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11.17.2011

Drawing Straws

I consume a lot of smoothies, often in the car on my half-hour commute to work. I typically leave my smoothie cup in the car to wash when I return home and it's been a chore to get the straw properly cleaned out before the next smoothie round. One really good idea would be to take the cup into work and rinse it out. Too practical!

Today's REALLY good idea came to me by accident. My smoothie cups and straws were soaking in the sink and I discovered that the smaller bendy one had found its was inside the bigger one! The bendy one was the perfect size to scrub out the big one which cut my soaking time way down, allowing me to consume my dinner smoothie much sooner. And I probably saved the environment by one little baby step.  I wonder what else bendy straws are good for....?



11.14.2011

Chia Peanut Butter

I have a peanut butter problem; I love it a little too much. I constantly try to find ways to justify its ever-present existence in my daily diet. Just a year ago I ate Jif, then reduced fat Jif, then I learned a few things about processed foods and switched to natural peanut butters that contain just peanuts and salt. All these butters have been creamy, but in the last few months I've played with crunchy butters. It seems more hearty and meal-like. Much like a crack addict, I've also had different vehicles on which to get the peanut butter to my mouth. With the Jif I used either a slice of toast (maybe not even whole-grain bread), or a big spoon. Lately I've either had peanut butter on sprouted bread or on a low-glycemic index cracker.

I think about peanut butter all the time. I hoard it. Especially now, with the peanut shortage affecting my supply. My local grocery store has been out of my favorite brands for 10 days. I'm freaking out.

I admit I have a problem. But it has been tempered some by a few tricks I've learned along the way.  Onto the really good ideas! I wanted to increase the health benefits of my peanut butter by adding chia seeds so I was sprinkling it into the divots of my Ry-Krisp crackers.  The little seeds fell out, and I never seemed to get enough chia. So lately I've been mixing the seeds directly into the jar as I'm mixing the oil with the butter.

Really Good Idea bonus #1: See the container next to the larger bag of chia?  Makes it a heck of a lot easier to control the flow of the slippery seeds when it comes from something smaller.

Now that I've added more protein and essential Omega-3's to my beloved snack, it's time to address the salt issue. You can buy buy all-natural peanut butter at your local co-op; that's next on my list.  You can also buy peanut butter with no salt added; the ingredients are just peanuts. You can make your own, which is probably the best option in controlling what you ingest. If you aren't quite there yet (like me), you might head to the store to discover that the shortage still prevails and the only feasible options either contain maltodextrin, or don't contain salt. I love salted peanut butter, but I love my health a little more so opted for the no-matodextrin, no-salt option. But it didn't taste quite right, so I added my own salt.




This is NOT a really good idea, but I'm a big fan of enjoying the food I allow myself so I went ahead and tossed some in. The really good idea that come from this is that I am controlling the amount of salt in my food. It's all about choices and options.

Yield: It's up to you.  I mix as much chia (3T at least) into a jar of peanut butter.

Really good idea bonus #2: Store your stirred peanut butter in the refrigerator and you won't have to stir every day!

What's your favorite healthy guilty pleasure?


I thought of this really good idea all by myself, but it really wasn't that much of a stretch as chia is everywhere now. A simple google search brought up a plethora of options.

Make Your Own Frozen Spinach

Here's a bit of rocket science- Spinach is mostly water and freezes nicely! Spinach can get expensive, and it's on the Dirty Dozen list of organic produce to buy organic. If you are using a lot of spinach in your Green Monster smoothies but still not using it all up before the expiration date, try this:
-Wash your pre-washed organic spinach you bought in bulk. Better yet, buy a big head of organic spinach (yes you can eat the stems!), wash it.


 -Put a whole bunch in a food processor. You might need to cut yours up a little bit first. Hint: if you put too much in you'll end up with spinach puree at the bottom and whole leaves at the top. Be smart about this, people.
-Chop to a nice, fine consistency.  I have a pulse option on my food processor and I pulsed it on and off for about a minute. 
-Spoon the spinach into clean ice cube trays. Use a small spatula or your fingers to mash it down in there!
-Cover as tightly as possible with plastic wrap or other freezer-burn-proof substance of your choice.

-Freeze it! When it's completely frozen, you have several compact spinach cubes to throw into your smoothie (I use four to six per batch). You can also toss your cubes into soups or other hot dishes. I wouldn't plan on eating this "fresh" again. You can also pop your spinach cubes out of the trays and store them in a freezer bag if that set-up saves you valuable space.

Yield: One pound of organic spinach fit nicely into two ice cube trays.  I'm sorry my ice cube trays do not match. Sometimes it's a really good idea to use what you have instead of buying new for appearances.

I've done this freezer tray method with my fall pesto-palooza as well.  What other veggies or condiments would this work with?  Chime in!

This tip was shared with me by my very smart friend.

Welcome!

Welcome to my first blog post! "Really Good Ideas" is the result of three years of overhauling my life. From technology to finances to health and wellness, I've gathered some great tips along the way that I want to share.

How many times have you heard "that's a really good idea!" and haven't followed up on it? About five years ago, a friend "invented" the Google Box; a simple box in some room that you could speak to and conduct a quick google search in plain english. Smartphones have come a long way, but it wasn't until Siri on the iphone that the Google Box really came into fruition. I only wish my friend had been the one to develop it! Point is, all kinds of ideas float around out there. I hope to harness the ones I've learned, and provide a forum for everyone to share.

Enjoy!