Top Ten Tips for making favorite food healthier

Have you ever remade a recipe into a healthier version?  I have and most of the time it involves using more fresh ingredients and less over processed foods.  Over the years I've learned by trial and error, simple ways to cut fat, cut salt and cut sugar without my family knowing.  A big culprit you have to keep your eye out for is high fructose corn syrup.  This added sugar can rack up the calories of many of our favorite foods.  What ways do you make your family favorite meals healthier? 

TOP 10 Ways to make Family Favorite Foods healthier!

1) Salt- My husband was having high blood pressure issues years ago. The doc said cut the salt in cooking so I did just that.  How to do it? Just cut the salt out of your food prep.  Salt is needed in baking but when it comes to making a casserole, don't add salt to what you are cooking.  Use fresh herbs and Mrs Dash to add in extra flavor. Scary facts about salt.

2) Fresh herbs- Learn about them, use them and grow to love them.  They will be your best friend in the kitchen!  Your food will taste fresh and your taste buds will crave them.  This is one add to add some green into you food. It is easy to substitute dry herbs for fresh herbs.  Read some tips.

3) Milk vs low sodium chicken broth- Yes you got it! Substitute low sodium chicken broth for milk when you have mashed potatoes.  You family will NEVER know the difference on taste.  I make my own chicken broth with the chicken carcass after we have rotisserie chicken. 

4) Make your own bread- Ok this doesn't seem like something easy but it IS! Last year I took on the challenge of making our own bread.  It used low sugar, low salt, whole wheat flour and other fiber rich ingredients.  No processed ingredients!  In just 5 minutes a day you can have fresh bread daily!  Check it out here.

5) Cut out extra starch- Every meal does not need to include a starch.  Get away from having a bread product at every meal.  Add an extra vegetable or a fruit to the dinner table.  Get out some veggies and let your kids come up with their own addition to the meal. See what my daughter did for us!  Less starch means less sugar and that means less calories.

6) Portion control- A great way to make a favorite food healthier is to just eat less of it.  Serve a salad along with the not so healthy fried chicken. Instead of two pieces, just eat one.  If a serving is 15 chips then only eat 15.  Take and make snack packs that are smaller in portion.  

7) Say NO to processed sweet snacks- Do you  know that you can make a healthier cookie? A healthier brownie? At home you can use less fat when baking. You can substitute the oil for applesauce.  You can add in shredded zucchini or carrots to increase the nutritional value of the dessert. Tips on making substitutes. 

8) Change milk- Stop purchasing higher fat milk.  Whatever you are using cut back a percent every time you buy milk until you get your family drinking skim milk.  You don't need the extra added fat in cow's milk. If you do it slowly your family won't notice much of a difference. 

9)We love mashed potatoes.  Sometimes you need to make a batch to go with your low fat pork roast!  Here is a tasty version using cauliflower.  I've been told it is low-carb!

10) Cut out taco shells!  We love tacos, fajitas, bean burritos,etc at my house.  Cut out the extra fat, starch and white flour of the taco shell and use lettuce as your wrap!  WE LOVE IT!  Great recipe here! 

Do you have some recipes or tips to share on making some of your favorite family food healthier? What is your experience?  Did you family like it?  Did you bomb a meal because of a change? 

Please leave some comments here. You link up recipes under my recipe tab, too!  Check them out. Not all of them are healthy but you will find some there!  

Top Ten Tips for a Cleaner, Greener Home

This is such a wide topic of discussion!  I'm always wondering what does it really mean to be "green"?  I also wonder if products are labeled "green" are they really green and how do you know?  Ack! It is all so confusing.  I've decided that to be "green" means to keep things as natural as possible around the house and have less chemicals.  What are you thoughts?

TOP 10

1) Baking Soda- It is a very basic product that is over looked by itself.  So many products include baking soda these day.  Dump them and just use baking soda.  It is a natural, gentle cleaner and is great for scuff marks on floor and walls.  I love to sprinkle it on carpet, wait 30 minutes and then vacuum.  We have kitties so this, to me, helps having a box of it sitting near the litter box!  Check out Solutions at Arm & Hammer for more tips! 

2) Lemons- I know this is another one of those basic items that you see included in other products.  Ditch them and use lemons!  I love the smell of lemons! I use lemons on my counter tops.  I don't have granite (wish I did) so my laminate counter tops can stain easily.  I squeeze on the lemon juice, let sit for a minute and then work in with some baking soda! Tada by by counter stains!.  Here are other Lemon tips.

3) Cold water- I use cold water to wash most of my laundry.  Cold water saves energy! I only wash the really white items and towels in warm (not hot) water.  I've done this for years and have never see a difference in the way the clothes get clean.  So I'm saving money on this one, too.

4) High Efficiency Washer and Dryer- This set is the best appliance in our home.  Now I personally do not know if it really is more efficient and if it does same more money with less energy being used. I only know by what the makers display with their products.  I trust that they've done the research and sold me a great machine.  They use less water and less heat to dry. Here are more tips on these type of products.

5) Reusable totes- I have at least 30 totes that I can use for groceries and other store items instead of bringing  home more plastic bags.   I'm slow at taking this head on but I'm getting there.  The stores where I shop are slowing allowing us to bring in our own bags. A year ago, they looked at me like I was a freak, today they don't even bat an eye.  Oh and I save money! I never buy a tote! Places give them away all the time! These bags are used all the time around the house.  Going to the beach? Grab a tote!

6) Keurig Coffee Machine-OK I know you are wondering where this is one is going! I'll tell you! I'm the main coffee drinker.  I can't drink an entire pot. I usually only drink 1 cup when I first get up and maybe one in the afternoon.  The 2nd cup of the day never tasted fresh when I used drip method and had to warm up the coffee. I knew I was wasting my money, coffee, coffee filters and time!  So the one cup brew of a Keurig uses just enough energy and product for one cup.  I've even figured out a way to reuse and reuse my cups over and over and over. Tips here. 

7) HE-High Efficiency laundry soap- This goes back to the machine that I own.  I found that you can purchase the HE soap and it saves money and you are using less product.  It is a more concentrated product, less suds, less used and works with your machine to allow you to get the most out of its features.  Again, I don't know this from my own research but know this from what retailers are telling me.  I'm trusting them.  Read up more on the Laundry Soap here. 

8) Paper towels- Just say NO! I say no and I don't buy them unless we are having a big party (help with quick spills.) They are a waste of money. We need the trees to build homes and other large items. Don't kill them just for paper towels.  I have rags that I use to clean and they get tossed in with the wash. If I buy a roll of paper towel my husband and children will use it up quickly.  Every tiny spill and every hand drying needs one. No way! Not here.

9) Recycle if you "can"! There are so many things around us that we use once and toss. Get creative and reuse it, recycle it! This takes time and patience but once you get into it, it becomes a habit and you are always looking for ways to recycle and reuse.

10) Plants and Herbs- I'm totally convinced that plants are good for my home.  Look outdoors and what do you see? Green! So pull the outside inside! Plants help with indoor pollution!  This sounds funny but we live in an older home that came with its own unique smell.  I found that plants help get rid of the house smell, animal smells, shoe smells,etc.  Plants take in our CO2 and give off O2.  How wonderful is that?  So get green by bring the outdoors inside!  Believe me? Read more here! I love this site. I don't have a "green thumb" but slowly over the years I've found plants that work with me!

So do you agree/disagree with my top 10? Share your thoughts with me!  You can also share them on TwitterMoms!  Check out the Mrs. Meyer's widget in the left side bar to see what other mom's are saying on this topic!
*Check out the widget for Mrs. Meyer's on my left side bar for more Cleaner, Greener Home tips!
* IF you tweet, do a search for #MrsMeyers to see other tips on a cleaner, greener home!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Mrs. Meyer’s blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Million Minute Family Challenge with Crazy Gamers

Today is the day to blow the dust off your games and get playing with family and friends.  From September 1st-December 31st, you need to keep track of your game minutes to be entered into the Million Minute Family Challenge by Patch Products.  This is their 10th year!  Last year our family and friends joined together and ended up in the top 10 posted minutes and we all reached the goal of one million minutes!!!

Our group is called the Crazy Gamers!  If you are in our circle of Family and Friends, you can join our group or go make your own!  Besides recording minutes they love having each state represented in the challenge!

What type of games do you play? I love word games! Who do you play with? Make it a weekly date! Our two main groups play on Tuesday and Saturday.  In between those days, we play more one on one.  This is great for schools and homeschools!

Are you up to it?  I'm going to post every Wednesday with our Crazy Gamer minutes.  This will also serve as a reminder for you to join in or get your minutes posted!

Khan Academy Homeschool and Education Link up!

(FEEL FREE TO GRAB THE BUTTON and PUT ON YOUR BLOG-Link on left sidebar)

Today is Wednesday (I know can't you believe it?) and it is time for my Education link up!  This is the place to link up if you are a homeschool family, if you have educational post on your blog, educational giveaways or if you are a business that caters to theses groups!!!

Today I'm featuring Khan Academy on my Link up!  We homeschool three students.  We are planning on using Khan Academy to supplement my already planned lessons for my two high school students!  Who knows, they might like it more than what I already have planned, if so we'll ditch mine and stick to Khan Academy for their Math.

From the site: The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission of providing a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Despite being the work of one man, Salman Khan, this 1600+ video library is the most-used educational video resource as measured by YouTube video views per day and unique users per month. We are complementing this ever-growing library with user-paced exercises--developed as an open source project--allowing the Khan Academy to become the free classroom for the World.  


They have over 200,000 students using the site monthly!  This is all free and that is the way he wants it!  Thank you Mr Khan! So go check out his site! 


IF YOU LINK UP- Please be kind and follow my blog on the right side bar! Leave a comment, too! Then I can come visit and follow you back. THANKS

Enter to win Smoky Eye Look- Tasty Giveaway of the Day

Hiya! My friends over at Just for Me...and You blog is hosting a Smoky Eye Look Giveaway! Go enter! I did!

Giveaway Winners August-September

GIVEAWAY WINNERS AUG-SEPTEMBER 

(Emails going out this week)

*Shutterfly Giveaway #124 Ashley, #92 Lisa L and #90 PlumbPretty

* The Green Bean Coffee Company Comment #152 Shannon

*Day 31 Good Harvest Coffee Bean Winner LIz

*Day 30 MudPie Studio Comment #278 windicindi (Comment #273 Jules won but she didn't leave any contact information! So sorry)

*Day 29 Starbucks Coffee Recipe Cookbook 4 winners Lisa L, Meg, The Crave to Save and Sharibearg 

*Day 28 Crazy Dog Tshirt Winner Comment #235 alissa4illustration

*Day 27 Mouthy Housewife Magnet Comment #7 jhitomi

*Day 26 Scrabble Pendant Comment #232 Angie 

*Day 24 Java Dog Tshirt Comment #113 Pam

*Day 23 Artist Wire Coffee Clip Comment #124 WindyCindy 

*Day 22 TreeBed Magnet Comment #84 WindyCindy

*Day 21 Awake and Smell the Coffee Comment #115. Shannon

*Amish Book Giveaway #121 Marilyn

            Kindle Giveaway  winner Janet Thompson (picked by author)

*Leaving Before It is Over #4 Maureen

*Day 20 Coffee Bean Earrings and Coffee Bean Rosary Comment #1 for the Rosary  Marjorie
and Comment #43. Earrings/Bracelet windycindy

* Day 19 Soappuccino #32 Teresa

*Day 18 Coffee Cuff #10 BrendaLea, thePrpldy

*Day 17 My Lip Stuff Comment #123 allisonsbj3

*Day 16 Cupcake Cookbook Comment #8. kkfoster35 Comment #140 StuffSmart
Comment # 68 AvonLady02 

* Day 15 Latte Love #4 Charity

* Day 14 Community Coffee #9 Rachel

* Day 13 K Cups #123 shala_darkstone

*Day 12 Whimsical Magic Earring #13 Angie

*Day 11 Hip Soul Tshirt #14 Stephanie

*Day 10 Equal Exchange Coffee #81 Liz

*Day 9 Cozy/checkbook cover Comment #55 Brooke

* Day 8 BRUGO Mug Comment #359 tannawings

*Day 7 CSN Gift card Giveaway Comment #400 Debbie

* Once in a Blue Moon giveaway #17 Beverly

*Day 10 D-n-D Ranch Aromas Comment #121 Cheryl

*Day 7 Kiss the Cook- Comment #349 Heather

*ZEBRA Pens Comment #6 Libby's Library

*Day 4- Big City Coffee Comment #64 Kellee

*Day 3-NachoMamas Comment #59 Luvdaylilies

*Day 2-Coffee Beans of Love Comment #111 Penny W.

*9 MyKap winners-Comment #1 aloi #45 Connie Black #23 Penny W, Lisa L, #149 Liz #194 Victoria #46 Tanya #7 Debbie #69 Aunt Kathy

*Country Bob's Cookbook Comment #109 tannawings

*Radius Toothbrush Comment #10 BrendaLea

*Patch Game Comment 71 Victoria99

*Download N Go Comment #5 Kathryn

The Green Coffee Bean Company Giveaway

This is my last coffee review for Coffee Month 2010!  I'm ending my month with The Green Coffee Bean Company.

Here is their bio: The Green Coffee Bean Company is a little coffee shop in Ketchikan, Alaska, located in beautiful and rainy Southeast. We do all of our own roasting with our Probat roaster. We put a little bit of love into all the coffee we roast and we hope you can taste the difference. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us. We love to talk about coffee!

The Green Coffee Bean Company is owned by Steve, main roaster/owner/head honcho. Brittany does the online part of TGCBC to help Steve out, as he's usually pretty busy with roasting coffee! We also have Crystal, our roasting assistant, and a barista or two.

We also have green coffee beans available and do wholesale orders. We package our coffee in stand-up bags with a zipper-style closure and a one way valve to let air and gases out. Coffee will stay fresh for a long time!

I had the pleasure trying Harrar Longberry, dark roasted; Alaska Black Wolf, dark roasted and Midnight Sun Espresso Blend, medium roasted.  I could not stop smelling all three of these.  I would love to be at their coffee shop in Ketchikan and smell their shop.  If I ever get to Alaska, I would plan my time around going to their shop.  

Alaska Black Wolf: 

(From store) Black Wolf Espresso Blend is a dark roasted delight. This is a bold and flavorful blend that is perfect for espresso, but tastes just as great used for drip coffee. Black Wolf will keep you howling all day!  This espresso does make you howl!  It is smooth and tasty!!  I brew it in my one cup Keurig Machine! Works like a charm!

Midnight Sun Espresso Blend: 

(From store) At the top of the Northwestern hemisphere lies the land of the midnight sun. A place where majestic snow-capped mountains fall into a sea of sparkling blue, a place where bears, orcas, eagles, and the world's most revered salmon form the basis of an intricate web of life, and a place where the humans are known for their obsessive love of coffee. Whether it's fuel to keep you going on those darkened winter days, or to revitalize the senses with the midnight rising of the summer sun, we hope you'll raise a cup and join us Alaskans in praising, "Let the midnight espresso shine down on me." 

 For me, this coffee had the best smell, ever. There are many smells and taste in this black bag! One of them that I picked up on was a light coconut smell and taste.  My daughter loved the smell of this one, too!  This for me, is definitely a coffee to be enjoyed with friends.

Harrar Longberry:  This was their coffee of the month for August! Lucky me I was able to get a bag!  They are all sold out!  Keep checking back because this is a bag of beans worth owning.  

(From the label) The district of Harrar is located in teh Northeast area of Ethiopia at about 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level.  Longberry is a large, long-pointed bean.  They are grown by hand on smal peasant plots and processed carefully by the traditional, dry method which brings out characteristic wild blueberry undertones, flowery aroma, medium acidity and heavy wine-like body.  With all this in one coffee bean, just roast to second crack to bring out he natural wild fruitiness or dark roast for more pungent cup.  A very special treat with any blueberry dessert.  

I love coffee from Ethiopia.  This is a first for me to try Harrar Longberry.  I was amazed at the floral, blueberry taste and smell.  Very exciting!  This is a great afternoon coffee and great for dessert time.  

Now that you know what I tried, enter to win coffee for yourself!  I'm not sure what you will win but I can guarantee you it will be good!

GIVEAWAY

COFFEE from The Green Coffee Bean Company (TGCB)

To enter: Go check out TGCB on Etsy and tell me something you like to try. Leave email with your comment.

Bonus entries: 5 entries each
1) Follow my blog (any way, right side bar)
2) Tweet giveaway "Enter to win Coffee Beans from The Green Coffee Bean Company http://bit.ly/GreenCoffeeBean" , unlimited
3) Follow me on twitter @susieqtpies
4) Stop in and make their shop,TGCB as one of your favorite ETSY stores.
5) Look around at their ETSY store and tell me something you learned, something you would purchase, and Heart something you like. (5 entries per comment)
6) Enter any of my other giveaways (right side bar)

7) For 5 entries each: Go visit them below! Fan/Follow them and come back and get your extra entries

 http://twitter.com/tgcbc

http://www.facebook.com/tgcbc

Giveaway ends Sept. 21. USA

Thanks to the sponsor for sending me all the generous coffee beans to review and mailing out coffee to the winner. All opinions stated here are my own tasty words. All the coffee pictures came from their ETSY store.