I have decided to discontinue the blog and convert to a google website.  I used a website when I taught at the high school and am much more familiar with the website.  I will be downloading PDF's occasionally where I could not do so with a blog.  I have enjoyed learning and sharing about eating nutritious foods and taking proper care of the precious body my Heavenly Father gave me.  I hope you will continue to follow my new website and learn along with me.

You can find me now at MUFAMom.

10 new dinners in my freezer in the last 2 days.  

Recently our freezer got run over by a car (not saying who was driving) so we had to buy a new freezer.  This one is frost-free and so so nice.  It resides in our basement just like the deceased freezer did but on a different wall for its own safety.  I was very busy Friday and Saturday preparing ten new freezer meals  

I created an Excel file to keep track of what is in the freezer so nothing gets forgotten or goes bad.  When food is pulled out I just have to decrease the quantity on hand.  I will always know exactly what is in my freezer on any given day.
                 
Some are crock pot meals and some go in oven.  Usually crock pot meals go in zip-loc freezer bags and oven meals go in pans.  Because it is just me and my husband at home now I cut the recipe in half and fill 2 -  8 x 8 pans.  That way we still have left-overs for a couple of days but not the entire week.  

As I eat the meals I will share the recipes if they are yummy.  

There are several freezer containers of beans.  I pressure them and freeze them to use later in meals instead of buying cans at the store.

Guacamole buffet for Mother's Day.

I have never made guacamole ever in my lifetime.  So you are probably wondering why I would decide to start making guacamole now.  The reason is simple.  The main ingredient in guacamole is avocados and avocados is a MUFA!!!  Avocados were on sale (10 for $10) at Publix this week.  I now have ten avocados in various stages of ripeness.

Everything I read indicates that fresh guacamole is very easy to make.  Cut and mash the avocados and  add some seasonings such as lime or lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, cilantro, hot sauce, tomatoes, and onions.  Some recipes even call for cottage cheese or yogurt.  Ten avocados should be plenty to make several batches and experiment with ingredients to find the perfect guacamole for me.  I can't take the heat so there will be no "hot things" in my guacamole.

My perfect guacamole will definitely have:

• ripe avocados

I buy Hass avocados.  They are small with bumpy skin as opposed to Florida avocados that are larger with a smooth skin.  I try to buy them green and let them ripen on my counter.  They turn almost black when they are ripe.  A ripe avocado should give a little when pressed but still be firm.  The ripe avocados live in my fridge.  I have never tried the Florida avocado.  It is supposedly too watery for guacamole and better for salads.

• lemon or lime juice

Avocados oxidize very quickly when exposed to air and rapidly change color.  Lemon or lime juice helps to slow this process.

Experimental ingredients:

• garlic

• onion

• tomatoes

I have always kept tomatoes in the fridge because they last longer but they have a lot more flavor if kept on the counter.  Never realized that.  No wonder those fresh tomatoes right out of the garden taste so good.

• cottage cheese

• plain Greek yogurt

I am really hoping I will like cottage cheese or yogurt added to the guacamole.  This would provide a big calcium boost.

Well here goes!

I decided to get all the ingredients ready before I started cutting the avocados.  Didn't want brown avocados before I even got started.  I used the food processor for the onions but chopped garlic with a knife. 

I cut the tomato and removed the seeds because somewhere I read your guacamole might be too runny if seeds are left in.

All the ingredients are ready and patiently waiting for the final moment when I cut the avocados.

I used a fork to mash avocados, three in each of two bowls.  I added lime to one bowl and lemon to the other.

I then divided the two bowls into six small containers (approximately one avocado per bowl) three bowls with lemon and three with lime.

Let the fun begin!  I added and tasted, added some more and tasted some more, through six small containers of "guacamole in progress."  Finally I settled on the bowl I liked best (I think.)  Definitely no onion or garlic.  I like both of them but either one mixed with avocados was just too much for me.  Tomatoes were good,  lime was better than lemon, and the plain Greek yogurt made it nice and creamy.    The good news is my guacamole will be easy to make with only avocados, tomatoes, lime, and yogurt which will give my calcium intake a boost.  I saved two containers for tomorrow to try out my new recipe.  My husband gladly claimed the three other containers to spice up to his heart's content.  

I am experimenting with the plastic wrap.   Harold McGee, in The Curious Cook, did some experiments with guacamole to determine the best way to prevent oxidation when the guacamole is stored in fridge.  Some people place an avocado pit into the guacamole to keep it fresh but McGee discovered that plastic wrap pressed down and touching the surface of the guacamole works best.  I will soon find out if that works.

If any of you guys have a favorite recipe for guacamole please share.  I can always learn more.

Baked bread in my kitchen this morning.

I use dark red winter wheat.  I always double the recipe.  This gives me 3 loaves of bread when I am done.  I used to bake all 3 loaves and eat all 3 loaves (with my husband's help) within one week.  I can't do that any more since we are both trying to watch the calories so I bake one loaf and freeze the other two.  Because I am doubling the recipe I need 9 cups of flour.  I always grind my wheat immediately before it will be used.  This insures that the flour will retain the maximum nutrients.  

One cup wheat berries yields 1 1/2 cups flour.  So my nine cups of flour requires 6 cups wheat berries.  I measure out 6 cups and any flour left goes into a ZipLock bag in the fridge.  Some people weigh the wheat berries.  My kitchen scale only has ounces.  Maybe one day I will invest in a scale that also has grams.  SparkPeople have a really nice Conversion Chart for Whole Wheat Berries to Ground Flour.

While the flour grinds (about 10 minutes) I collect everything I need to make my bread.  The lecithin, gluten, and yeast live in the fridge (the small containers with blue lids).  They stay fresher longer if kept there.  Today it is Tupelo honey and Crisco Natural Blend.  I also have Buckwheat and Sage honey.  I used to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I can't tell the difference. 

I grind the flaxseed in a coffee grinder.  One-half cup seeds fits perfectly in my grinder.  I always grind the exact amount of flaxseeds needed for the recipe.  The small bucket of flaxseeds sits in the food storage room and has a shelf life of one year.   

By now the wheat grinding is complete.  I now have approximately 9 cups of beautiful fresh nutritious wheat flour.  Let's make some bread!

All ingredients are now in the mixing bowl and mixed.  The dough is kneaded for 10 minutes at medium speed.  Thank goodness my Bosch does that quite nicely.  Many years ago I would knead by hand.  No fun.

While the Bosch is doing its magic I am busy cleaning up the mess.  Eight minutes later I have bread dough that is the perfect consistency (hopefully). 

I transfer the dough to a bowl where it will rise to twice its size.  For me the easiest bowl to use is the wheat grinder bowl that caught the flour.  It is already "dirty".  I spray bowl with Pam, dump the dough in, cover bowl with clean towel, and patiently wait for the dough to rise.

In the meantime I am preparing the pans for baking.  Many years ago I invested in cast iron bread pans. I love these pans.  They look rusted but they are really not.  Must be the lighting in my kitchen.  I spray them with Pam so bread won't stick.

Finally the bread has risen.  It takes about 1 1/2 hours for this first rise.  I used to have lights mounted under the cabinets and would set the covered bowl there.  Just the little bit of warmth from the lights seemed to help the bread dough rise quicker.  Now the bowl just sets on the counter.

I sprinkle some flour on a well cleaned counter top and spray two well cleaned hands generously with Pam before I tackle this next step.  I punch the dough down with my fists (this is the fun part) and dump it out on the counter.  I roll and shape the dough into an oblong roll ready to divide into 3 loaves.

Using a bread knife I divide the dough into 3 equal parts.  I actually weigh them on my kitchen scale to insure they are approximately the same size.  Each part gets shaped into individual loaves.  

In the mean time the cast iron pan is being heated in the oven set at 350 degrees.  I used to bake all three loaves at one time.  My husband and I would "pig out" on warm freshly baked bread covered with real butter.  Yummy!!  No wonder I was gaining weight.  One 1/2 inch slice is about 140 calories.  This bread is definitely not "light" or "low-fat".  Oh well.  Those days are gone forever.  Only one loaf gets baked and the other two get frozen for another day.

When the loaves are divided and shaped I pull the hot pan from oven.  The loaf that is being baked goes into the hot pan to rise for the second time.  I never heated the pan when I used to have metal pans.  

The loaf begins to rise the second time.  This time it only takes about 45 minutes.  Then it gets popped into the oven (gently).  If for some reason the bread dough rises too much and is hanging out of the pan, you can always punch it down, roll and shape it again, and let it rise again.

Twenty-six minutes later one gorgeous loaf of nutritious yummy bread is done. The loaf immediately comes out of pan and lays on its side on cooling rack.

When bread has completely cooled it is stored in my bread holder (if there is any left).  

My recipe for whole wheat bread comes from The Bread Beckers Recipe Collection.  Bread Beckers is not too terribly far from where I live.  The yeast, lecithin, gluten, flaxseed, and honey all come from their store.  We have also bought beans in bulk from them.

Basic Dough Recipe  -  I double this recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp. salt

1 egg (optional)

2 Tbs. lecithin

1 tsp. gluten (optional)

4 - 4 1/2 cups freshly milled flour

1/2 cup flax seed, ground

1 Tbs. yeast

Directions:

Combine water, oil, honey, salt, and egg.  Add lecithin, gluten, half of flour, and ground flax seed.  Mix thoroughly.  Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough.  Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5-6 minutes).  Let rise until double.  Shape as desired and let rise again until double.  For 2 - 1 lb. loaves bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.  Double recipe knead 8 minutes.  Triple or quadruple recipe knead 12 minutes.

Free health advice offers.   

NutritionAction is offering several free downloads you might be interested in.  Among the free downloads are:

• How to Diet:  Cut Your Heart Disease Risk
• What to Eat:  10 Best Foods
• Heart and Disease:  Fighting Inflammation
• Healthy Recipes:  Salads that are Good for You
• Diet and Weight Loss:  Trim Calories Per Bite to Trim Pounds
• Food Safety:  How to Keep Your Kitchen from Making You Sick
• What Not to Eat:  10 Worst Foods
• Fat in Food:  Measuring Your Fat and Counting Calories
• Calories in Food:  Calories for Dummies
• Diabetes and Diet:  Decoding Diabetes
• Vitamin Supplements:  How to Read a Multivitamin Label
• Sugar in Food:  How Much Sugar Should You Eat?
• Salt in Food:  Replacing the Salt Shaker
• Eating Gluten Free:  What to Eat (and Not to Eat) on a Gluten Free Diet
• Caffeine in Food:  Caffeine Content of Drinks

You can download one or all of them.  They are all free!  Really good reading.

Over 100 Quick and Easy Recipes 

all with preparation and cooking times of 30 minutes or less.  You must check out The World's Healthiest Foods.  This has to be the coolest website ever!  They have a "Recipe Assistant" that allows you to customize your search and select ingredients to include or exclude, and it will provide you with a list of recipes that meets your criteria.  How cool is that?!  There is a way to make multiple selections but I haven't been able to get that to work very well yet.  Oh well.

There are recipes for all the following categories:

Breakfast
Salad Entrees
Soups
Fish
Chicken and Turkey
Lean Meat
Vegetarian Entrees
Side Salad/Dressings
Side Vegetables
Desserts

MUFA #5:  Dark chocolate is healthy chocolate.

You probably don’t need any excuses to eat dark chocolate but just in case, here are a few.

Dark chocolate is good for your heart.

Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots.

Dark chocolate is good for your brain.

Chocolate contains a chemical that encourages your brain to release endorphins so eating dark chocolate will make you feel happy. (Sure makes me feel happy, guess it works.)

Dark chocolate helps control blood sugar.

Dark chocolate has a low glycemic index so it won’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants.

Eating dark chocolate can protect you from many forms of cancer and slow the signs of aging.

Dark chocolate contains theobromine.

Theobromine has been shown to harden tooth enamel.

Dark Chocolate is high in vitamins and minerals.

Dark chocolate contains potassium, copper, magnesium, and iron in high concentrations. Copper and potassium help prevent strokes. Magnesium helps prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.


If you need more excuses to eat dark chocolate, you must not like dark chocolate.



Dark chocolate is my MUFA once every day. It is my treat and usually my fourth meal of the day. It is high in calories like most MUFA’s. I usually eat a slice of my whole wheat bread and some fruit with the dark chocolate as my MUFA. The higher percentages of cacao will increase the benefits.  I won't buy dark chocolate with less than 72% cacao.  The higher the percentage the more bitter the chocolate tastes.  Be prepared.



WebMD states: “Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate . . . and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate.”