In my effort to eat more whole foods, I am trying to make a LOT of things from scratch using whole foods.  Last night, I tried my hand at making a homemade whole foods spaghetti sauce.  This turned out really good.  Now, it's not like a typical store-bought jar/can of spaghetti sauce.  Nor is it like a spaghetti sauce you'd make using canned tomatoes or canned tomato sauce.  The fresh tomatoes give it a different taste - but a good taste.  You may find that you see an odd ingredient in this recipe.  But trust me - it works well.

Whole Foods Spaghetti Sauce
5 medium to large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large green pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion.)
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 lb. beef (I used Laura's Lean Beef - it's natural with no hormones, etc.)
1-2 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parsley
a couple of dashes of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
about 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Begin browning your ground beef.  Add the onions, garlic, some salt. and pepper.  Stir and cook until the hamburger is well-done.  While your meat is cooking, chop your tomatoes and green pepper.  Once your meat is done, transfer it to a pot and add the tomatoes and green pepper.  Add all of your seasonings and let cook for a little bit.  After it's cooked for maybe about an hour, add the balsamic vinegar.  Let it continue to cook.  After it's cooked for maybe a 1/2 hour, taste test to see if you need to add any more salt or if you think you want to add more oregano, thyme and parsley.  I would've added some basil but I didn't have any.  Continue to let it cook until the tomatoes have all cooked down and it's like a thick sauce.  It will be hearty because of all the meat.  Serve over whole grain pasta with a side of whole grain garlic bread and salad to make a very well rounded whole foods meal.

So why the balsamic vinegar?  It gives that little umph that vinegar contributes to tomato based things like ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.  Also, with many tomato based recipes, typically you need a little sugar to off set the tartness.  However, I am trying to eliminate sugar to a great extent - even natural sugar.  So I wanted to try to make a spaghetti sauce without any sugar.  Balsamic vinegar has a sweetness to it that off set the tartness in this sauce.  However, using fresh tomatoes eliminated a lot of that tartness in my opinion. 

Whole Grain Garlic Bread
Garlic bread and spaghetti just naturally go together.  But I don't like to buy the store-bought garlic bread varieties because in my opinion, there's just not much nutrition to them.  And typically, there's a lot of "extras" in the ingredient list that I don't know what they are.  I make whole grain homemade bread each week instead of using store-bought bread.  I took some of the homemade whole grain bread and spread a thin layer of butter on it.  I don't use margarine.  I use real butter - just less of it.  Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the bread.  Then sprinkle a good little bit of garlic powder on top.  Broil in the oven or toaster oven until it's browned like you like.  This is a very tasty, healthy alternative to the processed store-bought bread.

Here's a salad I made yesterday.  I put this together myself and was really tickled at how it turned out.  It was delicious!  In fact, my older daughter is not real keen on raw broccoli.  But she really liked this.  In fact, she even asked for seconds!

Broccoli Salad
1 head broccoli
1/2 lg. red onion
1 lg. tomato
1/2 bag whole almonds, chopped in food processor
1 lg. clove garlic
About 2-3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
About 2-3 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Start by chopping up all your veggies so they will be ready to go.  You want to chop the broccoli, onion, and tomato in smaller chunks - not finely diced just not huge chunks.  I only used the broccoli crowns with a little bit of stems.  However, you could probably add more of the stem and it be fine.  Put the broccoli, 1/2 of the onion, and the tomato in a large bowl. 

Put the oil in a skillet and heat to medium to low heat.  Once the skillet is hot, put the other half of the onion in it.  Chop the garlic in very small pieces and add that to the skillet as well.  Cook these until the onions are tender.

While onions and garlic are cooking, chop up the almonds in the food processor and then add them to the veggies.  You could buy sliced or slivered almonds if you prefer.  Even the type where almonds are in small chunks would work as well. 

Stir the veggies.  Once the onions are tender, put the onions and garlic in a small bowl.  Add the balsamic vinegar and stir well.  Pour this over the veggies and stir until the veggies are coated well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I actually used garlic-pepper instead of regular pepper.  You may like the taste of the salad without the salt and pepper.  However, I found it was much better with a little of both.

This salad is very healthy.  It only has a little oil in it but it is olive oil which is much better for you.  Of course, it's packed with fresh veggies which are excellent for your heatlh.  I read once that onions are the one veggie that can be prepared in different ways and not lose their nutrition.  If that's the case, even  cooked onions still have their nutrition.  Of course, you saute them in this recipe which means they aren't cooked very long at all.  Finally, it's a nice combination of good carbs and proteins because the nuts add the protein you need and the veggies give you the good carbs.  So go ahead - try this one and enjoy it!

We're eating more whole foods and less sugar.  Last week, we had very little processed foods as well.  Most of the week we ate foods I prepared using whole foods - not canned or processed foods (with the exclusion of some whole grain egg noodles).  Some meals were really good.  Others weren't.  Some recipes were keepers.  Some weren't.  I've made a couple of treats that have no sugar in them and I thought they were pretty tasty.  I hope to share those with you this week.  One recipe is for whole grain muffins that are packed with nutrition.  The other is for what is called an apple tart but it really isn't a tart.  Nonetheless, it is really yummy.  I just enjoyed a small bowl of it a little while ago.  Both of these recipes have a balance of carbs and protein with the benefit of no sugar.  This week, I hope the new recipes will all be delicious and ones to keep.  Here's our menu:

White Bean Chili
Mexican Beef Wraps
A Quinoa, Chicken, and Veggie Dish over Raw Spinach (Made this last night and it is absolutely delicious!)
Possibly Hamburgers with Homemade Bread and Raw Veggies to Top Them Along with a Side of Sweet Potato Wedges
Mango Chicken with Rice or Quinoa and Steamed Carrots
We'll be eating with my parents one night.

Breakfast Options
Homemade Muesli (very healthy and good for the colon!)
Homemade Oatmeal with Dried Fruit (maybe a little honey or agave syrup) with Toast and Eggs
Veggie Omelette with Toast

Lunch Options
Seasoned Chicken on Homemade Bread, Fresh Veggies
Leftovers
Peanut Butter on Homemade Bread with All-Fruit Preserves (No refined sugar) and Fresh Veggies on the Side

Snack Options
Apple Waldorf Salad
Fresh Cranberry Salad 
Fresh Fruit and Veggies
Sugar-free Smoothies
Apple Tart

Lots of Water, Green Tea, and Herbal Tea
I try to get fruits in our menu in our snacks and breakfast.  I try to get in our veggies in lunch and dinner. 

The recipe for the Quinoa, Chicken, and Veggie dish is below.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.

I made this recipe last night and thought it was delicious.  I found it very refreshing.....very fresh tasting.  The recipe is from Spark Recipes and here's the link for the original recipe:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=340340

I adapted the recipe in the following ways:

(1) I didn't shred the carrots.  I chopped them in small circles and used 3-4 carrots instead of 2.

(2) I didn't put any zucchini in it because I forgot to get some.

(3) I ended up using 1 large green pepper and 1/2 of another green pepper.

(4) I cooked 3 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins separately in a skillet with just a little olive oil (to keep them from sticking) and some seasoning.  I then chopped up the cooked chicken and added it to the veggies in the pan.

Here's a picture of what I prepared:

Give this recipe a try.  It's full of nutrition and tastes great!

Well....if you read my post about the healthy, sugar-free smoothie, then you know I'm going even more healthier!  This week, our meals reflect a healthier balance of carbs and protein, plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, very minimal sugar, and smaller portions.  Here's our menu:

Oven Roasted Turkey and Vegetables over Brown Rice
Vegetarian Chili
Whole Grain Pasta Tossed with Veggies and Roast Beef, Salad
BBQ Beef with Homemade Sweet Potato Wedges
Spice-Crusted Tilapia with Brown Rice Pilaf and Steamed Veggies
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.
We'll be eating with my parents one night.

Breakfast Options
Homemade Muesli (very healthy and good for the colon!)
Homemade Oatmeal with Dried Fruit (maybe a little honey) with Toast and Eggs
Veggie Omelette with Toast

Lunch Options
Healthy Egg Salad on Homemade Bread, Fresh Veggies
Seasoned Chicken on Homemade Bread, Fresh Veggies
A Yummy Green Salad with Lots of Goodies Topped with a Homemade Olive Oil Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Snack Options
Apple Waldorf Salad with Melba Toast
Egg Salad on Toast
Fresh Fruit and Veggies
Sugar-free Smoothies

Lots of Water, Green Tea, and Herbal Tea

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.

I have been working on healthier eating for my family for awhile.  I've been going about it very slowly in some respects and not changing some things.  I am now working harder on those healthier food choices.  The key I find is finding recipes that are healthy but taste good.  And I am firm believer in the fact that portion size is key.  I'm also trying to reduce our intake of sugar in all forms.  However, sugar is not completely out.  I am trying to incorporate honey, sucanat....natural sweeteners.  Refined sugar is working it's way out of our home as a staple.  That doesn't mean we won't have it sometimes.  Just very limited hopefully.  I've tried out some new things in the last couple of days.  Today I'll share with you a really tasty smoothie that I made that is COMPLETELY SUGAR-FREE.  And by the way, this smoothie made the A+ list with my daughter!  So I think you may find that your children will enjoy this great tasting healthy smoothie.  And just a tip, don't tell them what's in it until AFTER they have drank it (or at least tasted it).  Very important! 

Sugar- Free Fruit Smoothie
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp. plain lowfat yogurt
1 apple - peeled, cored and cut in chunks
About 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
About 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 - Stage 2 Container Apple, Strawberry, Banana Baby Food
Couple sprinkles of nutmeg
Couple sprinkles of allspice

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend well.

Here's a couple of notes:

(1) You could probably substitute one whole banana for the baby food.  My daughter does not like bananas so I have to work on how to get them in.  That baby food combo worked great as it didn't give this smoothie a banana taste.  If you use a whole banana instead, it might have more of a banana taste to it.

(2) You could leave out the nutmeg and allspice and use cinnamon.  I would have used cinnamon but I was out.  I think it would taste really good with just cinnamon. 

(3) When putting the nutmeg in, you want to make sure and only do a very little amount.  Too much nutmeg would be too strong in this smoothie and would probably make it not taste very good. 

(4) I think this would actually be good served in a bowl with a little granola sprinkled on top.  However, if you're going for completely sugar free, the granola would probably be out unless you can make your own without sugar.  You can make your own granola using a natural sweetener.  That's another option.  Another option would be to sprinkle some chopped nuts on top.  That would add a little extra protein.

My hubby made this wonderful stir-fry dish.  Here's his recipe:

Chinese Turkey Stir-Fry

2-3 cups cooked turkey
1 bag frozen broccoli
2 bags frozen stir-fry veggies
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
About 1/4 tsp. cajun seasoning
About 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 jar store bought garlic ginger sauce
1 box spaghetti pasta

Saute the turkey, garlic, and onion in olive oil.  Add cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and about 1 tsp. of the garlic ginger sauce.  Set aside.

Fill pan with water and 3 whole cloves of garlic for the pasta.  Bring to boil and cook pasta until done.

Stir-fry all the frozen veggies in olive oil until thawed.  Add the remainder of the garlic ginger sauce.  Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Combine the meat mixture and the veggie mixture and let simmer a couple of minutes.  Serve over the pasta.

We are using up turkey leftovers!  We were able to freeze several bags of turkey.  My hubby has already made scrumptous turkey stuffed eggrolls.  Last night, we celebrated my son's 16th birthday and he had requested Chinese stir fry over noodles for his birthday dinner.  So my hubby used turkey leftovers for this dish.  Wow - was it wonderful!  My hubby is usually our Chinese meal chef!  So there's two dishes on our menu we've already had.  I plan to post some recipes where we've used the leftover turkey some time this week.  So be sure to check back for some creative and different leftover recipes!  Here's our menu:

Turkey-stuffed Eggrolls
Chinese Stir-fry over Pasta
Turkey Two Meat Stew
Mexican Style Turkey Casserole
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.

Tentative Menu for this Weekend (We may have guests.):
Beef and Noodles
OR
Homemade Beef Barbeque with Salad and a side veggie

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.

It's double Thanksgiving feasting this week for us.  We will be having our own family Thanksgiving at home on Wednesday complete with watching some of our favorite Christmas movies (White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life).  Then on Thursday we will travel to my sister's home where my whole family will celebrate together.  We're having good ole' homemade pizza tonight for dinner with hopefully enough leftovers to carry us through tomorrow.  Then tomorrow my hubby will make his favorite fruit salad.  He will also prep the turkey and get it in the oven tomorrow night.  We'll spend Wednesday late morning making the remainder of our meal in order to eat early afternoon:  green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a turtle pumpkin pie (new recipe I'm trying).  Hope everyone has a very wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.  And may we all be mindful not only on Thanksgiving but every day of all we have to be thankful for.  An attitude of gratitude is the best attitude to have.

Here's what on the menu for this week:

Chili with Whole Grain Pasta
Spaghetti with Whole Grain Pasta
Beef and Noodles
Quesadillas
We'll probably have two nights of leftovers.
We'll eat with my parents one night as well.

I have several choices for veggies to go along as a side with our meals.

I also plan on making a big batch of homemade chicken salad for lunches this week.  We also have other lunch options.  We try to do fresh fruits and veggies for snacks as well as peanut butter and crackers and/or cheese and crackers and sometimes raisins.

This has absolutely nothing to do with cooking, but I had to share this with everyone.  This year's election day marked a day of thanksgiving for my family.  My sister was in a terrible car accident and our God protected her.  I feel her story of this needs to be told.  Following you will read her words describing the day of the accident and what transpired throughout it all.  You will see pictures of her vehicle.  There is no other explanation for her survival but that our mighty, powerful God saved her and protected her.  Here's her testimony.......

**************************************

**The above testimony is posted with permission from my sister, who wrote it.**

I whipped up these cereal bars this morning and they turned out pretty well.  Sometimes you don't know how something will turn out when you're trying to make it a healthier snack, meal, etc.  These turned out tasty and chewy.

Whole Grain Cereal Bars

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1 regular size bag marshmallows
10 oz. box Uncle Sam's Toasted Wheat Flakes and Flaxseed
1 handful chopped walnuts
1-2 tbsps. all-natural peanut butter
about 1 tsp. maple flavoring

Melt butter in a deep pot on low heat.  Once butter  has melted, pour entire bag of marshmallows in and continuously stir until completely melted.  Once marshmallows have melted, add maple flavoring and peanut butter and stir until they are mixed in well.    Finally, add cereal and walnuts and stir until they are completely coated.  Spray a 9x13 pan with canola oil cooking spray (any cooking spray will work).  Spread mixture in pan and refrigerate.  Using a 9x13 pan will make the bars thin.  If you like thicker bars, simply use a smaller pan.

Looking for a healthier muffin?  I made these the other day and they turned out wonderful!  They were so moist.  They do still have sugar in them but they are made with whole grains and fruit.  The next time I make them I plan on cutting back the oil and sugar a little and see how they turn out.  Some measurements are approximate because I didn't measure some of them when making these.

Fruit Crumb Muffins

Muffin Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/3 cups white spelt flour
5 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2-1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fruit baby food (I used apple cherry, apricot with pears and apples I think, and cinnamon raisin granola)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 small apples peeled, cored, and diced
1 box raisins

Topping Ingredients
About 1 tbsp. melted butter
About 1/4-1/2 cup whole, rolled oats
About 1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Muffins
Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.  Mix in the apples and raisins and mix so that the fruit is coated well.  In a separate bowl, use a whisk to beat the eggs until they're mixed well.  Then add the baby food and oil.  Mix them well.  Combine the dry and wet ingredients together.  Either grease a muffin tin or use cupcake liners and fill 3/4 full with batter.  Top with topping and bake until done.  If you insert a fork and it comes out clean, they're done.

Topping
Melt several tbsps. butter.  Mix melted butter with about 1 cup of oats and approximately 1/4 cup sugar.  Spoon on top of batter.

It's been quite awhile since I posted here.  We've been really busy with our school work.  We've switched our curriculum and approach and it requires a lot more from us.  I actually am feeling that at least for this upcoming week I'm a little ahead of the game!  Yay!  Here's what on the menu for this week:

Homemade Vegetable Soup with Homemade Whole Grain Bread
Shepherd's Pie
Homemade Potato Soup with Homemade Whole Grain Bread
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one or two nights of leftovers.
We went out to eat yesterday for my hubby's birthday as well.

(Our menu usually runs from Saturday to Saturday.)

Here's what on the menu for this week:

BLT's
Beans and Cornbreads
Roast, Red Potatoes, Carrots and Homemade Bread
Beef Manhattans
Beef Stew
Beef-N-Noodles
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.

For any of you who come to check out new recipe posts, I apologize I haven't posted any recently.  I have been pretty busy the last week or two with school work and planning and just haven't had much time for a lot of blogging.  I hope to have some new recipes posted this week.

With this week's menu, as you can see we're having a lot of beef dishes.  I bought a pretty good size roast and am making several meals from that.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.

Here's what on the menu for this week:

Homemade Veggie Soup
Herb-crusted Tilapia, Garlic & Herb Red Potatoes, Fried Corn
Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup
Dinner with My Parents One Night
We'll probably have one night of leftovers.

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit Laura by clicking HERE.

Do you really love sandwiches but would like them to be a little healthier?  Try this one out.  These sandwiches have been delicious!!!

Ingredients
Your choice of bread - We used an Artisan French Ring Bread
Lean Turkey Ham
Turkey Bacon
Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli Slaw Mix
Cucumber, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Green onions, chopped
Condiments of your choice

This sandwich is packed with fresh veggies!  But let me warn you:  it is one tall sandwich and very messy!  I actually took a piece of lunch meat, put the green onions and broccoli slaw mix down the middle of the lunch meat, and then rolled it up.  Doing it like that helped contain the slaw and green onions more.  Something else I do when cooking turkey bacon is I cut the bacon strips in half before cooking them.  It seems that the bacon goes further and it makes the slices a perfect size for bread.

On my menu plan, I actually had planned on having croissant sandwiches.  However, I went with the Artisan French Ring bread instead.

©2008 KRL Cook-A-Latte Blog  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/cookalatte

Yesterday, I made an Asian style broccoli salad that turned out absolutely delicious.  Just to let you know how good it is, my older daughter has not liked any of the chinese style broccoli salads that she's tasted so far.  However, one bit of this broccoli salad I made and she declared it was really good! 

Asian Style Broccoli Salad

1 bag broccoli slaw mix found in the produce department at the store
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 small bag slivered almonds
1 pkg. ramen noodles (any flavor will work because we won't use the seasoning packet)
Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and Marinade found with the salad dressings at the store

I washed the bag of broccoli slaw mix and drained it in a strainer.  I also washed the green onions before chopping.  Crush the ramen noodles.  Combine the broccoli slaw mix, green onions, crushed ramen noodles, and slivered almonds in a bowl.  Toss with about 3 tbsps. of the Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing and Marinade.  Taste test and then add more dressing if desired. 

©2008 KRL Cook-A-Latte Blog  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/cookalatte