Soaked Whole Wheat Tortillas

Ever wonder why tortillas can stay in your refrigerator for months without going bad? Yeah, that’s the preservatives and other nasty ingredients at work.

The good news is that tortillas are ridiculously easy to make! What's even greater news is that you can make extra healthy tortillas by soaking them and using whole wheat flour!

What is soaking? Basically it helps you get the otherwise not absorbable nutrients from whole grains. To read more about soaking, read my post on it here.

This recipe comes from Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking. I must say it is quite wonderful! That is quite a compliment from somebody who has an aversion to whole wheat. If you are like me and don’t care for the taste of whole wheat flour, especially when it’s 100% whole wheat flour in a recipe, take my advice and buy White Whole Wheat flour. It is just as good as Whole Wheat flour, it's just a different variety of wheat and it is less gritty.

Soaked Whole Wheat Tortillas

3 cups whole wheat flour (I prefer white whole wheat flour)

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp acidic medium (kefir, whey, buttermilk, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice)

¼ cup coconut oil or butter, melted

¼ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Combine flour, water, coconut oil or butter and acidic medium. Cover and allow to soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

2. After soaking, add baking powder and salt to the flour mixture. Kneading in until the dough is workable but not too stiff. Make sure to mix well so that the baking powder and salt are incorporated.

3. Shape into 8-10 balls and let stand 10 minutes.

4. Roll to form a 10-inch circle or use a tortilla press.

5. Bake on a lightly greased griddle or pan on stove top till done. Toast about 20-30 seconds per side.

Yields: 8-10 tortillas.

Stevia

I have been searching for sugar alternatives for quite a while now. Sugar, as I’m sure everyone knows, is not good for you. Unfortunately, I like most Americans consume way too much sugar. Especially in my tea and I drink a lot of tea!

While searching I came across Stevia. I had heard about Stevia for a while but I’ve never thought about trying it till recently.

Stevia is an herb native to South America. The leaves of this plant can be use as there are to sweeten things or can be made into a powder. Stevia is only just now starting to re-enter America, whereas Japan has been using Stevia in many of it’s drinks and foods since the 1970’s!

Stevia is VERY sweet! It is up to 300 times sweeter then sugar! This means that you need very little Stevia to achieve your desired sweetness.

Stevia does not have any side effects. At least, Stevia by itself has no side effects. You must be warned that many Stevia companies add fillers or other ingredients to their Stevia and those very well may have side effects.

Stevia comes in quite a few forms; leaves, green powder, white powder, and liquid.

Stevia can have a slight licorice after taste. However, if you get the good stuff, then there is no after taste.

You want pure Stevia with nothing added.

Weight loss – Stevia has zero calories and zero carbs. This means a lot when you consider that the average American consumes anywhere from 450 to 650 calories daily just from sugar alone.

Stevia is good for diabetics as it has no adverse effects on blood sugar levels and it may even improve blood sugar levels!

Stevia has a Glycemic Index of 0.

Stevia is safe for teeth. Stevia does not cause tooth decay.

May reduce high blood pressure.

Anti-aging – Or at least it doesn’t attribute to aging. Sugar however, does.

You can make your own liquid Stevia by dissolving 1 teaspoon Stevia powder into 3 Tablespoons water.
Store in the refrigerator.

Stevia can be used in cooking and baking. Although it should be noted that Stevia is not a suitable alternative in recipes that use yeast or in recipes where caramelizing is desired.

An approximate sugar to Stevia conversion chart (note this is very approximate as Stevia can vary in sweetness and depending on the type of food you are making you may need more or less.

1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon powder Stevia

1 Tablespoon sugar = ¼ teaspoon powder Stevia

1 teaspoon sugar = a pinch to 1/16 teaspoon powder Stevia

I use KAL stevia extract powder. It comes in a very tiny bottle, the size most spices come in. However, in that one bottle there is over 1,000 servings! KAL claims to have no aftertaste and I quite agree; I notice no aftertaste!

Sugar Free Challenge Dinner Menu

You can’t start a week long sugar free challenge without planning your menu out. If you don’t, you will definitely end up with a night where you let some sugar slip in.

My dinners are not fancy. Very simple. Very basic. Very cheap. Yeah, cheap that’s what it’s really about.

Sugar Free Dinner Menu:

Sunday – Honey Mustard Chicken topped with Mozzarella and served with brown rice.

Monday – French Onion Soup

Tuesday – Ginger Chicken Stir-fry with brown rice

Wednesday – Margherita Chicken with brown rice noodles

Thursday – Chicken Fajitas on soaked whole wheat tortillas

Friday – Savory Chicken and Apples served with brown rice

Saturday – Pesto pizza with sun-dried tomatoes on a soaked whole wheat crust.

The "Everything in Moderation" Myth

You take a big sip of your soda and while smiling sheepishly you say to your friend “everything in moderation.” Sure you know the soda has high fructose corn syrup and a whole bunch of other nasty ingredients, you know that it has been contaminated with BPA…but everything in moderation, right?

This phrase bugs me. Everything in moderation is a phrase we use all the time. Usually we say it after doing something that is not all that healthy for us; drinking, smoking, eating unhealthy foods.

Now the phrase does make a point, you don’t want to over-do something nor do you want to under-do something; you should strive for just the right amount. However, when we begin to use that phrase as a crutch that allows us to continue our unhealthy, sometimes harmful ways it becomes a saying that is worth removing from our vocabulary.

My issues with “Everything in Moderation” mentality:

Who determines moderation? Think about it; say you are only eating sugar in moderation, what are you basing your moderation on? Are you looking at how much sugar Americans eat currently (180 lbs a year) or are you using an amount from further back like the 1800’s when people consumed just 18 lbs a year. See the problem? We keep increasing the norm. Your “in moderation” amount could very well be the “in excess” amount from just a few hundred years ago.

“Everything in moderation” really just means, “I don’t care”. It really does. Now I am no saint. I mean have you been reading my posts lately? I know I have mentioned my addiction to ice cream more then once recently. However, when I eat my bowl…alright my very large bowl of ice cream, I’m not kidding myself; there’s no in moderation about it, it’s pure, I don’t care about the junk in this ice cream right now I just want to eat it. If I did care, I’d cut out ice cream entirely or at least start making my own so it could be healthier!

Everything is ok in moderation. Really? Everything? I don’t think so. I would say there are plenty of things that are not ok in moderation. BPA, phthalates, aspartame, ok I’ll even say sugar because just one dose of sugar is going to lower your immune system instantly. Sure you might survive if you take everything in moderation but odds are there will be consequences.

Which brings me to my last issue. People need to research what they are taking in moderation. Or research what they are not taking in moderation for that matter. Just because the rest of America thinks something is safe doesn’t mean that it is. Look into something before you follow the crowd!

Like I said, I’m certainly not a perfect example on this. I have my faults; we all do. I just want to get the point across that “Everything in Moderation” is a myth!

Wool Dryer Balls

Want to save money when doing laundry? Want to stop using chemical laden dryer sheets? Look no further! Behold wool dryer balls. (note: ignore the pilling on my dryer balls; they’ve been used a few times and I’m not bothering to “shave” them)

Wool dryer balls are a great economical way to help dry laundry. Since adding them to my laundry, I have decrease my drying time by 25%! That might not sound like much but it adds up! For my cloth diaper load, that means I shaved off 30 minutes of dryer time!

What do wool dryer balls do:

Decreases drying time. Generally 4 dryer balls will cut a small load by 50% and a large load by 25%!

Saves money because you no longer need to buy dryer sheets (if you do that is) plus all the money you will save from running your dryer less.

Reduces static

Softens clothes

Is toxin free, unlike dryer sheets or the PVC dryer balls.

Safe for cloth diapers

Great way to soften towels since you shouldn’t use softener or dryer sheets on towels as both will reduce absorbency.

Safe for those with sensitive skin, which once again makes these a great alternative to dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener.

Last for years if you treat them right.

What’s even better is wool dryer balls are very easy to make. It really is just rolling wool yarn into a ball! Ok there’s a bit more to it but it is very simple! If you want to make some dryer balls for yourself check out this tutorial.

If you aren’t very crafty or just don’t want to spend your time winding balls of yarn, then I suggest checking out etsy.com. There are many sellers on etsy who sell wool dryer balls.

How many do you need? Here’s what I’ve heard recommended:

2-3 balls for softening

4-6 balls to reduce dryer time by 20-50% depending on load size.

7-10+ balls for really big loads.

I currently have 5 dryer balls. I’ll probably make some more in the future though as our new dryer takes forever to dry clothes! However, even with my 5 balls I’m loving the difference it is making.

*Update* Perhaps I didn't felt my wool dryer balls well enough (although I felted twice so I think that was plenty) but my balls have begun to unravel after 4 months.  So unless you buy/make the kind with wool roving or maybe crochet/knit some kind of casing (thinking about doing this), I recommend re-felting your balls every few months. Sigh...Still worth it but it means you need to remember to take care of your wool dryer balls instead of just forgetting about them in the dryer.

Getting Ready for the Sugar Free Challenge

I’ve decided that I am going to do a one-week sugar free challenge. I’m starting small. I can do 7 days; it’s not that long...

Why:

Why am I going sugar free? Well I’m partially curious to see if I can. I mean, I’m quite the sugar addict. My other reason is because sugar is related to many health issues.

Sugar related health issues include:

(may or may not be the sole reason for health issues depending on the issue)

Obesity

Cholesterol

Diabetes

Tooth decay and possibly gum disease

Depression

Hyperactivity

Mood swings

Lowers the immune system

Premature aging

Eczema

Kidney disease

Hinders mineral absorption

Cancer

How:

There are three levels of going sugar free.

Level 1 – No refined sugars such as white sugar, corn syrup, sucrose, etc. Also avoid all white flour/other refined grains, as it is very sugar forming. That I think is the tricky part. Instead I can use stevia, xylitol, honey, etc for my sugar. Instead of white flour, I’ll use whole-wheat flour. Instead of white rice, it will be brown rice. You get the idea.

Level 2 – Cut out all sugars whether they are natural or not and use only fruit as your source of sweetness. That means hot cocoa is out, everyone!

Level 3 – For the very daring, you can cut out all sugar forming foods which means most grains (whole or not), starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and fruit.

I will be doing level 1. I’m starting small.

When:

February 20^th – February 26^th 2011.

Please, feel free to join me! If you do decide to test your will power, post a comment and let me know! There is strength in numbers!

Pistachio Product: 100% Pure Cosmetics

I wear makeup. Not a ton, just enough. Now I suppose if I wanted to be extra crunchy, I’d give up my makeup ways and embrace my natural face…. But that’s not going to happen. I like my makeup.

Makeup does come with a long list of toxins. Many makeup brands contain lead, parabens, talc, and phthalates. That’s just a few of the many toxins in the products that we put on our face every single day!

If you want to know about the ingredients in your beauty products and see how toxic they are check out cosmeticsdatabase. This is a wonderful resource that helps you understand how toxic your products are and it can help you find products that are less harmful.

Knowing that I was slathering on harmful chemicals on my face everyday, I began to search for something better.

I found 100% Pure. I love this company! Their products are totally natural. There are no synthetic chemicals, no fake fragrances, no artificial colorings. Instead they use fruit and vegetable pigments, herbs, and teas to make their cosmetics.

The really great thing about 100% Pure is not only are you avoiding the bad ingredients but you are actually getting beneficial ingredients! You get antioxidants and vitamins from the natural ingredients. My skin is in much better shape since I switched to 100% Pure.

Want to know what I use?

Black Tea Mascara – Have you ever wanted to eat your mascara? That’s right, I said EAT! One smell of this mascara and you might think about it! Ok, it’s not that strong of a scent but it does smell yummy. It also works great. It doesn’t smudge like some natural mascaras.

Fruit Pigmented Brightening Concealer with SPF 20 – Works great and has a safe sunscreen too!

Foundation Powder with SPF 20 – Full of good stuff and covers well!

Lip and Cheek Tint – Smells yummy and I can use it as a blush or lip tint.

Powdered Eye Shadows – Tons of shades!

Now I won’t lie, this stuff is more money then you’d normally spend for off the shelf makeup. Most natural makeup is a bit pricey. However, I think it’s worth it. A great idea is to make it your Christmas or birthday present. That’s what I do.

If you want a great natural makeup, check 100% Pure Cosmetics out. They have some great stuff.

Note: I’m not being paid for this post in any way. I just adore their products!

Strawberry Ice Cream Alternative

Ice cream is yummy, there's no denying that! As an ice cream addict, I definitely enjoy it by the pints. However, let's face it, ice cream is not exactly healthy. Now I seriously doubt that I will ever give up my beloved ice cream, however I think I've found a good substitute that will at least help me buy my pints less often.

I'm a smoothie maker. I do smoothies for lunch all the time. In an attempt to make my usual smoothie just a bit yummier, I stumbled upon my Strawberry Ice Cream smoothie. Yum!

Now I won't lie, this obviously isn't the texture of ice cream. It's no substitute there! It does however, taste just like strawberry ice cream!

Strawberry Ice Cream Smoothie

Makes 1 overflowing 16 oz cup

1 cup milk

1/2 frozen banana

4 frozen strawberries

1/16 tsp or so Stevia (That's as close a measurement as I can figure...I use 1 of the tiny scoops that KAL stevia provides)

Put ingredients in blender and blend away. You may need to tap it down to get it to start blending smoothly as this is a lot of frozen fruits. It will be worth it!

Yummy and much healthier the ice cream!

Fenugreek - For Breastfeeding

I don’t make milk like a normal mama. I’m a too low – bare minimum type mama. My two boys were formula fed or part formula fed. This time however, I’m able to solely breastfeed.

In the beginning, I had too low of a supply. Baby #3 wasn’t gaining properly. I therefore, started on every method to increase supply known to women. Most of the methods, worked a bit for me. (Note: All supply increasing methods work differently for every woman. Some respond to one and not another.) They got me from not enough to just barely enough. However, I knew that it wasn’t going to be enough, if I wanted to breastfeed her for longer then a month or two.

Enter Fenugreek. Fenugreek seems to be the winner for me.

Fenugreek is an herb that has been recommended for increasing milk supply for centuries. Many women will double their supply with fenugreek. Fenugreek isn’t some random herb either; we actually use it quite often in cooking. It can be found in many curries, chutneys, Five Spice mixtures, and even in artificial maple syrup.

Dosage:

No less then 6 capsules a day. Most seem to recommend taking 3 pills 3 times a day. Yes, that is a whole lot of pills! If that dosage doesn’t work then you can up it to 4 pills 3 times a day for a total of 12. It is also said that you will know you are taking enough and that it is working when your sweat and urine smell like maple syrup. I personally didn’t notice that strong of an odor…. but maybe it’s supposed to be faint.

Most women will notice a supply increase by 24-72 hours. However, it can take up to two weeks for some women to notice a change. It took me about a week of taking fenugreek until I noticed that baby #3 was finally happy after a feeding.

Fenugreek does not need to be continually taken after supply has increased. There isn’t any harm in continuing to take the pills but generally once your supply has increased you can stop taking them. Basically, fenugreek will get you to where you need to be and then baby will keep you there.

Caution:

Allergies - Those with peanut or chickpea allergies may want to use fenugreek with caution or avoid it all together. Fenugreek is in the same family as chickpeas and peanuts. My lactation consultant actually didn’t prescribe me fenugreek because one of my sons is allergic to peanuts. She of course, didn’t want to take the risk. However, I felt like that wouldn’t be a problem for me as I am not the one allergic (I think she was more worried about the baby) and I had been drinking tea that had fenugreek in it with no problems. So I went out and bought myself a bottle. However, the warning is still there. If you are allergic you may want to avoid fenugreek.

Diabetes or hypoglycemia – Fenugreek lowers blood glucose levels and in some studies reduces blood cholesterol. Generally this is only a concern if you are for some reason taking higher doses then the one above. However diabetics should only take fenugreek if they have good control of their blood glucose levels.

Pregnancy – Fenugreek is considered a uterine stimulant and has been used to aid and induce labor. Therefore, if you are pregnant avoid fenugreek.

I’m glad I gave fenugreek a try. It’s not much for a bottle of pills (I paid maybe $5) and it was what I needed. Baby #3 is not gaining properly again and she’s much happier.