The Divine Grind

It's one of the biggest questions out there when it comes to health: Should I love or hate salt? The classification of "salt" is vast, and it encompasses a range of products that in some cases bare little resemblance, chemically, to one another. So it's important to get it straight: What is salt? Is all salt bad? Are some better than others? And should you avoid them altogether to be healthy? A self-proclaimed "salt lover," I have done my research. Some salt is plain old sodium-chloride, which actually has no nutritional value, and some salt actually contains minerals that are necessary for life. Do you know which kind you're eating and whether it's the "good kind"? For those who don't, let me see if I can help you save some time, confusion and unnecessary restriction on something that, in its greatest and truest form, is actually good for you! There are myriad websites and blogs dedicated to sharing the facts on salts: the chemistry, the origins, the uses, etc. But I am going to tell you what I use and love because it brings the flavors out of foods and it's healthy!

It's Soup Season!

My crock pot getting to work on squash soup!

Hello everyone. I know, I am late again on posting. Finding it harder than ever to sit down at my computer for any length of time. Oh but I so enjoy it when I do. One of the things I have noticed about being a working mom is that not only is blogging a challenge, but finding time to plan and make nice meals for my family is harder than ever. It's hard enough as a full-time mom, but throw a long workday in there, and forget it. I know whether you are a parent or not, that many of you probably struggle with finding time to make truly healthy meals. And that is why I want to talk about that wonderful contraption, the Crock Pot. Awww, the Crock Pot. While my understanding is that a crock pot can even bake bread and cake and even cook spaghetti, what I use it for mostly are soups and stews because they are complete meals and even easier to make in a Crock Pot. For those of you who struggle with finding time to eat healthfully in the evenings, I think that the crock pot may be exactly the solution you need to avoid greasy nightly take-out and canned soup or cold cereal dinners. It certainly is how Aaron and I avoid it, and in doing so, how we make some of the yummiest meals we have all year! One of my favorite things about this cooking method is that it's so much less work than the step-by-step stove-top recipes. Aside from browning some meat or making a roux to thicken stew, you pretty much chop and add the ingredients (in 1-2 stages), turn the crock pot on, and leave it! Aaron and I often prep the ingredients at night and then in the morning toss them in before we leave for work. By that evening we have a delicious meal waiting for us! I'm telling you, even with us both working now this 'ol gal has ensured that we continue to eat healthfully. So grab a pen and paper, get your allrecipes and foodnetwork.com fingers ready, and let me share some of my favorite ideas so that you can keep you and your family healthy and well-fed this fall and winter.