Plastic Shopping Bags Uses and Storage

I know many of you have already started using those wonderful reusable "green bags" when you go shopping.  But, if you are like me, sometimes I get to the store and realize I forgot them.  Or, you are just running in for a couple items and you forget them in the car or don't want to bother for such a small order.  You opt for plastic over paper and now you have some of those plastic shopping bags.  Most would maybe reuse it in it's original form to carry things once or twice, recycle it, or toss it, but I have found some great additional uses for these bags that save me money.  I also found a great way to store them so they don't take up too much room either.

1. Free trash liners for your bathroom trash cans.
2. If you have cats, they are perfect little trash bags for scooping the litter clumps.
3. If you are already recycling or composting, you probably don't have half as much kitchen trash as you used to.  Why do you still need the industrial size trash can in your kitchen?  Downsize to a 3 gallon/11 liter waste basket, roughly the size you might use under a desk.  The plastic bags fit perfectly so you don't need to purchase kitchen trash bags anymore, either. Just make sure the bag doesn't have a hole in the bottom or you might end up with a mess if you put wet stuff in the trash.  Mine fits perfectly under my sink, so its out of sight and the pets can't get into it.  With these smaller size trash cans, you might even have room under your sink for a separate trash and recycle waste basket.  This will make it more convenient to recycle, so you will be more likely to do it.  With a smaller trash container, obviously, it will fill up a little quicker than a big one, but you will be able to keep smells to a minimum inside your home since you will be taking the trash out more frequently.



Upcycled plastic baskets by bagsagain.etsy.com

4. This one might be a stretch for some of you to make yourself, but I have actually seen people cut these into long strips like yarn and knit, crochet, or weave them into rugs, beach bags, purses, place mats, baskets, accessories, and other amazing creations.  Check out some some of these very affordable items others have made out of plastic shopping bags that are for sale on etsy.com  They will blow your mind!!  Some Etsy sellers even sell patterns for those of you who might want to try to make some of these, and "yarn" that is already pre-made for these creations, if you don't want to take the time to cut it up yourself.

Now that I have you thinking a little differently about these plastic shopping bags, here's my trick to making them compact for easy storage.  

1. Stick a couple fingers of your right hand through the handles of the bag.  Keep your fingers in these holes the whole time until right at the end at step #4.
2. Using your left hand, starting near the handles, smooth and pull the bag into a long plastic strip.
3. Grasp the "bottom" of the bag with your left hand and with a twisting wrist action, roll the bottom of the bag up around two fingers on your left hand all the way up to the handles creating a little "ball" around your left hand fingers and twisting the bag around your right fingers creating a small "loop"
4. Flip the "loop" from the handles around your right hand fingers over the "ball" wrapped around your left hand fingers.  This will keep this tight little ball secured and compact for easy storage.  
5. A small box, basket, or drawer will hold a ton of them in this compact form until you are ready to use them.  Simply unhook the loop, unwind, and they are ready to use again.

Microwave Potato Chips

You read the title correctly.  Yes, you can actually make crunchy chips in the microwave.  I was watching a Dr. Oz episode and was inspired by one of the kitchen gadgets he was showcasing.  Being the frugal person I am, I thought, "Why spend the money on the gadget?"  Who needs another gadget cluttering up their kitchen, anyway?

Slice the potatoes paper thin.  If you have a mandolin slicer already, that is the perfect tool used on the thinnest slice setting.  Place a reusable non-stick silicone baking sheet in your microwave and turn off the turn table to keep it from spinning.  Place your potato slices on the sheet making sure to not over lap.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt, then nuke on high for 2-3 minutes.  The time will vary based on how thin your slices are and the power of your microwave.  If they turn out a little chewy and not crunchy, your chips are either cut too thick or it needs to cook a little longer.  If they are cooked a little too long, they will taste a bit burned.  Play around with a few small batches until you get it just right.  They are delicious, light & airy, and much healthier than any fried chip.

You can also try this trick with a variety of veggies & fruits like sweet potatoes, apples, pears, or other root veggies like parsnips, beets, etc.  Check out some of the variations you see in the snack aisle for inspiration. You will probably have to play around a little to find the perfect cook times for each type.  I found with apples, and other items that have a higher sugar content, the sweeter they were, the more likely they had a tendency to be a bit more chewy than crunchy, but they are still delicious.  With the apples, I found putting them in for 1 minute and 50 seconds, flipping them, then putting them in for another 30 seconds came out the best.

It's much quicker than a dehydrator, so you can make them fresh whenever you get the craving.  I haven't tried it yet, but I would think they would store for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container or baggie. I'm sure you could also do the same thing in the oven on a low bake setting, but when you don't want to wait or heat up your kitchen, try this instead.  Imagine the possibilities!

Healthier Soft Drink Alternatives

Have you been trying to cut back on your soft drink consumption to either lose weight, save money, or just be healthier.  Me too.  Here are some suggestions you might want to try to bring some variety into your choices and make it a little easier to opt for the healthier choice:

I'll bet most of you have a coffee machine.  When you are done with your morning cup of joe, the machine sits there lonely all day.  Put it to use making a batch of iced tea.  You don't need any special machines like some companies would like to make you believe.  You already own it.

In the spot where you normally put your coffee filter, place the tea bags, with no additional filter, fill up your water reservoir to the top and let her rip.  For a 2 quart container, 4 regular sized tea bags or 2 family sized tea bags are a good start.  For a gallon container, try 3-4 family sized bags.  Adjust the number of tea bags to your taste.  If your coffee pot has an extra feature for brewing smaller pots of coffee, like 1-4 cups, turn this on as well.  It will preheat the water a bit more making the brew a little stronger.  In the meantime, fill up your drink pitcher half way with ice.  When it's done brewing, pour the hot tea over the ice and top off with additional water, if needed.  If you like it sweet, now is the time to add your sweetener, then give it a stir.  Instead of sugar, you might want to try a no calorie natural sweetener made from the stevia plant, like Truvia, or an other alternative sweetener like Agave Nectar, which has a lower glycemic index, which means it will not spike your blood sugar as much as regular sugar does.  Personally, I keep mine unsweetened, so everyone can make theirs the way they like it, or just drink it unsweetened.  Agave nectar also dissolves better in cold liquids, since its a syrup instead of crystals, so it can easily be added later.

Have you ever noticed how many different types of teas are out there?  Every type I tried is also great iced.  Think of how many options you have: green, black, oolong, spiced like chai, fruit blends, herbals like peppermint or chamomile, rooibos, and so many in between!  Many have wonderful health benefits as an added bonus.  Don't forget, if you are trying to cut back on your caffeine intake, opt for the decaf versions or one of the herbal, rooibos, or fruit types.  Maybe even try a half-caf version, half regular tea bags an half decaf tea bags, to start to ween yourself off your caffeine habit.

If you are missing the little bubbles in your soft drinks, try some of the flavored seltzer waters on the market now.  Beware of the ones containing artificial sweeteners.  For a cheaper alternative try the unflavored seltzer waters, the store brands are just as good, and add a splash of cranberry, pomegranate, orange, or grapefruit juice, or squeeze a lemon or lime in for some added flavor.  If you go for the fruit juices, read the labels and try to choose ones that have no added sugars and are 100% juice.  Use your imagination.  You might just find a new favorite.

Impromptu Oriental Stir-Fry

Got some odds and ends veggies you don't know what to do with?  Maybe some left over meat, noodles or rice?  It's Oriental night!  Why do take-out if you probably have everything you need already?  You can make the dish as simple or as complicated as you like, depending on what you have available and your taste.

Even if you don't have the left over noodles or rice, in the time it takes to cook up a batch, you can have them ready by the time you get your veggies all chopped up and ready to throw in the wok.  If you don't have left over meat that you could dice up, it would be nice if you had a little plan earlier in the day to marinate some raw meat in soy sauce or something similar, but it is not a must.  Any kind will do, chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, even diced canned spam.  Yes, I said the "S" word.  American's typically turn up their noses, and it probably isn't the healthiest thing I will ever suggest, but it is packed with flavor and very reasonably priced.  Did you know spam is one of the most popular meat products world wide?  It is especially popular in Oriental dishes.  Once in a blue moon won't kill you.  Just don't make it a regular staple in your diet and you will likely be just fine. Even if you don't have meat, you can just do vegetarian or scramble up a few eggs, pour them into a fry pan, without stirring, let them cook up into a flat sheet, then dice up and set to the side until you are ready to add later.  You could also do some form of tofu.  Personally, I don't like that stuff, so I couldn't tell you what to do with it. :o)

As far as a recipe, you have my permission to a JUST WING IT!  If you like the veggie, you will likely like it in your dish.  The tricks to getting it to taste right are:

• Cut the pieces small enough to cook quickly and evenly.  Cutting thin and on a diagonal works well.
• Use an oil that can tolerate higher heat such as peanut oil or coconut oil
• Cook with high to medium-high heat and keep things moving
• Add the ingredients in the order from "takes longer to cook" to "takes just a minute to cook"
• Don't overcook and make your veggies mushy, a little crunch in some of the them is always more interesting in the overall texture of the dish
• Except for the meat, don't season until its just about ready to serve to avoid burning

Start with heating up your wok or large skillet. You could probably even get away with a large stock pot, but it would not be ideal.  Add a tablespoon or two of oil.  When it starts to run around the pan easily, you are ready to go.  A good basic start is some carrots, celery, broccoli or other veggies that take a little longer to cook - cook a minute or two, stirring frequently.  Then add ingredients that take a less time to cook, such as cabbage, meat, mushrooms, pea pods, peppers, onions, scallions, fresh ginger, minced garlic - cook a few minutes longer, don't forget to keep stirring.  Then add the last ingredients that cook quickly or just need to be heated such as shrimp, zucchini, yellow squash, bean sprouts, diced fried scrambled egg, etc.  Stir around another couple minutes till cooked through, but veggies still have a little crunch to them.  Turn down heat to keep warm, but not burn or over cook.

Now you are ready to add your cooked noodles, or rice, and seasonings.  Any kind of noodles will do, from the everyday spaghetti, or linguini noodles, to something a little more exotic, like rice noodles, soba noodles, etc.  You could even use the noodles in the little cheap ramen packs.  If you choose rice instead of noodles, a less sticky rice is better, but any variety will do.  Just cook your choice, per the package directions, before adding to your veggie/meat mixture.

The seasonings are all a matter of what you like, also.  If you didn't have fresh ginger or garlic earlier, you could add some powdered ginger or garlic, or any combination of the following: soy sauce or tamari, or sesame seeds.  For a more authentic flavor, try some seasonings that may not be as familiar such as: sesame seed oil (just a tad since the flavor is quite strong), mirin (sweet cooking seasoning), rice vinegar, or ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce).  If you like your dish to have a little kick, try adding some crushed red pepper, Chinese mustard, sriracha hot chili sauce, or a chili paste such as sambal oelek.  The latter of the two have quite a potent kick, so use very sparingly until you get a feel for the heat they have.  You can always add more, but its not so easy to take out.  Once you think you have a good bit of flavor in it, taste it and adjust as needed.  If you want to thicken the sauce a bit, dissolve a teaspoon or so of corn starch in a tablespoon of cool water in a separate container.  With the seasoned veggie mixture over medium heat, slowly add the corn starch water mixture to the sauce in the bottom of the pan, while stirring constantly.  As sauce heats up it will thicken.  Don't add all the corn starch mixture at one time.  Put in a little bit, wait till it starts to thicken, then add a little more if it needs it to get it just right.


Once you try this a time or two, you will get a feel for what you like.  You might even feel a little adventurous and try some veggies next time that you have maybe seen before, but didn't know what to do with, like napa cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and so many other oriental veggies you might find in a specialty store.   Your dish will be ready before you could have picked up the phone and waited for the delivery man.  You used up odd and ends instead of maybe throwing them out in a few days, and no tipping required.  Remember, to follow the basic rules, have fun, and add a pinch of love and it always turns out tasty!  Just like take-out, it makes great leftovers, too.

Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa

I made stuffed peppers last night with a little healthier spin on them.  Have you ever tried quinoa?  Pronounced KEEN-wah.  Quinoa is a gluten-free ancient grain originating from South America.  It is a very good source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, and iron.  Quinoa can be substituted for rice in a variety of recipes to make them healthier.  You can also reduce the portion of meat in the recipe, if you choose, due to the high protein content. 

Uncooked quinoa is a tiny round seed about 2 mm in diameter.  Some quinoa comes pre-rinsed.  If not simply rinse it under running water in a strainer for a minute or two to wash off the coating that is naturally on it.  If it's not rinsed your quinoa will taste like soap.  It cooks up similar to rice, with one cup quinoa to 2 cups of water, but only needs to cook for 15 minutes.  It will be tender, but still chewy, and a white spiral-like thread appears around each grain. 

Stuffed Peppers - serves 6 - modified recipe from Emeril Lagasse

6 large bell pepper, green, yellow or red with tops cut away and seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (the edges of the tops you cut off earlier)
1 cup ground meat, such as turkey, pork, or beef or a combination
1/2 cup diced baby portabello mushrooms (optional)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, or about 1 tablespoon dried
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
2 cups cooked quinoa, rice, or other grain
8 - 15 ounces tomato sauce
water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Get your quinoa or rice going first, so that will be finished by the time you need it. 

In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2-3 minutes.  Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and allow to dry.  I placed mine right in the baking dish now, so I can skip the little extra water normally added to the dish when baking later.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, allow to brown slightly, then add the onions and chopped peppers.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the meat, parsley, mushrooms, and seasonings.  Cook until meat is browned, breaking up lumps, about 6 minutes.  Drain off fat if necessary.  Add quinoa and tomato sauce, stir well, remove from heat, and adjust seasoning to taste, if needed.

Stuff the bell peppers with rice mixture and place in a baking dish.  Bake until peppers are tender and filling is heated through, 20-30 minutes.  When done, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving, if you keep your kids away long enough.  That didn't happen last night.  Enjoy!  Leftovers taste even better the next day.

Pass on the "Diet" Foods and Drinks

Trying to get some extra pounds off?  Did you know that avoiding foods and drinks with "diet" on the packaging can actually help you lose weight?  Sounds contradictory, but you heard me correctly.  Many diet foods and drinks have ingredients that are "fake" to replace fat, sugar, or carbs, etc.  The "fake" ingredients being added, or adjustments made to the product to enhance the flavor, may be less healthy for you than the ingredients that were naturally in it to begin with.  Artificial sweeteners, in particular, were originally developed to give diabetics a sweet alternative, not for everyday people to consume to lose weight.  These artificial sweet chemicals are addictive and mess with your taste buds and your body chemistry.  Companies producing these products realized that changing their marketing strategy to get the masses to consume these products, in addition to the diabetics, could be very lucrative.  Through million dollar advertising campaigns, over the years, they have brainwashed us into viewing these products as a "healthy" alternative to sugar and a method to lose weight.. Those companies are laughing all the way to the bank.  Don't fall for the ruse.

For instance, typically in turkey bacon, fat is reduced compared to original pork bacon, but sodium is increased to make it taste better.  Fat in moderation helps satisfy your hunger, while increased sodium can cause havoc on blood pressure, and make you retain excess fluids making you feel bloated.  You might be better off grabbing a smaller portion of the real pork bacon instead.  In reduced or fat free baked goods, the processed carbs or sugars are typically higher than the original versions.  In soft drinks, flavored water, candy, cookies, etc... sugar is removed or reduced and being replaced with artificial sweeteners.  These artificial sweeteners give you the sweet taste you want, but studies have shown that because you don't get the calories normally associated with that sweet, your body will crave additional calories later to make up for the calories your body expected to consume when you ate that sweet.  In the long run, you tend to consume more calories than if you would have just grabbed the real thing to begin with.  Keep in mind, you still have to eat the real things in moderation, or eventually limit them to a special treat, or you won't be doing yourself any favors, either.  Artificial sweeteners also train your taste buds to expect an intense sweet and you tend not to be satisfied with the normal sweet any more, again increasing your tendency to eat more normal sweets to feel satisfied.  Some people are also experiencing health problems when artificial sweeteners are consumed in large quantities or taken over long periods of time.  Why even go there?

Typically, the regular foods are cheaper per ounce, than their "diet" counterparts.  Those pre-portioned 100 calorie snack packs are a great example of paying more for less product.  If you want a cookie, buy the regular package, and just grab one or two.  Save your money!  You claim the smaller size pre-portioned packages help your will power?  Baloney!  What is stopping you from grabbing more than one of those pre-portioned packages anyway?  It's all a mental game the food companies are cashing in on at your expense.  Use these for your kid's lunches to save time?  Take a minute to put some regular snacks in baggies ahead of time to make them easy to grab when packing lunches.  It is likely still cheaper this way, even counting the extra cost of the baggie, and you can customize your child's portions.  These 100 calorie portions are still rather large for most kids snacks.  They just end up tossing the excess in the trash, or eating more snack food than they should for their smaller bodies.

Do a little experiment.  Try slowly transitioning "diet" foods out of your kitchen.  Read the labels.  If you have a hard time pronouncing the ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it.  It might take a week or two to re-train your taste buds, especially if you are a artificial sweetener junky.   (Note: If you regularly chew gum, you might be consuming a large amount of artificial sweeteners there as well.  Don't forget to take those into consideration as well.)  If you eliminate artificial sweeteners from your diet, you won't feel so deprived.  When you do grab for a food that normally would be on the cheat list, like those little chocolate candies that melt in your mouth and not in hands, take notice as to how many you WANT to eat.  (Note: Don't do this while being distracted or eating mindlessly in front of the TV or all bets are off! )  Most people will be satisfied with just a few, rather than the large handful they might have otherwise wanted to eat.  You will also start to notice that many foods you used to think were bland or not sweet at all, have much more flavor than you realized.  Everything will begin to taste better, naturally.  Taste your food before automatically adding salt or sugar.  You may not need to add it at all anymore.

I don't believe in depriving yourself when you are trying to lose weight.  Just make small, smart modifications in your everyday routine, so these changes will stick.  You will slowly be changing your lifestyle, not actually be on a so-called "diet."  Your weight loss will be slow and steady, and you will keep it off.  In the big picture, that is what is really important.  Yo-Yo dieting is not healthy.  With "diets" that you can't maintain long-term, once you end the "diet", you fall back into your old unhealthy routines that made you gain the weight to begin with.  Long term you will likely end up being heavier than you were when you started the "diet".  What's the point of that?  Be smart and do it the right way for long term success.

Happy New Year 2012!

Hope you all had a fun and safe new year's eve.  I am not the type to go out and party to ring in the new year.  Too many crazies on the road after all the celebrations.  I'm more of a make the party at home type of person.  Make lots of great food, great drink, and great friends and family.  Turn on a little Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year with Ryan Seacrest, a few bottle rockets and sparklers, and try to keep your eyes open long enough to see the ball drop. 

I wanted to share an easy recipe I whipped up yesterday that came out awesome.  If I do say so myself.  You may have to adjust the ingredients slightly, since I sometimes tend to cook by instinct and feel.  I can give you rough amounts of what I put in, but I don't always measure with measuring spoons for spices and stuff like that.  Yesterday, I wanted to make some black eyed peas to bring some good luck for 2012, but just winged it on the recipe.  I already had a feel for what basically should go in and just went for it with a few healthy additions.  It does have a little kick from the chilies in the Rotel, so taste it before adding the pepper.  Here it is:


Hoppin’ John (Black Eyed Pea Soup)

1 - 16oz. bag of dried Black Eyed Peas
1 smoked ham bone (I had frozen the ham shank bone from Christmas dinner)
Filtered Water
1 Large Onion – diced – I used a yellow onion, but any kind will do
1 - 10 oz. can Original Rotel or other similar diced tomato and chili mix
Leftover smoked ham, diced (I used roughly 2 cups of ham)
2 large hand-fulls of roughly chopped fresh kale
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste depending on saltiness of ham (I used about 2 teaspoons)
Pepper to taste (I added about a ¼ tsp.)
1 large bay leaf

Soak dried black eyed peas in 8 cups cool filtered water min. 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse beans well.

In a large crock pot, add 6 cups of filtered water to beans, add ham bone, and set crock pot on low. After beans soften, in about 2-3 hours, remove the bones and any chunks from the bone that aren't good to eat, add the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for an additional couple hours, or until flavors are blended nicely. Check for taste before serving to adjust salt and pepper.

I just realized I forgot to snap a photo.  I'll add one after I warm up a bowl of left overs. :o)  Enjoy!

Hope you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012!!

As promised... Here's the pic.  It's even better the next day!  Yummy, yummy! :o)

What to do with those too soft bananas?

I don't know about you, but when my family goes to the grocery store or veggie stand, those beautiful yellow bananas call out to them.  You buy a small to medium sized bunch with the best of intentions to eat them all up before they get too soft.  After they are around for a few days, the small brown spots turn to medium brown spots. Maybe some even large brown spots show up.  At this point, most of the time, everyone will pass over them when looking for a snack.  What to do?

My personal favorite is throw it in the freezer instead of the trash.  Peel and all, it takes only a second to get it off the counter and on to bigger and better things later.....

If you have an extra minute, before you freeze them, peel them, cut them in half, stick a popsicle stick (available at most dollar type stores in the craft dept) in the wide end, stack the on top of one another in a gallon sized baggie and throw the whole bag in the freezer. In a few hours you will have your own version of banana babies, a frozen healthy treat on a stick.  Out of the freezer, a little magic shell syrup and back in the freezer for a few more minutes, maybe even roll it in some chopped nuts, gives a little more variety to these yummy treats. Tip: If you do coat with the magic shell make sure to re-freeze them without touching or they will stick together and the coating will fall of when you separate them.

Do you get those evening cravings for something cold and sweet?  Most grab a bowl of ice cream.  A healthier solution is to grab one of those not so pretty bananas out of the freezer, easily slice the peel off with a paring knife, chunk into bite-size pieces, and maybe even drizzle a little Hershey's syrup on top.  This makes a yummy naturally creamy frozen treat. 

These frozen bananas are also a perfect addition to a breakfast smoothy in your blender.  It adds great flavor, lots of healthy vitamins and minerals, and a creamy consistency.  Vary amounts to your taste.  Way cheaper than the frozen fruit when you consider you would have likely tossed it in the trash anyway, so it's really kinda free.

Instead of freezing, they will also make a great banana bread, banana muffins, or the like.  Even frozen, if you let them defrost a bit, they are ready for these type of recipes in no time.  These quick breads and muffins also typically freeze really well.  This way you will always have a quick travel friendly breakfast or snack handy right out of the freezer, if they last long enough to even make it to the freezer.

When you come across a great sale or marked down bananas because they are looking a little brown in your local veggie stand or grocery store, keep these ideas in mind.  Maybe even buy some extra.

Hope the next time to encounter some bananas a little past their prime, you remember some of these great tips.  Do you have any additional ideas or great recipes you would like to share?  I'd love to hear them!