Pickled Cucumber Salad

I love cucumber salad when Surferman takes me for sushi.  From lots of recipes, I've developed this one to make and enjoy at home.  It's crunchy, refreshing and a great way to get an extra serving of vegetables into your day.

Pickled Cucumber Salad

ingredients:

salad

cucumber washed and sliced thin

carrots washed and sliced thin (optional)

radishes washed and sliced thin (optional)

daikon radish washed and sliced thin (optional)

I always make a huge batch.  My family loves it and we happily eat it all week.  

Until recently, I didn't think I liked radishes. Radishes keep coming in our CSA box, so I gave them a try. Rarely, they are too hot, but usually they are crispy and refreshing like water. If you don't think you like radishes, pick up a daikon radish and give it a try. Daikon is very mild and a great place to start with radishes.

dressing:

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 c. fish sauce

1 tsp grated giner

1 tsp chopped garlic

2 tsp brown sugar

These are the ingredients you might not have on hand.  I buy the Fish Sauce in the "oriental section" at the grocery store.  It is a thin brown liquid.  I understand it's made from dried fish, which doesn't sound super appealing, but give it a chance.  It has a salty taste and is really the magic ingredient in this salad.  The Ginger paste comes from the produce department.  It's refrigerated.  You can grate fresh ginger instead.  The paste is soooo easy though.

directions:

Slice the vegetables into a plastic or glass container.  I use a hand-held mandolin to slice the veggies thin.  Use cucumbers and add the other vegetables as available.

I scrub the vegetables well, but don't remove any of the peels.  

Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables.  Stir well and let sit (the longer the better) before serving.  

Enjoy!

Run or Dye (or is it Die)!

The things I'll do for my boy!  

Grom heard about a Color Run and decided it would be a lot of fun.  I heard of one coming to our area, Surferman volunteered to join us.  Memories were made.

Here's our before picture.

My guys were great about waiting up for me.

Can you see all the runners behind them?

Run or Dye is a 5K Fun Run.  There are dye stations along the route where you get pelted with bright colored powdered dye.  So much fun.

Here's our after picture!

I can't say I did much running, but I sure had a lot of fun and completed my first "race". 

Here's some well earned wisdom in case you ever participate in a color run.

1. Get a pair of cheap sunglasses to wear.  You will get dye in your face.  My much-loved Maui Jim's will never be the same.
2.  All that dye will come out.  Don't think you'll have a great shirt after, it mostly washes out.  
3.  A snack sized ziploc bag is the perfect sized to protect your phone, and you can still take pictures through it.
4. We got a back pack when we checked in and all of us were reluctant to use it.  It would've been very handy to carry water and sunscreen.  Anyone want a brand-new Run or Dye backpack?  I don't know what to do with them now.  sheesh!
5. Leave plenty of time for parking and getting started.  There were over 9,000 runners at our race.  These are very popular events.
6. Baby wipes work for cleaning off the majority of the dye.  Bring towels for your car to keep the seats cleanish.  I was also glad that I wore a tank top under my t-shirt.  After the race, I took off my t-shirt and was able to shake off a lot of the powder.
7. Plan to go somewhere for lunch.  Wear your dye proudly.  You just finished a 5K.

Beth's Zucchini Bread

My sister has spent a lot of time perfecting a healthier zucchini bread.  The two loaves below just came out of the oven.  Grom's going to love it (and the fact that he's eating vegetables!)

Beth's Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c. white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil 

2/3 c. apple sauce
1 c. white sugar
3 t. vanilla extract

3 c. grated zucchini
1 c. diced apple

Spray two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, applesauce vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and apple until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Bon appétit!

Beet Chips

I found a way to get Grom to happily eat veggies. Beet Chips!

They are pretty easy to make. Here's how we do it...

1. preheat your oven to 350F.

I use our convection setting.

2. wash and peel your beets

veggie peeler works great.

3. use a mandolin to slice the beets into thin slices.

Grom has mad knife skills. He respects a sharp blade and is very careful. I was still watching close when he gave the mandolin a spin.

4. spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray.

I like to use my Pampered Chef stoneware pans.

5. arrange the beets in a single layer. it's ok if they overlap a little bit.

6. give the beets a light spray of olive oil.

I think Grom thought he was spray painting them. He got a bit heavy handed. In his defense, I think spraying cooking spray is fun too.

7. give the beets a gentle sprinkle of salt.

Our last batch was pretty salty. I think I'm going to try giving the sliced beets a salty water bath before cooking next time.

Don't worry if your hands get stained. It just shows that you really made these amazingly yummy chips. (And it comes off pretty easy with a little hand soap.)

8. bake for about 15-20 minutes. flip them over about half way through.

9. chips crisp up as they cool.

10. enjoy!

Be warned, beets can make you think you're having a medical emergency. This too will pass... literally. hee hee.

Avocado - seed to tree

We've been eating a lot of avocados lately. Gogo loves guacamole. Surferman loves guacamole. Even Grom gets into it.

All those pits. Grom and I had to see if we could grow a tree. Watch along. We'll update as changes are observed.

October 5

Robin's Guacamole
2 avocados - peeled and smashed (keep 'em chunky)
1 clove of garlic pressed (I like to use the frozen cubes of garlic from TJs)
juice from 1/2 lemon
your favorite hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Works for Me Wednesday - quite possibly the best toothbrush... ever!

Meet my new toothbrush. It's a Radius.

I bought one for Grom because they were on sale. It has been the best toothbrush for brushing his teeth. The head on the kids brush is big with soft bristles. When I brush, I really feel like I'm getting every facet of every tooth. It's ergonomically designed so it's easy to hold and keeps the bristles at a good angle for cleaning his gumline.

I liked it so much for him, that I bought one for me. It wasn't the deal that Grom's was, but when I was opening the package I noticed that it claims a 9 month brush life with proper care. When I average the cost over nine months... what a deal!

My teeth feel super clean when I'm done brushing. It's comfortable and the big head and handle design is fun.

If you're looking for a new toothbrush... check this one out. Works for me!

See what works for 100s of other women at We are THAT Family.

The Sugar Free Challenge - October 12

The week of the challenge is over.

I can't say it was a success, but it was eye opening. Often I realized that I had eaten "sugar" after the fact. It was frustrating.

I did a good job of looking for HFCS. I think I avoided it completely... well until today when I had a Pepsi (actually about 6 ounces of a bottle - I tossed the rest). My Pepsi addiction is waning.

I will continue working on avoiding refined sugar.

The Sugar Free Challenge - October 6

I'm hanging in there.

My sourdough problem is bigger than I thought, but I'm not giving up.

More fresh fruit and no sweetened espresso drinks.

The Sugar Free Challenge - October 5

The Sugar Free Challenge is on.  So far, so good.

Today our oatmeal had stewed prunes added for sweetness.  It wasn't the same as my usual spoonful of brown sugar, but it wasn't terrible either.  Nothing I'd sign up to eat more of.  Since I have leftover for tomorrow, I'm going to have to get creative to make it yummy.

I bought some fruit to take to church to cut down any temptations for processed junk.  Did you know that a clementine has only 25 calories for all that goodness?  Just don't eat it in one bite.

I tried some Stevia in a cup of tea this afternoon.

Ugh... I just realized that I ate a piece of sourdough bread made with refined white flour.  Sayonara SLO dough... I'll miss you.

I can do this.

UPDATE! This is harder than I thought.  Tonight I grabbed a drink and then realized it was full of HFCS.  It's not something I usually drink, so I'm not sure what I was thinking. AND I realized that the marinade I soaked our chicken in was probably also loaded with refined sugar.   shesh!

I can do this.  Tomorrow is a new day.

The Sugar Free Challenge

The Nourishing Gourmet is hosting a sugar free challenge. Surferman is always saying that we eat too much sugar. By October 12th, he might be eating those words and wishing he had a little sugar to sweeten them.

Starting next week she will be blogging about going sugar free. I'm joining her. She says its a great time to give it a go. It's the start of cold and flu season and sugar can lower the immune system.

She has set up three levels of participation. I'm going for the beginner level for my family and push myself to moderate as able.

Beginner level: Take out all refined sugars including corn syrup and white sugar. Also remove all white flour from your diet, as it’s also very sugar forming.You will need to read labels carefully when buying prepackaged foods. Instead use natural, more unrefined sugars such as rapadura, coconut sugar, honey, stevia.

Moderate Level: Remove all natural sweeteners as well, and only use fruit to sweet foods. Consider removing other starchy foods that can also feed yeast, or make you crave sugar more.

Will you consider joining me? Or at least rooting me on?

Happy Face Breakfasts

Grom loves a happy face for breakfast. I wish he always had a happy face for breakfast. I think he might be hypoglycemic when he wakes up. When my sister was little, my mom woke her up with a glass of orange juice. No one was allowed to talk to her until she had finished it. I may try something similar with Grom.

Here are a couple of our latest creations...

Blueberry Swirl bread eye brows, strawberry mouth, (yep that's a) marshmallow nose, cheese cheeks and eye whites with blueberry pupils.

This one was messier. Blueberry yogurt face, granola hair, tortilla circle mouth and cheeks and nose, raisin eye balls, and chocolate covered sunflower seed freckles. I'm not sure what the candied ginger on the mouth is supposed to be. I think they are there just because Grom loves to eat it. It has to be a special treat... otherwise he's eat the bag in a single sitting.

Be happy!

Tales from the CSA box - June 16

We bought a subscription to the CSA program at our local university.  We'll be getting fresh, organic veggies and some fruits all summer long.  We bought a large share with local delivery for $27.50/week.

Surferman picked up our first box this week.  They like to recycle the box they transport the veggies in, so Surferman decided to load the items onto what he promises me was a clean towel in the back of his Volvo.

Yep,  that's his surfboard and gear.  Those are my beautiful veggies.
Here's what we got...  1 bunch of beets, 1 bunch of carrots, 1 bunch of baby red onions, 1 head of butter lettuce, 1 bunch of basil, 1 head of cabbage, 2 stalks of broccoli, 2 small heads of cauliflower (one that I'm hoping tastes like cheese - but I doubt it - it's a lovely cheddar color), 1 bunch of kale?, 3 heads of garlic, a couple sprigs of rosemary, a box of blackberries, a half a dozen baby summer squashes and a softball sized zucchini?.

I'm excited to figure out how to work it into our meal plan.

My Strawberry Secret

It's strawberry season!

I love this time of the year.  When Farmer's Market smells wonderful, the air is full of strawberries.  I go from farmer to farmer to see how much they are charging, how big the berries are and who is offering pesticide free berries.  

Organic strawberries at my local Farmer's Markets are rare and very expensive.  A few of the local growers offer berries they advertise as "unsprayed" or "no pesticides" as a piece of cardboard is cheaper and easier than organic certification.  I know that conventional strawberries are on the list of fruits to eat organic - buying locally and "no pesticide" seems to be a reasonable (for my budget and health) compromise.

We mostly eat them raw - washed and sliced.  Sometimes in a bowl of cereal, sometimes with some vanilla ice cream, sometimes on a waffle with whip cream.  We buy them by the 1/2 flat (6 baskets) and even the flat when we want to put some in the freezer.

While strawberries are delicious they are also fragile.  One day gorgeous and ready to eat, the next mushy and moldy.  I have discovered how to help them keep.  

Here's how...

When you get them home put them into a sealed plastic container - air tight.  Don't wash them.  Don't fuss with them.  Just get them into a tuperware type container as soon as possible and then store them in the refrigerator.  Most will keep a week or more.

Enjoy those strawberries while they are at their glorious best.

photo by: jslander (Flickr)

From Frumpy to Fabulous in just under 3 weeks

I'm ready to be fabulous - inside and out.  

I enjoy the blogging Emma does at Charming the Birds from the Trees.  She encourages me in my role of wife and homemaker.

She's transforming herself from frumpy to fabulous in the next three weeks and I've decided to join her in the adventure.  I'm jumping in a little late - today is day three.  Fortunately I think I can catch up.

Day 1 - Prayer

I used to write the things and people I was praying for in my brain book.  I never liked my last brain and we never had the relationship I have had with other books.  Silly, I know.  I abandoned that book last week and have a new one.  So far we are getting along great.  I have a section dedicated to prayer.  I'm going to pray through that section every morning.

Day 2 - Water

I bought one of those water bottles with a straw in it for my desk at work.  I plan to fill it up when I get to work in the morning and finish it off before I leave.  It's 4 cups.  Another in the afternoon and a third between dinner and bed and I'm more than set.

I like to add Alacer Electro Mix to my water.  It makes it tasty and helps to hydrate me.  A splash of juice also helps the water go down.

Day 3 - Skin

I was doing great at washing my face.  I know that nightly washing keeps my skin clear.  I have the supplies.  Just need to do it.  Put on lotion after showering is also a must do for me.

I wonder what's in store for day 4?

What's for Dinner - Week of July 16th

I figure the best way to get back into the swing of things is to proceed like life is normal and adjust from there. I'm 10 days post gall bladder surgery. I'm feeling better every day. My biggest problem is sleeping - I'm tired when I shouldn't be and not when I should be. If you're inclined to pray - pray for my rest and recuperation.

We're back to our healthy eating plan. Here's what's in store this week...

Monday - Crockpot Sticky Chicken - Zucchini - Salad

Tuesday - Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Fruit (I'm going to make something like the recipe I posted - I'm not sure about the website I linked to - it's not one I'm going to go browsing around - you've been warned)

Wednesday - Chicken Veggie Soup - Salad - Fruit

Thursday - Eat out at Farmer's Market!!!! yay!

Friday - Steak and a Movie Night: Steak - Baked Potatoes - Salad

Saturday - Grom's 3rd Birthday Party! Dinner will be leftovers.

Sunday - Dinner at my folks

Check out the menu of the other Monday planners at Organized Junkie.

What's for Dinner - Week of June 25th

Organizing Junkie hosts Menu Plan Monday. Click over there for more menu ideas. Here is what's cooking at my house this week. Our "healthy" eating continues... We are also at the end of the month and the food budget is basically spent. I'll be looking to my pantry to get me through.

Breakfast - Strawberry (Fruit) Smoothies
Snacks - Hardboiled eggs and raw veggies
Lunch -leftovers from dinner the night before
Dessert - Strawberry (Fruit) Smoothies


Monday - Chicken and Veggie Soup - Spinach Salad

Tuesday - Ground Beef Zucchini Pasta-less Spaghetti - Salad

Wednesday - Crockpot Sticky Chicken - Green Beans

Thursday - Chicken, Rice and Bean Chili- Watermelon

Friday - Steak and a Movie Night - Steak, Salad, Veggies

Saturday - Shredded Chicken Tacos in lettuce leave "shells" - Fruit

Sunday - Dinner with my folks.

I've been winging it while I'm cooking. I don't have recipes to share as I'm just putting things together. I want to start writing down what I'm doing and posting them, so that I'll have a source of ideas down the road.

HAVE A YUMMY WEEK!

What's for Dinner - Week of June 18th

Last weeks condiment challenge didn't go so well. We ate well and I stayed with my plan, I just didn't get to toss many condiment jars. Surferman thinks I should just start tossing one into the trash each time I empty the trash. That idea hurts every frugal bone in my body. I'm going to have to work on another plan.

Surferman and I are on a new plan again to eat healthfully. My menus this week will reflect those changes. I'll post recipes as I create and find them. My plan is going to look pretty simple. We'll be eating small portions of lean meat, poultry and fish with lots of veggies for lunch and dinner. Breakfast will be a fruit and whey protein smoothie. Snacks will be hard boiled eggs and raw veggies. Lots of fiber, low sodium and cranberry juice water all day long. It's our variation of Fat Flush if you're familiar with that plan.

We are both hoping to lose some weight and gain some energy.

Monday - LO Pork Ribs, Salad, LO Broccoli, Watermelon

Tuesday - Shrimp and Chinese Veggies

Wednesday- Ground Turkey, Tomato Sauce, Zucchini and Mushrooms

Thursday - Sticky Chicken and Green Beans

Friday - Steak and a Movie Night - Steak and Zucchini

Saturday - Women's Event (AM) - Chicken Vegetable Soup

Sunday - Bean and Rice Tacos (Lettuce Shells)

Smart Habit Saturday

I am a complete failure at drinking water. I just don't think about it. When I do, it's too late to try to get it in my body unless I want to sleep on the potty. I'm not giving up, but I'm going to reduce my goal and baby step up to the 3 qts that I need to drink each day.

And to keep things moving, I'm adding a new habit.

Habit 3 - Lights out by 11 pm nightly.


Habit 2 - Drink 3 qts of water daily. Baby stepping with 1 qt/ day this week.
Habit 1 - Wash my face every night. On track - almost a habit!

Check out SMART Habits Saturday at The Lazy Organizer.

Smart Habit Saturday

WOW! Drinking water is harder than I thought. I didn't do well. And I'm sticking with that habit again this week.

Habit 2 - Drink 3 qts of water daily.
Habit 1 - Wash my face every night.

What's for Dinner - Week of June 4th

When I posted my menus last week, I forgot we were going camping on the weekend. We had a great time "roughing it". We ate well, though not on from my plan. Surferman and I are wanting to eat differently - healthier. I hope this menu will start reflecting that decision.

Monday - Salad with leftover bbq chicken and assorted veggies

Tuesday - Crustless Quiche (from the freezer), vegetable, salad

Wednesday - Grilled Salmon, brown rice, vegetable, fruit

Thursday - Farmer's Market - EAT OUT!

Friday - Steak and a Movie Night - Steak, Salad, Baked Sweet Potatoes

Saturday - Hosting Baby Shower Brunch - Crispy Potato Quiche, Fruit, Asparagus, Cake

Surferman's Pizza - looking for a whole wheat crust recipe - topped with veggies, salad

Sunday - Sunday dinner with my folks