My Things 2 Do
From easy to make recipes to DIY projects anyone can do. It's mythings2do Make this your things 2 do too!
Juicing for Crohn’s
Juicing is a great way to get lots of nutrition in your body at one time
I’ve had Crohn’s for 33 years. I’ve talked to my doctor in the past about juicing my foods but honestly the thought of drinking my food didn’t appeal to me.
Well I’ve decided to give it a try. Honestly I’m tired of feeling tired and in pain.
I’ve looked online and compared juicers and recipes. My girlfriend bought my juicer for Christmas. We decided while there are many juicers that look nice and compact, a juicer that separates the fibrous parts of the fruits and vegetables was what I needed.
Juicing is a great way to get lots of nutrition in your body at one time and in a very tasty way. Juicing is great for those who want to look and feel healthier. Juicing is also a natural way to decrease inflammation. Those of us who have digestive issues can appreciate not having to take extra pills to lower inflammation in our bodies.
Tweak your recipe and try it again
I tried several recipes then decided to just make my own. The wonderful thing about this is if what you make doesn’t taste good, tweak your recipe and try it again.
After only a week of juicing I have noticed my pains have lessened tremendously. I’m sure I have to juice still a while longer to get that energy that I’m lacking.
Juicing can be used to both lose weight or help when needing to gain weight. I don’t have a problem losing weight. I’m just the opposite. Unless I’m in a lot of pain I will not make juice alone, I’ll drink it along with food.
Juicing will cost a lot in the beginning. After all you have to buy your initial supplies. But once you get started you’ll see that it really isn’t that expensive at all.
In the spirit of full disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything. I will only recommend items that I personally use and love myself. look for italicized words.
Some of the items I purchased were
- Juicer
- Blender ( I have this for frozen fruits as they cannot be placed in my juicer)
- spice grinder
Now it’s time to go out and do some grocery shopping!
The first time I purchased my ingredients I was blown away by how much I spent. Obviously I wasn’t used to purchasing so many fresh and organic ingredients at one time. After doing this for a little while now I see that it doesn’t really cost that much at all.
The fruits and vegetables I choose both taste good to me and have anti-inflammatory benefits to them.
In addition to the fresh vegetables and either fresh or as in my case frozen fruits I purchased these items:
1. Flax seed
You can purchase this as an oil or seed. I purchased seed and used my grinder to make it into a powder to add to my smoothies
Check and make sure it has only one ingredient. For those who cannot have coconut water substitute 6-8oz of either plain or vanilla yogurt
I added this on those days that I was in too much pain to eat at all and wanted to get protein in my body
Ok now for some recipes!
Here is a week and some change in recipes to get you started!
Monday
(from the recipe book that came with my juicer)
1 med Beet
6 Celery stalks
1 Green Apple
1/2 Cucumber
Add all ingredients to juicer, makes 2 servings
Tuesday
(from an online recipe)
Anti-inflammatory juice
1 Pineapple ( I found it more economical to purchase a frozen bag of pineapple chunks and use 1-2 cups in the blender)
2 Cucumbers
1 3″ piece of turmeric root ( you can use 1/3 tsp of the ground turmeric)
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
Only juice those items that can go into the juicer like the cucumber and turmeric root. The Ground items and frozen items put in your blender with juice from juicer. Blend well till smooth.
Wednesday
(This is a recipe that I made)
1 med Beet
1 lg Apple
1″ Ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 handfuls Spinach
6oz vanilla yogurt
juice spinach first then beet, apple and ginger. Add juice to blender with yogurt and blend well. Makes a great tasting smoothie.
Thursday
I made this on a day that I wasn’t feeling so well
1 Celery stalk
1 Cucumber
1/2 Lime (peeled)
2 cups frozen Pineapple
1/3 ground Turmeric
1 scoop Protein Powder
1 cup Coconut water
Juice the first 3 items. Put juice and the rest of the items in blender. Blend well.
Friday
Another protein powder juice smoothie day. If you haven’t already made one I must tell you that the protein powder does add some thickness to the juice.
1 Beet
1″ Ginger
1 cup (bunch) Parsley
1 cup Kale
1 cup frozen mixed fruit ( I used strawberries, pineapple and mango)
1 cup Coconut water
1 scoop Protein Powder
Juice first 4 ingredients. Add juice and the rest of the ingredients to a blender and blend well.
Saturday (This has become my favorite go to smoothie)
I like to call this one my Really Red Juice
1 lg Beet or 2 small ones
1 small head Red Cabbage
1″ ginger
1/3 tsp ground Turmeric
1 Apple
8 oz. Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 cup frozen Pineapple
Juice beet, cabbage, ginger, and apple. Add juice, turmeric, yogurt and pineapple to blender. Blend well. This is one of my favorite juice smoothies.
Sunday
A quick light juice
1 lg Orange ( peeled)
1 Bunch Parsley
1 Apple
1″ Ginger
1 cup frozen Pineapple
1 cup Coconut water
1/3 tsp Turmeric
Juice first four ingredients. Add juice and last three ingredients to blender. Blend well. What I love about the frozen fruits is that they make my juices and smoothies nice and icy.
Monday
Today we are going orange with sweet potatoes!
1 med Sweet potato
1 Orange (peeled)
1 cup frozen mango
8oz. Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
Juice the sweet potato and the orange. Add juice, mango, yogurt and ginger to blender. Blend well
Tuesday
1 med Beet ( in case you haven noticed I love beets)
1 Cucumber
1 1/2 cups Baby Spinach
1 cup Mixed Frozen Fruit
6oz. Vanilla Yogurt
Juice first three ingredients. Add juice and last two ingredients to blender. Blend well
After Dinner Juice
I found this after dinner Juice online. I like it for those days where an extra juice is just what I need.
2 cups Baby Spinach
1 cup Frozen Pineapple
Juice the spinach then add that juice and frozen pineapple to blender and blend well.
Happy Juicing!!
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Shrimp Tacos with Broccoli Slaw Pico de Gallo
Mmmm, tacos. I love tacos and I love that you can make just about any kind of taco you want.
Today we are having Shrimp Tacos with Broccoli Slaw Pico de Gallo. Tiffany just absolutely loves my Pico de Gallo. She will eat it on anything. So when I make it, I make a lot to last her for days to come. This day was no exception. The only difference was that I added an ingredient that I haven’t added before. Broccoli Slaw.
Have you tried broccoli slaw? Neither had we until I picked up a bag of it in the grocery store. A-maz-ing.
I wanted to make these shrimp tacos a bit lighter than I have in the past and I wanted to make the work a bit easier for me as well.
I didn’t time myself but I truly think I had dinner made and on the table in about 10 minutes. Oh, yea you read that right. Ten Minutes.
The only difference between my Shrimp Tacos with Broccoli Slaw Pico de Gallo and Tiffany’s shrimp tacos was the tortillas themselves. I love corn tortillas and she loves flour tortillas.
There are days that I’m in the mood to make everything from scratch. I’ve been known to make the pasta in a dish, make the butter and so forth. Today was not that day. I have made both corn tortillas and flour tortillas in the past. Yea, not today. The tortillas that you can buy in grocery stores taste awesome. lol.
I also saved some time by not making the broccoli slaw or the shrimp.
I know you know how time-consuming it is to peel, devein then cook shrimp to just perfect. I’m sorry, rather not sorry I just wasn’t in the mood for all of that today. So I took a little help from the store and bought already peeled, deveined, and cooked shrimp. To make them my own I added my own seasoning to them and warmed them up in the microwave. Yep, one minute and they were ready to go.
Ok, so you’re asking exactly what did I make myself then? Why the Pico De Gallo of course. I told you, Tiffany loves my Pico De Gallo so of course, I had to make that.
Ingredients:
40-60 medium Shrimp, Peeled, deveined, and cooked.
Use your favorite taco seasonings and mix them with the Shrimp.
Now for my Pico de Gallo with the Broccoli Slaw.
So simple.
2 cups of Broccoli Slaw (found in the bag at the grocery store)
1 medium Onion minced
2 large Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
I clove Garlic finely minced
The Juice of 1 med-large lemon, grate the rind and use it too
1 Jalapeno Pepper seeded and minced
1 bunch Cilantro chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Your choice of flour or corn tortillas.
Mix it all in a large bowl. This makes more than enough for dinner and then some.
I may put Broccoli Slaw in my Pico de Gallo from now on. This is so crunchy and so so fresh.
Put the Shrimp in a bowl and stick them in the microwave. You just want to warm them up. And hey a bonus, after I warmed them up there was some shrimp juice at the bottom of the bowl. Yea I don’t know any other way of saying that than shrimp juice. No matter it’s good and I topped my tacos with it. Cook the tortillas however you like just make sure they are in fact cooked.
Now Enjoy!!
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Spinach Turkey Burger
Seasoned turkey ground together with spinach to make a delicious burger any beef eater would be happy to eat.
I love burgers, I love turkey, and guess what?! I love spinach too. So why not combine three of the things I love into one delicious meal.
That’s what I did here. I was out shopping at one of my favorite organic grocery stores when I saw some seasoned ground turkey. Then I looked at the price and ran down the aisle screaming…
Have you looked at the prices of already seasoned meat? It’s outrageous. I shouldn’t have to take out a small loan just to serve dinner. The concept is great but I have a problem with the price as well as umm what exactly is it seasoned with and how much?
So because my brain hurt from thinking so much and I was out of breath from running, I stopped and picked up a 6-pound turkey breast. Guess what? The price of an entire turkey breast was less than the price of a 1-pound package of preseasoned ground turkey.
I’ll just make my own seasoned ground turkey and I will control what seasonings I use in there and the amounts. No need to hurt my brain wondering what’s in it when I can just do it myself and for a whole lot less money.
Oh and did I mention, meat grinders are so fast that in less than 5 minutes I had ground seasoned not only with spices but seasoned with spices as well as spinach, ground meat!
In the spirit of full disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything. I will only recommend items that I personally use and love myself.
Because I knew in advance that we would eat bunless burgers, ok I’m lying… Because I forgot to buy burger buns, I decided to make mine a bit larger and include spinach in the grind.
With the bonus in the turkey, my dinner was formed.
Inside was a bag of gravy concentrate. I usually make my own gravy but hey why not take a little help from the bird and just put a little bit of me in it.
Ok back to the burgers..
Cut off around 2 pounds of meat and cubed this. Then in a large bowl add the cubed turkey and seasoned it with what you want in there.
This is not the time to be scared of seasoning. Add it in.. It may look like too much but don’t worry more than likely isn’t. The one seasoning that I don’t use too much of is salt. Other than that add a good amount of pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and any other of your go-to seasonings.
Mix this around a bit.
Do you have someone at home that you have a hard time getting them to eat veggies, green leafy veggies especially? This is the perfect time to get them to eat it. I wish my mom would have done this when I was a kid instead of making it look like green poo.
Ok, I digress. Add about 2 cups or 2 very large handfuls of fresh spinach. Don’t worry that this won’t mix well. Do your best. Then add all of this into your meat grinder and watch the magic happen.
Omg, this smells awesome and looks pretty good too.
Once the meat is all ground up split this into 4’s. You can stop at this point and make 4 very large burgers or separate the 4 into a total of 8 for smaller bun size burgers.
Time to cook our burgers. I used a non-stick pan for mine but a cast iron or grill would taste as good or even better.
Cook them for a total of 6-8 minutes on med-high heat.
Because I made my burgers larger to be eaten without a bun I used the bonus gravy concentrate packet to make a gravy and with red potatoes made smashed potatoes.
Comment below If you try the recipe post a pic or just post a pic of your fave burger.
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Luscious Braised Pork
You know those dinners that just taste better the next day as leftovers? That’s what this is. The Gochujang and wine really gets into the meat and, OMG, I can’t even tell you how good it tastes. Just writing this is making my mouth water… LOL.
If you haven’t tasted Gochujang let me introduce you. This is a Koren spice that is just phenomenal. I buy the mild Gochujang because honestly, I’m afraid that if I bought medium or hot that it would be too much for me. Gochujang is not an upfront in your mouth kind of heat, it’s a heat that comes in on the end and boy is it great. It’s a fermented hot pepper paste. I just want to put it on everything.
In the spirit of full disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything. I will only recommend items that I personally use and love myself. Just click the italicized links.
National Wine day is May 25th. And when I thought of what I wanted to do for that day, well, I came up with this.
Luscious pork made with Gochujang and wine taste as good if not better the day after it’s made.
This recipe was the simplest to make. You only need a few ingredients and a spoon or fork.
Ingredients are:
2pounds cubed Pork seasoned with s ,p, and g
Red Wine (any red wine that you love to drink)
Edamame (bought in the frozen section)
I love taking a pork shoulder and cut it up to make several different meals. Although it’s just the two of us, my wife and I. We love to buy in bulk .
Cook the cubed pork in a large dutch oven with a tablespoon or so of Olive oil until browned.
Add one or even better two really good size spoonfuls of Gochujang. Dont be afraid of it. You’ll love it. Trust me. I made this recipe with only once spoon a few weeks ago and it just wasn’t enough.
Stir the pork and Gochujang until well combined.
Now add the wine. How much you ask? Leave enough in the bottle to enjoy a glass or two. No seriously about half the bottle will do.
Let this braise on the stove top on low heat for 2 hours.
If you bought the frozen Edamame then about 6 minutes before serving your meal, add a cup of Edamame to the pot.
The Udon noodles only take 2 minutes to cook, so when your left with about 2-3 minutes before serving your meal add the Udon noodles.
Serve with a glass of wine and enjoy!
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Leave a comment below if you’ve tried this, if your going to try it, or just to say Hi!!
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Pizza Day!
I love watching food shows competitions and when they have one where pizza throwers are on it, well that just delights me to no end. I watch them with dreams of being one myself.
Guess what? I’m not a pizza thrower. But in this video, I do make my own no yeast pizza crust for the first time ever.
Below the video are the written instructions so you too can make your own pizza dough..
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup All purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup low-fat Milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Chicken thighs deboned and cut into small pieces
1 jar Alfredo sauce
Parmesan cheese
*optional crushed olives. (it’s what I had in the pantry)
Directions:
In a bowl mix the first three ingredients together. Add the milk and olive oil. Form into ball. Knead the dough 10 times. Cover with a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.
In the video, I took this time to cook my chicken.
I used a leg quarter, cut off the leg and cooked it separately (you know just in case this pizza didn’t turn out well). I deboned the thigh and cut the chicken into small pieces. Season this with your fave seasonings. Now cook it.
*FYI- save the bones and such in a freezer bag for making stock later.
Once the pizza crust is ready, spread the crust with as much Alfredo sauce as you would like. Add the cooked chicken, crushed olives, and Parmesan cheese.
Put back into the oven until sauce is heated through. Serve and enjoy!
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Grilled Cheese Day!!!
You don’t need an excuse to enjoy grilled cheese but since it’s National Grilled Cheese Day why not do it right with a Garlic Grilled Cheese Panini and Grilled Cheese Croutons for the tomato soup you’ll be making.
Watch my video below and fall in love with grilled cheese sandwiches all over again.
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It’s National Pet Day!!!!
Here is how our River spent National Pet Day
Post pics and or videos of your pets below..
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My Thai Noodles and Grape BBQ Ribs
It’s National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! Who doesn’t love a good pb&j sandwich?
I love toasting my bread then making my sandwich. I love all types of jams, jelly’s, and spreads of all kinds. As for peanut butter I prefer the creamy and even sometimes the whipped kind.
Now for National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day I didn’t want to just make a sandwich and post it.. For those who are disappointed here you go.
I wanted to do something different for PB&J Day.
I made Thai Noodles with Peanut sauce and Grape Jelly BBQ sauce over short ribs.
Grape Jelly BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup of your favorite Barbeque Sauce
2 tablespoons Ketchup
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Chili Lime Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons Molasses
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups Grape Jelly
salt and pepper to taste
In a med. size sauce pan mix all of the above ingredients. Cook on med heat until well warmed.
Heat oven to 350 and lay short ribs on a sheet pan. Pour half of the grape jelly bbq sauce over the ribs and cook until done, about 35-40 minutes.
In the meantime….
In another sauce pan let’s make the peanut sauce for the noodles..
1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Peanut Butter of your choice. I used creamy peanut butter.
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
3 cloves Garlic minced
3 teaspoon ground Ginger
1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
In another med. sized sauce pan mix all the above ingredients until everything is saucy. In a large post start the water for noodles. I used Fettuccini noodles. While the water is heating up add 2 cups of frozen mixed veggies. Once the water starts to boil add the noodles. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Don’t worry about the veggies they will continue to cook with the noodles. Once the noodles are done, drain the noodles and veggies being careful not to lose any of the veggies. Put everything back into the large pot you cooked the noodles in and pour the Peanut Butter Sauce over the noodles and veggies. Mix well.
Once the ribs are cooked pour the remaining Grape Jelly BBQ Sauce over the cooked ribs.. Serve and enjoy.
Thai noodles in Peanut Butter Sauce with Grape Jelly BBQ Sauce Short Ribs, This is my things 2 do,,, make it your things 2 do too.
Comment below if you tried this recipe. Post pics of your meal. I can’t wait to see them.
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Easter Baskets On a Dime
I was able to get these wonderful Easter Baskets On a Dime.
Why spend $20 per basket at department stores when you can go to the dollar store purchase what you know your children will enjoy for considerably less than that.
I love making things very personal for my grandchildren and in these baskets, I crocheted bunnies holding an egg. Each child gets a bunny in their favorite color holding a different color egg.
The directions for this adorable bunny is on a wonderful website. http://www.anisbee.canalblog.com Scroll down until you see Valentin. No worries when you see the instructions are written in French. There is an English translation as well.
I made this bunny holding a heart for my wife for Valentines Day. I got such a good response from her that I just had to make them holding eggs for the grandkids for Easter.
What I love the most about making my own baskets is that I can put in it what I know my grandchildren will love. For instance my granddaughters favorite color is rainbow. Can you even imagine? So for her, I made a rainbow bunny.
After you’ve filled the baskets with all the goodies you’ve bought (spending very little on them), wrap the whole thing up in basket bags. Again purchased at the dollar store. This makes the whole present look like the baskets purchased at the department store that cost so much.
Not counting the yarn for the bunnies because as you know a knitter or crocheter is never without yarn, I spent $20 for all 4 baskets. I can’t wait for them to see it all!!
Comment below or better yet post a picture of the baskets you’ve made for your little ones for Easter… Happy Easter everyone.
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Valentines For Two
It’s not always about the chocolate.
Enjoy a romantic Valentines Surf and Turf that is not only easy to do but fun to do as well. Decorate the table using items you have around the house.
In my short YouTube video I showed a Valentines Surf and Turf dinner along with the DIY decorations for this special day.
So easy you can even do it in your Pajama bottoms.
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Valentines Wreath From Dollar Store Items.
Quick and easy Napkin Holders
- How to make an easy napkin holder with items you already have around the house.
- Gather your supplies.
- Cut the roll into desired size, hot glue to the salt dough heart.
-
Surf and Turf Meal
1 Ribeye cooked the way you like it
Parmesan crusted Shrimp about 30 to 40 medium size
Gnocchi with Roasted Tomatoes
Wine and water a few decorations and you have yourself a Romantic Meal that is within your budget.
- Make some easy 2 do decorations
I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day as much as we will..
Make this your thing 2 do too.
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3 Steps For making Brown Sugar Lip Scrub
3 Steps For making Brown Sugar Lip Scrub
This year I wanted to make and give Christmas presents to my family and friends.
This recipe and the others that are linked to this one can be made for any occasion. Today I’m using the 3 Steps For making Brown Sugar Lip Scrub for my neighbors and daughters for Christmas gifts.
Kissable Lips
Lip scrubs are not only sweet tasting they are great for your lips. They rub the dead cells off your lips making them smooth and kissable.
I am an affiliate for Amazon and will link products that can be purchased from Amazon by clicking the Italic words in the blog.
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So let’s get started.
Ingredients:
1 part Honey
1 part Coconut oil
1 part Brown Sugar
Clear Empty Jars
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Spoon the Brown Sugar Lip Scrub mixture into clean well sanitized jars.
I used empty baby food jars that I cleaned out and them sanitized them by adding them into a pot of boiling water.
I keep my jar of Brown Sugar Lip Scrub on the bathroom counter and use it daily. I love how my lips feel after I use this scrub.
I taped ChapStick to the side of the jar as an added gift.
