Tag Archives: eating naturally

Homemade Classic Party Mix Recipe

November 30, 2011 The Natural Mammas 2 Comments

Every Holiday when I was a kid, there was party mix around for munching. It’s so yummy! I haven’t had it in years though as, well, I couldn’t find natural foods to replace those called for.

I can now though!

Annie’s makes an organic worcestershire sauce, you can replace the big brand cereal called for (which contains “BHT for Freshness” – Ick) with natural and organic alternatives and, that’s true for pretty much everything else called for as well now. Yay!

Of course, they make this stuff in bags now you can buy at the supermarket. That’s even farther from all natural though and, doesn’t taste nearly as good as homemade party mix!

You can put your own spin on this homemade classic party mix recipe too. For example, if you enjoy things a bit spicier, add some cayenne pepper and Tabasco to the butter mixture. Or, if your adventurous, experiment with your favorite flavors and please, come back and share with us how tasty it all turns out!

And don’t forget, you can create pretty mason jars (great kids project) and add party mix for homemade, green Holiday gift that’s perfect for neighbors, delivery people, your kid’s teachers, and so many others!

Homemade Classic Party Mix Recipe

Recipe Type: Appetiser

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

3 cups Corn “Chex” style cereal
3 cups Rice “Chex” style cereal
3 cups Wheat “Chex” style cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 1/2 cup bite size pretzels
1 1/4 cup bagel chips and/or melba toasts broken into 1 in pieces and/or plain Os (ie Cherrios)
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons salt or seasoned salt
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250
Put cereals, nuts, pretzels, and bagel chips into a big bowl.
Melt butter on stove top
Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Stir well.
Now pour butter mixture over cereal mixture being sure to spread around as evenly as possible.
Place seasoned cereal onto a baking sheet and place in oven for 1hr stirring every fifteen min.
Remove from oven, allow to cool (or not!) and enjoy!
Store in glass container or jar once thoroughly cooled.

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Planning Meals In Advance Helps You Eat Naturally For Less And Other Benefits Too

November 15, 2011 The Natural Mammas 1 Comment

Lets face it. Food is expensive; often even more so when you’re trying to eat naturally. Price is even a large reason many people give for not being able to buy the organic fruits, veggies and other foods they’d like to purchase otherwise. This means we’ve got to make the most of each and every item we buy.

For me, one of the ways I try to do that is meal planning. When I’m on my game, I plan the whole month at the beginning. It doesn’t always happen because sometimes, I just can’t get it together….but when I do it helps save money on the food budget in several different ways.

Ingredients aren’t wasted or mistakenly unused
Less trips to the store
Buying only what we need – no distractions!
Able to get dry goods in bulk
Making better use of leftovers and extra ingredients
I know what’s for dinner each night so feel less likely to come up blank or unprepared, cave, and just have Hubs bring home take out : )

All you need to do is sit down with a blank calendar (there are many possibilities here from paper to online programs), along with some cookbooks and other sources for meal ideas and come up with a plan for the month. Its a nice way to be sure to incorporate some of everyone’s favorites, and, you can even consider side dishes and other options for being sure there’s something for everyone at every meal time.

From there all that’s left is to create grocery lists so that you can pick up all the ingredients you’ll need each week. Then you can easily schedule ingredient prep accordingly too and make cooking even easier!

With this trusty calender full of meals and snacks you’ll get more variety in what the family eats, meals are easier and healthier and, don’t forget that lower grocery bill each week; which can make it more affordable to eat naturally.

Do you ever plan your meals? How do you go about deciding what to eat and creating your meal plan and grocery lists each week? Any other tips to help us all eat naturally for less? Share it all here by leaving a comment and getting the discussion rolling!

Entertaining Naturally

Tips For A More Natural Thanksgiving

November 11, 2011 The Natural Mammas 1 Comment

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and, if you’re hosting the family gathering this year you’ll definitely enjoy these tips and tricks we’ve listed here for creating a more natural Thanksgiving celebration!

Serve Local And Organic Foods

The Thanksgiving meal is a big one! Make it more earth friendly by searching your area for local and organic foods for your table.

Often health food stores can connect you with farmers that raise organic free range turkeys. In many areas farmer’s markets are still happening and they make a wonderful resource for creating a local, organic Thanksgiving too.

If you’re hosting a potluck this Thanksgiving, why not challenge all your guests to bring a meal prepared with organic foods grown within a 20 or 40 mile radius of their home; a great way to create a local Thanksgiving meal.

Create Eco Friendly Table Settings

Buying new table settings for your Thanksgiving celebration? Consider purchasing serving pieces made from recycled glass and bamboo, or table linens made from organic cotton. You can also find “new to you” items for your Thanksgiving table at second hand and thrift stores.

If you do place cards you can use 100% recycled paper to create your cards; be sure to recycle again when you’re through. And, for lovely Thanksgiving flowers on the table or anywhere else in your home consider eco friendly and organic flower arrangements.

Go Vegetarian This Thanksgiving

While a local, free range, organic turkey is great, going vegetarian this Thanksgiving is even better. Many folks go with a “Tofurkey” or, you could make the always enjoyable Veggie Pie that’s made using a variation on our Veggie Hot Pockets recipe from our Natural Mammas Recipes section.

There are also ways to make a fantastic vegetarian gravy for your mashed potatoes and stuffing so you can still host a vegetarian Thanksgiving without missing out on this staple either.

Got some tips of your own for making the yearly Thanksgiving celebration more natural? We’d love to hear them and we know everyone else would too. Please share your natural entertaining tips and tricks by leaving a comment below!