A lot going on.

Today is my last day off this week and in an effort to bring more real food into our life, I will be making homemade whole wheat tortillas and homemade whole wheat banana bread. Now, hubby doesn't know this, but I am going to slowly limit what processed foods comes into the house. I don't think I'll ever cut out his diet soda, but I can add in other stuff and hopefully balance it. I've wanted to do this for quite awhile, but after binge reading 100 Days of Real Food, I've seen what a good idea it is. The problem is we can't do organic or locally raised, grass-fed meat. Despite living in Southwest Iowa, this stuff isn't readily available. Isn't that weird? We do have a couple of options that do half a hog, but when I inquired about it they were already ordered. We also can't find whole wheat bread, rolls, buns at a reasonable price. And when you're living on a tight budget, price is fairly influential. So, I guess I'll be making bread and things myself. And I am terribly bad about baking. It's just not in me. I can't even do cookies right. I guess I'll learn if I want to do this, huh? That means my days off will not be restful. I mean eating healthy is a good cause and everything, but I enjoy lazing around. Which of course is the reason for my weight problems. I could blame PCOS, but for the most part it is me, my food choices, and my lack of exercise. PCOS does make things more difficult, but it is doable.

I've made four things over the last couple of days. Yesterday, I made homemade apple sauce. I thought it was really good, but my husband didn't like that I left the skin in it. I wasn't going to peel the apples when most of the good stuff is there. Today I'll be making dinner--pot roast with dijon mustard and molasses with mashed potatoes; and green beans, I think--and at least whole wheat banana bread and whole wheat tortillas. And as a note to myself, I think I should probably add at least another bag of whole wheat flour to my shopping list for next Friday. I think I'm going to be using a lot of it. Starting on Monday's trash day, I'm going to very slowly begin throwing processed food out. Starting with flour. It's not something we use often and it's definitely not something that hubby is going to miss since he doesn't use it. I've decided hubby is like a stubborn child and I'll have to very slowly get him used to this new way of living. Wish me luck on that one. I'm going to need it. I may do the cooking and shopping, but he doesn't have to eat it.

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Crock pot applesauce
8 apples
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons honey
Splash of apple cider
Cinnamon stick

1. Core and cut apples into half-inch pieces.
2. Place in crock pot with the juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons honey, a spash of apple cider, and the cinnamon stick.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

**I put mine in single-serve containers and put it in the fridge.**
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Sweet mustard roast
**adapted**
3 pounds beef
1/3 cup molasses 
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Dump meat into cooker. 
2. Mix together molasses, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and apple cider vinegar.
3. Pour over roast. 
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.


**I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans.**
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Whole wheat tortillas
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour 
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)


1. Pour the flour, oil and salt into a bowl. Mix with a hand-mixer or stand mixer with dough hooks 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. 
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by rolling out a log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or countertop, roll each ball into a 8 to 10 inch circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball of dough because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.


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Whole wheat banana bread
2 ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup honey
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas with yogurt, honey, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until blended. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake large loaf for 40 – 50 minutes or until it comes clean with a toothpick.