♡Recipes & reviews for healthy living♡

Kale & sunflower pesto spread

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Mama Mouse

Pesto is one of my favorite summer treats and with the abundance of basil and greens I end up using pesto on everything! This spread is delicious and makes a ton so you can share it with your friends or freeze it for those winter months when you crave green.

I am not a huge fan of pine nuts but I always have raw sunflowers around for salads and home made trail mix so I used them in this recipe and with kale added this pesto becomes a great source of iron and nutrients! Try adding hemp seeds or a bit of spirulina to boost it even more.

Try this pesto on grilled cheese, fish, pizza, bagels, eggs or my favorite baked with cheese for a yummy chip dip!

What you need

1 c raw sunflower seeds
1 large bunch of kale
1 cup of basil, this was 2 bunches for me
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c shredded asiago cheese ( you can use parmesan too I just prefer asiago)
1/4 c water
salt to taste

How to make it

put sunflower seeds in blender or food processor and pulse until ground to a powder
chop up kale, removing the spine ( the large hard part in the middle of the leaf)
add kale and olive oil to blender and pulse, add a bit of water as needed to get it to blend
add basil and cheese and any more water if needed and blend until smooth
you may have to stop the blender and push the pesto down and mix it up every few seconds
add a bit of salt to taste
store in a freezer bag in heh freezer or in a Tupperware in the fridge.

*For pasta sauce add water and more olive oil to make it a bit thinner .

Perfect food bar review & giveaway

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Mama Mouse

This morning I ate my last perfect food bar and I wanted to cry. There really is no better way to describe the nutritious bars than ‘perfect’.

Perfect food bar is a family business that started in the 90′s but the family’s love of health food and healthy living dates back to the 60′s when Dr. William Keith owned the health house gym and juice bar. Health has always been at the center of this family and in 1995 Keith mixed his whole food supplements with peanut butter and created “the perfect food bar” .

In 2005 the family put the delicious product on the market and today it is known as the best health food bar around. The bars contain over 20 nutrient rich organic whole foods including a ton of veggies, nut butters, fruits , omegas and of course honey. These bars are pure and delicious and contain no preservatives which is why you can find them in the refrigerator section of your natural foods store!

I love these bars for many reasons but most importantly is they are a great source of nutrients for my children. It is pretty hard to get kids to eat health food sometimes but these taste like a delicious treat and the kids devour them. They are also gluten free so I know I can bring them to playdates with my daughter gluten free friends and they can enjoy them too.

Perfect food bars come in a few different flavors including peanut butter, almond butter, cranberry, fruit and nut and carob and also come in mini sizes too! My personal favorite is the fruit and nut! Find them in a local store near you HERE!

Perfect food bar sent me some bars for a giveaway and an awesome (and super duper soft) shirt and some bars! Entering is simple here is how, enter once or all 3 times:

‘like’ perfect food bar on facebook and let me know that you did

‘like’ Mama Mouse on Facebook and let me know that you did

Comment here and tell me which perfect food bar you want to try!

Easy yogurt cream cheese with chives

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Mama Mouse

I love cream cheese and I love yogurt so it only seemed natural that I make yogurt cream cheese. A long time ago (back when I used to dig through the couch for change to buy kombucha) I would make my own yogurt to save money and use my home made yogurt to make cream cheese. I remember it being the most amazing cream cheese and I would hide it in the back of the fridge behind something gross so my roommates wouldn’t eat it.

With kids and dogs and life I have not been making my own yogurt but when I ran out of cream cheese and i wanted a bagel ( right now!) I remembered my once savvy ways and decided to whip up some of my favorite yogurt cream cheese. This only takes a day to make ( less if you are using a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt) and with some herbs it becomes a fancy shmancy party cream cheese!

What you need

a mason jar
cheese cloth
1 cup of yogurt
chives
salt & pepper to taste and a sprinkle of paprika

How to make it

put your yogurt into a single layer of cheese cloth
squeeze it gently to drain off some of the water
take the lid off the mason jar and lay the cheese cloth & yogurt inside suspending it about halfway down the jar
screw on the jar band leaving the top open
put the jar in the fridge and let the excess water drain off
The cream cheese will be soft but you will know it is done when you can form it into a ball with the cheese cloth
add chives and spices to taste or eat it plain!

Nancy’s yogurt challenge #2

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Mama Mouse

Welcome to part 2 of the Nancy’s yogurt challenge! Today we have my friend and fellow blogger Jillian of ’The quest of Crunchy Curious‘ and Pretty paisley designs. Read more about the challenge and check out part 1 HERE.

When I was asked to be part of this challenge I jumped at the chance!! My blog is all about learning to live more naturally and sometimes I get a little freaked out by all the stuff I learn, but yogurt? I can handle yogurt! Luckily Nancy’s Yogurt was incredibly tasty and way more natural than the other stuff I have bought with fervor thinking it was super healthy for me (cough-yoplait-cough). So I let my mind run for a bit and I got to thinking. What weighed heavily on my mind was the weather.

Here in Utah the weather is so strange sometimes. You can have clouds and rain in the morning, sprawl in the sunshine by noon and a raucous thunderstorm before bed. Planning for meals on a day like this can be trying because you don’t know what food you will be in the mood for! I had decided yesterday that I would make some frozen yogurt with the delicious strawberries that were on sale at my local store. Once I saw the rain, I was not it the mood for frozen treats. So my mind shifted to incorporating yogurt into one of my favorite gloomy day meals, Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. Thus, Tomato Yogurt Bisque was born and goodness it was delicious! My boys devoured it and that is no small task with a toddler and a new to foods infant.

As the sun came shining out after lunch, I thought maybe that frozen treat could use a second thought so I made it up. My oldest and I took turns eating what was left on the paddle while the youngest protested his not being old enough. By the time bedtime for my boys came and I was ready to settle down with my sweet treat, a ridiculous thunderstorm was raging outside my window. I ended up enjoying it with a large cup of tea and looking out the window. Nature is a beast and a beauty, am I right? I hope you enjoy these recipes on your next crazy weather day or any day for that matter!

Tomato Yogurt Bisque

1 28oz can of diced or whole tomatoes of choice
2 Large cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning Spice Blend
½ Cup Nancy’s Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Open the can of tomatoes and place in a food processor. Pulse or run until the consistency is what you prefer. I like mine with a few smaller pieces of tomato and not completely pureed but you choose what you like. Pour the pureed tomatoes into a sauce pan and put it on the stove on medium heat. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, olive oil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors blend and turn off the heat. Add the Nancy’s Yogurt and stir until well blended into the soup. Save a spoonful or two of yogurt to dollop on top and serve with a yummy grilled cheese sandwich. My kiddos loved the soup!

Creamy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt with Black Pepper

2 Cups of Strawberries chopped
2/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Nancy’s Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt
½ Cup of Heavy Cream
¼ to ½ tsp. of Black Pepper to taste (be brave)

Directions:

Chop the strawberries and put in a bowl with 2 Tbsp. of sugar and let sit for one hour. Once the hour has passed, put the strawberries into a food processor and pulse until it reaches the desired consistency. Totally smooth or slightly chunky is up to you! Pour back into a bowl and add the rest of the sugar, heavy cream, pepper and Nancy’s Yogurt. Stir until mixed well and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour or until completely chilled. Once chilled, place in ice cream maker for 20-25 minutes or until it looks to delicious to wait any longer. Eat right away or place in the freezer to enjoy later. You can leave out the black pepper but it is a really great flavor and being brave is a good thing!

Raw fruit & nut bar

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Mama Mouse

I have been craving a raw bar I had many moons ago but I couldn’t remember the name of the bar or what was in it, all I remembered was that it was delicious and I wanted one right now. I just did my monthly winco bulk bin haul so I set out to try to recreate the flavor I was craving.

I may not have perfectly recreated the delicious treat I remembered but I think this might be even better. packed full of yummy seeds, nuts, fruits and even spirulina these raw bars are incredibly good for you. They were a hit with the family especially after I cut some into heart shapes for the little one.

Next time I think I am going to make a cashew, raw honey and strawberry raw bar, yum! Be sure to store these in the fridge to keep them fresh and delicious!

What you need

1 c almonds
1 c dried cherries
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c dates
1 tbsp spirulina
1/2 c hemp seeds
1/4 c flax seeds
2 tbsp raw honey
4 tbsp coconut oil

How to make it

Add almonds into the blender or food processor and pulse until it is an almond meal
add dates, cherries and cranberries ( leave a handful aside) and pulse until they are chopped
add honey, oil and spirulina and blend until a paste
add more dates or coconut oil until the consistency is a thick stuff paste
put into a bowl and mix in flax and hemp seeds. Chop up remaining fruit and add in.
line a baking sheet with wax paper and press onto the pan
sprinkle some fruit and hemp seed on top and press in
cover top with wax paper and put in the fridge for at least an hour
cut into squares and wrap with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

Nancy’s yogurt challenge #1

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Mama Mouse

If you haven’t noticed I am quite a huge Nancy’s yogurt fan so when I had the opportunity to do a giveaway I decided just a giveaway would not do them justice. Nancy’s sent me 4 tote bags and goodies to give away and instead I chose 4 of my foodie friends to do a Nancy’s challenge!

Each gal used Nancy’s yogurt to make a recipe and talk about what they thought of this delicious product. It was so much fun seeing what everyone came up with and even more fun spreading the word about Nancy’s.

Yogurt is a powerful food and great for our bodies . Nancy’s organic and hormone free milk comes from local NW dairy co-op members within 50 miles of Eugene, Oregon where Nancy’s is made. Their yogurt is never sweetened with sugars which can KILL the probiotics that make yogurt good for you making your healthy treat not so healthy. Instead Nancy’s uses fruit juice, honey, maple syrup and agave to sweeten their yogurts!

In short, Nancy’s is the bee’s knees and by far my favorite health food company around so stick around and be sure to check out all 4 Nancy’s yogurt challenge entries!

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Hello there Mama Mouse Says fans! I’m Maleah from ThisHolisticHouse.com. I’m excited to be here. You can read more about me here, but, to sum up, I’m a crunchy mama that loves to cook! (My recipes often swing paleo.) I also talk about homeschooling and share some of my “beauty” (ie. lotions etc) recipes… Or I will as time goes on. I’ve only just started my little blog a few weeks ago. Lol. I’d love for you to come check me out.

Last week, fellow blogger and real life friend, Mikki, put out a call via Facebook for a few people to review Nancy’s Probiotic Greek Yogurt. I was one of the lucky ones that got chosen to participate. I got a cute reusable grocery sack, a recipe and a few coupons to give Nancy’s a try.

My instructions were to make the recipe on the card OR to make a recipe of my own creation.

We all know which one I chose.

(What can I say? I like making up recipes!)

Let me just start by saying, this recipe wouldn’t be the same without this GREEK yogurt. It made the sauce nice and thick. A typical yogurt would not have given it the same body.

This recipe came together even better than I thought it would! Nancy’s added a nice tang in addition to thickness.

Now, when I say this is EASY, I really do mean it. It mostly calls for putting everything in a bag, letting it marinate and then dumping the bag into a pot and letting it cook. I haven’t tried it (yet), but I’m betting that this would be an easy freezer meal. I’ll give it a go and let you guys know.

Ingredients

2 (very) large chicken breasts or 3-4 smaller ones, cut into thin slices
2/3 cup Nancy’s Plain Greek Yogurt (if you choose not to use dairy products, can sub for coconut yogurt)
1 shallot, grated with a microplane
3-5 garlic cloves (depending on size and desired strength of flavor), grated with a microplane
3 tbsps curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup thai basil
1/4 cup cilantro
1 green onion stalk
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 whole chili pepper (I used a jalapeno.)
1/2 tbsp honey
2 tbsps toasted sesame seed oil
2 tbsps coconut oil
1/2 cup bone broth (can sub chicken stock if you don’t have bone broth)
3-4 cups roughly chopped baby bok choy

Method

Place the yogurt, shallot, garlic, curry powder, salt, pepper, thai basil, cilantro, green onion, lime leaves, and honey in a gallon size zip lock bag (or a bowl) and mix thoroughly. Add chicken, mix. Place bag in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24.

Once the chicken is done marinating, heat a pan on medium high and add coconut oil. Put the entire contents of the bag in the pan and add the bone (or chicken) broth and chili pepper. Let cook, stirring occasionally until the chicken is almost cooked through. (5-8 minutes.) Then add the bok choy and toasted sesame seed oil. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the bok choy is wilted. (Another 3-4 minutes.) Remove the chili pepper and discard.

Serve alone, with cali-rice, cali-naan, noodles (not paleo) or rice (not paleo.)

This really was SUPER yummy. I love curry.

Thanks Mikki and Nancy’s Yogurt for giving me a reason to dream this dish up!

Maleah Caulford

This holistic house

Old fashioned cherry pie

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Mama Mouse

The other day my family decided to go on an adventure to the reservoir but we forgot that it was the national collegiate bicycle championships and the roads were all closed. After zigzagging and getting a bit lost we ended up on a road to Brigham city 30 minutes from where we live and on the way we saw a self-serve cherry stand.

Never one to let farm fresh food pass me by I made a mental note of the location and on the way back home from our (mis)adventure we stopped in to check it out. There was just a box for sliding money in and freezers full of fresh picked cherries. After sampling some and deciding these were indeed the best cherries I have ever tasted I snatched up a small bucket of them and we drove home with a craving for fresh pie.

Pie is probably my favorite thing to make and if you ask my husband what I make best he will quickly say ‘ PIE!’. After years of tuning out runny pies a friend of mine told me her secret to a perfect pie, instant tapioca. From that moment on I was on a pie frenzy and I didn’t stop until I had perfected my recipe.

This pie is a country-style cherry pie made with REAL butter ( not crisco or margarine, yuck!) and farm fresh fruit. Best served with a glass of cold milk or a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream, yum!

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What you need

Crust

2.5 cups white whole wheat flour
1 c real butter
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg
pinch of salt
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp cold water
1 egg white and extra sugar for top

Filling

2 lbs pitted tart pie cherries
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c instant tapioca
zest of 1 lemon
4 tbsp of lemon juice

How to make it

Filling

combine cherries, tapioca, sugar, zest and juice in a bowl and let it sit while you make crust

Crust & assembly

using your hands blend together flour and butter until crumbly
mix in sugar and pinch of salt
in a small bowl mix together apple cider vinegar, egg and water until it forms a ball ( you may not need all the water, I am at a high elevation so I need more water, those of you at lower elevations will need less)
slowly add to flour until it forms a ball
split into 2
turn onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball ( do not over knead, you only need to knead about 10 times)
Roll with a floured rolling pin until desired thickness, i like my bottom crust thick, some prefer it thin.
place over lightly oiled pie pan and using kitchen shears, trip the edges until it is about 1/2 inch over the edge
roll out top crust and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes if you like
place cherry mixture into pie pan and top with top crust.
trim edges of top crust to match bottom crust.
pinch edges together and then fol the crust under to hide edge
using your fingers press along the edges to make indents
brush with egg whites and sprinkle with sugar
use a knife to cut out designs or just pike holes to let air escape
bake at 250 for 10 minutes then lower the heat to 250 and bake for another half hour to 40 minutes until filling begins to bubble out
let cool before cutting

Easy all natural oven beef jerky

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Mama Mouse

I love beef jerky, it’s an expensive and delicious addiction. I hate to eat store-bought that is loaded with preservatives and fillers and what the heck are all these chemicals I can’t pronounce?!

I thought I would have to keep paying top dollar for organic all natural jerky ( still has sugar! Why???) at the natural food stores since I don’t have a dehydrator until one day someone told me about how they made fruit leather in the oven. Of course! Why did I not think of that before?

Making jerky in the oven is not only easy but it doesn’t take a long time so you can get down to business, the business of eating jerky all day. Coming up with new and exciting flavors is my favorite part- curry, sweet and spicy, achiote and orange, lemon pepper…so many flavors to try!

This recipe is my basic jerky you have probably tasted before, its your regular old-fashioned steak rub (from scratch, duh!) beef jerky and mouth-watering good! In just 3-4 hours ( or less even!) you will have the best jerky you have ever tasted, I promise!

What you need

Skewers (optional, I ran out halfway through and it was still amazing)
foil
3 pounds Flap or skirt cut steak, I like mine a bit thicker, as your butcher what they prefer and you’ll get the best
2 tbsp each coriander, black peppercorn, sea salt, red pepper flakes in a grinder or if you are impatient like me in a zip lock back that you pound away on with a hammer.
1/4 c braggs or natural soy sauce
2 cloves garlic chopped as fine as your can get it
2 tbsp olive oil

How to make it

put your beef in a big bowl
grind (or hammer) your spices and add to bowl with soy sauce, oil and garlic
massage spices into meat, grab each piece individually and rub it in
cover with plastic and let it marinate for at least 3 hours if not overnight
take the bottom rack out of your oven and cover in foil, place in the very bottom rack
move other rack to the very top of the oven
Take your skewers and pierce the top of the meat and balance it on the rack so the meat is hanging. If you don’t have skewers just hang it over the rack
turn your oven to the lowest temperature you have. for me its 175-200 ( my oven runs high)
crack open your oven with something so its open about an inch, this will let all the moisture escape
let cook until the meat is tough and fat and oil no longer drips off, it takes my oven around 2.5-3 hours. Sample it to see if it’s the right texture for you. I like mine to be still a bit moist and not too tough.
store in ziplock bags or mason jars in the fridge ( if you don’t eat it all at once!)

Raw tabbouleh & hummus

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Mama Mouse

Yesterday I went on TV to cook (or not cook, it was raw foods) in a studio kitchen for a show called Fresh Living. It was exciting and exhausting and lasted only about 30 seconds but as my husband put it, this is just a stepping stone towards my dream.

On the show I made Raw tabbouleh and raw hummus and both are super simple recipes and super good for you too. I made the sprouts using this DIY method HERE and in only a few days I was ready to get cooking, or un-cooking rather.

This was such a fun experience being on TV and seeing what goes on behind the scenes and meeting some cool people. I hope I can keep going and keep doing what I love! Check out my episode of Fresh Living HERE!

Raw tabbouleh

sprouted quinoa
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
2 tomatoes seeded and diced
1/2 yellow onion finely chopped
1 bunch of parsley finely chopped
a few sprigs of mint finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients up in a bowl, let sit for 10 minutes to let the flavors soak in

Raw hummus

Sprouted garbanzo beans
juice of 2 lemons
4 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 c oil
water as needed

In a food processor add sesame seeds and half the oil until it is a paste (tahini!) add garbanzo beans, lemon,garlic and the rest of the oil and blend until smooth. Add water to loosen it up as needed.

Review & giveaway : Hawaiian Spirulina

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Mama Mouse

A couple of months ago I got my hands on some Hawaiian spirulina and I have been waiting to write this review until I started to see results. I have read some amazing things about the power of spirulina and here are a few of them:

Spirulina is 65% protein and amino acids including the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid, It has a wide variety of nutrients, it is incredibly high in antioxidants, high in calcium and iron, is good for your teeth and can cleanse your body of all the junk you absorb every day! Fellow health junkie blogger ‘Wellness mama’ goes into great detail of all the great benefits of spirulina HERE.

When I first got my spirulina I admit I thought it smelled ( and let’s face it, tastes) like a fish tank but thankfully the taste and smell is easily masked by anything you add to it. I started off adding it to my smoothies and eggs and once I got used to it I began just mixing it in with my morning juice.

After the first couple weeks I already started to notice a difference. My dry irritated patch of skin that I had for months started to clear up,my nails started growing quicker and I wasn’t so hungry all the time. After a month I had more energy, my hormone swings from just having a baby seemed to be getting better and best of all I noticed I was starting to lose some weight.

I don’t know if I can attribute all of these health improvements to spirulina alone but I didn’t change my diet, exercise routine nor did I add on any other vitamins or supplements. I for one am a fan of the green stuff and I even started adding it to my kids and dogs food.

Hawaiian spirulina is supposed to have the highest nutritional content of any other spirulina and it is harvested from a bio-secure zone free of herbicides and pesticides. I have both the powder and pill form for days when I am on the go or not in the mood to eat or drink it.

Nutrex-Hawaii is giving one of you dear readers a chance to try this amazing spirulina.

Winning is easy, just use this Entry -Form and follow the easy steps to win!

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