Category: Organics

Organics does not have to cost a fortune. Find out about some great products and food items that will truly enhance your organic lifestyle, Karie shares some of her organic options and products.

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King Arthur Flour for All Your Baking Needs

With my family being all organic finding breads that are organic and taste good are very hard to find. They are either very dense, very dry, or lack flavor, only a few choice breads that are 100% organic are very tasty. So because of this I have taken to making our own bread, only after we had been buying locally made bread from a family in our neighborhood. To save money, control portions and calories, and let’s face it when I know what my food is being made with, based on the ingredients I put into them, that gives me the piece of mind knowing my kids are eating healthy and without harsh additives.

Admittedly, my bread and all my baking happens with King Arthur flour. So with that I wanted to know what else I could do with King Arthur and I found that their options are unlimited. In fact, I found a yeast canister & measuring spoon set that made a beautiful addition to my kitchen and my baking needs. No more spills and messes with yeast, and it comes in a clean display canister with the perfect measuring spoon.

But King Arthur is so much more than just yeast and flour. They offer goodies for baking cupcakes, mixes for cakes, cookies and even dog biscuits. With all the various products King Arthur has to offer, they make the perfect gift idea for making premade baking mixes and jars, to making your own baked goodies for a gift basket, or buying that perfect baking pan. Plus you can trust in a company that has been around for 200 years here in the US. Don’t let me try to tell you how great they are, why don’t you enter to win a $20 Gift Card from King Arthur and try them out for yourself:

  • Follow KAF on Facebook and Twitter (Worth 2 entries)
  • Sign up for the KAF newsletter for even more goodies (worth 2 entries)
  • Follow my blog
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  • Fan The Fish on Facebook
  • Promote this giveaway on Facebook
  • Tweet this giveaway daily: Win $20 GC from @KariewithaK and @KingArthurFlour in time for your holiday shopping and baking https://thefivefish.com/king-arthur-flour
  • Leave a comment on any non giveaway post (worth 2 entries)
  • Blog this giveaway (Worth 5 entries)
  • Subscribe to my feed or add me to your reader

Contest ends November 23rd midnight Arizona Time

As always: No Purchase Necessary, available to US residents. One entry per household. US postcard entries also acceptable if you do not have access to the above entry options, no limit to postcard entries as long as all are received before the close of the contest, email contests@thefivefish.com for your postcard entry details or to use email as your postcard entrance as these entries will be logged by the administrator of the blog. Winners will be chosen by “And the Winner is” Failure to adhere to the aforementioned rules set forth by this contest will result in forfeiture of your entry with no notice. Facebook does not promote, endorse, nor sponsor this review and giveaway and will be held harmless. As always, good luck and enjoy.

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Honest Tea Kids – Sweeter Alternative

Are your kids still reeling from the Halloween candy? Maybe they are suffering from a bit of a candy hangover per se. Well maybe the cure or the better option for next year’s Halloween candy option is Honest Kids from the makers of Honest Tea.

Honest Tea has a new line of organic, no high fructose corn syrup, low-sugar, fruit-flavored drinks that are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth craving. Not to mention the good for you option with these drinks not being overloaded with sugary sweetness and the guilt of high fructose corn syrup.

My kids love the Honest Tea kids line of drinks with the light, sweet fruit flavors that quench their thirst and I can feel guilt free about them drinking them. Made with all organic ingredients, natural flavors, and in easy to access pouches. In five fun-filled flavors: Appley Ever After, Goodness Grapeness, Berry Berry Good Lemonade, Tropical Tango Punch, and Super Fruit Punch.

This year for the holidays, choose a healthy alternative to the sugary, sweet, unhealthy, tempting snacks and treats that support poor choices for your kids. While a sugary snack here and there is alright in moderation, but sometimes the holidays take over with the desire for sweets. Don’t take my word for it, try Honest Kids drinks for yourself, find them at your local grocers, Costco, and other local retailers. Try adding them to your stockings this year for the holidays or in next year’s Halloween treat bowl as a healthier, just as sweet alternative.

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Organic Baked Kale Chips Recipe

baked kale chips, kale chips, kaleWhile partaking in my weekly offering with Bountiful Baskets I have recently been receiving a lot of kale in my baskets. I will fully admit I am a novice as to what kale is, was, and how it would have any addition to our dinner table and or menu for meals. But I did find that kale is very high in essential nutrients such as iron, calcium, beta kerotene, and the list goes on. I found some wonderful recipes to add this green leafy gem to stir fry, but I am not a fan of wilty greens. Although spinach is wonderful if steamed properly, I could not quite wrap my noggin around biting down this cabbage cousin. However, no recipes really jumped out at me. So while perusing the dry goods aisle at Whole Foods today I was hit with a stroke of genius, call it an epiphany, of how to serve up kale where everyone in my household would eat it and love this leafy green. Here is an easy kale recipe that is sure to be a hit and great addition to your diet.

The prep for this snack is more than easy and takes very little time, all you need is patience to pat dry your kale after a good rinsing. I had to rinse mine thoroughly, since it was USDA Certified Organic, so I was greeted with a caterpillar who had made a home in the fold of the leafy green vegetable. So be sure to rinse thoroughly and dry thoroughly or your kale will not turn out the way it should intend.

  • 2T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Herbes de Provence (optional, for a bit of flair)

Basting brush, cookie sheet, preheated oven to 375 degrees

Take your leaves of kale and slice the leaves from the stalk and then cut into chip size pieces. I sliced all mine jaggedly off the stem/stalk of the leaves so I had silver dollar size pieces. Do this only after you have rinsed well and patted your leaves dry and they must be completely dry or you will have steamed kale instead.

Using your basting brush, baste on the salt and EVOO mixture and place on cookie sheet, dash lightly with salt. Do this until all the pieces are lightly coated and then place the entire cookie sheet in the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes and checking at the 8 minute mark as to not burn your kale. Remove from oven and serve. Great with dinner, as an anytime snack, or to add that extra something to your meal and table.

 

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Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

Fall is most definitely one of my favorite seasons of the year. The weather is fantastic. The mornings are rich with a cool bite of the season, the smell is unmistakable from summer into fall. You can almost compare the scent of fall to that first bite into an apple; crisp, juicy from the dew of the morning, bitter and then sweet with a smoothing you can feel all over your body. Continue reading “Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe”

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Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Sunday mornings are my time to give the man of the house a break and I whip up some of my culinary favorites in the morning for the family. Albeit egg nog french toast or pumpkin pancakes for the coming of fall, but lately we have tickled our taste buds for a bit more of the boring meets eccentric type of cuisine.

A little cafe by my office serves up a WICKED breakfast pizza, it is all sorts of unhealthy with garlic, olive oil, bacon, you name it and this breakfast pizza is topped with the heart stopping additives. While I wanted to copy this recipe of sorts I did not want to steal their thunder nor the replica of the food, I wanted to put a Herring organic spin. Of which I did!

Half dozen organic flour tortillas (super easy to make with organic flour too!)

Morning Star Vegan Sausage

Diced/cubed ham

(yes this is available in organic, you have to hunt for it)

Six Eggs, scrambled

(I add a touch of water while scrambling to make these babies extra fluffy)

Shredded Cheese (to taste)

On a large baking sheet or baking stone, place tortillas flat, topping with the above and add cheese to taste. You can mix up the ingredients and add bacon and or pork sausage, we went for a lower calorie and I love Morning Star sausage due to the vegan component for my kids. Place in oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melts to be sure not to overcook the eggs and meat and serve. My kids loved this new spin on pizza and breakfast.

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Stuffed Baby Peppers Recipe

baby peppers, sweet peppers, baby bell peppersSo I have become more of an aficionado for the raw and vegetable based meals. Blessed be my love affair for organic, supporting local food co-ops, and VOILA! Fabulous family meals. My last offering with Bountiful Baskets pleasured my palette with an assortment of fragrant and beautiful baby peppers. These baby bell peppers are crunchy, sweet and a wonderful snack. Here is a great recipe for a snack, lunch or dinner option.

Now I have seen these little vitamin C filled cuties all over Costco and the farmer’s market and I see folks purchasing them and I knew a recipe had to exist outside of a Cacciatore. Don’t get me wrong, I love a hearty Italian meal, but the Irish in me screams for rich, filling, sticks to your bones where you didn’t know you had bones meal for very little. Something I have become accustomed to as a single income household is how my strong Irish descent has offered me creative ways of making a lot out of a little. Or maybe that fact that I am a finance guru with a way to dissect the bits and pieces. Oh I digress.

The peppers. The sweet, full of bite, tangy, orange, yellow and red baby peppers. What to do. So I sought out the net to expand my palette of culinary fare. But I did not want an extravagant amount of time exerted to make a delightful dish either as a light main summer meal or lunch time snack. Furthermore, I wanted to utilize my refrigerator and pantry to it’s fullest in order to stretch my ever weakened dollar. And my creation was such:

1-2 dozen baby peppers, washed and seeded

2T. red onions sauteed and caramelized, add more if desired

1 clove of garlic (because I big puffy heart garlic)

2 breasts of chicken (I had some left over in the fridge and wanted to use it up)

3T mayonnaise

1/4 c. Gorgonzola cheese, or to taste

I love cheese. I am a giant mouse stuck in the aura of a Leo so cheese of any sort is a staple in my house, and especially a great form of a blue cheese.

So saute and caramelize the onions and garlic, add them to the mayonnaise in order to maintain the flavor without being overly pungent. Finely dice or shred the chicken, you can substitute canned chicken, but I love grilled chicken, it has a slight smoked taste which is wonderful for this dish. Begin to mix together all the ingredients and to ensure all the chicken is coated with the mayonnaise mixture, then slowly add in the Gorgonzola, continue to stir until all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Add small amounts of mayonnaise as needed but I found this was the perfect amount. Then begin to stuff the baby peppers, place in a Tupperware container to chill and serve later, or for a few moments in the oven melt some cheddar cheese over the peppers for a warm delight.

The chicken mixture can be served alone as well, we served all the excess on toasted French bread baguette slices with cheddar cheese as sandwiches and the kids loved them. Bon Appetit!

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Organic Pancakes Recipe

organic pancakes, gluten free pancake recipe, vegan pancake recipe, organic pancake recipe

Sunday mornings are a ritual family breakfast for our family. Generally a large breakfast and one we all enjoy together. This last Sunday was pancakes, I love pancakes and I love to mix up my recipe ingredients to try a new spin. My newest addition made this batch, light, buttery, and fabulous with some fresh fruit. Even better….these pancakes are not out of a box and the cost is less than $2.00 for the these tasty delights! I have even updated to include vegan, gluten free and dairy free pancake options. Continue reading “Organic Pancakes Recipe”

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Healthy Home for the Holidays

The cold and holiday season has arrived. With the arrival comes lots of indoor time, lots of visitors, including family, and when I mean visitors I am suggesting the invasion of germs that carry the cold and flu viruses among many other immunity invaders.

Now I am a huge proponent for what some may call home sterilization. At least once a week I soak my kids most played with toys in a mixture of one cup of Clorox bleach and water, these are generally their Lego’s and bath toys, this helps to keep them clean, germ free, and I feel good knowing their toys are clean. Additionally I add one cup of Clorox bleach to the toilet bowl to keep the bowl fresh, clean, and free of the nasty germs that lurk.

But I also like to add some Clorox bleach in a mixture in my kitchen sink to dunk my sponges in as I go about wiping down some of the high traffic areas for germs. Door handles, light switch plates, drawers, cabinets, floors, and handles for appliances are especially focused on. The bathroom is one of my largest areas because I like to associate my bathroom as a haven for cleanliness and if you have a room that is riddled with nasty cracks and crevices that harvest germs some may find that washing your hands in the trash is more sanitary than using the actual bathroom. The toilet and flushing handle are scrubbed as is the door handle, faucet at the sink, and fresh linens are placed carefully to suggest to my house guests that the bathroom is clean, warm, inviting, and promotes hand washing to further prevent the spread of germs.

However, some areas of the home are bit more delicate and require a softer touch which is why Clorox offers awide array of cleaning products other than their flagship product of bleach that are less harsh, may not cause discoloration to household products, and are great for quick touch ups for germ prevention. The Clorox wipes and sprays are a great way to keep up with touch up cleaning and germ prevention around the house. How do you prepare for your holiday guests, do you power clean your house? How do you disinfect and keep your home germ free? Do you think keeping too clean of a home may be inviting for germs, do you feel that “a little dirt never hurt?”

“This is a sponsored post and while I was compensated for this post in no way did the compensation deter or influence my use or opinion surrounding the use of Clorox products.”
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Back to School with Seventh Generation

Now that the fall school schedule has resumed and our kids are socializing amongst their friends and teachers that they missed over the summer a lurking menace is socializing with our children as well.

GERMS!

Disgusting, sickening germs that our children spread around as they touch things, sneeze, cough, you name it, they touch and spread this menace in the classroom and bring home to the family.

To prevent the spread of germs our teachers request that the students bring in hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. But as a parent, I am rather particular about the disinfecting wipes, cleaners, and products my children use at home. Our family is especially conscious about the environment and the harmful chemicals in some disinfecting and cleaning products. Seventh Generation has an amazing line of cleaning, disinfecting, and paper products for your home that are environmentally friendly and the ingredients are botanically based, on chemically.

For back to school My Blog Spark and Seventh Generation is promoting their line of disinfecting cleaner, wipes, and products for a healthier home, classroom, and to help keep our children healthier while promoting a healthier world to live in by reducing our carbon footprint.

You too can enjoy the fruits of a healthier home on lots of levels by entering to win the prize pack offered by My Blog Spark and Seventh Generation! Here is what your goodies will look like:

To be considered for entry tell me what you do to help prevent the spread of germs with your child and would you like to use a product like Seventh Generation that is both healthier for your home and the environment.

(Comments like “pick me” and “enter me” and “I want to win” will disqualify your comment for entry into the giveaway.)

For complete entry options be sure to check out the rules page for details. Be sure when Tweeting you @SeventhGeneration to show your support!

CONTEST ENDS SEPTEMBER 25TH

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Seventh Generation Saving Planet Home

Make everyday Earth Day! Why is it that each and every year that Earth Day rolls around Americans and others around the world feel some innate  urge like they do at New Years to make a resolution.

What I find about people who want and choose to go green is that they claim the switch is more expensive, costly, hard to find. I can tell you that you cannot put a price on quality, cleanliness, safety, and eco-friendly options for your family, your home, this planet.

Seventh Generation is a staple in my home. I trust their products, I know that using them and not the standard household cleaners and the home products are making a difference in the world, protecting my kids, and all at the same time still making a difference in the world. Even if it is just one household at a time.

“Seventh Generation has partnered with eco-lifestyle consultant and author, Alexandra Zissu, whose new book, The Conscious Kitchen, discusses what’s good for your health, what’s good for the planet and what tastes great. Her book also includes great tips on maintaining a green and healthy kitchen.”

So this is how you can change your home, your way of thinking about being eco-friendly, and how you can have a healthy kitchen and healthy eating habits. Enter to win a Seventh Generation cleaning kit prize pack!

Tell me have you gone green, are you going green, do you have hang ups about going green?

Extra Entries:

  • Tweet this giveaway being sure to put @KariewithaK & http://bit.ly/cUCKIh
  • Blog this giveaway
  • Check out ALL the entry options, just remember no purchase necessary or consideration necessary.

Giveaway ends May 1st.

*As part of this review and giveaway I received the prize pack seen above on behalf of MyBlogSpark and Seventh Generation. My opinions are my own and NEVER swayed.