I Love My Local Bulk Store

In my quest to become healthier, save money, be kinder to environment and all those feel good things I started going to the bulk store last year. At first I went to the only one I really knew of. It was okay but the aisles were tight, they always seemed dingy and the staff were never overly attentive. THEN I discovered there was another bulk store even closer to me. I was hooked on it from then on. The store was clean and bright. They carried what seems like a much larger variety. The staff are very friendly. They carry an array of kitchen gadgetry as well as some gifty type items. I am talking about my local Scoop N Weigh.

I usually pop down there every couple weeks. I never buy massive bulk quantities rather I get what I know I am going to use over the next little while. My total always ends up being somewhere in the $50-$55 ballpark. Every. Time.

Going to the bulk store has been such a huge help in buying healthier ingredients for myself and my family. Yesterday I had an opportunity to go there and I came out with a fabulous haul. I thought I would share what I got and what I am going to use some it for.

-Wheat Bran and Oat Bran (for making bran muffins and for sprinkling on top of yogurt, oatmeal, etc.)
-Raisins (for putting in the bran muffins, for oatmeal cookies, and for putting in oatmeal)
-Dried Cranberries (for oatmeal and trail mix)
-Whole Almonds (for snacking on and getting my healthy fats)
-Pitted Dates (Haven't picked a recipe but there are a few which use dates that I am anxious to try)
-Mini Chocolate Chips (For making banana bread and other treats)
-Banana Chips (We love these just for snacking on)
-Cream Earl Grey Tea (It's tea. Need I say more)

I bought two things I have never bought/cooked with before. I am trying to expand our horizons in terms of grains/carbs/side dishes.
-Couscous (Alright I've bought a box of this before and have had it but have really never actually made or prepared it. I like the taste and texture so we will do some experimenting to see what the kids like)
-Quinoa (A dear friend runs the fantastic blog Little Grazers and has a recipe for Apple and Cheese Quinoa Balls among several other quinoa recipes. She is my go to for all things quinoa right now. She also has another site called Slimming Eats which follows the diet plan called Slimming World. While I follow Weight Watchers I love the whole food based recipes she has.)

In their candy and sweets section I always pick up just a small quantity of special treats. I usually get for myself two chocolate coconut covered marshmallows and I always get daddy a few pecan carmel thingys. They also stock seasonal candy so I grabbed the kids a small bag of easter themed chocolate covered raisins and some kind of easter themed cream candy. I know those things aren't necessarily healthy but those little sweet treats on rare occasions allow us to focus on healthy eating the rest of the time. Everyone deserves a treat now and again.

There are a few other items that are a part of my regular pick up but I was still stocked on them so I didn't pick up any this time. They are diced apricots, coconut flakes, coconut oil, shredded unsweetened coconut (clearly I have a thing for coconut), cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hulled hemp hearts, buckwheat, and chia seeds.

Next time I go I am going to delve into a few of their legume options (beans and lentils perhaps) as well as try out some of their wild rice blends.

I always enjoy going there. For multiple reasons. Plus I often get to run in by myself while daddy chills in the van with the kids. Who wouldn't love 20 minutes to themselves regardless of where it is :)

Homemade Skor Bars

This afternoon the kids and I made a tasty treat. So simple. 4 ingredients. The hardest part is waiting long enough until they are cooled. 

While I've seen many recipes for these on pinterest and all over internet land I've been making this particular one for years. Long ago while still in high school was when I first had them, courtesy of my mum. Now my children can enjoy making them with me (or so I hope).

Warning: Do not make this without another adult present or kids in full nap mode. Last thing you need is to turn your back on a sugar and butter mixture in a rolling boil to settle a spat over whose hot wheels is whose. Just sayin'.

Homemade Skor Bars

approx. 1 and 1/2 tubes of saltine crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup chocolate chips (although I always toss on an extra handful)

-Preheat oven to 375'

-Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. 

-Line saltine crackers on the pan salt side up.  

-Melt the butter in a saucepan

-Add the sugar

This is where is gets to the only tricky part:

-Melt the sugar and bring the butter sugar mixture to a boil

-Let boil for 3 min stirring frequently

DO NOT STEP AWAY 

-Pour butter and sugar mixture over the saltines and put in oven for 8 min.

-Pull out pan after 8 minutes and immediately put chocolate chips on top

-Allow them to sit a few moments to let them melt

-Once chips are melting begin lightly spreading the chocolate to cover

-Allow bars to cool and harden (I stuck mine in the freezer because I lack patience)

-Once cooled and hardened cut into squares

-Delicious with a cup of coffee or nice cold glass of milk. 

ENJOY!!

I definitely smell a pork product of some kind...

Bacon was on sale this week at our local grocery store so we scooped up a few packs and have been making some yummy dishes featuring bacon. There was the traditional breakfast fare of bacon and eggs, bacon and cheese on toast, corn chowder and a new one, pasta carbonara. The corn chowder was a recipe I had made before and as usual it turned out super yummy. The pasta carbonara recipe was brand new to me and was uber tasty. It was simple and quick to make and best of all the boys gobbled it up.

The original recipe came from allrecipes.com so you can head over there to see it. I did however make a few minor modifications so I will share with you here how I made the pasta carbonara.

Pasta Carbonara


1 lb of dry pasta noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
8 slices of bacon, diced*
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 dry white wine**
4 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cream
pinch of salt and pepper to taste
garnish with: fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cook bacon. Set bacon aside and pat dry with paper towel. Pour bacon fat out of pan however save approximately 2 tbsp of bacon fat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to bacon fat. Toss in onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent and add bacon back to pan. 

Add 1/4 cup of white wine to bacon and onion.


Whisk the 4 eggs and add the parmesan cheese and cream to eggs.

On low to med heat add the bacon/onion mixture to the noodles and toss to coat. 

Add the egg/cheese mixture to noodles/bacon and continue to toss until the sauce is cooked and heated through. 

Place the pasta on plates and add a dash of salt and pepper and garnish as you like. 

*I like to use a scissor and cut the bacon up directly into the pan
**I substituted plain apple juice in place of the wine

You may notice that there are three different types of pasta there. Spaghetti, fettucini and penne. I didn't have enough of any one kind so I used the last remnants of each and it worked great.

I love to serve bread along any soup or pasta dish (as if there wasn't enough carbs already) so we had a nice french bread along with it. A light salad would go just as nice if you are trying to watch your waistline (in which case you probably aren't going to be making this carbonara anyways).

Bon Appetit!!!


(Oh and if you didn't get the joke in the post title you need to watch some Wayne's World)

Mmmmmmuffins

I love muffins. They are a perfect little bundles of goodness. You can eat them with a tall cold glass of milk or a hot steamy cup of coffee or with an afternoon tea. They can be filled with a variety of things. They can have fruits, vegetables, nuts or chocolate in wide and varying assortments. Toss them in a lunch for a power packed pick me up. 


I should stop before I turn this post into a full fledged "Ode to the muffin" but seriously what is not to like about a muffin? 


My sister visited my parents over the weekend and being that my mum is like our own personal Martha Stewart she sent some homemade muffins that they made over the weekend. There were peach poppyseed muffins (absolutely awesome!) and a muffin that we have now renamed the "mish mash muffin". This "mish mash muffin" has in it :pattypan squash, carrots and crab apples. The best part is that the boys LOVED them, it could have been the melted sugar on top or the intense moistness but there is a ridiculous amount of veggies in them. I have to give a shout out to the clean living of the prairies too. The squash came from my mums garden as did the crab apples and the carrots came from my great aunt's garden. Totally organic. You could practically taste the love in every bite. 


Mish Mash Muffins (Makes 18)
2 cups flour
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded apple
1 1/4 cup sugar (or splenda)
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup.chopped walnuts
1 tbsp cinnamon2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla
3 lrg eggs
1 cup oil
Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
Mix dry ingredients together well. Mix fruits and vegetables well. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Add the vanilla, eggs and oil. Be careful not to over mix (that is the downfall of a good muffin). 
Divy out the batter into paper muffin cups. Sprinkle some of the sugar over each muffin. Bake for approximately 22 minutes. 


A Few Notes: you can use any summer squash such as green zucchini or green or yellow patty pan. My mum likes to fancy things up a bit so she used a combo of brown and white sugar for sprinkling. Since some people don't like nuts in their muffins you could use them instead for placing on top of the muffin (easily picked out).


I had a few just passed bananas hanging around in the kitchen so I to decided to whip up some muffins this afternoon (especially since the ones mum sent in are finished up). I have a feeling these ones may not make it till tomorrow either (does anything with chocolate chips in it last overnight?). 


Banana Chip Muffins (Makes 12)
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 beaten egg
1/2 milk
1/4 unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium over ripe bananas)


Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix together the dry ingredients. Mix together the wet ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Do not over mix. Pour batter evenly into lined muffin cups. Bake for 18 minutes. 


When ever I make muffins I like to use just a standard muffin tin with the regular paper cups. I'm not particular in any way. I have tried the silicone muffin cups before but I found that they left the exterior of the muffin kind of rubbery (in texture, not flavour). I would like to branch out a bit and maybe and a fun muffin pan for the boys, like mini muffin pan. I could go for a giant muffin pan really but that would be bad for me. 


I would also like to experiment too by adding some wheat germ or ground flax seed to my muffin (and in general most quick bread) batters. The wheat germ would pump up the fibre in the muffin and the flax would up the nutrient value too while adding a pleasant nuttiness. 


Try the recipes, really. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I will leave you now as I have to go slather a piping hot muffin with butter. G'Night. 









 

Like Any Other Day (mostly)

Like Any Other Day (mostly)

It is a holiday Monday here in Canada. Labour day weekend. I’ve never really understood the whole labour day holiday really, perhaps I should look it up some day, have an appreciation for it. As a work at home mother though, it’s a Monday and pretty much shaping up like any other day. For most employed outside the home it is a day off, a get away. Daddy Sanford and I own a business(s) which means there are no holidays or days off. We get time when we can and this weekend was one of those times. Today though Daddy will be working so around here, it’s just a Monday.

I have to interrupt this train of thought to brag for a moment. It isn’t even noon yet and I have supper ready. If you are thinking “how does she do it?”, simple, I have two words for you: crock pot. I have a roast in there and it won’t be long until the smell of sweet spicy sauce wafts through the house. My roast will cook all day and all I have to do at supper time is cook a vegetable and cut up some buns. This is definitely in my list of top ten favourite meals. While I am stoked that I will be having an awesome supper tonight, I am equally stoked at the prospect of the stolen time I will have later today in lieu of the regular supper prep. 

Recipe for BBQ Beef Sandwiches

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup worchestercire sauce

1 tbsp vinager

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp cayanne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together. Place your choice of roast in the crock pot and pour sauce over it (I usually use a standard beef roast, no need for fancy cuts. Also tastes great with venison and I suppose would be equally yummy with pork). Turn crock pot onto low and let simmer and cook all day. Cooking time may vary depending on roast size but about 8-10 hrs on low or 4-6 hrs on high should do it. ***If you like things extra saucy then double the recipe, I always do***

Since everything is closed I know we won't be going to do any shopping of any kind so our day will probably be rather low key. I hope tonight I can find some Mama time and try out my new Lush bath bomb - aptly named "Sex Bomb" (I recently discovered the awesomeness that is Lush). Check out  Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics to see for yourself but really find a store so you can actually smell for yourself. 

Yesterday I made some sorting progress in our on going attempt to de-clutter our home and our lives. I pulled out my sewing baskets and bags and went through them. I was ruthless. There were so many bits and pieces and partially begun projects. I had to be ruthless. I did however find a few past gems in there, such as the first cross-stitch I ever did, my old spool knitting stuff (which was my dad's as boy), and the almost finished Winnie the Pooh cross stitch from when I was pregnant with Viktor. Since everything is sorted now I am going to finish it. Shouldn't take too long and I will feel wonderful about it. I'm excited to get back to my old hobby.

My impending cross-stitching has me now in an overall mood of creating. I want to play music. I want to bake. I think our day may hold the fruits of our creative labours today. Maybe for us it is a labor day. A day of our labours. And although labour day I know does not have anything to do with the labour of child birth it does invoke that mentality, in me at least. I feel gracious today for the results of those labours. My 1st, my 2nd and my 3rd. 

Just writing this out I am realizing, stolen time, Mama time, reviving a favourite past time, maybe today won’t be like any other day. Like they say in "Up", "Adventure is out there!".