"Clean" Snickerdoodles

On my recent discovery of all of the harmful additives, dyes and preservatives that are baked into the boxed cookies my family has been consuming for years, I decided to educate myself even further and put forth my beat effort to find out what I can do to give my family a healthy alternative. I found this really easy recipe for Snickerdoodles. One of my favorite cookies and this recipe is both easy and healthy. By replacing just a few ingredients on your next grocery run, you too can make these treats and feel confident that your family is free of the harmful ingredients found in those other snacks you've been buying! My two year old daughter really enjoyed helping Mommy make these and she was very anxious to try them as you can see by this picture of her patiently waiting for them to finish baking. Needless to say she loved them.

Snickerdoodles recipe

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (I uses King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour sold at walmart)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Cream butter and sugar then add egg and vanilla. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients together and gradually add into wet mixture. Form small balls with the cookie dough and roll each one in cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 for 10-11 minutes.

Corn Salad with Cilantro & Green Onion

August is a great time of year to start experimeting with different corn recipes. I came across this recipe (on Pinterest of course), and it looks really simple and yummy for the upcoming fall season.

Thanks to Julie du Pont from weekendtable.com for posting this recipe. I'll definitely be trying this one out on the family. It's been a challenge getting my two girls to comsume any vegetables on a daily basis. Usually corn is the main choice of vegetable that ends up on their dinner plates, because I know at least they will eat it!

I'd like to start trying more vegetable choices. Maybe carrots?

Corn Salad with Cilantro and Green Onions

Author: Julie du Pont

Recipe type: Side

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  3 mins

Total time:  18 mins

Serves: 8

 

Ingredients

• 6 ears of white corn
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 can of hearts of palm, chopped
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp lime juice (juice of one lime)
• 1 tbsp red wine vingar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of cayenne

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Instructions

1. Husk corn.
2. Heat a large pot of salted water to boil. Add corn for 3 minutes — no more.
3. Remove from heat. Once killed, use knife to remove kernels from corn and place in large salad bowl.
4. Chop the cilantro, green onion, and hearts of palm and add to salad bowl.
5. Rinse and drain beans and add to the bowl.
6. Whisk together the grapeseed oil, lime juice, vinegar, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add to salad ingredients and chill overnight

UPDATE: Dirty Chicken to get less toxic

Thank You Rodale.com and By Emily Main and Leah Zerbe for writing this article about the latest news about arsenic bing banned by the FDA in chicken feed. It's not necessary for the chicken to be healthy. I am a bug fan of chicken, but after reading thi article, I believe I will be eating less fast food and more organic. Even if it costs more.
http://www.rodale.com/factory-farming

What the heck is a Grapple?

On my search for some interesting crossbred fruits I came across this one. It's called a Grapple. "What the heck is a Grapple?", you say? Well, it is a combination of both grapes and apple. The fruit tastes like grapes and looks like an apple. It is a brand name for Fuji or Gala apple and it has been specially treated to make the taste of the fruit flesh like a grape. A grapple fruit is one of the varieties of Fuji apple. Grapple is an washington apple.

You can even make a fruit spread with the simple recipe: Grapple fruit spread - Ingredients
•Grapple fruits
•7 dates
•1 cup dried apple
•1/4 - 3/4 teaspoon orange and/or lemon rind, grated
And if your looking for high calories, then this is the fruit for you. 95% of this fruit is calories! Look for this fruit in your local supermarket in Late October, early November.
Some health information on this fruit, is that is low in Cholesterol and can help lower your cholesterol as well as help you to prevent cancer.

So there it is. Next time your striking up a conversation among family or friends, ask them if they know what a Grapple is. They may just learn something new about fruit!
You can also find out more about this fruit as well as other fruits on the website http://www.fruitsinfo.com/grapple-hybrid-fruits.php

Dessert on a Budget - Luscious Lemon Bars

It's Thursday! The frist week in April is almost behind us, and I am in the mood for a delicious homemade dessert. I just don't want to make it myself! And after just seeing my Hubby work so hard cleanig out the refridgerator, (snother one of t7he house jobs I loathe) I didn't see myself asking him to bake a dessert just because I am in the mood for one. So that left me searching online for an easy and affordable, yet delicious dessert recipe to satisfy my taste buds. So I came across this Lemon Bar recipe I found on www.iMom.com. Since I got a wild hair today a ended up cleaning, reorganizing and moving the furniture around in my daughters bedroom today, I'm not feeling like I want to make this recipe tonight. I'll be back on the laptop selling Products for my part-time night job in a few hours, and I am feeling a nap coming on. Or at least a Mommy break! Here is the recipe. Feel free to post a reply if you have tried this recipe or a similar version. I don't have any fresh lemon's on hand, but I read that you can use the lemon juice in the bottle. (made from real lemons) Using fresh lemons would be ideal if you have them though!
Lemon Bars Recipe Link