Tamales in 20 Minutes ..... from scratch!

Tamales.

When I think about tamales, I think about huge full kitchen, full of assembly line women working together to make hundreds of tamales.

It takes HOURS and hours! Sure you get to take home some amazing tamales, but it takes so long!

Well..... Not anymore!!!

I had seen somewhere like the day after I got my Instant pot..... that you could make tamales! Say what?!?! I didn't need 200, I only have a family of 4 and didn't want to store any. I just wanted a few for dinner! So, I had to try this out! The recipes I found were all so difficult, and I'm a simple girl! SO... this is what I did.

I got my organic masa  out (I always buy my corn products organic, they are one of the heaviest pesticide/herbicide sprayed crops! yuck!) and sort of followed the instructions on the back of the bag to make my dough. Yes, I said "sort of" - I don't like following rules. So it called for vegetable broth, I used organic beef broth ..... I did a heavier hand on the spices, and I think I used sunflower oil. Don't judge, it's what I had.

Next, I took my favorite homemade dry enchilada mix, and took some leftover turkey and a can of my home canned tomatoes and simmered it all up together on the stove. This was going to be perfect! My son hates all poultry, so I opened a can of pinto beans for him.  Then I got to rolling my tamales. Now... keep in mind, this is for my family (no guest), and I'm not trying to sell them. They didn't have to be pretty! So, I cut out parchment paper rectangles to wrap them in..... I have yet to find organic husks, so I'm limited here. I laid out my dough, topped with the meat mixture, chopped olives and onions, then rolled them up! The son's did not have onions or olives, just plain beans (he's so boring in his food choices).

I seriously just rolled the long sides, then the bottom up. Left the top open, and put them on the rack, with 1 cup of water in the bottom. See how I stacked them here ... .

See... not super pretty.... but functional! ☺ I cooked the on manual + high pressure for 25 minutes. Once done, I did quick release pressure! They were AMAZINGLY tasty! We topped them with some salsa verde, the husband put some cheese on top of his (the rest of us are dairy free, so that is why it wasn't IN them).  SERIOUSLY, this is going in our recipe rotation. These were simple! We actually made them a couple nights after this first adventure using some leftover shredded beef. It is a great way to use up any leftover meats you may have, and make it into another meal! 

I broke them a little unwrapping them, I'm not the most patient person

Let me know if you try this method out, what you used, and what you think! I found these SOOO easy to make, and SO yummy to eat! SO much room to make these so many ways! 

PIN IT HERE 

______________________________________

* This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!

This pot is changing my life!

Have you heard about this amazing magic thing?

The Instant Pot?!?



This thing is Changing my life!

I only got it like 3 days ago, and I've seriously cooked SO MUCH in it already! Today's magical concoction was a super hit!

You know how we've all heard how much better for you steel cut oats are.... yadda yadda...
But those things take SOOO long to cook! Even with the quick cooking ones I have it takes over 10 minutes of "simmering"! Also, say goodbye to those amazing little things called "Overnight Oats" if you switch from old fashioned rolled oats to steel cut! Those things are amazing you all, seriously everyone picks their own and they are DONE overnight! Since we chose to forgo buying a microwave in our new house, those too have gone out the window because of the whole heating up part, but that isn't the point..... back to the pot. This thing makes the magic of "make your own oats" possible again, with the healthy steel cut version, and its fast and so good you all!

I came across this amazing blog post on Tidbits that lays out how to do this! My mind was blown! I just had to try it! I may very well blow my whole house up putting jars in the cooker, but I like to live dangerously.... I had to do it! (I also didn't do the "water test" you are supposed to do when you first get it, I have no idea where everyone even saw this info!)

I did make a few changes to the original recipe (find recipe here)

We all wanted to try the Carrot Cake oats! So we put in the oats, chia, and spices (we upped these a tad, as we love spices). I used chopped carrots instead of shredded (I love my food chopper, way faster then shredding), and we used coconut sugar (1 Tblsp per jar? I don't measure much) in place of the sweetener the recipe calls for! We actually did everything the night before, minus adding the water. Added all dry ingredients to the jars, and put the lids on til morning. We stored the chopped carrots ready to add covered in the fridge. My Instant Pot does not have a "delay" feature that I know of (maybe I should read my book), so I just finished them and put them in to cook in the morning with the carrots and water! 

Since I used my Bob's Red Mill Organic quick cooking steel cut oats, I did decrease my cook time to only 14 minutes vs the 20 called for in the original recipe. Once done, I quick released pressure then opened it up! I used my canning jar tongs to carefully lift them out and put them on a cooling rack. Let them sit there for a short bit to cool.

We opened the lids, stirred, and enjoyed! You guys, seriously these are OUT of this world good! SUPER easy for everyone to pick their own add ins, and then cook them all up! I actually think  I like the texture better cooking this way too! This is a SUPER win recipe for our family!  I hope you enjoy this great recipe as much as we did!

I created a neat little community on facebook to share clean eating Instant Pot recipes! Want to join us?  

Let me know what you love making in your pot!

PIN IT HERE!!!

______________________________________

* This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!

Little Secrets about how I love fitness

I don't! 
There. I said it. I don't love fitness!

I struggle to workout some days. It's hard. BUT, I know how amazing it is for my mental health, and my body! I need it. But, that doesn't mean I love it! LOL

One of the ways I like to keep things interesting and fun, is to switch it up! I try to do this often! I have what you could easily call workout A.D.D. I jump around programs/workouts a lot. Unless I'm 100% committed to a program, I like to try out new things!

Well, today there was an amazing sneak peek on my BOD streaming workout service of the new Core de Force workout being released next month! Something you may not know about me... I used to totally be into martial arts. I even tested for my brown belt when I was 6 months pregnant with my now 11 year old daughter. I could even still kick above my belt! Well, I tried out this new workout today... and I can say it was SUPER fun! Try to mix up your workouts and keep things fresh and fun. That is the way to not get bored.

 Note: Don't mind my crazy hair and mismatch clothes.... this is why I workout at home. I'd be the "crazy lady" going to the gym like this!

 

Muffins are amazing!

Ok, so muffins aren't exactly healthy - but making them at home does make them a bunch more healthy!! Plus, my kids LOVE when I make muffins!! From scratch is ALWAYS better then those store bought!

Today was a lazy Saturday morning - so I decided to bake some muffins! They really didn't take too long, and were so yummy! I made banana crumble muffins - and they were made with all organic ingredients (<---- that means "healthy" right??) The recipe I originally found on all recipes, but made some changes for our family since we don't do any dairy. 

Whip these up on a lazy morning for your kids, they will think you are super awesome baker mom!! 

Ingredients:

1.5 C flour

1 tsp each baking soda & baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 mashed bananas
3/4 C granulated sugar 

1 egg

1/3 C coconut oil

Topping:

1/3 C brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp coconut oil

Cinnamon to taste

Preheat to 375. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl - set aside. Cream together bananas, sugar, egg, and coconut oil (soften with heat of necessary). Once well combined, add dry to wet - stir until just combined and moistened. Put into muffin cups it greased muffin tin. Bake 18-22 minutes. Cool on wire rack, and enjoy!

Do you follow me on Facebook yet? I post all kinds of recipes over there too! 

Fresh out of the oven Muffins!!

This recipe was adapted from a recipe at All Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-crumb-muffins/

Protein loaded oatmeal that is delicious!

I love oatmeal. I eat it often. Not that thin "instant" type.... But good old fashioned thick  oats! The kind you have to cook in a pot, on the stove (unless you do my overnight oats HERE). What I don't love... How I am hungry 1.5 hours after eating!

I have found that I need protein in the morning to keep me feeling full! This typically comes in the form of eggs. I also read that a high protein breakfast can help you lose weight - that is a plus!! I have come up with a way to enjoy my oatmeal, and still get my protein needs met with eggs!  Creamy egg white oatmeal!! 

I know what you are thinking... GROSS!! That is what I thought to before I tried it, but I promise it's amazing! So amazing, I even make it for my kids oatmeal with egg whites in it now and they have no clue!! 

Peaches are in season here in California, and since I eat produce according to the "in season" schedule - I have tons now! We went to the farmers market to load up, and came home with 6lbs of peaches! I made some yummy peach streusel for the husband. I still had tons left over, so I made peaches and cream egg white oatmeal for days! I'm sharing my recipe here with you! 

What you'll need: 

3/4  cup water

3/4 cup almond/coconut blend milk

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup organic egg whites 

Peaches cut up

Sweetener to taste (I used honey)
Cinnamon (optional)

Put milk + water in a saucepan, bring to just a boil. Add oats. Cook until 3/4 of the water is gone. Reduce heat, while constantly stirring, slowly add egg whites. Keep stirring. Cook an additional 3 minutes while stirring (or until remaining liquid is absorbed). Remove from heat. Stir in sweetener, cinnamon,  and fresh fruit! Enjoy!

Protein Loaded Oatmeal with Peaches

Why you need to measure!

I asked in a post over on my Facebook page if people measured their oil when cooking. Overwhelmingly, the answer was NO! The only time people stated they measured was in baking!

I did an experiment, and actually free poured my oil into a measuring device without watching the amount, just what I would use for cooking whatever I was cooking - guess what happened?!? I poured almost twice as much as needed EVERY time! You might ask why this is important? 

Oils are fats. Just nutritionally speaking, 1 tblsp of oil has the same amount of fat as a snickers bar!!! (read on happyherbivore.com). Oils are not a natural occurring food. All oils are processed, they all need pressed/extracted etc.  Oils are simply empty calories, and can easily be over used! You REALLY should be measuring!

Watch this video about oils! It was very interesting!

I am not saying DON'T eat oils, I am saying be aware of how much you ARE eating, and choose good oils! My husband bought me this amazing oil pourer, with a measurer*! I now can measure and see how much oils I am using, easily! *Yes, I realize these are not real words, I made them up

This Oil Pourer is AMAZING! I love being able to measure, and see exactly what I am using. This also makes my tracking in my 21 Day Fix meal sheets easier, since it is measured in teaspoons. It comes fully apart, and has SUPER easy clean up! It is even Dishwasher Safe! If you don't have something like this at least pull out your measuring spoons and measure! Don't load up on un-necessary empty calories! Save them for that snickers bar or Smoreo treat instead! 

Want to get one for yourself? 

I am not always a food police!!

I am selective with what I feed my family. Many people think it's 100% organic, or that i just spend all day in the kitchen. Let me tell you ..... I'm not perfect.

I, just like most other mom's I know; try to do my best with what I have. So there are certain things I never eat (or try my hardest not to) unless they are organic. I don't let my kids eat HFCs (high fructose corn syrup), artificial sweeteners, or things that have ingredients I can't pronounce. I make our own granola, bread, jam and lots of other things from scratch at home. I am not able to do it 100% of the time. 

Many people simply think I'm a food snob, or that I think their food isn't good enough for my family and I. However, this all started with my now 8 year old having major gastrointestinal problems around age 2.5-3. She was medivacced to a larger hospital (Tripler, in Hawaii) for endoscopy/colonoscopy and a large array of other test.  They were concerned about everything from Celiacs to Cancer. Thankfully, all test were clear.... but we still had no answers. On the doctors orders, we had to eliminate everything from her diet (which is when we went while food vegan) and really watch what we gave her. Taking out everything, and slowly adding it in - we should be able to see what she is sensitive to. She still eats no dairy or soy, and the only eat she eats is fish. She gets sick easily from greasy or processed foods. My needing to learn about food, and how to help her feel the best she could was important to me. That is why I make food choices I do - like corn is ONLY organic, eggs only organic/vegetarian fed and preferably local/free range. This isn't from me being a food snob, but because if she eats eggs that were fed a high corn/soy diet - she gets sick! 95% of the feed given to commercial egg producing chickens is gmo's and not good stuff. If it makes my daughter sick, we don't buy it anymore. 

With all this being said, we are not deprived in the food department. We also don't mind bringing our own food many places with us. It's not that we don't think yours is good, we just don't want our daughter getting sick. Don't be afraid to invite us over for dinner, or a BBQ. I am used to adapting and bringing stuff. As long as you are not offended we bring some of our own, it is not hard at all! 

Now, there are some times - you have to bend the rules a little. S'mores! My 5 & 8 year old had NEVER HAD ONE!!! We were in Oregon at grandma and grandpa's, and they have a fire pit in backyard. We decided to bend the rules, and let them experience s'mores. (If you know of organic marshmallows, please let me know in comments below)  we picked out organic, dark chocolate, graham crackers, and regular marshmallows with corn syrup (eek!).

We didn't let them eat too much, but they loved it!! Eating this "bad" food once Ina VERY but moon won't kill them! 

My words of wisdom to you - do your best. Make the choices that are best for your family. Do what you can. Bend the rules on occasion. You are an awesome mom/dad. Be a food police if you have to, but bend the rules very rarely, the fun on their faces was worth it (and no one got sick from the one marshmallow!)

Don't their faces just say it all!!

Do you have problems with people understanding your families food issues? Comment below how you deal with it.