Inspiring Couple: Amy Smart and Carter Oosterhouse

{how cute are they? I can't take it!}

I recently caught a Rachael Ray episode featuring newlyweds Amy Smart and Carter Oosterhouse. Not only are they the cutest couple alive, but they are also seriously into green living. During their interview, they noted how they used local bakers for their cake as well as local chefs for their food. In addition, they used the natural elements as inspiration for their wedding details. You can read about their DIY green ideas here . A particularly interesting tidbit of the interview was when they mentioned how they had over 200 wedding guests and had ONE BAG OF GARBAGE!?!?!?!?!?! I am in serious awe of this. I thought long and hard about this and figured, if you use china, glasses, wine glasses, silverware, table linens and cloth napkins, composted all leftover food that was compostable...it just might be possible. So now I am sitting here asking myself, "what's my excuse?" They have inspired me to produce less garbage here at home. Especially during the upcoming holidays. Cheers to Amy and Carter! 

Easy Peasy Taco Seasoning

{taco seasoning from scratch. how gorgeous are these spice colors?}

Tonight, my quest was to make seasoned taco meat with ingredients from my own pantry. Turns out, my husband liked the homemade version better than the packaged! I omitted the red pepper flakes because we have other family members who do not like spicy foods, but even just a little dash would probably have added the "zip" that it really needed.

In the future, to save on time (not that it's not easy enough!), I might measure out a batch, then make a few batches and put it into a mason jar or spice jar for storage. On the outside of the jar, indicate the recommended serving amount. With the holidays coming up, it's a great idea to whip up a few batches and put it in a beautiful spice jar, decorate it and give it as a small gift! In fact, one of the best (and unique) gifts we received as a wedding favor was a  Montreal Steak spice rub! I personally love the simple, cute look of the following labeled jar:

{link for these decorative jars can be found here}

The following recipe (taken from here) was so easy, it's ridiculous! Please note, I did make a few additions.

TACO SEASONING

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper 

Dash of flour

2-3 Tbsp water

Directions:

Mix all spices together. Cook desired taco meat in skillet, drain oil. return meat to skillet. Add 2-3 Tbsp water, a dash of flour and the spice mixture. Continue cooking on medium heat until thickened.

Compare the above ingredients to the packaged seasoning (who shall remain nameless):

Yellow corn flour

Salt

Maltodextrin

Paprika

Spices

Modified corn starch

Sugar

Garlic powder

Citric Acid

Autolyzed Yeast Extract

Natural flavor

Caramel color (sulfites)

I can imagine that you can also season black beans or vegetarian refried beans with the above seasonings if you are vegetarian. 

Ole!

Vegetarian Highlight: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

My favorite host on Food Network is Giada De Laurentiis. My daughter just loves her and she is like another family member to us, seriously. You can only imagine my excitement when I tuned in one day and her show was entitled "Viewer's Choice: Vegetarian"! Basically, viewers wrote in with their requests on what they wanted to see on the show and vegetarian recipes won out. According to Giada, she is predicting that 2012 is going to be all about vegetarian fare--that of which I could not be happier about (check out her interview here). I had to try her Whole Grain Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms recipe immediately. (Note: The only difference was that I kept the mushrooms whole and the Brussels Sprouts chunkier, just my own personal touch!)

{I am a huge Brussels sprouts lover...they really add personality to a dish}

{fresh lemon, creme fraiche and toasted slivered almonds. just a few of the stand-out ingredients.}

{brilliantly staged vegetables}

{the unexpected addition of the fresh lemon and lemon zest was the best surprise to this recipe.}

{finished and plated!}

Words cannot describe how wonderfully tasty this recipe was. I am pretty sure I existed on these leftovers for two to three days afterwards. The pepper gave it a kick and the lemon zest really was the highlight, adding a fresh zing. The creaminess of the creme fraiche made the taste smooth and really blended the ingredients together nicely. Toasted slivered almonds add a protein punch as well as a delectable crunchiness. Pair the dish with baguette on the side to complete the meal, but on it's own it was magnificent. This is one that will remain in my recipe book.

Now, onto Giada's other vegetarian recipes...

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

 {pumpkin spice pancakes. YUM!}

While I have been trying to watch my sugar lately, if I do decide to make something sweet, I'll make it from scratch so as to avoid preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated anything. My daughter absolutely loves these pumpkin spice pancakes (recipe link here). I'll do anything to increase any fruits into my daughter's diet, and pumpkin does have some nutritional value worth getting excited about (read the benefits here). Next time I will opt out of using the cinnamon sugar on top since the brown sugar in the recipe is enough sweetness as well as the maple syrup. Ahhhhh fall...

Stretching Your Hard-Earned Dollar for Healthy Eats

{fresh vegetables from our garden!}

I found this interesting article (link here) on healthy eating on a budget. At our place, we try and incorporate these ideas regularly, and, personally, I think there are some good ones here. The only exception might be the canned goods as it has been found that many cans are lined with BPA. This is not a great thing because I make marinara sauce regularly from scratch most weeks and use canned whole tomatoes.

Here, I've listed the suggestions in the above-mentioned article:

• Join a CSA or go to farmers markets regularly (a great way to support local businesses) 
• Plan ahead, don't impulse buy
• Eat dried beans
• Buy frozen vegetables
• Buy eggs
• Buy "generic" versions (I do this all the time at Stop and Shop with their Nature's Promise products, but Shop Rite also has many organic store-brand items)
• Don't buy pre-cut fruits and veggies
• Eat less meat
• Buy cheaper cuts of meat
• Eat foods that fill you up
• Buy in bulk

Also, during the summer months, another budget/environmentally friendly idea is to start your own garden (even better, using compost that you've collected all year long). You will know exactly where your food has come from and you can't eat more indigenous to your area than that!

For those who are interested, here's my quick marinara/spaghetti sauce recipe. So easy!

Jenny's Quick Marinara


1-2 cans crushed tomatoes (use 10 whole tomatoes if making from true "scratch", without puree)
1 can pureed tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Italian seasoning
1 tsp sugar

Pour 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and saute until the garlic is fragrant but not burned. Add crushed tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar and stir well. Shake enough Italian seasoning over the mixture, enough to cover the surface area of the sauce in an even layer. Mix. Simmer for as little as a few minutes until it is hot or for a few hours to develop into a rich, hearty sauce. Mix throughout the time it is simmering. Add Italian sausage to maximize flavor or meatballs. (Or nothing!) Freeze, divided into1-cup servings in storage containers.

The Perfect Golden Chicken Nuggets

{eat your heart out Mcdonald's.}

When I saw Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution a while back, he did a special on "what's really in chicken nuggets?" It was enough to make me want to run for the hills! So instead, I found a great recipe will real, whole ingredients that I know you will enjoy.

When I am dealing with a picky-food child, I turn to none other than Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld to help me out. The premise of the book is that vegetable purees are added to sneakily "up" the nutritional value to her recipes. So when a friend graciously gave me this book as a gift, I turned to the chicken nuggets recipe (here) ASAP. The result was crispy, golden, tender chicken nuggets that blows McDonalds' out of the water by a million miles. I have to admit that I didn't have time to add the purees to the nuggets, but I will try to in the future.

{the secret is in the breadcrumbs and spices.}

{this is how I prepare, using an assembly line after cutting chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks.}

{the key to the "perfect" golden nugget is to coat skillet with non-stick spray. let it get hot. then add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. let that get hot again before adding nuggets.}

{let the chicken sit for a few minutes to develop a nice golden color. then flip.}

{nuggets will develop a delightful golden color. yum!}

Everyone loves these delicious nuggets! I serve these usually with homemade mac 'n cheese (or Annie's mac 'n cheese if I'm in a time crunch, link here) and a vegetable. With football season here, it's the perfect appetizer to wow your crowd. I dare you to find someone who doesn't enjoy these!

An Ode to Cinnamon, Misunderstood Spice

I recently found this wonderful article (link here) on the health benefits of cinnamon and wanted to share it with you. When I say "misunderstood," I mean that cinnamon is often an ingredient in desserts such as cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, etc. However, cinnamon alone has the beneficial properties of lowering blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels--a great reason to include it regularly as part of your diet.

Fall is a great time of year for cinnamon to make a cameo appearance as it's a great compliment to apples. I put cinnamon in oatmeal, whole wheat waffles, and whole wheat pancakes regularly. Here's a great quick and easy oatmeal recipe that even the pickiest of picky eaters seem to love! This is from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet:

Quick Date-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal Makes 1 serving 1 cup organic rolled oats (I happened to use Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats, but Stop and Shop has both their Nature's Promise as well as the Quaker ones for the same price, $2.69) 2 tablespoons maple syrup 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts 1/3 crisp apple, cut in cubes About 5 dates, pitted and chopped Fine sea salt to taste 3 shakes of ground cinnamon Scant 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil (I would refrain from this if/when you are trying to conceive) Note: I have made it like the above recipe, but really you can put whatever dried fruit you want---dried cranberries are also great. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Combine the oats, syrup, nuts, apple and dates in a bowl. Add a pinch or two of salt, then pour enough hot water to just cover the oats; don't add too much or it will be watery. Cover the bowl with a plate or pot lid, and let the oatmeal stand until the oats have absorbed the water. Stir, and add a little more water if the oats look too dry or a little more oats if it looks to watery. Let the oatmeal cool a little, and then drizzle with the flaxseed oil. Enjoy! This recipe is so quick to make and the taste is much better than those bagged oatmeal packets. Plus, you won't be on a jacked-up sugar high all morning and the fiber will keep you fuller, longer! *phew!* You can tweak this recipe to be whatever you want. Experiment! If you find a new combo to put in the oatmeal, let us know!