Food Fun

I have been enjoying my kitchen so much lately.  I am trying to stick to whole foods as much as I can.  These things definitely take more time, but it is real food and so worth it.  The Green Smoothie Girl points out that it actually doesn't take away your time, it gives you time in health and energy!  Love that.  I will share just a couple of our recent adventures here.   My kids like eating raw veggies and salads with ranch but I have become adverse to the ingredients and felt like I was filling them with chemicals and saturated fat.  The homemade alternative is so easy and cheap! Especially Winco prices.  Here is the GSG recipe for Ranch:
1 C buttermilk1C Sour Cream1 T each of Dried parsley and chives
1 t each of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic


Blend briefly in a high-powered blender until just mixed.  Pour into a jar and put in fridge for a few hours to meld flavors!  Next time I want to use homemade yogurt instead of sour cream.  This is the best to dip with english cucumbers, carrots and sweet peppers.





This Veggie sandwich is my favorite lunch lately.  I could eat it every day:
2 slices WW bread 2 T Neufchatel CheeseDiced green onionSliced Tomato, cucumber, and avocadoSalt and Pepper to tasteOptional: sprouts



Mix diced green onions with cheese and spread half on each slice of bread.



Layer veggies, add salt and pepper and enjoy!


I am trying to dedicate one day each week to preparing foods and trying new recipes. On this day, I had 4 things going at once!  I had yogurt in the crock pot, dehydrated corn chips in the food dryer, black beans in the pressure cooker, and salsa in the blender.  All of these things were thrown together, not a lot of preparing going on here.  I think I used my blender 5 times on this day.  It is definitely the best kitchen tool to have for this lifestyle. 




Note on yogurt:  I am zero for 2 tries with this method, but I will not give up! It looks like the easiest thing in the world, but I guess i am yogurt impaired. It is made with food storage powdered milk, which I have a lot of so I know it will be worth getting right.  I want to make yogurt cheese with it for my sandwiches among many other things. 
Here is a link to the how-to video with powdered milk: HEREHere is a link for making crock pot yogurt with regular store bought milk: HERE