Healthy Frugalista Joins the Ultimate Blog Party

April 17, 2012 By 6 Comments
strawberry

Fresco

Welcome to my new friends from the Ultimate Blog Party Hop!  Here atHealthy Frugalista we’re all about living a healthy lifestyle, and doing it frugally… but with flair.

I’m Kristel.  I’ve always been interested in food and health.  I enjoy gardening,  gluten free cooking, being out in God’s creation, and crafts.   I’m married,  have two teen daughters and homeschooled until  last September.

Ultimate Blog Party 2012

I love to share creative ideas to make life healthier, easier and more budget friendly.  I consider myself a frugalista because I would live frugally even if I didn’t have to.  To me, frugality is not about doing without,  it’s about finding creative ways to get or do that which you are trying to accomplish.  I think of frugality as being a good steward of the resources God has placed under my care.

I have a ton of post ideas swimming in my head to help encourage people out of the processed food rut into healthier eating.  Can’t wait to share these with my followers.

 

Photo credit:  bdebaca

 

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Guacamole…Cheaper to Make From Scratch

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Guacamole

Guacamole

When avocados are on sale for 90 cents each, as they were at Meijer last week, I stock up.  I bought 6, and, now I could kick myself for not  buying twice that amount.   Did you know you can make a big batch of guacamole and freeze it?

While other people were choosing their avocado based on desired level of ripeness, I was scouting the biggest avocados.  Whenever produce is sold by the piece, my frugalista instinct kicks in and I look for the biggest bang for my buck.   I usually select unripe avocados because I’ve found the ripe ones are a bit more bruised from people rumaging through the bin.

An avocado is ready to eat when the peel turns dark and the fruit yields to gentle pressure when lightly squeezed in the palm of  your hand.  To speed up the ripening process place the avocado in a closed paper bag with an apple or banana for a couple days.  The ethylene gas emitted by the fruit hastens the ripening of the avocado.

I don’t know what packaged guacamole costs, but I’ll bet its significantly more than the $1.15 it cost me to make it from scratch.  Guacamole is very easy to make and only takes a few minutes.  Other than avocados, guacomole requires ingredients you probably stock in your pantry.

I was surprised to hear a friend say she has never made guacamole from scratch. I thought there may be others out there  that could use some encouragement to try it too.  This is the basic recipe I use.  You might want to add a diced tomato, a teaspoon fresh cilantro or a chili pepper.

Basic Guacamole Recipe

1 large ripe avocado
1 1/2 Tablespoon lemon or lime juice (I like key lime juice)
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt

I find it’s easiest to cut the avacado in half lengthwise, pry out the pit by first jabbing it with a knife, and scoop the pulp out with a spoon.

Mash the avocado with a fork and stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Notes:  If I’ve misjudged the ripeness, and the avocado is a bit hard, slicing it a bit first makes it easier to mash.

Also, if I’m in a rush, I’ll use a tablespoon dried minced onion instead of fresh.

Dropping the pit back in the guacamole to keep it from browning has never worked for me.  If it’s going to be in the refrigerator a while before serving, I’ve found it’s better to drizzle a little lemon or lime juice on top, then cover with an airtight lid.  This keeps the guacamole from oxidizing and turning brown.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , ,

Parsley as a Vegetable

April 11, 2012 By 10 Comments

Parsley…a vegetable.  Is that how you think of parsley?   No, probably you think of parsley as an herb, which of course it is.

growing parsley

Photo by Grow for Food.

Several years ago Kevin, a neighbor and gardening friend, introduced this idea to me:  Instead of cooking with parsley in teaspoon or tablespoon quantities, use it in measuring cup quantities…use it as a vegetable.  Aha!  A brilliant idea!  Why not use something so nutritious as parsley in greater quantities?!

Just looking at parsley you know it’s good for you with its brilliant green color.  It’s high in vitamins A, C, K and Folate, which are all lacking in the average American diet.

Parsley contains volatile oils that help nuetralize  some carcinogens like benzopyrenes that come from cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke (hint: include parsley in your grilled meals this summer).  In addition parsley has antioxidents helping prevent oxygen damage to the cells.

So how do I use parsley as a vegetable? I add a cup or more of chopped parsley (stems included unless they are very thick) to  soups, stews, casseroles, egg dishes, meatloaf, rice dishes.  Really, just about anything that I’m putting vegetables in might get a cup of parsley too.  I stir the parsley in at the end so it stays bright green losing fewer nutrients.

Salads are an obvious way to use fresh parsley, just snip some into your salad then add a few leaves on top for garnish too.  Green salad, rice or grain salads,

Quinoa Tabouleh. Photo by La blasco

potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salad all benefit from an addition of parsley.  Don’t worry if your recipe doesn’t call for it…add it in…live dangerously!  When I think ‘parsley’ and ‘salad’ in the same thought Tabouleh comes to mind.  We eat a gluten free version of Tabouleh, replacing bulgur (cracked wheat) with quinoa.

I admit, that summer I first started using parsley as a vegetable, my family had to reign me in on parsley in the salads.  No one minded lots of parsley in the cooked dishes, but raw, in salads, the parsley tastes stronger, and my family asked me to cut back on the amount, because I had been going overboard.

We have added parsley to smoothies too.  I use  around 2 cups fruit with 1/2 cup parsley.  You can taste the parsley at these proportions, so if you don’t think you will like the taste, try 1/4 cup.  Or, skip the parsley altogether and use fresh spinach, which adds nutrition but little flavor in a smoothie.

As you’re planning your garden think about growing parsley.  If you already grow parsley,  do you grow enough that you could cut a couple cups worth at a time?  If not, consider planting more.  There are two kinds of parsley, Italian flat leaf and curly leaf.  My family prefers the taste of the flat leaf variety.

Even if you don’t grow vegetables or herbs, parsley is a pretty plant (especially the curly leaf varieties) and looks great in a flower garden.  Plant enough that you’ll have some to freeze for use throughout the winter.

Quinoa Tabouleh

1 cup quinoa
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
a few dashes ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups fresh parsley, washed, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint (1/4 cup dried)
1/2 cup green onion
2 large ripe tomatoes , diced
1 cucumber, diced

Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer to remove the bitter coating of saponin.   Bring the quinoa and 1 1/3 cup water to a simmer.  Cover and cook 12 minutes.   Turn off the heat, leave the cover on, and let it set 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.  Let the quinoa cool completely.

Wisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon.  Pour the dressing over the cooled quinoa.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Notes: Quinoa is a high protein whole grain native to South America.  You can find it larger grocery stores.  It’s usually cheapest to buy it in bulk at a natural food store.  I buy it in 5 pound bags at $3 a pound.  The bags contain about 12 cups of quinoa.

If gluten is not a concern you can make this recipe using bulgur wheat.  Substitute 1 cup bulger for the quinoa.  Add enough water to cover the bulgur and let it stand for about 1/2 hour or until the water is absorbed.  Proceed with the recipe.

This post is linked up at Pennywise Platter Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday,  Fresh Bites Friday
Photo credits: Grow For Food, La blasco

 

 

Filed Under: Gardening, Grains, Main Dishes, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Power of Real Food

April 5, 2012 By 5 Comments

Replacing processed foods with organic, whole food enabled the woman in this video to go from life in a wheelchair to an 18 mile bicycle ride.  This inspiring video is a testimony to the power of food that God gave us to nourish and sustain our bodies.

Dr Wahls condition motivated her to make drastic changes to her diet.  We may not have a severe medical condition that so motivates us, but I bet all of us could make many  improvements in what we eat.

Too often we think in terms of perfection.  Eating 9 cups of fruits and vegetables a day seems overwhelming, so we don’t even try.  I want to encourage you to take one step today to improve your diet.  Small steps over time lead to significant changes.

If you eat 1 cup of vegetables a day, up that to 2 cups.  If you eat 4 cups, up it to 5.  Maybe you’ve never tried eating greens like kale,  spinach or parsley.   Try throwing some kale or spinach  in your own favorite smoothie recipe. You probably won’t even notice the taste of the greens (spinach has a milder taste than kale), though it might change the color a little.  Start with 1/4 cup greens per serving, then increase it to as much as you can stand.

My personal goals are to increase raw vegetables and continue to source affordable grass fed meat.  The venison was great, but it’s almost gone.

Dr Wahls encouraged us to eat nutrient rich organ meats.  Just a reminder that she was referring to organ meats from a grass fed animal.   I would not eat organ meat from a conventionally raised animal.  Some organs like the liver and kidney detoxify the animal’s body.  Because conventionally raised animals  are fed grain (not their natural diet) and many are routinely given drugs, it leaves me wondering how many toxins are left in their organs.

I first viewed this video at Elanas Pantry.  Check out her post if you’d like to see how she treats Mulitple Sclerosis naturally.

I’d love to know if this video inspired you like it did me?  What are your goals to improve your diet?  Share in the comments.

This post was shared on Pennywise Platter Thursday

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