Author Archives: k.stuff

BYU Light Suits

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Today at the Shelf Reliance Convention, I met an electrical engineering student who was there to take the FE exam.  (Or was it PE?)  Anyway, he was from BYU, and told me about a light suit project they had just done for the ballroom dance team.  I was fascinated.  I love Tron, and have plans to be Quorra this Halloween, so I asked him how they did it.  Well, apparently, you can just buy the light wire right off of Amazon.  Awesome!  I told him that we’d been considering LED lights, and he said that was the next thing they were going to do.  They have a YouTube video about the project that I thought was really interesting.

What’s faster than fast food?

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Well that would be Thrive Express Entrees, Soups, and Sides!  Announced at convention just two hours ago, in 15 minutes or less, just add water and stir.  These new products fall right in line with the Thrive food line.  They have a 5-10 year shelf life, are made using freeze dried Thrive ingredients, and are nutritious and tasty.  They come in 5-packs or variety packs, and the boxes have a tear-away front for grab n’ go access.  Thrive is already one of the fastest, ways to cook, with pre-cut food available at its freshest.  These Thrive Express products step up the convenience while maintaining healthy meals for your family.  Use Thrive Express to replace fast food, microwave dinners, and boxed dinners full of preservatives.

The new selections are: Creamy Beef & Noodles, Pasta Carbonara, Southwestern-Style Chicken & Rice, Garden Fresh Vegetable Pasta, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, Baked Potato Cheese Soup, Broccoli Cheese Soup, Creamy Garden Vegetable Chowder, Hearty Chili with Beans, Chili Lime chicken Rice, Loaded Scalloped Potatoes, Wild Rice Pilaf.

Four New Wonderful Recipes

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Last night, for Easter dinner, I made Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary Balsamic and Orange Sauce, Skillet Bacon Mac and Cheese, Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto, and for dessert, Crock Pot Cheesecake.  My mom made a salad to go with it, because that was a lot of meat.  Overall, the meal was delicious, though I overcooked the pork, which is sadly very easy to do.  Pork, like chicken and fish, doesn’t need very long to cook at all.  I will definitely make the mac and cheese again, and since I still have some prosciutto left, I’ll probably make the asparagus again.  I may even try to make the pork again, however pork tenderloin is expensive.

The whole meal took three and a half hours to complete!  I will probably never make all of these things at the same time again, but it was totally worth it.  I started with the Crock Pot Cheesecake, because it took two and a half hours to cook in the crock pot, and then about another hour to cool down.  Then I started working on the Skillet Bacon Mac and Cheese.  This dish probably took the longest amount of time, because there are a lot of steps involved.  I, also, used glassware instead of a skillet to cook it in the oven, and I cooked it at 350°F so that I could leave it in the oven longer, while I worked on everything else.

Next I made the Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin, which I should have marinated while we were at church, but I totally forgot.  It got at least 20 minutes to marinate, though, so it had good flavor.  The sauce was not as thick as I thought it was going to be, and I’m not sure if that’s because I used cranberry juice (not the cocktail) instead of red wine, or because it’s just not a very thick sauce, but it still tasted amazing.  Despite being overcooked, the pork tasted good, because of the marinade and the sauce.

The Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto was amazing.  I wish that I had made more.  The prosciutto was just a little crispy, and the asparagus was tender and moist.  I could have easily eaten more of this.  It was really easy to put together, too.  I probably could have made this without the sauce, and it would have been even faster.

All in all, this Easter dinner was delicious.  I had fun making it, and we all enjoyed eating it.  I might do it again next year, but that seriously depends on what’s going on in our life at the time.

Salad!

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Salad

In February 2011, I went to my nutritionist complaining of post partum depression.  He explained that I wasn’t getting enough carbohydrates to my brain, which is the only nutrient that your brain can use to function properly.  Thus, I was experiencing this depression.  He gave me a high protein, high complex carbohydrate diet to use.  I started immediately, and in that same month I became pregnant with Miss Leah.  (If that’s any indication to how good it made me feel.)

My very favorite part about this diet is lunch time.  Basically, you make a massive salad, and spend about an hour eating it.  There comes a point where you feel full, but not stuffed, and can just put the salad down and go on with your day.  I usually eat this while watching Lizzy play, so that it doesn’t get in the way of our day.

To make this salad, I take every vegetable I can find in my house and put it in a big Tupperware bowl, so that I can save it throughout the week.  I love getting a Bountiful Basket so that I can have a huge variety of vegetables to put in this salad.  Today, this is the salad that I made.  Sometimes I will cook up a few chicken tenders and dice or shred them, and I really like cheese cubes in this as well.  Also, I included my homemade Ranch dressing recipe.  The key to making this dressing is tasting it.  If you can taste every ingredient that you put in it, and none of them overpower the rest, then you’ve done it right.

Today’s Salad

1 Romaine Lettuce Heart, sliced
½ Broccoli Head, cut into small pieces
1 C Grape Tomatoes
1 Celery Stalk, sliced
2 Green Onions, sliced
4 Mushrooms, sliced
1 Apple, diced
1 Orange, diced
1 – 15 oz can of Olives
1 – 15 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
1 – 15 oz can of Kidney Beans

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1 C Yogurt
½ C Mayonnaise
¼ t Pepper
¼ t Salt
1/8 t Garlic Powder
¼ t Onion Powder

Adoption Fundraiser Recipes

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My cousins, Andrea and Kyle, had an adoption fundraiser last Friday and Saturday.  It was a yard sale and a bake sale, so I made the Oatmeal Cranberry cookies with spelt flour instead of wheat flour and dark chocolate chips instead of cranberries.  I, also, made Lemon Blueberry Bread and Banana Bread.  I found both of the recipes on Pinterest, and didn’t change anything about them, so here are the links to those recipes.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Banana Bread

The Lemon Blueberry Bread is super delicious, and a full on sugar attack.  The Banana Bread does not have any sugar or oil in it.  Instead those are replaced with unsweetened applesauce and honey.  I hope you  enjoy them as much as I do.

Food Storage Frozen Yogurt

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My favorite part about being a Shelf Reliance Independent Consultant is experimenting with the food.  Today, I made frozen yogurt using my food storage!  And, it didn’t take any time at all.  Shelf Reliance sells freeze dried yogurt bites in seven different flavors: vanilla, strawberry, cherry, orange, pomegranate, passion fruit, and blueberry. And they’re on sale this month.  Let me know if you’re interested in buying some.

They’re absolutely wonderful to snack on in their freeze dried state, but if just add a little water, you’ve got yogurt!  One of the best things about the freeze dried yogurt bites is that the probiotics go dormant when they are frozen, and wake back up when you rehydrate them, which includes just eating them as is.

To make the frozen yogurt, pick your favorite flavor, and add 2 ½ tablespoons of water per cup of yogurt bites.  Let them rehydrate for about 5-10 minutes, and then mix.  If you think there are still too many yogurt bites that didn’t rehydrate, add more water in ½-1 tablespoon increments until you are satisfied, but be careful not to add too much water, or you’ll have really thin yogurt.  At this point, not all of the yogurt bites need to be rehydrated, the mixture can be a little lumpy still.  Chill the mixture for about 30 minutes.  When that’s done, mix it again to get rid of all the lumps.  Then follow the instructions on your ice cream maker, and you’ll have a great treat straight from your food storage!

I’ve found that two cups of yogurt bites and 5 tablespoons of water make the perfect amount for one person.  Try adding some freeze dried berries while you’re at it.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies -or- Multivitamin Cookies -or- Lactation Cookies

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These cookies are so delicious and healthy for you, too.  I found this recipe by Kathleen Major when I was searching for some lactation cookies to help Leah through a growth spurt.  I changed a few things, and this is what I came up with.

1 ½ C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
¾ C peanut butter
½ C butter, softened
1 C honey
2 t vanilla
3 T brewer’s yeast
1 C flax
1/3 C water
2 large eggs
2 C craisins
1 3/4 C oats

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, honey, vanilla, brewer’s yeast, flax and water until creamy.  Mix in eggs.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Mix in craisins.  Add oatmeal slowly, mixing along the way.  Place balls of dough onto greased cookie sheet.  Press down each ball lightly with a fork.  Bake for about 12 minutes.

The oatmeal provides iron and fiber.  The brewer’s yeast provides B-vitamins, selenium, and chromium.  Chromium is a trace mineral that many people are deficient in.  It helps maintain blood sugar levels, and some people believe it helps with morning sickness.  Flax provides omega-3 and fiber.  These cookies rock!  I got my milled flax and brewer’s yeast from Sunflower market.  You can get them at any health food store.

My favorite thing about these cookies is that you get all of those vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from whole foods, which means that they are easier for your body to digest, and there is less of a chance that you will dispose of them before using them all up.  On top of that, I’ve been munching on these for a few days now, and I don’t feel the slightest bit sick from them.  I can eat as many of these as I want, and it’s good for me.

Fruit Protein Smoothie

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I just made a super delicious, super healthy smoothie.  It is:

½ C orange juice
½ C frozen strawberry banana fruit blend (from Target)
½ C plain yogurt, original style (which is to say, “full fatted”)
1 t Nature’s Way Reuteri
1 scoop Naturade 100% Whey Protein Booster, Vanilla Flavor

All together this smoothie has 225 calories, so if you’re trying to lose weight, this is not the snack for you, but it might be the breakfast or the lunch for you.  The majority of the calories come from the full fatted yogurt, so if you want to cut down on calories a bit, just use a leaner yogurt.  Since I’m nursing, I’m going for as many calories as I can find.

There are 17 grams of protein, with the majority coming from the protein booster.  I love this booster.  It has no sugar and no artificial sweeteners.  The vanilla flavor makes my smoothies taste like I used vanilla ice cream, and all without adding even a gram of sugar.

There are 23 grams of sugar, which are all naturally occurring in the juice, fruit and yogurt, and 4 grams of fiber, which come from the juice and fruit.

Now to talk about the Reuteri.  This is a probiotic that I found at Good Earth.  It is in powder form, and you simply measure out how much you want to add to any drink.  It is good for anybody.  I can give this to my babies, and I do.  We’ve all been sick lately, so that’s why I added it to my smoothie.

This is great for all the sugar addicts out there.  It gave me a natural sugar boost to get my energy and mood up, and all the protein will help maintain my blood sugar, so that I don’t drop back down into the awful low of coming off a sugar high.

Enjoy!

No Sugar, No Artificial Sweeteners

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On January 30, 2012, my sister-in-law and I started three months of no sugar and no artificial sweeteners, though honey is okay in moderation.  We both get what we call “sugar sickness,” which is where we physically feel ill when we eat too much sugar, and we have yet to find an artificial sweetener that doesn’t have some kind of ill effect on us as well.  Basically we want to detox from eating too many sweets so that come May, we can start anew with the resolve to simply cut back on sugar.

This is a huge feat that we are trying to accomplish, so we decided to help each other out by doing it together.  Also, we didn’t want to set ourselves up for failure, so we gave ourselves a few treats to help us stay strong in tempting situations when we are otherwise doing very well.

The first thing to address was cold treats, like ice cream.  She loves Red Mango, so that is her cold treat and reward for avoiding everything else.  I found plain frozen yogurt at Yogurt Bliss, so that is my cold treat and reward.  Both of these are had in moderation, because eating them every day would basically defeat the purpose of even trying this.

She is allowing herself 70% cocoa to curb the chocolate cravings.  There is some pretty amazing 70% cocoa out there, and she is finding it.  I drink 100% juice, while she avoids it, because the natural sugars are too concentrated for her body.  She eats Greek yogurt, because of its benefits and the great flavors, while I just eat plain yogurt, because I don’t really like the added sugar in flavored yogurts.

When family events come around where sugar will obviously be present, we try to bring fruit or some dessert without sugar so that we don’t slip up.  I made a chocolate cake with applesauce as the sweetener when our aunt had a birthday.  It wasn’t the most amazing cake, but it gave us something to eat while everyone else was eating some really awesome looking cake.

I hope this inspires others to give this a try.  Don’t set yourself up for failure, and get a buddy to hold yourself accountable to.

Check out my sister-in-laws blog here.

Super Easy Crock Pot Chicken

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I have learned a new recipe for my 101 goals in 1001 days!  I found it on Pinterest, the wonderful site of sharing everything good in the world.  It originally comes from The Larson Lingo.  Michael really loves this, and I think it’s very tasty.  On top of that, it’s a crock pot recipe, so it’s super easy to make.

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese (full fat)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
8-12 oz of salsa
Salt (optional)

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot.  Put the cream cheese on top.  Add the black beans, corn, and salsa.  And add as much salt as you think is necessary.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred the chicken and let sit for about 30 minutes.  Serve over rice or in soft taco shells.

Originally this recipe doesn’t have salt, but we found it necessary to add some to bring out all the delicious flavors.  When I make this, I take my 1 pound container of salt and just pour some over all the food.  I suggest making this first without the salt to determine if you really want to add that much salt.  It is easily added after you serve.  I was worried about the chicken being hard to shred, but after cooking for so long, it was super easy.  The only thing remotely challenging was finding the chicken in the soupy mess.

I don’t have a name for this yet, so if anyone wants to suggest one, I’ll take the best name that comes.