Jam, baby!

Yesterday, we talked about bread.  Now we need something to put on our bread!  My husband's refrigerator jam (http://cleaneatingsmallerbutt.blogspot.com/p/clean-strawberry-jam.html) with organic peanut butter is the bomb!  I feel complete again because I now have a clean toast combo for breakfast.  :)  This jam is soooooooo easy to make.  Give it a try!  You won't regret it.  And if you do, it only makes two small jars per batch, so give it away!  Ha. :D

BREAD!

I have been having a lot of trouble finding a clean bread in the store. I thought I was on to one, and then at the bottom of the ingredient list, there it was-corn syrup.  So what the heck are you supposed to do?!  I'm not into the tedious task of baking bread.  I don't have a KitchenAid mixer (yet! ;)) and I just can't get the hang of kneading bread.  Enter the best cookbook I've ever found- Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  (I do not know the people who wrote this nor have I been asked to promote it at all, just for the record.  I just love it and want to share with you all!)  I downloaded the Kindle version from Amazon onto my iPad, but if you don't have the ability to get it in Kindle version, then here is the link to order it-http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Bread-Five-Minutes-ebook/dp/B003GFIVWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375224477&sr=8-1&keywords=healthy+bread+in+five+minutes+a+day

So far, I have tried the master recipe, and we love it!  When we have Italian food for supper, I brush the top with a mixture of olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning before baking.  I'm trying the hamburger buns tonight.  It's awesome bread, and easy to follow! The best part is you can make enough dough for 4 loaves at a time and keep the extra dough in the fridge for up to two weeks!  I highly recommend this book if you want to make your own bread.  They have to be the easiest bread recipes ever written.

With that said, the recipes as written are NOT clean because they call for 2 1/2 cups of white flour.  I just substitute whole wheat pastry flour, and viola!  Clean!

Let's get our bake on!

O.M.SQUEEEEEE!!!  I went to Harmony Foods in Bemidji today (my favorite and only local food co-op), and I hit the mother load!  I found coconut palm sugar AND brown rice syrup.  I'm not too sure yet about the brown rice syrup or if I'm going to use it.  I need to do some more research on it.  I also stocked up on my favorite two flours-spelt and whole wheat pastry!

I know, you're thinking, "Just get to the point, Sheena.  Why are you so darn excited?"  Because I get to BAKE!!!  I've got a long list of things that I'm going to make this week including chocolate chip cookies, spice cake, pizza crust, and I may even give canning a try.  My bff threw the gauntlet down.  She wants clean canning recipes.  I have a ton of strawberries in my fridge that my awesome grandpa picked for me, so I think I may be attempting to talk my husband into making strawberry jam with honey instead of sugar. :D He's the canner, not me.  I'm too impatient.

So here's the meal plan for the week (did you know that it's been proven that if you plan your meals for the week or month ahead of time, you spend less money on groceries?)-

•  Mexican pizza
• Chicken chimichangas
• Roasted turkey breast with potatoes and carrots
• Something new made out of the leftover turkey
• Sloppy joe's with homemade buns

See anything interesting on that list that you want to learn to make?  Well, then make sure you check back during the week because I will be posting recipes for all of it along with my baking experiments (if they aren't flops ;))  Also, make sure you subscribe with your email address over there -----------------------------------------> (on the top) so that you don't miss anything!  I promise you will only get one email a day at the most. :)

Busy, busy, busy!

I'm not going to be posting too many new recipes over the weekend.  My husband and I are going to see Merle Haggard tonight with my mother-in-law, so I won't be making supper. :D  I am going to work on a pizza crust recipe this weekend as well as a couple of breakfast recipes including crockpot oatmeal and clean waffles.  Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day!  Yet it seems to be the hardest to eat clean on a time crunch or is just skipped all together.  I'm going to find a way to make breakfast easy. ;)  I hope everyone is finding some of the information and recipes I've posted so far helpful!

I'm looking for suggestions!

I am in the process of making a list of recipes that I want to post.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment below or contact me!  I have already had requests for main dishes, desserts, and side dishes (specifically for picky eaters...I think I can handle that since I'm the pickiest eater I know. ;)) via my Facebook. I'm always open to more ideas.  You can also send me a recipe and I will try to clean it up for you.

I have my lasagna all typed out and saved.  Watch for it later tonight!  I want to add pictures to it before I publish it.  Mmmmmm.... :D

Recipes are now being added!  Watch for many more in the future, starting with lasagna tomorrow.  Feel free to share this page on your Facebook and Pintrest!  Also, click "Subscribe" so that you don't miss any new recipes being posted.  :D

Welcome!

I have been asked to share my clean eating recipes by many family and friends.  So, here it is!  Please be patient with my ramblings.  When I am passionate about something, I tend to want to share every single detail.  :)  Also remember that this is a work in progress.  I am relatively new to clean eating myself and am still experimenting with recipes.  I also have 3 children and am taking online classes, so I'm a little crunched for time some days.  I will do my very best to get great-tasting recipes up as fast as I can.  :)  Feel free to contact me anytime with any questions you may have.