Gooey Sticky Vacation snack

Everytime we go on a vacation I make a few bags of this and we LUVVVVVE IT!

5 cups corn chex
5 cups rice chex
3 cups pretzel sticks
1 cup peanuts/ cashews lightly salted is best (or more depending on how much you like nuts, these are our favorite)
1 cup cheerios
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
You can add whatever you have in your cupboard, basically whatever you love in your trail mix

Mix all of these in a deep pan, may take a few pans.

Sauce:
stick of butter (must be butter, not margarine)
3/4 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Bring the first 3 to a boil for 25 seconds, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour slowly over mixture, stir, pour more and stir, pour until desired gooeyness.


We like it less gooey but just enough for the sweet and salty taste. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Power

I have always loved cinnamon but my husband does not like it so much, do to a childhood throwing up experience, anyway....I have rediscovered how much I like it, or LOVE IT. It has a low calories content but adds a huge boost of flavor to many things which I will list later.

But, from a healthy and medicinal standpoint, there are still more marvelous features to this superior seasoning.

Cinnamon is believed to aid in digestion and it can lessen the severity of food poisoning. It stimulates and heals at the same time. It has carminative properties (meaning that it can help to release gas from the stomach and the intestines), and it can be used to sooth cramps in that physiological region, too. It has been shown to be effective in alleviating some toothaches, providing well-needed relief to sufferers of these disorders.

Cinnamon can help combat flatulence, diarrhea and nausea and in the oil form of the spice, it chemically is a type of phenol, which is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Here is a list of things that I love to put it on...try them
Cooked apples and Pears or any fruit
Plain Oatmeal (so much better for you than the flavored oatmeal)
Almost every cookie/cake espcially Oatmeal Clove cookies
Pork Chops
Cereal
Toast
Pancakes
squash
popcorn
Fruit salsa and cinnamon chips
Cinnamon chicken with risotto
cranberry/orange cider


If your feeling like you need a change in diet or a boost of flavor without the fat, try cinnamon you'll love it.

National Running Day

November 8th is national runners day, which is a Sunday. My sister has organized a
10k and 5k in Heber for those of you who want to run a race in November. Its always nice to look forward to a race, it keeps me motivated. The race is November 7th Sat. at 7:00 a.m. If you want more information and to sign up go to Active.com and you can register.

Survival from the Flu

I haven't posted forever...mostly because my hubby took our camera to work and forgets daily to bring it home but we have also been sick with the throw-up flu. Its been awhile since we've had that in our family. I absolutely hate it! It starts with one and we all manage to get it no matter how many times we wash our hands. Anyway, lets hope its on the way out the door. I have recommitted myself to gathering these few items to survive the winters with sickness..... anti-bacterial mini travel size, clorox wipes, and infant tylenol. We use these three things so much when we're sick.

Chipoltle salad

I love salads but my main complaint is the fact that I never find a dressing that is low fat and tastes good. I want it to taste like restaurants but healthy. Anyway, I finally found a salad and dressing that I can make at home that tastes like restaurant quality. This picture is not my salad but pretty close to what it looks like when finished minus the chips and cheese. You can adjust all of the ingredients according to taste, sometimes I just start mixing.
Dressing:
3 limes juiced
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 TBSP sugar or honey (this can be variated depending on how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup veg oil
whole bunch of cilantro
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 chipolte pepper in ADOBE sauce (I'm sure you're wondering what this is, you find it in most grocery stores in the mexican food aisle, comes in a can like green chile peppers, must have adobe sauce) you then pick one of the peppers out of the can and dice it, realize that if you do not like spicy then omit the pepper and just use adobe sauce
1 TBSP adobe sauce
COmbine all in a blender, and enjoy for a week or so.
Salad:
romaine lettuce
corn
tomatoes diced
cooked onions, green peppers, and red peppers
black beans
chicken (optional)
cilantro
avocado( makes the salad in my opinion)
cheese and crushed chips (optional, cut it out if watching calories, the salad is just great without)

Like I said before I LOVE this salad and feel like it is pretty healthy.I will be continuing on my qwest for great salad dressings.

Two more LOVES

I have found a few new loves...... First I love the Sunflower Farmers Market store. It is located in Orem and Salt Lake. Why do I lovei it? The produce is always fresh, the store is small, promotes being healthy, and CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! It is basically like going to a farmers market indoors and getting organic natural food for cheap. I only buy produce, cheese and meat there. Mostly load up on produce.

The second thing I love is gardens. Last year while I was about ready to have Carter I got the nesting hair to dig up some grass and make a garden. Shane was not overly excited but found that we together love gardening. We have been picking peas everyday and eating them. At night I walk out and grab my peppers and beans to cook for dinner, it is great to have a store in your back yard, not to mention how healthy it is for you. I strongly recommend having a garden if you have the room you will love it and it is not hard to maintain.

So there you have it my NEW TWO things I LOVE....more to come I'm sure.

Antioxidants

You hear that blueberries are so good for you, but I wanted to know what foods have the most antioxidants in them. Here is a chart I found online to answer my question. Not a huge BEAN fan but confirmed that my blueberry obsession is a healthy one.

Rank Food Serving Size Antioxidant Capacity per Serving
1 Small red beans, dried 1/2 cup 13727
2 Wild blueberries 1 cup 13427
3 Red kidney beans, dried 1/2 cup 13259
4 Pinto beans 1/2 cup 11864
5 Blueberries, cultivated 1 cup 9019
6 Cranberries 1 cup 8983
7 Artichoke hearts, cooked 1 cup 7904
8 Blackberries 1 cup 7701
9 Dried prunes 1/2 cup 7291
10 Raspberries 1 cup 6058
11 Strawberries 1 cup 5938
12 Red delicious apple One 5900
13 Granny Smith apple One 5381
14 Pecans 1 ounce 5095
15 Sweet cherries 1 cup 4873
16 Black plum One 4844
17 Russet potato, cooked One 4649
18 Black beans 1/2 cup 4181
19 Plum One 4118
20 Gala apple One 3903

The highest ranked foods in four major categories are as follows:

Fruits: blueberries, cranberries, and blackberries.

Vegetables: beans, artichoke hearts, and surprisingly, russet potatoes.

Nuts: pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts.

Spices: cinnamon, oregano, and ground cloves.


Raw chocolate and goji berries are two foods that are extremely rich in antioxidants but were not evaluated for the study cited above.