Protein Packed Lentils & Quinoa

I have been feeling a little sore from exercise.  I have been drinking a lot of chia and using a lot of nuts/seeds, but have been lacking the legumes and power grains.  Life is busy and I've been feeling overwhelmed with cooking much.  I threw this together for lunch.  It did take about 40 minutes to cook (the lentils, not the quinoa.  Quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook).  It was tasty!

Protein Packed Lentils & Quinoa

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup lentils

2 cups water

1 tablespoon 21 Seasoning Salute (Trader Joes)

Combine all ingredients in a stainless steel skillet (I used my Platinum Cookware, turning the temp to medium and when it's to temperature, 60 degrees, then I turn to low and simmer 30 minutes.).  Bring the contents to a low boil, turn to low and simmer 30-45 minutes with lid on.  Serve over quinoa.

Cooked Quinoa

1 cup Quinoa

1 1/2 cups water 

(I don't like my quinoa soggy, so I like using a less water.  It is usually recommended using 2 cups water, a 2:1 ratio.  So experiment with what you like!)

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then turn to low heat, put on lid and let steam for 15 minutes or until quinoa is light and fluffy and not soggy.

Happy Birthday To Me Carrot Cake Muffins!

Yep, it's my birthday.  It was a WONDERFUL day! I am actually getting old enough to say, I don't have birthdays anymore, but come on, lets face it, we all really wanna have a birthday acknowledgement like when we were kids!  Birthdays rock!  Getting older rocks!  Really....it does!  My kids ask, "how does it feel to be one year older?"  I always reply, "Better than ever!!!"

Dan prepared my meals for the day.  It was relaxing and enjoyable.  However, I insisted on making my birthday cake!  My favorite cake of all time is Carrot Cake.  I found THIS amazing recipe the other day and decided to try it tonight.  This recipe is for Carrot Cake Muffins and let me just tell you, these were DIVINE!  I was in heaven!  I topped these with Coconut Cream.  What is Coconut Cream?  It's canned coconut milk put in the freezer or fridge, opened and scrape off the cream from the top.  Whip in a drop or two of stevia and spoon on top of your muffin.  It's so simple and so delicious!  These muffins are a must try!  Pretty darn healthy too!  Nice perk, eh?!  Way to go One Ingredient Chef.  I loved it, it made my day!

Laundry Soap

I have been involved with doTERRA and using their oils for over a year.  I LIVE on them!  They have had so many uses and helped our family with so many things.  If any of you have smelled the oil Purify, you will know exactly how awesome this homemade laundry soap will be!  It makes your home smell so incredibly fresh just when diffusing it!  It also purifies the air and keeps it free form all sorts of pesky little germs.  It's a refreshing and uplifting smell as well.

I decided to make homemade laundry soap using this incredible oil.  I did some searching and found several recipes out there on Pinterest and blogs.  I decided to take the basic idea of many of these recipes and do my own thing.  Just a few little notes about this laundry soap.  It is powder.  I found THIS great website with some useful info and using most of the same ingredients for liquid laundry detergent if you'd prefer to use it instead.  I like the easiness of the powder and have a top loader washing machine so it works for me.

A note about essential oils: I use purify, but the first time I made this recipe I used a combination of lavender, melaleuca (tea tree oil), and orange oil.  It was an awesome combination too!  I have a friend who uses just orange oil because it's cheaper and she loves the smell.  So, as you can see the possibilities for "flavoring" your laundry soap are endless!

 Above are the ingredients I use. All of these ingredients, except the oil, I purchased at my local Smiths Marketplace.

1 large Box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 large box Baking Soda

1 large box Borax

2-3 bars Kirk's Castile Soap

20-30 drops purify (more if you so desire)

 Finely grate the Castile Soap

Combine the soap a cup or two at a time along with a cup or two of the Washing Soda and the essential oils.  Process until smooth.

You may need to repeat this process one more time, depending on the size of your food processor. (don't worry about using your kitchen tools for this, it cleans well, ha ha!)

I don't need to process all the borax and soda, I just pour the remaining ingredients in the bucket and mix really well with my hands.

I double my recipe for my large family and this should last me a few months at least.  

This takes me about 10 minutes, tops!  It's so incredibly easy and leaves my laundry smelling wonderful!