Carrot Banana Bread

I made this bread first thing in the morning, because I knew that I really wanted to get to it, and I also know that I have a tendency to put things off and they never get done. 

So right after I cleaned up breakfast, I started grating carrots and mashing bananas. 

When I picked Ezra up from school and we were driving home, I said, "I made your favorite thing in the whole world today" 

Banana Bread?!

no wait, Carrot Cake?!? 

Yes, I said. and explained that I had made a test of making carrot banana bread, and he declared that sounded like the best thing he has ever wanted to eat in his life.   Now, he's only 9, but he was pretty close to be right. 

To frost.... or not to frost..... ?  

That is completely up to you. I happened to have some frosting in my fridge (yes! I am that kind of person) But it was a delicious quick bread on its own.  This also would make fantastic muffins and would be great with added nuts of raisins.  

Roasted Sweet Potato and Lentil Salad

I am going to be eating this salad all summer long. Although the recipe doesn't explain this very well. I used the Food Sense, cook once, eat twice mode of thinking.  

I had the lentils in the freezer in small bags from when I had cooked a large batch a few weeks ago, and I roasted veggies for dinner and threw the sweet potatoes in on another baking sheet in the oven. 

So when I decided to make this salad, I only has to assemble the ingredients for the dressing and chop the celery and red pepper. It made it come together so fast and I didn't feel like I had done a lot of extra prep work before. 

While salads like this might not be what you imagine when you say the word Salad, they are a great way to get lots of servings of veggies and vary your protein with plant sources. 

Another thing that I just love about this salad is that it is very best at room temperature. That means that I can take it with me for a lunch on the go or a snack while I am out and about. 

I made this on a Thursday and I ate it that day, Friday and Saturday.  By Saturday the spinach had wilted a bit in the dressing but with the celery and the pepper it still had plenty of crunch to it. 

I highly recommend you try this salad, if you do, invite me over, and I'll come enjoy it with you. 

Mindful Eating - starting a practice

With all the chaos that I feel goes on in my life, I have tried to develop some habits and teach my children some tools that can help deal with stress in this wild world we all live in.  One of these habits that I have been working on and trying to teach my oldest is Mindfulness. He tends to become overwhelmed quite easily and stresses out over things that others seem to deal with effortlessly.

I discovered mindfulness when I was looking for ways to not only help him relax, but also to help him focus his energies. It is a really awesome process and thankfully it is just as easy at it sounds. Being Mindful of yourself and aware of what is happening in the present. Sure it can take a lot of time and effort to master, but just like yoga and meditation, it doesn't take a lot of skill to start practicing.

You can do lots of things mindfully, exercise, meditation, housework, but one of the biggest mindful movements is Mindful Eating. Isn't the idea of that wonderful? The really good news that goes along with that wonderful idea is that it can be really really good for you. Over the last 20 years there have been several studies done that show mindful eating can help you be in better health and improve your relationship with food.

So how do you actually do it, this mindful eating stuff.  Here is a good way to get started:

1. Read up a a little on what mindful eating really is. Here is a great website that answers just that exact question. There are principles and suggestions that you can add to your practice.

2. Just be mindful - just be aware.  You don't have to start out knowing everything about it, this is a practice that you are beginning. Just the fact that you are beginning in a step forward. Start by being mentally focused and engaged in exactly what you are doing. Put down your phone, do not multi-task and be engaged fully in the one thing you are doing.

3. Check in with the 4 mindful points. Examine each point of mindfulness, if you are not being mindful gently bring yourself back to your focus.

a. Mind: Am I tasting each bite or am I zoned out when I eat? (You can download the awareness checklist here.)

Body: How does my body feel before and after I eat? Low energy? Stomach rumbling? Full? Empty?

c. Feeling: What do I feel about this food? Guilty? Pleasure? Joy? Disappointment? Regret?

d. Thoughts: What thoughts does this food bring to mind? Memories? Beliefs? Myths? Fears?

Being mindful of ourselves, especially while we are eating can help us enjoy our food and our meals more completely.  Start out slow, give yourself one meal or snack a day that you are going to practice being mindful during. You will love the feelings that it gives you and how much more you enjoy your meal and the food.

Spicy Baja Shrimp Taco Salad

Just in time for Taco Tuesday tomorrow, Here is a quick and easy dinner salad that will have you feeling like the Queen or King of your kitchen and your family raving about how you should open up your own taco truck and make a zillion dollars. Yup! This salad is just that good. And really easy too. 

The recipe ingredient looks long, but it really just includes lots of spices that you already have in your pantry.  Lots of spices make this salad really have some kick and the cool dressing and cabbage make the perfect combination of spicy and cool.  

 Adding fish and seafood to your diet is a great way to vary your protein and get lots of nutrients including healthy omega-3 fats. 

Broccoli Strawberry Salad with Avocados and Poppy Seed Dressing

This is going to be my go-to salad for the rest of the spring and all summer long. If you invite me to any kind of function where I am asked to bring food - this is what you are going to get. 

And you are going to love it as much as I do!  

It is crunchy and sweet, savory and surprising with craisins and sunflower seeds. 

I have made it again since I tested the recipe and I added just one finely diced green onion to the dressing and it made it even more perfect. 

It preps great ahead of time so that makes it great for get-togethers, just be sure you add the avocados at the last minute so that they don't go brown. 

Some Leftover Tips about Leftovers

I have had a couple of experiences happen to me in the last few days that have me thinking about leftovers and summer food safety.

The first is that my brother got married. And just like at most weddings, we had a celebration for them. It was a summer BBQ that totally fit their style and it was fantastically fun - and filled with food. But what got me thinking about leftovers is that we had a lot of some foods leftover from the party. What do we do with them? Are they still safe to eat? What is the best way to handle big summer food festivals like this to make sure everyone is eating food that has been properly prepared and stored prior to serving.

The second thing that has me thinking about leftovers is that my freezer got left open for an extended period of time. Like... CRAP! The freezer has been left open and stuff has melted all over the floor - Open. Not such a good thing. How do you decide what is still safe to eat and what (if anything) is going to have to be thrown out? How long can you freeze foods (is there a time limit?) and What to do if something like this happens to you.



I think the basic thing you need to know about leftovers is basic food safety. You want your food and everything you prepare to be safe and healthy in the first place. That means getting it home, handling and preparing it and storing it with the safest practices possible. I recommend that you start HERE. This is the place for you to start expanding your knowledge and to be sure you know the basics. Sometimes it feels like the world of germs (and stuff on your food) can seem very big (for something so small) and very very scary. But I feel much better knowing that I have control over foods that I bring into my home, prepare, and feed my family. I am a very scary force to be reckoned with when it comes to bacteria.

So once you are sure you have prepared your food safely, How do you keep it safe?  A good simple rule to follow is the 2:4 rule.

Never left your food stay "out" for longer than two hours.  and
Never keep leftovers for longer than 4 days.

That is a good simple way to be sure you are being safe.  If you want some more details on just how long you can keep specific items there are some excellent articles Here and Here.

As always, there is a lot of information out there. A lot to be learned and it seems like even more to be mastered. But don't be overwhelmed and discouraged. This is just like everything that Food $ense teaches, start doing what you can now and add to it. Every little change for the better can make a difference. Here are the Food $ense lessons specifically related to Food Safety. They are easy to understand and even easier to start doing in your life.

Gouda, Carrot and Cumin Bread

I could bake bread every day - well at least quick breads I could. 

I love this savory version with carrots and gouda cheese and the unexpected flavor of cumin. 

If you don't have access to Gouda substitute another mild cheese and it will still be delicious and you'll still be a bread baking hero to all those who you feed. 

I like to shred my carrots really really small, so I can distribute the flavor evenly and also to "hide" big carrot chunks for carrot-hating children. (or even adults)

 The aroma of the cumin and fresh bread will have people flocking to your kitchen. Enjoy making this savory quick bread and eating healthy whole grains in the process. 

Basic Stir Fry Sauces

One of the greatest things about creating a stir fry is that you don't really have to HAVE anything to make one. There are the ultimate "anything goes" dinner.  We recently got back from a little weekend away and I needed to make something to use up all the odds and ends we were left with from vacation food. 

So I emptied the fridge (which was really just full of stuff I emptied from the cooler) and put it all out on the counter. The only problem that I run into when making a stir fry is that I get stuck when it comes to the sauce.  I'll be honest with you, I have really screwed up the sauce before and completely killed dinner. I have made almost all the mistakes you can make - I have made it too spicy, and way to bland, I have made it with so much vinegar it bites you back and one time I even made it way too "fishy" - that was a disaster no one wanted to eat. 

So I gathered a little collection of basic stir fry sauces. You can still make up your own and be super creative, but for those of you who are like me and your creativity isn't always edible - here is a starting point. 

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce – Great with seafood stir fries, such as shrimp and/or scallops, as well as chicken.

1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar

• • •

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and seafood.

2/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste)
Optional: red pepper flakes

• • •

Soy Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round Asian sauce, suitable for all proteins.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. rice wine vinegar
4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
2 tsp. sugar

• • •

Basic Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine or rice vinegar
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider or rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce II – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce III – great with chicken, pork, beef and shrimp.

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pineapple juice (or addition 1/4 cup water)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

• • •

Hot and Sour Stir-Fry Sauce – good all-round sauce.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. chile paste (sambal oleek)

• • •

Thai Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken or shrimp.

2/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili
2 1/2 tsp. brown sugar

• • •

Peanut Stir-Fry Sauce – perfect for noodles or chicken.

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. granulated sugar (less if not using natural peanut butter)
4 tsp. natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp. water
2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic paste

Combine all ingredients and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds.

• • •

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken and pork.

3/4 orange juice
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Finely grated orange zest

• • •

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce II – nice with chicken and pork.

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tsp. brown sugar
1 green onion, finely chopped

• • •

Spicy Orange Stir-Fry Sauce – great with chicken!

3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper, or to taste

• • •

Orange Sesame Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – nice with chicken.

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or rice wine
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or 1/2 tsp. sambal oleek)

• • •

Spicy Szechuan Stir-Fry Sauce – great all-round spicy stir fry sauce.

3-4 Tbsp. sodium-reduced soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine or rice vinegar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp.sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. green onion, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili paste (sambal oleek or chili paste sauce with garlic)

• • •

Tips:

1. Some of these sauces already have cornstarch added but if they don’t, you can use this to thicken any sauce that you think is too thin. Simply combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add a bit, stir and cook until sauce thickens. Add more as necessary.

1. Consider using low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce to avoid an overly-salty finished dish.

1. Each of these sauces makes 1/2 – 1 cup of stir fry sauce. You may not need it all, depending on the amount of meat, noodles and/or vegetables you are stir frying. Add as necessary to make it as saucy as you like and thicken with the thickener above, if desired. Of course, you can also double the sauce if you’re making a lot of stir fry.

1. Some of these sauces already contain things like minced garlic, ginger, onion or chilis (or other heat) but if they don’t, be sure to consider adding some into your stir fry.

1. Everyone’s tastes are different so you will likely want to tweak the sauces to your tastes. If you print out the list, you can simply make notes as you go to develop your perfect sauce.

Once you have chosen your sauce, all that is left is to throw everything together.  We chopped up the veggies so they were in a uniform size, since we were dealing with leftovers some were in big pieces and some were smaller. Making everything roughly the same size ensures that things will cook evenly and you won't end up with some crunchy and some mushy. 

 Then we tossed it all into the electric skillet. I needed to use the biggest pan that I have so that the pan could stay nice and hot and so that I would have room to stir everything around without it flying out of the pan.

 Dinner turned out amazing, all the vacation leftovers got used up and best of all - everyone got full bellies.

Cook Once, Eat Twice

We have been practicing some good Food $ense lessons here lately. When things start to get a little different or it seems hard to keep life together, it is the basics that keep us afloat. That is one of the things that I love so much about this program. It is easy to learn and easy to follow - making life changes that stick and giving up bad habits that is almost never easy! But knowing how to do better and that I can do better. That is a wonderful gift that I have been given by this program.

I have been trying to make an effort to plan at least two meals a week where I can use "cook once, eat twice" principles.  This week, we had chicken and rice (a favorite around here) and then had extra chicken cooked to make Sour Cream Enchiladas. My family loves enchiladas, but they end up being a lot more work that I want to put into a single dinner if I have to start from step 1 and cook the chicken. With the chicken already cooked, I just have to fill the tortillas and make the sauce, that is a snap!

When I cook rice for a skillet dish, I always try and cook enough for two meals. Having something already prepared that usually takes 20 minutes can be a real time saver.

Follow these general guidelines to assure your food remains safe and of high quality:

• Separate out and refrigerate the portion to be served for your next meal before you set the food on the table. This keeps your food quality higher by preventing "planned-overs" from becoming "picked-overs.

• Promptly refrigerate the food for the next meal to keep it safe. Perishable cooked foods, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products, shouldn't be at room temperature longer than TWO hours TOTAL -- that TOTAL is the total of the first and second use.

• Refrigerate the prepared-ahead food in shallow containers so it cools faster in the refrigerator. For thicker foods -- such as stews, hot puddings and layers of meat slices -- limit depth of food to 2 inches. Loosely cover food. This allows heat to escape and protects from accidental contamination from other foods during cooling. Stir food occasionally to help it cool; use a clean utensil each time. Cover tightly when cooled.

• As a general rule-of-thumb, use the extra refrigerated food you cooked within one to two days. Freeze for longer storage. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator when you're ready to use again -- never thaw at room temperature.

The taco meat you cook on Monday for soft flour tacos, can be used again on Tuesday for Taco Salads or Nachos.  The Roast Chicken you make for Sunday can be Chicken Pot Pies on Monday.  The ways that you can cook once, eat twice or only limited by your imagination. 

Menu Planning - Theme Nights

For those of you that are members of Instagram you are familiar with some of the fun things that go on over there like Man Crush Monday (#mcm) or Woman Crush Wednesday (#wcw) or Throwback Thursday (#tbt).

When I first started learning about Food $ense, one of the first things that we focused on was Menu Planning.  It has been the one thing that I have tried to really incorporate in my life and it is one of the things that can make the biggest difference in your life too.

If you are having a hard time beginning menu planning, or starting to make menu plan, something that you can do to help kickstart your planning is have Theme Nights. Food Sense taught me this trick, and I think they learned it from the Food Nanny. (She is Amazing, check her out!)

Some ideas that are really popular are:

Meatless Monday: Make the first day of the week easy on your budget and go meatless. You don't have to make a specifically vegetarian dish (although you can do that!) make it a pasta dish, focus on beans, make a seasonal veggie your star.  If you have someway to narrow down all the choices that are available sometimes it is easier to make a plan.

Taco Tuesday: Make soft tacos, or crisp taco, heck! make some fish tacos. You can vary your toppings - one week have salsa and corn, the next week try olives and fresh tomatoes. You know you can wrap just about anything in a tortilla, have breakfast burritos for dinner.

Or check your schedule and plan what works for YOU. If monday is busy for you with lessons and sports and family events make Monday your Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Night. Plan a dinner that you get prep and have ready in the morning (or even Sunday night) and then just turn the cooker on in the morning and get your busy day done.

Plan to have a Leftover Night. With summer here, we are eating lots of leftovers for lunches. But it is a good idea to plan a night to eat all that food you spent all your time and energy making. Teach your family to love leftovers and your life will get a whole lot easier.

If you are interested in trying new recipes plan a night during the week to Pinterest Recipe Night. Or if you are people who crave the old stand by have a Family Favorite Night, and eat something that you made before that everyone loved.

I am fortunate enough that my kids are older and can help in the kitchen, sometimes we will each take a night and have it be Chef's Choice. Each of my kids get to be head chef for the night and choose what is for dinner and have my help making it. My sister does something similar to this and her kids have specific nights where they are in charge of planning the menu and making dinner. Her teenagers are a little bit older, but you will never regret teaching your children how to cook and care for themselves in a healthy way.

The possibilities are only as limited as your mind. If you have craving for ethnic food plan a night around that. Plan a night that is soup in the winter and salads in the summer.  Have a sandwich night, Have a breakfast night, Have a pizza night! The ideas are endless. And remember these are your "rules" so you should feel free to break them anytime!