Sweet Citrus & Ginger Grilled Salmon

One of the best sources of protein is fish. Most fish is low in fat, and the exceptions usually have a good form of fat: omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s, which are found in salmon, herring, and other fatty fish, may help protect against heart disease and other chronic conditions.

Ingredients

1-1⁄2 lb. salmon fillet (skin intact)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. olive oil 
2 Tbsp. ground ginger
1⁄3 cup orange juice or one drop of DōTERRA Wild Orange with 1/3 alkaline water (in the store)
1 Tbsp. DōTERRA lime oil (in the store) 

1. For marinade, whisk together honey, olive oil, ginger, orange or wild orange and lime oil and Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
2. Arrange salmon fillets in a glass baking dish and pour marinade over fish. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Lightly oil grill and preheat. (Note: Real wood charcoal tastes best, but gas works fine. Avoid instant-light briquettes as they make food taste like lighter fluid! Aim for medium heat – if your grill lid has a thermometer built into the lid, it should read about 350 degrees F.)
4. Transfer salmon to a platter. Reserve marinade.
5. Place marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, cook for one minute. (Note: This will kill off any bacteria and make it safe to baste the salmon while it’s cooking.)
6. Place the salmon, skin side down, on grill.
7. Cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon, basting every 5 minutes. (Note: To check for doneness, test the flesh with a fork. When done, it will begin to flake. If you cut into the salmon, meat should be opaque.)
8. Transfer fish to a platter and serve immediately.

How to ordre doTERRA Essential oils:

 http://mydoterra.com/colleenfaye

7/2/15 doTERRA oils blog https://healinghealthandwellness.wordpress.com/tag/doterra-oil/

Tomato Basil Chicken (cooking with essential oils)

4 chicken breasts

8 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2-3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 drop doTERRA Black Pepper eo / loads of ground pepper

2 drops doTERRA Basil eo / or 1 large handful or basil

Mix olive oil and doTERRA Black Pepper, and put 1/3 aside. Drizzle  the rest over each chicken.  Grill over medium-high heat on the outdoor grill or on your indoor grill pan 5-6 minutes each side.  Remove to serving platter.

In the bowl of your food processor, toss in tomatoes, garlic, basil eo, vinegar, and olive oil & doTERRA Black Pepper mix.  Pulse until your get a nice salsa consistency.  Taste and see if you need a pinch more salt and pepper.  Spoon over chicken.

That's it!  Super simple and delicious.  I forget there is a grilled chicken under all of that tomato goodness. 

Inspired by MIX AND MATCH MAMA http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2012/06/dinner-tonight-tomato-basil-chicken.html

Interested in additional benefits from olive oil: 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/health/five-things-olive-oil/ 

How to order doTERRA Essential oils:

 http://mydoterra.com/colleenfaye

Heart healthy benefits of Tomatoes:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/jared-bunch-rhythm-of-life/tomato-day-keeps-heart-doctor-away/

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44

Belly Slimming Smoothies

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Smoothie

1.5 cups of coconut milk (or almond milk).

6-7 frozen strawberries (can use fresh, just add in ice cubes)

1/2 frozen banana

1.5 TB cocoa powder

Add a couple drops of liquid stevia. I used my chocolate raspberry stevia and it enhanced the chocolatiness!!

Optional add ins: free-range egg yolks, coconut oil, and ice cubes if you use fresh strawberries

Throw everything in a blender, except ice cubes, and blend till smooth. Take a peak and add in ice cubes to get it to the thickness you desire.

Enjoy!!! From The Paleo Mama http://thepaleomama.com/2012/03/chocolate-dipped-strawberry-smoothie/

Good Morning

1 handful spinach

1 handful kale

1 big spoonful of peanut butter

1 banana

1 handful of ice cubes

½ cup coffee

Optional a chocolate or chocolate peanut butter protein powder goes well with this if your coffee is cold.

Directions:

Throw everything in a blender, except ice cubes, and blend till smooth. Take a peak and add in ice cubes to get it to the thickness you desire.

Triple Berry Banana Yogurt Smoothie

8 ounces frozen mixed berries

2 small bananas, cut into 2-inch pieces and frozen

6 ounces vanilla yogurt, preferably whole milk

1 cup whole milk

1 to 2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Add the berries, bananas, yogurt, milk and honey to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Dave Lieberman http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/triple-berry-banana-yogurt-smoothie-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 vine-ripened tomatoes

Salt

1/2 cup quinoa

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Cook quinoa as the box says (so for ½ cup quinoa you will boil 1 cup water).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice tomatoes in half horizontally and scoop out pulp and seeds. Salt insides and rest upside down on a sheet pan lined with a wire rack to extract juices, about 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together quinoa, garlic, basil, pepper, 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan and oil.

Stuff tomatoes with the filling, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and bake until tomatoes are cooked through and tops are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Seashell Fun

Heyy all my crafty mommies, and shell loving kiddos!!! No longer do you need to feel as though the shells collected from the beach this past year were a waste. Not that collecting seashells are every really a waste of time, but still, this is just a conformation for you all.

I have put together a list of things you can make with your seashells, to liven them up or put them to good use:

1. Seashell portraits
One of the simplest things you can do with seashells, is to gather all of the really big ones and paint them. We used nail polish for this because they were left outside and our traditional paints would have washed off, and acrylic is too thick for our liking. You can make everything from  memory shell, to  pictures of fishes!

PS: dont think your artistic skills are up to par? No problem! Paint a shell all one color and let dry, then using some clear glue, make squiggles all of the shell. Next pour a colorful sand on the shell and let dry to make your shell look like fan coral.

2. Seashell Earings
This is another super well known use for seashells, but why leave it out? You don't always have to invent the wheel, sometime remembering a good idea is good.You can buy earring backs at just about any craft stores as well as wall mart.I use a hot glue gun for this craft just so that it sticks better, but a super glue will work as well.
       1. Paint your seashell (if you would like) and let dry
       2. Once dry glue it to the earring back, and let dry

3. Seashell Vase
Personaly, I am not a fan of flowers, but my mother loves to send then to me for every occasion, so I have an ever growing collection of flower vases in my house, that look dull since I don't try to fill them with flowers. So this summer I went on a quest to find and collect 500 tiny seashells to help fill my vases with. I ended up with a lot more and was able to fill all of them up. This is a great touch to our bathroom, and my office,  reminding me of the beach all year round.


4. Seashell Mobile
For this craft you want to use slightly more light weight shells, since drilling a hole in them increases the risk of breaking them and your glue may not hold up on  a heavier shell. The easiest way I have found to do this is with a clasp, glued to the concave side of the shell. Use a thick piece of string to loop through the clasp and then again around a wooden ring, before tying off at the top.
Side note: seashells re really porous, so regular glue does not always work so well with them, however Beacon has a sea shell glue that works really well. If you use this kind please be sure to let the clasps sit for a whole day before continuing, because it takes a while to set.


5. Seashell Necklaces
Of course, there are so many ways to make a seashell necklace, and it is probably one of the most common use for seashell findings. My daughter and I went all out this year, using both gemstones, and shark teeth to help add creativity to our necklaces.

(from left 3 mermaid, one just shell)

      
 1. Paint your seashell
 2. Decided if you want the mermaid version or shark version
                   
             A.Mermaid: Using a glitter glue, glue a colorful gem in the center of the concave side of your shell before adding a final layer of glitter.
                   



B. Shark: Using some glue create a puddle in the concave said of the shell, add the shark tooth, or teeth, then top off with a top layer of glue in order to trap the tooth, teeth into a glue resin.

3. Let Dry before adding it to your necklace