The Mothership

This recipe feeds the five of us and gives enough for maybe two servings of leftovers. Before you begin, PRESS THE TOFU for at least a few hours. To press tofu: Take tofu out of packing and drain the liquid.  Place paper towels around the tofu (I usually two-ply it).  Then place wrapped tofu on a plate or in a bowl and place a cutting board and something else heavy on top to apply pressure. You are trying to extract all the water. The more extracted the crispier. You might repeat that process one more time. Sometime I press it in the fridge overnight and change it again in the morning. Then it’s ready for baking in the afternoon. Ingredients : 2 - 14oz blocks of extra-firm tofu Olive oil 2 Tbspns Cornstarch 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. Garlic powder 1/2 tsp black pepper Recipe :  Heat oven to 400 Slice pressed tofu in two or three even slabs. Pat dry. Slice tofu into desire rectangles or cubes for eating. The smaller the cube the crispier but it takes more time to turn them. So I u...

I am not a food guru and certainly don't know EVERYTHING about nutrition with kids.  My kids have good days and bad days...just like me.  But my kids are pretty good at eating a variety of foods and trying new things.   Since I wrote about MY clean eating, I thought I would mention our method for our children. Tim and I are not picky eaters and try most things, aside from small aversions.  From what I have heard, we were not super picky when we were little.  I think some people are more sensitive to certain foods and it's important to listen to that.  If something doesn't sound good, don't eat it.  There are PLENTY of other clean foods to eat.  I think that is important for kids too; to know you respect their food aversions can go a long way when they are trying new foods, otherwise you can bet they are never going to try ANYTHING new.  Plus, my tastes have changed from when I was a child... except for the taste of wet bread or li...

My kids eat chicken most of the time.  This dish is made probably twice a month. It's super easy and takes about 30 minutes from getting the pans out to plate. The veggies listed below are what I had in the fridge that day, but I put more or different things in. Other good veggies are: kale, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, brussel sprouts, onion, the list could go on. Just pick a few you like and it'll be great. The same goes with the potatoes. We eat potatoes very infrequently, but they beef up the veggies a little bit and give it a nice texture. When I put the veggies and potatoes into the skillet, I just keep chopping and adding until I think I have enough for however many people are here. That's why there aren't exact measurements. The chicken I usually buy is chicken thighs because the kids seem to enjoy it better, but sometimes we do a pack of breasts and a pack of thighs.  If you get the combo of thighs and breasts, make sure you cut the breast pieces in half so...

Thanks to my sister-in-law for the inspiration behind this meal:) I made this for a family member who is a vegetarian.  I used soy grilled strips that had the consistency of chicken, called "fake chicken."  Everyone enjoyed it, and it had the same texture as lasagna.  In my opinion, this was even easier than a conventional lasagna, and has less calories and more nutrients. I think if you used sausage this would have even more flavor and serve those that want the meat.  If you make it with sausage you will need to brown the sausage before adding it to the rest of the mixture.  Also, I don't think cheese is necessary, but gave it that extra umph. If you want "cleaner" lasagna, look no further Recipe: 1 Spaghetti Squash Olive oil Garlic Salt Olive oil 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 red pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 zucchini, chopped  2 medium whole tomatoes, chopped fresh spinach (about a handful or two) salt dried oregano basil f...

A few days ago I summoned my Facebook friends to send me new recipes that they enjoyed making that were considered clean eating.  Then, one of those friends asked if I could compile some of the recipes into one post.  Most of the recipes I post are clean eating, at least in my eyes or as close as I can get them, but I wanted new recipes to add to my weekly rotations. I think clean eating can mean many different things depending on the person, and how far along they are in their progress with a healthy eating lifestyle.  "Clean eating" is defined as eating foods as close to the whole natural state as possible and with little to no preservatives.  The word "healthy" can mean many things depending on your point in the healthy lifestyle process and circumstances surrounding you.  Healthy can be synonymous with: low calorie, low-salt, vegetarian, low-fat, less processed, and so on, and so on.  So for confusions sake, I try to refrain from the word "healthy". ...

This is a picture of my candy shelf...stuffed to the max! I don't know about you, but I definitely need to start the year off with clean eating.  I do this to myself every December.  I make loads of sweets to make memories with my littles and to consume them, of course.  Twice a year, my wonderful husband spoils me with my favorite treats - Christmas and my birthday ( I think my wine consumption exponentially increases in December too, but that's not up for review ).  So, back to clean eating it is.  Here is a sure fire recipe to use up just about any veggie in the fridge, plus it's packed with protein and healthy grains.  This is also great for those cold winter days and for days when you only want to dirty one pot.  This recipe can just grow and grow; the more food you add the more water you will need. You can do this with a crock-pot, just saute the sausage and then throw all the other ingredients in.  Also, as usual, these are all a...