Lasagna & Spaghetti? Yes, please...

Birthday time, and the kids requested Spaghetti & Meatballs. Again? I kinda whined on the inside....yep. Again. So, I suggested that we try some Lentil Meatballs this time, using their favorite Lentil Burger recipe, and they nearly jumped out of their skin with excitement. And it worked! It was so delicious!
So, for Meatballs, take this recipe, and instead of making patties, make balls. Cook for a little less time and voila!

The sauce I used was the following:
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
10 large button mushrooms, chopped or sliced
1 cup grated carrot
2-3 large clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 quart diced tomatoes
1/3 cup spaghetti sauce mix
2-3 cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste

In a large pot, lightly saute chopped veggies in olive oil add garlic and saute a bit longer. Add remaining ingredients.  Slowly bring to a simmer stirring frequently.  Add any wanted seasonings to taste

4 tsp. vegetable broth powder

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. crushed fennel

1 tsp. sea salt or to taste

1/2 tsp. pepper

Simmer at least 1 hour. Add meatballs and gentle stir. Serve over your favorite pasta.

 

 

Save 2-3 cups sauce prior to adding the meatballs for lasagna later in the week, or to freeze for later.

Lasagna

15 sprigs fresh parsley, take leaves off and finely chop

1/4 lb fresh spinach, finely chopped

3 c ricotta cheese

16 oz Italian cheese mix (mozzerella, asiago, romano, provolone)

3/4 c Parmesan

2 t dried basil (or finely chopped fresh basil)

2 t oregano

1 t fennel

1 t sea salt

1/2 t fresh pepper

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

Sauce

Mix together all ingredients except noodles & sauce. Place 3 noodles in sprayed 9x13 pan. Top with 1/2 cheese mix. Top with 3 more noodles and rest of cheese mix. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes covered in foil. Sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan and bake uncovered for 15-20 more minutes until bubbly. :)

Carrie's Favorite Salad

I'm out of town right now, and quite frankly, it's been quite nice to prepare meals without kiddos tugging on me. I miss those kiddos sooo much, though, and the payoff when I cook isn't quite like it is when I'm cooking for my sweeties. But, my sister kinda likes this salad. Craves it, even. Sorry, no picture. Maybe I'll make it later and take a picture:


Carrie's Favorite Salad
Your favorite greens (we did a baby spring mix and some spinach)
3-4 clementines, peeled and sectioned
1/4 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c raw sunflower seeds
chopped almonds
big handful organic raisins
opt: sprinkling of unsweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients and serve with a salad dressing of 2 parts cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, 1 part raw apple cider vinegar, 1 part raw honey, 1 T poppy seeds.

Spring Strawberry Salad

Spring is in the air! Our kids loved helping make this. Only took a few minutes to throw together. Enjoy!!

Spring Strawberry Salad
Spinach-our big family uses about 1/2 pound at least!
1/2 small container organic strawberries, sliced
1/4 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c raw unsweetened shredded coconut
1/8 c raw sunflower seeds
opt-1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Combine and drizzle with some Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing.

Acupuncture

Back pain runs in my family. For me to go a few months without pain is pretty miraculous, but I went 3 years after my first encounter with a Chinese doctor of acupuncture. Check her out here!

 What is acupuncture? Taken from her website:
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine needles into specific points of the body. The insertion and placement of these needles change the energy currents and patterns (Qi) in the body in beneficial ways. This ancient art of healing, along with herbal treatments, nutrition, and exercise, works with the natural vital energies of the body to promote its self-healing ability.  The proper use of acupuncture and herbs will bring the body’s Qi into proper balance.

I went back 2 weeks ago because I was feelin some not so fun things in my back again, and she has once again done amazing things! She can take my pulse and look at my tongue and tell me what my needs are, how cool is that! I love going to someone and have them tell me how to heal and prevent future problems instead of being slapped with a scrip to treat the symptoms.

For back pain we have also done massage therapy and chiropractic work with success. But did you know Acupuncture can also help with infertility, PMS, depression, anxiety, stress, allergies (seasonal AND food), high blood pressure, lupus, ulcers, asthma, colds/flu, diabetes, and so much more! See here for a list.

Have you ever been to an acupuncturist? What did you think?

Red Velvet Pancakes

This would be really fun for Valentine's Day, cooked in a heart shape. We decided we could have eaten it plain or for dessert, but we served with the choice of Grade B Maple Syrup or homemade mixed berry syrup. Heavenly!

1½ c buttermilk or almond milk
2 eggs
2 T coconut oil
½ beet, roasted and peeled
⅓ c sucanut
1 t vanilla 
¼ c raw cacao powder
1½ c Kamut flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
½ t  sea salt 

Add first 6 ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and 4-6 times until dry ingredients are incorporated; do not over blend. Allow batter to rest 5 minutes.  Heat griddle or other pan over medium-low heat; use coconut oil to grease surface.  Cook pancakes as usual, making sure it is cooked all the way before flipping over. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven at 200°F loosely wrapped in foil.

Note: To roast a beet, remove beet greens, set greens aside for use in green smoothies and wash beet thoroughly.  Wrap beet in foil and place in 400°F oven and roast for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.  After the roasted beet has cooled, peel and cut in half.


--To make Mixed Berry syrup, add 6 cups of frozen mixed berries to large blender with 1 1/2 c hot water and 1/2 c maple syrup. Pulse until chunky. Mmmmm!!!

Immunity Booster

I thought I had already written about this, but here are a few more ideas for natural remedies that we have used successfully:
-Garlic-still my fav for nipping it quick! The earlier in your sickness you take it (the first hint of a sore throat, etc.) the better! We have put it in mashed potatoes, but you can also crush and diced it fine, mix with butter and spread on a piece of bread. Mmmmm! The longer you wait, the more you'll have to take, as I've learned the hard way.
-mix grapefruit seed extract and elderberry powder into flavored kefir for immunity boost
-the immunity tea that I talked about in an earlier post is absolutely wonderful on a sore throat. Both my hubby and I loved it!
-water water water!! The kids have come home from school a few times with headaches, etc. It was because of dehydration. After drinking 2 cups of water they felt much better. Water will really help spread the good stuff around your body and clean the bad stuff out. Isn't it cool how efficient our bodies are???

Couscous with Vegetables & Green PolkaDot Box

We got our first Green PolkaDot Box the week before last! We are huge fans of this new company. Service was prompt, and they took such good care of us! They are like a small Whole Foods online, and will be expanding as they grow by offering more variety of products. What we have used so far, we really really like! The prices aren't all great, but most of them are just WOW! Click here to learn more about them!

This is a new favorite! Sooo colorful and soooo yummy! I love couscous, always have.

2 C whole wheat couscous
2 1⁄2 C filtered water
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained well, or 1 1/2 c of cooked black beans
1 c carrots, diced very small
3/4 c diced celery
2 bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow), diced very small 
1 onion, diced very small
2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1⁄2 C each fresh parsley and cilantro, chopped (you can use dried if you don't have any fresh)
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. sea salt, or more
freshly ground pepper to taste
optional: 1⁄4 c fresh mint, chopped-we tried this and didn't care for the mint
optional: 2 c mushrooms, sauteed for 2 min. in 2 tsp. olive oil (our kiddos don't like mushrooms. Sad!)


Bring the water to a boil in a large pan, add the couscous, then turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let it sit for 20 minutes. 


Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl, then add the mixture to the couscous. Toss with dressing (below) and serve warm.
Dressing:
1⁄4 c extra virgin olive oil 
2 T flaxseed oil
1⁄2 c fresh lemon juice
2 t ground turmeric
Shake all ingredients in a pint jar and stir into warm couscous mixture.