Real Food Kitchen Tour on Cheeseslave!

5 years ago my kitchen went from a one-butt kitchen to a crowd-of-butts kitchen.  I used to have one counter of work space that was laid across a dishwasher and butted up against a sink, which was next to the stove.  If someone was in the kitchen it was full.  The fridge was the only thing accessible. It was exciting to dream up the possibilities that an addition offered.  We designed it ourselves; it has all the features I love.  Take the tour today featured at Cheeseslave.

Enjoying the Fruits

As we all enjoy this freezing weather, I enjoy the home canned goodness of my summer canning spree.  Read all about it over at Finding My Niche.  Author, Kami L., has attended my classes and has embraced whole foods within the last year.  She is so inspiring as she shares her journey on her new blog.  If you want to enjoy the fruits of your labors, there is still time to register for my home canning class this Thursday at 7:30 pm.

Food With Kid Appeal

Isn't that a great premise for a blog!?  Almost as good as "What good is a healthy dish if nobody eats it?"

I wrote a guest post this week on how I market adult food to kids complete with recipe, of coarse.  Jenna, Food with Kid Appeal's author said it was the best guest post she has ever had.  Now there is one heck of a compliment!  If that doesn't get you curious, maybe the title "Rainbow French Fries" will.
links; Simple Lives Thursday, Things I Love Thursday, Cooking Thursday

My Big Fat Foodie Life

Really enjoyed getting out and picking up some new ideas at a gardening class this morning as my melons, cukes and bean are being consumed by aphids. Yes, my life revolves around food and why shouldn't it? Join me at I Heart Mesa, where I dish my ideas on growing, preparing, learning about, buying, eating, preserving and storing FOOD!


links; Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday

6 Tips For Your Real-Food Journey

It has been many years since I have put the boxes aside and  enveloped a whole food repertoire of skills, recipes and creativity.  I can bring back some thoughts and feelings of those early days, but much is gone and much has changed.  It is an exciting time, one of the many reasons I love teaching classes!  Witnessing that rapid learning and zeal for food is euphoric.

It never occurred to me that people might be reading my blog and NOT making the recipes.   Kami, from Birth with Confidence is helping me out on this one.  There are so many obstacles, it is no wonder many people grab a box of cereal in the morning instead of embarking on a recipe for granola with 14 ingredients, half you have never heard of and 10 plus steps that take almost 2 days to carry out.  Yikes!  I am scaring you away.  On with Kami's tips to bring you back;

1. Read, Read, and then Read some more! There is nothing more powerful than knowledge. Learn about food. Learn about its origins, where it comes from, why we eat it, how it's made. Learn about your body - how it functions and how food affects it positively or negatively. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on about whole, real food. The more you read and learn, the easier it will be to make changes. The changes will come naturally as you learn. If you are trying to make changes without really knowing or understanding deeply why you're making them, it is likely that the changes will not last. However, if you have a foundation of knowledge and understand why you are on your journey to whole foods, you changes will become a lifestyle. Learning also makes changing easier. It isn't hard to stop eating processed food once you understand how truly detrimental it is to your health.

2. Find replacements. Don't learn about how bad sugar is for you and say that you will never eat sugar again. Although that is a wonderful goal, it is probably one that is easily broken by cravings or stress. Instead, find replacements. Instead of white sugar, convert to using honey or maple syrup. Instead of making a cake mix out of a box, try making one from scratch using
whole grains and natural sweeteners. You can still enjoy many, many things while eating only whole foods. Once you've found replacements, you'll realize you really aren't missing out on anything after all. You might even be surprised to find that your whole food meals/treats taste even better because you know deep down that they're better for your body.

3. Commit to change. Do you want to dive into whole foods? Commit to doing so. Commit to ridding your life of anything artificial or detrimental to your health. Make a commitment, and keep it. That's all there is to it. Make the decision.

4. Be daring. Buy new things - branch out. Never heard of kamut, amaranth, sucanat? I hadn't heard of them either. In fact, I read blogs that used those foreign terms for a good 6 months to a year before I ever bought any of those "strange" ingredients. Now those ingredients are staples in my house. Try new things - you'll find that most of the time, you'll love them and wonder why you've been missing out all this time!

5. Don't get discouraged. Moving to whole foods is a journey. It takes time and it takes dedication. We live in a world of processed foods. It is not easy to go against the grain, so to speak. It's not easy to make choices that are different than 99% of Americans. But making choices is not always easy and moving to whole foods is a choice that, hard as it may seem, will bless your life abundantly. Take baby steps - pick one thing you want to change and focus on that thing for a week or a month. Then, move onto the next thing. Or if you're more stubborn, do it all at once (I did!). However you do it, remember why you're changing and remember that you are not alone. Many people are realizing more and more that food, made and prepared the way God intended it, is critical to our health and wellness. Enjoy the journey because soon you'll look back and think "It wasn't that hard, after all."

6. Realize that while you may feel you're paying more for "real food," it is a much better investment. You are investing in yourself - your health, your vitality, your life! Those who eat diets of whole foods and avoid processed foods are healthier and experience less disease than those who eat a diet high in processed foods. You may spend more on your groceries than your friends and neighbors, but it doesn't have to break the bank. There are many ways you can save money. Some quick examples are: buying in bulk, making things from scratch (homemade  granola vs. store-bought), meal planning, eating the best quality of meat sparingly, etc. You also may tweak your budget so that, say for example, you spend more on groceries but you go without cable or expensive cell phones. Or, perhaps you eat out less than your family and friends. However you choose to balance your budget, know that eating a diet of whole foods can be done, even on a tight budget.

If you missed it, last week Kami shared an incredible recipe of her own creation; Roasted Vegetables and Garlic Quinoa.

links; Works For Me Wednesday, What's Cookin Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Things I Love Thursday

Roasted Vegetable and Garlic Quinoa

I am so happy when I see others diving into new territory and embracing it. You know you have "arrived"  when you start making your own original recipes with things you have on hand and they turn out great.  I have met just such person through my classes.  Kami, from Birth with Confidence has written this guest post.  She has put together some fabulous stuff I am so excited to share here on Taste is Trump.

I am a newbie to "real food," meaning, I've only been on this journey for about a year now, but it is a journey that has changed my life and my family's health. I feel happier, have more energy than ever before (quite a feat, for me), and am thinner than I've ever been. I am passionate about real, whole food and it is something I find great pleasure in learning about.Here is a simple, whole foods recipe that is not only incredibly nourishing, it is also delicious!

This recipe is extremely versatile. If you don't have the vegetables on hand that I listed, you can always use anything else. Other favorites of mine are asparagus, zucchini or yellow squash, sweet or red potatoes, and broccoli. If you prefer, you can roast the garlic along with the vegetables. I've kept it raw in this recipe in order to take advantage of the health benefits of raw garlic. It tastes wonderful either way!

6 brussels sprouts

1/2 head of cauliflower

1 red pepper, sliced

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped

5 grape tomatoes, halved

2 carrots, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

1 cup white quinoa

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cups water

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Herbes de Provence

The night before, soak quinoa in 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all vegetables in a glass dish and drizzle with olive oil and salt, to taste. Roast vegetables in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until slightly tender. Meanwhile, bring remaining 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in soaked quinoa mixture. Bring back to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer quinoa until water is gone. Remove from stove top and stir in salt, crushed garlic, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and herbes de provence to taste. Remove vegetables from oven and gently mix the quinoa into them. To serve, top with freshly shredded parmesan or romano cheese. Enjoy alongside a salad and crusty bread, to make it a fuller meal. Enjoy!


links; Works for Me Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday

Food Journal

Seeing your daily food choices in black and white can change the way you eat. When you change the way you eat, you change the way you feel. This change leads to more good food choices. It is a day by day progress.

Check out my two day food journal at Nourishing Days. Then start one of your own. It is a great exercise to practice thoughtful eating and see the big picture of what is going into your mouth.

Kitchen Sanitation

It is good to have a clean and work area when preparing and eating food, but it is better to have a kitchen free of chemicals and toxic cleaners. Most kitchen clean up can be done with just water maybe a bit of soap for the really grimy stuff. You can actually extend the life of most kitchen items by washing less, if a towel can do the job there is no need for water, if water can do the job, there is no need for soap. Residue from soaps and cleaners make you sicker than crusty food.

I cringe when I see a teacher getting the table prepped for snack time. Out come the Clorox Wipes as the whole surface is disinfected—germ free. The fact is that those germs are much less harmful than a chemical-covered table. So now these little bodies are taking in denatured ethanol, dimethyl benzyl ammonia chloride, dimethyl ethyl benzyl ammonia chloride AND over processed cheese fish. Our poor kids!

I have a recipe for you. This is a powerful disinfected that is all natural, effective, smells nice, is safe to breath and won’t give you cancer or even a headache. Make up a bottle for your kid’s teachers as a start-of-the-year gift.

Disinfectant
2 cups water
20 drops thyme oil

Mix in a 16 oz. spray bottle, shake well before each use.

Another great cleaner to use in the sinks and refrigerator is a simple mixture of 1 cup baking soda and 5 drops eucalyptus oil. Shake it up really well, sprinkle on grimy surfaces, for added cleaning power spray with vinegar and scrub clean. This is also great for toilets and bathtubs.

What is your favorite safe-for-people cleaner?

To learn more about essential oils check out my guest post at Your Natural Baby & More.

For essential oils on the go, visit Addicted to Oils.

Restaurant Review

Click on the button to read my review on the best restaurant in Mesa.

One Grain at a Time

An introduction.Look who's cooking now?? The self proclaimed "terrible cook," Ms. Emily Ruth Childers CAN cook tasty, healthy food. We did a little one on one time in the kitchen and POOF! Success. Emily is on a quest for natural parenting and is coming at it from every angle. Read my guest post HERE.