2016 Dirty Dozen & Clean 15

Every year the Environmental Working Group publishes their list of the 12 'Dirtiest' and 15 'Cleanest' fruits and vegetables grown in today's market.  Strawberries top the list this year as the dirtiest fruit, putting Apples now in second place.

They cite strawberries, a whopping 98% of them tested, had detectable pesticide residue with 40% containing 10 or more pesticides and some having upwards of 17 different pesticides. Some are considered benign but others are linked to cancer, reproductive damage, developmental damage, hormone disruptions and neurological problems.  You can read their full findings here.

The saddest outcome of these findings is none of the pesticides found are against any laws or regulations governing our food production.  Shame on you America!

Unfortunately, eating 100% organic is sadly not part of most people's budget (certainly not mine). However, allowing for organic fruits and vegetables in accordance with these guidelines should top your list and be factored into your food budgets.  The higher cost of organic food far outweighs the benefits of saving a few dollars.

How can you buy organic on a budget?  I've found that buying frozen organic vegetables are only 30 cents more per bag where we shop and actually cheaper when they are on sale.  Plus, they are frozen immediately after picking which means they also have the highest nutrition content.  I typically won't buy open bin vegetables, even organic.  Have you ever seen someone touching every piece to find just the right one?  No thanks, you can keep your germs.  I am a bit neurotic about that.

Visit Farmer's Markets in your area.  You have the opportunity to talk directly to the farmer about their growing practices.  If it's not an organic farmer, ask if they are 'no spray'.  You may not know how expensive it actually is to be an organic farmer.  Not only are the materials more costly, but the government issues so many permit, classification, etc. fees on these farmer's, they literally can't afford to be labeled organic.  Many follow organic practices but chose not to get the certifications for this very reason.

Visit Farms directly.  Often they have produce stands or their own market where prices might be a little lower.  They also tend to put out bushels of fruits and/or vegetables that are getting past their prime.  Making applesauce? How does an entire bushel of Apples for $5 sound to you?  If you are into canning, these are wonderful finds!

Finally, search the internet for coupons.  Organic food coupons are not in abundance, that's for sure, but you can find them on occasion.

My bottom line...do what you can.  That's how we do it.

Click on photo to enlarge and print

Granola Simplified

Love granola?  I do!  It is probably the fastest, easiest, healthiest snack you can make at a fraction of store prices right in your own Kitchen!

It really is that simple; rolled oats and brown sugar (I personally use Sucanat) or local honey, accompanied by ANY filler you choose.  The benefits of granola include fiber, may help to control blood sugar and lower bad cholesterol.  You feel fuller which means you'll eat less calories throughout the day and have more energy. 

Base Ingredients & Fillers

There are just THREE ingredients for your granola base; Rolled Oats, Honey, Butter.  That's it.  Of course, you don't need to add fillers, you can enjoy just the base too!  We like to add fun combinations of fillers and some added grains to boost the health benefits.

Base Recipe:

1 stick Butter combined with 1/2 cup Honey.  Over low heat, melt the butter completely, stirring often, then add the honey until it's a loose consistency.  Honestly, this takes about 2 minutes.

Pour butter/honey mixture over 2 cups uncooked Rolled Oats and thoroughly combine.  (Gently toss together until it all looks coated.) using a 9x12 casserole dish for baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for a minimum of 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir thoroughly, then bake another 5 minutes.  You can continue to bake longer if you want to brown it up for a crisper granola. 

Fresh from the Oven

Remove from oven and let cool.  Every so often (there's no rule), stir the granola to keep it loose and expedite cooling.  You can also transfer it to a cookie sheet to cool even faster, just be sure it has a 1/2" or higher side so it doesn't spill while stirring.

That's it!  That's the basic granola recipe.  No added harmful fillers or sugars! YOU know every ingredient you're eating.  That's reason enough for me.

If you want to jazz it up:

Add to the dry granola (before mixing in the hot butter mixture);

• 1 cup coconut, 1/2 cup ground Flax, 1/8 cup Chia Seed and 1 cup Cranberries (or any dried fruit)
• 1 cup coconut, 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup nuts (your choice), 1 cup chocolate, 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup coconut, 1 cup dried fruit (your choice)
• .....the possibilities are endless!

Yogurt, Granola, Apple

Ways to enjoy granola:

• Have it plain
• Yogurt Topping
• Yogurt Topping plus any fresh fruit such as apple, banana, mango, peaches, pears, etc.
• Mix together (or layer) Yogurt, Homemade jams and Granola
• Slice Bananas, top with Peanut Butter, finish with Granola
• Ice Cream Topping
• Add milk, warm, and enjoy as a hot cereal
• or don't warm and enjoy as a cold cereal
• Layer yogurt, granola, fruit like a parfait
• Bake into cookies, breads or muffins
• Bake on to muffins for topping
• Add to salads
• Mix in nuts
• ...Google "Ways to Enjoy Granola" and tons of great suggestions will pop up

The beauty of granola is you can add ANY DRY INGREDIENT to this recipe. For example, I always add flax and chia to any combination I bake.  I like the health benefits.  If you need more ideas than above, simply read the boxes of granola bars in the store for combination ideas!

*Note:  My favorite uncooked oats are Bob's Red Mill or Trader Joe's. My favorite honey is always from a local farmer for the highest medicinal benefits.  I always buy Stonyfield Organic Yogurt.  I always add Flax and Chia seed for additional health benefits and often add to that coconut and sunflower seeds.

Download a printable PDF of this page for easy reference.

Enjoy!

Apples: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, that describes our apple trees.  We don't treat the trees with any kind of chemical sprays, or even organic sprays; we let nature decide.  The outcome?  Many are Good, meaning no bruises, spots, pest issues.  Some are Bad, meaning those are picked and put in the woods for the many animals that frequent our yard.  And there's the Ugly.  Some are ugly and edible, others are ugly and put out back.  This year, our 3rd year living here, happened to produce mostly Good and we couldn't be happier.

My usual course of action this time of year is to make applesauce and freeze it.  However, since we now have our own apple trees and a bounty of fresh apples, I felt it was high time I learned canning. Off I went to Pinterest and found more than enough recipes to get started, too many actually which is why I wound up making a Pinterest Board dedicated to apples.

I started with Food.com's Best Apple Pie Jam recipe.  It seemed simple enough and it was, we turned out about a dozen jars.  For the novice canner like myself, I highly recommend this one.  It also happens to taste delicious. The only change I made was instead of packed brown sugar, I use Sucanat. I've been using it in place of commercial brown sugar for years as a healthier option.

My next day included Canning Apple Pie Filling from Little House Living.  I found it fairly easy to follow and wound up making 5 Quarts plus 8-1/2 pints for holiday gifts.  Win-win!

After the Apple Pie Filling, I decided to try Homemade Pancake Syrup from the apple peelings. Since I'm not one to waste anything, this sounded like a great idea.  Let me just say, this would be better suited to a more experienced canner.  I read the directions carefully, however, one key factor was missing; the proper time for boiling.

After my failed attempt, I decided to read thru ALL the reader comments and found that I was supposed to boil the liquid for just a minute or two.  Since this important fact was left out of the directions, and I didn't know any better, I boiled the liquid for over 30 minutes.  If I had to be honest, I'd say it was probably 45!  Needless to say, it went downhill from there.

To make a long story short, I boiled over the liquid onto my ceramic top electric oven.  Not pretty, and not pretty to clean up either.  The outcome? Candy Apple Topping.  We grabbed a few Good Apples, literally wiped on the topping, and enjoyed a treat for the afternoon.

My last attempt, using additional leftover apple peelings was Apple Scrap Jelly from Fireflies & Mudpies. I'm happy to say, this was a huge success.  We did 9-1/2 pint jars for holiday gifts and will continue to make this throughout the season.  Note:  This recipe calls for 9 cups of sugar, I reduced that to 6 cups and it was wonderful and not too sweet.

All in all, canning has been a good experience and considering we have several more bushels to pick, we'll be in the Kitchen for the next couple of weeks.

Need ideas for your apples?  Check out our APPLE HARVEST Pinterest Board.

Over 600 pins for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and (adult) Crafts.

Also, be sure to sign up for email updates and receive our mini-eBook
Canning Made Easy.

RESOURCES

Our Pinterest Canning Board here
Our Apple Harvest Board here

Test jars for proper sealing here
Troubleshooting here

Questions about Water Bath Canning here

Questions about Pressure Canning here

Adjust for high altitudes here

National Center for Home Food Prep here





Thoughts from a newbie canner:

1. It looks like alot in the pot, but it's not.
2. I ran back to the store 3 times for jars.  Stock up ahead of time.
3. Get the all the canning supplies recommended.  You'll use them all.  
4. Always check the reader comments, it typically holds valuable information the writer omitted.
5. If YOU are posting a recipe, read, read, read and read it again.  Make sure you have ALL necessary and pertinent information included.  Canning really is easy if you have the proper directions. 

150+ Homemade Dog Food Recipes

If you read last week's post, 60+ Fruits and Vegetables for Dogs , you know I'm big on healthy eating for our dogs.  I previously hadn't given a lot of thought to making my own food, I was quite happy with the raw treats and adding to their kibble , however, when our older dog contracted Lyme Disease and then diagnosed with Thyroid Disease, I felt I should make the change.  I'm glad I did, and so are Oscar and Macy!

I spent literally hours searching and reading sites for recipes I would make myself and therefore feel comfortable recommending to you.  Of course, check with your veterinarian before you make any dietary changes.  I am not a medical professional, just a Doggie Mom who loves and wants the best for her family, all of them.

Money Crashers, yes, not a website name you would associate with Dog Food recipes BUT, there are 10 healthy, simple recipes for meals and treats.

Life in the Hundred Acre Woods lists just one recipe but it's a good one!  It's prepared in the crockpot, can't get much easier than that.

Munchkins & The Military has 3 recipes; (1) 2-ingredient, (1) 3-ingredient and (1) Bacon Cheddar.  They seem straight forward and easy to prepare.

Skinny Ms. has a very low cost, nutrient packed recipe for the crockpot.

Dog Treat Kitchen is a comprehensive site with over 100 recipes including biscuits, cakes and meals.  There is plenty of great information you can tailor to your dog's needs.  She also offers a FREE ebook by signing up for the Newsletter.  This is one to bookmark!

Food.com offers just one recipe which looks the easiest to make from what I've seen so far.

Gourmet Sleuth has a lengthy, informative post including a basic recipe and 6 additional recipes.  The owner of this site is also has a degree in Foods and Nutrition.

Amazon offers over 30 FREE recipe eBooks for Kindle Unlimited Users.  The average non-Kindle user cost is $2.99.

You can get a FREE ebook, "21 Delicious Dog Food Recipes" from BreedingBusiness.com just for signing up.

Now that you have plenty of sites to check out, read and decipher what you like, you're asking "How much do I feed Fido?!"  There is no standard amount (i.e. 1/2 cup, 2 cups, etc.).  Just like us, it all depends on the size, age and activity level.  If your dog has medical issues, that will change the amount (and most likely the ingredients) as well.

I found Fido Savvy to be quite informative and they tell you how to calculate what your dog needs (it looks complicated but it's not).  They include puppies, pregnant/nursing, seniors, overweight, active/working dogs.

After all this reading, I've learned a key factor in feeding is calorie intake.  My suggestion would be this:

• Choose several recipes you want to create and make a master list of the ingredients.  Remember, most recipes are similar so the ingredient list should be fairly short.  
• Look up the calories per serving for the ingredient and note that on the master list.  Add to the list as you add to your recipe repertoire.  
• Back on the recipe pages, write down the total calories for that recipe.  

It sounds like a hassle but realize you only do this once for each recipe and then you have it forever.  You can also take the recipe pages to your Vet for confirmation.

Of course if this is your first venture into Homemade Dog Food it will be time consuming to get started but don't let that deter you.  Starting is always the hardest part in anything we do.  Once you get your feet wet, you'll realize how very easy this is and how happy and healthy your pets are.

**There are plenty more sites you can find by Googling Homemade Dog Food.  I didn't include more here because I felt they were either (1) Too lengthy and thereby confusing (2) poorly written (3) didn't offer any real pertinent information another site didn't already have or (4) it was just plain repetitive.