Some baking in my future

Guess what I'm going to be doing for the next few days?

Yup, you guessed it. Blueberries. Lots of blueberries. Which means lots of yummy treats for the Sheffield household.

Jason went to a coworker's house and picked blueberries. Lots of them. Think I'm kidding?

Nope. Not kidding. But, I don't mind 'cause I love blueberries.

Menu Plan Monday: June 28-July 4

This week will be an interesting week for me. Due to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in my body, I'm starting a Candida diet. This means no sugar, no dairy, and no yeast. Some people follow this diet for the rest of their life, but I will not be. I plan on doing this for a few months as I starve the candida bacteria. Then I will slowly reintroduce sugar in more natural forms (honey, fruits) rather than white and brown sugar. I'll also start adding in dairy products that are homemade as much as possible, such as kefir milk and cream using low-pasterized milk (since I can't legally buy raw milk in the state of Mississippi). I'll also explore other flours such as spelt flour and brown rice flour.

In the meantime, this means a lot of veggies and soups. The point is that you starve the bacteria, meanwhile creating a lifestyle change where you do not "crave" sugary items. This is not a quick fix diet that once you achieve a goal you go back to eating junk. Once my candida symptoms are gone (which will take some time) I will introduce new foods one at a time. If my symptoms return, then I'll know that I just have to avoid that food completely.

Here's what I'm eating this week:

Monday: Carrot and Celery soup, Scrambled eggs

Tuesday: Mexican Chicken soup

Wednesday: Leftover soup (nothing that is older than two days)

Thursday: Veggie soup (made from a bunch of veggies like green beans, corn, and squash) with shredded chicken added in for protein

Friday: Roasted root vegetable soup

Saturday: Salad with shredded chicken

Sunday: 4th of July cookout with family; most likely the standard burgers and chips. This will be a difficult day for me to find something appropriate to eat.

My husband doesn't need to do this diet, so I have homemade whole-wheat bread and sandwich supplies on hand for him to eat in addition to the soup and salad. He also plans on making some homemade deer jerky to snack on.

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It's Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie! Each Monday over 300 women get together to share their menus for the week. MPM keeps me on track with menu planning and provides a wealth of menu ideas to keep dinner interesting.

Quick & Easy Whole-Wheat Waffles

"I'm making waffles." - Donkey from Shrek

I love to make waffles. They satisfy the hankering for something sweet in the morning. They're great for dinner. And, you can make all sorts of variations with one basic recipe.

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's cookbook How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. This cookbook literally lives up to its title and is a must-have for any decent cook.

Oh, and they aren't entirely whole-wheat, so it's a great waffle recipe for those who dare to try a healthier flour. We have served these waffles to many a guest and not one guessed that it was made with whole-wheat flour. I think that even my brother-in-law (who has a very particular taste preference) wouldn't even know unless I told him.

Quick and Easy Waffles

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. Mix together the milk, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients. If the mixture seems too thick to pour, add a little more milk.
4. Spread a ladleful (about 1/4 cup) or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3-5 minutes, depending on your iron.

Here's where it gets fun. All the variations! Here are some of my faves:

• Blueberries and grated orange peel (lemon peel is actually the standard, but we prefer orange)
• Diced (or grated if you don't like chunks) apple and up to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• Pecans and dried cranberries
• Pineapple (drain this well) and shredded coconut
• Chocolate chips and raspberries

Other variations that we haven't tried but that sound good:

• Substitute one cup of cornmeal for one cup of flour
• Chopped bacon and shredded cheddar cheese
• Substitute 1/2 cup of molasses for 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons of freshly minced or ground ginger
• Serve with ice cream (SOLD!!!! gotta try this)

You could add any chopped nut or fresh fruit that is cut into 1/4 to 1/2-dice. I will often use what is on hand. This past week I had fresh blueberries but no lemons or oranges, so I used that.

Also, if you add a tart fruit you might want to increase the amount of sugar. I don't bother because the maple syrup I pour on top makes it sweet enough to me. Furthermore, when I first made this recipe it didn't seem sweet enough. But I was a sugar-a-holic when I first made it. I've been working on decreasing sugar in my diet, so I don't have as much of a sweet tooth. Now it seems just right, and sometimes (if I add chocolate) it is a little too sweet. I would recommend playing around with the recipe and adjusting the amount of sweetness to your own preference.

I want to try this recipe using honey instead of sugar. I'd also like to try out some healthier flours so I can get rid of all the refined products. I'll post the recipe again when I've found something that works.

Chili Scrambled Eggs...Yum!

This post a day gets tough. Not because I run out of things to say, but because I'm lazy sometimes and I don't want to take the time to write out my thoughts. Trust me...there are plenty of thoughts to choose from.

Today I wanted to share a recipe for Chili Scrambled Eggs that I made last night. They were so yummy. The original recipe came from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade, but I tweaked it. I'm not the greatest at making omelets, so I switched to scrambled eggs. Here's my version:

Christy's Chili Eggs (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• (2) Jimmy Dean's Already Cook Turkey Sausage Patties - These can be found in the regular sausage section; they are boxed and packaged in twos. I just pull out what I need from the freezer, thaw it, and reheat it. Doesn't take long since it's already cooked. For those of you scared of turkey sausage, it is really YUMMY! We've made the switch and now I can eat sausage without feeling so guilty.
• (1) can of Hormel chili - If you like the sausage that comes in canned chili then get it. I don't. You will only need 1/4 cup for two people. Even better, use leftover chili if you have any. To me, this meal is better with vegetarian chili.
• Handful of Mexican Cheese blend

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage patties in med-high heat, breaking them up as you go. Drain and set aside.
2. Whisk the eggs in a prep bowl and add to pan. Scramble as normal (I'm not going to explain how to scramble eggs...hopefully you know how). When the eggs are almost done, add the chili, sausage, and cheese. Continue to mix.
3. Serve on plate and ta da! A great scrambled egg in minutes!

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