Kaisley Fast

[kaisleyfast-blog]

I like knowing where things come from . I love living in a town where I can get almost everything local and for the things I can't, the internet helps me out. Violet's maxed out in handmade/printed clothes here from @firstprints @house_of_mia and @whistleandflute and blanket from @candykirbydesigns #isupporthandmade #80sstyle #firstprints #houseofmia #whistleandfluteclothing #candykirbydesigns #violetelise

[kaisleyfast-blog]

Grocery Shopping Tips

Weekly meal planning is a task that I do enjoy, but never seem to get to until RIGHT before I have to go grocery shopping. But, even though I procrastinate, I try really hard to do it every week. So, along with the ingredients I buy on my list for dinner that week, I always try to do 2 things:

1) Buy 1 uncooked whole chicken

2) Buy 1 pineapple, a couple apples and then as many veggies as I can.

When you buy a whole chicken, find a few good recipes to cook it (slow cooker, roasted etc.) and then have the legs/thighs for supper one night and save the chicken breasts for lunches. They can be tossed into salads, wraps, eaten for some protein for a snack and for me personally, blended for baby food. It is much cheaper that just buying 2 chicken breasts.

Then save the bones (and I save the wings with the bones) and refrigerate. Saving bones for soup isn’t new by any means but I like having them ready to go in the fridge to make a fresh pot of soup each week. Having a pot of soup ready to go is also great for quick lunches that are packed with veggies and are also great blended with an immersion blender for baby food. I’ll add a great recipe I like to make often at the bottom. It’s inspired by my Grandma Simpson and her amazing vegetable soup recipe.

Now that you used that chicken for every penny it’s worth. I move on to tip #2

This tip is only useful if you have a juicer….

I like juicing for 1 main reason… it uses up whatever fruits and veggies I didn’t get to that week. My rule for juicing is to buy 1 pinapple, a couple apples and then whatever looks fresh. I like to buy organic so I always scope out what looks fresh and isn’t 4X more than the non-organic version first. Then I take a peak around. I buy a ridiculous amount. My groceries usually consist of 60% fresh produce, 30% Meat, Dairy & other proteins and 10% misc ingredients for specific recipes. It looks expensive but, when you cut out the processed stuff, it’s usually cheaper. That stuff is expensive!! It took me a long time to find a good balance for our house. I get a strange high from using up all the ingredients I bought that week.

Back to Juicing. Eat as much of the good stuff as you can, then at the end of the week, have a juicing party! It will be messy. I posted a pic of mine below. But, it’s so worth it. The reason I buy a pineapple & apples is because I cannot handle straight veggie juice. At least no more than a shot of it. I need some pineapple and apple juice to neutralize all the goods. With those 2 fruits in my corner, I can juice just about anything. Personally, I need this to be easy or else I won’t do it. This is how I do it easily. No recipes. No daily cleaning of a complicated juicer. Just juice whatever you got left with 1 pineapple. Done.

Plus, having a big jug of juice has 2 benefits: First, if you have ever left eating too long and by the time you get to the fridge you are grumpy, starving and craving anything carbolicious… then I drink a yummy glass of juice and I am transformed into a good decision maker who will stick to the dinner plan and not cave and order pizza. Second, if you are ever going somewhere you don’t think will be able to get in any of the good stuff (fruits & veggies), then drink a glass before you go and you not only get some of the good stuff into you that meal, but you also don’t show up starving and make better decisions than you otherwise would have. Like say only eating 1 piece of cake. I’m totally kidding - but only on the basis of if you eat cake or not. Whether you eat cake or not, are vegan or diary-free, are gluten or sugar-free. I just hope you take at least 1 step a day to becoming a healthier person and as a woman… a healthier epicenter of your family.

I LOVE hearing your tips - share them with me any way you can :)

Whatever inspires you, I hope you share that in some way to inspire those around you!

My version of Grandma Simpson’s Veggie Soup:

Boil Chicken Bones for at least 1 hour with a handful of whole green onions (that you remove once done), 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped shallot, 1 chopped clove of garlic, 1 tsp dried basil, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 Bay leaf and some red chiles if you like a little heat. Once that’s done, I removed everything I didn’t want to stay in and added in 1 can tomato soup (whatever variety you like) and added in: 1 Sweet potato, 3 carrots, 3 stalks celery, 1/4 cup frozen organic corn, 6 chopped green beans and let cook for 30 minutes and simmer for at least another 15. At the end I added back in all the chicken I had left and a tablespoon of hemp seeds to add some protein. It was delicious. This is a DIY though - play with it for weekly variations based on what’s in season, fresh at your grocery store, or whatever you have fresh in your fridge.

In my juice above: 1 Pineapple, 3 apples, 2 heads broccoli, 1 cucumber, 1 package celery, 1 head kale, however much spinach I had left, 1 lime, Fresh cilantro herb and a knob of fresh ginger. It is good to me, but I take nutritional value into account when I decide how good something is.

[kaisleyfast-blog]

My Decision...

I, Kaisley Fast, am a culprit of rash, large, impractical life style changes. I like results. I don't do "half way". It just isn't me. However, once I became responsible for another human being and her outlook on health, beauty, self-image and all the rest... I managed to change that. I decided... To be as healthy as I can, as often as I can. Every decision I made, I used that slogan. When it comes to Organic, All Natural, Clean Eating... people who can make that decision one day and stick to it... are super heroes. That just wouldn't be plausible for me. I wanted to be healthy to: be alive for as long as I can, have that long life be a healthy one, teach my kids good eating habits, feed them things I am proud of and can vouch for nutritionally and I want to look good for the man that married me. None of this is to lose weight or fit into a garment of clothes. I just want to be healthy and fit. And I find that my motives give me weekly motivation... along with the wonderful people I follow on social media. I think tip swapping is invaluable. I will gladly copy any one out there. Authenticity can be over rated. This makes me a professional band wagon joiner. I love new things I can add in to make my family more happy and healthy. So, please, after you read this - feel free to share your own via social media knowing full well I will be performing healthy plagiarism.

[kaisleyfast-blog]

Christmas Baking Attempt #1

Last year, my auntie Barb, Grandma and I started a tradition of getting together to bake Christmas cookies. My Grandma, besides being an amazing baker, also has a relic of a cookie press that makes gorgeous little poinsettia cookies. She has made these cookies since I was a kid and they’ve come to be a necessity at Christmas time. The recipe, funnily enough, is from the box the cookie press came in and looks about 50 years old. They’re delicious and took about 45 minutes to make! So easy!

Earlier this year, me and my husband while shopping for our new house, passed by the baking section in Walmart. It was still October, but they had just put out their Christmas stuff and I got so pumped that Josh started to panic. I always get a kick out of watching him react to my excitement when I see things in a store he doesn’t possibly see a reason for us needing. He starts talking super loud, trying to distract my attention to anywhere else and speed walks away with the cart as fast as he can. I’m not sure if he hopes I’ll get distracted by the noise and commotion and forget what I’m looking at, but it hasn’t work yet. Anyway, in that little display were some gorgeous cookie cutters that I’d promise him I’d use before Christmas.

Because this was one of my only days I had allotted to make Christmas cookies I figured this was my best shot to use these cookie cutters and keep my word that they had a point and were, in fact, a necessary purchase! I chose to bake “Swiss Cookies” which my mom has been baking for years and they are guaranteed DELICIOUS. These little guys aren’t very sweet at all, with the only sugar in them being ½ cup of brown sugar – so they needed to be iced before serving! Luckily, that’s my favorite part – the decorating!! It just so happened my cookie cutters looked exactly like cookies on the cover of Canadian Living Magazine for December and that’s where I got my inspiration from for decorating them!

The funniest part of all this is while I was trying to cram all my Christmas baking into 1 evening, my aunts were just there to play with my adorable puppy that I promised I’d bring with me. She really is the sweetest and melts the heart of everyone who meets her. So much so, they make dates with me just to see her! It really is hilarious watching them take turns holding her and coming early to bake their cookies just so they can have more time with her and obsess over her, trying to prove they love her the most. Even still, it is nice knowing I’m not the only one who thinks she’s wonderful and I know I’ll always have lots of options for babysitters : )

I had to stay pretty late to finish decorating the cookies, but they turned out great and everyone loved them! Including my wonderful husband who was dying to eat them for breakfast, lunch and supper the next day. My first big bake was a success, and up next, we got ready to host our first big dinner for friends. I’ll post all about it soon!

The recipe for Swiss Cookies is below – Enjoy!

Kaisley

Swiss Cookies

1 cup butter 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 1 Egg 2 Cups Flour 1 TSP Salt 1 TSP Baking Powder

Cream together butter, brown sugar & eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Roll with rolling pin not too thin. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes. For extra creamy icing, mix 2% milk, icing sugar & a little bit of vanilla extract.

Yummm.