Food Fatigue is Real! 31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero

Days 20-23

Food fatigue is real. It has been nearly 45 days since we have done any type of grocery shopping besides the few vegetables and milk that we picked up 20 days ago. I shop monthly, so it's not like our pantry was bare, however, we have had thoughts of running into town the last few days to pick up something fast and easy. Nothing is fast and easy when it is a two hour round trip to town and back. 

It's not that we don't have the ability to make delicious meals, it's just that we want something different. Something other than the usual fare. We have food fatigue. I have been eating popcorn with different spices for several days now because I want something salty. Number One Husband's cravings have been satisfied by eating toast with different toppings. 

We love Azure Standard products!

This is the best popcorn!

I think that I will try coconut oil next time.

I used cheddar cheese powder to
flavor the popcorn.

Big!

Stores well too.

I also have no desire to cook what we have on hand. I did put some frozen chicken enchiladas that I had in the freezer in the Sun Oven earlier, along with some black beans, rice and a can of Rotel as a side. They are taking longer to heat up due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires blocking out the sun. I am hoping this meal will relive our desire for something new. 

Smokey!

This meal hit the spot!

We have eight more days left in this challenge. Even though we have had some unexpected expenses, we have not failed the pantry part of this challenge. We have had troubles with other portions of this challenge due to injuries, but we are completing each portion bit by bit. 

On a lighter note, I let Petunia out around 5 am this morning. I did not go out with her. She is feeling more secure, so she wants to be outside more frequently. I am still sleeping in the living room on an air mattress, so I just went back to bed after I let her out. Number One husband let Petunia back in when he got up and she was so excited that she jumped on top of me. It cracked me up. Her giant wet feet were searching for me under the covers. She buried her cold wet nose in the crook of my neck when she found me. What a great way to wake up! 

 

Mrs. Smith

Copycat Wild Rice Blend Mix

I really like the flavor of wild rice blends, but they cost about $5 for a small package whereas wild rice alone cost about $10-$15 a pound. I discovered that I could purchase Fall River's wild rice in broken pieces for $5.54 a pound from Azure Standard, so I bought 5 pounds. Long grain white rice can still be purchased at Walmart for .59 a pound if purchased in the 20-pound bags. Now I just needed to learn how to make the yummy spice mix and figure out how to cook it in the Instant Pot Mini Lux. 

Purchasing the broken pieces saved about $23. This will last us a long time. 

I recently dried a bunch of parsley left over from our Passover Seder. I dry the leftover parsley every year. It is superior to storebought dried parsley and there aren't any bugs included. 

Here is the seasoning mix that I came up with. This spice mix can also be used to flavor plain rice, quinoa, vegetables or potatoes. It is very tasty!

Seasoning Mix

1 C Dried Parsley

1/3 C Garlic Powder

1/8 C Onion Powder

2 Tbs salt

1 Tbs Black Pepper

2 Tbs sugar

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake jar until mixed well. Shake jar before every use. 

Wild Rice Blend

1 C Long grain Rice

1/2 C Wild Rice

1 Tsp Butter

3 C Water

3 Tbs Seasoning Mix

Add all the ingredients into the pressure cooker pot. Follow the cooking instructions for rice in your pressure cooker manual. If cooking on a stovetop, follow the cooking instructions on the back of the long grain rice bag.  

Following the pressure cooker instructions for cooking times is very important. I have learned that every pressure cooker is different. Also, the altitude affects the cooking times. I am still trying to figure out how to cook in my 3-Quart Instant Pot Mini Lux. It is different from my Wolfgang Puck pressure cookers. None of the recipes that I have tried have worked out as far as cooking times at my altitude. I keep having to adjust the cooking times by learning from trial and error. 

Next time, since this pressure cooker is new to me, I will try reducing the cooking time by 1-minute and reduce the liquid by 3 Tbs. Or I may use my other pressure cooker. The rice was delicious, but not quite perfect. 

Mrs. Smith 

Freezing Cheese & Product Reviews

I finally finished putting up our "Once A Month" grocery haul. This always takes a day or two, because I also reorganize and clean out our refrigerator and our freezers to make room for the new groceries. Since we still have to eat during this process, I also made lunch when I was able to stop for a bit.

One of the last things that I needed to do was package the 10-pounds of cheese for the freezer. I ordered Pepper Jack and Smoked Cheddar this time. We still have plenty of Colby jack and some mozzarella from a previous order. The mozzarella is running a bit low, so I will put it in my cart at Azure Standard, so I won't forget to order it in our next order. I keep an active list of needs and wants in my cart. I add and subtract things until I have the order I want to place. 

Pepper Jack grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade potato salad, sliced apples (of course)
and two types of probiotic salsas.

Both types of cheese were crafted by Rumiano.
I did not take a picture of the smoked cheddar package. 

Shaved pepper jack cheese and fresh homemade bread.

Lots of peppers, but the flavor is not too hot.

The trick to freezing cheese is to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap making sure that there is no air in between the wrap and the cheese. 

Softer cheeses freeze better than hard cheeses. Hard cheeses tend to crumble when grating after freezing, but other than that the flavor is not compromised.

I packaged the smoked cheddar in smaller portions,
because a little goes a long way. It is a lovely hard cheese with lots of smoke flavor.

We had a snack of roasted pumpkin seeds and dried mango slices after we finished up our long day. Both are superb Azure Market products. 

These are the two types of salsas that we 
ate with our meal. I really enjoyed both flavors. 

We have new landowners close by, so I want to give a shoutout to M & A and welcome
them to the wild west!

Blessings,

Mrs. Smith

We have Lots of Apples - Azure Standard

I ordered a 27-pound box of organic Cosmic Crisp apples from Azure Standard this month. They are bursting with flavor. Sweet and tart at the same time. They are similar to Honey Crisp apples as far as their crispness, size and sweetness. Definitely a winner in my book.  I had hoped to preserve the apples by canning apple pie filling, making fruit leather and drying slices, but we like them so much we are just going to eat them raw, make deserts and maybe juice some of them. 

Every apple is perfect!

They are colossal in size and flavor!

I believe I paid $1.65 a pound. This is a great price for organic apples, let alone Cosmic Crisp apples. 

I don't think that we will order apples again until the new crops are harvested in the fall. These apples should last 2-3 months if they are kept in a cool and dark place. It is still in the 20's and 30's here at night, so we will store them in our storage room until the temperature rises above 59 degrees in the room during the day, then we will put them in our refrigerator. If I think we won't be able to use them all up before they go bad, I will make and can some apple pie filling to preserve what we can't finish. 

Stay safe,

Mrs. Smith

Azure Standard - May Order Preview

We picked up our Azure Standard order for May recently. We ordered several new items to try out this time. We are very pleased with our order. I was very deliberate in my choices this month. I want to boost our health by adding high nutritional value foods to our meals. I blogged about quinoa being the healthiest food on earth last week. I want to share a few of the items that we purchased, the reasons why and how I plan to introduce them into our diet.

This is one of the meals I prepared from our Azure haul. Homemade sliced black peppered chicken, Bubbies probiotic horseradish, Wildbrine probiotic salsa rojo, Cosmic Crisp organic apple slices, Rumiano smoked cheddar cheese and homemade potato salad. Absolutely delicious! 

Number One Husband announced that he would only drink Alexandre Family Farms milk for now on after trying it, and that he was not sure what he has been drinking from the grocery store all his life, but it was not real milk. I do not care for milk at all. I do enjoy cultured foods made from milk, such as yogurt and cheese. We purchased a case. The bottles have expansion bottoms and can be frozen. Freezing the milk does not change the milk's consistency, unlike the regular milk purchased from the grocery store that separates once it has been frozen. This is very helpful when practicing once-a-month grocery shopping.

Pumpkin seeds are super healthy and are easily added into baked goods, salads or they can stand alone as a quick tasty snack. The description below is just a few of the benefits. There are many more, like sleep support, and others that are not listed below.

I copied this information from the Azure Standard website:

"Pumpkin seeds are a valuable source of zinc and other minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, manganese and copper. What makes pumpkin seeds truly a health superfood is the diverse range of antioxidants including various forms of vitamin E and phenolic acids. Pumpkins seeds also contain health-supportive phytosterols, including beta-sitosterol, sitostanol and avenasterol."

Dried mangos are the next best option compared to fresh. I don't have to worry about them going bad before I can use them up. They are a great snack, can be easily added to fresh salads or baked goods. The nutritional value alone was reason enough to add this tasty treat to my pantry.

Azure Standard description excerpt: 

Besides having more than 20 different vitamins and minerals, mangos contain flavonoids like betacarotene, alphacarotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin, which help vitamin A to impart antioxidant strength and vision-protecting properties.

Mangos are a wonderful addition to salads, along with other fruits such as mandarin oranges, grapes, apples and pineapples. Impressive amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, and flavonoids in mangos benefit a healthy immune function, normal blood pressure, good vision and strong bones, plus added protection from lung, mouth, colon, breast and prostate cancers, leukemia, and stroke.

Cacao nibs have a very strong chocolate flavor, a little goes a long way. I will add these little power packed treats to our smoothies and baked goods. They have all the flavor of dark chocolate without added sugars. 

Health benefits and uses stated on Azure Standards website:

Azure Market Organics cacao nibs begin their journey as whole cacao beans, which are then crushed into smaller fragments. The resulting nibs have a rich dark chocolate flavor and delightful crunch, perfect for a wide variety of delicious uses. Add them to smoothies, protein bars, cookies, muffins—anything you want to imbue with the taste of chocolate—or try sprinkling them over pancakes or your coffee or tea. They really stand out when combined with vanilla bean in desserts and breads. 

Our cacao nibs have a myriad of health benefits thanks to their protein content and high concentrations of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals (including iron, magnesium, and potassium). Studies suggest that eating cacao products can lead to lowered blood pressure, inflammation, and stress, as well as reduced risk for diabetes and heart disease. Best of all, cacao nibs don’t have any added sugar, so you can enjoy their delicious chocolatey flavor and health benefits guilt-free! 

As we continue to try out new food finds from Azure Standard, I will share what we have discovered and the health benefits here on the blog. 

Until then, stay healthy and be blessed...

Mrs. Smith

Quinoa - An Azure Standard Pantry Staple - Review

I copied Azure Standard's description of quinoa from their website. I definitely recommend purchasing from Azure Standard, and not just quinoa. We liked quinoa before we learned about the health benefits. I like it plain and simple, but it makes wonderful dishes too. Chipotle quinoa black bean burgers are a favorite around here. You can find the recipe here: Chipotle Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

 

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is one of the healthiest, most nutritious foods on the planet. It’s naturally gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants. Truly, a superfood in every sense of the word.

Quinoa is a tiny seed that is a powerhouse of nutrition. (Red quinoa seeds pictured above)

But what, exactly, is it? Quinoa is a grain crop that is grown for its edible seeds. It technically isn’t a cereal grain, but a pseudo-cereal. In other words, it is a seed which is prepared and eaten like a grain.

Scientifically speaking, quinoa is the mature seed of the species Chenopodium Quinoa, which belongs to the Chenopodioideae subfamily of the amaranthaceous. Spinach, Swiss chard and beets are in the same family.

Quinoa was an important crop for the Inca Empire, as far back as 5000 BC. They referred to it as the “mother of all grains” and believed it to be sacred. It was a diet staple of pre-Hispanic cultures of South America, before being replaced by cereals brought by the Spaniards. Today it’s found mainly in the region of Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia.

Azure Market Organic Quinoa comes in three different colors – black, red and white. We also offer a tri-colored mix of all three. White quinoa has a neutral taste, while black and red quinoa are bolder in flavor.

Quinoa has only 160 calories per quarter-cup serving with 2.5 grams of fat and 6 grams of protein. About 28% of quinoa's fatty acids come in the form of oleic acid, a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, and about 5% in the form of alpha-linolenic acid or ALA — the omega-3 fatty acid most commonly found in plants associated with decreased risk of inflammation-related disease.

Quinoa is higher in fiber than most grains and is a very good source of manganese. It is also a good source of phosphorus, copper, magnesium, dietary fiber, folate and zinc.

It cooks fast on top of the stove (15 minutes cook time, 5 minutes stand time) and even faster in a pressure cooker.
(4 minutes cook time with a natural release)

Two flavonoids that have been particularly well studied, quercetin and kaempferol, are found in large amounts in quinoa. In fact, the quercetin content of quinoa is even higher than typical high-quercetin foods like cranberries. These important molecules have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-depressant effects in animal studies. 

The really great thing about quinoa though is that it is the perfect grain-free substitute for salads and other dishes. Serve as a side dish, in casseroles, for breakfast, or as a compliment to curry, grilled vegetables or braised meat. And be sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking to reduce the bitter taste that comes with its natural coating. 

I highly recommend having quinoa in the pantry. You can't go wrong having quinoa as a pantry staple. Check out Azure Standard for healthy alternatives to regular grocery store products. I'm still learning what they carry. I'm very impressed!

Mrs. Smith

Azure Standard Product Review - California Premium Calico Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese

Premium is a good word to describe this Calico cheese from Azure Standard. The flavor of this cheese is delightful. It is not the bland flavor that we so often find in other brands. The price is also comparable to other quality brands. 

I recently purchased cheese from a big box store. Normally, it would store in the refrigerator for months without an issue, but lately the cheese molds within weeks. This is disappointing because of the high cost of cheese these days. And now, you can't purchase the 5 lb. blocks. This must be the reason why. It will no longer last like normal cheese does. What have they done to our food? I have experienced this with different types of cheeses and brands. I also purchased tortillas from the same store, and they also molded within a short period of time. The use by dates were not even close to expiring.   

Even though we picked up our order a couple weeks ago, I am just now processing the cheese that I ordered. I had some cheese that needed to be used up before opening a new cheese.

I divided the cheese into weekly portions then wrapped it in plastic wrap. I stored the excess cheese in the freezer to use at a later date.   

I intentionally left this week's portion unwrapped so I could grate it. It is ready to use in this week's menu.  

I made copycat Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, giant sized. It was a last-minute treat, so I didn't take pictures other than this one that Number One Husband snapped. I didn't measure any of the ingredients either. I hope to make these easy three ingredient treats again and share the process with my readers. They are spectacular!

Shalom,

Mrs. Smith