Food Crazed

I am obsessed with food. There, I said it. I don't just think about it 3 times a day, but rather all day every day. My dad says there are people who eat to live, and people who live to eat. I am the latter (and my husband is the former). I thought I would share some of my recent favorites and discoveries.

(A photographer is something I am not, so bear with me.)

My first tomato ripened last week. Since I planted it, watered it, and harvested it, I ate it all myself. It was not really a selfish act, though... nobody else wanted it. Suit yourself, more for me.

My sister told me she made this meal, so naturally it was stuck in my head and I made it that night. I have had this whole wheat muffin recipe for 10 years and never tried it. Now I love it. I made an incredible change though--coconut oil. My sister-in-law Alison recently visited and touted the benefits of coconut oil for everything from baking and frying to dry skin. She left me some so I thought I'd try it, and I am converted! It gave the muffins a slight coconutty flavor and made them so moist. I have also used it in waffles. And get this... the other day I think I had mild food poisoning (I tasted my soup with the raw chicken spoon). I remembered that Alison said coconut oil was antibacterial, so I ate a tablespoon straight. My rumbly tummy quieted right down, I kid you not. If you are still skeptical, you better read this article I found from my health guru: Coconut Oil Health Benefits.

Whole Wheat Muffins

2 c. wheat flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
1 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients. Mix together oil, milk, and egg. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Stir only until combined. Bake in greased muffin tins at 425 for 12-15 minutes.

The muffins went with smoothies and my favorite quiche recipe (from Rebecca). It is so versatile and we all love it. I added a cup of chopped spinach, substituted yellow for green onions, and added a chopped red pepper. I omitted the ham.

Easy Broccoli Quiche

2 green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
4 eggs, well beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ - 1 cup diced ham
1 ½ c. cheese (whatever you like)

1. Over medium-low heat in a nonstick pan, cook onions, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft.

2. Meanwhile combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Combine vegetable mixture with egg mixture. Stir in ham and cheese.

3. Pour into greased metal cake pan. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until set. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve.

Moving on, I kept hearing from family and friends that I needed to try Sunflower Market for produce. I finally caved into peer pressure and made the trek to Orem to try them out. Since I have been getting Bountiful Baskets a lot, I thought I would try the way they do it and get 6 fruits and 6 veggies to see how they compared on price.

Some of the deals were amazing. Pineapples were .99 each! Also, they have a good selection of organic. I agree with the idea of organic, but unfortunately my grocery budget does not. So I was happy to find organic pink lady apples for 1.99/lb., the same as regular apples at Smith's.

In the end, I spent $24 on produce at Sunflower rather than the $16 for BB, but four of my items were organic, I got 7 fruits instead of 6, and I doubled up on pineapple and cantaloupe because they were so cheap! I guess you could say the prices were comparable.

Rather than deciding on which way to buy produce, I decided to take a hiatus from both and try the Lehi Farmer's market that just started up (I'll let you know how it goes). Plus my garden is starting to explode with carrots, cucumbers, beans, beets, zucchini, and tomatoes, so I'm going local for a bit!


I have to share on more thing... I heard that Costco had organic eggs (thanks Emily) so I checked them out. I found cage free organic eggs for 2.99 a dozen, which is such a steal! Everywhere else is 3.50-4.50 a dozen!

While I was there, I got frozen blueberries and a huge tub of organic spinach for my smoothies, a HUGE bag of organic carrots (what was I thinking??? I might have to freeze some?), organic tortilla chips (my new favorite chip ever), Larabar fruit bars (thanks to her again), and some delicious whole grain wraps for easy meals. Wow, thanks for the healthy food Costco!

Whew. Now I still have to think about what to make for dinner.