Be Gone MSG - Homemade Taco Seasoning

Did you know that MSG could be contributing to your headaches and doing many other crazy things to your body? Yeah, it's true....

I am trying to rid my house of all prepackaged foods and foods that contain MSG. So today when I went to make dinner and found myself needing taco seasoning and none on hand, this was a good time to make some. It was so easy and most ingredients you'll have on hand. You should totally give it a try.

Taco Seasoning

1/3 cup (heaping) chili powder
1 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 3/4 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 3/4 tsp. oregano (dried)
2 tbsp. paprika
4 tbsp. ground cumin
2 1/4 tbsp. sea salt
2 1/4 tbsp. pepper

Put all ingredients in a container and seal (air tight). Shake. Use seasoning to taste. (Andy said tonight that he thinks the amount we use depends on the meat we use.) Enjoy!

Menu Plan - July 7

Sunday, July 7
Pumpkin bread, yoghurt
Chicken enchiladas, refried beans
Re-runs

Monday, July 8
Smoothies
Sandwiches, pretzels
Grilled steaks, baked potatoes, salad

Tuesday, July 9
Scrambled eggs, cheese
Re-runs
Chicken with cream sauce, broccoli, salad

Wednesday, July 10
Use up cereal
Re-runs or sandwiches
French toast, eggs, bacon

Thursday, July 11
Yoghurt, fruit
Cheese, crackers, fruit
Chicken gnocci soup, salad, bread

Friday, July 12
Breakfast cookies, fruit
Macaroni and cheese, peas
Pizza, fruit ad veggie tray

Saturday, July 13
Pancakes, eggs
Re-runs
Salmon patties, macaroni and cheese, salad

Adjusting Our Eating

I was talking to a girlfriend on the phone yesterday. We were talking about all the crazy sickness that has been going on around the Davis' house.

It seems like all the sickness has increased when I stopped putting so much effort and thought into nourishing eating.

Here's the thing. I stopped worrying about nourishment and began worrying about getting our bellies full. Just getting dinner on the table.

Looking back, it links back to when we went back to store bought milk and not good, hormone free meats. We had sickness but not near what we have had now. Dylan's asthma was less persistent, I became pregnant without assistance and colds/flu didn't seem to be so frequent.

With all these thoughts of bringing my family back to the table and bringing nourishing foods back to our stomachs, my mind has been reeling with where to begin again. What I think are the most important things to implement back in our diet are...

Here is the list I have come up with:

• milk from Farmer Haney
• good hormone free meats from Landes
• raw cheese
• fermented dairy
• raw sugars

It's going to take a while to get all these healthy steps into place but I feel better just thinking about these changes. 

Fast Dinner Friday - Cooking Meat Ahead of Time

One of my secrets in the kitchen is to cook meat in bulk.

If I have a family pack of chicken breasts, you will find me putting them all in the slow cooker or marinating them and baking them. Five pound package of ground beef? You won't always see me cutting it into one pound packages. Brown it all at once.

You're going to be cooking at least some of it then so why not all?

This is a HUGE time savor.

Tonight our family is having chicken enchiladas. With already having the chicken cooked, the prep time is cut in about half to three-quarters. Here is my "go to" chicken enchilada recipe.

Creamy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups cooked chicken
pepper
cumin
garlic powder
10 wheat tortilla shells
2 cups cheese (I use white cheddar)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) diced chiles

Preheat oven to 350 and great a 9x13 baking dish.

In bowl, mix chicken with a pinch of cumin, pepper and garlic powder. Then add one cup of cheese and mix. Fill tortillas with one-fourth to one-half of the chicken and cheese mixture. Place side by side in baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt butter and add flour. Cook on medium-low until mixture is bubbly. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Whisk over medium - high heat  until thick and bubbly. Turn down or take off heat.

Add sour cream and green chiles (I always puree my chiles). Be careful not to have on full or high heat. You don't want the sour cream to curdle.

Pour sour cream and chile mixture over enchiladas and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese on top is browned.

This meal is really easy to do all the prep work and stick in the fridge until you're ready to bake. Just add a couple extra minutes and dinner will be a super Fast Dinner!

Now is the Time

We are two days into the challenge and we just got back from Bob Evans for lunch.

I screwed up already, you say?

Well one could say that but I choose to say that we survived.

Dylan has had pertussis for quite some time now. We are all exhausted. We are grasping on straws to keep it together.

Dylan has the complication that every time he coughs (which is often with pertussis) his nose starts squirting blood.

Gross. I know.

Today the doctor wanted us to come in.

Ok. Well with Caleb and Tyler here as well, that makes five boys.

We can do this. So off we go.

They were so well behaved at the doctor's office but were starving and all wanted different foods when we got out.

I was in no mood to fight over lunch.

So some might say I have failed already but I say I succeeded. Instead of making a challenge more important and having a bad attitude, I took all five boys to eat cheerfully. I am much more relaxed and the boys' tummies are full.

Tonight we will eat at home and tomorrow we will pick back up. I will not be discouraged by today.

So I encourage you, no matter how today went, pick it back up. You'll be glad you did.

Not My Fave.

Besides eating at home, I have also been reading and following blogs that talk nutrition and nourishment. I would have to be crazy to say that I didn't see issues in my families diet - too much sugar and flour, not enough fruits and vegetables are among the list.

I know this sounds juvenile but I just don't like them. I can't stomach the thought of eating them so I don't make them and therefore my children do not have a chance to form an opinion. I have these crazy childhood memories of sitting at the table for hours or being forced to choke down lima beans as I sat gagging. I still don't like lima beans and don't even offer them at our table.

I also struggle with fruits. I hate fruit. Nothing disgusts me more than fruit. It's not the flavor. It's the texture. I know it sounds crazy but it's so gross.

I am also very particular about the vegetables I eat. I tend to lean towards the carb veggies and leave the rest sitting.

There are articles after articles talking about the health benefits of  fruits and vegetables and I just cannot ignore the facts anymore. In my opinion, it's one thing to be ignorant of the facts and a completely other to know the facts but ignore them. I cannot ignore any longer.

I pray for an abundant and healthy life for myself but even more so for my children.

As parents, we want to give them every advantage - put them in sports so they can meet friends or even get a scholarship, put them in the best school so they have every academic advantage and the list goes on.

Why if we want the best for our children is nutrition put on the back burner?

For me, it's pure laziness and lack of motivation. Why make a good meal when there is carry out down the street?

For the Davis house, the tide is turning. It's beginning with our journey (once again) to the family table and as we join hands around it, we will be thankful. As we get eating at home down, we will move into more healthy and nourishing preparations and foods.

I'd be kidding myself if I said this is going to be easy. It's not but I can tell you that watching my 8 year old son with debilitating asthma is much more painful. Here is where I take my stand.

Will you join me? If not for yourself, for the health of your family.

Shall We Give it a Go?

A fun little fact about me...

I am really competitive.

In order to be successful, I need to make it into a game and compete against myself or others. 

Today is day 179 of the year 2013. 

Do you know what that means? That means we are about half way through the year with only 186 days left. 

Scared yet? :)

Our last attempt at coming back to the table for every meal for A YEAR was cut short. We I didn't have the grit for it. I lost interest. I stopped caring. 

So here I am to try again. This year, however, it's going to be a little bit different. I am going to challenge myself to get meals on the table, around our home table for the remainder of the year 2013. 

This time, I am not going to be so ridiculous. This time, I am going to allow myself a little wiggle room. The downfall of the last experiment was that both Andy and My's families go out to eat to honor each other on their birthdays. That's just something they do. I got so tired of feeding our family then heading to a restaurant and then hearing my kids fuss that we didn't get to eat. This time, I am going to allow us to take part in family birthday meals. If we are invited to dine with friends, we will.

This time we are going to focus on nourishment and fellowship instead of a challenge. 

Now will I still make this into a personal challenge? Why of course! That's how I operate. However, I will not resent the challenge but embrace it. 

The challenge this year is..

• to eat at home all meals except for meals in which we are celebrating a extended (as in not someone in the house's) birthday and if we are invited out to fellowship with friends.
• to get on and blog something about how the day went. Whether it be recipes, menu plans, complaining, putting up food, anything to bring my focus back to my home and the family table.
• begin tomorrow, the 180th day of the year, and go through Tuesday, December 31st, the 365th day of the year.
• Don't be too hard on myself or my family. No resentment! :) 

Can we do it? Who knows! But we're going to try. What do we have to lose?

Will you join me? Bring your family back to the table. Need just a little more of a push? Check out this post!