Bean and Beef Burittos

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Momzoo

Beans fresh out of the crock pot, rinsed and draining. Some will be saved for dinner, the rest will be packed in bags and frozen.

In my (renewed) quest to save money AND stock up on freezer meals for when Little Miss comes, my thoughts have turned to dried beans.

Dried beans are a wonderful way to get bang for your buck, the amount of food you can produce for the amount of money spent, dried beans are one of the most cost effective foods you can buy. They are also full of nutrients, unprocessed, easy to cook (once you know how), and store forever.

One of my favorite go-to bean meals is burritos. They are very versatile, you can throw almost anything into them, whatever you have, and if you keep precooked beans on hand they can make up the bulk of the burrito. I serve them hot and cold, and they freeze beautifully.

Basic burrito made for freezing, cheese, beans, ground beef.

Rolled and ready for the oven. They don't need to be cooked before they are frozen, I just feel like they hold together better if they have been cooked first.

Fresh out of the oven, cooling, waiting to be bagged and frozen.

Once they are completely cooled, place in freezer bags and into the freezer they go. These will be warmed up later for a quick lunch or dinner.

Homemade Toothpaste

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Momzoo

Making my own toothpaste has been on my “to-do” list for a few years now, I just never got around to it.
It is so simple I wonder why I put it off so long.

I love the idea of knowing exactly what is in my toothpaste, and once I got use to the different consistency, I felt like this toothpaste worked better than any comercial brand I had every used before.
(convinsing the kids has been a different story…..)

Here is my quick tutorial for homemade toothpaste, and I say quick because it really is, it only takes a few minutes. All mesurements are approximent, just adjust to suit your own tastes.

Ingredients:
2 cups VIRGIN ORGANIC coconut oil
1/4 cup baking soda
20 drops peppermint oil (or any oil of choice)
Stevia
(I don’t use this, but some people like it)

Spoon the coconut oil into a bowl and give it a quick stir to soften a bit.

Add baking soda, and stir until smooth and well blended.

Add as much peppermint oil as you would like. 🙂

Store in air tight glass jars and use as you would regular toothpaste!

Enjoy!

Coconut Oil, My New Love

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Momzoo

I have been using coconut oil in cooking now for awhile. A couple years ago I changed how and what kinds of oil I use in the kitchen, I switched from using vegetable oils (except olive oil) to using traditional oils and fats, mostly butter, olive oil and coconut oil in all my cooking and baking. Coconut oil makes baked goods absolutely delicious! About that same time I started using extra virgin coconut oil for my face as a moisturizer, I have really loved the results, the acne that I have struggled with for most of my twenties and early thirties is gone. YAY! In the last month I have branched out even further in using my beloved coconut oil.

1.Oil pulling

2.Toothpaste

Oil pulling is a fascinating method for cleaning teeth and mouth. The method is simple, place a couple teaspoons of either virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil in your mouth and swish for up to 10 minuets, then spit and rinse. It sounds really weird. The biggest benefit I have seen is the loosening of plaque and tarter from my teeth. I have always had a hard time keeping tarter off the back of my front teeth (sorry if this grosses anyone out) , but after I pull coconut oil, it comes right off with a regular brushing. My older girls pull oil too, they have problems with brown spots on their teeth that they can’t brush off, after pulling, the brown spots go away. For a more detailed article, including all the benefits of oil pulling go HERE.

Homemade tooth paste is something I have been wanting to try for a while, so the other day when we ran out of regular toothpaste I finally made some of my own. Toothpaste is very simple, there are only two main ingredients: virgin coconut oil and baking soda, I also add some peppermint oil and some recipes call for a little stevia powder for sweetness. It took some time for the kids to get use to the taste and feel of the new toothpaste, it doesn’t bubble, there aren’t any chemicals to make suds, that is a little strange and first, and since I didn’t add stevia, it isn’t sweet, however they got use to it and it is no big deal. I have been loving it, after I brush my teeth feel like I have been to the dentist for a cleaning, my teeth and smooth and super clean. I plan on posting a tutorial soon.

So there you go, Coconut oil is my new love!

Strawberry-Orange Pasta Salad

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Momzoo

This is a beautifully simple salad, that is easy to put together when you don’t have a lot of time.

And, it is good
really good.

Everyone liked this salad.

Here is a list of our ingredients,
there are only five
five is nice on a busy day!

2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
1/3 cup Creamy Poppy seed dressing
1/4 cup Mayo
1 can mandarin oranges
1 cup sliced strawberries

First, cook the pasta.
While the pasta is cooling mix the salad dressing and mayo and cut the strawberries.
Add the dressing and mayo mixture to the warm pasta and refrigerate.
Right before serving stir in the oranges and strawberries.

Simple.

Pina Colada Salad

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Momzoo

This salad was a hit with the “zoo” everyone loved it. Which is really no surprise because it is very, very sweet, so sweet in fact it would do nicely as a summertime dessert or snack on a hot afternoon. It is very different from anything I have served or eaten before, I am excited to make it again.

First we will start with the dressing
Our ingredients are:

1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup pina colada drink mix
1 1/2 cup sour cream

add all ingredients together and whisk, then chill in the refrigerator while preparing the body of the salad.