Now That's Talent

My daughter is a hilariously talented movie editor, dancer, and actress. That is all.

Scromelet and Smoky Bacon Garilc Potatoes

You guessed it a Scromelet is just and omelet gone wrong. At least coining the term scromelet makes it sound intentional. This turned out delicious none-the-less! (And trust me on the pancake batter.)

Here's the scromelet: (the beauty of recipes like these are that you can customize them to your tastes easily)

Scromelet

Serves 4

6 eggs
1/2 c. pancake mix
1/2 c water
1/2-3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 red bell pepper diced
1 roma tomato seeds removed and diced
4 oz. mushrooms any kind sliced
1 c. fresh spinach
1/2 c. roasted turkey sandwich meat diced
1 tsp Wildtree Smoky Bacon Flavored Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp Wildtree Jalapeno Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp Wildtree Butter Flavored Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp  Wildtree Garlic Galore Blend or Wildtree Hot Chili Pepper & Garlic Blend

Mix pancake mix with enough water to completely dissolved. Add eggs to pancake mix and scramble with remaining water, set aside. Add bacon and jalapeno oils to a hot saute pan then add veggies. Saute veggies until al dente not mushy, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Add butter flavored oil to the same hot pan. Once oil is hot add egg mixture. Cook eggs over medium to medium-high heat. While eggs are cooking strain some of the liquid off of the veggies. Gently push the sides of the egg mixture toward the center of the pan and swirl the uncooked mixture to the open areas. Sprinkle the cheese over the egg mixture and then the veggies. Allow cheese to melt and the remaining egg mixture to congeal. Now here's the trick to weather or not you'll end up with a scromelet or an omelet, taking a large spatula gently and quickly flip one side of the egg over the other half to form and envelope or omelet. IF this doesn't go so well or you still have a lot of uncongealed egg just chop it up into a scramble and allow the egg to finish cooking. Viola you have a health protein packed meal to satisfy four hungry people.

I served this along with Wildtree Smoky Bacon Grapeseed oil & Garlic & Herb Blend roasted potatoes.

Smoky Bacon Garlic and Herb Potatoes

6 medium red potatoes cube
1 TBL Wildtree Smoky Bacon Flavored Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp Wildtree Garlic & Herb Blend
1/4 tsp salt

Wash, dry, and cube potatoes. Add to a crock pot along with remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Turn crock pot on high for 1-2 hours. You may also place all ingredients in a hot fry pan if you prefer crispier potatoes. I was in a hurry and was out of the house for about 2 hours so the crock pot worked great.

Bon Appetit!

Serena

Easter Noms!

Yum yum and yum. I love to cook but I'm always a little shy when it comes to preparing a dish for a family event. This Easter I volunteered to make a veggie and an app to bring to my other half's family gathering. I always get a little sad around the holidays being that I rarely get to spend them with my own family and this year I didn't even have my kiddos to cheer me up. Cooking always takes my mind away and allows me to focus on my gifts, blessings, and the present. Here are two simple recipes that turned out fabulously. Some guests even admitted they went back for seconds on the sprouts! Score!

Wildtree Dill Dip Deviled Eggs

18 organic cage free eggs hard cooked and shelled
1 1/4 c. mayonnaise (olive oil based)
3 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
3 tsp. white vinegar
2 1/2 tsp Wildtree Dill Dip
Sprigs of fresh dill or 1/2 tsp of dried dill

Place 18 eggs in a large stock pot and cover with just enough cold water to just cover the eggs. Bring eggs to a rolling boil. Remove eggs from heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Replace water with cold water and allow to sit for approximately 10 minutes. Shell and half eggs. Remove yolks and add to a food processor. Set whites aside. Add mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and dill dip to the food processor. Blend until mixture is smooth and mostly lump free. Gap a large resealable freezer bag. Add yolk mixture to the freezer bag then cut a tiny hole in one corner (less than 1/4" wide). Squeeze the yolk mixture slowly to the corner of the bag and gently into each egg. You may want to refrigerate the yolk mixture for 15 minutes first. Sprinkle a little dried dill on each egg or place a small fresh spring of dill on each.

I thought there would be no way our small group would go through this many eggs but they were gone in a flash! I even used some pickled beet juice to color a few of the egg halves and give them some extra flavor. Yum!

 

 

Wildtree Garlic & Herb Balsamic Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

 

4 lbs brussels sprouts

2-3 TBL Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

3 tsp Wildtree Garlic & Herb Blend

1 lb. Apple Gate natural nitrate free bacon

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 TBL balsamic vinegar

 

Render the bacon on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for approximately 30 minutes. The timing will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon so keep an eye on it. The goal is to get it close to crispy without over cooking it. Remove the bacon from the cookie sheet and place on a paper towel and set aside.

Depending on the size of your brussels sprouts you may need to half or quarter them. Mine were bigger than golf balls so I quartered them. Place cut and washed sprouts in either a large bowl or two resealable freezer bags. I prepared these to be cooked the night before so I used the bags and allowed them to marinate in the refrigerator overnight. If using the bags add half the oil and half the seasoning (black pepper, garlic salt, and balsamic) to each bag along with half the sprouts, seal, and mix.

Using two to three cookie sheets in a 350 degree preheated convection oven place sprouts in a single layer on each sheet. Do not crowed the sprouts or they will  not caramelize. Chop bacon into bits and sprinkle over sprouts before roasting. Roast for approximately 30 minutes.

Place sprouts in a slow cooker on warm for serving. Enjoy!

 

 

Hoppy Easter everyone!

Serena

 

 



Brain Power

Do any of you remember the "old" public television ads, "the more you know"? As a kid I just thought it was a catchy little phrase and as an adult I think yep 'tis true. So I'm on this journey in life to be a better me or at the very least a good me and hopefully help a few people be gooder thems too. (No I'm not illiterate it's just funny to use poor language sometimes.) Part of this journey is my love for food and being a know it all wanting to learn more and more about how food works and doesn't work with our bodies. Many of us could give two shakes about where are food comes from or what the lives of those who produce it are like. It's human nature to tune out the world that isn't in front of our face.
I do find fads and new miracle products rather interesting though and always like to do a little investigating to see how long something has been popular, if it was popular in another country before it was popular here, weigh the health benefits and risks, and learn about where it comes from. One example is the coconut oil craze. I admit I have some in my kitchen. I used it once in a vegan recipe when a dear vegan friend came to stay with me for a short visit. I vaguely knew that coconut oil wasn't the healthy miracle oil that it was being touted to be. It wasn't until I got involved with Wildtree that I learned how truly unhealthy coconut oil is! Making small changes in your kitchen is one step to a healthier family. Don't fall for the fads and do a little research before you invest. There just might some big corporate giant behind the news flash of "healthy" benefits their product offers. As you can see by the diagram below coconut oil is higher in saturated fat (the artery blocker) than any other oil!

And you are probably saying but BY GOD grapeseed oil is sooo high in poly unsaturated fat. Here's a great link for a quick education on how fats work to help and hurt our bodies http://www.nutristrategy.com/nutrition/fat.htm:

Saturated Fat:

• Function: tends to increase blood cholesterol levels.
• Sources: found mostly in meat and dairy products, as well as some vegetable oils, such as coconut and palm oils (tropical oils). Butter is high in saturated fat, while margarine tends to have more unsaturated fat. Most saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature, with the exception of tropical oils.

Polyunsaturated Fat:

• Function: tends to lower blood cholesterol levels
• Sources: found mostly in plant sources. (safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed)

Monounsaturated Fat:

• Function: tends to lower LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
• Sources: found in both plant and animal products, such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and in some plant foods such as avocado

As you probably know by some of my other posts I feel that our health is one of the few things we can try to maintain some control over in our lives. No my health insurance isn't really any cheaper if I stay healthy BUT in the long run if we all adopt a semi-healthy and semi-responsible attitude about our health maybe just maybe something in this country will change. This is the first generation of kids to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Adults are not faring any better… 90% of Americans have one or more of the following: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, or are overweight – 90%! Why? The biggest reason is the food we eat. Virtually everything in the grocery store is full of sugars, hydrogenated oils, super high levels of sodium, preservatives, chemicals and dyes. If you do a google search, you’ll find dozens of studies that clearly show these foods are the biggest cause of our health problems.
With a few easy tricks, you can resolve to cook and eat healthier in 2013:

1. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Fresh produce, dairy and meats are found in the outside aisles. These items are less expensive than the processed, pre-packaged foods plus they are all natural and don’t contain added sugars and hydrogenated fats. Most Americans then shop the center of the grocery store for mixes and ingredients. Instead, I get these things from Wildtree. Wildtree is an all-natural, organic food company that offers everything from appetizers to desserts and everything in between. Wildtree^® products have no MSGs, no preservatives, no chemicals, no dyes and are nut free with low-to no levels of sodium and sugar Wildtree also offers Gluten Free products.
2. Use Grapeseed Oil, the “Miracle Frying Oil.” While grapeseed oil is healthy, I love its cooking properties. The flash point is 420°, so you won’t burn the oil. And the infusions are fabulous! Pop popcorn in the butter oil. Sauté veggies in the garlic oil. Brush meats with the hickory oil before grilling. Use the basil pesto oil on pasta salad or drizzle it on steamed veggies. These oils are the biggest reason why my food tastes good.
3. Plan your meals in advance. According to Consumer Reports, Americans who don’t menu plan throw away $20 for every $100 spent by buying things that go unused. Who wants to take $20 out of their wallet and throw it directly in the waste can? That’s why I menu plan with Freezer Meals! This saves me time and money, plus gives me a peace of mind knowing that I have a healthy and delicious meal ready for my family.

Freezer Meals

There are more than 90 Wildtree Freezer Meal Recipes, so I shop in bulk or buy protein when it’s on sale. Then I prep all my meals at one time and freeze them until I need them. You can even host a “freezing party,” so you and your friends go home with 10 meals (4-6 adult portions) or 20 meals (for smaller families) that are freezer-ready. It’s fast, fun and social!
For more information on prepping healthy meals, feel free to contact me at:

Serena
www.mywildtree.com/serenar/

You Aren't What You Eat

Yeah yeah you've all heard it more than a million times right? I was reading a friend's post on Facebook the other night ranting about the barrage of post in her feed about healthy lifestyles, the bragging about "my eating habits are better than yours", I exercise so I am a god, etc etc. I guess I am the type of person that if I am passionate about something I want to share, not in an I'm better than you way but in a give it a try IF you're interested and I want you to be the best you and happy and healthy and all that jazz kind of way. It's everyone's privilege to rant on Facebook just as it's everyone's privilege to gloat, boast, share, and discover on Facebook. I tend to just ignore those that I think are dopes and keep on scrolling past whatever self-invovled, snotty, political, religious, or other drivel they are pedaling for the day, keeps me less stressed and overall more happy with my life choices. If I just can't take your nonsense anymore well there's always the "unfriending" option. Alright I didn't intend this to be a Facebook etiquette commentary.

So as the title of this post states you aren't what you eat! Exactly, as I dive further into the world of Wildtree products I learn more everyday just how F*ed up our food supply has become. I get it that it's partially due to the explosion of the human population yada yada that we "need" all of these foods to be highly processed and filled with chemicals to maintain an average shelf life of say 5 years in order for the big corporate giants to reduce waste and increase profits. Sarcasm, yeah you got it. Don't get me wrong I am by no means on some high horse shopping at the local coop 5 times a week buying organic dandelion greens and free range, hand fed, hugged daily chickens as a staple of my household. The fact of the matter is the arrangement my other half and I have is that I cover the groceries for six people, handle the meal planing and cooking, and a few other household expenses and my regular expenses in exchange for his contribution to the majority of the other bills like the mortgage and utilities etc. This usually works but truth be told 100% organic probably isn't an option if I want to continue to make my car payment every month!

OK after that rant here's the point, if I can make small changes in my household and take some control over my health and the health of my family I will. I try to buy meats that offer anti-biotic and hormone free grown options, not use crazy cleaning chemicals in the house when possible, AND pay closer attention to all those extra little pharmaceutical sounding ingredients in the everyday foods I use. Before I was introduced to Wildtree I paid a little attention but really never did much investigating. Come to find out even products like that little packet of taco seasoning most of us grew up with on taco Tuesdays contains a common ingredient found in pesticides and pet food that is known to cause health issues in animals and is toxic to fish! So why in the HELL would I want to put this in my body? See below.

Call me crazy, call me a food snob, call me a big ole B if you want but the way I see it if I can take some responsibility for my health, hopefully avoid a family history of breast cancer, teach my children the value of making good choices, and maybe not treat the health care system as the band aide it is then well ultimately I feel better about myself. If I can help someone else make a better choice, learn something new, be available for support, and help them realize the government and health care system as they are now are not our friends when it comes to making healthy choices then I feel great about myself.

So sorry for the annoyance of clogging up your Facebook feed in advance! I'm just really excited. www.wildtree.com/serenar/

Cheers to good choices,

Serena

In the Mind's Eye

     Many people talk about super natural experiences they can't explain. Seeing a random outline of something that looks remotely human now and again in their home or things not being where you swear you left them. I've always wanted to believe and not believe at the same time. As a kid I swore my great grandma lived in our basement after she passed away. Why should would choose the dark, damp, basement of a rambler nowhere near where she had lived her life I never could figure out. I remember playing in our cool basement on the concrete floor with the walls painted with 70's stripes. On either side were two louvered doors, one leading to the laundry room and the other the storage room. I would often turn on the light in the laundry room when I would play in the basement because something just didn't feel right. Before heading upstairs I'd flip the light off, race to the top of the stairs, feet pounding them like my life depended on it, whip around and shut the basement light off. My heart racing, like I'd just been chased up the stairs by one of those monsters from the movie Critters, I'd stare back down the stairs in shock that the laundry room light was on.

     Over the years and even as a young adult I felt something wasn't right about that basement. As a kid I would start to pay extra close attention and care to turning off the light in the laundry room. It never failed, I'd reach the top of the stairs and the light would be on! Never could explain it and didn't confess this to my mother until just a few years ago. This brings me to my most recent experience. The house I currently live in gave me a funny feeling long before I moved in while dating my other half. Again something just wasn't right. A few weeks ago I awoke from a very deep sleep. One of those awakenings where you aren't sure if you are really still asleep or awake. As I started to come to I saw what seemed to be a light from something like an ambulance or police car whirling and flashing through the crack in the curtains. There was someone standing at the window looking outside to see what was going on. I started to call my other half's name when I realized the man standing there, tall, dark haired, and very thin couldn't have been my boyfriend. I ducked my head under the covers and went back to sleep.
     Come to find out my boyfriend has felt and seen similar things elsewhere in our home! Eeeek! Ha! We accidentally discovered this over dinner one night when I again confessed my sighting. No harm has come of us and I've been told to leave well enough alone. Maybe just a young man passing through his childhood home, who knows.
     I think I do know that the universe is a complex place and certainly energy knows no end. I also know I don't watch scary movies because they get stuck in my head, ha! Poke fun at me if you will but no doubt some of you have experienced similar things you cannot explain. I just wanted to share my story because I keep getting freaked out!

Spice Up Your Life the Healthy Way

I am a woman in love, in love with flavor that is! I love big bold flavors, unique ones, everyday ones, weird ones, and healthy ones. In my pursuit of fun flavors and healthy ways to prepare meals I was introduced to Wildtree. I am usually one of the last to join a trendy movement, cautiously weighing my options, the possibility of looking a fool, and the expense involved, etc. This is where Wildtree comes into my life. After about two years of Zumba and slowly getting to know my favorite instructor I attend a Wildtree tasting party at her house. Immediately I am smitten with these wonderful products. Yeah yeah you say, you're just going to pedal your overpriced seasonings, full of god knows what to me, and probably make me have a party in which everyone I know will despise me for inviting them over and telling them they REALLY don't have to buy anything but everyone knows you HAVE to buy something if you go to one of "those" parties. Well ok you don't HAVE to have a party but I'm all for an excuse to stick the other half with the kiddos for a few hours and enjoy a glass of wine no matter what the topic of the evening will be.

(Wildtree's Loaded Shepherd's Pie )

Ok so yep I took my time getting to know Wildtree. As it turns out I love to cook, right? And I like food that doesn't taste like a cardboard box or come out of a cardboard box. And I like food that doesn't contain chemicals I can't pronounce or are known to cause lab rats to go blind if they live to 30. Again this is where getting to know my Zumba instructor pays off. She's already done the leg work, gotten to know the Wildtree company, has been eating healthy and all organic for years, is an entrepreneur and also doesn't jump head first into anything. VIOLA, I'm like lets do this thing and WHAT you mean if I sign up to offer these awesome products to people I talk to I get some stuff for free now and then and get a discount, SCORE!

The way I see it is using products that are certified organic, no chemical nasties, and known to be good for you then it's kind of a win win. Wildtree is in fact certified organic and let me tell you that if there is one thing you could switch out in your home it should be your olive oil. Olive oil is great and all, at least until you do a little reading on it. Most conventional store bought olive oils are processed with chemicals to extract every last drop of oil from those little fruits so that the oil companies are more profitable (sound familiar, oil is oil right). Not Wildtree grapeseed oil, it's cold pressed so no chemical AND it's organic! You can use unflavored grapeseed oil in your everyday cooking and baking in place of olive oil or they have great flavored grapeseed oils too. My absolute favorite is the roasted garlic Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil, I use it in everything! My kids and other half are always asking what I put in our food because it tastes so good. But here's the added bonus grapeseed oil is really really good for your ole ticker AND your skin.

So if you get a chance swing on over to my web page and checkout their products. As with all of their products a little goes a very long way. Some of my other favorites are their:
Smoked Mozzarella & Tomato Blend (I've used this on meats, in pasta sauces, and in dips)
Wildtree's Alfredo Extraordinaire  (this is great to get your kids to eat their veggies and on pasta)
Guacamole Seasoning (my kids won't eat guac without it now)

You can also host a Wildtree online party and just invite a few people to take a look without the house full of dirty dishes or pressuring friends to buy anything. As a host you'll receive a discount and free stuff!

Swing on over to http://www.mywildtree.com/SERENAR/ to check it out.

Spice up your life the healthy way!

Serena