Info Diet Plan

Day 227. This pudding is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! sorry. I totally couldnt help myself. We needed a quick dessert for some company and I needed to use the crockpot . And thats pretty much how this dessert was invented. I opened the cabinet, saw some sweetened condensed milk, and we all know HOW GOOD THAT IS when cooked in the crockpot ( except for you shouldnt do it for safety and legal reasons or something like that ) and we had a bunch of bananas. So I mixed the two. The end. The Ingredients. --2 cans of sweetened condensed milk --4 bananas The Directions. I used a 1.5 quart mini crockpot for this dessert. Put the peeled bananas into a zippered freezer bag and let your kids squish the bananas until they get bored or the bag springs a hole and banana goobers fall to the floor. The freshly-mopped-and-ready-for-company floor. The bananas will still have some chunk in them. If this isnt okay with you, youll need to use a food processor. Open the cans of sweetened condensed

Well, my last post was about listening to our bodies and mines been screaming, "Beets, please!" I dont know what possessed me to even buy one recently, but now Im obsessed with these sweet amethyst gems. I do believe in the bodys innate intelligence and capacity to heal itself, and Im just trusting that, for whatever reason, this is what my body needs at the moment. Said to be both blood cleansing and blood building, beets are loaded with nutrients: beta-carotene, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron. Betaine – an amino acid that gives the beet its gorgeous color – helps increase oxygen intake and lower homocysteine levels, which is especially beneficial in combating premature coronary artery disease and stroke. Beets have long been known for their amazing health benefits in treating anemia. Theyre also very helpful for constipation, irregular menses, acne and gout. Did you know that beets can normalize blood pressure, lowe

Day 344. Jessica emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I had a crockpot dolmas recipe. I didnt, but I do now! These are super easy, fun to make, and even more fun to eat. I was floored at how many my kids ate---they really liked them a lot. The Ingredients. 1 jar grape leaves (8oz of leaves, in juice, near the pickles) 1/2 pound ground lamb 1/2 pound ground turkey breast 1 cup cooked white rice 1/2 cup chopped parsley 2 lemons 1 egg 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp dill The Directions . I used a 6 quart crockpot , anything 4 quarts and up would work just fine. I got this recipe after putting a few together from this website according to the flavors I thought my family would enjoy, and from how I remember dolmas to taste. I really think theres no wrong or right way to do these, its like meatloaf--everyone has their own version. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, rice, egg, spices, and juice from one lemon. Mix well with your hands to combine. Drain and rinse the grape leaves. Put a sm

Day 273. Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown tonight. Last week, Brenda emailed me ask if Ive ever made a honey cake in the crockpot. I hadnt. After I called my friend, Jennifer (yes, I realize all my friends are named Jennifer), I learned that honey cake is usually pretty dry and dense. She said "I dont like it, I wont eat it. But my dad does." I really like Jennifers dad, and was on a mission to make a moist honey cake---the crockpot delivers moist cakes. Unless you burn it. I messed this up completely. The cake was rising properly, smelled delicious, and was brown and pulling away from the sides of the crock. The top was still pretty jiggly, so I felt comfortable leaving it for 45 minutes on high while we went to swim lessons. I came home to a horrible burnt-cake smell. The top and middle was okay, but I threw the rest away. That said! If I had taken the lid off, and watched it for about 30 minutes, I think this would have been wonderful. Id love to hear back if anyone tr

We are officially Back to School---it started Monday. Ive mentioned before that I am a meal planner, and the fall brings out a plethora of good intentions to eat wholesome family meals together each night, and share highlights of the day. This year was no different. I had my menu planned out, and a shopping list ready to go. But. This year Im pregnant (baby girl #3!), and I have a new kindergartner . Which means that instead of going to the store while both girls were in school, I disinfected the blinds (thats totally normal... right?) and instead of going right after kindergarten let out, we both fell asleep on the couch during Arthur. I may have even drooled a bit. And all of a sudden it was time to get my third grader who had " so much homework, mom ," and the store couldnt happen. So I made do. This is a variation of the Autumn Sausage Casserole that I made last year, but made with ingredients I had in the house. Other than the spices, the ingredients were all different.

Good morning! I made a wonderful meatball soup a few nights ago. I was inspired by Elise Bauers Albondigas Soup recipe posted on Simply Recipes . I bookmarked this soup about a year ago, but hadnt gotten around to trying it. When I found that Costco started carrying some gluten-free meatballs I knew I was ready to test it out. Elise makes her own, which you can too, but youll need to fully cook them before throwing into the crock. They will disintegrate otherwise. I really liked this soup, and what I liked EVEN more about it was that I made do with pantry and freezer stuff instead of going to the store, which makes it "free"! Im speaking with Elise in July at BlogHer on the FoodBlogging During a Recession Panel . The Crock-Pot is such a useful tool when creating low cost meals for you and your family. The Ingredients. 4 cups chicken broth 3/4 cup baby tomatoes, quartered 1 cup baby carrots, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 1/2 cup frozen corn 1/4 cup prepared pasta sauce (I u