Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Yum - Cream Of Broccoli Soup

It's been months since I've had a creamy soup. I'm a little under the weather today and I felt like having some soup for dinner today. I ran across a recipe on the Fat Free Vegan website for Ridiculously Easy Cream of Broccoli Soup. 

There are some steps so it's just opening cans and throwing them in a pot. I used broccoli I had in the freezer.  There is some chopping and blending, but the soup came together pretty fast and I loved the flavor. I will definitely keep this recipe in my recipe box to try again.

Sorry I didn't take a picture, but she has a wonderful photo on her Fat Free Vegan website.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Time Saving Tip -Peeling Carrots like a Pro

Check out this blog post by Eat the Love: Peeling Carrots: I've Been Doing it All Wrong!
There's actually a video about saving time peeling carrots.

To be honest, this is how I often peel carrots. Although I do find myself leaning over the garbage can holding the carrot with one hand occasionally when I'm in a hurry. LOL! I wanted to share this quick tip in case you are looking for time saving tips for prepping vegetables like carrots.


Saturday, March 28, 2015

Frugal Tip #2 - Make your own Buns and Soft Pocket Bread

I love saving money!

I save a lot of money by making things at home instead of buying them already made. One example is bread. On the list of P.D. approved recipe ingredients is Amazon Ezekiel Bread made by Food for Life. If you click on that link you will find that one loaf of bread costs $17.50. Ok, so that's just a crazy price. I did however find Ezekiel bread in the frozen section of a Natural Food grocery market that is a 4 hours round trip for me. It was somewhere between $4-5 a loaf. But, I couldn't bring myself to pick up a loaf for that price.

What are my options?

I know some people don't bake or have a fear of baking. That's not the case for me. I bake regularly and have made homemade bread for the last few years for my family in the bread machine I received as a wedding gift from my mother-in-law. Homemade bread doesn't scare me, but making my own buns and pocket bread did. I found two recipes at Protective Diet, that use whole wheat flour, as options. I was very skeptical that this could work. I tried my first batch of pocket bread back in January and I was hooked. It was easy & tasted great!

How much does the recipe cost?

The basic ingredients for the Protective Diet Burger Buns and Soft Pocket Bread are exactly the same. I've calculated that my cost for the ingredients is $1.25. This doesn't take into account my time to make the buns/pockets are the cost of energy. The soft pocket bread makes either 8 regular ($.15)/each or 12 mini ($.10/each). The burger bun recipe yields 6 buns ($.20/each). Since these recipe are part of her premium recipes collection. You do have to have subscribe to the site see the recipes and the video.

How long do they take?

Burger Buns: Prep Time 20 minutes, Inactive Time: 60 minutes, Bake Time: 11 minutes
Soft Pocket Bread: Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes: Ready in: 1 hr and 30 minutes

How do I store them?

After my buns/soft bread is cooked, I put them in freezer bags and put in the freezer. When I need a pocket/bun I just remove the quantity I need. I either leave out to defrost or toast it up to eat.

What tools do I need?

  1. Baking Pan(s)
  2. Silicon Mat(s)/ parchment paper
  3. Measuring Spoons/Cups to measure ingredients
  4. Small and large bowl
  5. Fork for mixing
  6. Rolling pin
  7. Oven for baking

Why do these bread recipes appeal to me?

  • I think this is a great option since I know that the bread buns/pockets have healthy ingredients, no preservatives, only the ingredients that I am adding. 
  • I can make the bread buns/pockets up on the weekend and save them in the freezer for later use. 
  • They are easy for me to make. I don't find the skill level to be difficult with lots of steps and I don't dread making the buns.
  • I'm using ingredients that I always have on hand in my pantry. I always have whole wheat, white whole wheat, and whole wheat pastry flour stocked up.
  • If I went to the store to buy buns for $1.25, the quality would be very low. So I think I'm getting great tasting buns for a very nice price.

I hope you might consider making your own bread products at home to save money each month. I haven't found an actual loaf of bread recipe that meets my standards: whole wheat flour, vegan (no dairy, honey), no oil. etc, but I'm always on the search. If I find one, I'll be sure to post.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me plus save money buy eating at home. Click on the Getting Started Video. Protective Diet Education may qualify as a Health Savings Account expense.You may need a pre-existing diagnosis by a physician such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes etc.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

House Mayo Recipe

I stopped eating mayo this summer when I started reading food labels. Most packaged mayos contain soybean oil and I'm trying to avoid that product. At first, I didn't think I could eat a healthier version of mayo, but I found a House Mayo Recipe on the Protective Diet website.


It's actually a super easy recipe to whip up. I used  my blender and it took my less than 5 minutes from start to finish, including finding my ingredients. There are two recipes on the website for mayo. I picked this one because it has vinegar in it to help it to stay fresh in the fridge longer. That part is important to me. I don't use a lot of mayo or keep mayo on hand at all times, but I am going to use it in a different recipe later today. I'll keep my mayo in the fridge in a glass canning jar.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see Julie Marie's yummy plant based healthy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me plus save money buy eating at home. Click on the Getting Started Video. Protective Diet Education may qualify as a Health Savings Account expense.You may need a pre-existing diagnosis by a physician such as: obesity, hypertension, diabetes etc.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

It's the first day of March

Finally, we are getting closer to Spring. Here in Michigan it's 28 degrees today. That's actually very warm. Last week, we had days that didn't get above zero. I'm happy the days are longer and that Spring is not far now.

This type of Michigan weather makes for perfect days to stay in and cook healthy delicious food. I don't feel guilty staying in my kitchen and not going outside. Plus, with having the oven on, it warms up the house. It's eleven am and I've started on a couple things I can eat this week.

Here's what I am working on in my kitchen:
  • Protective Diet Chia Jam (I'll use for my oatmeal this week)
  • Veggie Broth (cooking a very basic broth in my Instant Pot- onions, leeks, carrots and celery)
  • Dried Chick Peas are soaking (I'll cook these up in my Instant Pot when my broth is done.)
  • Protective Diet Chocolate Bird Seed
I think I'll make P.D. Chickpea Cucumber Salad later today. I'll look to see what other recipes look good, so I can make up my lunch for tomorrow. Hope you are staying warm and enjoying March 1st wherever you are.

If you are new to Protective Diet, you have to create a login to see her yummy recipes. She has two types of recipes on the site: free and premium. I invite you to create a free login on the Protective Diet site to try her free healthy recipes. I'm confident that you will love them like me.