Food, Food, Shopping, Cooking, & More Food

You might want to get yourself situated, get a snack, and get comfy, cause this post is not short and sweet.

Susanne recently left me a comment asking this:
"I have a question/request for you.  I love when you post the different healthy things you are eating/cooking.  Could you do a post where you list everything you plan to eat or cook for a few days or a week?  I'm trying to eat healthier but run out of ideas and/or get lazy."

Don't we all run out of ideas?!
Thanks so much for asking this Susanne because I have been holding back some of my food pictures thinking that others might get bored of seeing what we are eating or cooking.  And I know I'm no food blogger, so maybe it's best to leave it up to them. 

Well,
A while back after I saw Michael Pollan on an Oprah episode, I read his books Food Rules and The Omnivore's Dilemma.  I swear that Oprah, and his books are what made me want to learn more about where our food comes from.  We've been making slow and steady changes with our diet ever since.  I am currently reading this...

and last night, Mr. Hass and I finished watching the documentary Forks Over Knives.  Please watch it.  I know not everyone is a foodie, or thinks that they are better off not knowing stuff that may gross them out.  But FOK is the most informative and interesting food documentary I've seen yet.  We netflixed it.  I promise it will not be a waste of your time.

I am learning how to remove processed foods from our diet.
It is certainly taking some work, and time to read and research recipes and ideas, but it is worth it in the long run.  Mr. Hass and I have been eating 95% unprocessed foods for about a week and we both just feel so much better.  I've been trying a lot of recipes from pinterest, and have found a couple helpful blogs full of ideas too.  This blog has been so amazingly helpful with lots of great articles and tips.

So let's get to the food shall we?
Last week I tried these stuffed bell peppers one night...

They were good.  I might add a bit more spices to the sauce next time to jazz it up a bit.  recipe here.

We were all HUGE fans of this cauliflower pizza!!!

  So scrumptious and I must say not difficult at all.  I would like to get a "grown up" sized food processor eventually though.  I have a mini so that took me a little longer to rice the entire head of cauliflower but totally worth it for this healthy version of pizza!
My only advice; roll the cauliflower (or pat) it out thin enough.  A couple of my crusts were a bit smooshy in the center and they could have been thinner and crispier.  recipe here.

I found this breakfast cookie/snack recipe on pinterest and am so glad I did!! I have probably made this 5 or 6 times already. 

Mr. Hass and I have whipped em up together at night (it only takes a couple of minutes) and then we've taken em to work or eaten them at home reheated in the morning for a healthy and filling breakfast. recipe here.

Also from pinterest, yes I know hot dogs are "processed foods" but I used chicken dogs from Trader Joe's and stabbed them with whole wheat pasta noodles.

Simply boil until done and the girls got an absolute kick out of them.  I did not eat them.  ;)

In an effort to keep more fruits and veggies on hand for easy snacking, I thought I deserved to add this adorable fruit tier to my Target cart.

I love all the color that it adds to the kitchen.  Do you see my breadmaker on the counter in the background there?  I've been trying to perfect my bread makin' skills.

I tried this yogurt whole wheat loaf that was so unbelievably good.  I've made this recipe twice.  And a sweet reader Tonya shared her family's favorite recipe with me and thank you so much Tonya I cannot wait to try it!!!

These are chicken lasagna roll ups found on pinterest.

These were really easy, tasty, and the best part of all, both my girls ate every last drop on their plate!! I couldn't believe it.  I will definitely be making this one again.  It is easy to change up the flavors too with different sauces or meats, or cheese combinations.

recipe here.

I made pinto beans in the crockpot for the first time and they were gooooood!

The recipe called for 1/2 of a jalapeno but next time I think I'd use a whole one.  I set them up at 9am and they were ready to eat by 5.  recipe here.

To go with the crockpot refried beans, I tried this health(ier) version of nachos, also seen on pinterest.

You could essentially top them with anything you want.  I used freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, black beans, tiny bit red onion, and after broiling, topped with fresh cilantro.

That's Mr. Hass squeezing a little lime on his quinoa (cooked in chicken stock).

recipe for nachos here.

With all of this cooking I've been doing, the amount of dishes I've also been doing is a little depressing...

so in an effort to keep the excitement going in the kitchen, Mr. Hass okay'd my trip to Sur La Table last weekend!  I love that store and could honestly spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars in there.  I didn't, but I could.  Here's what I got...

a yellow cuisinart immersion blender, cute pot holder on sale, cute oven mitt on sale, a rad garlic press that takes the smell off your hands, a cedar plank, fun cheese grater, cute polka dot tea towel, and that super cute reisenthel farmers market bag that was on clearance.  I can't wait to go to the market looking all stylish with my new bag.  ;)

Oh yeah, also got those dry measuring cups that I needed for my bread making.
And last night, I got to try out my immersion blender for the first time while making split pea soup.

It is fun.  I can't wait to use it to make smoothies and apple butter and all sorts of things.  Do you have an immersion blender??

I served my split pea soup with uncured bacon crumbles and a slice of fresh homemade yogurt wheat bread. 

recipe for split pea soup here.

Today while flipping through this book, I realized I had all the ingredients on hand to make granola bars, so I did!

They were so easy to make and very tasty and filling.

The girls and my nephew enjoyed them today.

Well that's that.

You still there?

See anything you might want to try?

Before I go, a couple of funnies for ya...

I saw this today on pinterest and laughed out loud at the fabulous truth of it

I sent it to Mr. Hass via text while he was at work and he had a good laugh too.  We decided to call our crazies midget gasoline thieves from now on. 

Also today, I received an email that I had a new pinterest follower...

J Lo.

Jenny from the block?

Could it be?

Signed up to follow ME on pinterest?

haha.  I am sure there are probably 3 million women named Jennifer Lopez that are on pinterest, but I'm pretty sure this is THE JLO following me.

Pretty sure.

That's all for now.

Gotta go.

Mr. Hass and I are having lobster tails for dinner!