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Get Natured

Happy New Year! 

Did you make any resolutions for 2014? I am all about simplifying my life by getting our home organized this year. We have closets to purge, digital photos to sort, and all things in between. When my home is neat, my brain feels it too.

How about last week’s challenge- did you find a little more movement? Start anything new?

the winter project

Welcome to week 6 of The Winter Project!
(What is The Winter Project?)


Welcome to January!


This month's theme for the Winter Project is “Surviving the cold with warmth and comfort”.

To begin experiencing “warmth and comfort” in this time of mid-winter, it is important to do your best to support your physical health. Physical health and mental health are tightly connected and, for me, feeling rested, well-fed, and worked out makes all the difference in the world for my happiness.

We are back to our normal routine as of today. The kids are back to school and I have no more excuses for eating pie for breakfast! After the winter holidays, I always crave sugar and comfort foods more than I want to admit and I feel like I need to go into “detox mode” to reboot my system.

Challenge for the week: Ease some healthy foods back into your life. Start each day with a healthy breakfast (maybe a smoothie with a handful of spinach or plain oatmeal doctored up with fresh fruit and nuts). Try planning your meals for the week (at least for dinner), drop the sugary treats, brown-bag nutritious leftovers for lunch, and work on staying hydrated.

This is a good time to take another look at basic needs and make changes where there are struggles. I need to work on getting to bed at a decent hour and easing the sugary treats out of my evenings. I find that adding healthy foods back into my meals helps me to ease out the junk.

apples

It doesn’t take much to convince me to wimp out on cooking dinner in favor of take-out at the end of a long day, though. Planning quick and easy (but healthy) meals helps to keep me on track.

My plan: I am not planning a “cleanse” or other common January detox diet. Instead, I have planned a week of healthy meals and will put a little extra time into cooking so that we have healthy, homemade foods. Eating and serving my family real food is intensely important to me so the extra time investment is worth it. This may not work for you- find what does. Whatever feels good to you is perfect.

Some ideas for making healthy food fast:
  • Make a large pot of soup for dinner one night. Pour leftovers into individual serving containers like these (affiliate link) for grab-and-go lunches or dinners.
  • Double recipes that can be frozen and put an extra pan in the freezer for another day (e.g. lasagna, pizza dough, enchiladas, casseroles, etc.)
  • Use the same ingredients in multiple meals (e.g. tacos become taco salad or enchiladas; butternut squash can be roasted as a side dish, stuffed as a main dish, or pureed into a sauce; leftover roasted veggies make great tofu scrambles, frittatas, or can be used as pizza toppings).
  • Make extras when cooking lentils, beans, rice, sweet potatoes, etc. These things can be put together for quick and easy salads or rice bowls.
  • Double crockpot recipes and place extra portions in freezer bags. This makes for quick crockpot meals from the freezer.
I will also be putting some extra focus on getting more sleep and staying hydrated. In spite of the spring-like weather in California, I still don’t feel like drinking cold beverages.

dog and nespresso coffee

Warm ways to hydrate:
  • Green, white, rooibos, or herbal tea (maybe one of these homemade versions).
  • Ginger tea (pour boiling water over grated or sliced fresh ginger. Let steep for 10 minutes or so then strain and drink. You can add honey or other sweetener or lemon juice to taste.)
  • Homemade broth (try the Magic Mineral Broth) or clear soup. 
  • Hot water with lemon and honey (or sweetener of choice), add a dash of cayenne for extra warmth.
  • Homemade detoxifying mint tea (recipe here).
  • Raw hot chocolate (this is natural but does have a high sugar content from the dates. Use sparingly as a treat! Recipe here.)
  • Turmeric tea (bonus points for this one as the turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory! Recipe here.)
  • Warm almond milk steeped with chai spices (use your favorite milk).
Remember, happiness is cumulative! Find what works for you to nurture your physical health and know that whatever feels right to you is just perfect. xo

~..~..~..~
As we move through this project, I would love to hear about your survival skills, struggles, and success in the comments or by email (you can reach me at getnatured@gmail.com)!

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to receive free Get Natured updates so you can be included in The Winter Project. The weather outside doesn’t have to be frightful! xoxo

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*Important note: I am not a licensed mental health professional. This advice is not intended to take the place of therapy or medications. Please seek professional care if you are suffering from depression or anxiety symptoms.
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A fall photo series: Each day during the month of November I will be posting something that I am thankful for along with a photo or two. I invite you to join me by posting a link to your blog, Instagram, or Facebook page in the comments.

Day 17:

Fire in the fireplace, freshly bathed dog sleeping nearby, dinner from the crockpot (a modified version of this Indian lentil dal), and house smelling of the apple cider granola (recipe here) and banana bread (recipe here) that I made for breakfast and snacks this week. Love days like this.

Granola

Dog by the fire
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I'm on a big crockpot kick lately. I am loving the convenience of it and the way that it fills my kitchen with yummy dinner smells! The other day I actually had the bread machine and the crockpot going at the same time- I think I might win some sort of domestic award for that, right?

When I was searching online for dinner ideas last week, I found a couple of people had posted crockpot enchiladas on Pinterest (which I'm addicted to, by the way!). One of the recipes used salsa as the sauce and, though I was skeptical about that idea, I decided that I'd give it a try. Enchilada sauce is nice, but I have been wanting to make something with the green tomatillo salsa made by my favorite salsa guy at the farmers' market (The Crazy Gringo) so green enchiladas it was!

I used a combo of sweeter ingredients in the filling that paired perfectly with the sweet but savory tomatillo salsa. My husband and I loved this combo!

Simple Crockpot Enchiladas
Serves about 4

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small or one large sweet potato(es), peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion
4 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
4 chili peppers (serrano, jalapeno, etc.), adjust number and type of peppers to desired level of spice
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (or plain oregano)
1 teaspoon chili powder of choice (I used red New Mexico)
Sea salt to taste
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
~1 cup grated cheese of choice (jack, non-dairy, or a vegan "cheese" sauce like this one)
5-7 whole wheat tortillas
1 1/2 - 2 cups salsa (preferably tomatillo)
  1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and chili peppers. Saute until onions and potatoes are beginning to brown then add coriander, oregano, chili powder, sea salt, and beans.
  2. Put enough salsa to cover the bottom into the crockpot. For enchiladas, place a generous scoop of the sweet potato mixture onto a tortilla and top with a little cheese. Roll up like a burrito and place, fold down, into the crockpot. Repeat until the bottom of the crockpot is full. Spoon salsa on top of the enchiladas (reserving some if you will be doing another layer) and sprinkle lightly with cheese. If another layer is necessary to use up the filling, it is ok to stack them! When you have finished, cover the top of the enchiladas with the remaining salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Cook on high for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Checking to make sure that the bottom doesn't burn after about 2 hours.
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The colors of fall are appearing all over the place where I live. I absolutely love running at sunrise this time of year! The light is golden and it shines through the leaves of red, gold, orange, and brown that line the streets of my neighborhood.

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Simple beauty first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day!

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I love the green heart in the middle of this leaf!

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To help us get into the fall spirit, the kids and I took a trip to Apple Hill a couple of weeks ago.

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We had some treats (apple turnover and apple strudel):

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Visited some farm animals...

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...including a "plaid" chicken (in the words of my five year old)...

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...walked a hay maze...

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...and came home with a box of apples, pears, squash, cider, and mulling spices:

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I bought three kinds of apples: Gala (for eating), Fuji (for applesauce), and Granny Smith (for pie or crisp).

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I used the Fuji apples for this applesauce and they were perfect. I don't usually eat a lot of applesauce but my kids do (one of their favorite breakfasts is oatmeal with applesauce and raisins). This sauce is so good, though, that I added some to my morning oats too.

It tastes just like apple pie- yum!

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Easy Crockpot Applesauce
Makes about 32oz.

About 10 sweet apples (Gala or Fuji work well), cored chopped (you don't need to peel them)
~1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice (or more water)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Place all ingredients in your crockpot and stir to coat apples with cinnamon. Cook on high for several hours (4-ish) until apples are very soft. 
  2. Turn off the crockpot and let apples cool until they are no longer steaming hot. Pour into a blender and blend until smooth. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, mash the apples with a fork or potato masher instead of blending.
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I have been having stomach and other issues related to the acid in some foods lately. One of the worst triggers for me has been cooked tomatoes, so I temporarily took a break from them and a few other things to get my stomach back on track. I was actually planning to add tomatoes to this chili but completely forgot and, you know what? We didn't miss them. It turned out great anyway!

My recipe calls for the chili to be simmered on the stove, but it could easily be cooked in a crockpot (slow cooker) instead.

If you're feeling especially festive and Octobery, you could use pumpkin in place of the butternut squash.

Butternut Squash Chili
  • Olive oil
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled* and finely chopped (a food processor makes finely chopping the squash quick and easy!)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped or sliced mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 cups cooked beans (black, white, kidney, pinto, or a mix. I cooked black and white dry beans, but you can used canned to make this quick.)
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1-3 cups of water, if needed to reach desired thickness
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
*Tip: To peel the squash, cut the bottom off so that it will stand up without tipping then peel it with a vegetable peeler.

  1. If you are using dry beans, soak them overnight then thoroughly cook them before adding them to the chili. Tips for improving the digestibility of beans can be found here.
  2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the squash, onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms. Saute until veggies begin to get tender, 10-15 minutes. If you plan to use a crockpot, saute the veggies in a skillet then add them with the ingredients in the steps below to the crockpot.
  3. Add chili powder, cumin, beans, and broth (and water if you need to thin the chili). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until veggies are very tender. Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
This chili makes a hearty meal when served over a grain like brown rice, quinoa, farro, bulgar, barley, etc.
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The weather here has been looking more like January than June. In the spirit of comfort food, I came up with this crockpot version of a vegan polenta lasagna. It is healthy and delicious and I think that trying this recipe with different veggies would be good too. This recipe was inspired by Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

Polenta*
4 cups water
1 cup polenta
1 tbsp margarine (I used Earth Balance)

  1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Slowly add polenta. Add margarine and stir continuously until very thick.
  2. Pour polenta onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. Set aside to cool.
  3. When cooled, cut into rectangles.
*You may use pre-made polenta to make this even quicker.

Vegan Polenta Lasagna
Olive oil
1 large portobello mushroom, cut into thin 1 inch slices
1/2 bunch of kale, washed and chopped
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
Cheese sauce (see below)
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or in a jar)

  1. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions and saute until mushrooms start to get juicy. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the kale and cook until kale is bright green and starting to soften. Add cheese sauce and cook until it has thickened a bit and is no longer runny. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
  2. Cover the bottom of the crockpot with a layer of marinara sauce. Cover marinara sauce with a single layer of polenta slices (homemade or pre-made). Top with a layer of the kale mixture. Repeat layers: marinara sauce, polenta, kale; finishing with a layer of polenta then marinara.
  3. Cover and cook on high heat for about 3-4 hours. Uncover and let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
Cheese Sauce
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp corn starch or arrowroot
1/2 tsp white pepper

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth.
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I've mentioned my love of hot cereals before. I'm loving oatmeal even more now that winter has returned to Northern California after our brush with spring. I have been putting oats in the crockpot at night before I go to bed so that I have a hot and delicious breakfast waiting for me when I wake up.

Whether you like the texture of rolled (old fashioned) oats or steel cut, the nutritional value is about the same (more info on that here). I have been using oat groats (aka whole oats) because I really like their hearty texture but any kind of oats (except for instant) will work well in this recipe.

Crockpot Oatmeal
Makes about 4 servings
  • 1 cup oats of choice (I like oat groats)
  • 3 cups of water (or recommended ratio of water +1 cup)
  • Optional mix-ins: chopped apples, raisins, dried, cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.
  1. Put oats, water, and mix-ins in crockpot and turn on low overnight*.
  2. To serve, I stir in 2 tablespoons of raw almond butter and top with a bit of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
*Tip: If you find that your oats are sticking to the crockpot, try adding a bit more water the next time or use a holiday light timer to turn your crockpot off for you while you're still getting your beauty sleep!

Leftovers can be refrigerated and re-heated in the microwave with a little non-dairy milk. Feel free to get creative with the optional mix-ins!
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About me

About Me

My name is Allison. I am a writer, boy mom, and a nature lover in Northern California. Read more here.

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