spaghetti squash stir fry

we love chinese, thai, and laotian cuisine at casa de hein. we often order take-out from our favorite local restaurants, but we were craving a spicy stir fry tonight and with the midwestern snowstorm that we had today we figured we would cook at home tonight. plus, what's better than making a meal with fresh organic produce and other ingredients that you know are better for you than the unhealthy oils and fats that restaurants use? one of our favorite things to do is cook together, so spending quality time with my man was also a plus. ;)

we have been trying to eat healthier lately and reduce our gluten intake since my mister has been reading wheat belly by dr. william davis. {fun fact: we met him two weekends ago at the well expo in madison & he signed R's book.} he bought the book because he heard that cutting wheat from his diet could help his eczema. he gets horrible eczema and it is exacerbated by the dry winter weather, so he is always willing to try something that touts an eczema fix. he has been pleasantly surprised at the results he is seeing as his skin has improved immensely.

since we no longer eat gluten we have to find other ways to create those meals that often contain wheat. we used to make our spicy stir fry with noodles, but tonight we decided to try spaghetti squash. the only disappointment i have is that we haven't tried this sooner because it was SO much better than noodles and left us feeling completely satisfied. both my mister and i said that we will only make our stir fry with spaghetti squash from here on out. no need to add grains if we don't have to. spaghetti squash is the way to go, folks!

the one downfall to this meal is that it is a bit time consuming to make since you need to roast the spaghetti squash. don't fret though, this is super easy to do. cut squash in half, remove the guts, brush each half with olive oil, bake face down at 375 for 40-45 minutes. if you can easily pierce the skin with a fork, it's done. easy peasy.

this is our new favorite creation. i'll probably make it again within the next few days because yes, it was that good. also, two man approved meals in a row, i'm on a roll!

ingredients:

• two organic chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium tamari {gluten free soy sauce}
• cracked black pepper
• coconut oil {i do all the sauteing with this}
• 3 cage free eggs
• 4 organic carrots, sliced
• 2 organic leeks, sliced {just the white parts}
• 10 sugar snap peas, sliced
• 3 organic green onions {just the green parts}
• 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled sliced and diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• handful of bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons red hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 roasted spaghetti squash

directions:

1. roast spaghetti squash as you are preparing the rest of the dish.

2. cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces. place in a bowl with 2 tablespoons tamari. i make sure that the chicken is coated in tamari {see photo below} so you might need a little more than 2 tablespoons depending on the size of your chicken breasts. i also sprinkle with cracked black pepper. put in the refrigerator while you chop the veggies.

3. chop carrots, leeks, sugar snap peas, and green onions. place in a bowl.

4. melt 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large hot skillet. remove chicken from refrigerator and cook over high heat until done. remove from pan and set aside.

5. add a small amount of coconut oil to the pan and cook the scrambled eggs until just done and set aside.

6. chop the fresh ginger into tiny pieces and press the garlic cloves through a press. we love, love, love garlic and ginger, i'm talking can't get enough of it, so if these aren't your favorite flavors, i wouldn't add quite as much as we did.

7. melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in the skillet. toss in bowl of chopped veggies and a handful of bean sprouts {bean sprouts not pictured}. add the ginger and garlic. stir fry for about 3 minutes until the veggies are cooked. we don't like soggy veggies so we don't cook them for more than 3 minutes.

8. using a fork, scrape the 1/2 spaghetti squash out of its skin and add to the stir fry. make sure you get all the squash out. when you are finished you should only have the skin with no squash left inside. mix well. every time i make spaghetti squash i am always amazed at how it really does look like spaghetti!

9. add the chicken and eggs to the stir fry. mix well.

10. add 1/4 cup rice vinegar {little secret: at the last minute i realized we didn't have rice vinegar, so instead i took a little less than 1/4 cup of white vinegar and mixed it with 3 tablespoons water and 1.5 tablespoons of truvia}, 1/4 cup tamari, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, and 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes. we really like it spicy, so i usually add more than 2 teaspoons and i always add extra to my personal bowl.

 

11. mix well and stir fry for 3 minutes. remove pan from heat, portion into bowls and devour this super healthy spaghetti squash stir fry. that's what we did. oh, and we both can't wait until lunch tomorrow to indulge once again as we had plenty of leftovers for 4 more meals. i would say this recipe could serve up to 6.

my mister asked that this stir fry be added to our weekly rotation. and quite honestly, it would be hard for me to disagree because i'm sure i'll crave this weekly. it was so delicious!

happy cooking! :)

souper great soup

winter in wisco is starting to wear on me and with the frigid temperatures we have been experiencing, i needed some filling soup to soothe my soul. i made the most delicious soup the other day and my mister loved it. he took it to work for lunch and followed up with an email stating how fantastic it was. so, ladies, this soup is man approved. it keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days so it's an easy lunch option. in fact, my friend hannah came over the other night for dinner and we had this soup and salad. she also loved it so i sent a bowl home with her that she could take to work the next day. we liked the soup so much that three days later i made another batch.

from start to finish it didn't take me longer than 45 minutes to make.

ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. mild italian sausage
• 4 carrots
• 3 celery stalks 
• small sweet onion
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 3 handfuls frozen kale
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can northern beans
• 2 cups green lentils, cooked
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 3 hot chili peppers
• 1 teaspoon red hot pepper flakes

directions:

1. brown italian sausage in a large pan. set a aside.

2. chop the carrots, celery, and onion.

3. saute the carrots, celery, and onion in the same large pan. add 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1  teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. saute until onion is translucent.

4. as you are sauteing the veggies above, slice the zuchinni and quarter each slice. then toss these in the pan.

5. add 3 handfuls of kale. i used frozen kale because it's what i had at home. fresh kale would be great as well.

6. transfer mixture into a stock pot. add can of diced tomatoes. drain and rinse great northern beans and add to stock pot.

7. add italian sausage to stock pot and the two cans of chicken broth. add two cups of cooked green lentils. toss in three hot chili peppers and 1 teaspoon of red hot pepper flakes. 

8. let simmer for about 30 minutes and enjoy a piping hot bowl.

i hope you enjoy this quick, delicious recipe. it seriously is souper great!

also, i apologize for the picture quality as i took all of these photos at night and the lighting wasn't the best. 

hi, my name is ashley & i'm addicted to vegetables

my favorite food group is vegetables. i would choose veggies over fruit any day of the week. when my mister and i first started dating, his favorite food group was anything but vegetables. for real. the only vegetable he ate was potatoes {i told him that doesn't count as a vegetable} and an occasional raw carrot. it couldn't be cooked carrots though because he didn't like the texture. i quickly came to the conclusion that the reason he didn't like vegetables was because they hadn't been prepared in a way that he enjoyed.

enter crazy girlfriend lady {that would be me} who pushed him to eat vegetables and now six years later he happily eats most everything and often requests broccoli, brussels sprouts, and green beans; all foods that he used to turn his nose up to. the only thing i haven't been able to get him to eat is a salad, but i'm so proud of his progress that the salad refusal doesn't bother me one bit.

i have had many people ask how i got him to try vegetables that he swore he wouldn't eat again. the answer is simple. i started out slow and tried not to force him. i did what my parents used to do with me and my brother when we were kids. i asked him to try just a bite of roasted broccoli one day and he made a disgusting face, put the piece in his mouth, chewed it to bits, swallowed it and smiled. i knew it killed him to admit that he might actually like something that he was so adamant about hating. after that roasted broccoli day, he was more willing to try other things.

this last summer beets came in our community supported agriculture (csa) share and he flat out stated that he was "not going to eat those things." so, i cooked them up my favorite way and once he realized they weren't steamed and actually smelled delicious he asked for a bite. he loved them. i got my mister to eat beets. if you were to tell me six years ago that this man of mine was going to eat and like beets i would have laughed in your face.

we roast or grill all of our vegetables. i cannot remember the last time i steamed or boiled them. another way we make sure to get enough vegetables is in our daily morning green smoothies. it is the best way for us to get our day started. we are each getting at least one cup of power greens to kick-start our day. we also make a lot of soups. this is another easy way to incorporate healthy foods.

in general, we have tried to be more natural in our home. we eat as much raw/whole food as possible and obtain important nutrients through super food consumption.  i can dive into that in future posts as i share some of our favorite recipes and the reasoning behind the choices we are making.

how do you incorporate vegetables into your daily routine? i'm always looking for ideas!

chemical-free hand sanitizer DIY

i hate germs. in fact, i am somewhat of a germaphobe. i am constantly using hand sanitizer, especially during the winter months. the one thing that i hate the most about hand sanitizers found in stores today is that they are so drying. as if winter isn't drying enough. i can't stand it when my hands are dry, so i decided to make a hand sanitizer without alcohol which is the main ingredient that causes our hands to dry out.

i've been on a quest lately to eliminate chemicals from our home and this is just another way for me to keep us healthy and the best part is, it's 100% non-toxic. the recipe below fills two of the containers pictured above, so adjust as needed if you want to make more bottles. this alcohol-free version will not only clean your hands, but it will moisturize them too! now, don't get me wrong, there are a few natural hand sanitizers on the market, but i've found that making my own is far cheaper and i know exactly what is in it. here is how i do it: 

supplies you will need: 

• 5 tablespoons 100% aloe vera gel
• 1/4 teaspoon vitamin e oil
• 5 tablespoons water
• 10-12 drops on guard essential oil {you could use any essential oil that is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal}
• small plastic squeeze container {i purchased mine here}

directions:

1. in a small bowl combine the aloe vera gel and vitamin e oil.

2. add 10-12 drops of on guard blend to the aloe vera gel mixture.

3. slowly add water and mix well to combine until you achieve your desired consistency. i used all 5 tablespoons and this was perfect for me.

4. pour into your container and toss into your purse. i also keep a bottle on my desk at work.

i gave a bottle of hand sanitizer to my mom last weekend and both her and my dad have texted me a few times raving about how much they like it. i would love to hear your thoughts on the hand sanitizer if you decide to make your own.

note: i've received some questions about storing the hand sanitizer in plastic containers. in this case, it is okay because the essential oils are highly diluted. if they were not as diluted, i would recommend storing in a glass container. if you do use plastic containers make sure that your essential oils are of high quality. contact me if you have questions!

scrappy kitchen bunting DIY

i'm here today to share with you all a quick tutorial on my scrappy kitchen bunting. i've received a lot of compliments on it and it's just SO easy to make and completely changes the feel in our cozy, little kitchen.

one of my goals in 2014 is to actually use my fabric stash. you see, i have a problem, but at least i can admit it. i am a fabric hoarder. no lie. my sewing studio is bursting at the seams with fabric. the majority of it is snuggle flannel because i went a little crazy a couple black fridays ago. i probably won't need to buy snuggle flannel for a few years. i also have a fair amount of quilting cotton and that is what i used for this project. so, if you have some extra quilting cotton, jump on the scrappy bunting train too!

this bunting has been on my long list of projects for longer than i can remember. i finally decided it was time to make it. in fact, i decided about 45 minutes before six of my closest friends were coming over for our annual favorite things party. two little scrappy buntings were happily hanging on my kitchen windows before they arrived, so from beginning to hanging it took me less than 30 minutes.

supplies you will need:

• 1/2 yard of six different fabrics (this is an estimate, but i probably used about a half yard of each fabric)
•  scissors
• rotary cutter, cutting mat, cutting guide (this will save you so much time - get one if you don't already have one. i use mine ALL the time)
• twine

directions:

1. using your rotary cutter, cutting mat, and cutting guide cut the six 1/2 yards of fabric into strips. i cut mine ranging between 1 and 1.5 inches wide.

2. if using quilting cotton your fabric is probably about 45 inches wide. after you cut all the fabric scraps use a scissors to cut the strip in half so you have two 22 inch pieces from each fabric strip. you don't need to be very accurate because the whole point of scrappy bunting is that it's not supposed to be perfect. 

3. cut your twine to the length of your choice. since i knew i wanted my bunting to hang on our kitchen windows i used each window as a guide for how i wanted the bunting to hang and made cuts accordingly. 

4. tie the fabric strips onto the twine. i tied double knots and i wanted my bunting to be quite full so i tied each piece of fabric quite close together.

5. now you're set to hang your new fabric bunting. how easy was that? i am smitten with the results as it adds a lot to our kitchen. even my mister likes it. i thought he would think it was too girly, but he noticed it right away and said that he liked it.

i would love to see a picture if you make your own bunting. tag me on instagram @mrshein or email me. this would be the perfect addition to a nursery or sewing/craft room as well. i might have to make some more for my sewing studio!

the scrappy bunting also makes the perfect back drop for my morning coffee and smoothie photos. ;)

 

bedtime spray DIY

my close friends and family know that relaxing is not something that comes easy for me. i cannot come home after a day at the office and sit on the couch watching tv all night. in fact, i don't watch tv often and i rarely watch movies. i just recently learned how to stream tv shows on my ipad, so sometimes i stream parenthood while i'm working in my sewing studio.

my brain doesn't turn off. i always have some new project in mind and i would prefer to spend my free time doing something as opposed to keeping the couch warm. this drives my mister nuts and he has been encouraging me to relax more. and while i try to explain to him that sewing and creating is how i relax, i have tried to spend some time actually relaxing because i think it is important for my health. and because my mister says so.

i made this super fantastic bedtime spray to induce sleep and help me relax when i crawl into bed each night. this spray, along with our diffuser has helped both my mister and me sleep SO MUCH better. for real. i would not joke about this because i take my sleep very seriously. it usually takes me awhile to fall asleep at night, and that's just not the case anymore. have i convinced you to make your own bedtime spray yet? come on, do it! it's so simple.

what you will need:

• small glass spray bottle {i found mine here}
• lavender essential oil
• distilled water
• small funnel

directions:

1. add 20 drops of essential oil to the spray bottle {sometimes i add closer to 25}. i used lavender as i wanted a calming scent, but you could use any essential oil that you choose. a citrus scent would be great as well. i think i will use grapefruit or citrus bliss next.

2. fill spray bottle with distilled water using the small funnel.

3. place spray cap back on bottle and shake lightly.

4. that's it, you're done. now go crazy. spray that bedtime spray all over your pillow and sheets before you crawl into bed for the night. i sometimes even spray it on my face. don't forget to shake the bottle before each use to help distribute the lavender throughout the bottle.

5. sweet dreams!

just a few notes:

• the spray bottle i purchased is dark glass. it is recommended for storing and preserving essential oil mixtures since exposure to light can lead to a less potent oil over time. if you think you will fly through this spray in a few weeks, you probably do not need a dark glass bottle.

• you could also use this spray for freshening up clothes, furniture or an air freshener. i keep one in my car. you can use it as a febreeze type spray and the best part is that it's chemical free, and much healthier all around. the artificial chemicals in febreeze cannot be good for our lungs.

• i use doterra essential oils. you could use other brands, but make sure they are of high quality. i like doterra because they are certified pure therapeutic grade oils. email me if you have questions!