Simple Homemade Strawberry Applesauce

This morning, I realized my strawberries were beginning to get a little mushy, but I didn't have enough left to do anything significant with them (like jam).



So I pulled out four rather banged up apples I had sitting in my crisper (nothing like using rejected fruit for a project, rather like the orchards use "drops" for their cider... waste not, want not).



I cut the tops off the strawberries and put them in a saucepan.



And then, because I'm lazy, I cut the apples into quarters and cored them, then grated them with the skins on ... because I've foun that the skins of the Macintosh apples are tough and won't grate, so I save one step: peeling. YAY!




I added everything to the pan, plus a little water (I eyeballed it, but it probably wasn't even half a cup)



... covered, and popped it onto the stove, on low heat.



I cooked it until the berries were soft (about 20 mins)...



... and then pureed it in my smoothie maker (which is easier to clean than my blender).



And, voila! Strawberry applesauce. Very yummy for eating or for baking.



So next time you have mushy berries and/or bruised apples, you know what to do.

Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

I used to use 409. And then, when I got a dog who licked EVERYTHING, I switched to the "green" cleaners, but they really pinched my pocketbook. Then, Dr. Oz mentioned something on his show that my SIL shared with me.

A miracle?

Nope.

Vinegar.

Yep, that's right -- just plain old white vinegar.

Mix equal parts vinegar with water in a spray bottle and use it everywhere. It even cuts through grease (I used it on my stove last night). It does make the house smell a bit like a salad for a little bit, but I like the scent! LOL...

Some facts about why vinegar makes a great cleaner (it's even quite anti-bacterial!):

The acetic acid in vinegar kills viruses, germs, bacteria and mold. It also dissolves tough mineral deposits and stains like those found in sinks, toilets and tubs.

How cool is THAT? You can even clean up after raw meats or scrub your sink and potty.

And one HUGE bottle of vinegar? Costs practically nothing.

Frugal. Non-toxic. Easy.

What more could you ask for?

Go on... fix yourself up a bottle today.

Here's a site about 1001 Ways to Use Vinegar. Check it out.

More on BPAs

Wanted to see what else I could find.

I discovered this:

Minutes from the backroom BPA meeting between Coca-Cola, Alcoa, NAMPA, GMA, ACC, and Del Monte

Which includes lots of info on how these companies are trying to sell the idea that BPAs aren't harmful, including "scare" tactics and targeting minorities and the poor.

I found this:

Chemical Manufacturers & Food Industry Defend Use of BPA

Which has much information, but this quote was especially interesting:

But the recent industry memo outlining the strategy discussion on how to address the public concern about the potential safety issues raised by BPA, and the public desire to switch to use of safe (or at least safer) chemicals from less safe ones, demonstrates that behind closed doors key industry trade associations - including the ACC, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, and the North American Metal Packaging Alliance and even individual companies like Coca-Cola, Del Monte, and ALCOA, are gearing up for a costly (perhaps in ways they didn't anticipate) media campaign to thwart chemical policy reform, and convince the public that it has to choose between exposure to (and consumption of) unsafe chemicals or loss of access to affordable necessities like infant formula and baby food.

Still researching as I can...

======================

BPAs

Do you ever wish you didn't know something -- because ignorance is bliss? That happened to me the other day.

I imagine most of you have heard of Bisphenol A or BPA. It's been in the news quite a bit because they've discovered that the plastics it's used in leaches bad chemicals into whatever the container holds that can cause cancer. I know I shouldn't microwave in plastic and that #7 plastics shouldn't be used over (like as a water bottle).

I've taken steps to make sure I follow these rules to keep my family as safe as possible.

Then, yesterday, I found out this: Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans.

WHAT? Really?

So, I started researching. I hit Wikipedia first. And found tidbits like this:

...the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) later agreed with the panel, expressing "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A," and "minimal concern for effects on the mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."

And this:

A panel convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health determined that there was "some concern" about BPA's effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior. A 2008 report by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) later agreed with the panel, expressing "some concern for effects on the brain". In January 2010 the FDA expressed the same level of concern.

A 2007 review has concluded that BPA, like other xenoestrogens, should be considered as a player within the nervous system that can regulate or alter its functions through multiple pathways. ... A 2008 review has concluded that BPA altered long-term potentiation in the hippocampus and even nanomolar dosage could induce significant effects on memory processes.

And it also indicated that exposure to BPAs can cause these types of cancer: Breast cancer, Neuroblastoma, prostate cancer.

You'd need to read the entire article to get the full impact, but it's a little scary (Okay ... a LOT scary).

I use canned goods in my food storage area. They're convenient and they store for a REALLY long time. But what good is having it if it causes cancer, if it affects the memory processes of the brain, etc.?

BPA's are in canned veggies, canned fruit, canned meals like soups and even soda.

I found a short article about how to avoid BPAs here. It said:

Beverages appear to contain less BPA residues, while canned pasta and soups contain the highest levels.

But it really didn't give me what I wanted. Then I found this article about who does and doesn't use BPAs in their packaging. Now we're talking! I highly recommend taking a look if you're concerned.

One note that bothered me most there was this:

COCA COLA is not only defending BPA as safe but is spending millions of dollars lobbying and publicizing it's safety to prevent regulations restricting it's use.

Hmmm....

I'll be doing more research, but this really hammered home the need to buy or grow fresh fruits and veggies and can or freeze them myself.

What do you think about all this?

So Excited...

Look what I have:

In case you can't read, the title is:

Homemade: A Surprisingly Easy Guide to Making Hundreds of Everyday Products You Would Otherwise Buy

I got it from the library, but if I like it well enough, I'm buying my own copy.

Stay tuned for recipes and experiments from me!!

Homemade Granola

I love granola, but haven't been happy with the recipe I've used in the past, so I went on a recipe hunt. I found this one to use as a base recipe, this one I found on AllRecipes.com, as it came with very high ratings on the site:

Megan's Granola

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

2.Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.

3.Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

I modified it, of course! I'm not a huge fan of nuts in my granola, so I didn't add any (though I might chop up some peanuts and use a few sunflower seeds next time). I added 3/4 flaxseed meal and substituted molasses for the maple syrup and brown sugar. I also threw in 3/4 cup of peanut butter... mmmm.... (melted together with the honey, oil, etc).

Here's how it worked. First I gathered my ingredients:



Then I put everything I needed to warm/melt into a bowl and put in the microwave (because I didn't want to tend a saucepan and it just needed to get warm).



And put the dry ingredients in a HUGE bowl (8 cups of oatmeal is a LOT):



After I stirred the dry ingredients, I added the melted stuff (Note: I didn't think about peanut butter until AFTER I'd done this, so you won't see it in the bowl...I threw it in the empty bowl, melted and added it next):



Stirred it thoroughly in order to coat all of the oats and then spread it onto two jelly roll pans (lots of folks call this a cookie sheet - but officially, a cookie sheet doesn't have raised edges, and you want edges for this job!) and also used two pie tins (there is a LOT of the mixture):



Cooked at 300 (instead of the 350 the recipe calls for) for 20 mins, stirred and decided it needed a bit more time, so put it back in for another 15 mins. Pulled it out and let it cool (it "crisps" as it cools, so give it time to do this before eating or putting it into a container):



NOTE: After it's cooked, feel free to add raisins, craisins, or other dried fruit -- it's yummy, and would make a great trail mix. Just don't COOK the fruit with the granola, or it will get dry and hard.

DD and I ate this for breakfast yesterday ... and she had it for a snack later. It was a big hit and was the best recipe I've used! However... I had an ulterior motive for making it -- I wanted granola bars.

So... stay tuned. Provided it doesn't get eaten up today, I have plans for granola bars in the works...

An Easy Healthful Lunch

Let me introduce you to my DD's favorite lunch -- Cheesesteak open faced sandwiches, minus the steak. SO yummy and so good for you.

Chop up peppers, onions and mushrooms (I prefer portabella) and put them in a pan with garlic and a tiny bit of butter. I also will add just a little seasoning salt or plain salt.



Cook until mostly soft (a little crunch in the peppers isn't a bad thing). Add cheese (this is one case I allowed a bit of leeway in the "healthful" category -- I just don't like how cheddar or other hard cheeses melt, so I use American. NOTE: I do NOT use "processed American cheese food" like those icky wrapped slices you can get ... they are NOT cheese. I use American cheese from the deli, which is a least a *little* more like cheese and can even call itself "cheese" and not "cheese food"):



Turn off the heat and cover:



After about a minute, it's melted nicely:



Prepare your bread (we used homemade sourdough):



Cover with your mix of veggies and cheese:



And EAT!

DD asked for this three days in a row, lol... it's that yummy.