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Shredded Beet Salad with Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette

I am not an intuitive cook, nor did I grow up in the kitchen with my mom (thus learning how to cook).  My mom did not enjoy being in the kitchen and only did so because, well, we had to eat something.  I really don’t know where I developed a passion for food, but from an early age, I have been enthralled with the culinary arts.  Maybe it was all the cooking shows I watched with my dad growing up.  Julia Child and Justin Wilson were our favorites (“I guar-ron-tee!”).

I love to learn and I am so appreciative when someone teaches me something new.  While I still love cooking shows, food blogs are my new joy.  They seem more accessible and real to me.  They also have an added level of intimacy, where one can easily feel as though they are right there in the kitchen with the author, even though you may be many miles away.

Linda from Kitchen Therapy recently shared a recipe for Gingered Beet and Berry Salad.  I loved Linda’s post and really enjoyed reading her thoughts about what she was thinking when she came up with her recipe.  I always wonder how people can “just” create something from out of nowhere!

I just so happened to have some orange colored beets and fresh raspberries in my CSA box that day, but I was lacking the ginger root, but I did have some Chavrie goat cheese and walnuts.  I decided to follow most of Linda’s recipe, but made a fresh raspberry vinaigrette instead (and I just winged it, a first for me but Linda made me feel as though I could do it!).

For the Raspberry Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries, rinsed

2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar

4 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sweetener of choice, to taste (I added 1/2 tsp. SUSTA Natural Sweetener)

• Puree 1/2 cup of fresh raspberries in a blender or food processor.

• Add Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, blend well.

• Sweeten to taste (I didn’t need much as I used a high quality Balsamic Vinegar).

Mason Jars are perfect for storing homemade dressings.  I picked up this tip from Renee over at Beyond Rice and Tofu, when I was reading her recipe for Lotus Root Sesame Stir Fry.  I had never heard of Lotus Root and I am excited to try it!  Renee has a lot of great gluten-free, vegetarian recipes on her blog and I encourage you to check it out.  Renee was the person who shared the recipe for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with me and it is one of my favorites!

For the salad:

I shredded 5 orange beets in my food processor (no cooking of the beets) then dressed them with the Raspberry Vinaigrette.  (I was watching a recent episode of Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie At Home” cooking show and he shared the “proper way to dress a salad.“  I have been doing that lately and it makes a huge difference with dispersing the flavor of the dressing, but not overdoing it in the fat and calorie department).

I then topped the beet mixture with a handful of chopped toasted walnuts, Chavrie goat cheese and the remaining whole fresh raspberries.

We all loved the salad and my picky 3 year old even asked for a second helping!  I’m sure it helped that I lied to my kids and told them the beets were carrots, but hey, sometimes ya just gotta do, what ya gotta do!

Seriously though, the raw orange beets really do taste like carrots (at least with the dressing), so don’t be afraid to try this.  My kids are embracing more and more veggies that I have only begun to like.  I have mentioned this tip before, but it really does work (at least it has for me but I also have an iron will and will not back down for anything) so I thought I would mention it again:

My rule for my kids is that they must have one bite for each year of their age, of each food that I put on their plate.  Luke must have 3 bites of everything and Sam, 7 to be excused from the table and still have a small dessert (which is usually homemade and low sugar).  My boys feel like they are getting a “deal” by not having to clean their plate and I feel good that they are being exposed to new tastes and textures (that I know they will eventually accept).  I am also not sitting there ready to pull my hair out by fighting and bargaining with them to eat their veggies!

I have been on vacation this week with my sister and her family; and I have to admit that my nephew’s eating habits are making me itch.  He is the quintessential picky eater and my sister lets him get away with it because she doesn’t want to fight him.  My sister won’t listen to me or even try my tip (we’ve not outgrown the little sister/big sister “thing” yet, LOL!), so maybe you can help me:

Do you have any tips or tricks to share for getting kiddos to eat their vegetables (or try new foods altogether)?

Homemade Powdered Dishwasher Detergent

Ever since I discovered the Homemade “Safe Cleanser” recipe on the Dr. Oz show, I have been hooked on making my own safe, non-toxic cleaners.  The money saving benefits aside,  I suffer from severe environmental allergies and harsh chemicals are extremely aggravating to my respiratory system.  I have been experimenting with many different concoctions over the past few weeks and have found several recipes that I have been pleased with, so I would like to share them with you!

The homemade dishwasher detergent has been the trickiest recipe because many that I have tried left my dishes less than clean or with a white film all over them.  The most successful batch thus far has been from a recipe I found on DIY Natural, but I have found a better rinse aid (at least for me) than the suggested vinegar on the DIY Natural website, RealLemon bottled lemon juice!  Mike said it leaves a fresh lemon scent, but I cannot attest to that yet, seeing I still lack my sense of smell and taste!

Homemade Powdered Dishwasher Detergent

1 cup Borax (you can find this in the laundry aisle of supermarkets)

1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda, this is also found in the laundry aisle of supermarkets)

1/2 cup Citric Acid (the best price I have found is on Amazon. A 5-pound tub is $28.92 with free shipping, if you have Amazon Prime).

1/2 cup Kosher Salt

RealLemon Bottled Lemon Juice (or Vinegar)

• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a container with a lid,  I use empty Smart Balance containers.

• Be sure to label the container and keep out of the reach of children.

• I add 2 Tablespoons of the detergent to each load of dishes.

• Fill your dishwasher’s rinse compartment with RealLemon Lemon Juice or Vinegar.

Another thing I do is turn off the drying cycle on my dishwasher and I hand dry the dishes with microfiber towels.  Not only do I save on energy and take better care of my dishes by not subjecting them to the high heat, the microfiber towels leave my dishes spotless and sparking!  I buy my microfiber towels at Sam’s Club.  You can find them in the auto section and you get 24 towels for about $10.  I use these for EVERYTHING and have been able to severely curb my paper towel consumption (saving even more money and reducing our waste).

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Washing Soda.

1/2 cup Citric Acid.

1/2 cup Kosher Salt.

Seal with a lid and shake well to combine.

RealLemon Lemon Juice for the Rinse Aid. I also buy this at Sam’s Club, a two-pack is about $8.

My favorite microfiber towels, a 24-pack costs about $10.

Homemade Coffee Creamer

We, like many people, went through a tough time when the economy tanked in 2008.  Since changes in the stock market can affect our income, I’m sure you can imagine just how tight things became around here!  We sought out all sorts of ways to cut costs and a funny thing happened in the process… we really had a lot of fun doing it as a family, and dare I say, we grew even closer as a team!  It makes you really start to think of all the mindless dollars that go out the door each month.  Times were tough, but we wanted to make lemonade out of lemons and still try to enjoy the things we loved, just in a new way!

I began my “homemade odyssey” making my own body scrubs and soaps to give as gifts for the 2008 holiday season.  I did not know how to give “nothing.” At first, I was really embarrassed to give my “piddly” little homemade gifts (if you recall yesterday’s post when I mentioned that the words ‘frugal’ and ‘Heidi’ never appeared in the same sentence, I wasn’t joking.  I love to give gifts and make people happy, but I had a tendency to go overboard in that department!).

I was floored at how well my homemade gifts were received.  It seems as though people liked them BETTER than the high priced body scrubs I used to give my gal pals as gifts!  I had so much fun that first year, that I did it again in 2009, even though I really didn’t have to.  My friends also made me handmade gifts and it felt so good to know that someone cared enough to spend the time making something, just for me.  It has made me really think about how disconnected we have become as a society, in our pursuit of bigger, better, more.  I have been slowly edging myself toward jumping off that runaway train ever since and I cannot say that I have ever been happier, nor my kids for that matter.  I have been guilty in the past of giving them all the latest “it” toys and they never reacted to them (outside of the first 30 minutes before something inevitably broke or disappeared) nearly the way they have reacted when I invite them into the kitchen with me or Mike shows them how to use a drill!

Change is not easy, and I am by no means the “perfect” mother (besides, perfect is boring in my opinion ), who spends all her time making crafts, doing science experiments, coming up with crazy lunchbox ideas, cooking from scratch… no sirree Bob (so please don’t think I am some “Martha Stewart-Wanna Be” because of a few of the posts I have made, that is just one small slice of my pie, and most of these things I only started doing recently because I was trying to come up with good blog material!).

One small successful change for me, led to another and yet another.  I began my gluten-free journey with an obsession for GF copycat recipes of mainstream processed foods that I grew up on and now I am eating raw Swiss Chard and I even had Broccolini last night!  I went from a shopaholic to a frugal homemade gal.  I went from being a very wasteful person to being a re-user and recyclyer.  I went from putting my kids in 20 different activities and buying them all the name brand clothes and “cool toys,” to spending real time with them. I went from feeling very empty, sad and angry, to being happier than I have ever been in my life, and lost 50 lbs. in the process.  I feel like I finally “get it.”  Had someone told me that even 2 years ago, I would have LAUGHED at them!

So on to the coffee creamer!

This is a recipe that I have been making for about a year now and have received a lot of, “You made that?” comments from unsuspecting guests at my house. My father-in-law, who loves coffee creamer was stunned at how good it was. While I personally like my coffee black, there are times, like after a dinner party, when a flavored coffee hits the spot.  Or during the autumn when I live at Starbucks during Pumpkin Spice Latte season!

I found a recipe on the Frugal Village Forum, posted by “Yankee Mom.” for homemade creamer. I will post a portion of her recipe here so I can give you my side by side tweaks in red, as usual. (I do this because I am NOT an intuitive cook and I need recipes to start with, then I can modify as needed.  So if I can do it, ANYONE can do it!  One just needs to know how.).

Delicious Coffee Creamer
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I make my own, see below. You can easily make this dairy-free too!).
1 1/2 cups Skim Milk (or dairy substitute).

• Measure all ingredients into a 32 ounce container (with a cover), seal container and shake vigorously. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

“Yankee Mom” has a few flavoring combination’s on the Frugal Village Forum that you might be interested in, so click on the above link!

Last night, I tried something new to flavor my coffee creamer with… Vanilla Creme Liquid Stevia! I added about 5 drops then also added 1/4 tsp. of Cinnamon Extract (see photos below)… yum! Want to know where I first learned about the flavored Liquid Stevia?  From Kelly over at The Spunky Coconut, if you haven’t visited her website… you absolutely must!  You also need to check out Kelly’s post from yesterday (hint: healthy coffee cake!) over at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, as part of the “30 Days to a Food Revolution” series.  I am beyond THRILLED that Diane is doing this series, it is so much fun!!  I encourage you to check it out and get on board for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk (I found this recipe on Recipezaar)

1/2 cup Cold Water

1 1/3 cups Nonfat Dry Milk Powder (I have also made this using Vance’s Darifree Milk Powder and Better Than Milk Vanilla Rice Milk Powder, since these are sweet milk powders, I reduced or omitted the added sugar below, adjust to your personal taste).

3/4 cup Sugar (I used 10 packets of Truvia for a natural sugar-free version. Technically, I think the conversion from 3/4 cup of sugar to Truvia is 18 packets, but 10 was sweet enough for me).

1 tsp. Vanilla (I omitted the vanilla since I was going to add it to add the flavoring to the coffee creamer)

1 Tbs. Butter, Earth Balance or Smart Balance (optional, but I added this to round out the taste of the Truvia; this is a new product for me so I am adjusting to it).

• In a saucepan, combine powdered milk and sugar (or sugar substitute). 

• Slowly add water, while stirring, into the milk powder/sugar mixture. Continue stirring occasionally over medium-low heat (Click here for microwave directions).

• Add in optional butter or butter substitute, and vanilla if you choose to use it.

• Heat through for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly (so it doesn’t scorch) until mixture is thickened.

• Use this in place of the canned Sweetened Condensed Milk in the above Homemade Coffee Creamer recipe!

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy

Homemade Limeade Concentrate

I love Limeade, especially during the hot summer months.  I find it to be even more refreshing than Lemonade or water for that matter.   While I have been learning to reach for water first, or even sparkling water with a spritz of freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice (no added sweetener), I still enjoy a cold glass of Limeade on occasion.

I grew up on the Minute Maid Frozen Limeade from Concentrate.  It is very easy to make, but it has high-fructose corn syrup in it and I try to avoid that ingredient at all costs.  Yes, this recipe does have granulated sugar in it and can probably still be improved upon, but for now, I will take this.  Baby steps and moderation is key.

I like making concentrates because, well, it’s convenient.  Being a busy mom, convenience items do come in handy at times, but if they are homemade convenience items, that is even better.  I control what goes in and can eliminate the undesirable ingredients.  And it’s cheap.  That is such a funny thing for me to actually say.  Up until fairly recently, the words ‘Frugal’ and ‘Heidi’ were never part of the same sentence!  Saving money by learning how to make many things on my own, has been seductively addictive!

I found the following recipe on the Cooking for Engineers Website and it is by Michael Chu.  I am going to rewrite it here in a format that is easier for me to refer to in the future.  I like to make my Limeade Concentrate in large batches to reduce how often I need to make it, so I quadruple the recipe.  After doing this a few times, I realized that I am not a fan of juicing by hand, especially in large quantities!  So a bought a really nice electric citrus juicer by Breville, to do the work for me!  I love this juicer so much, that it stays on my counter and we have freshly squeezed orange juice each morning with breakfast.  No more Tropicana.  I also buy mass quantities of limes and lemons at Costco.  I like to juice them up and freeze the pure juice in ice cube trays so if a recipe calls for a little fresh lemon or lime juice, I just grab a cube, thaw and ta-da!  No more yucky lemon or lime “juice” in those little fruit shaped containers!  And no more getting caught unprepared and needing to run to the store at the last minute for a fresh lemon that is called for in a recipe.  The Breville citrus juicer is not inexpensive ($190), so I don’t recommend buying one unless you really plan to use it (and pay cash… living credit card debt-free is an amazing feeling!).

Homemade Limeade Concentrate

1 cup fresh Lime Juice (I use 4 cups, to quadruple)

1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (I use 6 cups)

1 1/2 cup Water (I use 6 cups)

• Make a simple syrup, combining the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved.

• Add lime juice and stir to incorporate.

• Now you have Homemade Limeade Concentrate!

• At this point you can either portion out and freeze for future use (I freeze the concentrate in 2 cup portions because I like to make up a small pitcher at a time), or chill the hot mixture in the refrigerator until cool.

• When you are ready to use it, simply add 2 cups of cold water to each cup of concentrate that you use.  It does not make a lot, but that is okay… keeps me from drinking too much!

Stir and Enjoy!

I like to make the lime juice first:

To make the simple syrup:

Sam LOVES this juicer!  I cannot believe how fast he is growing up, he makes his own juice in the morning and his favorite is Blood Orange juice!

I love Wisteria and they are in full bloom at the Rio Grande Botanic Garden in Albuquerque!