Fun and Mental Changes

Like with so many other natural, organic foods, I'm surprised to find out how EASY it is to make beans, and yet I've NEVER made them until two days ago. So I'm going to break it down to three easy steps so that others can start making beans for themselves too and not be subjected to possible BPA poisoning (in can lining) and high levels of sodium. Not to mention, although I totally am, that fresh, homemade beans are just better for you since the vitamins and minerals have not been depleted or altered. They haven't lost nutrition in some chemical processing or canning process and the flavor is out of this world. I literally ate black beans right out of the pot without a lick of anything for flavor added... and they tasted WONDERFUL! Your health is worth the time and a hill of beans. At the end I'll post the recipe for the awesome fajita mix you see in the pic here. Beans (Black, Red, Brown, Pic your favorite) My method of making beans saves me a ton of time, but it r...

This recipe is WONDERFUL! $8 at a farmer's market, $6 at the local asian food store and 20 minutes gets you the best home made, healthy meal you've ever had. I left the farmer's market the other day with a LOAD of goodies that included cucumbers, green onions, celery, bean sprouts, zucchini, garlic and red peppers. They were beautiful but visibly ripe which meant that I needed to use them THAT DAY (but that also meant that I saved a ton of money and got some pretty good bang for my buck... some of this haul will be going in the freezer! Another excuse to use my favorite kitchen gadget... the food saver). No problem! I swung by my local asian food store and picked up some fresh Pad Tai noodles, some garlic/chili paste and some nama shoyu (raw, unprocessed soy sauce). I would have dinner on the table in 20 minutes! That's the beauty of vegetables... they are the best when eaten raw and can really make a meal in 20 minutes. Here's my pad tai creation ala farmer's m...

Here is my fabulous magic bullet concoction! Done in minutes and tastes wonderful! Lemon Cilantro Dressing 3/4 Cup celery juice 1/3 Cup fresh cilantro 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 3 Tbsp. raw tahini 1 Tbsp. flax oil (optional) 1 clove garlic In Magic Bullet, juice celery (using the bonus juicer attachment). Pour juice into bowl. Remove juicer attachment and celery pulp. Replace juice into blender attachment adding remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth (about a minute). This recipe is so simple, so quick and so yummy. This would also make a great sauce for grilled chicken or salmon! ***This is a modified recipe from Living In The Raw .

Ok, so I think that I've established how much I LOVE my magic bullet! I have owned one for a little while now, but today was the first time that I've ever used the juicer attachment (that's weird). I was in the process of making a veggie plate and needed to whip up a quick dressing. Of course I picked a dressing that called for juiced celery! Really? Juiced celery? I DID NOT want to pull out my juicer and all the attachments for 3/4 cup of celery juice. My light bulb moment hit.... the magic bullet juicer!!!! That's right! I almost forgot the magic bullet came with that. It's compact and would be PERFECT for 3/4 cup of anything! And since it is so small, I can also remove the juicer attachment and just use the blender attachment to whip up the dressing! Sometimes I am really brilliant. What would have been at least a half hour project of pulling out my juicer, all the attachments, putting it together, then prepping the celery, then disassembly and washing all the p...

What a wonderful raw recipe! Please know that this recipe requires a dehydrator. The one that I use (and the one shown in the bottom pic) is an Excalibur dehydrator. It is quickly becoming my favorite kitchen gadget because the trays are square and flat and because the unit doesn't take up a lot of space. And when I say that it doesn't take up space, I'm talkin counter space AND vertical space. The dehydrator fits very nicely on my kitchen counter with plenty of space between it and the upper cupboards. That being said, ON WITH THE YUMMIES! Don't forget clicking on the pic opens it up bigger (to see all that herb action)! Sundried Tomato and Herb Crackers 2 cups Flax seeds 2 1/2 cups filtered water 1/2 Cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked in 1 cup water for 30 minutes 1 1/4 cups sunflower seeds soaked (be sure that water covers the seeds) for 1 hour then drained 1 Tbsp nama shoyu (unpasteurized or raw soy sauce) 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp. freshly g...

Wow! It's been a while since my last healthy recipe post. That speaks volumes on how I've been eating lately! Well, I put my nose back to the grindstone and I'm back with a healthy vengeance! :) This is my healthy Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Whole Wheat Pasta Salad. This turned out SOOOO much better than I expected. I hope everyone here loves it as much as I did. Sweet & Spicy Chicken w/Whole Wheat Pasta Salad 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breast 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 2 tsp sea salt 1 tsp black pepper 2 tsp organic cayenne pepper 1 pinch of crushed red peppers (if you're sensitive to spice, you should omit) 2 tsp dried parsley flakes 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes Olive oil spray 2 egg whites 1 tsp water 4 Tbsp low calorie Sweet and Sour Sauce Preheat oven to 365 degrees. In a flat dish combine dry ingredients and blend together with a fork. Create egg wash by whisking egg whites and water together. Dip a piece of chicken into the egg wash. Remove from egg w...

Ever wonder why homemade zucchini bread is so moist and yummy? Are you looking for a super moist cake recipe? I was throwing together a box cake mix and realized that I did not have the vegetable oil that the recipe called for. Remembering the snippet I read from the New McDougall's Cookbook regarding oil substitutions, and really not wanting to drive to the store, I quickly grabbed two small apples from the fridge. It took me about a minute to cored them, peel them and throw them into the Vitamix with 3 Tbsp of water to make applesauce. The recipe called for a half a cup of oil. I ended up with about 2/3 cup of organic, unsweetened applesauce... I added the whole 2/3 cup to the recipe. That little substitution was the difference between a good cake and a GREAT cake. I have NEVER had a more moist cake! The same principal applied a few weeks ago when I was preparing a meatloaf. After reading a blog post at PeerTrainer.com about hiding vegetables in everyday recipes to increase veg...

Ok, necessity really is the mother of invention! Yesterday I had a dinner party for my in-laws and planned a wonderful meal. Zucchini burgers were the totally awesome headliners, but I still needed something to end the meal that would steal the show. So I checked the pantry... cinnamon, check! Apples, check! Whole wheat pastry flour, check! Hmmm.... What is the BEST part of the dutch apple pie? The Crumbles!!! I've got it! Note: You can click on the pictures to enlarge them! :) Apple Dutchess! (a FitterTwit Original!) 4-5 Organic Apples Cored 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 2 tsp. Cinnamon 2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup Powder 2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar Slice apples to about 1/4 inch thickness. I use a mandolin so that all the slices are uniform. Place apple slices is a very large bowl (or, I use a Ziploc bag) along with all other ingredients. Stir well so that every slice is well coated. Place mixture into a pie plate and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then broil for 3 minutes so that top is...

Sometimes I am just not a master of the obvious! Most of the time, pretty simple things elude me, but this time... Here is a VERY small sample of my stash (wow, that almost sounds illegal)! It was during one of my organizational rampages that I discovered this amazing and economical use after having to throw out bottles of polish that had gone unused for years. What a waste!!! And yes, I missed that particular use in the infomercial from way back when! :) NOW I know that when you hit sales on things like nail polish or shampoos, you can stock up and vacuum seal them and they stay just like brand new for when you're ready to use them. This is something that will free many polish lovers who fall in love with a specific color but cannot stock up for fear that the polish will dry up before they are through with the first bottle. Not anymore polish addicts and future polish addicts... here's your fix! I even did that with last years Halloween makeup! You know... the make up that you...

So I have an indulgence that has kept me going on my lifestyle change to eat healthier. In fact, I credit this for piquing my interest in raw food... almond milk!!! I have NEVER liked milk . I did not drink it growing up and in fact, watching others drink milk makes me gag. I just never got it! For me, cow's milk had a very 'off' consistency (somewhere between liquid and solid, GROSS) and an even more 'off' flavor. Enter almond milk. Almond milk was the very first raw food recipe that I attempted. I was quite successful, if I do say so myself.... and I do! I made the almond milk as a base for a gelato recipe I was also trying for the first time. I have an equal and opposite reaction to almond milk from cow's milk, but had no way of knowing, so imagine my surprise when I finished making the almond milk and poured myself a "test glass". With pursed face and squinty eyes, I plugged my nose and took a sip. "Holy Machunka! This stuff is good." Th...

Yesterday I posted a blog with the recipe for my raw candied yams and mentioned slicing the yams. I forgot to put in the post that the fun little gadget that I used to make all my yam slices uniform was a "mandolin" slicer. So this got me thinking about all the gadgets in my kitchen that I use and LOVE. As I have posted in the past, I am a gadget girl and thought it would be fun to showcase some of my "must have" tools. Here are my top 10. This is my #1: the mandolin slicer. Mine is an OXO V-Slicer. It is, in my opinion, the very best slicer on the market and the one I used to make my candied yams. It is easy to use, easy to clean (everything goes into the dishwasher) and easy to abuse. Basically, "it takes a lickin and keeps on tickin". It will slice four different slice thicknesses as well as julienne and fry cuts. I literally cut an entire bag of yams in about 10 minutes. Seriously quick food prep. And speaking of quick food prep, #2 is a food process...

Ok, here is my healthy version of Beef Stroganoff. This is actually a recipe that I came up with for the man who said that he was tired of all the "healthy" stuff I was making. What?!? My husband wanted meat and starch.... gotta love the meat n' potatoes men in our lives!!! So here it goes! And he has no idea it's good for him! LOL! My recipe is doubled so that I have left-overs for the following day as well as some to pack in a Food Saver bag to freeze. Always having home cooked healthy meals in the freezer is so convenient for days when I just don't want to cook! And this one is always a winner! "Beef" Stroganoff (This is a FitterTwit Original) 1 large onion 3 cloves garlic 2 containers sliced mushrooms 1 green bell pepper 2 pounds ground turkey browned in a splash of EVOO with onion, garlic and bell pepper. Set aside. 2 bags of extra wide Ronzoni Healthy Harvest noodles boiled with 2 Tbsp of EVOO in water to keep noodles from sticking, drain when ...

Well, I received the magic bullet and it's everything I hoped it would be. I have already sold a couple people on it as well. You just can't beat single serving blending. The juice extractor attachment is a nice bonus and the motor IS very powerful. It blends the ice for my protein shakes like I'm mixing butter. All the pieces (except for the electrical base) can be thrown into the dishwasher for super fast clean up. I haven't used this in the microwave, but haven't seen any issue with putting the mixing cups into the dishwasher or freezer. It really does grind up spices and coffee VERY well and unlike the expensive nut and spice grinders, all the "powder" from whatever you are grinding stays contained in the cup. You just remove the blade and you can serve directly from the cup. The vented lids are perfect for sprinkling those fresh ground spices or cheeses. Exactly what the infomercial said, it's absolutely true. I would love to write a letter to the...

I am a gadget girl; I love kitchen gadgets. It's not strange at all to see my husband buying a blender or a bread machine or even a new sauce pot for me on a special holiday. No, he's not a husband with a death wish... he just knows what I love. So today's post is all about the new kitchen tool. It's called a Spirooli . It turns vegetables into pasta-like noodles. What is pictured is tonight's FANTASTIC dinner. Organic Cayenne Chicken with Zucchini Pasta Alfredo. The alfredo is one of the new raw recipes I was trying and it turned out BETTER than amazing. Here's the recipe: In a blender, add 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1 tablespoon EVOO , 1/2 cup fresh squeezed organic lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste. For a raw recipe, add a 2 teaspoons of Liquid Amino. For a traditional flavor add a tablespoon of dijon mustard. Blend well and set aside. Cut zucchini into 2 inch sections and place on spirooli . Turn handle to create noodles per manufacturer's instruct...