Crispy Oven Baked Fries

Don't let the "V" word scare you. Yes, I basically cook Vegan even though I don't consider myself a vegan. Some vegans eat a lot of fake food like cheeses and meats that are processed. That's one reason I like to say Whole Foods Plant Based. Then there are those that are vegan just because of animal rights. They don't wear leather either. If you consider yourself vegan that's ok (no judgement here). But for you guys who eat meat, yes, I remember when I did too, the vegan word meant their food was not good, it was weird. They have to do all these things to make their food taste like our food. I'm here to tell you that's not the case. These people are some of the most creative food combining people EVER.

Check out these Crispy Oven Baked Fries!!! These are soooooo good and soooooo easy. I know this post has nothing to do with sugar and all that but we seriously loved these fries so much I had to share! I also keep losing the link and if I put it here, then I will never have to search for it again.

These fries are truly guiltless! You know you enjoy guiltless way more than when something is fatty and greasy. You can even replace the flour with something like corn meal if you don't want to add flour. Last night I made them with gluten free oats and flax seeds ground in my magic bullet plus all the spices. You could even just use the spices and see how they turn out. I would suggest using at LEAST one big potato per person. They will go fast! Mix it with some other veggies and tell your kids they have to eat a broccoli tree and then a fry and then a broccoli tree and then a fry. What a healthy snack/meal!

Did you know, one large baked potato with the skin and without salt has 7g of protein, 7g of fiber and 0 grams of fat! Not only that but they have vitamin C, Iron, calcium and Vitamin A.

I also improvised on the fry sauce. I looked at the organic ketchup we had in the fridge and it had added sugar so I didn't use that. But I had some cheesy sauce from this Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe leftover and I mixed it in my magic bullet with salsa. It made for a pretty yummy dip. You could even mix it with tomato paste. Or you can just use ketchup, but here in Utah, fry sauce is a must. If you don't know what fry sauce is, its basically a combination of ketchup and mayo. I have Veganaise which I liked even when I ate meat but I'm trying to cut my oil intake and processed foods.

Whole Food Plant Based

In the midst of doing the 10-Day Detox I started really educating myself more on nutrition. Now that I had gone cold turkey with my sugar addiction and had already quit caffeine my head was more clear. I had SO much more energy every day. I began emerging myself with information about nutrition. It's hard to explain but I remember just wanting to know more. It all started with The Secrets of Sugar and then I saw that Fat Sick & Nearly Dead was available on Netflix. Yeah, not the best film title if you're trying to avoid confronting any bad food habits. But it was such a great film. It was inspiring! I almost went out and bought a juicer. I'm glad I didn't but we did buy a Blendtec a couple of weeks later. The Blendtec is amazing and that is a purchase I don't regret. It's worth every penny. Yes, Kerry HK if you are reading, you were right... again!

Then I saw another documentary on Netflix called Forks Over Knives. I had no idea what this was about but a friend had actually told me in passing that I would like it. My life was forever changed after this documentary!! Wow! What an eye opener. And for me, it was the right information at the right time. I recommend this movie to everyone! Even my kids have watched it (on their own). 

After watching Forks Over Knives I quickly went to the library and reserved the audio books of The China Study and Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition (Whole is very scientific and can lose you in a few spots). So I didn't actually read them, I listened to them because it's easier to listen while I work then to read since I don't have much free time to sit and focus on reading a book. But with audio books I can do two things at once! I also convinced my husband to get on board and at least listen.

If you haven't heard of any of these documentaries or books the premise is that a Whole Food Plant Based diet can and will reverse and prevent diseases, i.e. heart disease and diabetes, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and help you lose weight. Not only all of this but it is more sustainable than eating animal products. If you want to know more I suggest watching Forks Over Knives or reading The China Study.

After watching Forks Over Knives it seemed so clear the right thing for me to do was to change to a Whole Food Plant Based diet. And if I did it why shouldn't my kids. Why would I not do the healthiest thing I know for them?

The kids and I have currently been following a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet for about 6 weeks. My husband is mostly following but he still eats a few animal products now and again.

A Few Benefits We've Seen From Moving To a Whole Food Plant Based Diet

1. More energy!
2. Less greasy hair.
3. Softer, shinier hair.
4. Better digestion and elimination. One of my kids used to need Miralax or magnesium supplements almost every day. Once we moved to a WFPB diet he became regular every day!
5. Weight loss for my husband and I.
6. Reduced body odor.
7. Reduction in Eczema, practically eliminated.

So, my recipes will not only be processed sugar free but also free of animal products. You can always choose to use animal milk instead of plant milk.

Better Than Ice Cream Butternut Squash Soup

I LOVE butternut squash! I have cooked it many different ways but I've found the easiest way to prepare it is to peel it first. And then steam it in Ziplock Steamer bags. If you don't like microwaving it, that's ok, you can spend 45 minutes waiting for this deliciousness to cook in the oven. Sorry, but I can't wait that long. Once I peel it I cut it in half lengthwise and take the seeds out. The ball or bowl part (bottom) of the squash where the seeds are always has stringy stuff in it after you take the seeds out. It is edible so I hate just throwing that part away or spending time trying to cut it out. So I cut the part where the seeds were away from the long straight part. My son wanted some in his lunch today so I figured last night I would save the long straight part for him. I would just use the other part for soup. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of this but I put one straight part and one of the bowl parts in the steamer bag with 2 tablespoons of water and steam it in the microwave for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Your time may vary. I usually get the butternut squash that are medium size. I don't like the big huge ones cause when they are cut this way they don't fit in the steamer bag. Why go to the expense of cutting them into more pieces than you really need. Plus I'm not the greatest with knives. If they are too big then they are harder for me to cut in half in the first place.
     

After the first round of steaming I take those out and put my other two pieces in and add 1 tablespoon of water since there is some leftover from the previous steam. While these are cooking I can lay the hot pieces on a plate to cool. I do cut these parts into smaller pieces because that allows them to cool faster. Last night I immediately put the cubes from the straight stalk part of the squash in a bowl for the fridge since they would be going into my son's lunch the next morning. Also, you can reuse your steamer bags till you feel that they need to be tossed. I just wash with a drop of dish washing soap, rinse thoroughly and then leave to air dry.

After the second round cooled I put the stringy bowl parts that were cut into smaller pieces in the blender.

I ran across some of this at the store last night and had read somewhere that someone preferred this brand for cooking because they felt it just made for better results. It was on sale for $1.99 so I picked one up. I like the fact that it has a cap and is easy to poor. It is very smooth without a lot of added ingredients. Some coconut milks in the can add a lot of stuff I don't know what for, but I try to avoid these.



I added about a 1/2 tsp of turmeric (why? I don't know my sister told me that's how she did it...LOL) and a 1/4 cup of the lite culinary coconut milk and 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I blended it together in my Blendtec and then added hot water for a the consistency I wanted.

This was by far the best butternut squash soup I have ever made! You can fiddle with the amounts or with the milks you use, if any. Always start out with less liquid and then add more, depending on how much squash you have and how thick you want the soup.

Why I shared with my husband is beyond me, but I gave him a little because it was filling up my soup bowl and looked like too much for me to eat. He said it tasted more like a dessert than a soup.

I could seriously have this every night! It's sooooooo good and sooooooo easy! And, no added sugar, salt or oil! It can't get much better than that.



Better Than Ice Cream Butternut Squash Soup

1/2 of a whole butternut squash, peeled and cooked then cut into cubes and slightly cooled
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup or less SO Delicious Culinary Lite Coconut Milk
1/4 cup or less Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Blend
Add hot water to the consistency of your liking

Serve hot/warm and enjoy slowly because its gone before you know it :)

2 Reasons to Keep On This Journey

Yesterday at the end of the night before going to brush his teeth, Elijah (my 5 year old) stopped me and said, "Thank you, Mom for feeding us so healthy these last 50 days."  Ahhhh, that's all I need to keep going. He is one reason why I do this.

Overnight Muesli

One of the first naturally sweetened recipes we tried after finishing Mark Hyman's 10-Day Detox was Chef AJ's Overnight Muesli. (page 3 on that link) I cannot even begin to tell you how good this is. First of all, after you've gone without processed or added sugar for 10 days and really hardly anything sweet (minus some berries in the AM blended in a shake) an apple alone will taste like HEAVEN! It will almost taste too sweet. Your taste buds, the sweet receptors in your mouth, actually change and revert to "normal" when you stop eating processed sugar. With that said, when we first made this I thought it was too sweet. This was too good for the kids. I really wondered if giving this to them would make them crave more sweets and send them in the wrong direction but it didn't. It was good because it gave them something they could enjoy and feel good about eating. They absolutely love this and ask for it all the time. It's also great if you don't have a lot of time in the morning. One kid likes it warmed and the other likes it cold. One likes milk added and the other one likes it plain. Either way its already made and ready to eat in the morning, just put it in bowls and add milk and warm up if that's what you like.

We usually make a double batch and shred only one apple. This will usually be enough to feed the 2 boys and my husband. Then we add one 4 oz. cup of, no sugar added, applesauce. (My brother usually stocks us with several years worth of applesauce from his yearly canning and juicing of apples, but we must have done something wrong because we are completely out ;) Hint hint if you're reading Todd. So we've had to buy our applesauce from Costco. It isn't as good as his but we get by.) We've only ever used cinnamon in the muesli just because I haven't had any apple pie spice to add, but this weekend I finally got around to making some apple pie spice. I'm sure it will make it even better. Feel free to play around with the recipe and find what works for you and your family.

I've also made these into cookies like it talks about at the end of the recipe. They aren't the best cookies ever, but are actually pretty good and the kids love them in their lunch. I feel great giving them to the kids in their lunch because I know they will not spike their blood sugar and insulin levels like processed sugar does. They will be able to focus better in class. When I make them into cookies I use the silicone baking mats we got at Costco, aka silpat mats. I really have grown to love these silicone baking mats. They are so easy to clean and you don't need any cooking spray.

Today is our 50th day of no added/processed sugar!

The Secrets Of Sugar

It all started after I read the book "The 10-Day Detox" by Mark Hyman. I would need to eliminate sugar from my diet and the plan was to start on January 5, 2015. I was already sick with sugary treats from the holidays and ready to quit my addiction. I asked my husband if he wanted to do the 10 day detox with me and he said, "well, I don't need to lose weight" to which I replied, "no, but you are addicted to sugar" to which he agreed. I have always been able to tell when this man has eaten sugar. It has actually been some really quite pleasurable times for me to watch and be a part of because he gets really funny and fun after he eats the white stuff. Sometimes I would get him to eat it just for my pleasure. Ha!

Ok, so he was on board to do no sugar for 10 days, even though I knew I wanted to do it longer. Now I just had to get the kids on board, not that they really had a choice but its always better if they want to do it anyway. Our kids rarely if ever ate suckers or candy because I already thought these were not healthy. With my husband being from Eastern Europe, chocolate was a big part of our sugar addiction. However, overall the kids were pretty ok with being more healthy.

I explained a lot of things from this great video from the Fifth Estate called The Secrets of Sugar. I would recommend this video to EVERYONE. My kids even watched about half of it.

The most important things is to teach your kids. We sat down as a family (before we told them what our plan was) and talked about what healthy meant and what being healthy does for our bodies...ie makes them stronger, easier to fight sickness, etc. And then said this year we want to be more healthy. I asked them if that's what they want. They said yes. Of course, kids don't really want to damage their bodies, they just aren't taught.

Then we said we are first going to start with sugar because this is what sugar does to our bodies and too much sugar is even worse. We explained the difference between processed sugar and sugar in fruits. We also explained how bad high fructose corn syrup was and WHAT it was. We explained all the bad things that can happen if they have too much sugar.

Next is to actually implement the no added sugar. It's hard to throw away things, especially if you were taught to not be wasteful. But you have to clean out all the cupboards, pantry, fridge and freezer. Everything with high fructose corn syrup must be thrown out. But I didn't throw away my organic sugar from Costco. I wasn't sure if I would use it in the future for baking. But I did put it off the counter. I put it in the very back of the pantry. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.

Let the kids help! That gets them involved with the process. Look at all your labels and if it lists sugar, toss it. Show them where to find this on the ingredients and under the chart. I only tossed it if it was added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. For example our applesauce has sugar but its natural, not added.

Then go through instances at school where they might come across sugar laden stuff and teach them how to say no. I sent an email to all their teachers.

Dear Teachers,

Our family is trying to eliminate as much sugar from our diets as possible. For the rest of the school year, please do not give Elijah or Nicolae candy as treats/rewards. If you'd like something else to give them I can bring in pencils or something else. If everyone is having something, please ask them if they would like it, don't just give to them. We've had discussions and if they choose to make that decision then that's their choice, but its easier to say no when you are asked if you'd like some, versus just handing it out.

I know you have a lot of students so if you forget, don't worry, I understand. Its not the end of the world, just please do your best and try and limit the sugar my kids receive from you at school. 

Thank you so much for everything you do for our kids!

Parent rules: The most important thing is that you don't cheat. Cause if you do they will know. I made sure to tell them if they accidentally ate some it wouldn't kill them and I wouldn't be mad.

The first week is the hardest. Take them shopping at the store and help them find stuff for you and let them see that you are checking labels and if it has added sugar then they see you not buy it. There is always another way to make something without using processed sugar!!

Check with them every day and ask them how they did at school, were they tempted by something and high five them when they resisted temptation and ask them how that made them feel when they made the healthy decision. If they recognize that good feeling they had that will help the next time be easier.

Currently we are at 48 days without any added or processed sugar!