In the Kitchen [Life Hacks] & Peach Cobbler [Recipes]

My entire life I have suffered an itchy throat eating peaches with the peel on because peeling it would take way too much effort. Little did I know there was an easy way to peel peaches, yes peaches, in about 5 minutes. 
It was so amazing, and I was so blown away by this I had to SHARE.

My cousin told me about this, and I thought this was ridiculous at first but then we tried it. 
Not only did I peel 1 peach, I peeled 6 peaches and decided to make peach cobbler. 

Peeling Peach Instructions: 

Make sure your peaches are slightly soft to the touch 

Get a pot of boiling water, make sure the water is to a rolling boil. 

Have a boil of cold/ice water ready on the side. 

Put your peach into the pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. I think 4 is the perfect length of time. 

When your time is up, pull your peaches out of the boiling water and drop them into your ice water for 2 minutes. 

 Now lightly rub the peel, and it should slip right off. EASY! 

Now that you've peeled your peaches, time to use them for Peach Cobbler. I love peach cobbler! It reminds me of summers and camping trips. I've only ever made it in a dutch oven! 
The ingredients are cheap and will serve 8-10. This for sure will please your family. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup milk- I used coconut milk 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 1/4 cup Bisquick 

1/2 T Nutmeg

1/2 cup butter or margerine

6 Sliced Peaches

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees. 

Put the peaches into your baking pan 

Combine your milk, sugar, bisquick, nutmeg and butter in a bowl. 

Pour over your peaches. 

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown 

It is absolutely delicious! Try it with some vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream on top! You must try this recipe! 

Day 29: Better Food, Better Skin

Today is 29 days of the 30 day Paleo Challenge. There are days where its been easy and other days it has been a challenge. 

I've  enjoyed my occasional onion rings, fry sauce and even large bacon cheese burgers.The repercussions always show up on my face! Healthy eating has defiantly fixed this issue. On top of that these are my FAVORITE facial cleansers and products. They are available at your nearest drug store. For a long time I used the expensive stuff you could only find at the department stores or buy online. There wasn't drastic improvement. I found the key to success was what I put in my mouth in addition to clean and moisturized skin. 

I love the Olay Cleansing brush and ProX cleanser 

Exfoliation is as important as ever to rid your skins complexion of skin-dulling dead cells. Believe it or not, Evan has a brush too and he loves it! 

But I rotate facial washes morning and night! I seriously love these two. They remove all of my makeup so I don't have the raccoon eyes. Plus they provide a fragrant tingly feeling. 

Sunscreen EVERYDAY! Evan bought this one, and so far its the best one I've ever used! It's not greasy and doesn't make my skin feel oily, caky or extra shiny. 

Costco has great deals on Olay Regenerist Products. It's all about the moisture. I use this after the sunscreen! I don't have wrinkles yet, but my goal is to prevent as long as possible. Skin starts loosing its elasticity in your 30's. However if you moisturize in your 20's you're more likely to keep your skin looking healthy longer. 

 Speaking of Onion Rings Today I made 

healthy onion rings

Ingredients 
1 onion 
1 T onion powder 
1T garlic Powder
1/2 cup Bread Crumb or Almond Flour 
2 eggs

heat oven to 350 degrees 
cut onion into rings 
in a separate bowl whip your eggs 
dip onion rings into eggs 
on plate pour your dry mixture (crumbs, garlic powder & onion powder)
cover each ring with the dry mixture 
lay on a pan and cook in the oven for 40 minutes 


Chicken Nuggets 

2lbs chicken tenders
 1/2 cup almond flour 
1T onion powder 
1T garlic powder 

heat oven to 350 degrees 
cut chicken into small chunks
in a separate bowl whip your eggs 
dip chicken chunks into eggs 
on plate pour your dry mixture (crumbs, garlic powder & onion powder)
cover each chicken piece with the dry mixture 
lay on a pan and cook in the oven for 25 minutes 

Day 26: Name Change

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: 

So you just got married, It's time to change your last name! EXCITING! It's a process. 
First step is the Social Security Administration.
Federal Government Offices have a strict policy so here's what you do to ensure you can get your name changed and you only have to go ONCE. 

Anytime I have to go into a Government building I expect long lines and waiting. It's the Government- Everyone needs to go there at some point for whatever reason. I worked in a Federal Office and a City Office there is paperwork, security... the whole shebang.

I also know how to get through it quick as a constituent. 

1. Be prepared GO ONLINE and find out what forms you need to fill out- that's why it's online.

this is the form to change your name 

2. FILL IT OUT BEFORE YOU GET THERE

3. Make sure you have ALL the correct documentation, if they ask for 2 forms of ID bring 3 just in case- You never know if you need to prove something.

-Social Security Card

-Passport/Birth Certificate 

-Drivers License 

-Marriage Certificate

 *(the website says Marriage Document, but they want the Certificate, not the license)*

-bring a proof of address in case (phone bill....something)

3. Be nice to the people. The process is the process and they are doing their job, they are human- don't yell at them-even if you are upset at the process or whatever-It's not their fault. If you are nice they will bend over backwards to help you. 

(I happened to bring my marriage license, but I was so nice and I had a proof of address- so she didn't want me to drive all the way back home to get the certificate). 

The NEW Social Security Card takes about 7-10 business days to arrive, but it's in the system.

That Entire Process took 15 minutes. I had everything in a folder ready to go.... quick. 

Now on to a new drivers license and passport and changing all of my credit cards and such, but here is Step 1 of the entire process. 

FOOD REVIEW: 

Friday- Evan's last official day of this internal medicine rotation. The rotation that is consuming every ounce of energy he has. HOORAY. We went out to celebrate, and definitely had the best sushi ever. Mizumi in Little Neck, NY is a Japanese/Korean Fusion buffet. The first plate I ate was pretty paleo with  a lot of veggies and salad, but hello I was surrounded but a huge variety of fresh sushi and so I went for it. So good. There were probably 40 speciality rolls and sashimi to try + korean bbq + salmon and other types of hot plates. This place was BUSY and probably every Korean and Japanese person was there, so the food was constantly fresh/hot.. and yes, I felt like I was home  -_-  

  

Evan's Food Coma.... 

<3 

E & H

Day 22: Paleo Flaw

I still really enjoy the healthy eating and there are still 8 days left of the 30 day challenge; I love the amount of vegetables, fruits, good fats, seeds, and most of all the elimination of refined sugars. I plan to continue this patter but in my personal opinion I strongly believe that there are some flaws with the paleo diet. I feel there are some issues with the elimination of certain foods that are a prevention of cancers, and diabetes. Legumes are a carbohydrate that don't spike glucose and do support longevity. Whole grains is the second thing I feel is a flaw to eliminate. I think when the paleo diet eliminates grains it is because many are processed and changed, but whole grains are good for you, if we are reading our labels and they are truly whole and pure then it is good to go. Obviously everything should be eaten in moderation but for the remainder of the challenge I will be incorporating some legumes and whole grains/seeds like oats and quinoa. 

Honestly I feel good but I feel like there has been elimination of foods that provide nutritional benefits. 

So tonight I made Quinoa & Beef Burritos

Ingredients 

2 c quinoa 
3 c vegetable broth 
1 green bell pepper 
1/2 yellow onion 
cilantro 
lime juice 
1 lb ground beef
2 cups black beans 
1 tsp cumin 
1T chili powder
1T garlic minced
whole wheat tortilla

dice onion and bell pepper 
in a pan with medium heat add the brown the ground beef, onion, bell peppers
Then add cumin, garlic, and chili powder
in a separate pot add quinoa use broth instead of water, and use normal cooking directions. 


When everything is completed combine the ingredients into the tortilla, then add chopped cilantro to taste!
This was delicious! Evan was raving about it! 

I personally loved the quinoa! It had a extra delicious taste to it, considering it was cooked in the broth. 

Evan worked until late, but really great news: 
This is the last week of MEDICINE ROTATION! WOO HOO! 

I think I'll have to make something special to celebrate the last day (Saturday). 

cheers, 

E & H 

Day 15: Shopping, Cookies, Happy

Mondays: The most productive day of the week. Seriously. We were up at 5:30am, Evan went to work, I went for a run, did laundry, cleaned the house, did a bunch of camp emails and got ready all before 9:30 am. If I were like this everyday, who knows what I could do. 

Spring will never come. My run this morning was 20 degrees, sunny and freezing. 

In the past 3 days I've managed to break our apple slicer, can opener and melt our spatula. 

It's Birthday Week so I decided to incorporate a little shopping into my day at TJMAXX. I love that place! I obviously was looking for a few new kitchen tools and well there were a few things I didn't have. Thanks to a few Wedding Gift Cards and their wonderful 50%-75% sale on Kitchen Aid this is what I came up with. Yep all the tools were $1.50-$5.00, and I love the colors!  

Beautiful right??

Costco was my next stop! They have some awesome cooking ingredients that are expensive at the local stores! 

Himalayan Pink Salt $3.98 at Costco, $12.99 at the local store for a 3oz bottle! 

What? INSANE. This salt is extremely flavorful and so pure. 

Agave 2 bottles at Costco for $5.98. A small little 12oz bottle at the local store was  $4 something 

Good Deals, Good Steals today! 

Evan requested Chocolate Chip Cookies... He thought they were so delicious, I was surprised how good they were. I ate some batter and 2 cookies. I forgot how allergic I am to Almonds so that made me super sick. But they were so good it was almost worth it... almost. I loved eating them in the moment. 

 PALEO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

Ingredients 

3 cups sifted almond flour 

1 cup dark chocolate chips 

1/3 cup honey

1/2 T pure vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp pink salt, or sea salt

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 egg

coconut oil 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixing bowl wisk egg and combine salt, vanilla extract, honey and baking powder

after ingredients are combined add the chocolate chips 

sift almond flour in and mix together

cover baking sheet with coconut oil 

use a small ice cream scoop to make cookies into small balls on the pan

bake for 15 minutes then allow to cool before taking them off the pan

Yes that's correct, we had dessert before dinner 

Lemon Honey Chicken

Ingredients 

2 lbs chicken tenderloins 

scallions 

1 T minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 yellow onion

2 T honey 

4 T lemon juice

1/3 cup coconut flour 

1 egg

1 T coconut oil 

chop the chicken into small pieces 

whisk egg in a mixing bowl 

dip chicken pieces into egg 

drip excess egg and roll pieces into coconut flour 

melt coconut oil in a pan 

cook chicken pieces in the pan with medium heat until brown 

in a separate pan brown garlic and chopped onion 

combine broth , honey, lemon juice into the pan with garlic and onions and let simmer 

add browned chicken 

garnish dish with chopped scallions

He got off early and helped me do some cooking/tasting. 

This meal was Evan approved. 

On another note Almond makes my stomach feel like death 

I rubbed some DoTerra DigestZen  (which is a blend of Ginger, peppermint, tarragon, fennel, caraway, coriander and anise ) on my stomach and within the hour the pain and nausea was pretty much gone but holy cow I was feeling so much better. 

Good Day, Good Food, Good Fun

<3 

Love 

H & E

Day 14: Sunday Fun Day.

We stayed up way too late Saturday night, it was nearly impossible to roll out of bed and get ready for church. We didn't even really do anything or go anywhere... But we did find a really great app "UNO WITH FRIENDS" yep we both just lay in bed playing each other on our iPads- we are that cool.

We made it to church on time, Evan had to teach the Young Men- sometimes hard to keep their attention and get them off their iPhones.... 

We ate sloppy Joes, or sloppy somethings as Evan called them. It doesn't come on a bun like he expected. The meat was generously slopped onto a cooked sweet potato. He gave it a score of 5/10... He would give it an 8 if it weren't for the potato. I liked it though- and I thought it was pretty close to Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Sloppy Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients 

2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean

16oz ground beef

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

1 cup tomato paste

1 cup yellow mustard

Bake Sweet potatoes at 350 degrees until soft all the way through (usually 45 minutes) 

Cook meat in a pan with onion, garlic, and jalepnos 

Add tomato paste and mustard

Let simmer in pan for 20 minutes on low heat

Add to sweet potato

We watched the movie "The Game Plan" with the "Rock" while we ate our potato dinner. If you haven't seen that movie you should. It came out in 2007, but its actually super cute and definitely a good family movie. 

We intended to go for a walk, but its still cold here in New York. Spring will never come. It's supposed to snow AGAIN this week. *sigh* we are over the whole "winter season" 

  

It's nice to get a full day with Evan. He only has 2 more weeks of the Medicine rotation. Hallelujah !!!! 

Then it's on to Surgery, we are crossing our fingers this rotation won't consume every minute of his life. Rumor has it he has some weekends off. Which is a rare thing these days. 

At least there is light at the end of the Tunnel, and heat! Tucson in T-minus 3 months .

Moving? Oh boy, packing is one of my least favorite things... not going to think about that. On another note, girls camp is 3 weeks away and I am literally praying we don't get snow. 

Thanks for reading our daily on-goings. 

have a happy day, 

H & E 

Day 10: Paleo, a Protein Rich Diet. Is it good for you?

My entire life my mom ensured that I didn't eat too many eggs in a week in fear of increasing my cholesterol. I've steered away from the yokes and for a while I even bought the boxed egg whites. Most of my life I also tried not to eat too much red meat. Then I found paleo where you eat a lot of eggs and red meats as long as they are organic/ ground fed. But this still goes against everything I've ever known. It's very confusing and hard to know what is true and what is not.

The only thing to do is some digging and find out what research has been done. 

What does Doctor Oz have to say, and his "protein prescription". 

Protein protects agains 3 things: Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 1/3 of people are protein deficient. (WHAT?!) Our bodies are made up of protein: skin, bone, organs, blood, hormones, tendons, and of course muscles. When we are not feeding these things with proteins than obviously our bodies do not function the way they are meant to be. 

5-6 servings of protein are necessary everyday. We should be eating every 2-3 hours to get this. If we eat it all at once, our bodies cannot process the protein at the same time. Add a protein to every snack you have in the day. 

• Serving size is about the size of the palm of your hand. Animal proteins are the very closest to the proteins in the human body; eggs, turkey, wild caught salmon. 

• Nuts are an excellent source of FIBER (Peanuts are not a nut they are a legume), and I love Cashew butter! The calories in protein are not the same as a calorie in a carbohydrate. Our bodies will spend a little extra when we have protein, so its like a discount! I love discounts! 

• Beans/legumes (these are not in the paleo diet, but here is what Dr. Oz says): beans are a great source of protein and fiber all in one.

• Dairy (also not in the paleo diet, and I'm allergic): Plain Greek Yogurt is a great source of protein as long as sugar has not been added. 

So overall EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. You can eat 4 eggs in a day, but don't eat them all at once. Make sure you are eating those 5-6 servings a day! SNACK ATTACK! Don't starve yourself eat throughout the day every 2 hours or so. 

Obviously it is important to ensure fruit and vegetables are incorporated into your diet.

For dinner I made The Chicken Alfredo Impostor. A creamy sauce over Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients 

Spaghetti Squash 

2 lbs cooked chicken

2 avocados 

4 T coconut milk 

1T apple cider vinegar 

salt and pepper to taste

2 slices of crunchy turkey bacon (optional) 

4 fresh basil leaves

• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees 
• Cook spaghetti squash in the oven for 30 minutes 
• combine avocados, coconut milk, cider vinegar, basil, salt/ pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth 
• Add cooked chicken pieces and crunchy turkey bacon pieces in to a pan with medium heat. Then add the avocado mixture. 

• Delicious! I can't complain. 
• For dessert I had a fruit smoothie 

Ingredients 

6 fresh strawberries

1 cup of Coconut milk 

ice 

Blend together!

We had mutual which involved fitness night. We did ZUMBA! It was super fun! One of the girls took my phone and snapped a sweaty picture of me.

I love being in Young Womens. They are a bunch of energetic kiddos. They are hilarious and definitely like having fun.  Love doing activities with them. I am so excited for camp!! 3 WEEKS! 

After Young Womens on Sunday

Learning to Sew. 

Hilarious girls- entertaining the little kids. 

My Pre Zumba Selfie

Zumba it up!