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yoonminos · 6 years ago

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18-2021: honeysuckle (ao3 link)

↳ pairings: yoonmin | genres: fluff & smut, idol!au

↳ one shot | words: 2.5k

↳ warnings: oral sex and anal sex (not too explicit), extreme softness.

↳ summary: jimin has a (or rather several) mental breakdown(s) over yoongi's pretty lips in the new shade of lip-gloss that he started using (and yoongi might or might not have orchestrated the whole thing for a specific purpose).

jimin has always liked pretty lips, has always taken very good care of his. it sure comes with the whole being an idol thing but it's more than that. jimin loves his lips - it is one of his best features, he'd dare to say - and with time he has learned just how to use them in his favor. he loves how one shade can make him look cute and soft, while another can make thousands of people collectively lose their minds for a few minutes. there's something about the power of it, he thinks. so it’s really no secret or surprise that he has a wide collection of lip-balms and lip-glosses, going from peachy pink to transparent and glittery. a variety of flavours and hues, from the most normal to the most absurd shapes too. yet, it seems that somehow it still wasn’t enough to prepare him for this.

listen, yoongi's lips are objectively pretty and jimin has never had trouble admitting that to himself. they’re almost heart-shaped at the top and a bit full at the bottom and always form the prettiest of pouts when he talks. they curl sweetly on the sides, ever so slightly, when yoongi fights a smile but isn’t that much successful in hiding it. it’s cute and mildly endearing. nothing wrong with acknowledging it.

but now? now, yoongi’s lips are glossy, shining alluringly and adorned by the prettiest color jimin has ever seen. they even look a little bit fuller too and impossibly soft. they’re telling jimin something and he's is trying to listen but his mind can’t seem to focus on anything other than in how perfect they look. it feels unfair, really. jimin is the one supposed to have the awe-striking lip game between them and yet here is yoongi, causing jimin’s brain to flash him error messages one after the other as he tries to process yoongi's shimmering pinkish mouth.

yoongi's voice goes down a tone and his lips form that cute pout and that helps jimin. used to it, he knows yoongi is probably complaining about something, probably chiding at him for being late again so jimin nods dumbly, as if he’s agreeing with whatever he’s saying. yet, his eyes keep glued to yoongi’s lips. unable to shift from how they move and shape every word, gloss glimmering in the light that seeps from the opened door behind yoongi.

"jimin-ah?"

"which color is that, hyung? it’s pretty."

jimin asks, words rolling from his tongue before he can really think them through. eyes widening in realisation as he finishes, snapping harshly from yoongi’s lips and up to his eyes to gather the damage. yoongi looks a little bit stunned, cheeks flushing prettily and jimin wants to whine because now the lip-gloss harmonizes even more with his face and it’s—it’s too much.

"i don’t know.” yoongi replies after a few seconds. voice low, sounding a little bit bewildered as he slightly shakes his head to the side, covering his eyes with his bangs. a hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck.

yoongi is clearly uncomfortable and jimin wants to hit himself with a brick for being so careless. for that, he's more than thankful when namjoon appears in the door asking what’s taking them so long.

"sorry, hyung! i’m ready, let’s go."

jimin swears to himself that it won’t happen again. it does happen again. a couple of days later but this time it’s not like it’s his fault because they’re sharing a car, going to an interview when yoongi tells him.

"honeysuckle."

and jimin really doesn’t get it at first, eyes fleeting from his phone to yoongi’s face with a silent question in his furrowing brows.

"what?"

"honeysuckle. that’s the color."

“oh." jimin uselessly replies, eyes immediately and instinctively focusing on yoongi's lips only to find the prettiest shade and glimmer to them once again. it’s too alluring and now that he has a name to call it jimin feels even more entranced by it.

he remembers, vaguely, the flowers that go by the same name. pretty, delicate ones. honey-named for their sweetness and jimin faintly wonders if this would be the case too, if he would be able to taste sweet honey in yoongi’s lips if he leaned in a little bit closer.

it's only when he sees the small curl rising in one of the sides of yoongi’s mouth that the daze shatters and jimin realizes he's been staring again. he snaps his eyes away, back to the phone in his hand as he feels his cheeks warming in embarrassment. after a second or two, fumbling to recompose his thoughts, he clears his throat.

"right. thanks."

then, it's a week later and jimin can’t take it anymore. it's not like he has never had dreams about yoongi's lips, not that he'd admit it to anyone, but this is getting out of hand now. he has thought of stealing the lip-gloss from yoongi numerous times, wanting to throw the tempting thing away but the ironic thing is that he has never seen it. never has seen yoongi actually picking it up and using it, only its effect lingering in a glazy pinkish glow in yoongi’s mouth. perfectly soft and pretty and inviting everywhere they go. it's frustrating, to say the least. so much so that by now honeysuckle almost seems like a thing that jimin’s mind has single-handedly created to torture him and he vaguely thinks that his brain might be needing some rest.

they've been working on a song, on and off for a few months now. just the two of them. it’s three thirty in the morning when yoongi sends him a text. when jimin lets him know that he’s awake, a bit tired but too much jet leg running on his system, yoongi calls him over to his studio.

it’s three thirty in the fucking morning so jimin doesn’t even worry, thinks the universe might cut him some slack this time. but he’s quickly proven wrong because as soon as he enters yoongi’s studio, easily pressing the door’s code that he knows by heart, yoongi is greeting him with a shimmering, close-lipped and soft smile.

jimin curses silently, a dry laugh echoing inside his mind from the irony of it all. something lodging in his throat as he takes in yoongi's lithe body swallowed by an oversized mustard hoodie – the one that jimin gifted him a few years back, telling him jokingly that he needed a bit more color in his life. an excuse for how he knew the color would look beautiful on yoongi.

alongside the hoodie, there's yoongi's recently dyed black hair contrasting prettily over his pearly skin and the mustard yellow and then. that infuriatingly tempting pinkish glimmer on his heart-shaped lips. jimin is definitely too sleep deprived to deal with all of this. he wants to go back to his room, maybe muffle a scream or two in his pillow. he’s thinking of which excuse to use when yoongi slides a chair to his side and calls him over with a gentle and sweet flickering in his eyes, softening in his voice. and jimin is a weak, weak man.

he takes a breath and walks the few steps separating them, socks thumping on the padded floor a little too harshly and unnecessarily but he’s frustrated and tired and yoongi is too unfairly pretty so he guesses he’s allowed some pettiness.

like that, yoongi talks him through the changes in the melodies that he made, the note changes that jimin needs to make to accompany. asks if he feels comfortable with them, with the new words he added too.

jimin listens, hears the words but can’t make sense of any of them. thoughts a jumbled mess of pretty pink and sweet honeysuckle as they’ve been like for days now whenever he sees yoongi with the goddamned lip-gloss. his stare shamelessly locked in yoongi’s mouth, focused solely in how his lips shift and shine along with the words they form, how it paradoxically contrasts with yoongi’s deep and gritty tone, all of it sending a shiver down jimin’s spine.

"min-ah, are you listening to me?" yoongi asks and jimin gets that, understands the meaning of all of those words combined and he swears he tries, tries to look up and away but yoongi’s tongue is peaking out, pink and wet and softly licking the corner of his shining mouth, tasting the honey there and jimin can’t really do anything else but continue his staring. something inside his mind combusting with the sight.

"wanna taste it, hyung." jimin mutters under his breath, almost as if an afterthought.

"what?"

"honey." jimin says, the word laced with wonder and craving as he carefully and dazedly places his thumb on yoongi’s cupid bow. brushing and relishing in the soft skin there before he’s gently sliding it down, from yoongi's upper lip to his bottom one. touch featherlike, almost reverent. his mind completely hazy and he can’t even be embarrassed by the request, can’t even bother thinking about how yoongi will react, what he'll think. he craves.

"can i taste it too?" adds, eyes flickering up to meet yoongi’s.

there’s warm breath on his thumb before yoongi’s fingers are wrapping around his wrist and pulling it down. yoongi places it on his thigh but still doesn’t let it go. from there, jimin’s fingers are bunching the material of yoongi’s polyester pants, needing something to hold on to because yoongi is shifting on his chair, body moving impossibly closer to his. jimin's mouth parts eagerly, a knee-jerk reaction to their noses brushing and the sacred honey almost dripping on his lips. finally.

"thought you'd never ask."

jimin leans in. there’s softness molding on his lips, parting gracefully before the sweetest honey is melting on his tongue. thick and velvety and overpowering and jimin groans at the taste, even more perfect, even sweeter than he had imagined.

he savours it until he feels completely dizzy and breathless, until his chest is crashing wildly and he needs to part their lips. but it’s okay because yoongi is tugging on his hair lightly, tipping his head back and soon enough there’s honey dripping on his neck and then down his collarbones, down his chest too. his skin blooming with pretty pink everywhere yoongi’s mouth touches.

yoongi doesn’t stop, seems to want to make jimin all honeysuckled and jimin can’t find it in him to argue. eagerly gasps his agreement, moaning yes yes as yoongi goes down and down until soft pink is meeting hardening pink. yoongi’s mouth wrapping around him so prettily, so warm and perfect, almost as if it was made for it.

but yoongi doesn’t stay there for long, as if too aware of how easily he could make jimin crumble. soon enough he’s rising from his knees and then it is all honeysuckle and jimin. sweet and sour mixed together in yoongi's tongue, feels a bit overwhelming but jimin takes it, suckles all of it. a throaty groan over yoongi's lips as the knowledge hits him: knows that there’s nothing better than this, that something more bittersweetly perfect does not exist, couldn’t possibly.

"too sweet." jimin groans again and yoongi chuckles, light and pretty and blissful, warm breath fanning over jimin’s lips.

"you are." yoongi tells him. jimin has half a mind to tell him otherwise, to tell him no, it’s all you but yoongi is climbing on his lap, too distracting, the chair creaking as he moves. jimin’s hands instinctively close around his thighs as yoongi accommodates himself on top of him.

"do you want to make me feel good too, sweetheart?" yoongi asks, an irresistibly sweet whisper. a teasing hanging by the corner of his smile, glimmering in his darkened eyes and then. a deliberate slow roll of his hips on top of jimin. jimin’s hands sliding back from yoongi’s thighs to close around plump and smooth muscle as he bites his lips, his breath still caught in his throat, pressuring down his chest.

yoongi's mouth parts as his eyes thirstily drink in every little reaction that jimin offers, the prettiest deep moan escaping him as jimin’s hold on him tightens. smile widening mischievously, no honeysuckle left but a new glimmer added. it’s jimin, spread all over yoongi’s lips, shining invitingly. bruising the soft skin, now all reddened and swollen. honey consumed feverishly, but still so pretty. "so pretty." jimin thinks aloud, one of his hands rising so his thumb can brush underneath yoongi's bottom lip, tracing its shape gently before inching a little higher, pressing in the swollen and shiny wet skin. it's when yoongi leans a little bit forward, presses a soft kiss to the pad of jimin's thumb. jimin isn't really expecting it, shock and warmth exploding everywhere inside him. "'was all for you." yoongi tells him incredibly low, a small voice that jimin's ears barely catch. his cheeks flushing endearingly as his eyes bashfully fleet from jimin's, focusing on his lap. jimin feels like he's about to combust. heart hammering wildly inside his chest, his pulse ringing loudly in his ears. fondness and warmth spreading in a flush all over his chest, creeping up his neck and blushing in his own cheeks. there's something deeper, rawer too. something thrilling that takes yoongi's words as praise, as confession, as reciprocity. for him? "do you?" yoongi raises his eyes, voice recomposed. determination flickering in his stare as he deflects back to his question. the one that jimin still has to reply.

"yeah." jimin whispers shakily. "yeah, hyung. i do." it feels like a surrender, like a confession too.

there’s shifting and fumbling, clothes taken off in a rush until their burning bodies are settling in yoongi’s sofa. taking and giving slowly, but eagerly. yoongi’s small whimpers muffled by the curve of jimin’s shoulder, kept safe there. jimin’s chant of yoongi’s name being pressed to yoongi’s temple, to his cheeks, to his neck. soft praise and desperate adoration engraved in the moony skin. sweat clinging to all the honey, their bodies chasing fast and deep.

but yoongi teases, tells him to stop, to slow it down. jimin whines, tells him he needs it and he needs it now but yoongi calls him sweetheart, tells him to wait just a little bit more, that it will be worth it. jimin is weak, too weak. does as he is told and waits. waits until it builds again, each time more overpowering than before.

waits until yoongi tells yes, sweetheart, let go and there are tears blurring his vision and trailing down his cheeks because it’s all too intensely sweet, too candidly perfect and jimin can’t begin to understand it, to comprehend all of this. his vision going white, limbs trembling with the warm honey rushing freely on his blood as yoongi's voice praises him, tells he did good, so good, fingers gently caressing his hair. jimin sniffles on his neck, mouth still tasting the salty sweat in yoongi’s skin.

a few minutes later, when jimin backs away from his neck, yoongi is smiling gently at him. catlike eyes dropping in exhaustion with some sleep curling by their corners, but there's still warm bliss swimming inside. jimin leans in, nudges their noses together, shifts to softly brush his on yoongi’s cheek. yoongi hums in reply, something deep and steady. comforting and assuring.

jimin moves and looks back at yoongi again, chewing on his lips unconsciously. he wants to say something, feels the need to. an itching on his chest but his mind is still lost in swirling blinding delight, in too much warmth and sweetness to come up with the right words. after so long, thinking that he could never– yoongi did it for him.

"i know, sweetheart. i know." yoongi tells him simply.

jimin feels the smile forming on his lips, fondness bursting inside him again and hanging warmly over his body like a soft blanket, glazing in his eyes. he laughs, a bit embarrassed, blinking the newfound wetness away from his eyelashes. yoongi's hand cups his cheek, thumb brushing gently.

"okay?"

jimin nods, smile still not leaving his lips. he lowers his head to yoongi's chest, no words said. yoongi wraps his arm around him. it feels more than enough.

#btssmutclub #btsguild #yoonmin fic #yoonmin smut #bts scenarios #my works #mw: honeysuckle

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benjamingarden · 4 years ago

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Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: February 2020

Grocery shopping has changed quite a bit for us as compared to pre-pandemic. Has it for you as well? I used to shop monthly at a handful of stores so we could work to spend the least amount possible. Now days we are definitely paying more so we can limit our shopping mainly to 3 stores. Of course there have been price increases as well with many items, so that doesn't help. Regardless, having a well stocked pantry and freezer has been a huge benefit.

Here we go:

Total Amount Spent for February: $336.55 = $84.14/week.

Whole Foods - $71.35

Hannaford - $86.13

BJ's - $179.07

Like last month we will need a re-stock on milk and half & half in a couple of weeks and may get fresh greens at that time as well.

A note about our groceries:

You won't see meat or veggies purchased much because we have both stockpiled in our freezers for winter & spring, and grow many of our own veggies during the growing season. When we do purchase meat it's usually in large quantity (for re-stocking the freezer) and most of it is purchased from local farmers. Eggs should not show up on our grocery lists as our chickens supply us with those. Our shopping of boxed/bagged/jarred items is usually for re-stocking our pantry.

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Our Groceries:

Whole Foods

Fruit/Veg - my husband's favorite fruit, grapes ($2.99/lb), were on the list as were more sweet potatoes ($1.99/lb) (this time Hanna Sweet Potatoes), organic Envy apples ($1.79/lb), mini cucumbers ($3.99), cilantro ($1.49), and parsley ($1.49). The avocados were placed in this photo by mistake. They are accounted for in the Hannaford list because that's where they were purchased.

"Dairy" - of course I bought more Oately ($4.99/ea), no surprise there. I also bought my 2 favorite non-dairy butters. I rarely have oils/butters so they will last a while. If you are looking for a good non-dairy butter and haven't tried either the Foragers ($5.99) or Milkadamia ($3.59), I can recommend both. Foragers tastes like a cultured butter with a bit of a tang and Milkadamia is just a clean buttery flavor. Neither have palm oil if you're looking to avoid that as well.

Pantry - I like the King Arthur Organic Bread Flour ($9.99) for no-knead bread and pizza dough. I can't get the organic in the 2 regular stores I shop at so I usually either order it from King Arthur in bulk or purchase it at Whole Foods. Date Syrup ($7.99) - ok, yes, I know I can make this cheaper. Here's the issue. I have yet to be able to successfully make it as smooth as the syrup you buy. I use it in my coffee so if it has any chunks at all it's unappetizing. For any of you who make your own, any tips? I think it's my blender. I have a vitamix and I do not like it at all.

Other - sometimes I purchase pre-made hummus and Hope brand is one that I really like. I bought the Spicy Avocado (sooooooo good) ($2.70) and Original ($2.70)

Hannaford

Fruit/Veg - Avocados (shown by accident in the Whole Foods photo) (.49/ea), fresh salad greens (Little Leaf Farms $3.99/ea, Arugula 2 for $6.00), broccoli crowns ($1.69/lb), and I bought a package of mushrooms ($4.99) in case I couldn't get any at BJ's.

Meat - A package of little cocktail sausages ($4.29) as an option for Jay for lunch (pigs in a blanket with honey mustard dipping sauce), canned chopped clams ($3.19/ea) and bottled clam juice ($1.79/ea) for Clam Linguine later in the month.

Dairy - we had to buy milk at the store since we are only selling at the farmers market once a month right now. Local milk ($2.89), half & half (2.59/ea.) and cream ($1.99). And my husbands favorite butter ($6.99/ea) - 2 tubs because they run out of the large ones frequently.

Other - white vinegar ($2.69), rotisserie chicken spice blend ($4.99), Dentek floss sticks ($2.79), organic powdered sugar ($4.19) and organic brown sugar ($4.19), both of which we rarely use but I like to have them on hand, just in case. Salsa ($2.99) for days when I don't make any.

BJ's

Fruit/Veg - Kiwi fruit ($6.49 for 3lbs), mushrooms ($3.59), 3 bags frozen organic blueberries ($9.99/ea), 3 bags frozen organic cherries ($13.99/ea), POM Juice for the husband ($8.99), and 5 lb bag of sweet onions ($5.99).

Dairy & Meat - we have not been able to purchase all of the chicken we wanted to put in the freezer from a local farmer so we bought boneless skinless chicken thighs ($12.64 - just over $2.00/lb). Cheese sticks (Jay likes them wrapped with pepperoni and a bit of pizza dough then baked and served with pizza sauce) ($7.49)

Other - tri-color organic quinoa ($8.49), a special treat for my husband - PEEPS! ($9.99), cashews ($16.99), macadamias ($9.49) - both nuts are for Jays goji berry trail mix (noted in last month's post). Rao's marinara ($8.99) (the BEST once our homemade is used up), and Ro-Tel canned tomatoes ($7.99).

February's Meal Plan

A Note About Our Meal Plans

I create monthly meal plans because it's what I've found to be easiest for me. There may be some change but usually not much. Changing works because I rotate the same 30+ meals so we would use the ingredients at some point over the next 30-45 days. If we have perishables that need to be used up then that becomes priority and I may make changes to avoid food waste.

I usually make 2 separate meals - Jay and I eat completely different at this point. He used to be willing to eat what I eat as his side but not so much anymore. He's not a fan of whole grains and can only tolerate one type of veggie per meal. So.....you can see that I tend to eat the same thing multiple nights because it's easy and I don't mind at all. Where there's only one meal noted, I make a meat & cheese version for him and a vegan version for me. Where there's no veggie side noted for him I use whatever I've got that needs using up or I select a frozen veggie.

You will see that for Jays meals there are a few noticeable rotations.

In general, chicken meals are Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Pork is Tuesdays. And Beef is Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. This is in part due to the fact that he tells me it's illegal to serve chicken 2 days in a row. (insert eye roll)

Also, other then the occasional new recipe that I try, his meals rotate about every month and a half (a different rotation will show up for summer).

Our Sundays rotate around the same 4 meals (Tamales, Tacos, Homemade Pizza, and Pot Roast) because it's our farmers market day which means I want something super simple to make. I do not make the tamales, we love those by Tucson Tamale (not an affiliate link). Around us we can find a small variety at Healthy Living. Tucson Tamale offers meat, vegetarian, and vegan varieties and they are sooooo delicious. They do use oil in all of their tamales so if you are completely oil-free this is unfortunately not an option for you.

I remembered to photograph some of the meals!

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Spinach & Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Recipe Links:

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti (Damn Delicious)

Chicken Fajita Rice (The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Lentil Loaf (Simple Veganista)

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Hamburger Helper (Damn Delicious - I sub chicken stock for the beef stock)

Homemade Pizza - this is the pizza dough recipe we use

Spinach & Sausage Manicotti (South Your Mouth)

Bourbon Dijon Ham Steak (Martha Stewart - is delicious without the bourbon as well)

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: February 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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markclutch2-blog · 5 years ago

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Skewer This: 19 Kickass Kebabs for Your Cookout

[Photographs: Morgan Eisenberg, Joshua Bousel, J. Kenji López-Alt]

I love putting kebabs on the menu when I'm planning a cookout—they're infinitely variable, easy to prep ahead of time, quick to cook, and pre-portioned for easy serving. We've got plenty of recipes to make sure all your guests are happy, from Thai- and Balinese-style chicken satay to pork kebabs marinated with Cuban mojo and vegetarian skewers marinated with balsamic vinaigrette. That's just the start, though—check out our guide to grilled skewers and you'll be coming up with your own recipes in no time.

A note on equipment: Not all skewers (the sticks themselves) are created equal, so check out our favorites before you settle for whatever's on sale. (And here's a tip for how to assemble your kebabs without pricking yourself.)

Chicken

[Photograph: Emily and Matt Clifton]

Chicken skewers often rely on long marinades to build flavor, but this intense lemon-garlic marinade only needs a few minutes to do its thing. We pair the chicken with tomatoes, which we grill on separate skewers since they cook up a lot quicker. For a hit of freshness, serve the kebabs with a basil chimichurri.

Grilled Lemon-Garlic Chicken and Tomato Kebabs With Basil Chimichurri Recipe »

Back to the full list

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

If you've never tried making yakitori, negima is the easiest way to start. The simple dish is nothing more than skewers of chicken thigh and scallion that are grilled and brushed with homemade teriyaki sauce. Want something slightly more involved? Check out our recipe for tsukune, or Japanese chicken meatballs.

Japanese Chicken Skewers With Scallion (Negima Yakitori) Recipe »

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[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

These skewers also draw inspiration from Japan, but instead of teriyaki sauce they get marinated in a tangy mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, and sugar known as nanbansu, which is often used as a sauce for fried chicken. You can use either breast meat or thigh meat, or both. Just remember to reserve some of the nanbansu to serve as a dip alongside.

Sweet-and-Sour Grilled Chicken Skewers (Yakitori Nanbansu) Recipe »

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[Photograph: Shao Z.]

In case you hadn't noticed, we're big fans of using chicken thigh for kebabs—it's juicier and more flavorful than chicken breast. Here we give the chicken even more flavor by marinating it with coconut milk, fish sauce (to up the umami), curry powder, garlic, shallot, and red pepper.

Grilled Curry Chicken Kebabs Recipe »

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[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]

These sweet and savory Vietnamese-inspired chicken skewers are marinated in orange juice and fish sauce and brushed with a caramel glaze made of light brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, shallots, honey, and more orange juice and fish sauce. For texture we roll the skewers in crunchy sesame seeds and sliced almonds after the final coat of the glaze.

Crispy Caramel Chicken Skewers Recipe »

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[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Our version of classic Thai satay is made with pieces of chicken thigh marinated in a mixture of coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, and a variety of aromatics and spices. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is making the dipping sauce—if you want to cheat you can make a quick version with just chunky peanut butter, store-bought curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, and sugar.

Thai-Style Chicken Satay With Peanut-Tamarind Dipping Sauce Recipe »

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[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]

These skewers are a riff on chicken saltimbocca, but to balance out the saltiness of the prosciutto, we thread a few chunks of semifirm peaches on for a bit of sweetness. We also double up on the sage; sage leaves go on the skewer, but chopped sage is included in the light white wine marinade, which flavors the chicken and helps it stay juicy while on the grill.

Grilled Chicken and Peach Saltimbocca Skewers Recipe »

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[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]

All it takes is some fresh herbs and a handful of pantry ingredients to create the marinade for these flavorful chicken skewers. The punch of Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice is balanced out by honey, while fresh tarragon keeps the skewers tasting fresh and light.

Grilled Tarragon-Mustard Chicken Skewers Recipe »

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Pork

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

There's more to satay than the Thai chicken version. To expand your horizons, check out this Balinese pork shoulder satay. The marinade, dipping sauce, and glaze are all made with a spice paste made from lemongrass, dried chilies, garlic, shallots, coriander, white pepper, and sugar. We make the paste with both a mortar and pestle (for the best flavor extraction) and a food processor (to save time and energy).

Balinese Pork Satay (Sate Babi) With Sweet Soy Glaze and Peanut Sauce Recipe »

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[Photograph: Shao Z.]

Thick, sweet, funky gochujang is a great alternative to more ubiquitous chili condiments like Sriracha and chili-garlic sauce. Here we mix it with honey, sake, and soy sauce to make a marinade for pork belly and vegetables. Gochujang is fairly tame in terms of heat—this dish isn't as scary as the color might make you think.

Grilled Pork Belly Kebabs With Sweet-and-Spicy Gochujang Marinade Recipe »

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[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]

These pork kebabs are marinated with Cuban mojo, a tangy sauce made with sour-orange juice and garlic—if you don't have access to sour oranges, a mix of orange juice and lime juice will work. Sweet mangos are perfect for balancing the acidic sauce, but make sure to use firmer, slightly underripe ones so that they don't fall off the skewers.

Mojo-Marinated Pork Kebabs With Mango Recipe »

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Beef

[Photograph: Shao Z.]

While not as well known as the food of Thailand or Vietnam, Cambodian cooking is well worth exploring. Much of the country's cuisine is based on kroeung, aromatic flavor pastes that form the foudnation for all sorts of dishes. In this recipe that means aromatics like lemongrass, bay leaves, thyme, citrus zest, and cinnamon, which we mix with fish sauce and oil and use to coat strips of sirloin or flank steak.

Cambodian Grilled Lemongrass Beef Skewers Recipe »

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[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]

These easy beef kebabs use one sweet-and-savory sauce for both the marinade and the glaze. We start with what is essentially a teriyaki sauce base and add ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and pineapple juice. To go with the juice we add chunks of pineapple to the skewers, along with red onion and bell pepper.

Ginger-Teriyaki Beef Kebabs Recipe »

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[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]

If you're not going to serve steak at your cookout, then how about kebabs packed with all the flavors of a classic steakhouse dinner? These hearty sirloin tip, mushroom, and onion skewers are marinated in a steak sauce-style mix of Worcestershire, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce.

Steakhouse Kebabs Recipe »

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Lamb

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Walk into an Indian market and you're bound to find pre-packaged seekh kebab spices, but you're much better off making the mixture from scratch. Our version uses a blend made with spices like black peppercorns, coriander seed, paprika, and amchur powder. Made of dried mango, amchur adds a wonderful sour note to the kebabs—if you can't find it then use citric acid powder, tamarind paste, or lime juice in its place.

Seekh Kebabs (Pakistani Spicy Grilled Ground Meat Skewers) Recipe »

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[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

If you've ever had the cumin lamb burger from New York's Xi'an Famous Foods, then you already know that lamb is very popular in parts of China. Yang rou chuan is a street food favorite in Beijing made by grilling lamb shoulder chop with a mixture of cumin and chili flakes—our version also adds granulated garlic, fennel seeds, and Shaoxing wine.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers (Yang Rou Chuan) Recipe »

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Vegetarian

[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]

These meatless skewers are made with zucchini, red onion, grape tomatoes, and halloumi—a squeaky Cypriot cheese that works wonderfully for grilling. To flavor the cheese and veggies we turn to an olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and mint vinaigrette.

Halloumi and Vegetable Skewers Recipe »

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[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]

To make vegan-friendly skewers we keep the zucchini, red onion, and grape tomatoes and swap the cheese out for yellow squash and bell pepper. You can add other vegetables if you'd like, but make sure to go with sturdy ones that can hold up to being skewered and grilled.

Balsamic Vegetable Skewers Recipe »

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[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Yakitori is really all about the chicken, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for a few vegetable sides. Grilled shishito peppers brushed with teriyaki sauce are one of my favorite yakitori pairings. Be sure to double-skewer the peppers—I've learned the hard way that it's basically impossible to flip them otherwise.

Grilled Skewered Shishito Peppers With Teriyaki Glaze Recipe »

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This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

Source: https://www.seriouseats.com/roundups/kebab-recipes

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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weightlossfitness2 · 5 years ago

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Tropical Bean Salad with Kiwi + Pineapple with Broccoli Slaw

This tropical bean salad will convey just a little sunshine to your day. With kiwi and pineapple for a burst of taste, broccoli slaw and black beans are the bottom of a wholesome lunch or aspect dish. Add coconut flakes on prime for an additional particular crunch!

Tropical Bean Salad 2.zero

Want a throwback in time? Click by to this submit from 2008 to see model 1.zero of this recipe. I used to be brainstorming some prep-day salads to make for our household this month and this salad got here to thoughts. It’s humorous I can barely bear in mind what I did final month, however I’ve so many good meals reminiscences! This salad embodies the early days of KERF once I was throwing collectively distinctive taste combos in a quest for actual meals made enjoyable.

How to assemble

There is minimal chopping – inexperienced pepper, kiwi, and pineapple. You can use recent or canned pineapple, and tidbits would make this even simpler. I do eat the fur of kiwi, however I peeled it for this salad : ) Drain black beans. And utilizing pre-bagged broccoli slaw makes this salad come collectively so rapidly. Also: it would maintain up in your fridge for a number of days!

Simple White Balsamic Dressing

The dressing is a straightforward white balsamic. I like white balsamic in comparison with darkish for its milder style. You can put this dressing on just about something for the reason that flavors are impartial! Add some recent garlic in case you are a garlic lover.

Tropical Bean Salad Topping Ideas

Toss all of it collectively and serve! This salad can be superior with grilled shrimp or fish. Chicken and tofu work too. I like a few of these coconut chips on prime for crunch! Also think about tossing in some avocado, toasted almonds, mango, or pumpkin seeds.

Tropical Bean Salad

This tropical bean salad will convey just a little sunshine to your February. With kiwi and pineapple for a burst of taste, broccoli slaw and black beans are the bottom of a wholesome lunch or aspect dish. Add coconut flakes on prime for an additional particular crunch!

Keyword black beans, broccoli slaw, kiwi, pineapple

Ingredients

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1.5 cups pineapple chunks Fresh or canned

1 kiwi peeled and diced

half of bag broccoli slaw

half of a inexperienced pepper diced

Pinch Red pepper flakes

Pinch salt

four tbsp coconut flakes Optional

1/four – 1/three cup white balsamic dressing (see separate recipe)

White Balsamic Dressing

This easy do-it-yourself dressing is nice for all types of salads.

Keyword olive oil, salad dressing

Ingredients

1/three cup olive oil

1/four cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

Big pinch salt

three grinds black pepper

1 pinch garlic powder or 1 clove recent garlic, minced

Notes

Makes about 6 ounces of dressing.

More prep-day salad concepts:

More posts like this:

Tropical Bean Salad with Kiwi + Pineapple with Broccoli Slaw was first seen on Weight Loss Fitness

from Weight Loss Fitness - Feed https://weightlossfitnesss.info/tropical-bean-salad-with-kiwi-pineapple-with-broccoli-slaw/

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josephkitchen0 · 7 years ago

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How to Treat Goat Diseases and Illnesses Naturally

By Rev. Dr. Waltz, ND, DD, CNC, CTN, Delta Colorado – When it comes to goat diseases and illnesses, there are many ways to care for dairy goats naturally, without chemical intervention. Though I’ve naturally and organically cared for my own herd of top-quality Boer goats, Kiko goats, Savanna goats, Oberhasli goats and Nubian goats for almost 19 years now, I cannot diagnose goat diseases on demand for others as I am not a licensed vet. Thus the information in this article is not meant as the definitive treatment for every goat situation. This article is not intended to replace the advice of any veterinarian, but rather to help those consider alternative health treatments for their goats. It is my belief that an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure, and that is the basis for all natural health treatments, especially for goat diseases!

The main concern of most goat owners and breeders is that of deworming and using natural medicines for other common goat diseases and illnesses. There are several commercial products on the market labeled as useful for natural deworming, but I do not use them. Most are actually “homeopathic” wormers, and those are quite a bit different than a pure natural medication. Homeopathic remedies are not “home remedies” and are rather the “essence” of something made through a process called “succussion.” While homeopathy can be very effective in many instances when treating goat diseases, I am not convinced as a certified professional in the field of natural medicine that this would be an effective way of worming a goat. Parasites of the same type vary from location to location, whether it be size, habitat, reproduction rate or whatever, and so to be truly effective for a particular goat herd, the succussion would have to be made from parasites that are from that specific herd in its specific location. This is not something easily undertaken by a beginner without extensive training in homeopathy and making homeopathic remedies, and I just don’t believe it would be effective over the long term. Homeopathic remedies are, however, very good for replacements for vaccines and for prevention and treatment of certain goat diseases.

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Commercial products are also more of a “one size one dose fits all” type of product. This is not ideal for worming goats in so many different climates just within the United States. Every location has its own special environmental concerns, times of parasite explosions, types of parasite concerns, etc., so trying to develop a natural worming product that is the correct strength and correct combination for every situation would be very difficult at best, and the cost of such a perfect product would be well out of reach of nearly all goat lovers!

Goat Diseases: Worming and Parasite Control

When it comes to caring for goats, I use plant medicines instead of homeopathic remedies to naturally deworm my goats and control parasites. Be aware, however, that poisonous plants for goats can be deadly.

Bear in mind that the proper mineral rations will also help reduce worm load. Copper deficient goats are usually wormy; increasing copper through the year many times will clear up the chronically wormy goat. Mineral deficiencies in general leaves a goat vulnerable to any number of parasites. They are readily available and many can be grown in home farm and ranch fields for free choice use. What can’t be grown in a particular area is easy to purchase from many available sources in bulk, which reduces costs and keeps plenty on hand for use as needed. Plant medicines are foods with natural nutrients and natural assisting constituents. Plant medicines do not create withholding times for human consumption of goat milk or meat.

There are many plants that have anthelmintic and vermifugal properties (both of those words mean the plant’s active constituents can clear out parasites), enough of them that there should be a few choices that can be grown in whatever area goats are raised in. Some very popular and easy to grow items would be pumpkin seed, black walnut, garlic, wormwood, wild mustard, wild carrots, and parsley. I often also use quassia chips and pau d’ arco, also known as taheebo, as these also have other medicinal qualities I may need to employ. These aren’t grown in the United States as they are tropical, so I purchase in bulk through herb distributors.

I don’t rely on just one herb to clear out parasites unless I am dealing with something very simple. Medicinal herbs work best for deworming when combined with similar and supporting herbs, and that rule of thumb applies to worming as well. I give gentle worming herbs to pregnant does and weaned kids, stronger herbs when the need arises, such as following sudden very damp weather, or when bringing in new stock to be sure they are not dropping strange parasites and parasite eggs from another locale where they could be infesting my herd.

As an example, I may use just garlic and parsley (also a great diuretic for those edema cases!) combined for my pregnant does and weanling kids unless I note a problem through FAMACHA or fecals, when I would add something a bit stronger, or add one more item to the combination. For an incoming new purchase or a sudden upsurge in the parasite population, I would put quassia chips in the water and allow them to stay there for at least a week��while feeding a combination of wormwood, black walnut, and pau d’ arco. Pau d’ arco is also a strong antibiotic and antiviral herb, so it would be most useful for a new arrival that may be harboring any illness. If the stress of kidding has a doe looking anemic, or she has been exposed to a goat that is not well, then she too may get some of this same herb. Natural worming and combining herbs correctly is a matter of learning what parasites are most active in the herd, when they are most likely to strike, and how to administer accordingly.

I also often use neem in my worming formulas, but, I am listing it here separately because it is not something to give bucks during breeding season(s). Neem will naturally drop semen count as a side effect — it is used in India and other countries as a contraceptive of sorts for human men, so be careful with large amounts of this with bucks! Also be aware that any estrogenic herbs given for medicinal treatments, such as red clover, soy, fenugreek, kudzu, can also lower sperm counts.

I rotate my worming combinations regularly, addressing the time of year, weather, and many other factors. The only thing that really stays constant with my herd is diatomaceous earth (DE). I am aware of the controversy surrounding DE, and realize there are those for it and those against it. I use it because it has been quite effective in keeping predatory insects off of my organic produce, is quite effective at keeping fly populations down around the barn and pen areas, and the goats really seem to enjoy it. DE is the fossilized bodies of tiny creatures called diatoms. Livestock and produce DE is not the same stuff sold for use in swimming pool filters, as that has been treated with chemicals that are deadly to animals and plants.

Dr. Waltz has been raising goats for over 18 years. The dairy breeds in her herd, Waltz’s Ark, include Nubians and Oberhasli.

It is believed that DE works by having those tiny microscopic sharp edges which cut through the exoskeleton of parasites and insects, causing them to dehydrate and die. It is safe for animals to ingest, as these sharp edges are too small to affect the intestinal lining. DE is added to common human food items such as flour and corn meal to kill off bug larvae that could hatch. Used in combination with the natural wormers, it creates an inhospitable environment in the gut for the parasites, and when they turn loose they are killed by the sharp edges of the fossilized diatoms slicing through their protective covering. That’s the theory anyway.

Those little fossils also have some trace mineral content which is going to be beneficial to goats anyway, so, I see only a win-win situation. I offer DE mixed with kelp and goat minerals free choice in feeders all the time. I don’t usually give DE alone as a little bit goes a long way, and it is quite powdery. It is also excellent for lice infestations — I simply dust the animal with the DE, sometimes mixed with a repellent-type herb. I’ve had only two cases of lice in my natural herd. Both were from animals brought in from elsewhere and were treated in quarantine. Again, a healthy goat is going to resist parasites of all types, internal and external.

As part of treating goat diseases with natural medicine, these natural wormers can be offered to goats for ingestion in many different ways, making it very convenient to administer. Handfuls of the dried herbs can be dropped directly into their drinking water, thereby making a sort of medicinal tea. Handfuls of the dried or fresh herbs can be added to their grain or offered freely in feed pans. A tincture can be made using apple cider vinegar as the liquid menstruum (apple cider vinegar having its own nutritional values), which can then be used in the drinking water, as a drench, on food, etc. Measured amounts of the dried herbs can be added to their mineral mix and offered free choice. A sick goat, or one needing immediate attention, can be fed a bolus of the dried herb or herb powder mixed with molasses or honey, or a strong decoction used as a drench. The intelligent goat breeder is only limited by ability and creativity in getting these herbs into the goats. Most will readily gobble them up, recognizing what they need when they need it.

If using these items regularly, since most of these natural worming herbs also have many other medicinal qualities, there should be a noticeable decrease in illness and goat diseases in the herd. Kids will have fewer problems, new moms will have fewer problems, bucks will be more fertile, and the overall appearance of the goats should be pleasing. They should look livelier, have a prettier coat, and just overall look healthy as their energy is now going into meat and dairy production, rather than fending off parasites and microscopic invaders or trying to repair themselves from chemical damages and other goat diseases.

Since I have been employing these herbs with my herd on a regular rotational as-needed basis, the incidences of illness from common goat diseases have been greatly reduced. Only after a rough time weather wise, such as chilled newborn kids catching a cold or pneumonia and the occasional bout of the same with some older adults, do I notice any real cases of goat diseases, and even that has been greatly reduced. I live in a semi-arid, high altitude area in Colorado, so I add herbal wormers once a quarter, the combination chosen according to season, and rarely need to do it in between times. Goats instinctively know what they need for their own health, and will seek out these plants growing in their pasture areas. I’ve never had a goat refuse to eat or drink any of the medicinal herbs I have offered.

Treating Goat Diseases Naturally: The Apple Cider Vinegar Controversy

I mentioned apple cider vinegar (ACV). That again is a controversial item for goats, but, I do use it on all livestock on my place and I like the results. True apple cider vinegar is brown, not clear. It has many nutritional qualities all by itself. It is high in potassium, which aids in keeping the blood flowing properly—very important in our pregnant does, especially when she is carrying multiples. I add ACV to livestock water to assist in keeping down the algae growth, assist in preventing hatching of mosquito larvae, as well as help my bucks keep from getting urinary calculi and kidney stones. This works for humans, too, by the way.

There is also an old farmer’s tale that ACV added to the water of bucks and does can produce a kidding season of more does than bucks, and with horses can result in more fillies than stallions. Whether or not this is actually true has yet to be studied, as it probably is not something anyone is going to get a study grant for, but as a general rule, I find that it works somewhat for me. In the 2004 breeding season, I did not add ACV to my stallion’s water and ended up with a foal crop of nothing but colts. In previous��years my stallion had only given me fillies with the ACV added to the mare’s and stallion’s water. I’ve noted the same sort of response with my goat population. But, not always, as it also depends on how much is used, how often, and of course all of the other environmental factors. Regardless of the results, I say it may be worth a try over a few kidding seasons to see what happens. Certainly, I would encourage the use of ACV in a buck’s water if he is prone to urinary problems, and it certainly can’t hurt as a preventative for any bucks or wethers.

Using Natural Medicine for Kidding

Barring the malpresented kid, if the doe has been fed adequate nutrition through her gestation, she delivers a healthy kid or two or four. We can make kidding a bit easier by providing items that help her uterus, such as raspberry leaf and nettle. Fresh or dried, these herbs help to tone the uterus a couple of weeks before and after parturition and can help strengthen her contractions, shortening labor time. These are also well-known herbs for helping increase milk supply. Shortly after kidding would be a good time to offer her some worming herbs and to be certain that she has plenty of access to minerals and fresh water. There is no substitute for good nutrition and adequate exercise during goat pregnancy — those two factors alone will prevent most kidding problems, including ketosis, or milk fever.

For those kids that are born weak, or whose mother abandons them on a very cold day and must be handfed to get started, I use colostrum, preferably from the mother, mixed with a wee bit of natural molasses and a bit of kelp and/or spirulina. If the kid was particularly cold or lethargic, I may give a small syringe full of coffee by mouth, or add it to the colostrum mix, to help the blood get pumping and warm the kid a bit faster. The seaweeds and algaes have a concentrated content of minerals and nutrients that can get the kid up and running faster than plain colostrum in many of these situations.

Goat Diseases: Treating Mastitis with Natural Medicine

Garlic, echinacea, and ginger, given frequently is the best treatment. Hot compresses can help when applied directly to the udder, afterward rub in some peppermint oil to stimulate the blood vessels within. Again, good nutrition prior to freshening will prevent this from occurring. To avoid the painful swollen udder that might occur when trying to dry off or wean the does, sage given dry or fresh, free choice or added to the water, will help a great deal to dry up the milk. When weaning kids, it would be wise to add sage to the water for those mothers a few days in advance of that date.

Goat Diseases: Respiratory Ailments

Best choices for this include Pau d’ arco (taheebo), echinacea, peppermint, horehound. I use equal parts of each, combined and given frequently. Garlic and ginger are also useful in this combination, again, equal parts.

Goat Diarrhea

Usually, I let this go for a day or two if it has no accompanying symptoms, as it generally means the goat has eaten something it shouldn’t have, or way too much of something. If it is accompanied by lethargy, fever, chills, etc., or if in young kids then I intervene immediately with slippery elm bark, blackberry leaf, and dill for a day, followed by garlic and pau d’ arco and/or echinacea for several days. If it is coccidiosis, then I treat for a week with a mixture of antibiotic and antiviral herbs to both clear up the coccidiosis and prevent any other goat diseases from taking hold while the goat is weakened from diarrhea. Once diarrhea has passed, some good natural yogurt will help get the rumen running well again. Yogurt is also good to give during and after chemical antibiotic and worming treatments, as those will kill beneficial bacteria in the digestive system where natural herbal antibiotics and antivirals will not.

Bear in mind that many does come into their first heat cycle a few weeks after birthing, and the hormonal changes within them can cause scours in the kids as well, so be sure of what you are treating. Remember also that sometimes a quick change in feed will cause diarrhea in varying numbers within the herd—so if a hay source has changed or pastures rotated, for example, that may cause diarrhea, so don’t panic if it happens. Just watch and it will pass usually within the first 24 to 36 hours as the rumen adjusts to digesting the new feed.

Treating Wounds with Natural Medicine I generally mix together apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil, and a strong tea made from calendula and echinacea, put it in a spray bottle, and spray the affected area several times a day. If the wound already looks infected by the time it is noted, such as the goat has been out to pasture for a while and escaped close inspection, I will give echinacea and garlic and probably pau d’ arco, in equal parts, directly to the goat for internal immune system support against other goat diseases.

When thinking about treating goat diseases naturally, these natural treatments for goats should not be confusing or frustrating. Most are very simple yet very effective. Most are also very cost effective when purchased in bulk and mixed according to needs. There are plenty of books out there for the treating goat diseases with natural medicine, including my own, The Herbal Encyclopedia – A Practical Guide to the Many Uses of Herbs.

I also recommend the book The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Rodale Press. It is a wonderful reference, as the author has gleaned tidbits of the “old ways” from around the world. Her treatments mainly come from farmers in Britain and France, but most of the herbs are available in the United States, and the treatments do work.

The key to having naturally healthy and happy goats is not to over-treat goat diseases, and not to give up too soon. Certainly in crisis situations, there is reason to resort to emergency medicines and the assistance of a traditionally schooled veterinarian. It is also very important to remember that more is not better, so giving herbal type wormers on a daily basis is a bad idea, as is giving preventative treatments on a daily basis. In order to be effective, the natural goat breeder must establish a schedule that reflects and works with environmental and climate concerns. A truly healthy goat herd is a blessing in itself and to all who partake of the wonderful goat milk and goat milk products from that herd!

For more information about Dr. Waltz’ book, The Herbal Encyclopedia— A Practical Guide to the Many Uses of Herbs, visit her website at www.naturalark.com. Dr. Waltz is available for clinics, lectures, field days, demonstrations, etc. and there are hands-on workshops at the Ark every year.

Originally published in the March/April 2009 issue of Dairy Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.

How to Treat Goat Diseases and Illnesses Naturally was originally posted by All About Chickens

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coolveggiedelightuniverse · 7 years ago

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Lentil Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

A great summer meal

If like me, you are cooking for someone who is allergic to corn, soy, and/or wheat, this dinner will not trigger a reaction. It does require making everything from scratch, even the mustard, but don’t let that intimidate you. You won’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to make this meal. Making homemade mustard and grain-free baking powder takes just minutes, tastes great, and is much cheaper than buying grain-free alternatives in the store. As for the burger, the homemade bun, and the sweet potato fries, each can be made in 30 minutes or under and none require advanced cooking skills. The only thing this meal required was bringing together recipes from several great websites, which I have done for you. I have provided links to each site at the end of this post, so you can explore these sites and try some of their other great recipes!

Let’s start with the basics: Mustard and Grain-Free Baking powder

The recipe for this delicious homemade spicy mustard is taken from the website My Healthy Green Family. It takes about 10 minutes to make and yields one cup.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of water

8 Tbsp dried ground mustard

1 tsp Arrowroot

3/4 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 tsp Turmeric

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of paprika

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and whisk to blend.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to allow it to simmer for about 8-10 minutes (depending on how thick you like your mustard). Stir frequently, while it is simmering.

Remove from heat; allow the mustard to cool; store in a airtight container in refrigerator. It will keep for one month.

This recipe serves as the base for the mustard sauce used in the Lentil Burger recipe. If you are not cooking for someone with allergies, you could skip this step and use a store-bought spicy brown mustard as the base. But I highly recommend trying this recipe at least once, as it tastes so much better than any store bought mustard.

Grain-free baking powder

Most commercial baking powders use corn starch as the binder. Although you can buy grain-free baking powder at local specialty groceries such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, you will pay a premium. But with just a few minutes of your time, you can make your own baking powder much cheaper. Just remember to always make it in small batches and store in an airtight container in a dry place; this will prevent your baking powder activating before you want it to do so!

1 Tbsp Baking Soda

2 Tbsp Arrowroot powder (also called arrowroot flour)

2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar

Just mix and you are done! You will need this recipe for the homemade buns. So now that the basics are out of the way, let’s get started with the actual meal.

Paleo Hamburger Buns

I found this quick and easy recipe for buns on the website Cassidy’s Craveable Creations. The recipe calls for two cups of almond flour, but depending on the size of your eggs, you may find like I did that the batter was not thick enough to shape into balls. If that happens, don’t panic. Just add more almond flour until the consistency is right. In my case that was about another 1/2 cup. Bare in mind, if this is your first time working with almond flour, the dough will still feel wet compared to working with all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour. But as long as you can shape it into buns, it is good to go.

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes 3 to 4 buns (as you can see in the picture above, if you choose to make 3 buns, they are very large. So you can easily get 4 smaller buns from this recipe).

Ingredients:

2 cups packed almond flour (remember you may need more to achieve desired consistency)

1/2 Cup Arrowroot powder

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Grain-free baking powder (see recipe above)

1/4 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (recommend Bragg’s Organic)

3 eggs

1 tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

And for the topping: 1 tsp oil and 1 Tbsp of Sesame seeds.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl

In another mixing bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients

Once the wet ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add to your dry mixture. Stir until well incorporated.

With greased hands, shape the dough into 3 (or 4) balls. If the dough is to wet to shape, add more flour until you can. Place the formed balls on a greased cooking sheet.

Using the palm of your hand, slightly flatten each ball to form hamburger buns.

Top each bun light with oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Place in oven and cook until golden brown. Roughly 13 to 15 minutes.

Note: Buns are best if eaten same day that they are made.

Lentil Burger

This recipe is compliments of Contentedness Cooking by Florian.

Makes 4 burgers

Prep time: 15 Minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the mustard sauce:

3 Tbsp of your homemade mustard (or a store-bought spicy brown or Dijon mustard)

4 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Pinch of curry

For the Vegan Lentil Patties

1 cup uncooked brown lentils

1/3 cup raisins

1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs

1/2 cup crushed walnuts

2 Tbsp of the mustard sauce

Sea salt (to taste)

Directions

For the Mustard Sauce: Combine all ingredients in small mixing bowl and whisk.

Cook the lentils according to package directions

Drain any excess water and transfer to a food processor. Add in the walnuts and the raisins. Blend until you get a chunky mixture.

Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl, add in the grain-free bread crumbs. Mix well. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes, so that the bread crumbs will soak up any excess water.

Add in the mustard sauce

Shape into patties

Cook them in a skillet with a small amount of oil (recommended) or bake in oven at 390 degrees F.

Place on your bun and deck out with your favorite burger toppings and top with the mustard sauce.

Note: You can make these patties in advance. I made them in the morning. I used parchment paper to separate the patties and stored in fridge until that evening, when ready to cook.

Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4

Prep time: 8-10 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

3 large Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

1/4 cup Virgin Olive Oil or pure coconut oil cooking spray (you may need more depending on size of sweet potatoes. You want enough oil to coat all fries)

1 Tsp of Sea Salt

1 Tsp Fresh ground

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Place potato wedges in a large mixing bowl

Add oil and spices, mix well

Place fries on a oiled cooking sheet. Make sure the fries are not on top of each other. You may need two cooking sheets.

Cook for 10 minutes; flip fries and cook for ten more minutes.

Links:

My Healthy Green Family (mustard)

http://myhealthygreenfamily.com

Cassidy’s Craveable Creations

http://cassidyscraveablecreations.com

Florian’s Contentedness Cooking

https://www.contentednesscooking.com

#glutenfree #paleolifestyle #paleo recipes #vegetarian #vegetarian recipes #vegan friendly #corn-free #soy free #healthy eating

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benjamingarden · 4 years ago

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Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: February 2020

Here we go:

Total Amount Spent for February: $336.55 = $84.14/week.

Whole Foods - $71.35

Hannaford - $86.13

BJ's - $179.07

Like last month we will need a re-stock on milk and half & half in a couple of weeks and may get fresh greens at that time as well.

A note about our groceries:

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Our Groceries:

Whole Foods

Other - sometimes I purchase pre-made hummus and Hope brand is one that I really like. I bought the Spicy Avocado (sooooooo good) ($2.70) and Original ($2.70)

Hannaford

BJ's

February's Meal Plan

A Note About Our Meal Plans

You will see that for Jays meals there are a few noticeable rotations.

Also, other then the occasional new recipe that I try, his meals rotate about every month and a half (a different rotation will show up for summer).

I remembered to photograph some of the meals!

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Spinach & Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Recipe Links:

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti (Damn Delicious)

Chicken Fajita Rice (The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Lentil Loaf (Simple Veganista)

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Hamburger Helper (Damn Delicious - I sub chicken stock for the beef stock)

Homemade Pizza - this is the pizza dough recipe we use

Spinach & Sausage Manicotti (South Your Mouth)

Bourbon Dijon Ham Steak (Martha Stewart - is delicious without the bourbon as well)

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: February 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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benjamingarden · 4 years ago

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Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021

The new year has finally arrived! I'm not sure what grocery shopping looks like in your neck of the woods now that there's yet another rise in COVID cases, but it's actually not too bad in ours. For the most part you can select curbside pick-up or delivery if you desire. And lately I desire.

The photo above and info below outline our monthly grocery shopping. We will need a few additional items: milk comes from our farmers market as does coffee for Jay (probably another $20.00 total for the month), and I may get some fresh greens in another 1-2 weeks (less then $10.00).

Our groceries for January came from BJ's and Healthy Living, a local health food store. Typically we would also do a Hannaford order or a trip to the commissary, however, we are really well stocked on pantry and freezer items. You'll notice there is no meat purchased. Our freezers are fairly well stocked and we will actually be bartering with a farmer friend - our products for some of his chicken and pork, this weekend. We are finally (FINALLY) getting eggs from the Coop Girls, and as you know, we put up a lot of veggies in the freezer from the summer garden.

I don't plan on returning to Healthy Living until March so I stocked up with that in mind. We will probably place another BJ's order mid February-ish.

The total spent for January is anticipated to be $439.41 or just over $100.00/week.

$269.41 (groceries already purchased) + $140.00 (bartered meat) + $30.00 (coffee, milk & greens anticipated to purchase throughout the month) = $439.41. Our January purchases are partly for January and partly for the months to come.

Healthy Living - $174.84 (almost half of this amount is from 2 items....the dandy blend and the goji berries)

BJ's - $94.57

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Our Groceries:

Healthy Living:

The Dandy Blend Herbal Coffee Alternative is AMAZINGLY good. I absolutely love it for iced or hot "coffee". It's kind of expensive and a bit of a splurge. I purchased 2 bags which will last me through April or so. The 14 oz bags cost $22.49 each. I've looked on Amazon and they sell a slightly smaller (11 oz) bag for around the same price so this seems to be the best deal.

The Goji Berries are added to a trail mix (we already have the other ingredients on hand) for Jay that he eats daily. Macular degeneration runs in his family and goji berries have been shown to help prevent this. Plus they are high in antioxidants so we decided it was worth it regardless of whether or not it works to prevent M.D.. These bags are 8 ounces and $12.49 each. I should have bought them at Amazon because I'm pretty sure I could have gotten them cheaper. I'll research it and purchase them there going forward if it makes sense to do so. The 2 bags should last him just about 2 months.

I know there are cheaper dairy alternatives then Oatly ($4.99/carton) but I really love Oatly. I prefer the lowfat version but they were out of everything except for these 4 cartons.

We bought 12 pounds of mixed yukon & red potatoes ($1.99/lb) and 5 pounds of sweet potatoes (I splurged and bought my FAVORITE Japanese Sweet Potatoes at $2.99/lb - I call them "cake sweet potatoes" because they are soooo sweet). Oliver and I are on the last of the sweet potatoes that we harvested and stored in the fall. I can't believe they are almost gone!!! We go through a moderate amount of potatoes and only purchase them organic, and the absolute best ones we've found are at Healthy Living. This is easily a 2 month supply of each.

I have a few apples and mandarin oranges left for fruit but Jay prefers grapes so I bought a bag of grapes ($2.99/lb) and I treated myself to a couple of grapefruit ($1.49/lb). I typically try to only buy fruit that is $1.99 or less per pound (exception being the frozen berries & cherries), but that definitely didn't happen this month.

Que Pasa is our new favorite brand of tortilla chips. They are organic, non-GMO, and reduced sodium. We very rarely have chips but when we do it's tortilla for the win. They were on sale (although I'm wondering if this is a permanent sale because they were on the same sale a few months ago when I last bought them...) at $2.99/bag.

I usually make my own bread and tortillas but I like to have a bit of each in the freezer just in case. I've used up my freezer stash of both so I purchased a loaf of Dave's bread and a pack of limited ingredient corn tortillas and whole wheat flour tortillas for the freezer.

BJ's:

Not shown in the photo, we also bought a bag of frozen organic sweet cherries and a bag of frozen organic blueberries (3 lb bags for $13.99/ea.). We have 2 bags of each in the freezer already. We each eat a 1/2 cup of a mix of the two every single day so we should be good for a couple months. I also bought Kiwi (3 lbs for $6.49) as yet another splurge because we haven't had them in forever and one bunch of organic bananas (2 lbs for $1.59). We've found that our very favorite bananas are organic Chiquita. They seem to be the creamiest. I have no idea why, but the non-organic Chiquita's and other brands organic and non-organic just aren't the same. Strange....

I keep riced cauliflower on hand in the freezer because it's one of the cheapest ways to buy cauliflower off season. (I roast it from frozen in the oven to use as a veggie side) I wanted to make some buffalo cauliflower though for veggie tacos, and I need pieces instead of having it riced so I bought a bag (2 lbs for $4.29). Jay likes cooked cauliflower with cheese sauce so he'll have that as a side a few times too.

We eat a lot of mushrooms and BJ's seems to have the best price on them so I bought 2 which will get us through a few weeks. (24 oz containers for $4.99/ea.)

Pom Juice was a special request by the husband. We don't usually buy juice but he requested it last month for the first time in a long time and has been enjoying it. (48oz bottle $8.99) I'm running low on frozen peas and frozen corn and BJ's carries the organic at a reasonable cost (each is 4 lbs for $6.99) so I stocked up. I'm low on carrots too and their price isn't bad (5 lbs organic for $3.99). Also not shown is a 3-pack of frozen pizza. We keep a couple vegan frozen pizzas and a couple meat/cheese frozen pizzas on hand all of the time for the days we need something quick. We still have 2 of the vegan so we just stocked up on the meat version (3 pack DiGiornio $13.99).

January's Meal Plan

My goal was to start posting our meal plans again, per request from many of you, but to also add photos of some of the meals this time around. Unfortunately, I have yet to get in the habit of photographing dinner before it's served. I hope to add this to the posts as I remember.

A Note About Our Meal Plans

You will notice that for Jays meals there are a few noticeable rotations.

Also, other then the occasional new recipe that I try, his meals rotate about every month and a half (a different rotation will show up for summer).

Our Sundays rotate around the same 5 meals (Tamales, Tacos, Homemade Pizza, Pot Roast, and Meatballs) because it's our farmers market day which means I want something super simple to make. I do not make the tamales, we love those by Tucson Tamale (not an affiliate link). Around us we can find a small variety at Healthy Living. Tucson Tamale offers meat, vegetarian, and vegan varieties and they are sooooo delicious. They do use oil in all of their tamales so if you are completely oil-free this is unfortunately not an option for you.

Recipe Links:

If I have posted the recipe or use a recipe posted by someone else this month then I will link to it below. If there's a meal you'd like to see the recipe for let me know!

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Pizza - this is the pizza dough recipe we use

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta (Budget Bytes)

Apple & Stuffing Stuffed Pork Chops (Betty Crocker)

Oven-Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

Hamburger Potato Casserole (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen)

Chicken Pot Pie Muffins (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen) *I used this as a guide - I use my pie crust recipe and my pot pie recipe and bake it as muffins as shown in the vlog)

Honey Mustard Chicken (Bowl Of Delicious)

Bourbon Dijon Ham Steak (Martha Stewart - is delicious without the bourbon as well)

Mac & Cheese

Easy Weeknight Chicken Cordon Bleu

Scallops Gratin (Food Network - Ina Garten) - I use this recipe without the alcohol

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Veggie Stew with Black Pepper Biscuits (vegan) (Vegan Richa)

Split Pea Soup (Vegan) (Simple Veganista)

What about you? Do you have favorite meals that you rotate? Do you have to cook multiple meals for different eaters?

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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benjamingarden · 4 years ago

Text

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021

I don't plan on returning to Healthy Living until March so I stocked up with that in mind. We will probably place another BJ's order mid February-ish.

The total spent for January is anticipated to be $439.41 or just over $100.00/week.

Healthy Living - $174.84 (almost half of this amount is from 2 items....the dandy blend and the goji berries)

BJ's - $94.57

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Our Groceries:

Healthy Living:

I know there are cheaper dairy alternatives then Oatly ($4.99/carton) but I really love Oatly. I prefer the lowfat version but they were out of everything except for these 4 cartons.

BJ's:

We eat a lot of mushrooms and BJ's seems to have the best price on them so I bought 2 which will get us through a few weeks. (24 oz containers for $4.99/ea.)

January's Meal Plan

A Note About Our Meal Plans

You will notice that for Jays meals there are a few noticeable rotations.

Also, other then the occasional new recipe that I try, his meals rotate about every month and a half (a different rotation will show up for summer).

Recipe Links:

If I have posted the recipe or use a recipe posted by someone else this month then I will link to it below. If there's a meal you'd like to see the recipe for let me know!

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Pizza - this is the pizza dough recipe we use

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta (Budget Bytes)

Apple & Stuffing Stuffed Pork Chops (Betty Crocker)

Oven-Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

Hamburger Potato Casserole (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen)

Chicken Pot Pie Muffins (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen) *I used this as a guide - I use my pie crust recipe and my pot pie recipe and bake it as muffins as shown in the vlog)

Honey Mustard Chicken (Bowl Of Delicious)

Bourbon Dijon Ham Steak (Martha Stewart - is delicious without the bourbon as well)

Mac & Cheese

Easy Weeknight Chicken Cordon Bleu

Scallops Gratin (Food Network - Ina Garten) - I use this recipe without the alcohol

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Veggie Stew with Black Pepper Biscuits (vegan) (Vegan Richa)

Split Pea Soup (Vegan) (Simple Veganista)

What about you? Do you have favorite meals that you rotate? Do you have to cook multiple meals for different eaters?

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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