Its a Miracle!

A Noodle Worth Talking About

I absolutely love Asian food! Yummy noodles smothered with spicy peanut sauce, covered in tons of chicken or tofu and mixed vegetables is definitely one of my favorite meals. But now I have finally found a noodle that I do not have to think twice about eating. The Miracle Noodle may very well be close to a miracle in my book! The directions on the package tell you exactly how to prepare them and it is easier than easy! Just open the package, rinse the noodles, par boil them for 1 minute, drain and dry on paper towels and prepare the way you would any other noodle. In my case I was in the mood for some Asian style so I added a tiny bit of a nice, spicy peanut sauce and stir fried tofu coated in nutritional yeast. It was very flavorful and fulfilled my noodle desire while providing me 0 calories. Yummy!  Click here to find out more about the Miracle Noodle. The funny thing is that the package says 2.5 servings per package but if it is 0 calories who really cares if you eat the whole bag?

Directions are easy! Drain and rinse, par boil for 1 minute, drain and dry.

They have very similar consistency to regular angel hair pasta.

This is the peanut sauce I used...Yummy and so versatile. 

Tofu over Miracle Noodles in the bowl on the left. The bowl on the right is tofu topped with nutritional yeast.

Get your salt fix...the kale way!

Kale Chips....mmm mmm!

Ahhh, its so very close to fall. The crisp mornings running out the door to catch the bus and the sunny afternoons running up the hill from the bus and into the kitchen door make it even more fun to make healthy favorites for my family. My now kindergartner and second grader always come home very thirsty and extremely hungry. Thankfully we have some down time when they get home to enjoy each other and have a big, hearty snack which typically turns into a very early dinner. Today we made kale chips...their way. The boys came home to a bowl of already made kale chips and a huge bunch of kale ready to be prepped by them to make into more chips. They love to eat and thankfully all 3 of my children love to cook. So as Will finished his homework Dean washed, trimmed, tore, salted and sprayed the kale. When it was done we all enjoyed a healthy, fun snack. We were having so much fun cooking that we kept going and prepared our dinner's main course of salmon cakes. I will post that protein, Omega 3 rich recipe later in the week. Just a little teaser....the kids LOVED the salmon cakes too! Score for Mom! High 5's for me!

For the recipe all you need is a bunch of kale that has been washed and dried very well, olive oil spray, salt and pepper!

Just tear the leaves off of the stem, spray the pan with olive oil, then lay the kale in a single layer. Spray a light coating of olive oil on top of the kale, sprinkle salt, pepper and any other seasonings you like (also good with Parmesan cheese!). 

Put in the oven at 350* for 10-15 minutes or until the edges curl and each leaf is very crisp....so crisp it almost melts in your mouth.

Then ENJOY! It is salty and crispy like popcorn but  with tons of vitamins!

Tasty Spicy Pumpkin Muffins❤❤

My very toughest critics just named these gluten free pumpkin spice muffins. My good friend's daughter cannot have anything with gluten so I just whipped these pumpkin spice muffins up for her. I also made them sugar free and only used 1/4 cup olive oil for the entire 24 big muffins. Here is the recipe. I had one (ok ok I had 2... I must tell the truth!) right out of the oven, I cut the muffins in half horizontally and smeared about 2 teaspoons natural peanut butter for my children. I had natural almond butter with my muffins. Yummy!

Tasty Spicy Pumpkin Muffins:
2 3/4 Cup quinoa flour
1/4 Cup coconut flour
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
2 T cinnamon
2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1 t salt
2 T pure cocoa
1/4 C olive oil
3 C pure pumpkin
2 t pure vanilla
4 eggs
2 droppers full pure stevia
1 C pure applesauce
Directions:
Over 350• Spray muffin tin with non stick spray and set aside. In medium sized bowl mIx first 9 ingredients. In separate large bowl mix last 6 ingredients until well mixed. Gently fold dry ingredients into the moist ingredients in larger bowl. Mix only until combined, it will be thick and lumpy. Full each muffin tin 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake. Best right from the oven with peanut butter or almond butter. Enjoy!

Stay tuned.... It's fall and my German Apple Cake is super tasty too!

Time Is On Your Side

Give Me A Minute!

It costs nothing, it creates bonds, it changes everything...its Time. I heard so many things that made me want to create a new post today but it was 2 particular people who said 2 particular things to me that really made me run to the computer to jot down my thoughts. I'll start with a big one, "Eating well is really tough, isn't it, Alaina?". You know what, it may be a little more time consuming to make a salad then to open up a tin can or rip open a candy bar and toss it in your mouth but with some planning and thinking ahead eating healthfully can be just as fast. Planning is a healthy eater's best friend. Time is on your side if you think ahead. My Mama always said, "You make time for what you want...what is important to you" and she is right. I plan play times, reading times, home work time, exercise times and relaxing times with my children. I want to eat healthfully so I plan my family meals in advance. I also plan exercising into my day each and every day. At the moment I am not overly worried about my messy house so I have planned minimal time to give it the deep clean that it truly needs. When you think about your week, all the appointments, school work, work, and fun to be had also plan your meals. Make a list of must have on hand foods for your refrigerator and make sure to stock up before Monday morning comes. My top 5 must have foods are #1 Eggs, #2 Salad, #3 Salsa, #4 Fish and #5 Blueberries. These are the top 5 foods consumed in my home by my 3 kids and me. With a little preparation on Sunday night I save calories and add nutrients for those times when we are all starving and in need of some "fast food". In my case fast food for the kids tends to be carrots, broccoli and hummus and for me its celery and salsa. Make sure that you spend a little time on Sunday night preparing for your busy week ahead. It will save you time throughout the week and save your waistline at the same time. While you are at it schedule exercising into your daily calendar and stick to it. If you like lists then create one like I do each morning. My to do list is always on the back of already used paper and always starts like this:

1. Wake up

2. Brush Teeth

3. Work out

etc etc etc.........

I always write "wake up" first so that I can wake up and immediately check one thing off of my list. I am a goal oriented person, competitive in nature and I like to be able to immediately check something off my list and the first 2 are simple and fast!

Thank you for taking using one of your precious gifts to read what I have to say. Your time is so valuable and so is your health!