There's No GMO - But a Whole Lotta Fritatta :)

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day - We have all heard this little adage since we were youngsters - refusing to eat whatever it was we didn't want at the time ;-)

As annoying as it might have been to hear when we were younger - it is true - Breakfast is THE MOST important meal of the day!

According to WebMD skipping breakfast not only leaves you hungry - but it also diminished brain function, promotes fatigue, loss of mental clarity and a screwed up metabolism (my words, not WebMD :) 

What you choose to eat for breakfast makes a big difference for your health.

 A variety of fruits can bring you near the minimum number of five daily fruit and vegetable servings recommended for lower cancer risk. A medley of vegetables in an omelet is the best way to start your day. In fact according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, eating more vegetables and fruits, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight could cut cancer rates by 30 to 40 percent.

I have been starting my day with a lovely fritatta - loaded with fresh veggies - and I feel wonderful. I stay full until lunch and also get 1/2 my daily veg in my 1st meal of the day!

So here is my recipe and technique for an amazingly delish, hearty and GMO FREE Veggie Fritatta ... enjoy!! - okay it is actually more like a scramble - but I am a big fan of wordplay - and I just couldn't make anything work with Scramble ;-)

As always - everything I have purchased is GMO Free and Organic - while it is not necessary to use these products - for your own health and well being, I encourage you to use them ... and make sure to check out Eating Healthy in an Unhealthy World for tons of info on why you should be GMO FREE

I am lucky to live in a area that is loaded with local Farm Markets and Farm Stands - so I buy my veggies the morning I am making this - Fresh Veggies are the BEST!! 

Ingredients - 

6 Organic Brown Free Range Eggs ($1.50)
2 Cups Fresh Spinach, Chopped($1.00 if bought in bulk) 
2 Beefsteak Tomatos or 20 Grape/Cherry Tomatoes (diced) ($1.00)
1/2 large onion, diced ($.50)
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper Diced ($.50)
1/2 Green Bell Pepper Diced ($.50)
3 slices Organic Sliced Ham ($.75)
2 slices Organic Muenster Cheese ($.50)
1 small clove of Garlic - Minced
1 tsp Organic Half and Half
1 tsp Grape Seed or Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350 (use a pan that can be used in the oven - if you don't have one - see below*) Add Oil to pan and heat over medium heat for 2 minutes - add Onions, Peppers, Garlic and 1/2 the chopped tomatoes to the hot oil, and saute until soft and tender. 
Add Spinach and continue to saute for another minute - until spinach is wilted

Beat the eggs, half and half, pepper and salt until smooth - pour over your veggies

Stir the eggs with a spatula during the first 2 minutes to make sure they don't burn or stick to the pan.

Because I am a stickler on eggs being cooked thoroughly - I scramble them to make sure nothing is runny. But if you want to prepare this as a traditional fritatta - then you don't want to scramble them.. When you see the eggs are cooked almost through - add shredded ham to the pan and top with cheese (crumbled)
Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes.  *if you don't have a pan that will go in the oven - gently slide fritatta onto an oven safe dish and bake :)

Top with the remaining tomatoes - and serve with a delish organic whole grain roll. The one in the picture is an Organic Marathon Roll available from Wegmans Bakery. I highly recommend this if you are lucky enough to have a Wegmans in your area. Otherwise - a nice Ezekiel or Udi Roll will do.

Enjoy! Be happy and healthy! Ally <3

Holy Shiitake! this is good!!! (recipes)

Yesterday at the public market - I scored some organic fresh picked Shiitake Mushrooms. These things were beautiful. They were light, fluffy and airy... So different than what I buy in the grocers.

These mushrooms were so beautiful, I decided to make an entire meal around them :) I was in the mood for some comfort food - so I decided to make a homemade shiitake gravy - and make Mashed Potatoes and Salisbury Steaks.

I made this entire meal GMO Free and it was so delicious. It was better than any chemically induced Salisbury "Steaks" you buy at the store - and the total cost to make was $15.00 including the Ground Organic Grass Fed Beef... it made 3 large servings or 6 regular servings.. (all veggies purchased at local markets and are certified Organic - milk, butter, meat and broth purchased at grocers and is certified Organic and Beef is Grass Fed 93% ff)

Ingredient List:

Gravy

1lb Organic Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Red Onion - Diced thin and small

1 box (4 cups) Pacific Organic Mushroom Stock

3 tbs Marsala Cooking Wine (or Dry Red Wine)

Fresh Thyme

2.5 tbspWhole Wheat UnBromated UnBleached Flour 

3 tbps of Butter

Ground Pepper

Salisbury Steak

1lb 93/7 Grass Fed Organic Ground Beef

1 Organic Brown Egg

3 diced Shiitake Mushrooms

1 cup diced Red Onion

1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Thyme

ground pepper

Smashed Potatoes:

10-15 Small White Potatoes - Organic

1/2 cup Organic Whole Milk

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Butter

salt to taste

2 tbsp ground pepper

Thyme

Time to get cooking!!! I am just going to go in order of how the whole meal came together. I will post separate recipes on my Facebook community page here (remember to Like this page and tell all your friends!!!)

1. Remove Stems from all Shiitake Mushrooms

2. Place Mushroom Stems, 3 sprigs of Thyme and Mushroom Stock in a med. saucepan and boil high for 20 minutes. (while those are cooking - we will move on)

3.Dice 3 Shiitake Mushrooms into small even squares.  Dice the rest into long thin strips.

4. Dice Onion small and even squares

5. Finely Chop Thyme

6. In a large Mixing Bowl - add the Ground Beef, Breadcrumbs, egg, 1 cup onion, the 3 diced mushrooms,    2 tbsp ground pepper and a pinch of chopped Thyme. Mix together until the mixture feels like play doh :) Form 6 Oval Patties and set aside

7. Now you will want to remove the stock and strain. Set aside - 

8. Over medium high - saute the strips of Mushrooms, Onions and a pinch of Thyme with 3 tbsp of butter until they are golden brown and stick to the pan... Once they stick to the pan - add 3 tbsp of Marsala Wine to loosen everything from the pan and saute on low for 2 minutes.

9. In the same saucepan you cooked stock - add 3 tbsp of butter and 2.5 tbsp of Flour - work this together over medium heat until you have a nice Rue (thick flour)

10. Then Slowly whisk in the Strained Mushroom Stock and bring to a boil while whisking.

11. Add the Cooked Mushrooms and Onions to this mixture and allow to simmer until it becomes a thick brown mushroom gravy - remember to keep Stiring this until it is served - every 5  minutes.

12. Now you want to add 1tbsp olive oil to a large saute pan, and place the Salisbury Steak patties over medium-high - and cook until golden brown - about 10 mins each side.

13. Once the patties are golden brown, add 1/2 the mushroom gravy and simmer on med/low for 15 minutes.

14. Boil Diced Potatoes until tender and drain

15. Add .5 cup milk, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp butter, salt, pepper and thyme and smash with a hand smasher until chunky and smooth. As always, add more milk and butter for creamier taters :)

That's it - serve with your favorite veggie and enjoy knowing you can enjoy comfort food without all the chemicals and preservatives in your store bought Salisbury Steaks!!Plus you have helped your local economy and not put more profits into corporate pockets :)

Be Healthy and Happy - Ally

I've never felt better! I will no longer be a corporate science experiment!

The last 3 weeks have been amazing! By simply removing as many GMO and processed foods from my diet as I could, I have seen a drastic change in everything about me...

My nails have grown! I have NEVER had long nails in my life. They are strong and healthy! It's amazing.

My complexion has improved - and I have stopped breaking out in rashes completely.

I have so much energy - it's crazy. I am up before my alarm - and a couple days have realized at about 3 pm that I haven't had any coffee - now every one that knows me, knows I am a coffee addict in every sense of the word - so that tells you a lot!

I have lost a lot of weight. I am not keeping track because I my goal is not to be skinny. Through my research I am learning that attempting to be skinny will never get you to your goal - because depriving yourself of food and ingesting man made chemicals to alter your metabolism is just not good for you.
Anything you buy that is "diet" or "low/no fat" is chocked full of chemicals and sugar.
Sugar will turn to fat if you don't burn it... So these low/no fat items are chocked full of sugars to compensate the loss of fat - and eventually - they turn into fat!!! So instead of ingesting man made chemicals - I'll take the natural occurring fat... in the end - it is better for you and your body.  I am finding the more fresh food I eat, the less I crave the bad stuff..

The main thing I have learned is that you have to change your whole outlook on everything before you can really become healthy.  And you can't be healthy if you aren't eating natural foods. What we see in the stores and are forced to consume are food like products. They are not food! We are being poisoned through our food supply - Cancers are rising, Diseases are rising - more than half the country is obese... and the rise in these things correlates with the introduction of GMO's and processed foods into the mainstream.

We have become a science experiment for the corporations. We don't know the long term effects of these GMO's on our bodies, our health or our eco system. And I will no longer be part of this!

I am working on getting some recipes together and will post soon!

I hope everyone will stock up on local fresh food this weekend ;-)

Be Healthy and Happy! Ally

Welcome to my journey!

Hi Friends! I wanted to take a minute to welcome you to my page.  I wanted to tell you about myself and why I am on a mission to become healthy - and bring as many people along for the ride as I can!

Like almost everyone, I have struggled to keep my weight in check for years. I am always quick to learn about fad diets and crazy workout routines, all of which get very old very quick. Then I just give up -

I have bought every item on the shelf that is low fat, low salt, low this, low that....and nothing ever works.
So like all 30 somethings with too much time on their hands, I took to the internet to find one more fad diet - but what I stumbled upon this time, changed EVERYTHING.

I came across an article on GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisims) which lead me to a company called Monsanto. You may have never heard of them before - but be sure at least 50% of your household items are most likely associated with this agri-giant... I am sure you have heard of Agent Orange - and RoundUp Pest killer - they are owned and manufactured by Monsanto. What you might not know is that Monsanto also owns the majority of GMO seeds as well as the standard grocery store brands we have grown up eating and that monopolize grocery store shelves. I also learned that the FDA has increased the levels of RoundUp that is allowed in our food - and those levels have been proven to cause cancers in mice and rats...

I started thinking about the rise in cancers and looked at statistics - since GMO's have been introduced into the mainstream - cancers, diseases and disorders have sky-rocketed - and 100's of new ailments and diseases have come out - the main one being Celiacs Disease - which is an allergy to gluten...

So I am on a mission.

I am going to learn as much as I can about our food industry - I am going to scour the shelves of bookstores, farm markets and organic shops to find the cheapest and tastiest way to eat for LIFE.

and I want to share that all with you.

I also believe that in order to be healthy - you have to go 100% - it's not just about the food you eat - but the air you breathe, the cleaning products you use, the beauty products and ointments - it all goes into your body - and can do damage to many parts of your body...it is also important to be positive!
I will also be posting tips tricks and remedies to be healthy in mind body and spirit.

I will leave you with a verse from a song. It is a song I learned many years ago in kindergarten - but the message is one we should all live by and I think sums up my mission :)

You've got to accentuate the positive / Eliminate the negative / And latch on to the affirmative / Don't mess with Mister In-Between