Small steps towards a bigger solution

This seems to be a big topic right now. I wanted to take a quick moment to weigh in and would love to hear what your thoughts are as well.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/03/04/mcdonalds-antibiotics-chicken-standards?cmpid=tp-ptnr-100days

We all remember the "pink slime" outcry from not that long ago...

I didn't frequent McDonald's back then and I still rarely go. 

However, Grandma and Grandpa take my daughter as a 'treat', on what seems like, a weekly basis. When my daughter goes she always picks the nuggets. 

So, even though I internally grimace when she tells me she went to McDonald's with Grandma and Grandpa, at least I know in the future the nuggets will be slightly healthier. 

But, yes there is always a "but"...

I wish McDonald's would make same effort towards changing their beef sources. 

From my view point it seems that chicken is a smaller part of their profit margin so they can "go healthy " to attract that market segment (or maybe it's marketing strategy?), but they still continue to serve low quality beef for cheap. 

I applaud them for making small steps but they have a long way to go. If they are this moved about thier chicken they should apply equal standards to their beef.

Your thoughts?

Alternative Option: Clean(er) Eating ~Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

The sub zero cold weather is coming again to the Midwest.....  BRRRR!
Why not warm up with a cup of hot chocolate, but lets be clean about it.
Instead of a cup of the processed hot cocoa mix (that I told you about a few weeks ago Link here) how about making your own?

It's so simple and you have most ingredients in the pantry, if not they're easily accessible at the store!

 Homemade Dry Hot Chocolate mix

Makes 5 1/2 cups of dry mix

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered non-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Fill mug halfway with mix (about a 1/4 cup of mix). Pour in hot water. Mix well.


 Here are a few tips that I've picked up over the years while making this.

• Put the cornstarch and powdered milk in the food processor if you have one. (It gets rid of all the lumps!) Then put it in a large bowl and use a whisk to mix together all the other ingredients. 
• You can play with the flavor a bit and add more or less milk depending on the creaminess you prefer.
•  You can also play with the type of coco you add, dark choc, milk choc, white choc, etc. 
• Finally, if you'd like, add a tiny dash of cayenne pepper will give it a great little flavor. You can also add cinnamon or a variety of there flavoring if you want to jazz it up.

Evaluate food Week One: Taco Seasoning

We love tacos. We eat them often. Do you? 

Do you use homemade seasoning or the store bought packets?

Take a look at a packet of seasoning that you can pick up at the store:

 

I couldn’t believe it when If you look at the ingredient you will notice that 'Maltodextrin' as the first item on the list (meaning of all the ingredients this contains the most of that). Maltodextrin is a filler found in highly processed foods and is usually made from corn. If I want corn in my taco I'll use fresh or frozen kernels not processed corn. 

Why would it be the main ingredient in a simple as taco seasoning?

 
Clean Alternative: Make your own batch of homemade taco seasoning. See my tutorial here.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp dried onions
2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper

Gently mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in an air tight container.

Use 2 large scoops of seasoning and 2/3 cup water per 1 pound of taco meat.

I usually triple the recipie and then I have enough for a few months.

Oatmeal Apple Pie Cookies

Who says healthy clean eatting needs do be boring? Check out thus snaking recipie from Amy's Healthy Baking blog. Oatmeal Apple Pie Cookies. 

http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/01/03/apple-pie-oatmeal-cookies/