Chili!

I don't have too many photos this time, but I didn't really feel like standing on my feet in the kitchen today, so I made some chili in the slow cooker.

I had made some homemade pickled jalapeño peppers from the book Fermented by Jill Ciciarelli, so I added those in for some extra flavor. 

It took me about 30 minutes to prep, I browned the meat while cutting the vegetables. Then I let it cook on low for about 3 hours before I turned it down to "keep warm."

Here's what I used:

1 lb. grass fed ground beef, browned 

1 lb. ground turkey, browned 

1 large can organic diced tomatoes

2 cans organic tomato sauce

1 can organic red kidney beans, rinsed (optional-- I don't eat them, but the hubs does)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 sweet onion, diced

5 small garlic cloves (2 larger ones)

1 tbsp. homemade pickled jalapeños (optional)

4 (or more) slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1-2 tbsp. raw, local honey

For the Chili Seasoning (sometimes store bought chili seasoning packets have flour and sugar added. When you make your own, you can control the amount of salt if you are watching your sodium intake.)

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. oregano

1 tbsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Here's what to do:

Throw it all in the slow cooker, stir it up, turn it to low and let all the flavors mix together for a few hours, until you are ready to eat.

Tip: If you like your chili more chunky, take the lid off for 20 minutes, or put it on sideways for an hour and some of the water will evaporate 

Serve it up in your favorite bowl!

A Big Step

So, I recently started eating a lot cleaner.  In April, I completed the Virgin Diet and after YEARS of not being able to lose weight, I did! I went on the diet to be healthier since I had a lot of digestive issues. Basically, I cut the seven foods that are the most likely to cause food allergies or intolerances.



Well, since then, I have not been very good.  I have cheated. A. Lot. It is difficult in the summer, but I have been working out every day and I am not doing my body any good by cheating on my healthy food!  My brother picked up this book when I was with him one day and he started the "Whole30."  It is 30 days of REAL FOOD. Protein from meat, seafood, or eggs. Vegetables. Healthy Fats. Occasional fruit. That's it.

It is a 30-day reset.  SO, if I cheat. I start over at day 1. SO NO CHEATING! Who's with me?  Starting Monday, July 29th. 

Spaceship popsicles

I love a good sweet treat after I eat, so I decided to make some Popsicles. We had gotten this little Popsicle kit for our wedding shower.  

I blended up some coconut milk with my strawberries that were about to go bad.  

I put a little of the strawberry-milk mixture into the plastic containers and added in some fresh blue berries and kiwis.  

I put them in the freezer overnight and then yum!

Noodle slicer!

So I was pleasanlty surprised one day to come home to a package.  Turns out it was this little gem from my brother-- a housewarming gift!!

It's a slicer that also makes food into noodles.  He came to visit me for the week, so we tried it out and liked it.  We tried to make everything into noodles!! We had curly sweet potato fries this night.  After he sliced the sweet potatoes (it only takes about 2 sweet potatoes to feed 4 people), we placed them in a bowl and drizzled oil on top.  

We shook it up to coat the potatoes with oil and then placed them on the pan.  We tried to make sure to spread them out evenly.

We placed them in the COLD OVEN... yes, we did NOT preheat it!  Then turned the oven on to 425 degrees and baked them for about 12-15 minutes.  When you let sweet potatoes warm up slowly, the natural sugars come out so there is no need for sugar and butter!

We served them up with some grilled veggies and steak cooked on the grill.  Perfect summertime meal!

Breaded tilapia

I LOVE breaded fish, but I am trying to stay away from gluten. BUT.... Look what I found!!!

It's made with rice flour and Italian seasonings! 

I am also trying to avoid eggs, but I needed something to hold the bread crumbs!

I had my cast iron frying pan nearby with a little bit of oil in the bottoms to fry those puppies!! 

I fried them until they were a bit flaky and served em up with some roasted broccoli and roasted chickpeas!

Yum!