's amazing how long you can go without a lot of grocery shopping when you have food storage with a well stocked pantry and freezer. There is a head of lettuce and plenty of oranges and grapefruit.....I can totally make it one more week.

You will see how this weeks plan uses up what is needing to be used along with food storage items that we always have on hand. While only needing a couple of pickup items that somehow ran out (I usually never run out of celery or onions!)

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Veggie Pot Pie

Tuesday:
Split Pea Soup

Wednesday:
Sweet Potato and Chick Pea Curry (still working on a recipe for this....I'm going to use both this recipe and this recipe to work from we'll see how it turns out)

Thursday:
Summer Squash Patties (Since I don't have Summer Squash I'm going to try Sweet Potato in it's place and maybe tweak the recipe in other ways too. I'll let you know how it turns out.)

Friday:
Tacos (pictured above)

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Roasted Veggies

French Toast Stix, Made Without Egg

This is basically a feed a family version of these that my Sister Emily posted a few years back!  They are egg and dairy free (so vegan french toast) and if you wanted they could easily become gluten free french toast by using whole grain gluten free bread and use extra arrowroot powder instead of flour in the recipe.

Great for families with allergies and/or intolerance to dairy, eggs and/or gluten. They have been a fun family favorite around here for years!

French Toast Stix, Feed a Family Version 

2 cups almond or rice milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6-8 Tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoon whole wheat flour

1/2 cup arrowroot powder

4 Tablespoons Sucanat

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1 loaf of whole grain bread

pure maple syrup or dip of your choice, we used homemade buttery maple syrup (recipe soon to come)

Directions:

Cut slices of bread into 3-4 equal sticks.

Mix first 9 ingredients in bowl.

Dip sticks individually into mixture.  Over medium/low heat, on a well greased pan or griddle, lay sticks flat down. After 2 to 4 minutes turn sticks, they should be a light brown.  Sticks should turn easily when done.  Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes before removing.  I will a lot of times reduce the heat so they cook slow and are not soggy in the middle but some people like them soggy in the middle do whatever you like!