Free Exercise Programs

Biggest key to effective exercise is move your body–and move it in a way that is enjoyable to you. You may be thinking “Great, I don’t like ANY exercise.” Which may seem true but the reality is you like “being lazy”. We all do, it is natural–a survival instinct in all of us to exist without complication. Exercise can cause increased heart rate, sweat, fatigue and a need for our body to adapt to make it less challenging–our body does not want that challenge–AT FIRST!  There is something for everyone when you consider all we are required to do is move our body more than we already do now. So–when you park in the parking lot do not circle the closest spots like a vulture–park further down and take an extra 45 seconds walking into the store, to your job, to your destination objective

So–what exercise do you already do that you had no idea was exercise? Listening to music while you clean or cook dinner? Move more while you do it. Going to get the mail–walk faster–you get the idea right?

Do you know how to get healthy? Stay slim? Have enough energy to keep up with the world around you? I do–it is Simple.Clean.Foods. You can’t exercise off a bad diet–ever. You do not need fancy juice machines, starvation plans, no carbs, low carbs, no fats etc. You just have to eat healthy foods at a lower calorie level than the calories you spend each day–it is SO EASY!

Ok, so with that in mind–we are offering the best deal on our book yet. Between now and New Years you can use THIS SITE ONLY and buy Squeaky Gourmet-Simple.Clean.Food for only $11.99–shipping included!

ISBN 978-0979560606

I am sick of seeing so many unhealthy people wandering the maze of the marketplace looking for some sort of super cure. So–offer the book to co-workers, friends, family etc. Let’s give the give that really does keep on giving..a healthy legacy!

Broccoli Pumpkin Seed Salad

5 c chopped broccoli small bites
3 scallions with part of the green chopped
1/4 c diced carrot
1/2 c diced celery
1/4 c toasted pumpkin seeds

dressing
3 T vegan mayo
5 T champagne vinegar
1-2 T agave nectar
1 t balsamic vinegar

Mix all the dressing ingredients well and pour over the rest of the salad.  Refrigerate until ready to eat. This even gets better the next day.  Soooo good.

So much texture and flavor!

And I still have broccoli left so I kept on cooking.

Simple Roasted Broccoli

Chop the broccoli into large pieces
Place in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil to lightly coat and then toss in lots of chunky steak seasoning.
Heat oven to 425, spread broccoli on a sheet pan and cook for 15-25 mins until fork tender.  Look out the florets will burn if you leave in too long.

The Crop

Fresh tomato simmer sauce or Soup

3t minced garlic or more
2 leeks chopped fine
1 big onion chopped
2T olive oil
1 green bell pepper chopped
3-4 leaves kale chopped
12 big tomatoes or 3 cans unsalted diced tomatoes
2T fresh thyme or 2t dried
2c water
2 veg bouillon cube
1 sm can green chills
2 bay leaves
1.5 T dry basil
1 t black pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t dry rosemary
1 t cumin
1 T soy sauce
1/4 c red lentils
1/4 c dry split peas

In a large soup pot heat oil then cook the first 3 ingredients on low for 15 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil then simmer for 2 hours.  At this point you have a wonderful soup.  If you want a sauce, use a submersible wand blender and blend the soup to a less chunky texture.  It it is too watery,  cook uncovered until it thickens.  I chose to use this amazing stuff for a very healthy  lasagna.

10 calories per serving--guiltless decadence!

As part of being a blogger for Foodbuzz  Tastemaker program, I received a large package of  Ghirardelli’s new “Intense Dark” line of chocolate. Now, if you know me well you know I do not like chocolate very much at all. Dark chocolate is the epitome of chocolate. They even included a bar of chocolate that was 86% cacao. What? This is not bakers chocolate either?! Gross–I accept the challenge!!

Wow--now if only I liked chocolate!

I have plenty of eggs at home–no thanks to the chickens! I also had some new instant espresso I had just gotten that I wanted to try.  So–adding all those ingredients together along with once serving size of Ghirardelli’s “Sea Salt Soiree”   I came up with a great idea for a treat! Sometimes we all need a little treat, intense with flavor, to stave off any cravings we are worried about succumbing to, right?  Like that “night-cap” we look for before we settle in for the night or those pesky afternoon grazing urges we get. These cookies are so perfect for this, at only 10 calories a pop–(yeah 10 calories!!) . You will so enjoy the depth of this 72% dark chocolate with the savory pairing of the sea salt and the sweetness of the roasted almonds in a chewy bite sized cookie!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Meringue Bites
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 serving size dark chocolate (3 squares)
3 pinches cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 rounded teaspoon instant espresso
1 teaspoon cinnamon

See that one stubborn piece? I ate it.

Preheat oven to 215 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. ( I used miniature cupcake papers) Take your squares of the “Sea Salt Sioree” and added them to my coffee grinder. (the chocolate works best if you freeze it for a few hours first) Grind it all finely–you want it to fold it into the egg whites and let it blend fully instead of leaving chocolate chunks in the bite sized morsels.

Looks good enough to eat already!

Add egg whites to mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form then add the 3 pinches of cream of tartar.  Continue beating adding in the espresso and sugar slowly as the egg whites thicken. Stay of whipping the whites until they  are shiny and hold very stiff peaks.

I see sea salt.

Add the finely ground chocolate to the egg whites and gently fold in–you are not mixing it with any sort of effort here. Don’t go crazy thinking about all the chocolate and ruin the fluffy egg whites. I know how crazy you people can get about chocolates. Remain calm until you may eat them.

My makeshift decorator bag and zero skills.

Once the chocolate has been fully incorporated into the you can add the meringue to a large plastic freezer bag with the tip cut out. I used a frosting tip thinking I had some sort of mad skill with decorating with egg whites–turns out I posses no such skill.

40 servings equals 400 calories

Once each cup is filled and you have used all the meringue you can place the cookies on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. back for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Once they are firm to the touch you can turn off the oven and open the door and allow the cookies to sit in there for about an hour longer.

Once the cookies have fully cooled sprinkle with cinnamon and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

The cookies actually improved in texture and in taste after storing in the freezer for a few days. the texture is divine, really. It is firm like a meringue cookie when you first put it in your mouth but soon it softens into a caramel like texture as the rich flavors of the cookie grab your taste buds and give them a firm slap. So–these are time-consuming because they do take a while to bake–however, these are perfect to keep in your freezer when you may be looking for a snack, a treat–just that “something” that you keep wandering into the kitchen looking for. This is healthy eaters MUST HAVE!

I get to cook a lot–like a lot, a lot!
I get to force my family to talk to me about the foods I cook for them. Sadly, they love to tell me what they do not like quicker than they admit the dishes they do like.
I get free things!! (actually really coolio free things too–more on that to come!)
I have other professional health food enthusiasts ask me to check out a few recipes for them–which means more cooking and more eating–and I did not have to be the recipient of the family’s comments! (completely kidding they still blame me)

So, when Trufflehead emailed offering for me to be a guest blogger on their iPhone App I jumped at the opportunity-mostly because one of the recipes offered was a Cauliflower soup with Moroccan spices. I needed that recipe and would do anything for it! (anything in this case was simply hit reply and respond with “yes, I would love to.” phew, eh?) So, to brag a bit, here is the blog review of the recipe that was AMAZING–so amazing my family left no comment on it because it was mine, all mine and I did not share it.

Click this image to read the review of this AMAZING soup!

They also let me try out an old favorite of mine with a new twist (yeah–it is healthy this time!)

Click to read my review of this HOT appetizer!

They have SO MANY MORE healthy recipes but amazing chefs and health experts–I saw the preview of the app and it  is super cool!  You can buy it directly here for your phone–it is not for android yet or I would be using it daily–even just for food porn!  Trufflehead Recipe/Cooking Tool App it does grocery lists, video cooking tips etc. 

So–check out the application and the reviews and I may just have a give away for you–but it will have to be earned–prove you went to the site etc!!!

Lately I have watched the show “Mad Men” on Netflix–have you seen it? It is set back in the 1960′s and they really try to show  a housewife then compared to now. I think this is a recipe perfect for a housewife set back in time–or moms who like to make it all from scratch!  When I made this fruit leather I did not realize it would take far longer to cook than the original recipe I found at Skinnymom.com . Well, they called it fruit rolls–I made mine thicker. I also thought the 3/4 cup of sugar was a ridiculous amount to add to dried fruit–not such a great after school snack if you ask me. So–I set out to try to make it sans sugar. That, my friends, is why it took me so long. I felt like a real 1960′s housewife working on a snack item for about 6 hours–so if you are short on time and do not mind the sugar SURGE for the kids you can of course add back in the sugar.

However, despite the long cooking time, this was so easy to prepare. You can turn on the fruit to boil down and start your daily chores of vacuuming, dusting, waxing, polishing, laundry, bathroom and bedroom cleaning. By the time your afternoon chores roll around you will be taking the fruit leather out of the oven and cooling it in front of the open window while changing into your dinner attire and wait for your husband to come home</sarcasm>. Typing that out and actually picturing it gave me an eye twitch.

Fruit Leather (made with love,patience and fruit)

These are perfect--see why I did not add any sugar?

Step One: Find Lonely and forgotten fruits. I love the shelf in the back at our market–we can get discounted fruit that really is not presentable but are great to use in cooking. Yup–organic fruits marked down to pennies a pound. PENNIES A POUND MOMS!! 

YUM! Fruit Soup!

Step Two: Add the fruits of choice to a large pot set on medium heat. I added bananas, kiwi, apple (skin on), mango, and about 1/4c high Pulp orange juice. 

cauldron burn and cauldron bubble

Step Three: Cook until it is reduced by about 2/3rd. It took me about 2 hours to get it to cook down to a little under half and I should have cooked it longer. The colors will really deepen while it cooks and  you will need to scrape down the sides of the pan as it reduces. It smelled so delicious–warm and fruity like a fall day in the apple orchards. Set oven to 250 degrees F.

The original recipe called for parchment paper. I keep forgetting I am Martha Stewart when I am at the market and do not buy any.  I need to add a reminder to my smart phone–I wonder if there is a Martha Stewart app for that.

Set it and Forget it!

Step Four: Spread fruit evenly and thinly in the backing pan–use caution because it is HOT! In this picture you can see how I spread my fruit a bit uneven and it was a little too thick. So–you do it right–learn from my errors.  Bake for about 4 hours depending on your oven and the thickness of the fruit. When it looks like leather then remove it from the oven and flip the fruit over–it will be MUCH smaller. Place back in the oven and shut it off. 

The Amazing Cooling of the Fruit Strips

Step Five: Once the fruit has cooled to the touch remove from oven and cut into shapes, strips, words. This is a fun idea so be creative! Sharp cookie cutters would also be fun!  Let them air dry and then store in a cool dry place in plastic bags. I made sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag and sealed them and just kept mine in the fridge. 

Making Fruit Leather tells the kids you love them.

Other Good Ideas: The fruit mixture here can be stored in the fridge for about a week.
-Use this to replace fats in baking recipes.
-Swirl some into yogurt for a smoothie tasting treat for the kids.
-Stir a bit into our granola recipe in Squeaky Gourmet in place of half of the juice.

Please check out our book and our reviews for more information about Squeaky Gourmet and the recipes you can prepare for your family with just a little help from us!

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Sunshine and Lemon Pops

Yay for summer! There are lazy days, trips to the beach, and kickball in the backyard. My kids love
summer and they love flavored ice pops. They also love gardening. We live in the city in an apartment
building. We have no backyard space for our dream garden. So we work with our little 12 foot by 3
foot patch of earth we can plant in. A few years ago we found Lemon Balm Herb at a local nursery and
couldn’t wait to plant it. After 3 years of having it grace our garden, this year I wanted to find a way to
actually use it other than to rub between my fingers for the incredible soothing smell. I knew you could
make tea with Lemon Balm leaves so I decided to try to make some ice pops for the kids to enjoy since
lemons, ice and summer go so well together.

It’s a simple, easy recipe that even your kids can help you with. Not to mention that there are
no artificial colors, preservatives or sweeteners like the many ice pops you get from the store. (And
these are lower in sugar too!) Start by cutting some lemon balm from your plant. Enough to fill two 20
ounce Mason canning glass jars (I just use the glass jars I save from when I buy store bought Classico
marinara sauce) Don’t be stingy-stuff that lemon balm in!

More Lemon Balm!

Fill each jar with boiling water. Let it seep for 20 minutes. Drain using a colander and/or cheesecloth (if
you have tiny pieces of leaves)

Add one teaspoon (or more to taste) of Agave syrup. You could also use honey. Stir well.

Now comes the fun part. Pick some fresh berries to add. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries are our
favorite. Using ice pop molds pour in liquid and add some berries. We also used ice trays so we can
add some of the ice cubes to our summer iced tea. Freeze and enjoy!!

The kids like it more when they get to help!

My kids know that a meal over 500 calories is just too much.

My second oldest son, Sebastian, works at a local marketplace. Recently a customer came in and asked him where she could locate the Velveeta. Sebastian asked her to explain to him what she was looking for “What is Velveeta?” is essentially what he was asking her. She explained it is what his mother would use if she made macaroni and cheese at home. Sebastian said he was really perplexed and told the woman that when his mother makes that dish she uses real cheese. I was so happy when he repeated the story to me!

So, see, I do use heavy calorie laden foods in the house–butter,cream, real cheese! I am also teaching the value of that food. How many people sit and watch TV with their child and the second their child says they want something in an advertisement? Most times my kids see an ad on TV they yell they want it, like it, are interested in obtaining as many of the item as they can. Most parents either explain that the product is junk, ignore the ad completely and the child or tell them to save up to earn the product themselves. I do not know of many parents who will grab that little kid by the shoulders with an excitement to match and yell “GET IN THE CAR! Let’s get it now!”. Regardless of price, they can have it, regardless of quality they can have it, regardless of safety even, they can have it. (See where I am going here or is this still too subtle?)

Money has a distinct value–we can either afford something or we cannot. Food is the same–we can afford some and not afford others. There is no need for people to be all emotional over food education for children. If your child wants to eat 6 donuts in a row–you can tell him no and why. If your child wanted 6 of the EXACT SAME TOY wouldn’t you tell him no? What would he do with 6 of the exact same things? It would be too many, there is no need for 6–you only need one. What would the body do with 6 donuts? Where would it even put all the extra donut after it has used the energy from the first donut?

Did you know if you put out Styrofoam balls in a chicken run they will eat them? They will eat each Styrofoam ball that they can peck at. Peculiar, right? People do the same thing when they are not paying attention to what they eat. I want to make sure my kids learn early on to pay attention and to not be a chicken.

If you are completely unsure on what to make for your kids–don’t forget all our recipes are “kid tested and healthy mom approved”. Pick up a copy today at Amazon.com or your local bookstore!
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