Reflections on 2008, Resolutions for 2009: "All Things Needful"

December 31, 2008
Reflections on 2008, Resolutions for 2009: "All Things Needful"
“But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”–Luke 10:42
Every year, it seems like the mad rush that takes place from November 26 to December 31 makes me overlook the fact that a year is ending. This year, thankfully, has been different. Our two weeks of snow coupled with a change in my assenting to the “mad rush syndrome” has offered me some real time to think back and reflect on God’s goodness to us in 2008. This post takes a look back at the changes we’ve made in our lives this year (some voluntarily, some not!) and my goals to continually hone in all “All Things Needful” as a mother, a wife, and a Thrifty Oreganic! Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!

This past two weeks, the Oreganics have been snowed in! Kelly laughs at the fact that Portland essentially becomes a state of emergency when we get 6 inches, while she lives life among 2 feet of snow regularly!

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Top 10 Essential Baby Needs for a Thrifty Oreganic Baby

December 17, 2008
Top 10 Essential Baby Needs for a Thrifty Oreganic Baby

The joy of welcoming a new life into the world can sometimes be overshadowed by the deluge of material goods that seem to be “required” in order to bring the baby home from the hospital. An expectant friend of mine recently e-mailed several mothers to ask this very question: “Um…what do I really need for a baby?”

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Whole Foods Vs. New Seasons Market

December 16, 2008
Whole Foods Vs. New Seasons Market

If you’re an urban dweller, you are blessed with a myriad of grocery shopping options. Portland is no exception. We have all the typical “big names” (Safeway, Kroger/Fred Meyer, Albertson’s) and a fair amount of small, locally-owned neighborhood co-ops. We are also blessed with a growing chain of Health Food stores called New Seasons Market. Read on to find out some surprising news about how natural food giant Whole Foods is reacting to the presence of New Seasons Market. Read the rest of this entry »

Holiday Junkfood Makeover: Sugar Free Peppermint Bark!

December 15, 2008
Holiday Junkfood Makeover: Sugar Free Peppermint Bark!


Update: For more nourishing holiday treats, visit The Nourishing Gourmet !

The holiday season is full of culinary temptations, for sure. I’ve been pretty good about avoiding the cookies, fudge, and candy canes, but there are some treats that I really do miss, such as peppermint bark. Fortunately, I came up with a very satisfying sugar free alternative packed with good calories! Read the rest of this entry »

Menu Plan Monday: Clean Out Your Fridge Week

Menu Plan Monday: Clean Out Your Fridge Week

Since we here in the Northwest are currently experiencing what news anchors are calling the “Arctic Blast”, I’ve been lead to believe that there’s no way I’m getting out of my house to go to the store anytime in the near future. No worries for me, since I am a food pack-rat and I have plenty of frozen and dry goods….not to mention unidentifiable items in mason jars in my fridge! Oh well, since I always operate on the principle of “use what you have” (more on my menu planning philosophy can be found here), this challenge was one I am always up for!

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Thrifty, Green & Simple Christmas Gifts

December 13, 2008
Thrifty, Green & Simple Christmas Gifts
Jonathan Gregory, my sweetest Christmas gift (along with his sister!)

News of the economic crisis is getting worse every day. Unemployment numbers are skyrocketing. No doubt this is going to be a tight (if not totally difficult) Christmas for many folks around the country. Even those who are blessed with stable employment would be wise to scale back and simplify this Christmas.
No matter what the motivation, simplicity is always a welcome notion for me. Malls overwhelm me. I can’t even go into the neighborhood Big Box store this time of year without totally feeling panicked and emotionally drained. The subtle glorification of plastic and kitch wears on me even more than normal this time of year.

In case anyone else out there is feeling overwhelmed by commercialism and haste, I thought I would share some tips for a more simplified Christmas; one which will allow room to celebrate the true meaning of the season and enjoy priceless time with the gifts we have already in our lives!

1) Consider Handmaking Gifts: For those of you who are crafty, this is a no-brainer. But there are many ways to share homemade gifts.

One of our favorite gifts from year to year is an amazing homemade salsa made by dear couple friends of ours. There’s nothing like it! Last year I made a homemade, gourmet hot cocoa mix with real fair-trade chocolate, Rapadura, and organic milk powder.

What about some simple handmade toy blocks for the children out of scrap lumber? Other ideas include the obvious (scarves, hats, legwarmers, quilts, afghans, cross-stitch, purses, earrings). If you’re a writer, what about a framed poem? My brother is good at editing videos and has made some hilarious DVDs. A family slide show set to music is a great gift to send out-of-town relatives and friends!

When it comes to unique handmade items, Google is your friend as well as You Tube. If you want to make it, You Tube has probably got someone showing you how! Another neat site I stumbled upon is Instructables which shows pictures and step-by-step instructions on how to do just about anything!

One of my favorite web resources for Gifts in a Jar is this website. I enjoy the challenge of tweaking the recipes and making them more nourishing! More on that in a future post.

2) Recycled Gifts
No, I don’t [necessarily] mean re-gifting. Recycled gifts include those purchased cheaply at garage sales, vintage/antique shops, or other second-hand stores. The neat thing about most second hand stores is that the businesses are non-profit organizations that support a worthy cause. For those of you locals, Second Edition is the resale shop for the Cedar Mill Community Library. This store is hands down the cleanest, and more high-quality resale for the lowest price around.

Plato’s Closet is a for-profit company that encourages recycling by purchasing your old clothes and selling them. These clothes are all high quality name brands at a fraction of the cost. This is a great option for anyone who has a teenager or young adult on their list to shop for!

Even though this is more common for white elephant gift exchanges, sometimes simply looking through your own garage can turn up treasures that you didn’t remember you had.
Another neat store in Portland, called SCRAP is a non-profit that sells mostly excess office and school supplies and other very unique and highly recyclable items including fabric scraps. This place is cheap, too. Most items are sold by the pound!!! Full of artistic inspiration, this place is awesome! If you aren’t in Portland, try to locate a similar type of program in your area.
3) Support Sustainable Businesses

If handmade or recycled isn’t your schtick, please consider purchasing your gifts from green & sustainable businesses. The EcoMetro guide (which services East Bay, CA, Seattle area, Portland, and Eugene/Springfield) is a priceless resource for all things green and sustainable in the cities they service. Search for local, sustainable businesses on their site. If your city is not represented by EcoMetro, consider contacting them putting your city on the EcoMetro map!
Some of my other favorite ways support small and sustainable businesses are by shopping at:
  • Ten Thousand Villages supports sustainable business in third world countries by selling the beautiful artisan crafts from around the world.

  • Those random Holiday Bizarres you see advertised everywhere this time of year.
  • Searching websites like the Sustainable Business Network.
  • Shop Etsy and directly support many small-scale artisans.

4) Consider Unique Gifts with a Small Carbon Footprint:

Some of our favorite gifts are paperless, but at the same time support local organizations. If you are shopping for children who already have every toy they’d ever need, why not buy them a membership to your nearest zoo, science, or children’s museum?

Tickets to a play, movie, sporting event, or concert are also welcome, but unique gifts. Gift certificates for massage, pedicures, facials will excite any woman on your Christmas list.

Perhaps a membership to a CSA would be a great family gift for you or a family on your list.

Conclusion

Ideas abound for making a more simple/green/thrifty Christmas celebration, yet the bigger question remains: how do we change our expectations for giving and receiving? This is a huge philosophical and spiritual question with which to ponder. Further, how do we raise children that don’t have the expectation that they’re always going to get tons of new things each year?

Currently, being “green” and simple is a choice many of us make on principle. Someday, it may not be an option.

Thinking Outside the [Cereal] Box

December 9, 2008
Thinking Outside the [Cereal] Box

Another myth often believed by traditional foodies is that good food can’t possibly be quick and easy to prepare.

Doesn’t everything have to soak for like 2 weeks before it can be consumed?

Thankfully no! Now granted, many of my breakfasts in my menu plans require lots of advanced preparation, but recently I concocted a deliciously satisfying breakfast “cereal” of sorts that had all the trappings of cereal: milk, crunch, and sweetness– but without all the yucky extruded, processed grains involved.

I call it “Apple-Cinnamon Crunch” and its 100% RAW!!

Here’s what I did:

Apple Cinnamon Crunch: The non-Cereal

Serves 4

1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Stick Cinnamon, ground (or approx. 1/2 tsp)
1 Cup Crispy Walnuts
1/2 Cup Raisins (optional)
1/2 Cup Buckwheat Sprouts (optional)
Raw milk or cream, or real almond milk

1. Shred the apple into large bowl.

2. Toss with cinnamon.

3. Add walnuts, buckwheat sprouts, and raisins, if using.

4. Top with desired amount of milk or cream.

This alkalizing breakfast is light, yet filling, fresh, and alive!

Photo courtesy www.localhs.com

Traditional Food Myth #1

December 5, 2008
Traditional Food Myth #1

In order to eat “traditional foods” you need to eat all cooked foods.

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, says basically that we should strive to eat a diet that is 50% RAW.
Raw doesn’t just need to be veggies, either. Here’s my top 10 list of nutrient-dense raw foods that can easily be added to any meal (they are in no particular order):
1. Sprouted and dehydrated nuts
2. Raw butter
3. Raw milk
4. Sauerkraut/kim chee/pickles (lacto-fermented, non-pasteurized)
5. Raw cheese
6. Raw fish (sashimi), make sure it’s from a reputable source and frozen for at least 14 days
7. Raw egg yolks (from pastured hens only, add to smoothies)
8. Sprouted legumes or seeds, added to salads
9. Kombucha
10. Good old fruits and vegetables
The book shown above, The Raw Truth by Jeremy Safron is an amazingly inspirational raw vegan cookbook with some incredibly good recipes that my family has enjoyed for years. I highly recommend this easy-to-follow book.
The following recipe is for raw, vegan, gluten-free, fat-free Buckwheat Granola that my daughter just loves to snack on. It’s inspired by Safron’s “Buckies“:
Raw Vegan Buckwheat Granola
2 cups dates (Costco or Azure Standard have good prices on these)
2 cups filtered water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups buckwheat sprouts
coconut, raisins, chopped nuts
Place the dates in a bowl, cover with the water , and soak for about 1 hour, or until soft. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. In a blender, combine the dates, reserved liquid, and vanilla. Pour the date mixture into a large bowl and add the sprouts.
Mix well. Spread the mixture on a dehydrator tray or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in the oven. If using oven, set a lowest setting and leave the door open. Dehydrate until crisp.
When finished drying, break up into bite-sized pieces and mix with your favorite granola accompaniments, such as chopped crispy nuts, raisins, and coconut.
Coming soon, more tips for adding more raw foods to the traditional plate!

Real Food Makeover: Vegan Nachos

December 3, 2008
Real Food Makeover: Vegan Nachos

Aaah, nachos. Besides reminding me of the movie Napoleon Dynamite (for some reason) , the taste of that “cheeze” and bland corn chip crunch hearkens back to cold nights wearing my Letterman’s jacket watching high school football games. Bowling alleys and skating rinks come to mind as well.
As nasty as commercial nachos always end up being, there has always been some appeal to me that always ends with regret. Not anymore.
I went ahead and replaced the generic yellow corn chips with Trader Joe’s or (Garden of Eatin’ )Blue Corn Chips. For some reason, Blue Corn Chips are actually allowed on the Body Ecology Diet. If I were going completely grain-free on these, I would probably try substituting Trader Joe’s Roasted Plantain Chips (all the salty, crunchy goodness without the grains!) . Trader Joe’s has a myriad of healthy tortilla chip options, including Veggie Flaxseed Tortilla Chips and Hempseed Tortilla Chips! But I really like the blue corn chips.
Instead of the part-plastic cheeze ooze, there are many options. You could, of course, just choose your favorite real cheese (I love raw cheddar) and just shred it on top. I also think raw creme fraiche alone can do the job, accompanied with perhaps a little bit of fresh (or canned) salsa.
But for my fellow Nativity-fasters, I offer you a Traditional food-inspired recipe for Vegan Nachos that are delicious and will have you never looking back to those days of football games and skating rinks (as if you needed another reason!)
Vegan Nachos

You’ll need to procure the following products that may or may not be homemade staples in your kitchen:

*Corn tortilla chips ( you can thriftily make these by frying regular corn tortillas–think Winco, they sell like a million for $1.29– until crisp in coconut oil)

*Refried black beans (I happen to cook like a gallon of dried black beans in my slow cooker and freeze them. I then re-fry them in coconut oil and season with taco seasonings later)

*Tomato salsa of choice (again can be easily made like so: whirl a couple tomatoes, an onion, a jalapeno, and salt in the food processor for an ultra simple salsa)

*Guacamole (quite simply: 1 mashed avocado, juice of 1 lemon, sea salt to taste. done.)

*2 chopped scallions

*Cortido (Latin American Sauerkraut. Optional but incredibly worth every minute it takes you to make this)

Layer the above ingredients in the order listed. Purposefully omit forks from your table setting. Purposefully include an extra napkin.

Delicious. Filling. Satisfying. pH balanced. No, really.

Disclaimer: By the way, if you’re wondering what’s up with that orange stuff adjacent the blue chips in the photo above, it’s a butternut squash “cheese sauce” I threw together a while ago. I used the photo for purposes of highlighting the blue chips. Unfortunately for the above recipe, my memory card was full and I was unable to patiently clear my card before consuming my supper, thus no picture of the nachos of which I write.

I’m working on refining the exact recipe for the squash nachos and will keep you posted.

 
 
 
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