Healthful Habit 7/52

Healthful Habits is a way for our family to intentionally implement a more wholesome style of living one small step at a time. The process of executing these small changes over the course of a year enables them to become lifelong habits.

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This is perhaps the most controversial of all the healthful habits we've attempted thus far. Modern nutrition experts have worked hard to convince us a low-fat diet full of polyunsaturated vegetable fats is the key to good cardiovascular health. Recent research and ancient traditional nutrition proves them wrong.

Healthful Habit 6/52

Healthful Habits is a way for our family to intentionally implement a more wholesome style of living one small step at a time. The process of executing these small changes over the course of a year enables them to become lifelong habits.

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If at first you don't succeed... try, try again!

Healthful Habit 5/52

Healthful Habits is a way for our family to intentionally implement a more wholesome style of living one small step at a time. The process of executing these small changes over the course of a year enables them to become lifelong habits.

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In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit this healthful habit sorta "grosses me out". Not the making of the chicken stock, but the preparation of the raw-chicken-that-must-be-cooked-in-order-to-have-the-bones-to-make-the-stock. However, I am fully convinced of the wonderful properties this food item has to offer and so will endure the disgusting task* of raw chicken carcass preparation* *. Plus, pastured chicken makes for some really tasty burritos and chicken gumbo soup.

Healthful Habit 4/52

Healthful Habits is a way for our family to intentionally implement a more wholesome style of living one small step at a time. The process of executing these small changes over the course of a year enables them to become lifelong habits.

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I've never been one to use a significant amount of salt. Having grown up in a home where we didn't even own a tabletop salt shaker, I guess the taste for added salt is one I've never developed. Other than the typical teaspoon amount called for when cooking, our kitchen salt container never received much attention until I stumbled upon the topic while reading Real Food. It turns out there's more to this common ingredient than I expected.

Healthful Habits: Chipotle

We're big Chipotle fans at our house. While we recognize there are problems regarding the sometimes limited amount of locally grown food they are able to source along with the continued presence of GMO's in their menu offerings, we are so thankful for the steps they are taking to improve our choices as American consumers. The following commercial aired during the Grammy Awards {thus, Willie Nelson}. Since we don't have television, I was only recently able to enjoy this fabulous visual critique of the darker side of the modern food industry.

For more details regarding the influence of this commercial, check out the excellent post at Food Renegade. Here's hoping more opportunities arise for the mass marketing of real food choices!

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UPDATE: My hubby pointed out that, while a very neat commercial, this depiction is not the authorial intent of Coldplay's original song. So enjoy the commercial AND the opportunity to critique the postmodern worldview.  :)

Foodie Fridays

Obviously... it's not Friday. However, I am participating in "Foodie Friday" over at The Cooks Next Door. Their fabulous recipes have found way into many of our dinners over the course of these last few years.


This week we enjoyed a delightful progressive dinner with our church family, and I wanted to share the recipe I used for our appetizer contribution.

The idea for the presentation of this cheeseball comes from an issue of Healthy Cooking by Taste of Home sometime last autumn.


NUTTY CHEESEBALL
(from Kitchen Aid's Instruction and Recipe Booklet for Your Stand Mixer)

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup Swiss cheese
8 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped chives
2 tsp. Worchstershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Place all ingredients except pecans in mixer bowl. Beat about 1 minute, or until well blended. On waxed paper, shape mixture into a ball. Roll ball in chopped pecans. (At this point I used the handle of a table knife to shape the sides of the ball into a pumpkin. I had to press extra pecans into the groves to complete the coating. I then used a small stalk of fresh celery with the leaves still attached to create the stem.) Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate until serving time. Serve with assorted crackers or raw vegetables.


Quick and easy, this recipe makes for a delicious snack or fabulous appetizer when hosting get-togethers. The cute autumn touch of the pumpkin shape was an added visual bonus!