REAL Food Friday #15

Hello and Welcome to REAL Food Friday! 

H4H Gift Sets to Grow Your Own Real Food!!!

I'd like to thank all of the conscious bloggers who followed the guidelines and shared REAL FOOD recipes and posts. Thank you for sharing!
I have a BONUS this week...FB Follow-Back link-up!

We're your hosts
Joyce @ It's Your Life
Lydia @ Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen 
me...Mary @ Back to the Basics and Mary's Kitchen 

<a href="http://maryshealthymeals.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a627/greenmary_smith/REALFood1_zpsb7242283.jpg"/></a>  
If you're interested in co-hosting let us know! 

You can email me at mari_backtonature@yahoo.com

My Features this week are:

REAL Food Thanksgiving Recipes from It's Your Life

Cranberry Orange Salsa from Simply Fresh Dinners

In case you missed "What is Real Food" here's a recap...

I know "Real" food may not seem like as much fun as the sugary, chemically, DIY recipes out there on the internet.  This is why REAL Food Friday is so unique.  This is the place to share your unprocessed, gmo-free, locally grown and/or fair trade posts.

We are trying to make a difference 1 recipe at a time!


Here's a great reference from Food Myths:
Do you ever think about how far the food you eat travels?  Who grew it?  Who picked it? How much in processing it's been through before you took a bite?

Real Food is:
-Supports fair farmworker wages
-GMO Free
-Little to no processing/processed ingredients
-Supports local markets/vendors and isn't transported long distances to get to my plate
-Honors fair trade principles when I buy from othr regions
-Meat and dairy should be humanely raised and on real food themselves-Not genetically engineered feed, drugs, hormones and antibiotics.

Link up your Real Food posts!  Processed and "junk food" posts will be deleted.
The party runs from Thursday at 7pm EST through Monday at Noon.

Please follow your hosts and consider adding the Real Food Friday button.



BELOW is a chance to share your FB page!!!
This is a FB Follow-Back.  If someone likes your page please like theirs.
ENJOY!

REAL Food DIY Edible Gifts

Last year I shared a bunch of DIY Gifts @ Back to the Basics.  This year I have "tweaked" the recipes using "REAL Food" Ingredients.

DIY Hot Coco Mix 

2 1/2 cups organic non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cups organic sugar
1 cup fair-trade, organic powdered sugar
1/2 cups organic, unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup organic non-dairy creamer

Mix and store in tightly covered container in a cool-dry place. Makes 5 cups mix.

For one serving, place 1/4 cup dry mix in cup and add six ounces boiling water. Stir well.

Let's SPICE It Up!

The web has an abundance of DIY projects out there for just about everyone!  Today I'll share a few DIY Spice Mixes that are so easy you'll wonder why you're paying those ridiculous prices for store-bought  rubs and spice mixes.  I'm thinking about putting these in smaller jars to give as gifts,  I'll share a few more DIY jar crafts later in the series!

Making these yourself and packaging in recycled glass jars are a great way to save more and reduce waste.

Bulk spices saves a lots of $$

Basic Rub Mix
4 tablespoons paprika
1 ½ tablespoons cayenne
2 tablespoons freshly ground
black pepper
3 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons salt
1 ½ tablespoons oregano
1 ½ tablespoons thyme

Steak Fajita Spice blend
3 tablespoons non-GMO cornstarch
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika (for more kick, use hot paprika)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Homemade Rajin’ Cajun Seasoning:

1/2 cup paprika

1/3 cup Himalayan Salt or sea salt

1/4 cup Garlic Powder

2 Tablespoons Black Pepper

2 Tablespoons Onion Powder

1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper (optional- won’t be spicy without this)

2 Tablespoons Oregano leaf

1 Tablespoon Thyme leaf

To Make: Mix all ingredients in jar or food processor and store in an airtight container.

Recipes adapted from mama and baby love.

Sharing HERE and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

Have you Ever Brewed your own Beer?

I see more and more people talking about "homebrews" and homemade liqueur.  We made our own Lemoncello last year and it was amazing.  Peppermint Vodka is a great homemade gift!

I'm considering purchasing a small kit to try it out first.  If we enjoying "Brewing" together maybe we'll look into bigger and better kits.

Definitely a few great ideas for Christmas presents! 
Here's what I've found so far:




At only $35 the Mr. Beer Premium Edition is a bargain!
Make your own premium beer at a fraction of the cost of store bought beer. Brew your own beer in 14 days (7 days to ferment and 7 days to carbonate), simple, fun, and inexpensive. Makes a case of premium beer. Includes a Mr. Beer Brew Keg with lid, 8-1 liter PET bottles, Classic American Light mix, Booster Pack for flavor enhancement and alcohol boost, One-Step Cleanser to clean and disinfect brewing and bottling equipment.





For only $46 you get the Premium Gold Edition!
This kit includes two of our most popular beer mixes and the 2-gallon fermenter is made from FDA-compliant plastic, which leaves no taste or flavor migration. Lightweight and shatter resistant, it has a wide mouth that allows for easy cleaning. The 8 reusable plastic bottles are made from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic, and they come complete with screw caps and labels. Hand wash keg and bottles in warm water with a soft cloth using mild, unscented soap, not dish soap, and avoid using scouring pads, wire brushes, or abrasives during cleaning.




If you're looking to jump right in, Monster Brew offers a cool Beginner kit for about $122
Our New Brewers Complete Homebrew Kit includes everything you'll need to create the perfect homebrew right from the start! It's easy to follow instructions and quality components assure a great experience every time. Perfect for the first time homebrewer and a great gift! Each Equipment Kit Includes: True Brew Handbook, 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermenting Bucket, 1 Lid Drilled & Grommet, 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket w/ Spigot, Fermtech Springless Bottle Filler, Fermometer Fermentation Thermometer, True Brew Rack & Fill, Bottle Brush, 3 Piece Airlock, C-Brite Sanitizer 8-Pack, True Brew Ingredient Kit, Easy To Read Instructions, 48 12oz Amber bottles.



How about an IPA?  Brooklyn Brew Everyday IPA is a steal @ $40!

• Included: beer making mix (grain, hops, and yeast), 1 gallon glass fermenter, chambered airlock, glass thermometer
• Also includes: racking cane, tubing, tubing clamp, screw cap stopper, and packet of sanitizer
• Makes 1 gallon of beer (9-10 12 ounce bottles)
• Second batch only requires new ingredients and packet of sanitizer; Kit is reusable
• Not included: strainer, funnel, pot, and bottles

*These are all amazon affiliate links.  If you purchase using my links I may receive a small commission*


What do you think?  Have you ever made your own HomeBrew?

Mary's Newsletter: NEW Heirloom Varieties and BIG Savings!

Hello and Happy Friday!!!

Mary's Heirloom Seeds November NEW Heirloom Varieties 4-Day SALE Announcement and NEW GOODIES!!! Dear Mary, We hope you had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Just a reminder that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. We're giving YOU a chance to get a jump on Savings, Check out NEW goodies and Gift Sets. All New Gift Sets!!! -Greens Gift Set -Tomato Lover's Gift Pack -"Mail Call" Gift set and So Much More!   Seeds of the Month Club There are 4 options to join the Seeds of the Month Club starting @ only $44 for 14 packs!  All of our seed varieties are open-pollinated, Non-GMO Heirloom Seeds.  The "SUPER" membership options also includes 4 extra packets of Organic Wildflower seeds with your first month. Click for details  Mortgage Lifter Tomato  80 days.  This huge heirloom beefsteak (up to 4 lb.; average 2½ lb.) consistently wins taste-tests. Developed in the 1930s by a gardener who planted the four biggest varieties he knew and crossed one with pollen from the other three. He did this for six seasons and created a variety that produced immense, tasty fruit. Blue Curled Scotch Kale  60 days.  Compact plants yield tender, blue-green, crinkled leaves that are quite delicious, very cold hardy, and rich in vitamin A. White Wonder Cucumber 60 days.  A great yield and very special. Creamy-ivory, 7"-long fruits, delicious and great for pickles or slicing. W. Atlee Burpee introduced this heirloom in 1893. Golden Midget Watermelon  70 days.  Unique watermelon discovered in 1959. This beautiful miniature watermelon that weighs around 3 lbs. It's easy to tell when they are ripe, as the rind turns a lovely golden yellow when ready for harvest, a very beautiful contrast with the salmon-pink colored flesh. The taste is sweet and refreshing. 4-Day Seed Special ENDS Monday, Dec 2nd@9pmDanver's Half-Long Carrots  Snowball Self-Blanching Cauliflower Black Beauty Eggplant Purple Plum Radish Laurentian Rutebaga Pink Oxheart Tomato Varieties BACK In Stock: Thai Sweet Pepper Marglobe Tomato Cilantro Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach Saturday, Nov 30th will be our last day @ The YG Farmer's Market for 2013.  We're in Booth #110.  We're taking a break for the moment.  Pick-up orders will be available in Hollywood, FL Monday-Friday...Just send us an email! December 15th is the LAST day to order online for delivery on or before Dec 24th.  Sincerely,                                                 Mary Mary's Heirloom Seeds "Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest."   Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

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Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls using REAL Ingredients

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm in the kitchen today and taking a bit of MUCH NEEDED time off.  I am so thankful for my Florida friends and "Family" of Patients.

Lucy and Rocky rolling around the kitchen in catnip!

We're celebrating our first Thanksgiving being a Married couple...Woohoo!!!

I am forever grateful to my friends and family in California.  

I love you all and miss you LOTS!

My dad hanging out with the grandkids!

If you want dinner rolls without the nasty chemicals and preservatives, this is the recipe for you!

Mary's Perfect Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm organic milk (for this I use whole milk)

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup organic sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup organic butter, softened

2 teaspoons salt

7 cups unbleached organic flour, or as needed

1/2 cup butter, melted (I omit)

Dough rising!

I used butter from a local cheese and butter maker.  They are a small local business and their products are AMAZING!

Directions:

Pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and salt; blend thoroughly.

Gradually stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step two more times.

Break off 2 to 3 inch size pieces of dough, roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Large rolls and Small rolls!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish

Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top, and serve warm. 

If you have a minute  Check out Home for the Holidays. 

Also, I shared a super fun Essential Oils Giveaway this week.  It's easy to enter!
At the moment I'm prepping for Small Business Saturday which just so happens to be this weekend.  I've even created an event on our facebook page.  There's plenty going on around here.  

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Sharing HERE and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

Why REAL Food Thanksgiving?

Before I get started sharing recipes I'd like to thank each and every one of you who have participated in Real Food Fridays.  Thank you for Respecting our guidelines and only shared REAL food recipes.

Check out our GMO-Free fb page!

The definition of REAL food can be confusing for some people.  Basically, recipes items should be Non-GMO, un-processed, locally grown and or humanely raised.  Most important is the homemade/handmade aspect.  
I know it can be difficult to decifer "food code" when it comes to GMO ingredients and I have shared this in the past.  Check out GMO and GMO Education over @ Back to the Basics.

What is a GMO? 

GMOs "genetically modified organisms," are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.  -from  Non-GMO Project

What are the potential Side Effects of GMOs? 

It is important to understand the process of creating a Genetically Mutated Organism.   Example:  Corn - There are two main varieties of GE corn. One has a Gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis inserted to produce the Bt toxin, which poisons Lepidoteran (moths and butterflies) pests.[2] There are also several events which are resistant to various herbicide. Present in high fructose corn syrup and glucose/fructose which is prevalent in a wide variety of foods in America. source

GMOs are created so that when they are DRENCHED in Poison (pesticides) the crop lives but the bugs and weeds die. 

A new study shows that low doses of Bt biopesticide CryA1b as well as the glyphosate herbicide, Roundup, kill human kidney cells. source

GMOs are not safe. They have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals. source 

 Here's an example: If your SUGAR is not "can" sugar and/or Organic Sugar it might be Beet Sugar from GMO beets.  If your Papaya comes from Hawaii and is not Organic is is probably GMO.  NEVER use Canola Oil unless it is Certified Organic.  Corn is in just about everything: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, corn sugar, corn starch (All GMO unless it's Organic!).  Check out GMO-Watch for a thorough list!

So I said all of this to let you know we have decided to KEEP REAL FOOD FRIDAYS GOING!  That's right.  BUT...I will delete ALL posts that include junk-food, chemical-laden recipes as well as other posts (like fashion or finance) that do not "fit" with Real Food Friday. 

Thank you!!!

The Last Real Food Friday Link Up

Hello and Welcome to REAL Food Friday (the last link up)! 

H4H Gift Sets to Grow Your Own Real Food!!!

I'd like to thank all of the conscious bloggers who followed the guidelines and shared REAL FOOD recipes and posts.  We will continue to share "Real Food" recipes every friday but this will be the last link-up.  Thank you for sharing!

We're your hosts
Joyce @ It's Your Life and 
me...Mary @ Back to the Basics and Mary's Kitchen 

Meet your co-hosts
Lydia @ Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen 
Deborah @  Kneaded Creations


I have no features this week.  I am getting ready for my last workshop of 2013 AND packaging up "Home For The Holidays" Gift Sets.

In case you missed "What is Real Food" here's a recap...

I know "Real" food may not seem like as much fun as the sugary, chemically, DIY recipes out there on the internet.  This is why REAL Food Friday is so unique.  This is the place to share your unprocessed, gmo-free, locally grown and/or fair trade posts.

We are trying to make a difference 1 recipe at a time!
Here's a great reference from Food Myths:
Do you ever think about how far the food you eat travels?  Who grew it?  Who picked it? How much in processing it's been through before you took a bite?

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Real Food is:
-Supports fair farmworker wages
-GMO Free
-Little to no processing/processed ingredients
-Supports local markets/vendors and isn't transported long distances to get to my plate
-Honors fair trade principles when I buy from othr regions
-Meat and dairy should be humanely raised and on real food themselves-Not genetically engineered feed, drugs, hormones and antibiotics.

Link up your Real Food posts!  Processed and "junk food" posts will be deleted.
The party runs from Thursday at 7pm EST through Monday at Noon. ***This Party runs for 2 weeks***

Please follow your hosts and consider adding the Real Food Friday button.

Wondering WHY we promote REAL Food?

Another beautiful morning over here!  Rather than "preach" to you any more about GMOs and Real Food I thought I'd share a great video.




I'd love to hear what you think after you watch the movie.