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10th April, 2010 |
One of our lowest maintenance meals is this super simple, tasty salmon ensemble. You need salmon and an oven. Throw a few optional accoutrements in the mix, sure, but essentially it’s just the salmon and a baking place for it. The thing about salmon is it’s uber healthy and I try to eat a lot of it. As of late. I can only eat so much straight up salmon, though. I like accoutrements with my salmon. It’s a great marinade candidate, a good buddy to pecans and mustard, and simply delicious with barbecue sauce. Now, I’m not talking corn syrup disguised as BBQ sauce, I’m talking real. bbq. sauce. Store bought, that is. Challenge? Maybe. I like Annie’s brand BBQ Sauce. BBQ sauce is one of the things to shop for at either your local co-op or at Whole Foods. It’s hard to find the real thing at any type of big box store.
Wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon is pumped with omega-3’s and good protein. It’s also one of the best choices you can make in sustainable seafood. It’s good for you and for the planet. If you’re deciding between farm-raised and sustainable wild-caught, I have an opinion. A strong one.
Go wild-caught Alaskan Salmon, because: more
5th April, 2010 |
This year, I have a kiddo who knows what eggs, bunnies, colors, paints and fun are. Mission: have fun making colored eggs, naturally. Emphasis on the have fun reference. There was no lack of fun in this egg coloring adventure.
First step: locate canvas: eggs.
Oh yeah. We eat the eggs that have the BROWN shells. Maybe slight road bump, or maybe the challenge just becomes that much more exciting. We’ll soon find out, won’t we? read more
3rd April, 2010 |
Spring’s officially sprung here in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I really couldn’t be more amped, the birds are having a sing-n-dance revolution, kids’ bikes are zooming down the sidewalks, the neighborhood park resembles a summer popsicle blanketed with busy bees (kiddos in this case), and air conditioners are humming… really? It is maybe a balmy 65 degrees F outside, snow mounds are still visibly lurking, and window air conditioners are already buzzing? Good ole Twin Cities fair weather fans, ahhhh spring is really in the air.
Delightful as the robins flocking the yard are, my top spring sighting so far has been my kiddo and the rest of the state playing outside, jacket-free, green grass underfoot and underway. A close second, though, are the hearty chives popping up to say Hi, Remember me? in our barely unfrozen and otherwise empty garden.
While finding the magic in the mess of spring cleaning, there are a few alternatives to keep in mind.
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13th August, 2009 |
It’s the latest rage: Aluminum is bad for baking. It’s bad for your brain and your underarms. It’s not only a foil, a soda can, a pan material and an anti-perspirant, it’s also an ingredient in baking powder. Some baking powders, that is. If you shop at a large, chain supermarket, your one or two baking powder options probably contain aluminum. So don’t buy their baking powder. This is something to buy from either Whole Foods or a local co-op. They’ll have aluminum-free baking powder, and your brain’s best interest in mind. more
20th July, 2009 |
Kale? Does anyone actually eat that?
You just might, if you desire super powers, and especially if you try kale chips (keep reading).
What makes kale well worth eating?
Kale is one of the healthiest foods available to us on the planet. It contains more nutritional value than many other green vegetables. It continues to gain a very good reputation for its cancer-fighting properties and extreme vitamin content. Getting technical for a sec, kale’s a primitive cabbage family member from the Brassica genus. It’s loaded with indoles (plant chemicals) which fight cancer, including ovarian and breast cancer. It’s very rich in calcium, protein, Omega 3’s, vitamin K, A, C and manganese, to name a few. It activates detoxifying enzymes in the liver (thus helps keep the liver in peak condition). Kale boosts these enzymes throughout the body to eliminate carcinogens quickly.
Is kale a superfood?
Not anymore. The term superfood has been banned. I’m not entirely clear on whether we’re permitted to call it a *super food* though. Super or not, kale is something we should all be eating… more
17th July, 2009 |
Does your gut really have instinct? I have no idea. Your gut does have its own ecosystem, though. Oh it’s true, and this is no simple system -think complex biome or rainforest. It’s uber important to your overall health, since it affects your immunity, ability to fight cancer, and even alcohol’s war on your liver. When the emergent layer, canopy, understory and forest floor are all getting along and functioning optimally, the rainforest is thriving. When trees are killed, the ecosystem loses its, well, system. The rainforest-gut connection is coming full circle, isn’t it? The trees are to the rainforest as your gut trees are to your gut? Gut trees, a solid name for good bacteria, don’t you think?
Entertain one more analogy for me. When a tree in the rainforest gets cut down, is the tree the only thing that dies? Of course not. The tree is host and home to a number of species. It’s a habitat. Remove the habitat, remove the amazing life that dwelled there. When a person takes an antibiotic, more
8th July, 2009 |
 My kitchen has never been subjected to a maple syrup detox diet. On that note, it’s never undergone the raw food diet, herbal detox, Hallelujah diet or the fruit flush either. I’m considering putting it on the Martha’s Vineyard Detox Diet, but pretty much because its name lends some virtual travel benefits and just sounds nice.
I have no interest in living on maple syrup for two weeks. I wouldn’t subject my family and friends to the torment of being around me under such circumstances. Instead, when I lapse every now and then… more
25th June, 2009 |
 Earth Day, April 22, inspired my anti-Round-up saga. This rant was aimed at keeping your yard safe by keeping Round-up out of your shopping cart. Chucking Round-up in your trash can would also suffice. Looking back, I realize my glass may have been half-empty and I didn’t offer up many alternatives, other than getting your hands dirty and digging up your weeds. While this is still an option, it’s not always a realistic one. Afterall, people have families, duties, responsibilities, and other essentials, ranking ahead of weeds.
Behold my generously filled glass tonight. And a little wisdom from my cousin-in-law, Tim. Thank you, Tim. And a little further investigation into organic weed control. If you aren’t privvy to this organic weed killer yet, you’re likely to find yourself raiding your pantry and heading outside to that annoying dandelion patch, momentarily. Brace yourself, more
16th June, 2009 |
 I’m talking about fake baking in the kitchen – the kind that happens in your oven, not so much under ultraviolet lights. I don’t know much about fake baking in a tanning bed, in fact, other than you should not engage. Alright, besides some past instances, we’ll call them *momentary lapses in judgment* – in which I actually did partake in fake baking my skin – I am not in the know on the subject. All I can say is I wish I could take back each lapse. Those errors in judgment will haunt me forevermore. Fake baking in a tanning bed is BAD, ok? Ahh, youth, wedding parties, tan bandwagons, and the unknown. The rest is history. And filled with regret. ‘Nough said.
Back to kitchen baking – baking. Making and baking from scratch isn’t necessarily as innocent or natural as I first assumed. It can be. Trust me, I’m all for just about anything baked from scratch, with real ingredients. I want the baking innards in my baked goods to be natural. Laissez-faire, if you will: leave my baking innards alone! For instance, I’ve recently discovered that the light corn syrup in my pantry contains high fructose corn syrup and (thanks to a local foodie moms forum) the baking powder contains ALUMINUM, the heavy metal. Yep, confirm for yourself, and go check your own baking innards. If you feel even half as ambushed I did, read on. more
6th June, 2009 |
 It’s time. The kitchen needs a change, the baby’s on the way, or maybe you just can’t take the pink dining room any longer. It’s time to paint. We’ve all been there, and either do it ourselves, call on friends or family for help, or hire it out. I like to do the painting myself. I prefer interior, but don’t entirely mind exterior, especially if the weather is beautiful. Painting is the easiest, cheapest way I know to change the dynamics of a room.
Your commitment journey begins at the paint store down the street or a warehouse like Home Depot. The array of color choices makes the idea of painting even glamorous, imagining the transformation your home is about to undergo. You were thinking a nice caramel khaki at home, but in person the gold family begins to look like the winner. Now, do you go with the gold, goldcoast, golden autumn, summer of gold, or beachside raffia? At first they looked so similar, it didn’t seem to matter which you chose. Further studying, some start appearing blue, tan and green. If you’re like me at this point, you take your pile of color swatches home to examine for a week or so, holding them against the floor and other rooms to compare. Once you’ve made this heavily weighed decision, you need to order. Almost. more
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Bottles have BPA, gum has aspartame, snacks and drinks have artificial color, and everything else contains MSG and trans fat, it seems. Where do you start? Cheers, my name is Niki Ahrens and I just want the best for my family, and for the rest of us too.
It's our choice, as parents, whether OUR kids eat real food and whether we use First-Do-No-Harm products on and around them. The decision is always ours. Here you’ll find favorite safe recipes, links to research and data, and alternatives that give us super powers instead of harm us.
How the Food Industry is Deceiving You
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