Tag Archives: Natural

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Freeze those Strawberries

Strawberries are coming in! Time to get picking AND freezing! 10277049_540553392721196_5674991866858977377_n

When it’s picking time I get so excited! I guess because it means that winter has come to an end here in the south (YIPEE! I loathe Winter, I really do!) and all kinds of goodness is to be harvested over the next several months. My freezer is becoming empty and is ready to be restocked with all that goodness. Do you and yours go berry picking? If you don’t you should. For many reasons.

  1. You will pay less if you pick them yourself.
  2. You get to pick the berries of your choice.
  3. When you pick any fruit or vegetable yourself you know where it came from. Note: Be sure the farmer does not use any pesticides.
  4. You get to support your local farmers. Now that is a win win for everyone!
  5. Make it a family outing. The little ones typically enjoy picking. (Typically…Lol!)
  6. We should eat fruit and vegetables when in season. This is another win win.
  7. You freeze them and therefore throughout the year you are eating strawberries that are “in season”.
  8. Strawberries are loaded with antioxidants. Eat your strawberries!

How to Freeze Strawberries

It is super easy…

-Wash them off and let them dry.

-Cut tops off (or not if you throw in smoothies or shakes) and place on a cookie sheet, without them touching each other, and flash freeze them. You can cut them in smaller pieces if you desire.

-Once they are frozen pop them off the cookie sheet, while they are frozen, and put in freezer bags.

By not having them touch during the flash freezing process is KEY. This prevents them from clumping together. Don’t you hate that? You know, when you buy frozen fruit and it is one big ole’ clump? It is because they all stuck together due to moisture.

As always I would LOVE to hear from you! Share is caring…if you like what you read please share on your social media outlets.

Much Love,

Jennie B

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Food Marketing 101

Marketing! MARKETINGUgh Marketing…Oh how I hate how they trick us consumers. It is sad that we have to be SO proactive when buying “food”. A very good example of this marketing scheme (as I like to call it) is in my blog, My Argument with the Cashier at Kroger. The food industry tricks us into thinking we are purchasing “Healthy Food” when in deed we are not. Well, if you truly think about it, why is there a health food section in the grocery store? AND how big is that section? Pretty small in comparison to the grocery store as a whole.

The ways they trick us…

  • Packaging – The packaging says “Whole Wheat”. Like whole wheat ritz crackers. Look at the ingredients. What is the first ingredient? Enriched! Not Whole Wheat. Then it gets worse. Notice the Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil AND the High Fructose Corn Syrup. Sorry to bust your bubble, but these crackers are nothing but CRAP! Ritz photo
  • Where they place items on the shelf – Brand Name food products are right at eye level, as well as whatever the latest trend or fad diet may be at the time. Like low fat, low carb and the like. This makes it more tempting to buy that product. Pay attention to food placement the next time you are at the grocery. (If you haven’t already.)
  • It’s Organic – Then it must be good for us? WRONG! WRONG! and WRONG again! There is organic crap out there just like there is regular crap out there. Sugar is bad for us whether it is organic or not. So, organic cookies, sugary cereals, ice cream, etc. are all still BAD. Get It? Good!
  • Green Washing – If you are not familiar with this, next time you are at the grocery store notice all the green, or earth friendly images on packaging. This lures us in (subliminally) thinking the product must be “good” for us. Don’t fall victim! Please!

I know, I know, it gets so confusing. If you do not already look at the ingredients you HAVE to start. The ingredient list, in my opinion and the opinion of many other health folks, is more important than reading the nutrition label. They both can be confusing, I know this, but you have to start somewhere. So start with the ingredient list. Please!

Now think of this, if you only bought food that did not carry a label what would you be buying?

Real. Food.

Now that is one crazy idea! Right? Well, while I know it is not realistic, for most, in today’s world it is something that we can strive to get better at. I know I can.

Where to start in this read labels thing?

-First off you would like to be able to pronounce all the ingredients. If you can do that, you are on the right track.

-Second here are six ingredients that you should stay clear of…

  1. High Fructose Corn Syrup
  2. Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Trans Fat)
  3. Artificial Sweeteners and Artificial Colors
  4. MSG (Monosodium glutamate)
  5. Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite
  6. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)

Of course we could go much, much deeper into this whole marketing topic and what to stay clear of when it comes to those ingredients. A great example of marketing and why it is important to read labels is in my blog on Peanut Butter. If you haven’t read it I encourage you to.

Reading the ingredient list is one of the TOP things I teach my clients. I say all the time that knowledge is power. Knowledge IS power. This is HUGE when it comes to nutrition and being healthy. You need to know what you are putting in that body of yours. Then you get to make an informed decision as to what you are going to feed your temple. Don’t let the food industry make that decision for you. No one else is going to do this for you…well, unless you have a family member like me. Haha! (Disclaimer: I can lead my people to water, but when they are away from me they don’t always drink it). True Story! Oh and one more disclaimer: I am not perfect…I do not feed my temple 100% goodness all the time. If you follow me, you know my vices.

Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be YOU.

Much Love,

Jennie B

 

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Healthy Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

These babies are GOOD!IMG_20160325_142012276

While at my aunts home one day she shared one of her sacred cookies (as she called them) with me. I typically would not have eaten one of her cookies as they were usually your typical cookie loaded with crap. BUT, when she told me the ingredients I was curious as to how good they were. Wow! I was impressed! Especially with them being Paleo friendly, Gluten free and Dairy free. I fixed these for my Birthday, so I could have a little treat, and as you know with the hubs being gluten intolerant it was a treat for him as well. Oh, I must tell you that our son loves them too!  They are a win win in our home.

-1 1/2 cup Almond Flour

-1/4 tsp Baking Soda

-1/4 tsp Salt

-2 Tbs Coconut Oil, melted (unrefined & cold pressed)

-1/2 tsp Vanilla

-1/4 cup Honey (local & raw)

-1 Egg

-1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Melt coconut oil (in another bowl). Then add vanilla, honey and egg. Add your dry mixture to the wet and then stir in your dark chocolate chips.

Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Scoop a tablespoon size ball onto parchment paper that is on a cookie sheet.

Bake for five minutes and, with a spatula, flatten gently and bake an additional 5-8 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

If you make these please let me know what cha think!

Much Love,

Jennie

 

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What does That Seal Mean?

Do you know what the USDA Organic seal REALLY means? Do you get confused as to what you should buy organic and if it is worth spending the extra money. I hope to make this as plain and simple as I can and help you understand what the organic seal really means. 2000px-USDA_organic_seal.svg

Okay, so you go to the store and you see a product that says it is organic. First off it has to have the USDA seal on it to be certified organic. Now, there are three different components to this.

  1. 100% Certified Organic – This means that EVERYTHING in that product is organic. You will not see the 100% Certified Organic very often. You will usually see just Certified Organic.
  2. Certified Organic – This means that at least 95% of the ingredients in a processed food is organic.
  3. Made with Organic ingredients – This does not contain the seal but can say “Contains organic ingredients” or “Made with organic ingredients” and either of these can be stated on the packaging. This means that 70% of the ingredients must be organic and those ingredients will be found in the ingredients list.

An added bonus to buying organic is that you are also buying nonGMO. In order for anything to be certified as organic is also cannot contain any genetically modified organisms. You can read more on GMOs by clicking HERE.

I know, it can get SO confusing. One thing I want you to remember is that just because a product is “Organic” DOES NOT mean it is good for us. There is “organic” crap out there just like there is non organic crap. Yes, there is organic sugar, but guess what? It is still sugar! There are organic cookies, but they are still cookies made with organic crap! Get the point?

What should you buy organic? This is where you will have to decide for yourself what is most beneficial for you and your family. I know most of us cannot afford to buy everything organic or have access to everything organic. For myself and my family I try to purchase organic foods that we eat the most. For instance, my son drinks cows milk everyday, therefore I have had him on organic milk since a baby. I eat spinach everyday, therefore I buy organic spinach. We all three eat an apple everyday, so I buy organic apples. A great way to purchase organic foods is to join a local CSA and to shop at your local farmers market. An added plus to this is you are supporting your local farmers. Be sure to ask if any pesticides or chemicals are used when buying local. Also it is great to stock on fruits and veggies when they are in season and then freeze or can them to have all year round.

You may be thinking, what is recommended that you should buy organic? Produce wise a good rule of thumb is if you eat the entire fruit or vegetable, try to purchase organic. Example, you don’t eat the peeling of a banana but you do an apple. The dirty dozen (plus two) and clean fifteen break it down:

dirty-dozen-ewg

Now, meats, poultry and dairy. In order for livestock to be considered organic they must eat organic feed, have access to the outdoors and not be given antibiotics, hormones and any animal by products.  Let’s think about this, non organic livestock is shot up with steroids (so they can grow faster and bigger) to produce more, they are given antibiotics, fed GMO feed, etc. We then eat them. We eat what they eat. This also holds true for their milk supply. Everything they are given gets into their milk supply, so we end up drinking all that mess too. The same goes for poultry and eggs too. Hmmm…don’t you think meats, eggs and dairy should be purchased as organic?

When looking at what you should be purchasing organic I would encourage you to sit down and evaluate what you and your family eat the most of that you should try to purchase organic. I do want to make one thing clear. If you cannot afford organic that is OK! A non organic apple is much better than a bag of chips. I also encourage you to shop around and pay attention to prices when shopping. You may be very surprised! For instance, organic Kale at our local Kroger is $0.99 and non organic Kale is $0.99. Why would you NOT buy the organic? Organic apples at Trader Joes are $0.79 an apple which is cheaper than a non organic apple. You may have to do a little homework but in the long run it is very much worth it knowing you are feeding your temple and your families temples better.

Much Love,

Jennie B

 

References: helpguide.org and greener choices.org

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My Argument with the Cashier at Kroger

Oh YES I did…Simple Truth

While checking out one day at Kroger I got into a little heated discussion with the cashier. While I know it is very hard to know about ALL products in the store. Heck…as soon as they bring something new in, they take something old out. It is constantly changing and I would never expect anyone to know EVERYTHING. I certainly get stumped ALL THE TIME. The nutrition industry is always changing yet one thing does remain the same. What the Lord provided us with is what we should eat. If it does not have a label on it…eat it! Anyways, sorry, I got a little side tracked. Back to the cashier…

As he was checking me out he made a comment on my Simple Truth items.                                                                           Saying, “All these Simple Truth products are so good!”                                                                                                               I replied, “Yes, the ORGANIC ones are great but it makes me mad the way they market the brand.”                               His reply, “Organic? It is ALL organic!” (which he said very matter of fact)                                                                             Me, “Ummm…NO…it is not!” (Which I said Very Matter Of Fact).                                                                                           Cashier, “YES IT IS!”                                                                                                                                                                         Me, (picture me scavenging through my groceries that the bagger is bagging to find one item that WAS organic and one that was NOT in the Simple Truth brand) “Do you see the difference in these two products? With the Simple Truth logo?”                                                                                                                                                                               Cashier, well they are both Simple Truth and all Simple Truth products are organic.” As he is saying this to me he is pointing to a display that is promoting the Simple Truth brand.                                                                                                 Me, “Then why does this one (as I am point to the one that does not say organic) not say ORGANIC? Why does this one not only say organic but has the USDA Organic stamp on it?” (Notice the stamp on the eggs in the lower right of the picture. One is USDA stamped and the other is 100% natural).  He could not answer me. I then preceded to tell him that if he goes on Kroger’s website they actually explain the Simple Truth brand.  I did not go into the whole spill that their are actually three variations of the Simply Truth brand.

-Natural

-101

-Organic

It gets better…

I then look at his name tag to call him by his name and notice he is a District Manager…YEAH! So I say, “Oh my gosh, I see you are a manager and I am teaching you about your companies brand.” Of course I tell him that this is part of what I teach people. I teach them about nutrition AND how the food industry tricks the consumer!

I do believe that the Simple Truth brand is good and probably a better choice over some others brands. I applaud them for offering us consumers better products at cheaper prices than some of their competitors. The point of my story is that he thought all their products were organic.

As we left my son was giggling, he is ten. He thought it was great that I just gave a District Manager a lesson on his products. The topic at the dinner table that night was how Mama set the cashier straight at Kroger earlier that day.

This my friends is just another reason why we must inform ourselves, and others, on our food. What the food industry is doing and getting away with is very disappointing. It truly makes my blood boil.

Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be You.

Much Love,

Jennie