Gottatries

What's Cookin'?

Please see below for yet another reason to avoid conventional store beef if you can help it (sigh).

This blog has some good recipes.  I have not tried their planner but it looks interesting:
http://www.plantoeat.com/blog/

Baked Oatmeal Cups (bird nests).  We just made these for breakfast.  The batter seems a little runny but they turn out great.  Adustments:  We mixed all (plus a handful of raisins) except the baking powder and eggs and left it soaking overnight.  The next morning I added the rest in and baked.  It has more sugar than I would normally use so I served it with buttermilk for all of us.  Youngest can have fermented dairy (just not fresh milk) so she had some too.
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/baked-oatmeal-cups-birds-nests

Grape Salad with cream cheese topping (note to self: 1 package of cream cheese; 1 C sour cream):
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2013/09/my-grape-salad-addiction.html
[Update:  I posted about my substitutions here.]

These crustless cheesecakes cups look delicious and easy:
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/crustless-cheesecake-cups

Gummies (gelatin gummy candies with just juice and gelatin!):
http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/yummy-gummy-candy-sugar-free-and-how-ew-turned-to-yum/

Portable Egg Muffins [would be good with pre-cooked sausage and some zucchini]:
http://myadventuresincrazytown.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/portable-egg-muffins/

Cottage pancakes:
http://www.stacymakescents.com/cottage-pancakes

Crock pot beanie weenies (uses Great Northern Beans):
http://www.stacymakescents.com/crock-pot-beanie-weenies

Pizza Poppers (similar to egg muffins?)
http://www.nourishingcharlotte.com/pizza-poppers/

Rasberry Yogurt Fruit Leathers (could sub fruit).  The yogurt good guys die at 110F so I would try it lower to keep it probiotic:
http://thankyourbody.com/yogurtfruit-leather/

Creamsicle Gummy Snacks (has cream along with the fruit juice and gelatin):
http://thecoconutmama.com/2013/02/creamsicle-gummy-fruit-snacks/

Marshmallow cream and cream cheese with mixed fruit:
http://wholesomemommy.com/fruit-salad-with-homemade-marshmallow-cream-and-cream-cheese-dip/

Breakfast Cookies [with bananas, jam, nuts, oats, and raisins]:
http://www.plantoeat.com/blog/2013/04/breakfast-cookies/

Chicken-zucchini meatballs
http://gut-food.blogspot.com/2013/08/chicken-and-zucchini-meatballs-my.html

Zucchini Lasagna (I need some more ideas to eat up our garden bounty!):
http://www.thesimplemoms.com/2013/08/a-simple-real-food-recipe-zucchini-lasagna-gluten-free-with-grain-free-option.html

http://allergyfreecookery.blogspot.com/2013/08/zucchini-lasagna-with-cauliflower.html

Peanut butter dip (nut butter and yogurt):
http://mysisterspantry.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/small-mouths-small-bites/

Garlic cheese popcorn:
http://www.nourishingherbalist.com/real-food-for-busy-people-garlic-cheese-popcorn/

Freezer pickles?
http://frugalfarmwife.com/article/freezer-pickles

Squash leaves recipes:
http://poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-to-do-with-squash-leaves-and-stems.html

GF Oat scones
http://simplynaturalhealth.com/recipeblog/2013/08/15/the-great-scone-bake-off/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/us-usa-cattle-jbs-drugs-idUSBRE97C02M20130813
to use them... I even have rice soaking and ready to cook.]
http://bintrhodaskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/08/cousa-mahshi-or-stuffed-baby-summer.html

Crock Pot lasagna:
http://practical-stewardship.com/2012/02/11/crock-pot-lasagna/

Blueberry Fritters:
http://www.stacymakescents.com/blueberry-fritters



What's Green?

Homemade hairspray!
http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/homemade-alcohol-free-hairspray-that-works/

Reusable snack bag tutorial.  I'm even starting to see these types of sandwich bags (different styles, though) at local boutiques and Wal-Mart.  I've been wanting to make some for years.  I get hung up on what type of liner I would use.  Why not just use cotton for the liner and rinse it out when we get home??? [Well, because I usually come home exhausted and 'dump' all of my stuff until... later...]
This is a really nice tutorial.  I wonder if my middle school boys in my DIY class would be interested in making these:
http://practical-stewardship.com/2012/01/02/upcycled-and-repurposed-snack-bag-tutorial/

Easy Elastic Skirt (not really 'green' unless you repurpose fabric but a nice tutorial!):
http://practical-stewardship.com/2013/02/16/easy-elastic-waist-skirt-tutorial/


One more reason to know your farmer or buy organic beef:

~ Another UNlabeled drug in our beef supply.  Really? Yet one company mentioned in the article is taking ractopamine out of half their stock... for the Chinese market demands (not for our sake)!  Please see the link.  I posted a few excerpts below the link that stood out to me at the end of the article. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/us-usa-cattle-jbs-drugs-idUSBRE97C02M20130813

"The debate over Zilmax follows a similar dispute over ractopamine. China and Russia have banned the import of meat from ractopamine-fed animals, and the U.S.-based pork giant Smithfield Foods in May announced it will stop feeding ractopamine to half its pig herd, a move seen as an effort to recapture the lucrative China market. Weeks later, China's Shuanghui International announced plans to buy Smithfield.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed beta-agonists safe both for farm animals and for human health. "No animal safety concerns were described in any of the studies performed" before the agency approved Zilmax in 2006, according to a statement from the agency."

**"The U.S. Department of Agriculture allows beef produced with beta-agonists to be labeled hormone-free, antibiotic-free and "natural," as the drugs do not fall into the same class as either growth hormones or antibiotics."**

Here is a site that discusses them regarding asthma/breathing issues in people.  And yes, I have actually given albuterol to my olders when they were tiny with RSV... but it was a *prescription* drug and carefully monitored.
http://www.thoracic.org/clinical/copd-guidelines/for-patients/what-kind-of-medications-are-there-for-copd/what-are-beta-agonists.php

Possible side-effects:  anxiety, nervousness, muscle tremors, and heart palpitations
http://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/beta2-agonists-for-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd

I guess that for me, personally, the issue is experimentation with our food supply, not labeling drugs that the animal has been given, and eating unhealthy animals... oh, and the ubiquitous lack of studies along with the general nothing-has-been-shown-to-be-wrong-with-this-drug (due to lack of thorough or long-term studies). 

Sorry for the rant but this hit a sore spot with me.  It just shouldn't be soooo complicated to feed our children healthy food...