There are so many steps you can take when it comes to ditching the Standard American Diet and switching to healthy, real food eating. Here's a look at what we chose to prioritize in our first year of eating a real food diet! I've included links and resources for starting your own real food journey, too.It's been one delicious year since I began blogging about food. In that time I've read about dozens of strategies for better nutrition and diet, from soaking grains and sprouting beans to culturing milk and consuming grass-fed beef. I've incorporated only a small slice of what I've learned into my routine, but even so I can see the positive ... Continue Reading
The Incredible Chicken: 10 Yummy Recipes to Make with Chicken!
Chickens don't deserve to have silly, unanswerable jokes written about them; they deserve odes and sonnets! And this poetry should be composed by homemakers and chefs, for chickens are the cook's friend. For a start, they give us one of nature's most perfect foods, the egg. Eggs are a complete protein (containing all the amino acids) and are highly digestible. They can be cooked in dozens of ways and enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and dinner.Chicken meat is also highly versatile, and can be partnered with any number of flavors. The bones can be used to make gelatin-rich, protein-boosting, disease-fighting broth that is supremely satisfying ... Continue Reading
Fried Rice: Your New Comfort Food
Fried rice is a hearty and healthy comfort food. Plus, it's frugal! Use this easy fried rice recipe to mix and match meat, seasonings, and vegetables to your taste.If my memory serves me, I never had fried rice growing up. Yet now it makes an almost weekly appearance in our meal plans. What's the draw? The fact that it's easy, inexpensive, and incredibly versatile. And supremely satisfying.Do you see a pattern with my blog posts? Notice that I like recipes that are simple and delicious and cheap? Of course, I make yeast breads and thousand leaves tortes and hand-squeezed limeade sometimes, too. But all of those are more ... Continue Reading
Turkey Pot Pie
Make this Turkey Pot Pie after Thanksgiving, with the leftover turkey meat! If you don't have any turkey on hand, sub it out for chicken for a classic pot pie.Next to soup, a steaming pot pie can be one of the most comforting winter suppers in the world. My husband and I certainly thought so, as we sat down to dinner with a Michigan snowstorm setting in.You can make this recipe with chicken, of course, but if you're lucky enough to have leftover holiday turkey meat in the freezer, use that! The mustard in the recipe is intended to compliment the turkey. You'll find it's not a gravy-heavy dish; it's all chunks, steamed in a savoury ... Continue Reading
Fresh Couscous Salad
I'm very excited to share this recipe today! It's delicious, healthy, cheap, colorful, and incredibly easy to make. Considering the fact that many Americans struggle everyday to produce such a meal, you might want to bookmark this recipe and add the ingredients to your shopping list. Oh wait, that's another brilliant thing about this dish--you probably have most of the ingredients already! So just buy couscous and you're good to go.This recipe is not typical winter fare, but as we just got back from warm southern California I hope you'll excuse us. Eric is the mastermind behind this creation.Fresh Couscous Salad This couscous ... Continue Reading
Simple Cooked Eggnog
If you want homemade eggnog but don't like the thought of drinking raw eggs, try this simple cooked version! This stovetop eggnog has a custard base that makes the drink rich and creamy.I'm quite excited to be a new contributing writer for my friend Erin's blog, The Humbled Homemaker.My first post for The Humbled Homemaker is this recipe for a simple, custard-style eggnog.While you're over at The Humbled Homemaker, be absolutely sure to check out all of the other awesome recipes, flu-fighting tips, and holiday season features. Without fail, every time I check Erin's blog I find something of interest to read!Other hot drink ... Continue Reading
Crockpot Beef Curry
Eric made this scrumptious crockpot beef curry a few weeks ago, and with the first bite we both knew that we just had to share it. Here it is:Crock Pot Beef Curry This slow-cooker beef curry is a great, EASY make-ahead meal for company! (Or any time you don't want to fuss with dinner.) 2 lb boneless beef chuck roast4 Tbsp red curry paste ((or more, if you like it spicy))1 can coconut milk Rub the roast all over with curry paste. Place meat in crock pot and pour in the can of coconut milk. Cover; cook on high for 5-6 hours, or until the meat is tender.Shred the meat with a fork. Taste the broth; stir in more curry paste ... Continue Reading
Thanksgiving Feast
We had an eventful time celebrating with our family clans on Friday and Saturday last. But Eric and my first Thanksgiving day as a couple was a simple affair at home. My brother was in town, and we had over one of Eric's fellow Medievalists. This is the menu we enjoyed:Our Thanksgiving Menustuffed delicata squash home-canned peaches garlic cheese biscuits French chocolate custard Muscadine wineNot too traditional, but still seasonal with a little reserved summer in the form of Amish-canned peaches. The delicata was compliments of a local pumpkin farm that I found on Criagslist. I visited at the end of their season, ... Continue Reading
Artichoke Soup
This artichoke soup is indulgent! It's deliciously rich and creamy; perfectly satisfying as the main part of a meal, or equally divine as a scrumptious first course in a fancy dinner party. This is the kind of soup that I'd put on the menu if my siblings and I were making one of our at-home "date nights" for my parents.And one of the best things about it? It's British. Not by definition, but the recipe is taken from The Cookery of England, a 1974 cookbook by Elisabeth Ayrton with a treasure-trove of recipes and culinary notes dating from the fifteenth century.The following is based on two recipes from Mrs. Ayrton's book. I've adapted ... Continue Reading
Berries and Cream (A Dessert for Peter Rabbit)
We love having simple berries and cream for dessert. This little recipe was inspired by Peter Rabbit and our visit to Hilltop Farm, the home of Beatrix Potter. "I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed and made some chamomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter! 'One teaspoonful to be taken at bedtime.' But--Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper." Remember that story? I'm sure you do; but being a self-respecting scholar, I need to cite my source. It's from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Peter Rabbit is one of my favourite literary ... Continue Reading
