Spilled Ingredients

Black Bean Hummus Dip for the Mommies

Niki — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:04:10 +0000

Parents are busy, busy people. Down-time is a thing of yesteryear and it's all about the kids. Whether you're a parent or not, real life is filled with choices that affect us and kids. The time to sift through these choices isn't always plentiful. I haven't even been able to post here in about a month. Where does the time go? ....Looking for a protein-packed snack on the go? Check out this UBER EASY, delicious recipe. It's a favorite of mine and my family's. ..... Black Bean Hummus Dip ... Parenting, preparing for presentations in my sleep, logging hours at work, working from home, going to class, doing homework, commuting, and juggling. Lots of juggling. That's definitely where the time went. A very Happy Mother's Day to each of you dear Mommies, some of the most adventurous jugglers of all time. more

Salmon simplified and WILD

Niki — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:39:08 +0000

One of our lowest maintenance meals is this super simple, tasty salmon ensemble. You need salmon and an oven. Throw a few optional accoutrements in the mix, sure, but essentially it's just the salmon and a baking place for it. The thing about salmon is it's uber healthy and I try to eat a lot of it. As of late. I can only eat so much straight up salmon, though. I like accoutrements with my salmon. It's a great marinade candidate, a good buddy to pecans and mustard, and simply delicious with barbecue sauce. Now, I'm not talking corn syrup disguised as BBQ sauce, I'm talking real. bbq. sauce. Store bought, that is. Challenge? Maybe. I like Annie's brand BBQ Sauce. BBQ sauce is one of the things to shop for at either your local co-op or at Whole Foods. It's hard to find the real thing at any type of big box store. Wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon is pumped with omega-3's and good protein. It's also one of the best choices you can make in sustainable seafood. It's good for you and for the planet. If you're deciding between farm-raised and sustainable wild-caught, I have an opinion. A strong one. Go wild-caught Alaskan Salmon, because: more

Natural Fun with Spring Eggs

Niki — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:37:08 +0000

This year, I have a kiddo who knows what eggs, bunnies, colors, paints and fun are. Mission: have fun making colored eggs, naturally. Emphasis on the have fun reference. There was no lack of fun in this egg coloring adventure. First step: locate canvas: eggs. Oh yeah. We eat the eggs that have the BROWN shells. Maybe slight road bump, or maybe the challenge just becomes that much more exciting. We'll soon find out, won't we? read more

Top 3 spring cleaning alternatives

Niki — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:00:37 +0000

Spring's officially sprung here in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I really couldn't be more amped, the birds are having a sing-n-dance revolution, kids' bikes are zooming down the sidewalks, the neighborhood park resembles a summer popsicle blanketed with busy bees (kiddos in this case), and air conditioners are humming... really? It is maybe a balmy 65 degrees F outside, snow mounds are still visibly lurking, and window air conditioners are already buzzing? Good ole Twin Cities fair weather fans, ahhhh spring is really in the air. Delightful as the robins flocking the yard are, my top spring sighting so far has been my kiddo and the rest of the state playing outside, jacket-free, green grass underfoot and underway. A close second, though, are the hearty chives popping up to say Hi, Remember me? in our barely unfrozen and otherwise empty garden. While finding the magic in the mess of spring cleaning, there are a few alternatives to keep in mind. read more

About that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner

Niki — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:15:51 +0000

When in Rome... Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner lacks something. It lacks artificial food dyes (yellow 5 and yellow 6), or tartrazine. Kraft products shipped to Europe and Australia are altered. European Kraft macaroni and cheese doesn't contain artificial colors or chemicals, like the U.S. version contains. Is it that European children prefer Earth tones over hyper colors? Maybe, but doubtful. Europe is just, well, in the know when it comes to ingesting chemicals. You could say they frown upon it. A 1994 study in Australia found behavioral changes in irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbance are associated with the ingestion of tartrazine in some children (1). Perhaps this is why Kraft can't sell their Macaroni and Cheese dinner with yellow food dye in Australia either.

Eggplant Parmesan

Niki — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:09:01 +0000

Following my wedding cake that I was too amped to eat, the eggplant parmesan of my dreams entered my life while honeymooning 2 1/2 years ago. It made its appearance at a cozy vegetarian restaurant in Madrid. It's probably more romantic to say that we happened upon this veggie nook entirely by chance, while wandering the evening streets of Madrid. But alas, it was moreso targeted and hunted, after doing my homework to find this destination. Splitting a week between three cities meant some degree of pre-mooning research. Many a variety of eggplant parmesan has been dined on by yours truly, at and away from home, but I'm still oozing over this particular one. This made my top-five meals of all time list. more

Sweet Potato Fries

Niki — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:48:15 +0000

It's very hard to order restaurant-style sweet potato fries after having so many of these over the years. Baked, crispy, and oh so addictive, these sweet potato fries are made with olive oil, cinnamon and nutmeg. Nothing less, nothing more. They're a perfect appetizer or side dish year-round. more

Stop the Margarine madness!

Niki — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:53:21 +0000

Dearest FDA, Couldn't our ingredient labels simply include: FOOD or NOT FOOD, following a list of partially-hydrogenated this or mono-diglycerides that? Mother Nature and margarine just can't relate to one another. Margarine is closer to plastic than it is to food or Mother Nature, since it's ARTIFICIAL MATTER. No matter what the label says, margarine is definitely TRANS FAT. As I'm sure you've heard by now, trans fat isn't something anyone should be eating. Ever. more

Winter Berry Smoothie

Niki — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:59:44 +0000

Our smoothie blender logs a lot of mileage between the three of us and our smoothie fixes. I'm surprised the little machine still runs, but I'm hoping it's a lifer now. Smoothies around here include whatever we happen to have on hand when we're feeling the power of the puree. This one happened to include an assortment of frozen berries, from our Minnesota winter stock pile, along with some yogurt, banana and protein powder, hemp protein in this one. Summer and winter smoothies are extremely different at our house. We don't go a day without each of us having one or more with fresh fruit and local greens in the summer, and have to put forth more effort to feast on the winterized (packaged) versions for a few months out of the year. Since it's March 1st here, and the ground is covered in snow, this is a winter variety smoothie. All of the berries were purchased pre-frozen, too, since we ran out of our frozen stock of fresh farmer's market and co-op fruit months ago already. I'm sad to say that at the moment of this one's blending, there was not a single leaf of kale nor spinach to be found in our kitchen. None. This smoothie was not part of the Green Smoothie Revolution. Unless my hemp powder counts for something? ... more

Buttermilk Pancake Paradise

Niki — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:20:40 +0000

I have a list of "should eat" breakfasts, like smoothies, egg whites, fruit, ice chips, you get the idea. I also have a list of "pretty decent" breakfasts, such as oatmeal, eggs, yogurt with granola, and on and on. Then there's my list of favorite breakfasts. This list gets noticed more on the weekend, when I'm home to give the favorites the attention they need. Topping THIS list is fresh buttermilk pancakes. They've been a staple around here for a while, morphing into a tradition even, especially during this endless midwest winter. All four of us love 'em, yup this guy too. Now, they don't have to be all that bad. Sure, they're carbed up a bit and dabble in a bit of butter and maple syrup, but there are tweaks on these fine hot cakes that keep them on "acceptably healthy" but more importantly scrumptious too. One example is always using whole wheat flour for at least half of the flour, REAL butter, pure maple syrup, and organic eggs. These hot cakes could always be the follow up to an uber-healthy green smoothie, if you have that kind of dedication in the morning. Buttermilk Pancake Paradise... more