..Happiness Grows Giveaway..

Hello everyone :). It sure has been a while. We have some exciting things happening in the next five week, which I’ll update on later. But for right now I wanted to tell everyone about the giveaway happening on the Happiness Grows Facebook page. I promised a giveaway once we reached 200 likes, and we are now at 208 with lots of traffic on and off the Happiness Grows Etsy store. All you have to do is ‘like’ the post for an entry. The prize is pretty awesome if I do say so myself.. I mean, I did make it after all ;). See the post below for more details. I hope to see you as a part of the giveaway!

..Aromatherapy Necklaces & Bracelets..

If you head over to my Facebook page, you’ll find a new album with pricing and options for my clay aromatherapy necklaces and bracelets :). These are a great option for using essential oils daily without topical application or bothering others with the scent! They’re also very kid friendly since all of the necklaces and bracelets come on adjustable cords.

Here are a few teaser pictures from the album :). Don’t see anything you like? Just message me! We can find an option for you, and I’m always adding new things each month. Over on the facebook page you’ll find pricing, hemp cord color options, clay color options, stamp options, pattern options, and shape options.

The black glitter is so much prettier in person :). It just loses something in the photos, but still looks amazing!

Make sure you check out all of the options and pricing over at the Happiness Grows Facebook Page :).

..Spicy Skillet Greens..

Tomorrow is our organic produce pick-up date, and we still had a fridge full of greens! So what is a Southern woman supposed to do? Why, make a big skillet full of greens, of course :). I wanted something a little lighter than traditional greens made with meat and animal fats, and this recipe hit the nail on the head. This recipe is light but very feeling. The greens had lovely fresh, crisp taste that was just perfect. Definitely a recipe we’ll make again and again.

This recipe serves six people with142 calories, 5.3 grams of fat, 21.7 grams carbs and 4.7 grams of protein per serving. It also has 48.5% of your daily vitamin A, 86.8% of your daily vitamin C, 27.5% of your calcium and 10.2% of your daily Iron per serving. It’s a plant based powerhouse fully of delicious goodness :). Who says veggies won’t give you what you need?

The red pepper in this recipe can be an IC irritant. You can omit them if it’s a problem for you. The flavor will still be amazing, it just won’t have that little kick to it :). It’s a delicious dish with or without the red pepper flakes. Don’t let them scare you away!

– 5 cups of chopped organic turnip greens

– 8 cups of chopped organic collard greens

– 6 cups of organic beet root greens

– 1 tbsp organic olive oil

– 1 organic medium onion cut into small chunks

– 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or a pinch)

– 1/4 cup of water

– 1/8 tsp of rock sugar (organic beet sugar)

– fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

This is really easy to toss together.  You may leave the ribs in the greens or take them out. I personally love the nice crunch they give to the dish, and they are full of nutrients :). It seems like a massive quantity of greens (and you can use just one kind by the way!), but the amount cooks down quite a bit.

Drizzle the olive oil into the skillet on medium heart. Add the onion and cook until just tender. It takes about 3 minutes or so. Then add half of the greens and cook them down.

After the greens have cooked down, add the rest of the greens to the skillet. Allow to cook down. Then add the water, rock sugar, and red pepper flakes. You can technically cook it until the water is absorbed if you wanted more mushy greens. I like the steams to be a little more crisp. So I only cooked it an additional 3-5 minutes. Plate and serve to taste with a little bit of fresh lemon juice if wanted.

It was absolutely delicious! Crisp and fresh with this nice subtle little bit of heat that complimented the flavors perfectly. My husband devoured his bowl in about two minutes, and we have plenty of leftovers to eat on for the rest of the week :). It’s easy to tailor to be IC friendly.. omit the red pepper if needed, you could use parsnips instead of onion for the different texture, and omit the optional lemon juice. Whether you doctor the recipe or leave it as is, it’s sure to be a crowd please-er :).

 

..New Facebook Page..

Hello everyone :). After having several people request I make a facebook page (at the even I just did and the other people in my life), I finally broke down and created one. I hope everyone likes it :). I’m working hard to make it something special and informative. Tell me what you think of it, and don’t forget to like it!

 

Happiness Grows Facebook Page

..Butternut Squash Linguine..

I found this recipe somewhere, but for the life of me I can’t remember where that was. The original recipe called for making the entire dish in a crockpot. There was something about softening the butternut squash in the microwave to peel and cube it before cooking in the crockpot. Well, I didn’t make it that way. For one thing, we don’t use our microwave that often anymore. Once I convince my husband to let me get some bamboo steamers, we won’t be using it at all. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, although I did cook the whole squash in the crockpot the day before, and I added an extra spice to come up with something light and delicious.

– 2 to 3 pound organic butternut squash

– 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil

– 1/2 a small organic onion

– 3 cloves of organic garlic

– 2 cups of organic vegetable or chicken stock

– 1 tsp organic sage

– 2 tsp of organic basil

– 1/2 tsp of sea salt

– 1/4 tsp black pepper

– cooked organic pasta of your choice

Start by cooking your butternut squash. I did this using a crockpot. I had a butternut squash and a summer squash that I needed cook, so I just tossed both into the crockpot. I added one cup of water and cooked on low for 8-10 hours. Mine went a little past the 10 hour mark.. because I fell asleep lol.. so the squash burst open with a single touch. Made it easier to scoop everything out though! Remove the pulp and seeds. Scoop out the butternut squash meat and set aside until you’re ready for it.

Cut the onions into cubes and the garlic into slices. You’ll be blending it up, so you don’t need to worry with mincing or chopping. Melt 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a pot or deep skillet. If you dislike the taste of coconut, you can always add a pinch of sea salt to the melted coconut oil. It will neutralize the coconut flavor. Saute the onions in the coconut oil. Ad the garlic and cook until fragrant.. about 30 seconds or so.

Add your butternut squash and organic stock to the onions and garlic. The original recipe calls for vegetable stock, but I was all out. I used organic chicken stock instead. The flavor was still amazing, so either type of stock works out great! Stir together until combined.

Add the organic sage, organic basil, sea salt, and black pepper (or your IC Friendly alternative). Bring to a slight boil and simmer for 10 minutes.. just to let everything mix together nicely. Now it’s time to blend it all together. I used an immersion blender. Be careful when using one! They can easily splash and the butternut sauce is HOT. You can also pour it into a blender.

For this next step you can use a refrigerated pasta, fresh pasta, or cooked pasta. I used organic gluten free noodles that I grabbed at Costco. They are absolutely delicious! Take whichever of three options you’d like and mix into the sauce. If you are using refrigerated or fresh pasta, cook 5-10 minutes or until pasta is tender. If you’re using cooked pasta, just mix it into the hot butternut sauce.

Joel wanted veggies added to the butternut squash linguine instead of something like chicken, so I added roasted broccoli and mushrooms to out dishes. We had some tomatoes to use up, so Joel also had some fresh tomatoes chopped up and mixed in with his serving. I am having an incredibly rough time with my IC, so I didn’t want to worry about any cross-contamination with the tomatoes. I used a separate bowl to mix Joel’s portion. The taste was light and had a slight spicy sweetness.

This butternut squash linguine was very filling! We even got Eowyn to eat some of it, but then again, she did think the sauce was cheese lol. Ignore the ‘maters in the final photos ICers :).

The added vegetables went nicely with it, and we can add chicken to the leftovers for another meal this week :). Next time we’ll have to try adding asparagus and shrimp!

..Warm Kale and Ancient Blend Quinoa Salad..

This recipe for Warm Kale and Ancient Grains Quinoa Salad was a huge hit with my husband and his coworkers. The original recipe can be found in the cookbook Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr. I made a few adjustment based on my own personal food allergies and tastes :). It is easily made into an IC friendly recipe with a few suggestions. I served this kale and quinoa salad with my Slow Baked Dutch Oven Chicken Drumsticks and Garlicky Potatoes. The heartiness of the chicken and potatoes paired very nicely with this light, nourishing salad!

– 3 cups of Sonoma Valley Farms Ancient Blend Organic Quinoa

– 3.5 cups of water

– 2 cups of chopped organic kale

– 4 tbsp of thawed frozen organic pomegranate seeds

(You could also use currants, raisins, and dried cranberries or blueberries)

– 4 tbsp of unsalted pistashios

(You could also use pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds)

– 2 tbsp of fresh organic lemon juice (optional)

– 1 tbsp of non-GMO avocado oil (or olive.. I just like the taste!)

– Sea salt and black pepper to taste (optional)

Add the water and quinoa ancient blend to a pot on medium heat. Bring the quinoa to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 16-18 minutes (or prep as your quinoa bag instructs). Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Chop the kale. Whether or not you remove the stems is up to you. Personally, I love the slightly bitter taste that comes from the stems. I’m just that person that likes sour and bitter flavors. The stems have amazing therapeutic properties and contain tremendous amounts of nutrients and antioxidants. You lose a lot by not eating, but it’s a personal taste preference. I left my stems attached. The sweetness of the pomegranate seeds complimented the tartness of the stems perfectly. Add the chopped kale on top of the quinoa and cover for a few minutes to allow the kale to steam. We like our kale still crunchy, so I only left mine covered for 3-5 minutes.

Next add the pistachios, pomegranate seeds (or your IC friendly fruit or seeds), lemon juice (IC optional), avocado (or olive) oil, sea salt (optional), an pepper (optional).

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly. Serve warm or cold.

..IC Friendly Alternatives to Black Pepper..

Black pepper can be incredibly irritating to some with IC because of its high oxalate content. Luckily for me, I don’t usually have a problem with black pepper. I love pepper. I cook with all different types of pepper, and I adore all the different flavor combinations that result from different peppercorns. A lot of food bloggers and reviews call black pepper crass. I even read a foodie article a while back that claimed black pepper made food “taste cheap” and “masked poor quality”. I believe that chick needs to readjust her taste buds, pick a new peppercorn, change how she’s using black pepper, or else go somewhere else to eat. Black pepper can either make or break a dish. Too much, and you’ve pretty much ruined it. Too little, and you can’t taste it. But when used in the right amounts, black pepper can really help to define a dish. So excuse me while I wholeheartedly disagree on the black pepper hating :).

But what are you supposed to do when the mere thought of freshly ground peppercorns sends your bladder into the darkest parts of hell?

You’ll find plenty of blogs, articles, and comments online about replacing the “heat” of pepper. I’m not talking about heat. I’m talking about the beautiful flavor that comes from using black pepper. It’s not something that can be replaced by subbing in a little bit of heat.

So what can you use to get a similar flavor to black pepper? Nothing can give you exactly the same flavor as using freshly ground black pepper, but there are other options to get a “peppery” flavor.. options that don’t involve heat. Some of these options are better than others :). We each have our own taste for pepper, and some herbs are more peppery than others!

Black Pepper Essential Oil

Many people, myself included, have found that essential oils are a great alternative to herbs and spices we wouldn’t normally be able to eat because of dietary restrictions (And I’m not meaning allergies here people! Food and plant allergies should NEVER be ignored when using essential oils!!!). Black pepper (Piper nigrum) essential oil is steam distilled from the berries. Black pepper essential oil will be a hit or miss.. just like other herbs, spices, and essential oils. But if you really don’t want to give up using black pepper to cook with, the essential oil might be something you would like to try. A little goes a long way. Less is more when cooking with essential oils. You will rarely ever need to use more than a single drop or two, and most of the time you won’t even need to use that. To use less than a full drop, use a glass dropper to add the oil to food instead of turning the bottle upside down. The essential oil has a gently pungent bite with a lasting flavor. Black pepper essential oil can be added to marinades, dips, sauces, or soups.. anything liquid. You can also add it to mashed vegetables, a single (or less) drop to melted butter or oil before cooking, or meats.

Black pepper essential oil should come from a quality source: organic or wildcrafted, country of origin displayed, Latin name given, and through steam distillation. I have two essential oil companies that I not only feel comfortable ordering from (one is always out of stock of something!!), but comfortable using with my family and recommending to others. If you would like more information on where to order essential oils, please contact me. My number one concern is safe use, and I am currently studying to become a certified aromatherapist :).

Summer or Winter Savory

Summer savory has a somewhat peppery taste. It can be used as a replacement for salt and pepper. Although you can use it as a dried herb, the springs or chopped leaves will give the best peppery flavor. Winter savory, while still somewhat peppery, has a stronger, sharper, and spicier flavor. Savory is also a great source of vitamins and minerals. It is especially great with fish, chicken, stews, vegetables, and salads.

Grains of Paradise

The use of grains of paradise as a pepper replacement dates back to Medieval times. Spice traders claimed that grains of paradise came from Eden, hence the name. At the time, it was considered to be a cheaper substituent for black pepper.

Grains of paradise has a zesty, peppery flavor with hints of flowers, coriander, and cardamom. The spice has a slowly intensifying heat, like pepper, that lingers. Most people who have had grains of paradise actually prefer it to black peppercorns. It can be bought ground or added whole to a pepper grinder.

Ground Papaya Seeds

Oddly enough, Ground papaya seeds can  be used as a pepper replacement! Who would have thought? Ground papaya seeds can be scooped straight out of the fruit and eaten raw. They’re similar to capers, although not pickled. Ground papaya seeds have a spicy, slightly pungent taste. They can be  used with a pepper grinder. It makes an exotic pepper alternative that is difficult to distinguish from regular black peppercorns.

To use papaya seeds, scoop the seeds fresh from a papaya. Place in warm water and work with your hands to remove the pulp. Let the seeds soak overnight. Bake at 170° (or the lowest temperature your oven will go) for 60 minutes or until the seeds are hard. Cool the papaya seeds and place in a pepper grinder. Use as you would pepper :).

Papaya seeds are full of beneficial enzymes and very good for you! Papayas are not IC friendly for everyone. While some ICers can eat papaya, others cannot. Papaya is listed as a “Worth Trying” food on the IC Food List. Seeds from vegetables are typically IC safe for the majority of people though.

Parsley

If you’re looking for a slight peppery flavor, parsley is the herb for you. Not only does parsley have therapeutic properties that cater specifically to cystitis, it is also full of beneficial nutrients. Parsley enhances the appearance and flavor of most foods. It has faint celery like flavor with a delicate peppery taste. The flat leaf (Italian) variety of parsley should be used, and while you can use the dried herb, fresh parsley is always best. It can be used generously with all foods.

Basil

Basil is another alternative is you are looking for a slight peppery flavor. It has a sweet, warm, slight peppery spice to it. It can be used whole, chopped, or shredded. It pairs well with sauces, stews, salads, to make pesto, on cheese, in pasta, and with meats and poultry. Basil is one of my favorite herbs. It lends an amazing flavor when used shredded on fresh fruit with raw honey! Basil is also very beneficial for the digestive process.

Mediterranean Oregano

Mediterranean (Greek) oregano has a warm aromatic and pungent flavor. It has a distinct peppery flavor, however, it is on the sweet side. It pairs very well with basil, especially when used in sauces, roasted vegetables, and IC friendly pizzas! It can lend a sweet peppery taste to cream sauces, salad dressings, soups, butters, egg and cheese dishes, and with foods cooked on a grill.

Sage

Sage has an aromatic, woodsy flavor that is slightly peppery. It can be quite strong. It is bested used with stuffing, omelets, fish, meat, an poultry dishes. The whole for chopped leaves can be used for the best peppery flavor. There are several variations of sage, each on with a slightly different hint of pepper.

Thyme 

Thyme is another herb that is only slightly peppery. It’s an indispensable herb in the kitchen, with a spicy slightly sweet peppery flavor that goes well with all foods, salads, stews, sandwiches, and vegetables. It blends well with marjoram to digest fatty foods, and with IC, optimal digestion is a plus :). The springs or stripped leaves can be used. Whole stems can be used in soups or stews, but make sure you remove them before serving!

What herbs and spices do you substitute for black pepper? Do you have a favorite? Have you tried any of the alternatives in this post? Let me know in the comments!

 

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***The information contained on this website is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. None of the information or statements found on this website have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products on this side are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, please consult your physician AND pharmacist before using these products. Please be sure to always declare any herbal, nutrition, and aromatherapy products to your doctor. Information on this site is meant for educational and informational purposes only, to help motivate you to make your own healthcare and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider(s). It should not be relied upon to determine dietary changes, a medical diagnosis or courses of treatment. 

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..Slow Baked Dutch Oven Chicken Drumsticks and Garlicky Potatoes..

We ended up with a ridiculous amount of potatoes from our organic grocery delivery service. Funny thing about that.. nearly half the potatoes were completely rotten! Needless to say, we were not pleased. As y’all know, I have loved my Matt’s Organic Deliveries since we started ordering their product last fall. We’re not loving them anymore. In fact, we’re switching to a different organic produce company because of all of the problems we’ve been having. Our last two months worth of orders were absolutely sorry quality. Not only did we notice that we were getting less produce in their largest box compared to last fall, but half the food was either already rotten or a day or two from it. For $90 a box, I honestly expected more, especially after we complained three times about the quality. When potatoes and onions are rotting, you know a company has slipped on quality control. It was very disheartening, but we’re happy to have found an alternative that I will be posting about in April. Did I mention that we have over 15 heads of garlic??? Yeah, we received those is two deliveries. Just two. Fifteen heads. Sigh. We just do not eat that much garlic! I’m trying to find ways to use it up before it rots like everything else.

Anyway.. I had several pounds of on-their-deathbed potatoes and onions to use. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of garlic that Matt’s has been delivering to us. I decided to make a one dutch oven slow cooked chicken and garlicky potato meal :).

The slow baked chicken came out fall off the bone tender. The meat was pulling off as soon as I started pulling drumsticks out of the cast iron! My husband, Joel, was very happy with the garlicky potatoes! Eowyn was fighting him for the potatoes he had on his plate. She ate half of what was there. They dove in for seconds, and Joel even took some of the leftovers to lunch the next day. And then he came home and ate what was left of the garlicky potatoes lol. Apparently this recipe was a hit! Joel has requested we have it again sometime soon.

I paired this slow baked chicken drumsticks and garlicky potatoes with a Warm Kale and Ancient Blend Organic Quinoa Salad. Click the linked name to find the recipe! Joel and his coworkers passed helpings of the quinoa and kale salad around, and there were requests for recipes. I’ve made it several times since then, and Joel loves it more and more each time! Make sure you check out the recipe!

..Slow Baked Chicken Drumsticks and Potatoes..

– 2 tbsp organic olive oil (coconut or avocado work well too!)

– 2 lbs of organic potatoes, thinly sliced

– 2 large organic onions, thinly sliced

– 3 organic garlic cloves, minced

– 1 tsp organic thyme

– 1 tsp organic rosemary

– 4 to 6 organic, pastured chicken drumsticks

– 2 thick slices of organic bacon (optional)

– 1 and 1/2 cups of organic chicken stock or bone broth (preferably homemade and no added salt for IC!)

– Sea salt and black pepper to taste

(For black pepper IC substitutions, click on the link at the bottom of the post!)

Preheat the oven to 350° and then grease a dutch oven or other deep baking dish that has a lid.

Scrub the potatoes, and slice the potatoes and onion into thin rounds using a knife or mandolin slicer. Next, mince the garlic. Place the potatoes, onion, and garlic into a bowl. Add the herbs and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Be careful.. especially if your name is Brittany, and you’re writing this blog ;). I sliced a very deep, dime-sized chunk of skin off of my pinky using that pesky slicer!!! Who knew a finger could bleed that much? I had to toss about an entire pound of potatoes thanks to all that mess. So please, be careful!

Arrange the potato mixture in a dutch oven or any deep baking dish that has a lid.

Rinse your chicken with cold water and pat dry. Arrange the chicken on top of the potatoes, and season with a touch of sea salt and pepper if you’d like to. You can also use your favorite IC friendly no-salt seasoning mix. I make my own bland, and hopefully I will be able to post a recipe soon :).

Roughly chop the two thick slices of raw bacon. Sprinkle across the chicken.

Cover and bake for two hours.

If you like your chicken a little brown and you find that it needs a little extra time after the two hours, remove the lid, turn to broil (if safe!) to brown and crispy. Make sure you watch it though! It will burn quickly! The chicken legs were cooked perfectly to my husband and my liking after two hours in a cast iron dutch oven :).

**CLICK HER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IC FRIENDLY SUBSTITUTIONS FOR BLACK PEPPER**

..Before Painting That Grout..

So I’m sitting here at home sick as a dog, so what better way to spend my day than updating this new blog! Now, on my other blog I posted an entry about painting the grout in our house. I kept saying I was going to update on how that went, but I never got around to it. I painted the grout in July of 2013 and it’s now August 2014.. it’s about time I actually do that update lol!

You can click on that link above to read the original grout painting entry, but I’ll give y’all a quick rundown. We’ve been in this house for over a year now. The original owners were the ones who laid the grout, and the wife had the bright idea to use several different grout colors.. yeah.. it was ugly as it sounded. The only room they didn’t use three different grout colors in was our master bath. Because that made perfect sense. So being the new homeowner that was trying to save money and be all handy and all that.. I decided to do a little Pinterest research on painting our ugly grout. It was backbreaking, time consuming, and not at all as easy as people made it out to be (but maybe that’s just me being a huge fail!!), but overall it looked great and was worth all the trouble. Joel and I were both really happy with how it turned out. And here’s the result:

After painting the grout. The first two are the girls’ bathroom and the second two are the entryway.

But you see.. there’s one major flaw to painting your grout.. it has to be in good shape before you paint it. And ours was not. The paint itself is holding up great in the girls’ bathroom for the most part. But we have a major problem. Our tile is old, and the grout is in really bad shape. This house is over ten years old now, so that means the tile is over ten years old, which means the grout is over ten years old. And now it’s cracking and the tiles are breaking. So I did all that work for absolutely nothing! It took two day to paint one bathroom and the entryway, and almost a week to fully paint the kitchen/dining/laundry space. We ended up not painting the master bathroom, because the tiles began cracking in the kitchen only days after we finished painting the grout in there. So here’s what our grout and tile look like one year later:

The grout and tile in our kitchen one year later. This is the worst of the damage to the floors.

Yeah.. it’s not a pretty site. We’re going to need to replace the floors in three of the rooms in our house starting with the kitchen. Homes in Arizona tend to have a lot of tile in them. The majority of the homes here are nothing but tile floors, so it’s a lot of square feet to replace. To top it all off, the tile was laid incorrectly. It caused damage to the concrete, so there a spots in the concrete that will need to be repaired too. It’s a huge mess!!!! Our eventual goal is to rip up all of the flooring in the house and stain the concrete. But if I had realized something like this would happen, I wouldn’t have spent the money buying the five kits.. at $24 a kit.. to paint the grout in our house.

Ultimately a very expensive lesson learned! Painting your grout.. while cheaper and effective in most cases.. will not work if you’re tile and grout just flat out need replacing. So before any of you hop on Pinterest and see how easy everyone else makes painting their grout seem, take a step back and think about whether or not you just need to replace your tile!

..A Work In Progress..

As you can probably tell by the lack of content, this blog is a work in progress :). I’ve been blogging through blogger for a while now, but I keep running into problem after problem. So please hang in there with me while I switch over things from that blog to this one. It’s a little time consuming learning this new format while trying to find the best way to basically merge the content on my other blog with this one!