Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been making my own laundry soap for a while now, so since I am making a new batch today, I thought I would share the recipe.  Now, you may think I'm crazy for making this myself, but let me tell you - it is not very difficult or time consuming (takes about 10 minutes, then you leave it overnight), and it is WAY CHEAPER than buying it.

We are a family of 3, and one batch of this (2 litres...8 Cups) lasts about 2 weeks.  I would make a double or quadruple batch, but I don't have the containers....I totally recommend you make larger batches!

Here's the cost breakdown:

Borax ($10.79 for 2kg)

Washing Soda ($8.99 for 2kg)

Lavender Essential Oil ($12.99 for 30mL)

Bar of Soap (Soapworks $1.99 per bar)

These ingredients will last me about a year for my family of 3, except for the bars of soap, which last for 2 months each (6 bars per year).  So, do the math, and that works out to be about $3.25 per month.  NOT BAD :)

Here's the recipe.  I got the original idea from here, but I made some changes.  She does a great job explaining it though!

Homemade Laundry Soap

water

1/4 bar grated soap (I use soapworks, but try whatever you want)

1/2 C borax

1/2 C washing soda (NOT baking soda)

10-15 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

1) Boil some water.  Remove the pot from heat.  Dump in the soap flakes, and stir until melted (about 30 sec).

2) Add the borax and washing soda.  Stir until dissolved.

3) Add the lavender oil (smells nice and has antibacterial qualities!).  It will smell strong at first, but after it cools, the scent is actually very light.  Add more or less if you like.  You could use a different scent or no scent at all if you'd like.

4) Pour the liquid into a container...I use a large juice pitcher.  Shake it up or stir it.

5) Let it sit for a few hours, or overnight.  It will harden to be like jelly.  Then mash it up (I use a potato masher), or give it a good shake.  Add more water to fill the container, then mash/shake it again.  DONE!

NOTES:

-I use about 1/2 C per load, with warm water.  I like to mix it with a bit of water first to dissolve it a little.

-it won't bubble much because it doesn't have the bubbling chemicals in it.  THIS IS FINE - it will still clean.

-great for HE machines because of the lack of bubbles!

Breaded Lime Tilapia

I actually remembered to thaw my fish in advance this week, so that I could try a new recipe! (you can't do this if they are frozen).  I wanted something simple and light tasting, and something that Peanut would like.  I came across a recipe for "Lemon Sole" in my current favourite recipe book, "Healthy in a Hurry", and adapted it for the ingredients I had at home.  Aside from thawing the fish, it took about 8 minutes to prep, and about 8 minutes to cook.

Here's the recipe:

Breaded Lime Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 C bread crumbs (I made my own by putting a few slices of slightly stale bread in the food processor)

Zest of 1 lime (or less if you don't want it to "limey")

Sprinkle of salt\

Sprinkle of pepper

1 large egg

6 tilapia filets, thawed (or fresh)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease a cookie sheet.

2) Mix the first four ingredients together in a shallow bowl.

3) Whisk the egg in a separate shallow bowl.

4) Dip each filet (one at a time) into the egg, then into the bread mixture (ensuring that both sides get covered).  Lay each filet on the greased cookie sheet.\

5) Bake for 5-10 minutes (check at 5, then add time if needed - you will know they are done if the fish is white and flaky).

6) EAT!

I served this with quinoa and some roasted peppers and apples.  I really liked the flavour, and it was so easy!  WAY better than buying the gross breaded fish from the store.

Navy Bean-Lentil-Kale Stew

Here's my meal plan from last week:

Sunday - salmon, quinoa, steamed broccoli

Monday - apricot chickpeas on rice

Tuesday - out

Wednesday - Bean Stew and salad

Thursday - Fennel Potatoes, Marinated Tofu Steaks, Salad

Friday - Spaghetti

Saturday - leftovers

And this week:

Tuesday - cheesy "beef" noodles (from my freezer)

Wednesday - going to an event :)

Thursday - roasted squash, steamed broccoli, nut-loaf

Friday - Black bean burgers, roasted potato wedges ("fries")

Saturday - pasta...not sure what kind of sauce yet

This is the bean stew recipe from last week.  This stew was hearty and flavourful.  It's about 200 calories per serving, but very filling, and the protein from the beans gave me energy for HOURS.  Also, I don't usually love kale, but it tastes great in this stew, and doesn't get too wilted, which adds a nice texture.

I adapted the original recipe, which I got from the Healthy in a Hurry cookbook.  Instead of two cans of navy beans, I only used one and then added a 1/2 C of red lentils.  Red lentils are an awesome legume to store dry in your pantry.  It doesn't need to be soaked at all, so you can just throw it into a soup or a stew, and it will get nice and soft quickly, which makes for a quick and easy way to add protein to anything that is somewhat "liquidy" (think spaghetti sauce, for example).  And, it's CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!  Can't go wrong there, right?

Here's a pic and a recipe:

Navy Bean, Lentil and Kale Stew

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 C chopped onion

1 1/2 C chopped red pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 3/4 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp dried crushed chillies

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can navy beans (or white kidney beans...or really whatever kind of beans you want)

14 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)

1 C water

1 bay leaf

6 C coarsely chopped kale leaves (centre ribs removed) (lightly packed)

Directions:

1) Heat oil in large deep frying pan, or sauce pan, on medium.  Add onion and red pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften.

2) Add next 3 ingredients.  Heat and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.

3) Add next 4 ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes to blend flavours.

4) Add kale.  Stir.  Simmer, covered, for about 3 minutes until kale is wilted.  Discard bay leaf.

ENJOY!

Apricot Chickpeas

This is my favourite cookbook at the moment: Company's Coming Healthy in a Hurry

It is awesome because the meals really are healthy, and they are also easy, which is great since I have returned to work and it's nice to have something that I can whip up quickly at the end of a day.  Some of the recipes use shortcuts to save on time (such as canned sweet potatoes...yuck), but I figure that if I want to make one of those recipes, I can just plan to have it on a night that I have more time (and I can cook the potatoes myself...yum).

Anyway, I recently tried the "Polynesian Apricot Chicken" recipe, but since I don't eat chicken, I made it with CHICKpeas instead, and I served it over couscous (but rice, quinoa, pasta, barley, etc would also be great).

I admit that I was a little skeptical about soaking the dried apricots, but I was REALLY pleased with how it turned out, and I will definitely be making this again.

Apricot-Chickpea sauce, simmering away

So, here it is...

Apricot Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

Ingredients:

3/4 C dried apricots, quartered

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 can chickpeas (I prefer to use No Salt Added, or use dried chickpeas that I have soaked and cooked myself)

1 1/2 C chopped onion

1 C chopped green pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp finely grated ginger root

1/2 tsp chili powder (or, if you have it, Epicure's Louisana Hot n Spicy)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

14 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)

Directions:

1) Put apricot into small heatproof bowl.  Cover with boiling water.  Stir.  Cover.  Set aside.

2) Heat olive oil in large frying pan on medium.  Add next 7 ingredients to the frying pan.  Stir.  Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until green pepper is tender crisp.

3) Drain apricot.  Add to green pepper mixture.  Add tomatoes (with juice).  Stir.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Boil gently, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.  Serves 4.

Taco Salad and Banana Cookies

Hey there!  I haven’t disappeared – I’m just not very good at keeping up with this blogging thing.  I am still doing the “real food”, though I am struggling with the no sugar thing, and I have slipped up more than once.  I’m doing pretty well otherwise though.

Last night we had taco salad for dinner.  Usually when I make taco salad, I use a can of beans in tomato sauce and put some taco seasoning in that (I use Epicure brand…no weird stuff in that).  However, I realized yesterday that we didn’t have any baked beans, so I decided to go with some black beans.  I soaked them for a few hours, then cooked them for 1 hour, and they were ready to go.

Here it is:

Black Bean and Corn Vegetarian Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat tortilla

1-2 tbsp olive oil

½ yellow onion

4 mushrooms

1C black beans (about ½ C dried, then soaked and cooked)

A few tbsp of water

Taco seasoning

Romaine Lettuce (about 1 head)

1 tomato, chopped

1 pepper (whatever colour you like – I used ½ orange and ½ yellow)

½ C corn kernels (cooked)

½ C plain Greek yogurt (I used 2%)

½ C salsa

½ C – 1 C grated cheese

Directions:

1)      Cut up the tortilla and bake it in the oven to make “crisps” – about 15 minutes at 350

2)      Meanwhile, sautee the onion and mushroom in the oil, until soft.  Add the beans, water, and taco seasoning, and cook on medium-low for about 10-15 minutes.  Most or all of the water should be cooked off, but if it’s not, drain it.

3)      Layer the ingredients in a large bowl: lettuce, tomato, pepper, tortilla crisps, corn, bean mixture, yogurt, salsa, cheese.  Enjoy!  Tastes great the next day too!

I took a picture of the original salad, but it just looked like cheese in a bowl.  Here are my leftovers the next day...not going to win any food photography awards, but I still think it looks yummy :)

I also decided to make these cookies:

Banana Cookies

Take 2 very ripe bananas and mash them up with a sprinkle of coconut (unsweetened), a small handful of chocolate chips and raisins, and 1 C of oatmeal.  Put on baking sheet in spoonfuls, and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.  THE END.

I saw the recipe on Pinterest, and I was a little skeptical, so I decided to give it a try.  Here's the original recipe (only 2 ingredients in the original)

The verdict?  They worked out GREAT!  So yummy!  And pretty much "guilt-free".

Here's a picture:

Yummy banana oat cookies

Real Food Day 24 - Vegetable Pot Pie

I wrote this post a while ago, but saved it as a draft, then forgot to publish it....

I love me some comfort food, and one of my favourites is pot pie!  I am terrible at making crust, so I like this recipe, which uses phyllo dough.  Now, the phyllo dough has some "no-no" ingredients, but the crust just wasn't going to happen for me.  If you wanted to make this with a homemade crust, go for it :)

Unfortunately, this picture does not do the meal justice - it was delicious!

Vegetable Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1 potato (cubed)
1/2 of 1 butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
1 large carrot (cubed)
1 onion (coarsely chopped)
1 red pepper (coarsely chopped)
1 (small) head of broccoli (coarsely chopped)
1 tbsp oil
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 C milk (I used soy milk)
1 C grated cheddar (use white cheddar...orange cheddar has food colouring!)
2 egg yolks
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt to taste
Phyllo dough - about 3 or 4 sheets per pie
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 415°F.  Grease the serving dishes.  Steam the potato, squash, carrot and broccoli until just tender (about 15 min).  Drain well and place in a large bowl.  Heat the first portion of oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and red pepper over medium heat for 2 minutes until soft.  Add to the bowl.

Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the flour.  Stir over low heat for 2 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Add the milk gradually, stirring until smooth.  Stir over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until the mixture boils and thickens.  Boil for another minute, then remove from the heat and cool slightly.  Add the cheese and egg yolks to the sauce and stir to combine.  Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.

Add the sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine.  Divide between the ramekins.  Cut off layers of the phyllo dough one, and brush one layer at a time with olive oil, then lay it over the ramekins (read the instructions on the box).  Trim off the edges with kitchen scissors.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Real Food Day 20 - Pear Quinoa Bites

I was browsing Pinterest today, and I came across a pin to this recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Bites

I just ran out of muffins today, so I thought these would be great to make tonight after Peanut went to bed.  So, I got started...I measured out the quinoa and got it cooking, then I went to get out the apples.  Oh, no apples.  Hmmm....pears.  Okay, pears!  So, I chopped up the pears, and I started measuring out the other ingredients.  Oats...oh, no oats.  Hmmm....hmmmm.....cereal?  Multigrain OATbran cereal?...ummmm, okay.  So, I crushed up the cereal as best I could, and continued following the recipe.  And then refined sugar...oh yeah, I'm not supposed to have that...or brown sugar.  Well, I'll cut out the white sugar, and reduce the brown sugar and maple syrup.  Oh, and I don't have a mini muffin tin...so I'll just put globs in muffin cups. Okay, done!

So, in the end, I have a somewhat altered recipe, but they turned out GREAT!  Loads of flavour!  Yum!

Quinoa Pear Cinnamon Snacks

Here is the final recipe:

Quinoa Pear Cinnamon Snacks

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup crushed flake cereal (I used Multigrain Oatbran Cereal)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 cup chopped pears

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, add your cooked quinoa and quick oats.  In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine your cinnamon, nutmeg and sugars and then add the spice mixture to the quinoa and oats.  Then add the maple syrup, apples and eggs and mix until just combined.

3) Spray your mini muffin pan (24 count) with non-stick cooking spray.  Make sure to spray the top of the pan as well.  The quinoa bites will overflow out of the cup a little bit, so you don’t want the tops to stick.

4) Fill each muffin slot with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

**UPDATE:  These are really really yummy!  Also, the were a HUGE hit with Peanut at breakfast this morning - sweet, flavourful, and nutritious!  I think next time I will reduce the sugar even more since the cinnamon, nutmeg and fruit add such a flavour punch.