Vending Machines

One school in Utah eliminated vending machines about 7 years ago.  At first the students were unhappy but now they have students there that don't know any different and are fine.  You can read about it here.  Apparently this school made about $10,000 on vending machines each year.

Quinoa bites

I've been experimenting with different quinoa recipes lately and love these quinoa bites.  You can find the recipe here  I just changed it a bit to my liking.

Fruit dip

My sister made this fruit dip this weekend and it was so yummy!

I decided to make it for my kiddos to have with fruit after school today.

March against Monsanto

  Today was the March Against Monsanto, happening in 50 countries and in every state in the US. I was so happy to be able to participate in a cause I believe so strongly in.  We were able to listen to some speak on the collapse of the bee population which is so sad.  I was sad to see the bill in Washington allowing states to require labeling failed, it's absurd to me when 80% of the population wants labeling that Washington is so out of touch that they can't vote for the people. I wrote to both of my senators and received a letter back from Senator Orrin Hatch saying that he believed GMOs to be safe and would have to vote according to what he knows.  Turns out Monsanto is a contributor to his campaign and he is considered one of the 13 "friends of Monsanto" in the senate.

Allergies

My oldest son has horrible seasonal allergies.  We tried every over the counter medicine possible. We tried sudafed, claritin, allegra, etc. and nothing seemed to work.  Finally, my sister told me that when she went off dairy that her allergies were much more manageable.  So we decided as a last resort to try it.  We ended up with two things that worked.

Always Playing The Other Side

My husband is actually a pretty good sport when it comes to healthy eating, trying not to eat GMOs, and all but he still likes to torment.  A while back I shared the dirty dozen list on facebook.  To my surprise he responded with the following.  

Monsanto Protection Act may be repealed

I recently came across this article, Monsanto Protection Act may be repealed.

I was pleased to see that Senator Merkley is working to try and repeal the section of this bill that applies to Monsanto being protected from lawsuits regarding

Italian Quinoa Rice

I've tried quinoa a few times and haven't liked it.  Recently a friend told me she enjoyed seasoned quinoa and it spurred me to try again.  This turned out so good!

Kind bars

I have been looking for a healthy, protein type bar for a while. My requirements?
1. Tastes good
2. Isn't packed with GMOs (most contain some type of soy)
3. Doesn't have an ingredient list 10 miles long.
I was so excited when, on vacation my husband, we stopped at the living foods market and found the perfect solution. Kind bars. They are so yummy! While they aren't the epitome of health, they are a good start. They have less that 8 ingredients and contain 7 grams of protein (for their protein bars). This isn't as much protein as other bars, so have two. Ha ha just kidding!

Fast Food

Recently the following was on the show The Doctors, for the story click this link  I just wanted to share the story.  A man from St. George, UT bought this hamburger from McDonalds 14 years ago and it still looks brand new.  It has no mold or anything on it.  He originally bought

GMOs & March against Monsant

I just wanted to post a few links to information on GMO (Genetically modified organisms) foods.

Genetic roulette  This is my favorite documentary.

Farmers Story

Dr Oz explains GMOs 

Dr Oz II GMO OMG  Dr Oz has experts from both sides so you can listen to each one as he leads the debate.

Recently President Obama signed what is nicknamed the Monsanto act which in essence says that Monsanto

Reminder That Labels Are For Reading

I saw a commercial last week that talked about how Daisy sour cream was just cream, nothing else.  I listened and thought, "Well, duh.  What else would it be?"  Turns out there's lots of options.  Here are a couple labels from a couple other sour cream brands.

I'll Have a Salad With a Side of Sugar

Today I was planning to make a crock pot chicken recipe that called for a bottle of Catalina dressing. I like Catalina but never buy it so I Googled a copycat recipe.  Wow!  A recipe that makes 3 cups of dressing calls for 1 c. sugar and 2/3 c. ketchup (with sugar), ouch.  I had no idea I was putting sugar on my salad when we ate somewhere and I used Catalina dressing. That's what I learned today, know your salad dressing or you'll turn that healthy bowl of goodness into dessert!

Lunches 4/12/13

First: shredded pork in an organic flour tortilla, pistachios, grapes, peas, and an orange second: pb&j on whole wheat bread made with natural yeast, grapes, peas, almonds third: pb&j on natural yeast whole wheat bread, peas, orange, grapes. Happy Friday!

Lunch

I am not a fan of school lunches and luckily for the most part neither are my kids. School lunch has very few choices of real food that isn't processed. One day my 7 year old came

Almost Healthy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chewy chocolate chip cookies.  I'm just not a crispy, cookie kind of girl. Over the years I have perfected a chewy, chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Enter healthy lifestyle changes.  Ack, what to do? Get to work!   I've spent 2 years experimenting and now, today, I share with you my healthier, but still chewy, yummy chocolate chip cookies.

These use healthier fats, and 1/3 of the fat of the original recipe.  They have half the sugar but more fiber and they are whole grain.  Not bad for a cookie, right?

Lemon Socks

My sweet baby has been running a fever for 2 days now.  It hit 103.5 today, advil doesn't work on him (I actually think he might be allergic to it to some extent - my husband's sister is actually allergic to it) and tylenol helps but only a little.  Today he was miserable, just whining and whining while I held him because he was so hot and hurting.  I couldn't google anything because I had to stand up holding him or rock him or what not so I called my sister and asked if she would google natural remedies.  She came up with 2 things.  First, lemon socks.  Yes that's right lemon socks.

Soaked Dutch Babies (German Pancakes)

It's tradition in my family to make what we call "Dutch Babies" (and what most people call German Pancakes)  for LDS General Conference weekend.  Recently I learned that in order to get the benefits of whole wheat you have to soak the wheat over night or you have to use a natural yeast start for breads.  This process breaks down the yeast and allows the vitamins and minerals to be released into your body for use.  I have been using natural yeast for a little while now but this was the first time I soaked the grains for a recipe like this. I used different wheat for both pans. The hard red wheat one that was soaked and then I needed an extra pan so I made one with soft white wheat.  Both were good, but I would recommend using hard white wheat in this recipe.  My family ate both without complaints. So here is the recipe: