Pantry

Chicken Broth

Oh yes, even some broths have trans fat in them. I like the one sold at Aldi for a great price. It is low in sodium, has no msg and most important of all NO JUNK! Yay!






Grits

Oh we love our Grits in this house! We love it with a dash of salt and butter with a side of eggs. Grits is coarsely grounded corn. It is sold in a canister or convenient packets but of course the canister is the most cost effective.

Hot Chocolate

Who doesn't like a hot chocolate on a cold day? I sure do! I make hot chocolate with cocoa. I follow the recipe on the canister, it's all goodness!

Pancakes

Hmmm, pancakes are popular on those lazy Saturday mornings for my Boss and Monkey. We like the blueberry pancakes by Krusteaz. They are fluffy and flavorful. We did not find a regular pancake box we like so I make buttermilk pancakes from scratch. Yes, they are as good as they sound. Fluffy and sweet!

• Best Buttermilk Pancakes
adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl on high power for 30 seconds.
Stir in the buttermilk, eggs and extract until smooth.

3. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients and stir just until the flour is incorporated.

4. Pour 1/4 cup scoops of batter onto a greased, heated griddle set over medium heat. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to appear on top, after about 3 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown.

Pancake Syrup
We had to say good bye so sad to our beloved pancake syrup. In my search for a great syrup I discovered it was going to be a maple syrup but I just couldn't pay that much for a syrup at a grocery store. Then I had the bright idea why not buy a syrup I already loved, Cracker Barrel syrup! It cost $7 for a bottle... it is high dollar but very good tasting. When we have breakfast at Cracker Barrel I shamelessly gather up our extra bottles of syrup to extend the life of my high dollar bottle of syrup. ;) We also love to have our pancakes with low fat cottage cheese. Growing up the Boss ate his pancakes with cottage cheese. I didn't believe how in the world would that taste good. Well, finally one day I did try it and it was OH, so delicious! Now when I plan to make pancakes there must be cottage cheese in the fridge, too!

It took us a long time to find a loaf of bread we all liked. We finally found our winner, Potato Bread by Oroweat. It's thinly sliced and soft. It is not dense nor heavy like so many other loaves we tried. Panera sells great bread loaves but it just took too much time to stop there for a loaf of bread and I found myself walking out with a high calorie drink which is not a good thing for me. One day I aspire to make my own bread.

Brown Gravy

I don't use brown gravy often, but it is a must have when I make salisbury steak. I like the mushroom gravy by McCormick.

Chocolate Milk

My monkey loves chocolate milk! We like Nesquik because it is lower in sugar then other brands and tastes great. This can also be used for hot chocolate. Nesquik gets a thumbs up by my Boss and Monkey.

Taco Seasoning

My fave Taco Seasoning is by Wal mart. It has the same zesty flavor as the other brand I had been using for so long.

Oatmeal

I like any of the store brand 100% instant oats. I LOVE oatmeal! So satisfying in the morning! This is how the three of us like it:

Hot Oatmeal

1 Cup of Instant Oatmeal

1 Cup of milk

1 tsp vanilla

splenda to taste

Combine all ingredients and cook in microwave for 90 seconds or follow the directions on the package. If it dries out, you can add water to make it thinner. I like to top it with blueberries, bananas or raisins. Your fave nuts taste great, too!

Oil

My fave cooking oil is extra virgin olive oil. I really like the flavor it adds to my cooking. It is the most natural then the other varieties available. It is high in antioxidants and vitamin E. It is a great alternative to the traditional cooking oil, vegetable oil.

There are different varieties of olive oil. Here is a brief explanation from http://www.healthydaily.com/

Extra virgin - considered the best, least processed, comprising the oil from the first pressing of the olives.
Virgin - from the second pressing.
Pure - undergoes some processing, such as filtering and refining.
Extra light - undergoes considerable processing and only retains a very mild olive flavour.

best priced at Aldi or Sam's Club

Next post: You may be using toxic plastic to store your food...
More food options coming, too!

More Choices for your Pantry

Pasta

I love pasta! I believe if I'm going to eat healthy I have to like what I am eating. If I don't like what I am eating, it will not be a lifelong change. I had to find a pasta I could still cook my amazing spaghetti and lasagna with. The winner for me was Ronzoni Smarttaste. It has 3x times the fiber and as much calcium as a 8 oz. glass of milk. It tastes great and it is not grainy nor does it feel thick. Over the last few years they have come out most of the commonly used pastas.

Found at Walmart and Reasors

estimated price $1.50

Cereal


I prefer yogurt instead of milk with my morning cereal or I'll have the milk on the side and my cereal dry. I think my monkey got this from me, he likes his cereal with a side of milk too. But hey as long as it goes in thats the important thing. I like to start the morning with a high fiber cereal to get things moving along ;). My monkey likes Honey Nut Cheerios or Kashi Heart to Heart. They are both high in fiber and low in sugar, what a great combo! Kashi has multiple cereals that are great. Aldi has a great low cost selection of cereals without trans fats or HFCS.



Granola


I love granola and it's a must have in your fave yogurt. Granola by Bearnaked is so good. It is sold at Reasor's for $6. I needed a granola at a lower cost so I started to making my own. I consider myself a frugalista, always looking for a bargain. Throughout these changes I needed to be careful with the grocery cost. So there are some things that I make myself. Once you've had something homemade you won't go back to store bought, granola is a perfect example. It's great as a snack or in yogurt.

Recipe from http://www.sparkpeople.com/




4 cups rolled oats(I used instant)
1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds (I perfer whole) Best priced at Sam's Club or Wal-Mart
1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup %100 apple juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

Mix together oats, nuts, salt & cinnamon together in a bowl

In a different bowl mix apple juice, oil, honey & vanilla together...then drizzle the liquid over the dry ingredients in the other bowl, mix with hands or spoon to ensure all dry mix is properly coated with liquid mixture.

Layer mix on a cookie sheet, keep layer under 1 inch in thickness (you may need to do this in 2 batches or in two cookie sheets side by side)

Bake 30-45 minutes making sure to stir the mixture every 5-7 minutes or else it will BURN! The mixture should have a nice crunch to it and be a medium to dark golden brown in color.

Add dried fruit and bake an extra 5 minutes, remove from oven and let it cool completely.

Store in fridge or freezer in sealed container, will keep for 2-3 weeks in fridge/freezer.

Number of Servings: 12

Calories 232.4
Total Fat 4.5 g
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 319.9 mg
Potassium 219.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 43.2 g
Dietary Fiber 4.1 g
Sugars 14.9 g
Protein 5.2 g


Rice


Although unprepared rice does not have trans fats nor HFCS, I've switched from using long grain rice to brown rice.
Why brown rice over long grain rice?
Brown rice has more fatty acids, fiber, minerals and vitamins then white rice. Brown rice is also a whole grain. Did you know that long grain rice is brown rice that has been polished? During the polishing stage almost all of the nutrients are removed. The white rice is then "enriched" with vitamins that are not the same as the brown rice once had. To get maxium nutrients use brown rice that is NOT instant.
At first I went straight to using brown rice but I could not get use to the texture so I went to wild rice for a little while then eased into brown rice. In my opinion of brown rice is that it's chewy and has a mild nutty flavor. I do like the flavor now, it just took some getting use to. I follow the directions on the package to cook it. I substitute all natural, low sodium chicken broth instead of water for a flavor boost. I also like to stir in 1 tbsp of minced garlic, healthy sauteed mushrooms and/or scallions.



The Truth
Trans fat labeling on food packages has been mandatory since 2006.

Different Choices For Our Pantry

When you are eating you're new choices please keep something in mind, some will taste and feel different. Just keep in mind if you like the flavor you will get accustomed to the texture. Well, I did and I hope you do too.




PEANUT BUTTER
No kidding but after all this time I just found my fave PB this last week. I was getting frustrated because I wasn't liking any that were sold. I was starting to think I had to make my own. Finally, I found one by Smart Balance. It is creamy and flavorful. If eaten alone on bread it does need to be sweeter but some honey or jelly can fix that. Yeah! I found a PB! PB is very essential in my life so I am very happy right about now.

CRACKERS
My Monkey's fave snack are crackers. He and I loved Ritz crackers. I did not find a cracker that was as heavenly buttery delicious as a Ritz. Yes, I remember it fondly. I tried Reasor's store brand, Wal- mart store brand and Aldi, none were a match soooo we just eliminated the Ritz cracker. I still buy it for my Monkey to share with his class at snack time. Oh, you should see him he is jumping for joy! We also like saltine crackers. The Boss and I like Cheez-it, the reduce fat version. I think they have a nice cheddar bite to them. I tried many other crackers on the market and I just didn't like the flavor or the texture. It's important to check the market every 6 months because what's on the shelf changes.

CHIPS

I LOVE pita chips. I tried several brands, my fave is Stacy's found at Wal-mart $2.50. Stacy's pita chip are my pick because the chip is strong enough to dip, great texture and yummy crunch. I came across some pita chips that were salty, broke easily and over baked, booo! I like Pretzel sticks. I find mine at a great price $1.19 at Aldi. Great taste and crunch. I also like the round yellow corn tortilla chips from Aldi sold for $1.19.

POPCORN
There is microwaveable popcorn that are good but I did not find one I loved. My sister told me how to make your own.
Make your own microwaveable popcorn. Put 1/4 cup of kernels in a brown lunch paper bag, fold the top, place standing up in the microwave, my micro will pop it in 90 seconds yours may vary. You may like it plain, I love it tossed with spray butter. This is at a great price. For $1.25 you can get many servings of popcorn, makes it even better.

Reading Food Labels

During my first few times to the grocery store I was slow to read the food labels. You will notice ingredients are listed in small font jammed together or the natural ingredients will be in bold but the fake stuff will be smaller. Take your time reading the label. You will get faster, I promise! You will notice some foods on the front say No Trans Fats or 0% Trans Fats, BEWARE some of these foods still have Trans Fats. On some of these labels you will read the following "Less than 2% per serving" which means each serving has less than 2% of Trans Fat. This is still unhealthy for us so stay away from these item also.





What terms are you looking for?


Trans Fat AKA

Partially hydrogenated soybean oil sometime you will see palm oil instead of soybean oil, this is also junk.

monoglycerides and diglycerides

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Recycle Paper to Save Our Earth

Why is it important to recycle paper?

It really is true it will save trees! Recycling paper will prevent toxic gases into our atmosphere and into our water. Energy is another resource that can be saved by recycling paper. 35% of landfill waste is from paper and paper goods.

EZ Reads

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_recycling

http://earth911.com/paper/why-is-it-important-to-recycle-paper/

What can be recycled?

I believe recycling paper was a easy change in my life. I place my recycling bin on top of my dryer in my laundry room. Since it is near my door to the garage this is a practical place for me. When recycling be aware to keep your identity information safe. I recycle the following: magazines, phone books, junk mail, , grocery paper bags, clean brown or white lunch bags , catalogs, your children's art work on white paper, manuals, toy instruction booklets, packing paper, wrapping paper (some wrapping paper has a gloss, be sure a recycling symbol is on the packaging) computer paper and notebook paper. I take my recycling bin to the recycling dumpster once a week. Um, sure sometimes it starts to overflow and I think I need a larger bin ;P

Where do I dump my recycling bin?

http://http://www.paperretriever.com/Schools/

At the beginning I did use a pick up service but discontinued the service when I became a practical frugalista. I dump my paper at my son's elementary school. The company, Paper Retriever, has a wonderful recycling program. Look for their yellow and green recycling dumpster at local schools, libraries, churches and other non-profit organizations. Non- profit organizations get paid for the paper recycled. The funds can be used for field and mission trips, playgrounds,scholarships and other projects. This is great because not only are you saving the Earth you are also improving another Life.

The Paper Retriever accepts:

magazines

newspaper

catalogs

school and office paper

mail

shredded paper

paperback books

window envelopes

workbooks

The Paper Retriever does NOT accept

Phonebooks

Along with other recyclables (we'll get to that later) I recycle my phonebooks at Owasso Recycling Center. YES! Our fab town has a recycling center!

http://cityofowasso.com/recycling_center/index.html

Hours: Tues. to Fri. 10am to 6pm Sat. 9am to 5pm

Closed Sun. and Mon. Designated Holidays

The Truth

The average American uses 650 pounds of paper each year- 100 million tons of wood could be saved each year if all that paper was recycled.

What is there Left to Eat!

Recently I helped a friend clean out her pantry...


What are trans fat?

Trans Fat aka partially hydrogenated soybean oil, monoglycerides and diglycerides are created by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil. Trans fat increase your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and decrease your good (HDL) cholesterol. Eating TF increases your risk of heart disease, stroke and developing diabetes type 2. TF can be found in foods such as frozen fries, pie crust, donuts, cookies, crackers, bread, cereal, pasta, prepared rice, stick margarine and shortening. It is added to food to extend shelf life and improve taste and texture.

Click Here for an ez read regarding Trans Fats...




What is High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)?

HFCS is the combination of changing the glucose (sugar) from cornstarch into fructose. It is used as a sweetener and preservative in sodas, fruit flavored drinks and processed foods.


Click here
for a ez read regarding HFCS


Once I was educated on TF and HFCS. I started to clean out our pantry checking food labels. I was astonished staring at all the food I had taken out. I thought What is there left to eat? What have I done? I panicked not knowing what we would eat and how difficult it would be to find it. It broke my heart to throw away food so I donated the unopened packages to my local pantry. As we finished items, I replaced them with our new alternative. On some items it took many trials and errors to settle on our replacements. Today I can honestly say we have found replacements for our food items. Some we had to completely eliminate in order to decrease our processed food intake.

Lights off

I felt overwelmed by all the Green changes I could do. I didn't know where to start. I didn't have any family nor friends who had done it so I didnt have a "go to" person in my life. First I decided to start by doing the no cost changes I could make. I thought the smartest thing was to take it slow so I wouldn't be frustrated and think it was too difficult to adjust to. I fondly remember my first change: Turn off the lights when you leave a room. I remember as a child my mom always reminding us to turn off the lights to save money. Now turning off the lights has a whole new meaning. I would catch myself with all the lights on. Sure even today I sometimes have to backstep to turn off the lights especially with my monkey. Be right back, I have to go turn off the living room light :) Sometimes during the day I will open the blinds in the kitchen and living area to let the sunlight in. I feel like the neighbors can see me in my well worn pjs so this is a occasional occurence.