Breast Cancer awareness

If you've been living in a hole somewhere you might not have realized that October is breast cancer awareness month and so for the last day of October I'm throwing this one out there. Have you seen the pink EVERYWHERE? Every item with a pink ribbon on it claiming that if you purchase that item you will be "supporting the research". Well take a moment and look past that pink ribbon, pink box or whatever packaging its coming in with a pinkish hue and look at that item. Lets think about this a minute. Is real breast cancer awareness going to happen because of that pink can of soup that you consume and the pennies going to the executives? (Dramatic pause as I step onto my soap box)Besides that you might be totally compromising on quality ingredients here. If you can't pronounce the ingredients, don't buy it. If you don't know what it is, don't buy it. There is nothing natural about natural flavor. So that now that I've had that rant against the pink ribbon, hopefully I didn't offend too many people out there...

Lets talk about real breast cancer awareness and what is going to make a difference.

1. Using quality products on your skin and body that won't damage it. I don't care how natural your lotion claims to be, drop it like a bad habit and grab yourself some organic coconut oil or olive oil. You can throw in some essential oils if your looking for a nicer smell.

2. Deodorant. I know I just covered things you put on your body but this is so important it gets its own point in my book. Under your arms are an extremely sensitive place on your body and then we throw aluminum in there and think there won't be an issue? Do you realize that many breast cancers develop in the part of the breast closest to the armpit? I will warn you that when you make this change that your body will over compensate, you'll be a sweaty mess for a little while. Your body is used to having these chemicals tell your underarms what to do, develop less sweat. So again, your body will over compensate for a short time, its like a detox. Once you get past that, and you will, it gets better. Wash under your arms, make good choices as far as deodorants by choosing good brands. I shopped specifically at my local food co-op. They tend to be very particular about the brands they carry. The two brands I have been using are Toms and Trader Joes. You might not smell quite as flowery as you used to but wouldn't you rather be on the safe side? Boom, breast cancer awareness.

3. Its not just what you put on your body but what you put into it. Making good choices about what you can consume goes a long way. Genetics may play a part in getting breast cancer but so can what you put into your body, take charge of what you can.

4. Education. Teaching even children what it means to make good choices on what they put into and on their bodies. Knowing how to do self examinations and making it a habit as well as having a relationship with your doctor that you can communicate any thing out of the ordinary.

My hope with this post isn't to be insensitive but to raise awareness of effective ways to make a difference without purchasing things that are in pink packaging that will harm your health and by sharing with you helpful ways of being aware of what you can do to minimize your chances. Take control, be aware and may the Lord protect you from such an awful thing. Boom, breast cancer awareness!

Frozen Avocados and Guacamole

Somewhere along the way I found that you can freeze avocados and they make AWESOME guacamole. You'll often find the best deal on buying avocados is when you buy a big bag of them and personally with all the nutrition in there you should try to keep them around the house. Again, like spinach you can put avocados in lots of things! Throw them in your smoothie, soup or today make up some guacamole. So the trouble with buying those big bags of avocados is that you wait and wait for them to ripen and then all of a sudden you have 6 avocados all ripe at the same time and I find that the perfect window of goodness for avocados is about 2-3 days. So of course I do what I can to eat them up but then I cut the rest in half, leave the pits in and throw them in a freezer bag. Then the next time I want them, I have them.

Here are my frozen avocados and dinner is coming a little too quickly...

So if your short on time and want to speed up the process a bit, throw them back in the bag and into a bowl of warm water.

When they thaw out they will look a little sad and brown...

BUT under that very thin layer of brown is bright green goodness...

The avocado will be soft enough that you can just stir it up with a spoon, no mashing with a fork is even needed. I don't really have a recipe to give you because I honestly taste test it out myself. But my go-to ingredients for a great guacamole are fresh lime juice (why is my lime so yellow? It really is a lime!), cilantro, salt, cumin, garlic powder and some chili powder. Make it to your liking and if you need a little direction here is a recipe as a reference: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/best-ever-guacamole-again

This recipe by Whole Foods is way fancier than I ever whip up because I make guacamole usually in the middle of while I'm making supper. So if your feelin fancy there you go. I sometimes throw in raw red onion or tomato depending upon time and what I have on hand.

 

But I would say the key ingredients that lie in a great guacamole are the fresh lime and cilantro...

 

 

So there you go REAL, creamy guacamole...

 

 

Taco Tuesday

So Taco Tuesday it is!

I have to admit I'm not much for writing out recipes or even following them but I am full of ideas and I love to take pictures. So here we go, some ideas for taco Tuesday, you'll be all set for next week!

Step one, grab yourself a great beer, done! I'm pretty sure this is my favorite beer. Make good choices even with the drink in your hand, there are some pretty toxic things in those cheap beers and wines, choose wisely. I happen to approve this brand.

 

 

So the important thing about eating healthy is incorporating as many fresh vegetables as possible. Check out this fantastic spinach from the farmers market, leaves as big as my hand! If you don't shop farmers markets, what are you thinking?! Even winter farmers markets are becoming more and more popular.

 

 

So try to add that good green veggie into as many meals as possible. Shred it up with some romaine for your tacos.

 

 

Here is your chance to throw in a little spice if you so choose or just add color or flavor. I had some jalapenos and banana peppers on hand. 

 

 I shred carrots and mix it in with my cheese because we squeeze in an extra veggie and its pretty. I also give the carrot a good wash and don't peel it, that skin of that beautiful organic carrot is so good for you!

 

 

 

For tonight I did a beautiful red onion with our grass fed ground beef and threw in some red beans as well. I like to make lots of meat so that I can easily throw together a taco salad for myself for lunch or even make quesadillas with it! I'm always trying to think of how I can use food from one night for future meals. Don't throw things away!

 

 

 Here is the meat, looks good! One of my favorite add ins is quinoa (which I didn't do tonight but remember I'm full of ideas). Quinoa blends in well with the meat and takes on the flavors too. For a vegetarian option you could skip the meat and just do quinoa. If you want to save yourself time cook up a TON of quinoa and freeze it, then whenever you want to sprinkle that protein goodness into your food.

 

This is the seasoning that I used tonight. Be aware of your seasonings and again choose wisely as there are again some scary ingredients in some of those seasoning mixes in stores. Another option is making your own seasoning! Here is a recipe:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/ 

Wouldn't that make a great gift idea?! I mean the holidays are JUST around the corner.

 

 Look at this pretty spread! I'm not sure why I love to put it all on the cutting board like this but I tell myself it is to save dishes but I think its just beautiful. Look at that rainbow of color?!

 

 So this might just change your life. Using a chip clip to keep your children's (or your husbands...) tacos closed?! Brilliant!! I still can't get over how this handy tip has saved us many a lap full of taconess. The tortillas I used for the men/boys in my life are these delicious chia seed tortillas from Trader Joes, they are delicious, can you tell I like them?? I also love the spinach ones!

But I decided to use corn tortillas myself, trying to avoid wheat when possible because I just feel better. So I threw the corn tortillas in the oven to let them crisp up a bit, something I've never done before but now that I have a blog my creative juices are really flowing! I must admit I had one casualty, one broke and fell in the bottom of the oven. I baked them at 400 for about 5-7 minutes (just set a timer and check on them often)

 

 

Its no flour tortilla but it was crispy and good. I took this picture before I remembered the guacamole I made in the fridge. Which is what's comin on the blog tomorrow!! Little teaser there...

 

 

Taco Tuesday, its a thing.