Mother Nature is Medicine

Mother Nature is Medicine
MOTHER NATURE IS MEDICINE. The Creator has given us everything that we need. It is all here on this Earth and in the Universe. It can be found in the Earth, in the Sky, in the Waters, in the Air. Often times, we, as humans, tend to view nature as something that is "apart" from ourselves. We talk of spending time "in nature." We, in a sense, distance ourselves. In reality, we ARE "a - part" as well. The Great Spirit put us here and blessed us and our ancestors with this beautiful earth. Embracing the Creator and the natural blessings is food & nourishment for the body, mind, and soul. Nature is medicine. ~Peace and Blessings~

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Green Goddess Pasta Salade



Elbow macaroni
Sliced black olives
2 boiled eggs, chopped
Sliced sweet orange tomatoes
Chopped onion
Garlic powder
Celery seed
Salad Seasoning
Ground black pepper
Green Goddess salad dressing

I used Green Goddess salad dressing for a different pasta salad I made years ago and I had completely forgotten about this type of dressing till now.





My new recipe of fresh pasta salad enjoyed in the summer or whenever you want something lighter and colder. I ate mine with a few pickled beets (which I have come to really like recently) and sliced cucumbers with hummus. 




Tuesday, August 13, 2013

I’ll Give You A “hint” - Review



Has anyone tried these water-based fruit drinks called “hint”? 







They are certainly new to me. I’ve never heard of them until I went to Harris Teeter (grocery store) this summer.  I was looking for a fresh-tasting cool drink and was about to grab a cold green tea when my eyes drew towards “hint”. For one thing, I wanted to try it because it claims to be healthier than most other drinks and it is only flavored with natural fruits. Second of all, it was cheaper than the green tea with sugar that I was about to buy.

Euuuu, maybe I should have stuck with the green tea. The “hint” drink that I tried was the “mango-grapefruit” and it tasted like I was drinking perfume. Now, I have never tasted perfume personally, but for those who wear perfume or have sprayed some type of perfume, you know that “taste” that you get when you accidentally spray near your face, or you spray too much in a little room, then you’ve got to run out the room really quick for fresh air? Well, I’ve had to do that a few times anyway. But that is the feeling I received when drinking this product. I will say that it is certainly not as bad as the perfume-situation I described. I did drink the whole 16oz., over time. It has a strange kind of flavor, something that I guess you have to get used to or have an acquired taste for. I’m glad I tried this drink nonetheless. If I hadn’t, I’d be wondering what it tasted like, as I like to try new things.

I will say that I will more than likely not buy this flavor again, but I will try their other flavor that was offered in the store – Pomegranate, I believe. Perhaps that flavor will be more to my liking.

Some more information for “hint mango-grapefruit”:
The bottle says “DRINK WATER, NOT SUGAR”
“UNSWEETENED ESSENCE WATER refreshing, lightly flavored and zero calories”
It claims to have “ZERO SWEETENERS, ZERO CALORIES, ZERO PRESERVATIVES”
Vegan
Gluten-free
No MSG
No Preservatives

If someone told me not to drink this because to them it tasted like perfume, I would probably still try it because everyone has different tastes. So, I’m not telling anyone to try this drink or to not try this drink. It’s personal preference, just not for me.
:)

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Lefty's Spices on Chicken


In my previous post I shared the mix pack, Lefty's Spices Fish n' Chicken Mix, that I used for the tilapia fish. I used half the bag for the fish and a couple days later I used the rest of the bag for the chicken. The chicken pieces I used were very thick and there were five (5) of them. I think I cooked about seven (7) tilapia, so there certainly was a fair amount of mix in the bag.

It tastes just as good on chicken as it does on fish, just like the bag says! I rubbed the seasoned flour all over the chicken, in every nook and cranny! It took a while for the chicken to cook as they were thick pieces and I cooked it on about medium-low heat.

I cooked some fresh green beans along with it and I felt no need to add any salt or pepper or any other seasoning for the olive oil did the magic.

Everything was just homemade and so much better! I made mashed potatoes and mixed it with butter, sour cream, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and ground black pepper. You may not be able to see by the picture, but I used yellow potatoes which in turn gave it a yellowish tinge. Usually, we use white potatoes (I'm sure I have the names mixed up). In our home, we like our mashed potatoes chunky and thick.
Another great meal for iftar.


Tilapia with Mango Salad


Seasoned battered tilapia with mango salad, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and white rice. 
One of my delicious cuisines I made for one of our iftar meals!
This. Was. Absolutely. Delicious! 
I can' t wait to make this again sometime!

The recipe for the Mango salad was found online. 
For the tilapia fish, I used Lefty's Spices Fish n' Chicken Mix. I've never heard of or used this mix before, but I really liked it - very flavorful, and not spicy at all, just well seasoned. The only problem was that it contained MSG (monosodium glutamate). Other than that, I really liked the mixture and might use it again. 

A bit too bright of a flash, but you can see what it is






Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Salmon and Moroccan-Inspired Couscous



You can find the recipe for the salmon here
I didn’t have dried basil or garlic cloves, so I substituted the cloves for minced garlic and used dried parsley flakes along with Italian seasoning.    
The salmon was succulent and soft, juicy, full of flavor, and fresh-tasting. Mmm mmm mmm
Thank you!



For the couscous, I used Near East Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Couscous. I’ve never tried this before, surprisingly, but I wasn’t sure if it would be flavorful enough for me and I wanted to try out a new spice. While the couscous boiled, I added 1 tsp. of Ras el Hanout (Moroccan seasoning).  After the quick boil, before I covered the pot, I mixed in cooked onions, red cherry tomatoes, and orange sweet tomatoes sliced. Oh yes, yummy!