Kraft Mac and Cheese and the food dye's, what's with all the hype?

Hello all!
This week one of my food blogging hero's-Vani from Food Babe.com came to Chicago to challenge the Kraft Corp. over the use of food coloring, including Yellow #5 & 6 in Kraft Mac and Cheese. With over 270,000 signatures (Mine being one of them!) It's great to see not only that people care and want to take a stand on our food, but also they are willing to take action!
For those who have not read, or seen on TV, or the radio- Vani and Lisa from 100 days of real food started the petition and it is both inspiring, and crazy to me polarizing in how folks feel about it!

As a parent with a now diagnosed ADHD child, I try soooo hard to keep food coloring out of my son's food. It's a battle that is harder than most folks know. there is food dye in almost everything. Even things you would never really think about! Pickles!! Do you know there is food coloring in pickles!? Get your jar out of your fridge and I would be you will find it there!

For us there is a difference in his behavior on and off of food dyes that lessens in avoiding the dye's (it doesn't fully take care of the ADHD but it is 100 x's worse on it) but in addition I can not knowingly put food with petro chemicals into my kids body any more. By the way yes I said Petro Chemicals, as in the stuff in Tar or coal products--yum right!?
To me the increase in cancer, ADHD, autism, and so many other things have to come from somewhere, and I feel strongly our food is a big part of it. You don't have to agree with me, but if you do your research in how our food is produced now over even twenty years ago I think you would be shocked.

I have read so many opinions on the petition this week it makes my head spin!!
I know some of you are thinking...."Don't you have anything better to do!?" Yes of course I do, but I desperately want to understand why anyone would WANT to keep food the bad coloring in food when there is an option that is not toxic?

Yes, it's crazy to me that there are people crying "Don't touch my Mac and Cheese!" I have wonder if they understand that these food colors are required in Europe to have a warning label (you know like cigarettes)  because they can be harmful to your health. As a result Kraft reformulated for the market there and has Mac and Cheese that looks pretty much the same (maybe a little less crazy yellow) and tastes the same- it uses Paprika and Beta Carotene which is not harmful.It will taste the same!!

Then there are the folks who say "Just stop buying it." I know Food Babe and most other whole food bloggers have stopped buying Kraft a long ago.I know we don't buy it! There are however, many folks who don't know about what's in their food, or what's bad about the food coloring, they are the people I most feel need to be made aware, and if we can get Kraft to change for the health of those who do eat it then its a small win. One of my favorite articles is found here gives a great run down on food coloring! I think many of us want to speak up for those who just don't know what we know. If I were to see you walking into traffic and a car is coming I'm going to tell you.

Of course the biggest arguments I read are that even if they took the dye out it's still junk. I agree, and I know some will say just make it from scratch, of course I agree with that as well. HOWEVER, there are some who just don't have the time, the money (because let's face it you can't make it from scratch as cheap or as fast!) I purchase Annie's white cheddar (*I am taking out the part about MSG as Annie's has corrected me and that line does not have any in it--yeah!) if I have a house full of extra kids from time to time I need something quick and easy that they will all eat. So Annie's is my go to for the quick and easy. It would still count as a processed food, but in comparison is faaaarrrr better than Kraft. I sadly have yet to find a homemade Mac and Cheese that everyone loves. I do keep trying though!

 I do love that Kraft says that they have some varieties with out the food color and headquartered, in Chicago does not have these varieties in stores in our area! You can't find it on Pea Pod, or the grocery stores. So where did they tell her we could get it!? Amazon.com Are you kidding me!?
So thought they make it, you most likely can't buy it.

Some say we need to be talking to the FDA, and I agree with that and need to look into where to start. The FDA is sadly a joke. There is so many corporations with their hand in it keeping food from being safe it's insane. Don't believe me!? Please watch Food Inc. If you haven't seen it, you have no idea. Kraft is kind of an icon in the country and one of the largest mass food companies in the US. If they can change it's baby steps to getting others to follow!

For me the biggest aggravation, is the once in awhile that we go out for dinner my little ones will see the kids menu and see the Mac and Cheese and want it (no she had no idea it's Kraft) so I have to say no 99% of the time. If they at the very least did not have the dye in it I could probably let it slide.

It's hard to eat perfectly, I know how it is trust me. Some days you have to be three places at once, the kids are melting down and cooking seems impossible.I hope however you can all take another look at what you eat (and what you are feeding those you love) and cook whole, real food. It may not be easy every day, but we can pay now or pay with our health later. I'd rather have good health and put in a little more time. That's my Food for thought ;)

Easy Soft Serve Ice Cream- Made from frozen banana's!!

Happy Hump Day folks! So I am on day 3 of going Wheat Free!! Amazingly I am not going crazy- yet...;)

Today I was telling a friend that I feel the best today I have in months, woo-hooo!
I don't feel bloated (and I even had a large dinner tonight!) My gastro issues feel like they are improving, AND I am down 2lbs!! I have not followed the Wheat Belly diet 100% as I have not made my own bread/cookies yet. I have been using (sparingly) gluten free cookies, and bread when I have a crazy craving.  These guys are pretty awesome!! The night time is the hardest, I love my crackers or a sweet treat before bed! The kids also love dessert after dinner and it's hard to not want to have something with them.

So after looking online, I have discovered the wonder that is Banana ice cream!!
How I never read about this before now, I have no idea. Seriously doesn't this look good!?

It comes out like soft serve, and looks like pudding I guess. This one is the chocolate version I made tonight. It is soooo yummy! I will say if you hate banana flavor, make a small amount and at least try it. the add in's mask the banana flavor so it's not super banana-ish.

I feel kind of silly writing "Ingredients" because it's frozen banana's. If you don't change the flavor then that's it. Crazy right!?

Directions--There are two ways to do this- 

Way 1- Take a ripe banana slice it up into coins and put it on a plate or cookie sheet and freeze for an hour or so. Throw it into your food processor or blender.
OR

Way 2- When you have super ripe banana's peel them and freeze in a bag for when you need them for things like this. (Gotta love that, you will never toss a ripe banana away again!!) Then slice it up and put it into your blender or food processor.

At this point if you went with option 1 add a splash of vanilla if you like (you don't have to though!) and blend to smooth. It will come out like soft serve.

If you went the way of option 2 you might need to add a tablespoon of yogurt to add a little moisture if it does not seem to be blending well (sometimes in freezing for a longer period you loose some moisture) a splash of vanilla and you are good to go.

I have made mine in the food processor (that went quick and easy! About 4 mins and done!) The magic bullet works, but takes a little more time and shaking/mixing it up from time to time as it gets stuck. Takes more like 10 mins. Less cleaning though, either way it works.

If you want to change it up, for chocolate I add about 1.5 tbsp of coco powder (that's it!!)

We have done strawberry as well, and as I am sure you guess, add 2-3 strawberries. Do your add-in's I put mine in once everything is smooth and done.

Talk about a guilt free treat, that you or the kids can eat without any worries!!!

And trust me my kids love it!!

This is Will loving the plain old banana/vanilla flavor!

Spring is coming!?

Well it's April 2nd, and though spring is on my mind it is still only 32 degrees!! Okay Winter I know you got a late start and all but enough!!! So I am officially declaring my eviction notice!!! 

I am ready for all things Spring!! I am so excited the Farmers Market in Grayslake starts this weekend!! Farm fresh eggs and farm raised meats (Farmer Nick's Bacon!!!) I am so ready!!!

I am also ready for..

Spring Flowers!!!- Tulips, Crocus, and daffodils...They are trying!!

Sadly mine are still just leaves, this is from my girl friend's yard (So I know it has to be soon! Right!!??)

Speaking of plants, have you started thinking about your garden!? My favorite time is early spring, when I start to look at the seed sites and magazines and think about what I want to try this year. With the whole Monsanto seed issue I find myself having to look so much harder into who I buy from, gone are the days I can blindly trust that everyone has safe seeds that won't grow plants full of who know's what. That and there is NO WAY I want single dollar go to support them. 

I did have a great article shared with me here from a blog called "The Healthy Home Economist" They have great links to many safe seed companies!

Pinterest has me fantasizing about warm days on the deck, kids playing outside (when the yard is not all mud-eeek!) I am fascinated in Straw Bale Gardens, anyone have any luck with them!? I'd love to hear about it.

For now I will just have to wistfully look at pictures, but Spring has to be here soon, if not I am going to have to find the Groundhog and have a talk with him :)

Crock Pot Whole Roast Chicken easy as can be!

I have been making this for over a year now, and every time I seem to amaze folks that is how I make my whole chicken! The smell that fills the house is heavenly, and a whole chicken is usually anywhere between two to three meals for our family of five! 

For me this chicken breaks up coming out, if I didn't have it on as long as I do it would probably stay whole (not that is has to, but if it bothers you that would be a solution :) ) The skin comes out crispy-ish (if you were to suck out some of the juices about half way through that might make it crispier.)
So once we are done with dinner I take most what meat is left and bag it for wraps, salad, or chicken tacos (there are tons of things one can do) and take the bones (some still leaving meat on) throw it in the crock pot, cover with water, onion, celery, carrots, onion, and a bay leaf and leave it on low over night, and voila chicken stock!! So Chicken soup is something we have every few weeks!
So skip the store Rotisserie Chicken at the store- the aroma therapy is worth doing it yourself!! :)

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

• 1 Whole Chicken (I use a 6 lb. most times)
• 1 lemon whole
• 4-5 garlic cloves peeled
• 2-3 tbs of butter 
• spice rub mix- 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper

Wash off the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel, Lift the chicken skin and insert a few pats of butter and garlic cloves.

Rub the spice mix all over your chicken!

Insert the Lemon and 2-3 garlic cloves and any left over seasoning in the cavity

Put the chicken into the crock pot and set to High for 4 hours (if it's on longer it will still be fine, you will just have very tender chicken!)

Menu Planning Monday!! 4/1/13

Happy April 1st!! Well it's the last day of spring break for my kids, and I think we are ALL ready for things to go back to normal!

Anyone else got eggs up to ying-yang!? Kate and I are the only egg eaters really in the house, I guess I will be eating LOTS of hard boiled eggs this week!

This week is also the start of my attempt to try a new eating plan. There's been lots of hype about it so I recently read "Wheat Belly" and it talks a lot about the effects gluten has on our system. It's not the first time I have done something similar to this, I've done South Beach on and off for years. I lost the bulk of my baby weight from doing that, and felt the best I have in my life when I did it. Why do I stop? What can I say bad habits are hard to break! Plus I LOVE my carbs and sweets, sadly though they do not love me! I figure if I can be a little smarter about it maybe I can start to feel better.
This isn't going to be an easy change, after all I have three kids and a husband who would riot it I threw out all bread type substances in the house-lol. The recipe book has ideas and recipes to go with the diet, but I'll be honest, with my schedule I don't know that I would have time to make some of the bread/cookie replacements. That said, it's pretty easy to stick to the basics for me- Meat, veggies, fruit, and I will try to just serve more brown rice, and oats (these as a rule are gluten free) at meals as a whole to avoid temptation.
So with out further delay, this is my meal plan for the week:

Monday-Crock pot roast chicken (I will post an easy recipe today! :) )--Make Chicken Stock after!
Tues- Tuscan Chicken Sausage and Potatos
Wed- Meatless meal night!! Brown Rice and Black Bean Fiesta Bowls
Thurs-Chicken & Rice Soup night made from the left overs Monday and left over rice from Wed!
Friday-Spaghetti night (I am making mine with Shirataki noodles and brown rice noodles for everyone else!)
Sat- Leftover night!!
Sunday- Crock pot Chili (my kids love this!!)
Have a great week everyone!! :)

Zucchini Fritters (grain free!!)

So it's been awhile! I haven't bogged in ages, no real reason why (mostly time) and I guess lack of being inspired. This week however is Spring Break  and I have been trying a few new recipes to the rotation!!!
One of the big things I am trying out is more veggie centered recipes, we aren't bad about eating our veggies but more in your diet does not hurt. :)
I came across this one on Pinterest and could not resist trying it. I had it planned, had to wait for Wednesday!! The day my husband has school (he is sooooo not a big veggie fan) and I can be a bit more adventurous!!
So I found this yummy looking recipe over at Slim Plate.
However I ran across a little problem, I was out of olive oi (crud!). What's a girl to do!?
Well of course my good friend Bacon is in the fridge just begging me to use it! Hmmm...bacon grease would do the trick right!? Also bacon would be a great side to these guys, and a bargaining chip with my kids to get them to try it!! Like me they will do almost anything for bacon-lol. I also added a little carrot to the recipe to spark up the color and add another level of veggie to the recipe! We called them bunny cakes (with Easter this week that seemed appropriate!) I don't know if the bunnies would like the bacon, but whatever.

I'm thinking this is a must save for summer when Zucchini is coming out of our ears! I won't have to buy meat for one dinner that week if need be! (I would omit the bacon then, I know that sounds crazy but it would be a cheap meal!!)

As you can see the kids did eat them! Even my littlest one!!
Sometimes I don't give them enough credit, my kids are awesome at trying things! I know a lot of friends tell me there is no way their kids will eat half the things we do. There is a trick that work for us when they are a bit resistant: toppings!! Kids and toppings (or dips) seem to be a must! I love sour cream (the kids not as much) My oldest liked bbq sauce on his (but then he's in a put bbq sauce on almost everything phase!)
Kate and Will (my younger ones) liked marinara sauce on them.
One major note: with bacon grease I would keep a closer eye on the fritters as they are likely to fry/burn faster (we had a majority of overly crispy-not an all bad thing but golden brown is a little bit better tasting than burnt!) The original recipe says 2-3 min I would say 2 and check them...a lot.
Also
Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini 
• 
  
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 tbs onion powder
• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup  fresh grated Parmesan cheese (fresh grated is best!!
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for frying (I used bacon from 8 strips that I fried up first, you could use tablespoons of walnut oil. Avocado oil or coconut oil would work great too)

Instructions

1. Grate zucchini with a medium sized grater or use your food processor! Follow with the carrot.
2. Add salt and place shredded zucchini in a clean dishtowel and squeeze to get as much liquid out of it as possible. (It doesn't have to be perfect but do try to get as much as you can) If you want to let the kids help this is a great step for helping!!
3. Once squeezed place back in bowl and add beaten eggs, onion powder, almond flour, parmesan, black pepper and mix thorougly.
4. Fry up your bacon (remove and set aside) and keep your grease hot. 
5. Add spoonfuls of mixture in hot oil and fry until golden brown on each side. About 2-3 minutes per side.
6. Place on platter lined with paper towels to soak up any grease that sticks to the fritter.

Awesome Whole Grain Egg Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm so glad fall is here, summer was killing me on the baking front. We had record hot temps and there was no way I was going to turn on the oven unless I had to. So when my husband asked where the cookies were I was happy to whip up some of these guys!

They are not huge cookies but that's good because they are just just the right size for me because I can have two and not feel too bad.
This is adapted from Bob's Red Mills Recipe Enjoy!

•    1/2 cup Margarine (Non-hydrogenated) (I use butter- I hate Margarine)
•     1/3 cup Oil
•     1-1/2 cups Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
•     2/3 cup Milk (Soy, Rice, Cow)
•     2 tsp Vanilla
•     2-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
•     1-1/4 cups Regular Rolled Oats
•     1 tsp Baking Powder
•     1 tsp Baking Soda
•     1/2 cup Chocolate Chips*

Directions

Cream together margarine, oil and sugar until very well blended. Add in milk and vanilla and blend. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder and soda. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. When half blended, add in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix everything until just blended, careful not to over mix. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Place by the tablespoon on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

*To make these truly unprocessed for October Unprocessed, use Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or break up your favorite unsweetened chocolate bar (just be sure to watch out for that pesky soy lecithin); choose to use applesauce or mashed bananas for the margarine and be sure to select an unprocessed oil, such as olive oil or coconut oil.

Football season crock pot Chili!!

You know you have a good recipe when the kids give it two thumbs up! This Chili recipe is a keeper in our book. :) Tonight is the big Packers/Bears Game, and a rainy, cool night to top it off so this is a perfect dinner choice! For a larger group I would just double or triple the recipe, but in my small crock pot for the five of us this works great with a little left over for lunches...if my husband doesn't eat it all!! :)

Looks good right!? I love my crock pot because you throw the stuff in and that's it!
Ok with this you do have to brown the ground beef but that's nothing really!
So here ya go!! (I hope tonight's game lives up to the name!)

Michele's Crock Pot Bear Beating Chili!
1 lb of ground beef
26oz of chopped tomatoes (If you can find Pomi it's a great brand with no extra added junk or chop your own!!)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of Kidney Beans
1/2 cup of chopped red pepper (you could do green if you didn't have red)
1/2 small onion chopped
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp of cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 shakes of Tabasco
1/2 tsp 3 qt  oregano
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
Cheddar Cheese- Hey I'm from Wisconsin I gotta have my cheese!
(This makes for a pretty mild chili, I have to keep it easy on the kids- you want more spice kick up the Tabasco, chili powder and cayenne, but do it slowly it does not take much to go from good, to burning your mouth!)

This is pretty easy, brown your ground beef, drain and

put it in the crock pot. Dump everything else in and mix. 

I use my small 3 Qt. for this and it's full to the top. If you

are doing this in the morn for a long day set on low. If you

are putting it on in the afternoon then set it to High. 

We always grate a little cheddar on the top and we are good

to go!  Enjoy!! Go Pack!!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins!

Well if you've read this blog before, you know I love pretty much all things pumpkin!! So I had to make a snack the other night for scouts and thought...pumpkin bread. I had one problem, not enough time. So what to do? Pumpkin muffins!! I ran into a second issue...I was out of eggs! Ugh I hate when that happens!! Now worries though, I found a great whole wheat, dairy free muffin recipe! Now you can put dairy in if you have it  but with all the dairy allergies out there it's nice to have a dairy free option!

The kids love them and pumpkin is so good for you! Just make sure to get the normal pumpkin not the pie filling that has a ton of junk in it!

Whole Wheat Dairy Free Pumpkin Muffins
1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
1¼ cups organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
½ cup soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses

2 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, soy milk, oil, and molasses and maple. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Happy Hump Day!!

So how's everyone's week going so far!? I've been busy baking and trying to come up with some fun ideas to switch lunch up a bit!
Let's face it PBJ sandwiches get old, fast!

Today I got inspired!!
I hope the boys liked it, we did ham roll ups with cute toothpicks! I used cup cake wrappers to section off each item. We also have small bites of cheese, cucumbers, mini triscuits, and clementines!

The other day we did this...u

My kids think lunchables are the best thing ever, I however do not! lol!
So we make our own with a sprouted whole wheat tortilla, sauce, shredded cheese, and pepperoni!
Hope this gives you a few ideas and some inspiration to make your kids lunch exciting!