So I have started changing some things diet wise and after Valentines Day I will be cutting out sugar again but this time for longer than a week. After Christmas I cut it out for 1 week and lost 2 pounds in just a week! I was good this last Christmas with the sweets but I still felt nasty, and again I am starting to just get that urge to cleanse myself again. We don't eat that much sugar or bad foods but with diabetes in my family I feel I need to be extra careful, also I don't want to get bigger with each kid I have so in between my goal is to be a hot Mom!! So today I made two healthy but awesome alternatives for snacks, I made baked Kale and Garlic Lemon Hummus:
Baked Kale:
Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Kale
1-2 Tblsps of Olive Oil
Salt
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300F. Cut out the centre stem part of the kale and then cut them or tear them into chip size pieces, do not cut them too small because they shrink down when they are baking. After cutting rinse the kale and use a salad spinner to dry the kale. To make sure it is completely dry place on a dish towel and let sit for 5 minutes.
2) Add kale and 1 Tblsp of olive oil to a large ziploc bag a massage the kale to coat it with the olive oil, if you need more olive oil add so all of the kale has an even coat on it.
3) Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat, lay kale on the tray so that it is only one layer. Sprinkle with salt, if you like it saltier you can add whatever floats your boat.
4) Bake for 20 mins, but make sure to check on it through out that time because you don't want to over cook it. Once the kale appears to be dried up then let it cool completely. This can be stored for up to two days in a ziploc bag.
*Note: If you have any other spices that you would like to add go ahead and experiment! Also I am telling you right now it won't last the 2 days, it's that good.
Garlic Lemon Hummus:
Ingredients:
1 Large can of Chick Peas
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
2-4 Garlic Cloves
2 Tablsps of Lemon Juice
1 Tablsp of Peanut Butter
Dash of Salt and Pepper
Directions:
1) Open can of chick peas and drain all the juice into a strainer, save some juice for later, rinse and remove all shells.
2) In a small sauce pan add chick peas and fill with water so that they are covered. Bring to a simmer and cook them so they are soft, about 10 mins.
3) Once cooked drain and put in a food processor add all the other ingredients plus some of the reserved juice. Just add a bit of juice at a time till it is silky smooth.
4) When done blending place in a bowl and refrigerate or eat right away. Serve with pita bread, veggies or anything else you would like to dip into it.
*Note: I use peanut butter because I don't know anyone who actually has Tahini paste and so you want that bit of nutty flavour and so peanut butter works great. Also if you like it more garlicy or lemony just add more to suit your tastes. I like more garlic hence the up to 4 cloves.
This is an on going thing in today's society whether it is clothing, food or baby products. Pretty much anything that you can buy can be branded with so many different names, honestly there are products that people swear by and they are the name brand ones, but I have to say don't be close minded because a certain product is a no name product. You might be extremely surprised and find that it works better for you and is significantly cheaper. In this post I wanted to share a bit of what I have discovered in this on going battle of the brands and which brands I have tried and have failed or have been successful.
Diapers:
Okay so many people that I know swear by Huggies and Pampers and I have tried them but I have to say that I don't like them. Olivia has had leaks in those brands and they don't hold up for the night. It made me a little annoyed when she was first born because they are so expensive!! I tried a few different kinds, I tried Costco's Kirkland diapers and they were not too bad but Olivia had a few BAD poopy diaper blow outs, one in which it went all down her Daddies arms and legs! So I figured I would look around again, one day at Safeway I noticed a brand that was a fraction of the cost of all the other diapers with the name Mom to Mom. Now this brand is specific for Safeway and is only sold there, I was a little sceptical at first so I just bought a small package, but I LOVE them now and they are the only kind I buy. A added bonus is they go on sale once a month and when they do a box of 96 goes on sale for $10.99 originally $21.99. So if you buy two boxes you pay for the same price as one and it is half the price of Huggies and Pampers.
Soup:
Okay this one yes you can get the no name brand stuff for so cheap but this is one I can't do, I have tried but the no name brand stuff is AWFUL, like barf awful. I swear by Campbells soup products, they can be a bit pricey, but again if you wait for a sale you can get a slamming deal and stock up. Once a month at Safeway a flat of 12 goes on sale for $5.99, when that happens I stock up because again it is half price.
Butter:
Butter is amazing and we don't use margarine in our house because it doesn't melt at room temperature and it just tastes gross. But butter is much more expensive than its flavourless nasty competitor. But if you price it out right you can find butter for a pretty decent price, Superstore for example has butter with their actual No Name brand and it is only $2.50 for a pound, Costco has name brand butter for around $3.50. I naturally went for the cheaper of them and I actually love the flavour of the butter and my wallet loves it too!
Babies Formula:
This one again is one of those name brand battles because so many Mom's I know swear by Similac. Olivia was a breastfed baby from day one but I have recently had to start weaning her because, well, she bit me and pulled so yeah you can imagine that I would start cutting her off. I don't need to lose a nipple! I had tried one kind of Similac months ago because we would give her formula when we had to go out or when she was being babysat, but it just bummed her up and the poor girl had such a rough go with it. Recently I tried WalMarts Parents First Choice Calcium fortified 6-18 months formula, it has been so good for her and hasn't caused any problems and for a majour bonus it only is $15.00 for a 900 Gram container. Similac can cost up to $45.00 for the same size!!
All in all you find what works for you and if you are what they call a name brand snob you might have tried other things and it not work. But if it's because you think it is lesser quality I just encourage you to try and you might like the other brands better and they won't hit your wallet as hard.
Also whenever it comes to shopping look around for prices and the best deals. One thing I notice is certain things go on sale the same time every month and if you track it then you can better budget your groceries and other house hold expenses. But more on that another day!
Happy budgeting and planning :)
