A Little Spicy Deliciousness!

 Time for some asian food!!

Oh how I love it. Not enough good can be said about this goodness in a bottle that I found at Trader Joes. it's..... uh-mazing! It's tangy, and sweet, a little "peanut-y" and spicy very spicy! Pure deliciousness! I'm telling you, if you like asian food, GET IT! :) Ok... I'm done with my rant.. Lets begin! :)

So.. I had a recipe from my Spork Fed cookbook that I wanted to try, but this was just about what I expected that recipe to taste like, so I figured I would do the same kind of thing with this.. (Also.. I needed an alternative option because my library books had to be returned before I started incurring the, should be a crime, rate of $.25 per day, per book! and I had over a dozen books!)

I found a 2 lb. bag of mini sweet peppers at the grocery store. I got them because the regular bell peppers were out of control expensive. I figured, if I was going to spend $5 on peppers, I would get something fun and interesting. The mini sweet peppers are so good! Who knew? I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the bag before we left on vacation, but I would say I maybe have a dozen left... if that. We're loving them! So many various things you can add them too, or I've just been chopping the top off and eating, inhaling them! Another favorite of ours now! G has always loved peppers, but these are off the charts. She loves them just about as much as I do, if not more!... well, I'm not sure that's possible.

Ok, take 2.. enough talk, on to the recipe...

You will need:

Spicy Peanut Vineaigrette (Trader Joes)
10 Mini Sweet Peppers
1 Shallot
1 Garlic Clove
Base of Your Choice: Fettuccine, Chow Mein Noodles, Rice.. whatever you want!
1 T. Sesame Oil + Drizzle Olive Oil (just enough to balance out the sesame oil)
Sesame Seeds
Sliced Water Chestnuts
Bamboo Shoots
Sliced Green Onions for Topping

First....

• Heat oil in skillet. Don't make it too hot because you don't want the delicate shallots and garlic to burn the second you put them, but you want it hot enough to sweat the shallots just a bit.
• Add shallots and garlic to pan, and cook just until you start to notice the shallots start to become barely translucent. 
• Cut tops off sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise, and deseed. Slice into thin strips and add to skillet.

*I barely let my peppers cook at all. Literally, maybe 2-3 min. I like my peppers VERY crunchy and basically just barely warmed through. Just cook them to your liking.

• After your peppers are cooked how you like, add in half of the bottle of Spicy Peanut Vineaigrette. I got 2 good meals out of the bottle from 2-3 people, depending on what you use for your base.
• Add in any add-ins your want. I chose water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. Snap peas would be awesome.. whatever you feel like! (Can you tell this recipe is flexible??) ;)
• Once your sauce has warmed through, you're ready to go!
• Add on top of whichever base you want to use. I used fettuccine the first time because that is what my cookbook recipe called for from Spork Fed. The second time around I used chow mein noodles and they were SO much better. The sauce stuck to them so much better and... they just fit! Definitely want to try brown or wild rice next time. It would also possibly be good over quinoa? It's worth a try! :) 

Here are a couple pics of both ways I made the recipe.. I forgot to add the green onions the second time, because I was so anxious to eat it that I piled it on the plate and dove it! (after the pic of course) ;)

Have fun with this one, guys! There are SO many possibilities and room for creativity! :) Enjoy!

*~Lindsey~*

Hearty Vegan Potato Stew

Friends.. I have to say, this one is a keeper!

It's so easy, it should be a crime. I could give you the idea and you could come up with a recipe all your own, but I know, for me, I like just having a recipe on hand, so I figured that I would share it with you.

This is the hearty goodness that I whipped up tonight..

Hearty Vegan Potato Stew

3 russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 qt. carton organic, low-sodium veggie stock (Trader Joes)
1 T. fresh thyme (minced)
1 dried bay leaf
2 c. frozen mixed veggies
3 green onions (whites only)
3 T. minute rice
1/4 c. edamame

1 clove garlic (peeled and left whole)
salt and pepper to taste

Add veggie stock to your pan, and throw everything in. :) Simmer until potatoes are tender and rice will be done as well at that point.

Serves: 3

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So.. a few things. 

1. If you don't have fresh thyme, just use dried, but only 1 teaspoon.

2. I made this soup mostly for G who is sick, so I didn't want to blow her away with the garlic, but I still wanted to have a little flavor in it. If you like garlic, you could always mince it up or grate it.

3. I had a good sized bowl and then G had a small bowl, and I still had 2 good sized servings left. I would say if you are feeding adults, you could get the 3 good sized servings out of it. If you're serving kids, you could probably get 5 kid servings out of it. Anything in between, you get the idea. It all depends on how big of servings you are giving.

4. Finally, I didn't had a large onion, but also didn't want a huge onion flavor, just something mild. Shallots would be great in this as well, cipollini onions would be great, or even just minced onions.

5. Wild rice would be AWESOME in this too!

Finally, whatever sounds good to you, throw it in. The edamame was a random throw in, and I ended up really enjoying it in there. Whatever you have would be great! It's hearty, and such a great comfort food on a chilly evening.

Hope you guys enjoy this one! I know I did, and I'm pretty sure it's calling my name again right now! :)

Enjoy!

XO, Lindsey

Vegan Cookbook Reviews

Happy Saturday!!

Hope you guys had a great week!

Wanted to share a couple cookbook reviews with you guys. This is my first vlog, I guess you call it, so I hope you find it helpful and informative!

These are the cookbooks that I talk about in the video that I am LOVING right now..

Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin.
and
Spork Fed by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg.

What are your favorite cookbooks, vegan or otherwise?

I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy the video!



Happy Creating!

XO, Lindsey

Blueberry Goodness

Hello Friends!

My name is Lindsey. I'm a mother of one and a wife of 5+ years to my best friend. 

I love crafting, creating, and cooking. I also adore gardening and everything that comes with it. However, living in a condo in the city doesn't create the greatest atmosphere for the sprawling acres of garden that I'd love to have. One day.. one day. :) 

Mandy has asked me to do some writing for The Organic Family. I, of course was honored and excited at the opportunity. 

I have recently gone vegan, which I am still working through and trying to find the best and healthiest things to eat. I've been searching for new recipes to try and stumbled across this recipe for vegan blueberry scones I knew they were begging to be created in my kitchen! After a light dinner tonight, it was time, and they did not disappoint! I found them on the Earth Balance page. The recipe made 12 scones... I think. Maybe I should have counted before we started munching on them! :)

The original recipe called for two things that I swapped out for other ingredients. You could use gluten-free flour if you have it and coconut spread instead of regular vegan butter spread if you'd like. I didn't have either so I just used what I had. 

I also used frozen blueberries, but really the possibilities are endless! Blueberries, dried cranberries, raisins, orange zest, nuts.. Let your taste buds guide you! :)

So.. enough talk, more food. Enjoy one of my favorite new recipes!

Vegan Blueberry Scones

• 6 Tbs. warm water
• 2 Tbs. flaxseed meal
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbs. coconut spread or regular vegan butter spread
• 3/4 cup soy vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 Tbs. raw sugar

Preheat oven to 400 F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

Add the flaxseed meal and warm water to a small bowl, mix together with a fork, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in stand-mixer bowl.

Switch whisk attachment to paddle attachment on mixer and add in butter spread. Mix until combined, but do not overwork.

Stir in flaxseed meal mixture and yogurt into dry mix until just combined. Gentle fold in berries or any other additions you choose. 

Generously flour surface and roll out to approx. 3/4 inch thick. 

Cut into triangles or use a large ravioli stamp to cut scones. 

Place scones onto baking sheet, sprinkle tops with raw sugar.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

And ENJOY! 

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Loves to you all,

Lindsey :)

A foundation of good health for children

There is an issue of vital importance that most well-meaning parents don’t know about. They don’t know because nobody has told them. The issue is this: the modern diet that most children are eating today creates a fertile cellular environment for cancer to emerge at a later age. Trying to prevent breast, prostate and other cancers as an adult may not be possible because most risk factors cannot be changed at this late stage. The bottom line is that in order to have a major impact, we must intervene much earlier, even as early as the first seven years of life. In other words, childhood diets create adult cancers. That’s right: when our children don’t eat fruits and vegetables and instead are fed junk food, the groundwork may be laid for cancer and other diseases down the road.

- Dr. Joel Fuhrman

We still love raw foods

I've been thinking about raw food again, mainly because the kids and I just watched Food Matters again, and I was reminded of how absolutely fantastic I felt when I was on a high raw vegan diet.  I had come to the point where my energy was no where to be found.  I was dragging by lunch time, had a migraine by two in the afternoon, and had a Garfield-like nap attack on a daily basis (which, after indulging, I'd wake to an even bigger migraine and general grogginess).

I learned a lot from taking part in a high raw vegan lifestyle.  First of all, I realized that our diets were seriously deficient in whole, raw foods. Like most Americans, we were in the habit of eating cooked food, and the little bit of raw we managed to get in our diets was from the lettuce and onions on our burgers. Sometimes we'd have fruit for breakfast.  Sometimes I'd have a fruit smoothie.  Sometimes we'd eat carrots.  Sometimes.

Researching raw foods and their impact on the body really opened my eyes to the big gap in our family's diet, so we made huge changes. It has been my goal for our diets to be over 50% raw.  We changed snacks to fruits (clementines, bananas, and apples are the favorites here) and raw nuts (sunflower seeds are a hit), and started including at least one generous side of fruit or vegetables with each meal.  Breakfasts are generally loaded with fruits as well (clementines, grapes, bananas, strawberries).

We significantly cut back on our meat intake.  We may have a little meat mixed in a salad, soup, or veggie-filled casserole, but we're no longer consuming huge slabs of meat on a regular basis. I found that my body really does not handle large amounts of red meat well at all.  Since cutting back on red meat (I may a small amount once every two weeks, if that), I've found that this horrible full-body itch I'd been plagued with for several years has vanished!

When I first did the "raw food" thing, I did a lot of work in making raw meals.  However, I found that the thing that worked best for us was just consuming raw fruits and vegetables in their natural state, instead of trying to make raw lasagnas, pizzas, and such.  Pairing a lot of raw foods with some cooked foods is what really works best for our family, allowing us to get in the nutrients and live enzymes we need without having to concoct "weird" recipes.

One of our favorite recipes is a taco salad which features ranch-style (pinto) beans, on a bed of assorted lettuce greens loaded with (raw) onions, tomatoes, peppers and such. We enjoy a lot of Greek style foods as well, like gyros, which are easy to pair with cooked and fresh vegetables and a huge salad.

We found the kids really love cucumbers, and even though I'm not a huge fan, I don't mind when they are chopped up finely and tossed in a salad.  They love when I slice cucumber rings to snack on.  They will also consume tomato grapes like they're going out of style, and I buy about 10 pounds of clementines on a weekly basis.

Evangeline is a huge raw food lover. Ask her if she wants an orange or banana, and you'll see her face light up as she squeals with excitement! It's amazing how often the children ask for fruit when they are hungry instead of a sugar snack.  That's not to say they never ask for sugary snacks (they do love granola bars, and we buy organic versions), but I am hearing requests for fruits and veggies far more often.  Here's an example of a meal they might have one day.  (This is Evangeline's, so it's a bit more skimpy than the other kiddos' plates)

Banana, clementine slices, carrot "chips" (just sliced carrots) with a bit of tzatziki for dipping.
Sandwich wraps and organic corn chips (similar to fritos).

See, there's a give and take. The kids do have some things that aren't extremely healthy (even if they are organic, like the corn chips).  Sometimes we have white bread (or, in this case, white tortillas), sometimes we have whole wheat or some other grain. Sometimes their plates are loaded with veggies and fruits and have a muffin on the side.  Sometimes we have soup and crackers.  Thing is, we try to keep a healthy balance.

And there then are mornings when we do crazy stuff like this:

Because, we do love donuts, and there is no use denying it.

Gluten-Free yummies!

I'm thinking I may need to go gluten-free.  Gluten issues run in my family (Hi Dad!) and when I mean run, I mean.. um, well anyway.

My mom has a wheat allergy, most of us (including my parents, sibling, husband, 3 out of 4 of my kiddos, and myself) have problems with dairy, my husband's jaw locks up when he has agave (so, no tequila babe), and my stomach cannot handle lots of meat. My sons go ADHD-crazy when food-dye gets into their systems (but M&Ms are so tasty!) and too much black pepper causes problems for my husband (I'll spare you the details).

So, needless to say, we're no stranger to food allergies and sensitivities. That being said, we often indulge in the things that irritate our bodies the most because we're ridiculous like that.  Time after time, with my stomach in knots and guts gurgling, I tell myself, "You've got to stop eating that junk," but it's difficult, isn't it?

We go through phases.  We will eat super-duper healthy (even raw vegan) for a time, and then something will happen that knocks us out of the routine and we're allowing more and more "cheats" and indulgences. I personally like to blame the pregnancy for the extreme chocolate cravings, but before long, I'm going to have to blame post partum, and then what?

Anyway, my husband and I are headed to Louisiana later in the week where the term "health food" is fairly non-existent.  I tell you, I am never more motivated to change my diet than when I leave my mother-in-laws.  I love her Cajun cooking, but poo-yi* it slays me.  (*Cajun slang, which is all the more appropriate because it contains the word POO.)

The other day I confessed to my friend (who is also my midwife) and my husband, "I'm pretty sure I need to go gluten-free."  My friend has been GF for a couple months now, and my husband has been on and off the GF boat over the years (usually just as a cleanse, though).  My husband agreed, "When we get back from my Mom's, we definitely need to get back to eating healthy."

*Nod*

So, here's a few recipes I wanted to share (mostly so I have a record to return to when I need some inspiration) of GF recipes around the web.


Cinnamon baked apples are one of my favorite desserts, but I haven't had them in ages. It's one of those desserts you can feel good about. (Thanks Wheatless and Meatless for the reminder!)

These Cornmeal Dinner Rolls from Gluten Free on a Shoestring would be perfect as buns for burgers, hot dogs, or sandwiches. (Mmmmmmmm....)

One of our family's favorite meals is Eggplant Parmesan. GF on a Shoestring has a great recipe for GF baked Eggplant Parm!

This recipe for Chili Almond Asparagus from Vegan Yum Yum sounds delicious, although I would replace the powdered soup "seasoning" she uses with real (GF) seasonings.

I like rice dishes, and this recipe for Vegan Paella sounds delish.  Who's with me?

Oh hi yum, I would love to eat this Spring Potato Salad with a big ol' bowl of GF gumbo.

Speaking of potatoes, I could totally get my sweet potato with this great Sweet Potato Pone recipe from The Gluten-Free Homemaker.  Oh man, I've got to do that ASAP!

Waking up to yum...

Know what I like? Waking up the day after we load up on fruits and veggies to see all of this!