Oh today was an adventure!  I was running our Bountiful Baskets Food Coop site today and my new-ish phone…well….user error and I didn’t wake up to my alarm clock because it was on silent.  EEK!  Good thing I woke up on my own, but late nonetheless.

This week, we had such a hodge podge of veggies from Bountiful Baskets, that I don’t have much in the way of dinner ideas this week, but I bet I can come up with something.  We got 1 pineapple, 1 mango, 1 melon, 8 apricots, 5 cameo apples, 2 containers blackberries, 6 bananas, 2 bunches spinach, 1 green leaf lettuce, 2 avocados, 3 red potatoes, 5 white potatoes, 5 tomatoes.

Luckily I still have three tomatoes from last week, so we can make Tomato Basil Soup.  Or, we might do BLTs or BLT Salad.

We’ll use the baker potatoes for a baked potato bar and save the red ones for roasted potatoes to go along with something else.

Then, we’ll be eating LOTS of Salad!  Luckily, I only need to make 3 meals this week anyway on account of Mother’s Day gathering at my moms tomorrow and I’m heading to Indiana on Thursday to teach Medicine Cabinet Makeover Classes.  See my full schedule here.  I’d love to meet you! Check out the other states we’ll be in!

What are you making this week?  I wouldn’t mind more ideas!

I had to add the PS and just giggle a bit because a friend of mine just posted a video about online marketing and how he hates the fancy subject lines that get you to click and then the message isn’t even about the fancy headline.

However – THIS IS My #1 SECRET – but it’s not a secret anymore, because it’s what I’ve been talking to women about recently and it really is the first key to getting what you WANT   It’s the first freebie in my *NEW* Release 5 Pounds Care Kit.  I love making videos for you.  Enjoy!

Did you get the strawberry extra from Bountiful Baskets?  I did because my family LOVES strawberries!  We have already made some freezer jam, eaten a LOT of them and are excited to try a few other things with them this week.  Here are some of the recipes I am looking forward to.  Let me know if you have any favorite strawberry recipes that we can try!  (Click on the pictures to go to the recipes)

These Fruit Roll Ups from Our Best Bites are so wonderful in any flavor.  I am going to try strawberry/mango this week.

These creamsicles from Super Healthy Kids look amazing.  Strawberries and yogurt?  Count me in!

These Strawberry Muffins look so amazing.  They are even a healthy recipe.  I can’t wait to have these for an afternoon snack when my kids come home from school!

On Monday, our Super Swimsuit Slimdown officially begins so I am back to hard core low GI eating.  I feel like the last 6 months have totally zapped my energy and I've gotten way too squishy for my liking.  I'm also trying a gut cleanse as well to help with my rosacea.  I'm ready to take my health to the next level and super excited for toning up!

Here's what I have to work with this week: avocados, green bell peppers, tomatoes, Romaine, red potatoes, artichokes, green beans, beets, Granny Smith apples, strawberries, mangoes, pineapples, bananas, jicama, a pear I'm getting the red potatoes out of the way today or tomorrow with a potato soup. Our Monday through Friday will go as follows:

Today, in our Bountiful Basket Food Co-op, we got beets.  As mentioned last week, beets aren’t something we normally buy, so I did some research in my Food Lovers Companion to find out how to store and prepare thee pink beauties.  Here’s what I found:

This firm, round root vegetable has leafy green tops, which are also edible and highly nutritious.  Beets are available year-round and should be chosen by their firmness and smooth skins.  Small or medium beets are generally more tender than large ones.  If the beet greens are attached they should be crisp and bright.  Because they leach moisture from the bulb, greens should be removed as soon as you get them home.  Leave about 1 inch of the stems attached to prevent loss of nutrients and color during cooking.  Store beets in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.  Just before cooking, wash beets gently so as not to pierce the thin skin, which could cause nutrient and color loss.  Peel beets after they’ve been cooked.

My mom loves beets and the greens!  She just slices the greens into smaller pieces and quarters the beets, steams them, then eats with a bit of butter and salt.  The image above comes from the blog More Than Borscht and includes a recipe for Quick Pickled Rainbow Beets.

A reader last week posted this recipe in a comment:

Scrub beets clean and cook (unpeeled) in about 2 ” of water until you can poke a fork into the beet easily. Save the beet water for later. Let the beets cool, and peel them. Slice into 1/4 ” rounds, and julienne the rounds so you have beet strips.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of butter, and stir in 1 tbsp flour to create a rue. Add 1/2 cup of the beet water, and stir to thicken. Add 1 1/2 tsp of ginger powder and 1/2 tsp of mustard powder (you can also add a little bit of mustard if you don’t have the powder). If desired, add about 1 tsp of agave syrup, but try it first – beets are naturally very sweet.

When you’ve made the gravy, stir in the beet strips and heat on medium flame for 5-10 minutes until the beets are nice and hot – keep an eye on it, and stir when necessary.

For a REALLY easy beet dish, cook the beet as above (in the 2″ of water), peel, slice and serve. Drinking the beet water is an excellent, vitamin filled and anti-oxidant packed mineral drink.

Popped Quinoa By: HealthyMomsKitchen.com Source: Healthy Family Cooking Rating: Yummy, fun way to eat Quinoa 489 Views

Directions

Makes: 4 servings

Step 1

Heat a deep pan on hot until it is really HOT. Test it by adding a few grains of Quinoa. If they pop in a few seconds, it is hot enough.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Quinoa

Step 2

Add just enough Quinoa to cover the bottom of the pan. Only do a little at a time as it will burn easily.

Step 3

After you get the desired amount of Quinoa popped, ENJOY!!

Tags

Side

Snack

American

1-15 Min

Yummy Yummy!  This was way better than I would have hoped.  They are just very tiny, so it was an outside treat for my kids, but they couldn’t argue with a yummy treat and some outside time!  I’ll be making this again very soon!  I can’t wait to try it in recipes and by putting it on my yogurt.

Is anyone else totally stoked that watermelon is finally in season and was in today’s Bountiful Baskets?  Today’s basket contained personal watermelon, strawberries, bananas, apples, mango, pineapple, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, broccoflower, and beets.

I have to be completely honest – I have never cooked with beets and I am not sure if I’ve ever eaten them.  I think I have because I can imagine what they taste like, but I really don’t know when or how they were prepared.  I have heard that they are the bomb in green smoothies and I know Heather has made a chocolate cake with beets.  Green Smoothie Girl has a chocolate cake with beets in it worth trying!  She also has a Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie with beets in it.  My daughter would drink it just because it’s pink!

Other recipes you’d be crazy not to try this week:

Spinach Paradise Salad

Cheddar Roasted Broccoli from Inspired Taste

 If your kids are anything like mine, they will appreciate this next recipe because they can’t tolerate the texture of broccoli or cauliflower.

Cheddar Broccolflower Mash from Slender Kitchen

Simple Garlicky Green Bean Stir Fry from Foodie with Family

I’m making this for my kiddos today, but I’m so NOT putting in all that sugar!  We’ll sweeten it with agave or stevia if needed.

Watermelon Strawberry Lemonade from Frosted Bake Shop

Let’s see your recipes and menu plans!  If you’re ready for a Super Swimsuit Slimdown, check out the details of our free group program!

One of my kid’s favorite snacks is Larabars – specifically, the Lemon Larabars.  A few weeks back, I stumbled upon a Lemon Larabar Ball recipe we just HAD to try.  And since we had lemons in our Bountiful Baskets, we gave it a go.  Now, it must be said that I LOVE lemon and if something is going to be lemon flavored, then I want it to taste really lemony!  So we tweaked the recipe by doubling the lemon and changing things up a bit as far as ratios go, and below is what we came up with.

If you haven’t checked out Nisha’s video on her plans to get Swimsuit READY, watch it!  I’m excited to join her.

Lemon Larabar Balls By: HealthyMomsKitchen.com Source: Healthy Mom's Kitchen Rating: 740 Views

Directions

Makes: 1 servings

Step 1

Process all (except coconut oil) in a food processor - I like to make sure the nuts are really well chopped so I generally process them first, then add the additional ingredients. Coat your impeccably clean hands with coconut oil, then shape into balls. I use my Pampered Chef small cookie scoop to scoop out even portions before rolling. Today my six-year old was the designated "larabar roller" and he loved it. Makes about 36 small balls. Notes: I use the chopped dates - a lot of people will tell you not to in a Larabar copycat, but it worked just fine for me. You may choose to soak them in water for 30 minutes if they are a bit hard, then drain well and use. I did not soak my dates today and it all worked out well. If you have a small food processor, you'll want to process the balls in batches or use 1/2 the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups Dates

2 Lemons

1 1⁄2 cups Raw Whole Almonds

3⁄4 cup Raw Whole Cashews

Coconut Oil

Tags

Snack

Snack

North American

1-15 Min

Over the last three and a half years, I’ve talked with hundreds of women about what they really want in life.  How they want to feel about themselves, how they want others to see them, how they want to look.  I’ve listened to them cry as they bear their souls to me and the tears always come as a result of not feeling like they are or ever will be enough.  This manifesto, sparked by my friend Tara Starling who has created an inspired movement called the Taking Back Beauty movement, is what I desire for all women in the world – to feel this way about themselves – to be able to OWN those words and really truly feel them!

Years ago when I started on my own journey to feel this way about myself, I had a simple positive statement hanging in my kitchen on the refrigerator and on the bathroom mirror that said, “I am a beautiful wife, a loving mother, and a successful business woman.”  These were not things I felt about myself, but things I wanted to know beyond a doubt, that they were true about me.  I wanted to create that reality for myself.  And I did!  Sure there are days when doubt creeps in and I’m not on top of my game or my energy is low, but for the most part, I feel like a beautiful wife, a loving mother and a successful business-woman.  The manifesto above is where I’m headed next.  I want to create that reality for myself.  Some of those things are true for me right now, but I’m a work in progress – JUST like YOU!  The above image was created for the My Healthy Transformation timeline cover on FB as well as my own profile.  My enlightened graphic designer is behind the colors, fonts and layout.  She’s working on a postcard size so that I can send you a copy of this to put on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator.  Will you help me create this reality for all women – to feel enough?  To feel like their own version of perfection?  Leave a comment and let me know if you’re on board.  I’ll email you when the postcards are ready so I can get your address and send you one!!  Please also pin this so we can spread the message of confident healthy moms!

It’s a beautiful morning…and a sunshiney daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay and Bountiful Baskets Food Coop was the BOMB today (imagine I just sang that…lol )  It is such a gorgeous day today and I’m excited to go to my sister-in-law’s baby shower today.  My li’l brother who lives less than 2 miles from me is having his first baby in June and we’re excited to have cousins down the road.  It’s going to be a great day filled with weed pulling (I’m kind of obsessed – I LOVE it) and family.  Perhaps we’ll add a date night to boot.  I need to text my babysitter.

Let’s cut to the chase – Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op was ideal today!  For me, is just takes Corn on the Cob and Strawberries!  The haul also included a bag of apples, bananas, celery, kiwi, lemon, Romaine, yellow onion, spinach, squash, and Roma tomatoes.

Here are some menu ideas from our Healthy Mom’s Kitchen Recipesthat will put to use many of the items from this week’s Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op:

Grilled Lemon Chicken served with corn on the cob & side salad

Link up your recipes and share what you’ll be eating this week!