Brussel Sprouts Super Easy

Cut brussel sprouts in half and toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Transfer them to an oven safe dish and roast in the oven at 400degrees Fahrenheit for about 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy! (-:

                              

    Happy sunday,n.

A Few Words on Meat...

There are a lot of video's and articles going around right now about the 'pink slime'.

It got me inspired to write about meat again and what to look for when you buy meat. I am sorry if I offend certain people but I am not going to sugar coat this issue. These are facts and I use my own words to explain it.

'Pink slime'

Pink Slime is animal trimmings that used to go to dog food (their stomach's can handle way more) but now got back into the human food supply.

The USDA has allowed 'pink slime' to be used in school lunches.

'Pink slime' contains fat trimmings, the outsides from digestive organs that are full of bacterias and salmonella and other parts of the cow that are not intended to be consumed by humans because they are contaminated.

But, hey, some smarty pants came up with a way to process all that 'shit' and turn it into burgers, taco meat,  sauces, stews... you name it. 

The cow trimmings go into a meat centrifuge to process it into small pieces, then it gets washed with ammonia and pushed through a meat processor to make it look like ground beef.

If you watch the video from the ABC News Investigation (find link below) you will see a lady totally defending this method. It is sad that processing factors and chemicals used to process any food really don't have to be labeled.

The talk is about beef right now, but just so you are aware, the same happens to chickens. Chicken heads, feet, trimming from the guts, they all turn into 'pink slime' and then they bread it and call it chicken nuggets.

You think that can happen to you since you cook at home and don't go to fast food restaurants?

Well, I am sorry to inform you that also grocery stores sell 'pink slime' known as ground beef or finished products like burgers. And the USDA does not require company's to label it. It just says 'ground beef' or 'beef'. It doesn't tell you that it has nothing to do with good meat and that is was washed with ammonia and whatever else they use for it, because you know, after it was washed with ammonia it must stink like hell. So they have to add flavors again. And maybe some coloring, because really, it might not look like beef at all.

11 reasons to consume organic animal products only!

Even though I am not a big meat eater, I don't necessarily tell people to become vegans. That is a personal choice.

But please, if you and your family choose to eat meat/animal products, go organic. Eat a little less, spend a little more on good quality, the animal was treated like an animal and your health will thank you too!

1. Grass fed beef is leaner than grain fed beef

2. Cows are meant to eat grass, not corn (evolution made them that way!)

3. Corn is genetically modified, so basically the environment gets screwed twice when you consume corn fed cows. Genetically modified corn is injected with pesticides and needs to be sprayed with pesticides, the poor cow gets to eat that 'shit' and we don't know yet what really happens over time to our animals genes when they eat only GM food. (Even though there are reports of cows suffering from miscarriages in high numbers after only consuming GM corn all their life's)

4. If a package of beef doesn't say 'grass fed' it is most likely from a corn fed cow.

5. Everything the animal eats, goes into its body and gets either digested or stored in fat cells. So, everything the animal eats, the consumer of that animal gets to eat it in one way or the other as well.

6. To prevent large groups of animal to get infections, antibiotics are administered on a daily basis. Those antibiotics end up in our food supply as well and create 'super bugs'.  Bacterias are smart and they mutate fast to become resistant to antibiotics they were most exposed to. A person might get infected with a bacteria like that and because that person consumed a lot of antibiotic treated meat in the past the bacteria is already resistant to it. (has resulted in death in the past and will for sure again in the future)

7. Bovine Growth Hormone. or BGH, is injected into cows after they had a baby to produce more milk and to produce the milk over a longer period of time. And they even came up with the genetically altered version of BGH 'rBGH'. (recombinant bovine growth hormone) Fun, isn't it? 

Those poor Mamma Cows produce so much milk that they get a mastitis. Mastitis is an inflammatory reaction of udder tissue. And guess what, they have to treat that mastitis with antibiotics. So pretty much, if you drink non-organic milk you get the whole cocktail. 

8. Organic cows are not allowed to get antibiotic shots (or if they do, the meat can not be consumed, or there is a certain time they have to wait until the cow gets slaughtered) 

9. Organic animals do not eat GMO's

10. Organic animals do not get hormone shots ever!

11. Your health will thank you! What you safe on cheap food now, you will pay in medical costs (multiplied by thousands) later!

Tips on the side:
Try Buffalo! Buffalo meat is leaner than beef . And Buffalo's are by law protected from getting antibiotic  and hormone shots! Lucky them!
Always remember: the USDA and the FDA is failing the people. They no longer (well, since a while) have the best interested of their people and their health in mind. They are the 1% who make money off of 'cheap' food and our declining health. So if the USDA says something is safe. Don't believe it, do your own research!

If YOU don't protect your families health 

nobody else will!

Resources and more info:

If you are in Colorado consider buying meat at Four Sisters Farm
If you are nowhere close to here, find out if there is an animal farm closer to where you live that is doing the right thing! Support them!


Jamie Oliver's stunt cow
Food Safety Network on the Science on Antibiotic Resistance
ABC News Investigation 

much love, n.

GMO-NO Music Video

great song!

http://youtu.be/HnN6FFjZBZQ

dance on, n.

Polenta Pizza

This is a personal favorite!

It is a 'left over vegetable user' for sure. 

Polenta Pizza can be totally personalized to your taste and garnished with your choice of vegetables/fish/meats.

What you need:

Polenta 

(it is corn or maize and it has the cooking instruction in the back, it is also available in the bulk section of health food stores)

Vegan broth cubes

(to cook in the water with the polenta)

Daiya Cheese 

(non-soy, non-dairy cheese alternative) 

or organic Goat Cheese

Tomato Sauce 

(or Pizza Sauce)

Vegetables of your choice 

(Zucchini, Spinach, Eggplant, Bell Peppers, Onions, dried Tomatoes, Leeks...)

Italian Herbs/Other Spices

How you do it:

Cook polenta according to package directions. 

CAREFUL! cooking polenta is dangerous, I am not kidding, it bubbles and splashes all over the place and can burn your skin. 

(yes, I once had a blister on my hand after cooking polenta)

Pour the cooked polenta on to a backing sheet covered with a parchment paper. 

Let sit for a little while, so the polenta gets 'stiffer' and doesn't sink in when you add the condiments.

(that might take about 30minutes. But here is an idea: you can also cook the polenta in the morning or even days before you are planning to make this dish, it safes you some time on the day you server this yummi meal!)

With a spoon add tomato sauce all over the polenta evenly and in a thin layer.

Chop your veggies in to small bite size pieces or however you like them. 

(I like my onions to stay in circles and my bell peppers in stripes, but that is just me. hihi)  

Distribute them all over the tomato sauce covered polenta.

Tip: you can also roast or stir fry some of the vegetables first. I like eggplants better when they were stir fried or roasted first. Roasting, stir frying or steaming gives some vegetables a different flavor!

Add herbs, pepper and salt to taste.

Last but not least add some cheese of your choice all over the vegetables. 

You can also skip the cheese and just drizzle some olive oil over everything.

(or really, add both, the cheese and the olive oil)

Bake in preheated oven at about 375degrees Fahrenheit for about 40minutes.

NOTES:

this dish is vegan and gluten free

this dish can also be for meat or fish lovers though! just please remember to use organic animal products for the sake of your health and our environments well being

for those of you who are watching the carbs, make the polenta layer really thin and add a lot of vegetables on top, the vegetable layer can be so much thicker than the polenta! (-:

Yum!

If you feel like it, add a picture of your version to the facebook page of Holistic Family Nutrition. 

(the link for the fb page is on the right hand side of the blog)

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

happy cooking! love, n.

Cabbage Wraps!

Recipe for Cabbage Wraps!

fast - easy - vegan - almost raw

First up I have to mention that I am not a recipe user and writing down messurements when I cook is hard for me because I change my mind and add things as I go. (-;

So, don't take the amounts too seriously or exact and add as much of the different ingredients as you please.

You need:

Big Cabbage Leaves

1 Beet

1/2 small Onion

1 medium Carrot

Handfull of Raisins

Lemon

1-2 tablespoons Olive oil

How it's done:

Gently 'peel' off the big Cabbage leaves without tearing them apart. Steam them in a pot full of water until they get kind of translucent. Maybe about 5-10 minutes.

In a food processor add the peeled and chopped beet, onion and carrot and shred it.

Pour the mixture into a bowl add some lemon juice, olive oil and the raisins. 

Add other herbs and spices if you desire. Mix.

Gently add some salad mixture on a cabbage leave and roll it up, securing the package with toothpicks.

                                     

                                       

Eat right away or store in fridge for lunch the next day.

The possibilities of this dish are endless, you can wrap up pretty much anything into a cabbage leave and don't we like certain things just better when they are wrapped?

love, n.

A Saturday Morning In Winter...

... what's better than going to buy veggies on a farm in the middle of winter???

For a foodie like me, not much. haha.

We are very lucky to have the Berry Patch Farms in Brighton, Colorado. The owner managed to pull off unheated green houses and grows various vegetables also in winter.

This is what we came home with:

Cannelini Beans

Pop Corn Kernels

Kale

Spinach

Turnips

Carrots

5lbs of frozen tomatoes

1lbs frozen Raspberries

Leeks

Italian Heirloom Onions

Spaghetti squash

And the total was 47$ and some cents. It will last us at least a whole week. YUM!

Buying from your local organic farm is sustainable, you invest in a small business and it keeps your community going! Now check with your local farm if they have a few things they still sell even though it is winter! You might be surprised!

love, n.

No-fish Sushi Recipe

Hi there! 

Our family love, love, loves sushi! But the other night we didn't feel like going out and spending a ton of money in a restaurant, so we decided to make some at home.

We made no-fish sushi, I don't like handling raw fish... I don't like handeling anything raw that used to live, really.

What you need:
Nori leaves (Seeweed)
You get them at Asian Markets or even Whole Foods. Maybe even other grocery stores have them. 
Sushi rice
the bulk section at Whole Foods has organic sushi rice for like 1.50$ a pound
Rice Vinegar
Veggies of your choice
Sesame seeds (optional)

How I made them:
Per 1 cup rice use 1-1 1/2 cup water. Add a broth cube if you want and bring to a broil in a big pan. When it cooks stir once(!) with a wooden spatula, cover with lid and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
After the rice cooled down a little add a couple of tablespoons rice vinegar and stir it in.

Cut some veggies of your choice into thin slices. We used avocado, cucumbers and carrots.

The instructions on how to roll the sushi is on the back of the Nori leaves (YAY).

But I can explain it really fast:
We couldn't find our sushi matts, so we just used a towel then put a clearwrap on the towel, on top of that the Nori leave. Spread the rice thinnly all over the Nori leaving about an 3/4 inch free on the top. Drip a little bit of water on that part of the leave. (I used my fingers to wet it a little)
Add the thinnly sliced veggies in the lower third onto the rice and start rolling it up with some pressure.
At the end the slightly wet part of the leave will stick to the roll and keep the whole thing together. Slice it up and its ready to eat.
The first couple rolls may look a little funny but you will get the hang of it. (-:
It's really fun and actually really fast too. I will defenitely make these again soon and take them for lunch or a snack on the go!

In some of the rolls I added black and white sesame seeds onto the rice before rolling and some got decorated with the sesame seeds after I cut them.
The possibilities are endless. I think next time I wanna add Mango to them. My mouth is watering again already!

For the kiddos:

Some kids do not enjoy the seaweed on sushi, so I made them their own special 'sushi' in a bowl. 

(Picture on Holistic Family Nutrition facebook page) 

I put some sushi rice in a little bowl, cut carrots and cucumbers in thin sticks, avocado in little dices and added them all to the rice. Looks really apeeling and fun to them. 

I gave them some soy sauce (tamari sauce actually) in a little dish and they dipped the veggies and the rice in it.

For the Gluten Free sushi fan:

Regular Soy sauce has wheat in it, so it is NOT Gluten Free! 

Use Tamari sauce, they are also widely available and were not brewed with wheat. 

Anything else???

I would love to hear about your home made sushi adventures! 

love, n.