You are what you eat*

You are what you eat.... we all remember our mother's and father's uttering that statement during weak moments of extreme sugar consumption or an evening complaint about eating all of our vegetables...but do you ever really think about the truth behind it? They have an interesting quote amongst the raw food community that simply states, 'live food, live body. dead food, dead body' and while i don't COMPLETELY agree with this, i do see it's partial truth. obviously we can thrive on 'dead' food....such as chicken and other meats, with great nutritional value, but what about the vegetables and fruits that are sprayed endlessly with toxic chemicals found in pesticides. does this not essentially 'kill' them, too?? apparently the chemicals are to kill the bugs and keep them away..um, HELLO if they're a deterrent for pesky insects what makes you think they are safe and healthy for us to consume? in a recent sunset magazine it said how apples have the equivalent of 1/4 can of pesticides on them. even after you wash, rinse and repeat (no this isn't a pantene commercial LoL ;)) you are still left with the 1/8 of the bottle that was soaked into the flesh of the apple itself.....and you bite, chew, swish from one cheek to the other letting the toxins marinate in your mouth and then finally swallow, ingesting the harmful chemicals to be reabsorbed by your body. see, that worries me. i suppose i'd never thought of the whole growing process before....you know, how your food is grown and taken care of before it gets distributed. to me, knowingly ingesting pesticides is no different than going into my garage and spraying an infinitesimal amount of ant killer on my tongue day, after day, after day....no matter what you think, eventually it will take a toll on your body and health. and it's not just one pesticide either. the average apple has a total of 30 different ones, GaG!!* now that i have children this is something i think about often. like any mother, i want what is best for them in every aspect of their existence, so why not start with what i bring into my home and offer them at the dinner table. this is my main reason for going all natural and organic. most organic food is said to contain 50 percent more nutrients, minerals and vitamins than the regular produce that has been intensively farmed. and yes, organic costs more but realistically i can justify the extra spending because i would have to purchase and consume twice as much as the regular produce to equal the amount of nutrient i'd get in my organic selection. am i making sense? because it is very late at night and i'm semi rambling LoL!! i'm simply saying, i choose organic because food today just isn't what it used to be* i know i am only 24 and don't have much past to compare it to, but the research i've done indicates the amount of vitamin C in today's fruit bears no resemblances to that found in the fruit of say the WWII period. i just don't see how people can think it's ok to eat chemicals and not expect some form of reaction from their bodies...

soooOo with all that being said, i went to sprout's farmer's market today and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! i got plenty of organic bread flour, wheat flour, pastry flour, unbleached regular flour and some great organic produce. tomorrow my plan is to make a loaf of organic wheat bread with honey and flax seed* i'll post pictures of the process and the recipe, just in case anyone is interested ;)) i feel it necessary to share the knowledge given to me with others, especially when it comes to something as precious and intimate as their own bodies. food affects everything in your make up. if you put the wrong gas into a car it will break down...i don't see our bodies as much different*

Kk loves, it's nearly midnight and i'm super tired....enough for now* tomorrow will be a more fun and uplifting blog i promise ,,,with lots of pictures ;)) excited to bake my bread (woOp) and make some delicious concoction with organic butternut squash, organic green beans, organic potatoes and free range chicken for dinner....still thinking of a recipe but will definitely post when it's complete!!!

sleep well all, remember to think for yourself and not be easily influenced. whether by the media or me, just do your own research and you will surprise yourself with what you find. nighty night* : ))
smile <3

Picture Perfect Tuesday!!*

Hey dolls!! Here are some pictures of the Homemade Chicken Nugget recipe process in my previous post* I made these this morning, using about 3lbs of chicken. It made a total of 32 nuggets which I separated into 8 nugget servings and put them in freezer safe baggies. Now, when i want to serve them I just take them out and pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes and enjoy the naturally homemade goodness!! =D

This is the process~*

fresh chicken breast*

 homemade bread crumbs, and the extra virgin olive oil and honey mixture for dipping. (this is what holds the crumb mixture to the chicken breast)

coated and ready to bake!! =))

 into the oven they go~ 400 degrees, pre heated*

 FABULOUS!! 13 minutes later, golden crisped and thoroughly cooked (you can see where i cut the two largest pieces just to make sure...no salmonella in THIS house LoL)  ;))

 delicious!! AND all naturally nutritious ;))

I also made some homemade organic ranch dressing to accompany these fine snacks! Here is the recipe and picture process for the dressing~*

Lauren's Homemade Organic Ranch Dressing~ (you can alter all ingredients to personal taste)

What you'll need~
1 cup Organic Mayo
1/2 cup Organic sour cream
1/4 cup Organic milk (or regular buttermilk/milk if you'd like)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
sea salt, pepper, and chives to taste***


mayo, sour cream, minced garlic

add parsley and green onions to mixture

add seasonings to mixtures, more and less make it personalized to your own taste buds ;))

 

pour in mlik, blend mixture together and voila!! Homemade Organic Ranch, DE-licious!!! : ))

now i will pour this into a bottle and keep in my fridge as my regular dressing. This is instead of purchasing from the store, magnificent!* 

Aaand for the clean up?? Why not use an all natural environmentally safe product since we're on an natural kick anyway ;)) My personal kitchen favorite, the grime fighter all purpose kitchen cleaner made by BabyGanics* It cleans beautifully while leaving my kitchen with a soft Lavender scent. Sweet smelling, calming AND disinfecting....yes, it was made for me there's no denying it*

Alright all, hope you enjoy my Almost Organic Homemade chicken nuggets and my Homemade Organic Ranch Dressing (yea, that's a mouthful LoL!) I'll be back later with my Homemade Organic bread!! ...off to sprout's, ready to stock up on organic flour and baking necessities... Do they have organic flour??? Well apparently I will find out* I think my husband is just as excited about this new homemade organic lifestyle as I am, and that feels good ;))

Hey, hey I have a blog!! =D

I'm a modern, domestic diva!! This blog is about homemaking with a twist~ I'll chronicle my daily attempts to live an (almost) organic, all natural lifestyle while staying true to my traditional values and forever remaining fabulous. I'll talk often about my faith as well, and post my daily recipes, tips, and favorite websites that pertain to organic living and homemaking. I'm seriously ready to go back to the basics people. Back before instant meals packed with MSG, before chemically enhanced cattle, before you saw those dreaded golden arches on EVERY street corner, before the ever growing obesity epidemic and before the modern conveniences that have so conveniently inconvenienced our health!* I'm excited about this, and cannot wait to share my new found knowledge with you all! Here we go America, it's hip to be a healthy homemaker... and I'm out to prove it! ;))

SoOo, let's get started!!

Step 1: Going from Gucci to Green

That statement makes me giggle, only because it is so true!! At least in my life anyway. Before having my two children I drove a bright red jaguar and used bleach like nobody's business...I didn't dispose of batteries the proper way (big oOops) and rarely recycled. I thought 'going green' was a new MAC eyeshadow. Although we did eat healthy and I tried to exercise regularly, I was doing nothing positive for our planet. Now, 3 years and 2 kids later, I want to clean the floor without my baby crawling rubbing his eyes and painfully blinding himself LoL! (Yes I realize that wasn't REALLY funny, the thought of it happening I mean but you have to admit the statement itself was rather witty...but I digress ;)) I'm going to make my own bread!! Yea, I know unbelievable right? Miss domestically challenged has miraculously turned into Martha Stewart. How is this possible?? Well I don't have that answer yet but as we go along I'm hoping to find it LOL! I kid, I actually love to cook and my husband says I'm a pretty good one so I have some wonderful recipes I'd like to share with you! The first is a kid favorite. Good old chicken nuggets!! But not the ground up grissel, toenails and beetle kind. . .the good kind, the all natural homemade kind ;))


***I like to make a big batch of these and keep them in the freezer to pull out for quick snacks. Bye bye Tyson, helloOo mama's goodness!!! =D

Homemade Semi Organic Chicken Nuggets:

~Take any Organic starch (bread crumbs, corn meal, smashed corn flakes, smashed shredded wheat, smashed left over crackers - literally almost any starch can end up being the breading) and season it to taste. I suggest salt, pepper, garlic powder, finely grated parmesan and romano cheeses and oregano but you can also use marjoram, basil, curry powder, ....the list goes on, it's really a personal taste preference : ))

~cut the chicken into strips or cubes and try to make them the same size - then press on the thick ones with the heel of your hand to flatten them out. Flattening them results in even cooking times.

~Dip the flattened strips into some extra virgin olive oil and sweet honey then roll/press the strip into the breading. Try to get as much breading to stick as you can. Arrange the breaded strips on a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 degrees until the meat is just cooked through - it should take about 12 minutes. Then simply cool them and pack them into lunch sized servings and freeze! Voila, homemade all natural, semi organic frozen chicken nuggets =D BAM!!*

To serve I just heat them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until lightly browned and crisp. Hope you LoVe them as much as we do!!*

Alright, I'll work on a weekly menu of organic recipes for tomorrow. Night all!! =))