Frugal Organic Girl

Oh boy! Another week has passed and we are getting closer and closer to the busy holiday season! I for one am excited for it to come and to be gathered around friends and family! Best of all pumpkin is in season and it is one of my absolutely favorite meals. Sadly the kids seem to be getting more and more and more picky and I am running out of ideas? I would love to hear how you get your kids to eat what you cook? I have tried to involve the kids in the cooking but there’s only so much a 2 and 3 year old can do out side of mixing and having them play and fling raw ingredients around. And well that’s just not so fun for mom to clean up ya know? So any ideas would be great!

Breakfast

• Yogurt, fruit, nuts or peanut butter
• oatmeal w/ dried fruit and peanut butter or raw nuts
• scrambled eggs w/ mixed fresh veggies, cheese and bread
• pancakes, fruit syrup, sausage

Lunch

• Leftover french onion soup w/ green salad and fruit or been and beef burritos w/ raw veggies and fruit
• leftover chili w/ salad or hard boiled egg, mixed veggies, cheese, fruit, toast or crackers
• soup and sandwiches or salad
• raw veggies w/ hummas & homemade pita bread, fruit
• leftovers

Dinner

• Beef and bean chili w/ fixin’s bar, salad, fruit and crackers
• creamy tuna and veggie casserole, salad or steamed green beans
• baked fish, brown rice, steamed zucchini
• grilled chicken, smashed garlic potatoes, green beans
• pot roast, leftover potatoes, salad
• leftovers

Snackes/Dessert

• ricotta cheese w/ cinnamon & unsweetened organic cocoa powder w/ 2 tsp stevia
• low fat cheese sticks
• mixed fresh veggies (peppers, carrots, tomatoes etc) w/ garlicy hummus w/ pine nuts

Simple, healthy Seasonal Recipe ~ Whipped Pumpkin Ricotta Creme

Ingredients:

• 1 part (ie 1 cup) low or full fat ricotta cheese
• 3 /4 part (ie 3/4 cup) or more to taste pumpkin puree ( NOT pumpkin pie mix! That stuff is just too darn sweet! Get plain unsweetened soild packed pumpkin, organic is best if you can)
• 1/2 tbsp (more or less to taste) pumpkin pie spice
• 2-4 TBSP (more or less to taste) sweetener of choice (mine are xylitol, agava nector or stevia, you can also use maple syrup, sugar or splenda )

Method:

1. Mix together the ricotta,  pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and sweetener, breaking up the cheese curds to fully incorporated them together.
2. To make the mixture into a light mouse like consistency, grab a whisk or an electric hand mixer and get to beaten’ or mixin until your arm falls off then switch arms and whip some more! Until light and fluffy. Or until your arms give out, which ever comes first!
3. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of maple sugar and more pumpkin pie spice.

For more great meal ideas visit Organized Junkies

When you think of french onion soup do you think of something long and complicated? Ha nothing could be further from the truth. French onion soup is perhapes in my opinion one of THE easiest soup to make, in fact SO easy that I recommend any beginner cook to make it.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter, grass fed is best*
• 1 tbsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
• 4 leaks, cut into half rounds, washed really really well. **
• 3 red onions cut into half rounds
• 4 yellow onions, cut into half rounds
• 2 quarts beef broth + 2 tbsp organic reduced sodium better than boullion paste ( you can find it at Costco)
• 3/4 cup white wine (pino grecio, etc- we used Charles Shaw Chardonnay 2008)
• 1-2 tbsp dried thyme, crushed into the soup
• Your choice of bread, a day or two old stale works best
• 1/8-1/4 cup grated cheese per person.

Method:

1. Using an extra large pot 6-8 quarts, heat over meduim high flame, add grass fed butter, evoo and swirl around pan so that pan is evenly coated and fat is simmering slightly in the pan, but not smoking. Butter should be just bearly light brown.
2. Add onions into pot, at first it will look like A LOT of onions and it is about 9+ cups onions, but onions are mostly water so they will eventually cook down to almost 1/3 to 1/4th their original volume. Once you are able to get all the onions in the pot at once, stir occasionally, cover and let cook for 10 minutes, come back and stir again, a lot of water will be coming out of onions. Keep cooking for another 10-20 minutes until all the onions have wilted, shrunk and there is no liquid left in the pan.
3. The onions in the pot should be light brown at this point. DO NOT move from the stove at this point. Just keep watching and stirring. Try not to let the onions stick to the pan too much. Keep stiring and browning until it reaches a deep dark brown but not burnt!
4. Preheat your broiler so that you can melt the cheese.
5. Once the onions are  a deep brown, add the broth, boullion paste, wine, dried thyme bring to a boil until it just breaks the surface. And reduce to a simmer for about 20 min until the soup is reduced by 1/3. Now taste and season with salt and pepper or add more stock if you want a slightly thinner soup. Not too thin, because you want a thick and hearty soup! Once the soup is to your taste add to your bowl.
6. Spoon into oven safe bowls, top with bread, cheese, broil until melted and golden brown. Serve with  a large green salad.

Well I can hardly believe it, this week has past so fast I can bearly keep up! It’s been a good week over all and we were able to stick to our food plan!  I am excited to try new things with the kids this week and hopefully they might actually eat it! Well at least I can hope they will.

Breakfast

• oatmeal w/ dried fruit and peanut butter or raw nuts
• scrambled eggs w/ mixed fresh veggies, cheese and bread
• pancakes, fruit syrup, sausage
• morning glory nut muffins, soy sausage
• leftovers

Lunch:

• Chinese Chicken salad with peanut butter vinegrette and strawberries or sandwitch wraps
• chicken strawberry spinach salad w/ spicy pecans or peanut butter sandwitches w/ carrots and apples
• mixed veggies, cheese, meat, fruit
• ravoli w/ tomatoe sauce w/ ground meat
• bean, beef and cheese burritos, mixed raw veggies
• soup and salad or soup and sandwitches
• leftovers

Dinner

• Chicken w/ zucchinni and tomatoes w/ brown rice or pasta
• slow cooker chicken putteneska w/ pasta or zucchini ribbons, bread and spinach salad
• French onion soup, salad, bread, fruit
• beef and bean chili w/ fixin’s (yogurt, avocados, onions, cheese etc) , salad and bread
• grilled chicken, zucchini pancakes, applesauce, Greek yogurt, brown rice
• leftovers

Snackes/Dessert

• ricotta cheese w/ cinnamon & unsweetened organic cocoa powder w/ 2 tsp stevia
• low fat cheese sticks
• mixed fresh veggies (peppers, carrots, tomatoes etc) w/ garlicy hummus w/ pine nuts

For more great meal ideas visit Organized Junkies

Here’s one of my new favorite recipes that replaces my past addiction to potatoe pancakes!

Zucchini Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 medium zucchini, grated
• 1/2-1 cup onion, grated, save the juice! (start with 1/2 cup add more to taste)
• 4oz feta or any other cheese of choice (grated or crumbled)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tsp or more to taste paprika
• 1 cup flour ( I use almond meal or whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour, etc)
• 3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil or non stick spray for frying
• 1-2 limes

Method:

1. Grate the zucchini onto a kitchen tea towel and leave to sit about 20 minutes to get rid of excess moisture.
2. Crumble the feta into a bowl and add the onion, parsley, mint, and paprika.
3. In a separate bowl mix together flour, seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the flour mixture to feta cheese/onion, then add the beaten egg and mix.
5. Stir in the zucchini. It will be lumpy, just keep stirring until all is combined.
6. Heat a few spritzes of non stick spray or a tablespoons of oil on a griddle or in a skillet and using a 1/4 cup measure or a large spoon, drop onto hot surface, using the back of the utensil to flatten into a pancake.
7. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the batter is used.
8. Slice the limes and serve on the platter with the fritters for each person to sprinkle as they eat them.

Makes 16-24 fritters, depending on size

Thanks for joining me for kitchen tip tuesday, tempt my tummy tuesday

Thanks for joining me once again for a late edition of Menu Planning Monday. Today has been a day of catch up for me and hopefully I will get myself more organized next time. This week I am keeping up with the belly fat and dibetic friendly menu!

Breakfast:

• zucchini, tomato, feta fritata w/ bread (low carb for me) & fruit
• oatmeal w/ dried fruit and peanut butter or raw nuts
• scrambled eggs w/ mixed fresh veggies, cheese and bread
• soy sausage, nutty low carb bread, & 3 sliced strawberries
• leftovers

Lunch:

• Roasted Red pepper and tomato soup w/ grilled cheese sticks (kids) or broiled low carb cheese toast (me) and mixed green salad
• grilled chicken w/ cheesy pasta, cherry tomatoes (for kids) or grilled chicken over fresh spinach, tomatoes, red onions, avocados and balsamic vinegrette
• left over salmon fritters, leftover zucchini almond pancakes, raw sliced red peppers
• turkey black bean soup, w/ green salad w/ fresh veggies
• cobb salad w/ low carb bread (me) or dried ravolis, vodka sauce, salad
• lettus or torilla wrap sandwiches, mixed raw veggies, nuts
• raw veggies w/ hummas & homemade pita bread
• left overs

Dinner:

• Grilled chicken, smashed celery root or leftover mashed potatoes, garlic green beans
• crockpot chicken caccitorie over pasta or steamed zucchini, salad w/ nuts
• crockpot chicken pot pie w/ flax or whole grain biscuts, salad w/ nuts
• turkey black bean soup, salad, bread (low carb for me)
• steamed salmon, garlic broccoli, leftover mashed potatoes/smashed cheesy cauliflower, salad
• sauteed chicken w/ steamed zucchini noodles or whole wheat pasta, crushed walnuts and cherry tomatoes
• leftovers

Snackes/Dessert

• ricotta cheese w/ cinnamon & unsweetened organic cocoa powder w/ 2 tsp stevia
• low fat cheese sticks
• mixed fresh veggies (peppers, carrots, tomatoes etc) w/ garlicy hummus w/ pine nuts

For more great meal ideas visit Organized Junkies

I love cooking with my kids and husband but sadly when I do cook with them there is more ingredients spilled out of the bowl and trailed all over my kitchen then in the mixing bowl! LOL.

The way I fixed this is that we measure and mix all ingredients IN THE SINK. That way if there is more mess outside the bowl then in it I just wash it out when we are done. Easy-pezy! And that way the kids and DH can get as wild and crazy with the measuring and stiring as much as they want!

Thanks for joining me for more great tips go over to Tammy’s Recipes.

This is a quick and easy bread is great for low carber’s it’s a modification of the super low carb bread found in the cusinart bread machine cookbook.

1.5 lb loaf about 24ozs, because I am diabetic and currently EXTREMLY carb/glucose intollerant, meaning my blood sugars get REALLY high with any carb I take, even high fiber breads. So I measure 1oz on a food scale of this bread for me. But for most people 1 20z slice should be just fine. Just watch your total fat content, as this bread is seriously YUMMY but not super low fat, but it will fill you up!

Ingredients

• 1.25 cups  filtered pure water
• 2 tbsp heavy cream, room temp
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1 cup whole wheat/whole grain flour (King Arthur flour and Bob’s red mill are my fav brands)
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (Bob’s red mill)
• 1/2 cup barley flour ( ground up 1/2 cup barley flakes/oats in food processor, until powdered, save the leftover in a plastic baggie in freezer)
• 1/2 cup oat flour ( ground up 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats in food processor, until powdered, save the leftover in a plastic baggie in freezer)
• 1/2 cup almond flour ( place 4oz whole raw almonds in food processor until it is a course meal)
• 2 tbsp soy protein powder
• 1/2 cup scant flax seed meal (scant means a little less then the actual dry cup measure)
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 2.25 tsp active dry yeast

Method:

Add ingredients in order listed in your bread machine. It’s usually liquid ingredients first, then salt, flour, nuts and yeast. Set bread machine to basic white for 1.5 lb loaf, choose the crust style you want I did medium. Each serving is 1oz by weight! you must measure this on a scale. Most slicing guides will have you slice 2 or more ounces, if you have glucose intolerance/blood sugar issues!

Nutrition info according to sparksrecipes.com:

1oz serving:

• Calories: 91.1

• Total Fat: 4.4 g
• Cholesterol: 1.7 mg
• Sodium: 294.0 mg
• Total Carbs: 9.8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
• Protein: 7.1 g

For 12 2oz servings the nutrition is:

Low Carb Nutty Bread machine bread

Thanks for stopping by for a new week of Menu Plan Monday! Well sadly at lesat for me, my days of enjoying sweets are just about over. I NEED to cut back to get healthy again and re-balance my blood sugar levels. At some point I am hoping I can work bread and sweets back into my diet but for not its just not good for me. So you’ll find some regular recipes/ingredients for my family using carbs and lots and lots of veggies, soup and some low carb bread subtitutes mostly made of nut flours, some wheat, flax seed meal and wheat gluten. I hope this helps another diabetic get inspired by what you CAN do even with a limited diet. We are also following the flat belly diet which both my husband and I absolutly fell in love with this weekend. Most recipes I am listing are from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook.

Low Carb Breakfast Options

• Nutty Low Carb Bread w/ nut butter and 3 thinly sliced strawberries
• Ham & Avocado Omlet w/ nutty low carb bread
• mushroom, pepper and romano fritatta w/ low carb buttermilk seed bread
• scrambled eggs w/ tomatoes, spinach & feta cheese, nutty low carb bread
• soy sausage, nutty low carb bread, & 3 sliced strawberries
• Stuffed peanut butter french toast w/ Low carb buttermilk bread & no sugar strawberry sauce/sryup

Reg breakfast options

• Scrambled eggs w/ veggies, toast and strawberries
• Oatmeal, dried fruit, hard boiled egg
• plain yogurt w/ homemade low sugar granola and nut butter
• peanut butter toast and sliced apples
• pumpkin pancakes w/ pecans, strawberry sauce, and scrambled eggs
• Stuffed peanut butter french toast w/ no sugar strawberry sauce/sryup

Low Carb Lunch Options

• Leftover french onion soup w/ nutty locarb bread, romano cheese, large salad (mixed greens, tomatoes & cucumbers) w/ homemade balsamic vinaigrette
• Leftover grilled salmon over spinach salad with red bell pepper strips,  strawberries, sugar free cinnamon pecans, homemade balsamic vinaigrette and low carb bread
• Spicy sausage lentil soup, large salad w/ mixed nuts and homemade balsamic vinaigrette
• Leftover grilled chicken over spinach and arugula salad w/ strawberries, tomatoes, sugar free cinnamon pecans w/ balsamic vinaigrette.
• Gingerlime Chicken on low carb bread, roasted tomato soup
• Chicken avocado lettuce wrap w/ cherry tomatoes & sliced strawberries

Regular Lunch options:

• Wrap sandwitch (turkey, roast beef, or ham)w/ cheese, spinach and tomatoes, raw fresh veggies and fruit
• peanut butter on whole wheat, unsweetened applesauce, carrot sticks
• turkey. cheese, crackers, yogurt, fresh sliced fruits and veggies
• grilled ham and cheese sticks, cherry tomatoes, sliced pears

Dinner options w/ both reg and low carb

• Zucchini lasangna, salad , rolls
• grilled chicken, zucchini pancakes, brown rice or low carb bread
• spicy sausage lentil soup, salad and bread
• creamy broccoli cheese soup w/ leftover chicken, salad, rolls
• Whole grain pasta or zucchini pasta (zuchini cut into thin strips, steamed) w/ alfredo sauce and grilled chicken, salad and bread
• stir fry walnut shrimp w/ brown rice or califlower rice
• chicken w/ romesco sauce w/ steamed asparagus

Snackes/Dessert

• ricotta cheese w/ cinnamon & unsweetened organic cocoa powder w/ 2 tsp stevia
• low fat cheese sticks
• mixed fresh veggies (peppers, carrots, tomatoes etc) w/ garlicy hummus w/ pine nuts

For more great meal ideas visit Organized Junkies

Rich, delicious, tasty & semi healthy! Yes you heard right healthy! This cake is a great way to get veggies into your kids without them knowing it. I got it from “The Market Fresh Cookbook” by Taste of Home. I modified it by replacing some of the butter and vegetable oil wtih apple sauce, reduced some of the sugar and replaced some or all with agave nector,  a low glycemic sweetener that is an execellent replacement for sugar. You can also use splenda if you’d like, but i dont like splenda at all too chemicaly tasting. And of course replaced the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

We love it at our house and we hope you will love it too! I would love your feedback once you make it on what you think.

Method:

Well last week went well over all and we ate just about everything on the menu! wooohoo we are on a roll! Here’s this weekend menu with a wonderful grilled dijon mixed veggie side dish that is a family favorite.

Grilled Dijon Balsamic Mixed Summer Veggies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2-4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 1 small red bell pepper (from freezer), cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 small yellow or green pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 6-8 whole fresh mushrooms
• 6 cherry tomatoes

Method:

1. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the oil vinegar, oregano,  mustard, garlic, salt & pepper. Place the vetgetables in a shallow baking dish. Add marinade and toss to coat. Let it stand for 15 minutes. Drain and discard marinade.
2. Arrange vegetables on a vegetable grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Serves 8 people as a side dish, save leftovers for roasted veggie sandwich

For more great meal ideas visit Organized Junkies