Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Pineapple Mango Smoothies (No Sugar Added – Dairy Free Option)

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This Pineapple Mango Smoothie is more refreshing that you can imagine. Mmmm!

High Five Recipes 2

We were on our way home from Kansas City after a weekend event our boys had participated in. The event had been awesome, our boys had done great, and we were all flying high. Except for Asa (our 15 year old) and me. It appeared that the two of us were coming down with the flu. Our throats hurt, our chests burned, and we both began to get feverish. Our eyes were red and achy. Our heads pounded.

(Great story so far, eh?)

We were both a little bit hungry, although nothing really sounded good to eat. We had packed food, but all of it seemed too difficult to eat. Funny how the normally simple act of chewing takes so much energy when you’re sick. All I could think of was, “I just want a smoothie.” (Well, and “I just want my bed.” But out on the interstate, a few hours from home, that was not an option.)

Matt, bless his heart, was determined to find his feverish bride a smoothie. We finally managed to find a place that had some decent options (without too many funky, sugary ingredients). I chose a pineapple mango variety and aside from the fact that it was cold and made my chills just a little bit more miserable – I had never enjoyed a smoothie more. It was so refreshing. It was just what Asa and I needed. We slept the rest of the way home.

Asa and I are all better now. In fact, this all happened a couple of months ago. But ever since, I’ve been craving a Pineapple Mango Smoothie. I typically make my smoothies with berries – which we love. But the refreshment that comes from pineapple, mango, and orange juice all blended up in a glass? I knew I needed to recreate this treasure.

It’s not hard to make – you just need five simple ingredients. Add a little maple syrup or stevia if it’s not sweet enough for you. We think it’s sweet enough as is. Coconut milk makes it taste great and offers a dairy free option if you need it. We like it with plain, whole milk yogurt. I think I may make these every single day this summer.

pineapple_mango_smoothie_2

Pineapple Mango SmoothieYum

Pineapple Mango Smoothies (No Sugar Added - Dairy Free Option)
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups frozen mango chunks
  • 1½ cups frozen pineapple chunks
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 2 cups plain yogurt or coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor together.
  2. Blend until smooth.

Pineapple Mango Smoothie

What’s your favorite fruit smoothie combination?  For the record, I don’t recommend getting the flu before trying this. It’s much more fun to eat when you can hold your head up off the pillow.

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Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

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sweet_potato_fries

It really pays to listen to your friends. (Not all of them though, because if they’re encouraging you to do things that aren’t good for you, maybe you should consider getting new friends.) Well where did that piece of parenting advice come from?

Anyway, I happen to have good friends, so I feel that it is okay to listen to them. It just so happens that I had two friends in one week tell me that I was missing out by not adding sweet potatoes to my menus more often. When the first friend said it, I kind of nodded and smiled. But when a second friend mentioned it a few days later, I sort of wondered if God was trying to tell me something. Okay, I’m pretty sure He is working in bigger ways in my life than sweet potato consumption encouragement. But still. I figured there might be something to this sweet potato thing since it came up twice in one week with two different people at two separate times. (Am I making too much of this? I mean, should I just get around to sharing the recipe already?) Why have I not been eating or feeding my family sweet potatoes very often, as in, pretty much never?

It’s very simple really. As a child, the only way I had been served sweet potatoes was in a casserole with brown sugar and marshmallows at Thanksgiving and I didn’t like it one bit. If I’m going to eat something sweet, I want it to be a dessert – not as a side dish with my turkey. But that’s just me. I’m the one who needs chocolate with my sugar. What can I say? But, per my friends’ suggestions, I decided to try making sweet potato fries. They looked and smelled great. I ate one. Hmmm, it was okay, I guess. But I kept thinking about marshmallows, and couldn’t get past it. By the way, I don’t like marshmallows. But I’m a big girl, and all grown up, so I made myself eat a second sweet potato fry. And then a third. Oh wait. They suddenly began to taste good to me. Then, before I knew it, I had to tell myself to stop eating the sweet potato fries and save some for my family. (I didn’t feel bad though, because usually it’s the other way around and I’m the one asking my family to save me some food before they inhale all of it.)

So it turns out that while I think my friends may have helped me become an addict in this regard, it does pay to give in to sweet potato peer pressure.

How to Make Sweet Potato Fries

Scrub and cut sweet potatoes into wedges or fries – as thin as you like. Toss them in olive oil or coconut oil (about 1 Tablespoon per sweet potato). Place them in a single layer on a baking pan. Sprinkle on sea salt and bake in a 400° oven for 30-40 minutes. or Deep fry the cut sweet potatoes in a fryer (we have this one, which works great) filled with Refined Coconut Oil or Palm Shortening for 3-4 minutes, remove, salt, and eat. These Homemade Sweet Potato Fries are AMAZING! They are so easy to make, and incredibly delicious. #sweetpotatofries #homemadefries #sweetpotatofryrecipe What is your relationship with sweet potatoes? How do you like them cooked? And while it’s completely irrelevant, I am curious. Do you like marshmallows?

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

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I couldn’t decide. Should I tell my kids what was in this Spinach and Artichoke dip…or should I not?

Turns out, I didn’t have much choice, because they came into the kitchen and asked what I was making and what was in it. I wasn’t going to lie, obviously, but shucks, I was just sure that once Elias, our 10 year old, heard that there were artichokes and spinach in the dip, he’d suddenly be, “not very hungry right now.”

Thankfully, there were chips involved. ;)  Chips are always a good motivator for eating artichokes, right?

All of the boys decided to “give it a try”, which in Elias’ case, means putting a teeny bit of dip onto his chip. Much to my surprise, all of the boys loved the dip. And Elias was the one who raved about it the most.

The moral of this story? I give up on ever being able to predict which of my kids will like which foods, because about the time I think for sure my pickiest child will rebel against artichokes, I will be wrong.

Just a note:  When picking out Marinated Artichoke Hearts at the store, watch out! Many of them contain partially hydrogenated oils. Ick.  I was happy to find a healthier version at Vitacost which contains only artichoke hearts, water, salt and citric acid. Sweet!

As for chips, I recommend an organic variety of corn chips so you will be avoiding bad fats and GMO corn. Or, this dip also tastes great with carrot sticks and other veggies.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke DipYum

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 - 14 ounce can marinated artichoke hearts, drained
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup fresh, torn spinach leaves
  • 1 - 4 ounce can diced green chiles
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients and place in a crock pot.
  2. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
  3. Serve with tortilla chips.
  4. Alternate Cooking Method:
  5. Mix ingredients and spread in a pie dish or 8x8 inch baking pan.
  6. Bake in a 400° for 30 minutes and serve.

Crock Pot or Oven Friendly Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Share with us: Are you a fan of artichokes? I dare you to try this dip whether you are or not. If Elias likes it, I’m pretty sure you will too. :)

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Easy Homemade Granola

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I didn’t really plan it this way, but what better way to follow up a post about not soaking grains than by giving you a recipe which includes unsoaked grains. Do with this what you wish. :)

This recipe works great as a snack or for a quick breakfast, especially if you’ve made it ahead of time. We like to put it in a bowl and add dried fruit and milk or cream. A friend of mine even adds applesauce to this granola for a sort of “apple crisp” taste. Her kids love it that way!

Easy Homemade GranolaYum

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower nuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup honey
1 cup coconut oil

In a small sauce pan, melt together coconut oil and honey. Stir all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well. Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 35 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes. Store granola in an air tight container.

granola_2

Are you granola eaters at your house?

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Easy Noodle Stir Fry

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You’ll want to make this stir fry recipe a part of your weekly menu plan!

It is a fact that earlier in the summer, my oldest son requested Ramen Noodles for his 14th birthday lunch. Bleh. I obliged because it was his birthday and because I could afford the 17¢ required to purchase the desired package of what can’t possibly be food since it only costs 17¢. Asa completely understands why we don’t normally eat MSG covered cardboard – but doggonit – he likes the stuff and it was a birthday treat.

Our family used to make a great stir fry dish using Ramen Noodles “back in the day” before we began our healthy eating journey. Asa has fond memories of that dish and was actually the inspiration behind this new version. One day he simply said, “Mom – don’t you think you could just use spaghetti noodles and soy sauce instead of ramen noodles and make the Stir Fry taste the way it used to taste?” Huh, well now why didn’t I think of that?

We tried it and WOW. We all devoured it (which isn’t entirely shocking because “devour” is typically what we do around our table three or more times each day). This dish is great for several reasons:

  • It is very easy to make.
  • It is completely healthy.
  • You can make it a variety of ways, depending on which vegetables your family likes and has on hand.
  • You can make it a meatless dish or add chicken to make it a complete meal!

Easy Noodle Stir FryYum

3.0 from 1 reviews
Easy Noodle Stir Fry
 
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Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2-4 cups fresh or frozen veggies of your choice (broccoli, carrots, peas, peppers, corn, zucchini, squash, etc.)
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove minced fresh garlic or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 10 ounces whole wheat spaghetti noodles
  • Soy sauce (to taste)
  • Sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
  1. In a skillet, toss vegetables, garlic and olive oil together - cooking on medium heat until veggies are tender.
  2. In the meantime, boil the spaghetti noodles in water and drain.
  3. Stir cooked veggies and noodles together.
  4. Add soy sauce, stirring until the noodles are barely coated.
  5. Add sea salt (and more soy sauce) if desired.

Easy Noodle Stir Fry

What is your relationship with Ramen Noodles? Love ’em? Hate ’em? Do you know what’s in ’em? You don’t want to know. I highly recommend switching to whole grain pastas and skipping any MSG filled sauces and flavorings as part of your Funky Fresh Kitchen challenge. You can do it! Look how tasty this dish is without any artificial anything!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
malachi cutting
My youngest son can now cut all the veggies for this meal. I LOVE THIS!
This week only, grab the FREE Knife Skills Videos so your kids can learn how to cut fruits and vegetables safely!
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Healthier Cheese Dip – a Velveeta and Rotel Recipe Knock Off!

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Today, I have written a very heart felt letter to my friend, Velveeta. I hope you don’t mind that I shared it. It’s rather personal, so I hope no one feels embarrassed to read my inner-most thoughts. I’m sure that my friend Velveeta is a friend to some of you too. Truly, if I would have had a daughter, I would have named her Velveeta in honor of my friend.

Okay, totally not really. But still.

Dear Velveeta,

I dearly love you. I grew up eating you and some days, I really miss you. I often visit you in the store, just in case you miss me too. Have you seen me there, lingering by your shelves?

What exactly are you made of anyway? Wait – don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Reading your label makes me queasy, but when I mix you with a can of rotel, I could gladly grab a bag of chips and eat half the bowl. You are delicious. You are comfort food. You are memories from my childhood. And for goodness sakes you taste incredible alongside a cold glass of Pepsi.

But you are “processed cheese food”. What in the world does that mean? No wait – really – don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I just want to eat you in ignorance so that I won’t know the full effects of what something such as you can do to the insides of my body.

But alas, since my family began Our Healthy Eating Journey a few years ago, I chose to give you up. I have a new friend now that has a striking resemblance to you, but one that doesn’t make me feel so sick inside.

Those were some good times we had together – you, me and the Pepsi. Please know that I’ll hold the memory of you forever in my heart.

Insanely Yours,
Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers

Well, now you know. Velveeta-Rotel chip dip and I go way back. I miss her. I love her. But there’s a new kid in town, one that is made from real food that I can trust not to turn my gut wrong-side-out. I’ve been tinkering with this dish for the past couple of years and my family loves it! It’s not quite as thick as the Velveeta-Rotel dip, but I would imagine that the ingredients that make that one thick are ingredients you and I don’t know how to pronounce. Just lean over the bowl when you eat this. A little dip running down the chin never hurt anyone.

Don’t leave me hanging. I must know if you are friends with Velveeta too. Do you love her with Rotel? And tell me, is Velveeta a lovely name, or what?

Again, totally not really.

Healthier Cheese Dip - a Velveeta and Rotel Recipe Knock Off!
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground hamburger meat (seasoned with Homemade Taco Seasoning if you like!)
  • 2 cups salsa
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Organic Corn Chips
Instructions
  1. Brown hamburger meat and season if desired. Stir salsa and cream into the meat, stirring constantly while heating on medium heat for about three minutes. Remove mixture from heat and add shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve with Organic Corn Chips. (You can stir in ½ cup sour cream or 3 ounces cream cheese if you'd like.)
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Homemade Tater Tots

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If all of the recipes in the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge turn out to be this easy…I’ll whip through the list in no time. (But don’t get your hopes up.)

My first idea for and attempt at making Homemade Tater Tots turned out great. Then I tried them a second time…just to be sure. Even better. All six of us were so excited! These look like a tater tot, feel like a tater tot and well (if I do say so myself) taste better than a tater tot (funny thing about fresh potatoes and healthy oil).

My idea was to try the homemade hashbrown trick. Remember, I bake the potato, let it cool, shred it, then cook up the shredded potatoes into hashbrowns. SUCH a fabulous and easy way to make nice hashbrowns. And now…Tater Tots!!!!!!

Here’s how I did it…

Homemade Tater TotsYum

3-4 medium russett potatoes
Oil of choice (I used the very healthy and delicious Palm Shortening. I’d also recommend Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil because it’s flavorless yet healthy for frying.)  (You can read my research based opinions on healthy frying here.)
Sea Salt

First, scrub and bake your potatoes. Allow the potatoes to cool. Peel the potatoes (and save the skins to make Potato Skins as described in Katie’s Healthy Snacks to Go ebook!).

Chop the peeled and cooled potatoes and throw them in a food processor to shred finely. I’d recommend using the “pulse” setting if you have one. You don’t want your potatoes to turn to mush. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t. 

If you don’t have a food processor, you can always shred the potatoes
with a cheese grater…it’ll just take a bit longer.
And be careful to keep  your fingers away from the grater.
You don’t want fingers in your tater tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Next, heat some oil in a skillet (medium heat). You  just need enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the skillet. You don’t want greasy tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Use a small cookie scoop and pack in the shredded potatoes to make a nice firm ball. (If you don’t really pack it in, the potatoes will just fall apart when you place the ball in the skillet.)  Gently set the ball into the skillet. Allow it to cook thoroughly on one side before carefully turning it over. Press the ball down slightly when you turn it. Each side takes about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Remove tater tots once they look nice and crispy and golden brown. You don’t want blackened tater tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t. Sprinkle with desired amount of sea salt.

You should eat these right away because you don’t want cold tater tots. Well, (say it with me now) maybe you do, but I don’t.

If you can possibly keep your family out of them…we discovered that these freeze and reheat very well!! We used our toaster oven to reheat some leftover tater tots a day or two after I initially made them, just to test and see if these can be made ahead of time and YAY…it can be done!!

Just for fun, you may also want to check out the Homemade Tater Tot recipe at Finding Joy in my Kitchen. She came up with a different way of making tater tots that looks pretty tasty!

Overall, I’d say making Homemade Tater Tots is easy. Is it as easy as opening up a package and throwing the contents onto a cookie sheet? No. But it sure doesn’t take a lot of effort overall. And then, if you make several batches and freeze some…you’ve got easy, healthy tater tots ready to reheat for a quick side dish or snack!!

Okay…one recipe down…fourteen to go. Unless you count all the other ideas you challenged me with.

Now, go bake some potatoes so you can hurry up and make some tots. You don’t want to miss out on the delicious taste of fresh, Homemade Tater Tots.

Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

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What to Do With Butternut Squash

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Yum

I did not grow up eating butternut squash (or any kind of squash for that matter). I hadn’t a clue what to do with one until a few years ago. They are, in fact, quite yummy. But here’s the most exciting thing about a butternut squash:

You can use a butternut squash to make a pumpkin pie. Or pumpkin bars. Or pumpkin pie pecan squares. Or just about any pumpkin treat.

It tastes exactly the same in a recipe and no one can tell a difference. 

Just for the record, I’m not trying to be deceitful by switching out the ingredients…just trying to use up what I have and I think it’s cool that these ingredients are interchangeable! I will say that using squash to make a “pumpkin pie” sounds a little silly because a squash is not a pumpkin…but calling it a squash pie just doesn’t even sound good. And so I will continue to use squash to make pumpkin pies and I will continue to call it a pumpkin pie and everyone will continue to eat it because it is so good.

But first, let’s talk about how to prepare a butternut squash. There are other ways to make pureed squash, but here’s the easiest way I’ve found:

First, cut your gourd in half. Or close to half.  Mine usually end up being quite lop sided. 

Use a wooden or a heavy duty metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff.

Place your squash face up in a baking dish and bake, uncovered for at least an hour at 350° or until your house smells squashy and you can poke a fork into your squash very easily. See, look at the fork pokes:

Use a spoon to scoop out all the soft, cooked squash. You can eat it just like it is…you can sprinkle sucanat on it, you can butter it, you can salt it. It’s very tasty eaten in these ways.

Or…you can puree it. Place all the scooped out cooked squash into a food processor or blender.

Process for just a few seconds until smooth.

Look, pureed squash:

Now you can feed it to your baby, feed it to your grown ups…or you can make these Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins. Yep, not only can you make a Pumpkin Pie and other pumpkin treats with squash, you can make Sweet Potato Muffins. Is this getting confusing yet?

Just last week I made a delicious “Pumpkin Pie” with butternut squash. My father-in-law was still here at the time and he declared it the best pumpkin pie he’d ever had. In fact, he declared it the first pumpkin pie he’d ever LIKED. {grin}

Are you squash eaters at your house? How do you like your squash? Ever used squash to make something that calls for pumpkin or sweet potatoes?

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How To Cook Brown Rice

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How to Cook Brown Rice

Yum

Transitioning your family from white to brown food (rice, grain, sugar) can be a little bit difficult on the taste buds. When we’re used to the white stuff, the brown stuff may seem a little heavy at first. I know I’ve heard the opposite from some of you, but transitioning my family from white rice to brown was actually one of our easier transitions when we were on our healthy eating journey.

But first I had to learn how to cook the stuff.  Brown rice cooks a little differently than white rice. And it takes 45 minutes? Really?

One of the things I’ve learned throughout our healthy eating journey is that whole foods may take a little longer to prepare, but that doesn’t mean that they are more difficult to prepare. I just have to plan ahead just a little bit better. Yes, brown rice takes 45 minutes to cook. But do I actually have to watch the pot and babysit my rice? Absolutely not. Start the rice a cookin’, set a timer, walk away and come back 45 minutes later.

Long story short:  Cooking Brown Rice is SO Easy.

Here are the basics of Brown Rice Cooking:

  • Use exactly twice as much liquid as rice. (For instance, use 2 cups of water with 1 cup of rice.)
  • The rice will absorb all the liquid, so if you cook one cup of rice in two cups of water, once the rice is cooked, you will have two cups of cooked rice.
  • Don’t bother your rice while it’s cooking. It will get grumpy. (Actually it will get sticky, and you may get grumpy.)
  • Sea Salt is your friend. Rice is a little bland without it.
  • We LOVE our rice cooked in Chicken Broth. The broth gives the rice excellent flavor and has really helped us transition to the taste of brown rice!

Here’s how to cook brown rice:

  1. Begin by boiling your water or broth. Remember, use two cups of liquid for every one cup of rice.
  2. Once the liquid has come to a full boil, pour in the dry brown rice.
  3. Give the rice a stir. Turn down the burner to a simmering heat level.
  4. Cover the pot with a lid.
  5. Set a timer for 45 minutes.
  6. Do not stir the rice or even bother with looking at the rice until the timer goes off.
  7. Remove the rice from the heat.
  8. Salt liberally, or mix your cooked rice into your desired recipe.

I took several pictures to create a tutorial for you, but in just about every picture, the steam from the pot fogged up my camera lense. It would have been a lovely tutorial.

See? Look at the wonderful boiling broth. With steam. This was the least foggy of all the pictures.
Don’t you just feel like you learned an awful lot by looking at it?

Sorry for the lack of tutorial photos. Really though, even without pictures to look at, I do believe you can easily cook brown rice. Then use it to make Rice and Veggie Stir Fry or Spanish Rice…or even add butter and salt and eat it plain!


Does your family like brown rice? How do you like to eat your rice?

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High Five Recipes: Roasted Italian Potatoes

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High Five Recipes 2

It’s been months since I posted a High Five Recipe, so just in case you’re new around here…let me introduce you to this special recipe feature we have going on. Are you ready?

It is a fact that there are lots and lots of healthy recipes you can make which only take five or less (healthy) ingredients! I’m talking about REAL INGREDIENTS too…not just “add a packet of this and stir in a can of that”.

Real ingredients, real easy recipes. I LOVE High Five Recipes! You can scroll through all of these posts to see the other High Five Recipes I’ve posted so far!

This Roasted Italian Potatoes recipe comes courtesy of my friend Anne. Remember last year when I put some of my homemade Italian Dressing Mix in her stocking? What, you don’t remember? Yes, my friend Anne and I exchange Christmas stockings. Grown-ups needs stockings too ya know. And because she and I love to live on the wild side, we put items in each others stockings that are incredibly outlandish like paper clips, pot scrubbers…and yes…Italian Dressing Mix.

Yes indeed, Anne and I create one great big rowdy party when we come together.

Anyhoo…after Anne tried the Italian Dressing Mix I had given her, she fell in love with it and keeps coming up with yummy things to make with it. She is out to prove that Italian Dressing goes way beyond tossed salad. See? Told ya she was a crazy one.

Roasted Italian PotatoesYum

3 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed (or dirty, whichever way you like ’em)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian dressing mix

Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. Toss ingredients together in a bowl until the potatoes are covered with olive oil and dressing mix. Pour potatoes into a baking dish. Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. If you like, you can broil them for a few minutes at the end of their baking time to brown them up a bit.

Now, I am creatively thinking about what I should put in her stocking this year. Maybe some other great ingredient so she can come up with another high five recipe? Perhaps something to do with, I don’t know…chocolate???

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