Category Archives: what to buy

Chia Salad Dressing and more reasons to love Ch-ch-ch-Chia (and a nutrition update 12/1/12)

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I have a recipe for you that uses Chia seeds. Yes, the same seeds that many of us grew up hearing about on that awesome commercial “Ch-ch-ch Chia!” Now you can be like me, and every time you hear about Chia Seeds you can have that li’l diddy in your head! Please watch it on YouTube if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

And drumroll please:  I created this myself, no link to another blog. I didn’t even Google a recipe for inspiration, I just started creating! You may be impressed now. Go ahead.

Of course, you can add chia seeds to almost anything: salads, smoothies, homemade breads and snack bars. Even adding them to a glass of water is great (but gets slimey fast). Just about er’body needs a lil more chia in their life (for their Omega 3s!), and we’re all eating lots more fresh local green salads now that greens are coming in, right??!! So, here’s a sweet Chia Seed Dressing that is like any poppyseed dressing you’ve had before, except this one is home made, so you know what’s in it, and that’s always good to know what you’re eating.

Chia Seed Dressing:

Add about equal parts oil and vinegar, add a dash of coconut milk (to make it white), a sweetener (start small and keep adding), and some chia seeds. That’s it. I’m not even giving measurements, because it depends on how much you want to make, and some prefer it more vinegary, while others like it more oily. Other milks would probably work too, that’s just what I had on hand.

ingredients in my Chia Dressing

I used grapeseed oil because it has a light flavor. Almond oil may be another good one. Olive oil would need to be mild in flavor, in my opinion, to work well. I used raw local honey to sweeten it, but I may try stevia or coconut sugar next time. I added too much to my batch, so start with a small amount and add more if needed. I used rice vinegar, but apple cider vinegar may work too. Experiment and let me know your results!  If you have made a poppyseed or chia seed dressing like this before, leave a link below in the comments. I’d love to read another recipe.

Voila! My finished product:

Homemade Chia Seed Dressing from OrganicEater

and yes, this was taken AFTER I used it on our salad. I didn’t make that small of a batch:)

And here’s the awesome strawberry salad I made for this dressing:

Isn’t she lovely? Mixed organic local greens, raw almonds, organic local strawberries, goat cheese, and my Chia Seed Dressing. It was delightful. The kind of salad that makes you wish you had girlfriends over, who could enjoy it with you, because the hubs just doesn’t appreciate a good strawberry salad the way girlfriends would! Oh, he ate it, but without the same elation that I had.

So, now for more info on the amazing Chia Seed. The Crunchy Betty blog had a terrific post on the benefits of chia seeds this week, and she included some recipes and a face wash with chia seeds. If you’re hungry for more, click on her link below for more ch-ch-ch-chia Chia Lookin’ Swell, Baby | Crunchy Betty.

UPDATE 12/1/12: because I like to educate myself and my readers on ALL sides of the nutritional story, I am including this link to why Butter Believer isn’t crazy about overloading on chia seeds (and flax too). The main problem being, there are better sources for the health benefits of chia seeds, and our bodies have trouble converting the chia seed’s ALA Omega 3s into EPA and DHA (usable form). So, study and decide for yourself. 

It’s good to be back. I have so much in this ol brain, but not enough hours in the day to blog! If you want to keep up with me daily, I’m usually hanging out on Instagram most days. Maybe I’ll see ya there.

B-b-b-bye for now!

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Natural Sun Protection From the Inside Out link to Everyday Paleo

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I was so fascinated by this “Everyday Paleo” post, I had to share it. Now. It’s another example of how healthy foods help us, in a way you may not have considered before.  Don’t read this to mean “never use sunscreen”, but use common sense caution. This is great info! Happy Eating! And I’ll be back soon. I have missed you!

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Natural Sun Protection From the Inside Out | Everyday Paleo.

Easiest Chicken Tortilla Soup Ever (link + my suggestions)

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OrganicEater.com 2012

I found a recipe that is SO easy and delicious, I HAD to share it with you. Bonus: it’s Mexican. Trifecta (again) in my life!! Vegan friends, or friends who are out of chicken, you can make it by using white beans or garbanzo, and vegetable stock. Maximized Living Advanced Plan or Paleo friends, this may have too many beans for you, depending on your starch tolerance.

Hop on over to The Humbled Homemaker’s recipe for Easiest Chicken Tortilla Soup Ever then come right back here to get my extra tips for making this ORGANIC and/or making it with a little extra nutrition I added (and a substitution).

“ONE-POT STOP” here: Pour some organic free-range chicken stock into your pot. Homemade stock/broth is your “best” here, but do what you can. I used a box tonight and felt not one bit of guilt. I also ADDED a spoonful of crushed garlic to the stock, because I try to add garlic to ANYthing I can, for extra nutrition. If you don’t have stock, you could just use water, but I would definitely add garlic for more flavor in that case. Of course I used organic free range chicken breasts. Two were plenty for this recipe. I cut them into very small pieces, cause who wants a big ol’ chunk o’ chicken to have to gnaw on, when this is “soup”?!  I cut up my chicken before I boiled it to save time (didn’t want to have to wait for boiled chicken breasts to cool before cutting/shredding).

Then I dumped in a jar of this:

pineapple salsa

which is NOT organic, but IS delicious and I think it was the “secret sauce” in how it turned out so fabulously!! Pineapple has fructose, so some will need to add a no-sugar salsa instead. I only had one jar, so…… I improvised and threw in half a jar of Trader Joes Marinara sauce (hey, it’s tomatoes, that’s all I cared about. And now my soup is Italian Tortilla soup, but that’s OK). I may not change that when I make this next time, cause it was soooo good! Again, home-made salsa would have been healthiEST, but I was in a hurry tonight and that is life.

Next, I threw in a box of drained organic black beans. Boxed are healthier than canned because they’re BPA free, but soaked/cooked at home are best, if you’re eating them at all. I saw her note at the bottom, about garbanzo beans, so I threw those in too! You could also add organic frozen corn here (regular corn is highly GMO, so buy organic or know your source). I try to cut grains every chance I get, so I did not add corn this time. If company was coming and I was trying to ‘stretch” this meal, I would have added it:)

Then I added the rest of my box of chicken stock and some s&p and let it cook about 5 minutes. THAT’S IT!!!! Chicken, stock/water (& garlic), salsa (marinara), beans. It could not be easier. I think this would work great in a crock pot too, so let me know if you try it that way. Another way to make this quickly is to have your chicken and beans and salsa ready the night before, then all you have to do is throw them in the pot with the stock. Done. You’re welcome.

If you have time, you could add homemade grain free tortillas from Mark’s Daily Apple, or Cheddar Biscuits from HomeCookedHealthy, which is my new favorite grainfree bread to keep in stock around here.  Quickfix: organic blue corn chips (small amount!). The soup is good enough all by itself, though.

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Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Natural Sunscreen Review (link to Kitchen Stewardship blog)

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Beach 2007

KitchenStewardship has the most thorough review of natural sunscreens I’ve ever read. Reviews from a real mom who has to grease up kids, and knows what a good sun screen is worth. I’m linking this to you OE readers, so you have a resource before you buy this year’s sunscreen. Can you believe it’s almost that time?! After greasing up, go out there and soak in that  amazing Vitamin D  we’re almost all deficient in, but do it in a smart way! And for those who need very little protection (because you’re not in direct sun or you wear protective clothing, or you’re not out for long, etc.), do some research on the natural sun block protection of real coconut oil. Happy soaking.

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

PS: if YOU have a recommendation for a natural sunscreen, leave a comment for the rest of us!

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Trifecta

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Don’t you love it when things happen in three’s, and you think it may be “a sign” of some kind? Well, I guess if it’s a good thing, you love it. If it’s a bad thing, probably not. Anyway, three Hemp things happened to me this week, and I’m taking it as a sign I need to incorporate the hemp plant into my healthy lifestyle. See that link for benefits of hemp protein. (as an aside, buying anything hemp always makes me smile sheepishly because of what hemp can be used for. But keep in mind, it is only a PLANT, which can be used by man for many different purposes, good and bad, like anything else on this earth Gen 1:29-30). This post is ONLY about hemp as a plant and a protein source.

First, I went to the health food store and the only protein mix I could find (that was acceptable on every point; I had a long list that day) was the Nutiva Hemp Protein Mix. I bought it for the first time, after some unusual circumstances I won’t bore you with here.

The more Nutiva products I try, the more I love them.

Second, my Maximized Living webinar that same week included a Shopping List, that raved about the advantages of Hemp Protein. That was something I had never read from ML before. I started “thinking twice” about it…….

Thirdly, I found this Hemp video whose creativity is off the charts, and is so cute I want to squeeze it. I saw it originally at the brand new kirstieinthekitch.com blog, which I hope to see more often, because she already has a Mexican recipe which makes me love her even more. 🙂

So, maybe this series of events could be called the Trifecta Effect. These three signs were leading me towards hemp protein. Maybe my body needs this protein source. The Lord works in mysterious ways, so it’s always a possibility I guess. Or maybe not.

I had it in my smoothie for the first time today. (no picture because it’s not pretty when the green hemp and brown cocoa make a “sludge” color) I put cocoa in it, so the chocolate covered the hemp taste, so I can’t say if it had much flavor. Not that I wanted it to. I want to taste all the other stuff, not the protein. It did make me feel very happy shortly afterwards though. Just kidding! I may be using it to make some hemp protein bars this weekend. Let me know if any of you try it, and what you think about it.

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

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