Almond Paleo bread, that tastes more like a dessert!

Oh buggar! The first easy Paleo bread I do turns out to be addicting! Almond bread is a nutrient dense bread that tastes more like a coffee cake of sorts. It's didn't help I put some jam on top. I could of ate the whole thing. I am gad they are pretty small. The best part about the almond bread is one slice is VERY satisfying. Although it's scarf-able. I try to stick to one, or have it with a meal. That way I am not tempted to make a meal of it. 



This is a very simple bread. I was searching for a good go to that I can make with few ingredients. I always like a no brainer I can whip up in a pinch. Here I found "Savory Almond Flour Bread" from the Bombshell Blueprint. Maria Guadagno is a Holistic Health Coach, and Raw Food chef in NYC. See her link at the end of the page.

Ingredients
Almond Flour/Meal* (2 1/4 cups)
Ground Flax Seed (1/4 cup)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Baking Soda (1-1/2 tsp.)
Eggs (3 large)
Honey (1 tbs.)
Apple Cider Vinegar (1 tbs.)

  
 One tip; make sure your Almond flour has no chunks in it. Almond flour is dense, and can stick together. My loaf came out a little flat. Next time I will run my flour through my coffee grinder. You want a very fine consistency.

Update: I have now done this a few times now. I have found that if you pop the honey and vinegar in the microwave for about 20 seconds it will blend better with the eggs. You really want to whip the eggs in with the honey and ACV too! My last loaf I used my hand mixer to really fluff up the eggs. That way I had more wet ingredient to add to the dry, and it was less dry and lumpy. The difference was night and day! I couldn't believe it was the same recipe. 

Instructions

1- Preheat oven to 300°F and use grease a  6.5 x 4" pan.

2- Combine the almond flour, flax seed, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

3- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, and then add honey and apple cider vinegar.

4- Stir the wet ingredients into dry and mix only until combined.

5- Pour batter into a 6.5" x 4" loaf pan pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Recipe source. Thank You *Nom nom*

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Sexy Chicken! You dirty bird. And getting ready for the week!

I know, that was foul. Yeah, I went there. 

Every Sunday I prepare for the week. I like to get a whole chicken in the oven or crock, and bread made for the week. My husbands lunch staple it a rotisserie chicken sandwich. All home-made of course, along with his granola bar, and some other baked goodie. It seems a lot to do, but bread is super easy when you are using my quick bread, and in oven rotisserie.

It's all in the timing. I like to get the chicken in  first thing in the morning. That way it's said and done, and if I don't cook another thing all day... there's dinner done too!

 So you wonder why I call it Sexy chicken... well it's mainly how he went into the oven. I decided to remove all the skin for the hubby so I can get it super crispy all the way around.  Well, after I skinned the thing Mr. Chicken was a bit all over the place. Every time I put him in his pan his legs would flop open and over the sides. I didn't have any roasting tie to bind the legs and arms, but that's OK, it would have been a little too Shades Of Grey. There was still a lot of poking and rubbing to come. So the only way I could contain him  was pose him seductively like a man on a bear skin rug. Or Stan Lee on a couch. 

There you go. Stan Lee on couch.

It was a risk taking the skin off because you do run the risk of it being slightly drier. But the rotisserie rub created an all around crispy shell. Pretty cool. I prefer the skin on for a more sticky rotisserie taste.

Original recipe makes 2 whole (4 pound) chickens

Sticky Rotisserie Chicken

• 4 teaspoons salt


• 2 teaspoons paprika


• 1 teaspoon onion powder


• 1 teaspoon dried thyme


• 1 teaspoon white pepper


• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper


• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder


• 2 onions, quartered


• 2 (4 pound) whole chickens

Mix all your spices in a small bowl to make the rub. Wash and pat dry your chicken. Stuff your onions in the body cavity. Rub mix over entire body. Not you the chicken.  Place in roasting pan, bake at 250 degrees for 5 hours uncovered.

*Tip: The local grocery store actual prepares their chicken 24 hours ahead! Rub your mix on your chickens and place in an air tight plastic container over night in the refrigerator. The spices react with the skin to really create that super stickiness! *NOM NOM* 

If you did your chicken in the morning, you now have the afternoon to play,  make bread and treats.

The 'go to' bread I make is so diverse. It can be used for rolls and pizza dough :-) I use half of this recipe to make 2 pizzas. But to do sandwich rolls and pizza use full amounts.

• 2 ½ C warm water


• 6 Tbsp sugar


• 3 Tbsp yeast


• 2 Tbsp oil


• 6 C flour (can use white or whole wheal)


• 2 tsp salt


• 1 tsp baking powder

Stir water, yeast, sugar and oil together. Leave for 5 minutes until it becomes frothy on top. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Knead. Roll out if making a pizza base or shape for use as buns / bread / loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Keep your eye on it, times will differ for rolls and pizza dough. My pizza base took about 15 minutes. If you are making bread or rolls paint the tops with butter when they come out of the oven, delish!


Before it went into the oven I rubbed them down with chopped garlic.


The pizza bases came out so puffy, and the garlic looked delish! I am thinking Naan Bread!!!!


All done! I had a white pizza with chicken, and the hubby had a traditional pepperoni pizza.

Now you have had your lunch. *NOM NOM* If you are not in a coma, or have made a mess by now time to kick out the granola bars. A favorite in our house. I bought a dented can of pumpkin awhile back for 64 cents.  I figured now would be a great time to try it! I have never used canned pumpkin, or tasted, and I hate pumpkin pie. But pumpkin spice lattes are my crack... I know I'm an odd cookie huh? So searching around I found a few recipes, so as usual I smashed them all together to make this:

The are so fun to wrap up in wax paper to add to lunches.

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats


• 1 tsp. cinnamon


• 1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree


• 1/3 cup agave nectar


• 3 tbsp. maple syrup (I did not have so I used some more agave, and added a tsp. of maple extract.)


• 1 tsp. vanilla


• 1/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped (I don't use nuts because I feed these to young ones)


• 1/3 chocolate chips, Dark chocolate is a wonderful complement


• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

I like to mix all my ingredients together BEFORE I add oats, nuts, chocolate, and cranberries. I like to use the whisk attachment on my mixer first. Really whip it up so it's blended and you have a nice glue for your bars! I change to the paddle attachment and fold in the oats, I do it slowly because I don't want my oats pulverized. Then slowly fold in your mix-in's . If you like your bars loaded with everything keep an eye on the mixture. Too dry and they wont stay as a bar. You can drizzle in more agave if needed.  Press into a greased baking pan, or glass dish. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until you have a golden crisp around the edges.  Let cool thoroughly then slice up in the pan, or flip onto the counter. I used a pizza slicer, works like a dream to cut!

♥Enjoy, you have goodies done for the week.♥

Dawn of a New Budget, Part 2 & 3

This one has to be one of my favorite things to make. Laundry softener! There are so many possibilities. I love to stock up at The Dollar Store with conditioner so I can have a few scents on hand at all times. My husband does not want to smell like a cherry blossom like I do, so I keep some thing fresher for him.

Gather your ingredients:

•  2 cups conditioner


•  3 cups white vinegar


•  6 cups hot water

(Conditioner tip: 2 cups is 16oz. So check your bottles. The VO5 is 15 ounces, but I keep all my left overs from the Suave 22.5 ounces . I cant stress enough, get funnels to put your left overs together and pour your ingredients. The Three pack I have is from the Dollar Store, and they are quality! Going to add the last of that VO5 in that Suave bottle and  I am going to use it :-)

Laundry softener is a "Gateway DIY", because now with your completed product you can now make two more things that can cost you!

Replace your dryer sheets! You know how they get the fragrance to stay on there? Animal fat, thats what is rubbing all over your kids clean clothes. Might as well just toss some scented bacon in there. I use homemade dryer balls but today I am going to whip up my rainbow batch and make some reusable dryer sheets. Here goes....

I make it in a big Dollar Store jug. Just add and stir. Thats it. It makes my laundry soooooo soft, especially when used with Home made laundry soap :-)

But you don't have to stop there, now you can do a few more little tasks...

DIY dryer sheets

Now I use dryer balls, but here in Colorado it's dry.... beyond dry in January. So static has decided to appear in the worse way. I am using an added DIY dryer sheet this month, because well I lost my wool yarn, can't make more balls!  Above we just made a batch of DIY softener. Well don't put it away.

You will need:

• Fabric softener, store bought, or your DIY


• Rags, cut up towel, or Dollar Store towels to cut in to pieces about the size of a dryer sheet. Bigger will be better, longer lasting.

Dunk, give them a soak to make sure it's really in there. Squeeze out a little so they are not a sloppy mess I place on a plate, or plastic bag to start drying before I hang them to dry. I don't want them dripping every where. And there you go. That is it. They will last a few washes, so you really only have to do a couple at a time. :-)

Don't put away that softener!

I have one more project: Febreze.

• 1/8 cup of Fabric softener


• 2Tbs Baking soda


• Hot water

Add ingredients to your old fabric spray bottle, then just fill the rest with water. My bottle is a Glade bottle which is 22 Fl. OZ. Any of those bottles will work.

OK, if you don't have laundry to do... you can put your softener away now.

**Dryer balls will be a separate post.... I lost my yarn and I don't want to buy another one. trying to save money here people!

Dawn of a New Budget , Part 1

Oh how close minded I feel! In the world of pinning and blogging I forget thats there's another world other than the one we live in. Yeah I know, scary huh? I kid, I kid... but digress.  We have the world on boards, or in our reader so to us we know  it all, and have seen it all. But yesterday I had an eye opening Facebook moment. I answered a post to a friend on my personal page. The question was how to cut back the family budget. Well I responded with my big list of things I do in my house, like make every thing. It was just a vague list assuming that every one has heard of all this before. Her response was kind of a: "Wow, I am a mom and  have a full time job, how can I do all of that and still have time to see my family?!"  

That's when I was like "woah", you mean not every one blogs and lives on Pinterest. Shame on me. Well I better have answers then. (She's found the joys of  the crock pot, so a lot of time after work just opened up).

A lot of the simple things I do to skip the most expensive aisle in the grocery store are easy, and kid's can get involved. Of course use your judgement with your kids. These recipes do include HOT water.

My easiest and biggest money saver is making my families laundry soap, and softener.  This is how I make mine, it's the most popular, and proven. Many others have gone as far to do the break down of cost.  But all I need to know is hundreds of loads for about 6 cents per load.



Gather your things:

• 5 gallon bucket with lid. (Home depot, Wal-mart)


• Fels-Naptha soap (grocery store, Wal-mart in laundry aisle)


• Arm and Hammer Super washing soda (not baking soda! I got this also @ Wal-mart in laundry)


• Borax (again Wal-mart)

The soap is less than a buck @ Wal-Mart, and the Super washing soda is around $3-4. Get a new clean bucket too. You're looking at spending what ONE big jug or box of Tide. But you will be getting about 600 loads. (That's an average, 600 is for HE washers, lower for top load and your personal usage preference.) But think, 5 gallons for the price of your Tide.

How to:

• Grate your entire bar of soap (Smells SO good).


• Put in a pot with 4 cups of water already hot (much easier).


• Also fill your bucket half way with HOT water set aside on floor.


• Now stir your soap continuously on medium-low. You don't want it to boil! (It took me under 10 minutes. That's why I make sure the water was already hot. It should be nice and smooth, no chunks.)


• Pour your soap mixture into your bucket of hot water.


• Add 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup of Borax.


• Stir! Use something long enough thats going to reach the bottom of the bucket.


• Now fill your bucket the rest of the way up with water. Stir again. 


• Put the lid on tight and let sit over night.

In the morning you will have a bucket of goop since it thickens over night. I HIGHLY recommend that you now separate into separate containers. It keeps the concentration much more evenly. I lucked out and my Mum gave me these awesome bird seed containers. But I also got a few from the Dollar Store. I also use a jug for the detergent that is in use. I also got that from the Dollar Store. 

This is a lot of soap! Behind my jugs are the bird seed ones I reused. The one thats empty is one I used already. Its a great Dollar Store container. I love these giant jugs, much easier to pour. I kept a cup from my old liquid detergent to measure my mixture. It's about 1/4 of a cup. But you might want to try different amounts for yourself. Some times I dump in more if it's a large load of kids clothes :-).

I have done test's too. I washed some clothes in a free sample pack of some other liquid detergent, and a load  in the homemade. Same!

You will also see my home made softener, very cheap to make all sorts of scents! Making your own softener will also lead you to making your own dryer sheets, and fabric fresher spray!

Comming soon in part 2...

DIY Softeners

Part 3

Fabric sheets, and dryer balls

Part 4

DIY stain fighter, and laundry boosters

Part 5

DIY reusable Swiffer Sheets

Staying savvy in the face of the ZPOC

You know what most, and or ALL zombie movies are missing... Birthdays. As we all watch The Walking Dead unfold we  see moments of life returing. But how about a freaking birthday cake every now and then.  If you're me you think about these things. Well it's all rather easy, staying a calm collected woman in an apron, it's cake! Well in the ZPOC kitchen it can be.

I am sure by now you know the 2 ingredient cake?!  Rather sustainable pantry eats. Oooooh you say; "Sure it's easy to say, but the grid is down."

You wouldn't of said that if you knew me on Twitter. No really. I did a series of it! I'm fun that way.

No worries, I gotcha'

Well there's a lot of 2 ingredient cakes out there, but not this one. It's particularly gross looking. It's zombie inspired.

• Chocolate cake mix (boxed, any brand)


• Cherry Pie filling


• Stir, Bake, pour into spray greased (shelf friendly spray grease) cake pan @350 degrees, 30-40 minutes

May you be Nom Nom be with you, not the Zombie :-)



 Powered Sugar  shelf friendly, strawberries,well camp by a farm or grow. Canned toppings work too. May all your birthdays have cake in the ZPOC :-)

Now to cook it.....

Here, I took care of that for you, I found this:



You're Welcome. Happy Birthday. :-)

Oil Pulling Mania!

I have been really interested into making my overall health better. The past year since my first trimester with my son I have been experiencing bad back pain. I just put with it and I would just chalk it up to the kids wearing me down. I finally did break down realizing this is no way to live. I couldn't have fun any more. I was always getting sick, and I was never the type to always be ill. So I went to the big scary chiropractor (that is a whole another story). X-rays showed that I have scoliosis, minor, but not minor enough to not be scoliosis. To be honest with you it scares the hell out of me. But there's one thing that made sense to me; bones were pinching nerves. Pinched nerves were restricting the flow to my body and robbing me of the all the goodness. That was so not scientific I know. But it was running to parallel to all the things I have been reading about rebounding, and oil pulling. They all are internal cleansing.

So with that said I set out to learn the correct way to do this ancient thing called 'Oil Pulling'.  I have done a lot of research.. and thats where I stop! Because this started to feel like a book report. With that said I will list a few links I feel had straight forward information. Now there are some BIG claims, but I am not going to judge. I do like the benefits of whiter teeth, and over all health. That's my mission any way. But give it a look, I hope I can keep it up for my mission of just feeling better, happy, and strong.

These links are good dry information :-)

http://www.guidetobodycleansing.com/oilpulling.html

http://oilpulling.com/ (Free EBook)

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/oil_pulling.html