All Coconut Milks Are Not Equal

There has been much controversy over the years in regard to alternative milks, especially (Soy & Coconut).
Since college I have been drinking Soy Milk as that was the only alternative "healthy" milk available for people who had issues with Cow's Milk. Fast forward more then 30 years and there is a plethora of options now available for purchase. Soy Milk is still there, only now in more flavors and formulations. More recently other types of milks have become more widely available. When I walk into most store's there is now Soy Milk, Almond Milk, Oat Milk, Rice Milk, Hazelnut Milk, Peanut Milk, Hemp Milk, Goat Milk, Cow's Milk and now Coconut Milk by multiple brands.

Coconut Milk previously was only available in a can by the liquor section if you wanted to make a Pina Colada drink. Next it became available in the Asian section of the grocery store for cook's who wanted to use this for a curry or some other dish. Recently coconut milk has gone mainstream, it is now sold in the refrigerated Dairy section at your grocer's right next to all the other Alternative Milks. Growing up and for many years the "FOOD POLICE" always said to avoid all things coconut because of its high fat content, low protein and high amount of calories. The same "FOOD POLICE" also said to avoid all nuts, nuts butters, and chocolate because of their high fat and high calories. Now the tables have turned and nuts, nut butters, chocolate and coconut are all good foods with Healthy Fats for us to enjoy with some moderation. Coconuts are a source of Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA"S), a special type of fat that research has shown burns more energy then other fats.

First there is the old standby Coconut Milk in a can, now available in a Lite version. Thai Kitchen Lite Coconut Milk has 4.5 Grams of Fat, and 4 of these grams are saturated Fat, 50 Calories, 5 milligrams of Sodium, No Sugar, No Protein and 1 Carbohydrate. This does not have any vitamins and should only be used for cooking a vegetarian curry or in a Colada.



Second is the brand So Delicious which was the first to be available at the grocery store with there Original, Vanilla, & Unsweetened Flavors of Coconut Milk. So Delicious has Celebrity Fitness trainer Jillian Michaels has its newest spokesperson so one would think that this must be the best product? The So Delicious label says that it is made from Organic Coconut Milk and Organic Coconut Cream and lots of other stuff, then they add in Folate, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Magnesium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Zinc Oxide, Selenium, & Vitamin D2. I am not sure if the Iron is naturally occurring or added in? From a Nutrition Profile this product has lots of extra's compared to there competitor. The only item they lose on here is that they only have 10% Calcium while their competition has 45% Calcium.

I tried So Delicious Original and Unsweetened and I did not like either one straight from the carton, they were both very watery and bitter tasting. They are both OK if you cook your oatmeal with it and then add fruit and nuts or if you make it into a smoothie with a banana, a kashi almond bar, and protein powder or whatever else.

In watching Joy Bauer on the Today Show and several other Nutrition experts they all disagree with Jill's Michael's claim on the So Delicious product, that this is the best product available of shelf, dairy, & non-dairy products.








The third option available is the newest player in the Coconut Milk Wars. Silk PureCoconut distributed by White Wave Foods who has been making Soy Milk for years, then added in Almond Milk and now offers Silk PureCoconut Milk in Original And Vanilla flavors. I purchased the Original Flavor which has 80 Calories, 5 Grams of Fat, 30 Milligrams of Sodium, 40 MG Potassium, 7 Carbs, 6 Sugars and 1 Protein Gram. There is Vitamin A, Vitamin D, B12 and 45% Calcium. Silk's label says they use Natural Coconut Milk.

While Silk's PureCoconut does not have the added Zinc, Magnesium, Selenium, & Folate which are all important Vitamins, I loved the taste of it right from the carton in a glass and did not have to add it to something else just to be able to drink it.

Even though I love the taste of  Silk's PureCoconut, on a daily basis I will stick with Silk's Unsweetened Soymilk for the extra protein. If the PureCoconut is on sale and I have a coupon I will buy it for baking or as a treat.

Wake Up Your Tastebuds With This Little Gem In a Shell

Since making the switch from no longer eating peanuts many years ago I have always been on the lookout for other protein sources. First, I got hooked on Chili Lime Cashews that Trader Joe's promptly discontinued, then came Planter's South Beach Mix whose price skyrocketed during the South Beach And Atkins Diet Craze. I then moved on to Blue Diamond Natural Oven Roasted Almonds in the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Flavor which Super Target discontinued, now I only buy them on sale and with a coupon at my local Meijer or Walgreen's.

When my fix for this flavor of almonds became limited, I started seeing lots of commercial's, ads in magazine and coupons for pistachios. After doing some research on pistachios, they appear to be quite heart healthy. Year's ago as a kid in the 1960's, I recall seeing people eat them, they were red and left your hands stained with red dye for days or weeks. I do not remember if I tried them back then and did not like them or if I was afraid to try them? According to my research back then,  they were imported from Asian countries and dyed to cover the imperfections.

I do not know about all the other savvy couponer's, frugalistas or those on a fixed budget out there, but I dislike when I clip a coupon for a new product and then it takes months for it to show up in a store, worse is when the coupon expires before you can even find the product. Perhaps the companies secretly plan this into their marketing ploy to build up your anticipation for there new product? The companies are "smiling all the way to the bank" , they are "banking" that you will buy the product after all those months of you carrying the coupon, even if it is not on sale.

My cardinal rule is to try to use a coupon for everything that I can and to only buy items on sale and use coupons on that as well. Once in a while a product is very appealing that I buy it only because I have a coupon and it is not on sale. This past Saturday I was shopping at my local Super Target and I had 2 coupons for $1.00 off Everybody's Nuts California Pistachios. I had been carrying around these coupons since March waiting for them to appear in a grocery store. I justified my purchase of these 2 small bags of Pistachios because I already received some gift cards for other items purchased. I decided to use one of my gift cards for this purchase along with my 2 coupons. This way my products were free and I was not buying them only because I had 2 coupons.

Although pistachios are high in both fat and calories, they still take a lot of work to further open the shell to eat, so I always wind up eating less of them. You need to balance this with all your calories and fat grams to be able to still include them as a smart & heart healthy snack. They do have quite a bit of sodium in contrast to unsalted cashews or almonds. I truly enjoy eating a 1/3 of cup of Pistachio's with there 6 grams of protein over bag of Potato Chips or Pretzels.

The are sold in 3 flavors Salt & Pepper, Chili & Lime And Garlic & Pepper. Because of my love for all things Chili& Lime And Garlic & Pepper I purchased these two flavors.All packages guarantee that all of your Pistachios will be cracked with an open shell, the company offers a free bag if you find one that is not cracked at all.

Here are the pic's of the two I purchased. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Eat them plain as a snack or for extra protein in a salad or add them to a stir fry.

 The chili & lime is not to spicy, it has the just right bite to it. These are perfect without the shells to add into a salad or by themselves as a snack. It was very hard to restrain myself from eating the whole bag instead of the 1/3 cup serving size, these were amazing.

Being the fan I am of all things garlic & onion this is the perfect way to season a pistachio. Even though both of these flavors have a higher sodium content then the Planter's South Beach Mix, you can't taste it at all. If I did not already know there was sodium in this flavor, I would think they were salt free.

New Local Pizza & Entertainment Review

As promised I went to this new local place and here are my thoughts.


Saw a notice on Facebook on this new place which opened May 26, 2011 and it looked like a fun place to go to with my sister and her family which includes my two teenage nieces.

Three venues all in one place is not something easy to pull off and not something where everything is always good. They are located in a New Complex off Route 30 and this new venue includes Bogies Indoor Golf Club, Fore Family Fun! and Shef Brothers Pizza which is out of this world with the solar system motif.  There is also a whole room of Bouncy Houses.

My sister, brother-in-law and younger niece split a 16 inch pizza topped with bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and easy cheese. There was not one piece left as it was so good. My younger niece the purest when it comes to her pizza had a plain cheese and ate the whole thing for the same reason, great taste. I had to have a piece of this pizza as well, who can resist pizza sitting right in front of you and smelling amazing?

So far I have eaten Italian Beefs in NY, FL, OH, KY, CT, MO, CA, KS, WI & IL. I have eaten at the two famous locals in Chicago Mr. Beef and Al's Beef and I was not impressed. I ordered an Italian Beef with Mozzarella Cheese which came with fries and extra juice for the beef. The beef was wonderful, the cheese perfectly melted and the bread not to soggy, the juice had just the right amount of spice to it.

Over the years I have taken my nieces to Chuck E. Cheese and the food there is horrible, I have taken them to Luigis in Aurora and the food there is even worse. When I go to a place that has a fun center for toddlers, kids, or teens I expect the food to be good. Shef Brothers Pizza beets them hands down as well as another Aurora local Eatza Pizza.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great Italian Beef, pizza and fun. A family restaurant that you have to see to believe, reasonable prices and generous portion sizes.

For All You Locals Be Sure To Check Out This New Outer Space Themed Pizza Place.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150300088846281

Now here are the pics of the great pizza that was devoured by the family last night. Then my Amazing Italian Beef.

Terra Chips Not Just For Snacking

By Now Everyone Has Learned I LOVE the Terra Brand of Chips For Snacking, I have taken my love of Terra Chips to a whole new level.

Instead of labor intensive prep, cooking, and clean-up involved with  sweet potatoes and beets during the hot summer days Terra has come up with the next best thing. Buy a package of Terra Sweets & Beets Chips.

Crush Some Up And Sprinkle Them Into Your Salad, Add Them To a Wrap, To Cole Slaw, On a Sandwich, Omelette, etc.

Please, do not misunderstand my intent, I still love whole sweet potatoes but I do not always want to wash, peel and cut them to make a pan to bake for fries, I have tried sweet potatoes in the microwave and I am not a true fan of the texture.  During the summer I am all about what is easy so I do not want to spend an hour heating up my house to cook 1 sweet potato. To be honest I try to use my oven as little as possible all summer long. In the summer I prefer my cooktop, microwave, Vitamix, and crockpot for just about anything.
I also have no interest in canned or pickled beets and my store does not sell fresh.

Here is a PIC of this tasty little treat.

Soymilk Test

Now that my local Super Target has discontinued all flavors of 8th Continent Soymilk except for one which I do not like, I have had to make a switch and have tasted a few that were not to my liking. I tried SoyDream in the carton which I returned for my money back because of how horrible it was. 8th Continent has reformulated all the Soymilks with items which I do want in my Soymilk.  Silk has also reformulated all of there Soy Milks and added items that I do not want in my Soy Milk ever.  For me there is no reason to add loads of fructose, evaporated cane syrup, stevia or ertyhritol to Soymilk. So right now there is only one flavor of Silk that is for me and that is the Silk Unsweetened. Next up is my Coconut Milk Test.

I use this for cold cereal, in a smoothie, to make oatmeal and for baking.

Looking for Soy & Dairy Free Ice Cream

Head Over To Your Grocer's Freezer And Check Out So Delicious Frozen Treats This is Not Cheap, So The Only Time For me to Buy is when this is On Sale & With a Coupon or Two. For those of you not on a limited budget buy it every week. There are no fat free varieties so this is a treat that can be calorie dense with some fat, budget your calories and fat grams to give yourself this treat only a few times per year if your watching your weight or trying to still lose weight as I am.

1st Up is So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

There are many more flavors but anything with vanilla I am already in love with.

The MCFA's while higher in fat have been found not to pack on the pounds as quickly. Lately there has been a lot of controversy about the Agave Sweetener. For me it seems to help with my blood sugars and help me with my weight loss.

Yes Dear There is Now A Coconut Creamer For Your Coffee

Being the HUGE FAN And Foodie That I Am of Mostly Alternative Cuisine, I Was Very Excited To Try Coconut Milk Creamer in my Coffee With a Fresh Coupon Sent to Me Directly From the Manufacturer So Delicious. I purchased the Original flavor at my local Fruitful Yield Health Store which is a few miles from my house because I did not see this at large chain grocery stores and I do not live close enough to any Whole Foods to justify the cost of gasoline to try just one product.

The Original Flavor has 1 Gram of Fat, 1 Gram of Sugar, 1 Gram of Carbohydrate and 10 Calories per 1 Tablespoon Serving. It is Lactose Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, As Well As Cholesterol Free. I found that I only needed to add 3-4 TBSP directly to my coffee to make it taste the way I like it. It tasted very smooth and creamy, no chemical aftertaste that I had experienced with Coffemate or International Delight Creamers.

Tofu Surprise

With the high cost of everything I have been eating more veggies, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and a lot less animal protein. This has challenged me to continually find new recipes for tofu, seitan, and other vegi protein sources. So here is a Delish Tofu recipe.

1 Dutch Oven
1 Container of Extra-Firm or Firm Tofu (In Your Grocers Produce Section & Usually Refrigerated)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper Sliced
1 Orange Bell Pepper Sliced
12 Sliced Grape Tomatoes
2 TBSP Sesame Seeds
2 TBSP Sesame Oil
16 Oz Sliced Portebella Mushrooms
1 Small Onion Diced
2 TBSP Minced Garlic
2 TBSP Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce
9 Ounces Cooked Chopped Spinach
1 TBSP Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce Garlic Green Onion Takumi Collection

Heat 2 TBSP Sesame Oil In Dutch Oven on Low Heat on Cooktop
Add Sesame Seeds and Lightly Toast
Add Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Garlic, Stir And Cook for 7 Minutes with lid on
Add in Spinach, Chili Sauce & Teriyaki Sauce, Stir and Cook for 5-7 Minutes
Add in Tofu, Stir & Cook Until Vegetables are done

If you can't find this, Look for one with 300MG or less per TBSP of Sodium. I am very limited in what I can use due to my allergies to MSG & Like Ingredients.

I am lazy today and do not want to take a single PIC of just my FAVORITE Frank's Sweet Chili Sauce. This recipe does not use this Steak Seasoning at all.

You Can Make This in a Wok As a Stir Fry, This Dish Is Poached.

Kalhua White Russian Banana Cupcakes

This recipe has been adapted from the Cute And Delicious Blog's Posting October 2009

Kahlua batter

½ cup light vanilla soy milk

½ tsp rice vinegar

2 ripe bananas

1 ¼ cup white whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp corn starch

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp Splenda

3 TBSP Unsweetened Applesauce

½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp instant coffee 

3 TBSP  Kahlua White Russian Mix

Cream batter

½ cup light vanilla soy milk

½ tsp rice vinegar

1 cup + 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp Splenda

4 Tbsp Unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp Kahlua White Russian Mix

White Russian Frosting

1/4 cup Smart Balance Light

4 Tbsp Kahlua White Russian Mix

2 cups Splenda

Preheat the oven to 350°. Fill cupcake tray with foil liners that you have sprayed with cooking spray. I do not have a cupcake pan so I used a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners and an extra cake pan lined with parchment paper.

The trick with this recipe is to make both batters at the same time. That means mix all your wet ingredients and all your dry ingredients for both batches and then combine them both together. That means you should be working with four bowls.

Mix soy milk and vinegar and set aside. Combine all the dry ingredients for both batters in two separate bowls. In two more bowls, combine all wet ingredients adding the soy milk mixture last. Mix the wet and dry for the Kahlua batter until there aren’t any noticeable lumps. Divide between the 12 cups. Then mix wet and dry for the creme mixture and fill the cups the remaining 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a rack completely.

For the frosting, beat the Smart Balance until smooth. Add the Kahlua and beat until fully combined. Add 1 cup of Splenda and beat until smooth again. Add more Splenda as necessary. A note on this, I used the light Smart Balance which is not as dense as the regular stuff so I used 1 1/2 cups of Splenda, I imagine only 3/4 cup will be needed though normally. Also, double the recipe if you want to pipe the frosting. You might need to add more flour. My frosting is not as thick as it would be if you use powdered sugar. I have to watch my sugar level so I can't use any powdered sugar, regular sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar or any prepared frosting unless it is sugar-free and made with Splenda or Lo Han Fruit Concentrate Sweetener.

Ready to Frost

Frosted This Has Consistency of Frosting Your Dribble on a Cinnamon Roll. Very Rich

Tomato Olive Casserole

1 Box of Mrs. T's Potato & Onion Pierogies
12 Oz Frozen Peas
6-10 Ounces Chopped Olives
15 Ounce Diced Tomatoes Fresh or in a Can With No Salt Added
1/2 Cup Sliced Portobella Mushrooms
16 Ounces Ground Chicken Italian Sausage
1 16 Ounce Bottle Classico Mushroom Alfredo Sauce
1 Casserole Dish
Tinfoil

Spread Frozen Pierogies on Bottom Of Casserole Dish
Add in Sausage, Peas, Olives, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, & Sauce

Bake 350 With Tinfoil on for 30 Minutes
Remove Tinfoil And Cook for Another 30 Minutes

Chicken Italian Sausage Crushed Black Olive Patty

16 Ounces Ground Chicken Italian Sausage
4 Ounces Peas
6-8 Ounces Crushed/Minced Black Olives
Garlic Granules
Fat Free Cooking Spray
1 Casserole Dish

Spray Casserole Dish
Spread Olives on Bottom of Dish
Spread Sausage Over Olives
Sprinkle Peas Around
Sprinkle Garlic Granules Over Everything

Bake 350 Until Internal Temp is 165 Degrees About 35-50 Minutes
Then Use This As a Topping For Piazza Or Add To Sauce To Serve Over Pasta

Some Truths or not Truths On Food Additives With Links

It is quite scary and frustrating that in 2011 I am afraid to eat many things for fear I will have to use my Epi-Pen, call 911 and head to my nearest ER so some food will not kill me! Back in the early 60's when I was born and through my teen years there was not much thought given, as to what food your child or children eats. No one was concerned very seriously about fats, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and mystery ingredients in the foods that were consumed. The only people that I knew who were concerned about sugars back then were parents of kids with diabetes. I have no recollection of anyone being at all concerned about the sodium in there foods. Fast Forward 48 1/2 years later and I look at everything on a Nutrition Label and pray that it is accurate. Below you will see links to some articles on Food Additives, no point in re-inventing the wheel so to speak. I avoid MSG and directive as well as bht, tbhq, sodium nitrates/nitrites. I also avoid Nutrasweet, Neoname, Aspartame, Equal, Truvia, Purevia, Erythritol, Honey, Brown Sugar, Molasses, and like Products. The only one that does not seem to cause me any ill effects is Splenda.

2006
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/nomsg.html

2009
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/II.WhereIsMSG.html

http://www.msgexposed.com/

Hashbrown High Protein One Pot Meal

Due to all of my allergies and my personal cancer history you will find that my seasonings are salt-free, my meats are all nitrite/nitrate free, my frozen items, packages, food bags, sauces, snacks, dressings, boxes, canned goods are all MSG Free. I look for all other names that are really MSG but go by other names such as Autolyzed Yeast. My foods in my recipes, are Free of Sodium Benzoates. I try as much as possible to use foods primarily free of highly allergenic, toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Sometimes I get bored with Egg-whites in Frittatas or Omelettes or Poached so I do the same thing but use hashbrowns as my base. Your welcome to use products with sodium and nitrates, MSG, etc.

1 Package Hungry Jack Instant Hash Browns or Salt Free Frozen Hashbrowns
6 Slices of Hormel Nitrate Free Smoked Turkey Breast
6 Ounces Cooked Chopped Spinach
1/2 - 3/4 Cup Sliced or Diced Tomatoes
1 TSP Garlic Granules or Garlic Powder
1/2 TSP White Pepper
3-4 Slices of Soy or Rice Cheese or your choice
Sliced Bella Mushrooms Optional
Fat Free Cooking Spray
1 Large Skillet

Prepare Hasbrown Per Directions, Drain Excess Water
Spray Skillet
Add In Hashrooms and Cook Per Package Directions
Sprinkle Garlic Seasoning Over Hashbrowns
Spread Turkey Evenly Over Hashbrowns
Spread Spinach Over Turkey
Sprinkle Pepper Over Spinach
Spread Tomatoes Over Spinach
Cook till 3/4 Done, then spread cheese over everything, cook till melted & then serve.

Turkey Lamb Burger

1/2 Pound Ground Lamb
1/2 Pound Extra Lean Ground Turkey
2 Eggwhites or 1 Egg
1 Small Diced Onion 1/4-1/2 Cup
1-2 TBSP Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Minced Mint
1-2 TBSP Panko Bread Crumbs
1 Bowl
Frontier Salt Free All Purpose Seasining or other Salt Free Brand
1 Disposable Broiler Pan, or Indoor/Outdoor Grill or Grill Pan

Combine All Items in Bowl
Form Into 6 Patties, Sprinkle Seasoning on Patties
Spray Pan, Cook Till Desired Done-ness

Mushroom, Onion, Garlic & Chili Burger

85/10 or 93/7 Percent Ground Beef
16 Oz. Diced Portebella Mushrooms
1 Small White Diced Onion
1-2 TBSP Minced Garlic
2 Eggwhites or 1 Egg
1-2 TBSP Franks Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce
2-3 TBSP Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt Free Spice Hunter Steak & Chop Grill &; Broil Seaoning
Cooking Spray
1 Bowl
1 Disposable Broiler Pan or You Can Use a Indoor/Outdoor Grill or Grill Pan on Cooktop

Mix All Items in Bowl
Form Into 6 Patties
Sprinkle With Seasoning
Spray Broiling Pan
Broil or Grill to your desired done-ness

My New Favorite Sauce & Steak Seasoning Blend

Franks Red Hot the company that makes the world famous brand of Frank's Red Hot (Sauce) since 1920 has finally come out with a product for those of us with sensitive GI tracts that is not too hot, not too salty, and not too sweet. I had a coupon for $1.00 of any Frank's Red Hot Sauce Products and I found this on sale at my local Super Target grocery store. This is perfect for a Stir-Fry, Tofu Scramble, Added Into Fresh Burgers, With Seitan, Gardein Chik'N, home made bake beans, chili, tacos, etc.

Due to the fact that I have a family history of High Blood Pressure all my seasonings that I use with the exception of three are all Salt Free. I love just about any seasoning that the The Spice Hunter makes. Their Steak & Chop and Grill & Broil is no exception. It really helps to keep the moisture in burgers and steaks. You really do not need any other seasoning as it all in one bottle, I have not used any steak sauce for anything since 1995. I have found that most people go to a restaurant and order steak and then cover it like syrup with A1 Sauce, I also have friends and relatives who do the exact same thing. This says to me that the steak is dry and over-cooked or it was incorrectly seasoned to begin with. Spice Hunters has coupons a few times a year. Perhaps, as I have joined the ranks of those close to 50 my tastes have become more pure?

My New Favorite Snack

Seems a bit uncanny that I managed to make it through the entire winter season Nov 2010-April 2011 in Illinois with no colds, no sinus or bronchial infections, pneumonia or the even the flu, but the minute Spring officially started this year I became sick and have been dealing with one infection after another. This zapped my energy, daily functionality, as well as my cognitive thinking skills all at once, hence the gap in posting lately. Now back to the topic at hand.

Everyone reading my Blog posts 1st on MySpace 2003 thru early 2010 and now on here since 2010 has learned that I love alternative & healthier foods. I am a serious fan of the Terra Brand of chips. There chips are always made with various types of healthy vegetables, healthy potatoes, healthy spices, seasonings, extracts, & oils. There chips are also not fried. While the price is more expensive then larger commercials products such as Jays and Lays potato chips, or others, there is no real comparison. Those brands traditionally have many more un-natural additives, flavors and extracts with names I can't even pronounce. 

My rule with eating whether it is snacks, protein, vegetables, etc...for many years, has always been if I do not know what it is, then it is not healthy for me or anyone else to eat. Simply put, if you can't pronounce the chemical ingredient in your purchase, don't buy it, no matter how cheap it is with coupons or on sale.

My second rule is to buy everything I buy possibly can with a coupon, stacked coupons or tripple coupons for that one item and also buy it on sale. This way I can enjoy healthier food and healthier snacks on a very limited budget.

Terra has created Terra Thai Basil Curry Chips. They are made with root vegetables, healthy potatoes and lots of other healthy stuff. They have 18 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, 140 Calories, 100MG of Sodium and 8 grams of fat for 13 chips. While you might think that is a lot of fat, it is much less then someone getting french fries in the states at McDonalds, Burger King, Five Guys, and Red Robin to name a few. They are on sale in Illinois this week and this past Sunday in the Chicago Tribune there were $1.00 off coupons. I do not buy chips of any kind at all unless I have a coupon and they are on sale. By counting out my serving size, this allows me to control my health, sodium levels and not regain any weight I have lost. I never eat the whole bag which allows me to enjoy my snack for the few times a year it goes on sale.

Here is a pick of this little snack treasure.

Mexican Style Chicken, Peppers, Rice & Corn One Dish Meal

Seems Odd That During The Hottest Time of The Year In Illinois I Would Get Sick in May And Wind Up Staying Home For 10 Days Taking Antibiotics And The Medrol Dose Pack To Get Better. Have Not Really Felt Like Eating Much At All. Now It is June And The Temps Have Been Blazing Hot Along With Unbearable Humidity. Today Was 96 with a Heat Indice that hovered between 100 and 106 for most of the day. Have not been cooking anything in my oven at all to conserve on my electric Bill.. I have been mostly making soups, smoothies, salsas, and other stuff in my Vitamix, quick sandwiches with my Panini Press. The recipes that I will be posting now that I am feeling better were made last month before I became sick. Lots of food PIC's in my camera still to be uploaded.


One Reynolds Aluminum Heavy Duty Large Foil Bag
1 bag (10 oz) Frozen Birds Eye® Steamfresh® Multi-Grain Blend with Spinach, Tomato & Onions
1 bag (12 oz) Frozen Birds Eye® Steamfresh® Super Sweet Corn
1 Orange & 1 Yellow Bell Pepper Cut Into Strips
1 Onion Cut Into Slices
5 Boneless Skinless Hormone Free Chicken Breasts

Spice Hunter Mexican Seasoning To Sprinkle On Chicken
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
One Large Casserole Dish


Put All Items In Heavy Duty Foil Bag In The Order Listed Above
Seal And Place Bag In Large Casserole Dish
Bake At 375 45 Minutes to an Hour

You Can Serve This As Is or Over a Salad Or Cut The Chicken And Eat Like a Soup

You Can Blend This The Next Day In The Vitamix For a Mexican Chowder

All Veggies in Bag

Add Chicken, Then Lime Juice
Then Season Chicken, Seal And Bake.

Empty Everything From Bag
Into Casserole Dish