Super Simple Super Yummy Crab Salad

There’s nothing quite like a cold salad on a warm spring or sunny day. With Old Father Winter
finally releasing his icy grip we all start thinking of the fun that warm weather brings in. Cookouts
and get-togethers, holidays and foods that bring us all together on those days. Often when I knew
I was going to a get together, I would worry about what kind of food to bring. I didn’t want to bring
the same thing as someone else – and because there are so many in my family that can’t have
certain foods, it was difficult finding something that would keep everyone healthy – and make
them happy.

Traditional macaroni, potato salad and coleslaw are usually the obvious choices when deciding
what dish to bring to a gathering. And honestly, what BBQ or holiday is complete without those
foods? But these being most peoples ‘go-to’ dishes to bring to an event, sometimes we neglect the
idea of different cold salads to don our table.

This simple and cheap crab salad will be the start of the table. It’s a refreshing and affordable
different piece of contribute to that get-together you may have. What sets this crab salad apart is
that doesn’t have that tangy sweet taste. My family and I are not fans of that vinegar-and-sugar
twang that many cold salads have, including traditional coleslaw. However, with how simple this
recipe is, you can easily add that sweetness in there. Not to mention it has a very low carb count,
few calories, and has a good protein value, depending on what kind of crab you use. This yummy
and simple crab-salad can be thrown together in a matter of minutes, it’s low-fat, and best of all,
it costs so little to make that even on a tight budget you can impress your friends and family with
a seafood treat! 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Servings:  8

Ingredients: 

1 lb of imitation crab meat

1/4th a lemon

2 celery heart stalks

4-5 green onions (chives)

1/4th teaspoon garlic powder

1/4th teaspoon dried dill

1/4th teaspoon thyme

1/4th teaspoon crushed red peppers

1/4th teaspoon lemon pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

STEP ONE - GATHER AND PREP 

Get all your spices, crab meat, veggies, and the tools you will need. Measuring cup, cutting
board, mixing bowl, 1/4th teaspoon measuring scoop, and something to mix and scrap with. 
If you’re anything like me, you like using only the prettiest and freshest veggies. Wash your
lemon, celery and green onions very well. Washing the lemons eliminates the pesticides or
anything that may have gotten on the peel while it was in transit from the orchard to your house
- you never know what kind of germs are on your fruit, so always wash your citrus!

Cut the roots off of the green onions and then peel the top layers off of the green onions making
sure to get the slimy and husky top layers off.  Chop them into small slices so that, going up into
the green stalk. Once you have enough chives for your satisfaction, move them aside on your
cutting board, or throw them in your mixing bowl. Celery has a very powerful flavor, so you’re
going to want your celery very finely diced. I break the white part off of the bottom of the celery
heart with my hands towards the back of the stalk, then pull those annoying unchewable strings
off with it. I trim up the bottom, and cut off any ends that look bad. Then I cut them in half down
their middle long-wise, then dice them into small pieces. Again, set aside, or go ahead and throw
them in the mixing bowl. 

STEP TWO - PREPARE YOUR CRAB

Dice or shred your crab meat. I use imitation crab so I use my veggie knife and cut at it as if I am dicing
a vegetable. It doesn’t have to be a specific way, just cut it to your desired chunks. I throw all of the crab
meat on a cutting board, and just sort of hack away at it, and I do not worry about separating the layers
as it comes apart on its own during the mixing process, and it comes apart easier as it’s cut. Again, big
or small chunks is up to you and your preference!

STEP THREE - MIX VEGGIES AND CRAB

Optional Step*

So a little secret about me, is I’m a bit OCD with how I cook things. Even with how I mix things.
Most normal people slap everything in a mixing bowl, and stir all the ingredients together when it
comes time to do so. Me being a little bit neurotic with my process, I mix things separately or in steps
to ensure even distribution of ingredients and flavors. Plus I feel it’s less messy and makes things easier.
So at this point, I throw my crab, celery and green onions in my mixing bowl, and mix them together
gently. 

STEP FOUR - THE DRESSING

Now it’s time for what makes a crab salad the real deal - the dressing! Measure out your mayonnaise
into a measuring cup. I use half of a cup. Again, I’m a bit OCD with the mixing, so at this point I leave
the mayo in the measuring cup and simply add my spices and lemon into the measuring cup to stir it in
there. I don’t have a specific measurement of lemon that I use, I simply cut a quarter of the lemon off,
and squeeze it directly into the measuring cup. However some people like their lemon to really stand
out when they make this recipe, so if you like a little more twang, half of the lemon should be more to
your liking. Once I’ve squeezed the lemon juice on top of the lemon, I measure out each of my spices,
putting 1/4th of a teaspoon of each herb, I stir it with a spoon or fork until it’s thoroughly mixed.
 

Make sure you do a taste test on your dressing once it’s mixed well, so that you can make sure you
enjoy the flavor. You may need to add sugar if you’ve made it too tart with your lemon, or adjust your
spices according to what your taste buds prefer. Everyone is different, so make sure your dressing
tastes exactly how you like it. After you taste it, you will be able to better judge how much salt and
pepper you should add to your dressing as well - or if you even want to at all.

Note: This recipe has dill in it - another strong flavor. Start off with small amounts and
judge by taste.

STEP FIVE - MIX IT ALL TOGETHER

Pour your dressing in with your crab and veggies into the mixing bowl. Mix it gently with a spoon or
a baking spatula until it’s evenly mixed. Make sure there are no clumps of dressing, and everything is
evenly distributed. 

STEP SIX - ENJOY!

Your crab salad is done, and it’s ready to be eaten. I do recommend refrigerating it for at least thirty
minutes to an hour before serving as it tastes much better cold. However sometimes, if your family is
anything like mine - they can enjoy it straight after it’s made. If your dressing is to lemony or if you enjoy
that sweet taste to your cold salads, adding a pinch of sugar to even it out will help take out the twang.
I would add one tablespoon at a time until it’s reached the sweetness that you desire.

This crab salad can be enjoyed on sandwiches or piled onto your favorite crackers.  Or as my family
likes to do, you can grab a spoon and enjoy it straight out of the bowl! This recipe is good all year round,
however a cold crab salad is probably best enjoyed on a summer day. It’s one of my favorite Easter,
Fourth-of-July or plain old BBQ Cookout recipes when I need to bring something, and I have yet to find
a friend or family member who didn’t simply love this recipe! 

Summer Strawberry Floof Delight

Looking for an easy, cheap dessert that's cool for the summer? Well the following is a great idea - and it's a simple recipe that makes a rather large amount - so it's great for parties, gatherings and cookouts! Best part? Even the worst of cooks can make this! 

(Note: The original recipe I tweaked this from called for double the ingredients, and the amount of servings was 80! I halved the recipe, and cut some of the steps out so that it wasn't so tedious - and it came out better than the original recipe in my opinion.

Introducing Strawberry Floof Delight - It's floofy, it's strawberry, and it's yumalicious! And it is kind of heavy, so remember - more is not better in all cases.

Ingredients:

1 Box of Strawberry Jello (3 Oz)

1 Quart of Buttermilk

2 Boxes of Vanilla Instant Pudding (5.1 Oz Each)

1 16 Oz Frozen Whipped Cream container

1 container of Strawberry Glaze (13.5 oz)

Strawberries - as many as you like! 

Step 1: Le Puddin'

In a large mixing bowl, fold, and mix your vanilla pudding and buttermilk. All of it. Mix until the mixture is slightly thickened, and there are no more lumps.

Step 2: Make It Pink!

Add your glaze (all of it) and HALF of the packet of strawberry jello. Fold and mix until it's smooth. This will make it thick, and hard to mix. 

Step 3: Add the whipped cream! 

Put your entire container of whip cream in, and fold it into the mix. This will make it less thick, more floofy, and pale pink. Once it's mixed and folded evenly, put it in the fridge to chill for several hours - the longer the better. Overnight is perfect - but if you can only hang for 3 or 4 hours, it will be just fine. 

Step 4: Add your berries - and enjoy! 

I don't have to explain this right? Add as many chilled strawberries as you like. And enjoy. 

All together this yummy desert will cost you about $15.00 to $20.00 to make. 

And remember - it makes about 40 servings - so you will be enjoying this for days to come - so it's well worth the money.  It can be frozen and eaten as a frozen treat too (Mmm mm!)

European Locks - Recipe Inside

European Locks have been a household favorite in my family for a long time. There's just something about the mixture of salmon, cream cheese, cilantro and lemon that clashes beautifully in your mouth. It's great for all seasons, simple and easy to make, and it doesn't take much time at all. While I do not put measurements for specific ingredients most of the time, I do not do so here with this as Salmon is one of those tricky things to cook according to peoples tastes. Many are picky about their fish, so while using here the basic ingredients that I use for my version of these nummy bagel entrees, I continue to let you cater to your tastes with my recipes.

Ingredients:

1 package of fresh salmon

Bagels - (My preference is Onion bagels but as long as it's not sweet, you can use what you like)

1 clove of Fresh chopped garlic

Basil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon juice (to your taste) 

Cilantro

Butter (not margarine)

Green Bell Peppers (optional)

Cream Cheese

Directions: 

Throw the salmon into the fryer with about two table spoons of garlic, immediately add the garlic, basil, pepper, and salt in there. This is usually do your taste but as you can see in my picture below, I season it rather heavily. I also cook the lemon juice in with the salmon about midway at it's done point, though most prefer to wait to squeeze it on there after it's all the way done cooking.

Now when one cooks their salmon for the locks they have several choices, they can choose to keep their salmon together in slices or chunks, or they can be like me and just go ahead and chuck it as it's cooking:

Why do I do this? Well, because salmon falls apart. It crumbles and that's why it's easy to blend and what not. I don't chuck it into tiny pieces either, or it would be too difficult to keep on your bagel. So just medium sized little chunks. When your salmon is almost done cooking, that's when you're going to toast your bagel, chop your cilantro and slice your green (and optional) bell peppers. 

Smother your bagel in cream cheese, top the salmon and cilantro, sliced peppers, maybe a little bit more salt and pepper and lemon juice, slap em together and enjoy! 

Why Do I Write About Health and Food?

So God knows, I'm not a fitness guru, or a Chief with a degree in Culinary Arts. I'm not even remotely interested in becoming so either. I'm not skinny, and my eating habits sometimes slip from 'hardly eat anything ever' to 'oh my god, I'm SO hungry! Feed me all the things!"

So why do I write about health and food? Well that would be a million dollar question for some of those who know me personally.  Well I guess I will share my story.

It started out with a emotionally and mentally abusive husband. Now ex-husband thank goodness. For almost a decade I gave myself to this man, and when we finally got married, all of a sudden I was too "fat" for him. "Morbidly obese" he called me. Which... by the way I'm NOT. Despite losing almost a hundred pounds when I was with him, I was unable to achieve Barbie Trophy Wife status that he was aiming for.

He will always claim it was my health he was concerned about, however those who know me personally and have seen my continued improvement in my weight, will disagree. And as someone who had the private arguments with him. so do I.

I had agreed to his very strict diet while I was with him. A no-carb almost paleo diet. Now for normal people, this diet does cause weight loss. It did for his parents, and for him (he and his father were almost skeletal when I left, in a grotesque display of being very under-weight. How he's doing now I have no idea).

But when the diet did not work for me I went to the doctor to see what was going on. I had very painful periods, more painful than the normal. And during weeks of ovulation and even during weeks I was not, I was experience pain in my ovaries. Sometimes exercise to  my ex-husbands extreme disappointment was impossible due to the pain being too much for me.  Sometimes I would be talking or walking and suddenly I'd be on the floor sobbing due to the pain suddenly flaring up.

With an ultra sound and a few blood tests it was confirmed. I have PCOS. Poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. An endocrine imbalance. And guess what? It makes weight loss very difficult. Women with PCOS have to exercise at least three times the usual amount than a normal woman to lose weight.

WELL. Crap. That sucks. And even with my health condition, the breaking straw to my relationship were the words: "But like I said, your weight is a deal breaker, and that is no lie. If PCOS made it impossible I'm not gonna lie it would be over. I can't envision myself living our lives forever with this problem between us if it stayed that way."

Literally. Verbatim. So I ended my toxic marriage and broke away. And now I am still struggling with weight control. I have lost weight since that conversation too, but painstakingly.

And I am not the only one with PCOS that is struggling with my weight. And PCOS is not the only health condition out there that makes it difficult for people to become "healthy." Now, mind you, I fully believe you can still be chubby an still be healthy as a horse.

But for a lot of us, men and women alike, it's a mental health that I relate to the most. As someone who was abused by the person I trusted the most in the world over my weight, I understand the psychological pain that "bigger than average" people feel.  I also understand that it's not always about being lazy or whatever but it could be hormone, or a physical handicap, or a health condition that is keeping someone from reaching their goals, try as they might.

I also understand, as someone who was forced into a diet I was not entirely happy about, how sometimes in a diet, things can leave you feeling unsatisfied, with a "hungry" feeling. The recipes and tips I leave on this blog are for those of us who are trying to eat healthy, and not feel 'starved' of things that they enjoy. It also is easy to feed your families these recipes in case you're trying to get them on board with your 'less junk more green' diet.

Just remember everyone. Everything in moderation. There is ALWAYS room for one or two pieces of chocolate every couple days. No over doing it. And that applies with your diets and exercise too. You would not eat an entire cake, so do not start off your regimes with suddenly cutting out all of your 'bad' foods and working out three hours a day. Don't shock your body and gradually get into it.

Be healthy. Be smart. Be strong. You're not alone.

The Healing Properties of... Cinnamon! (Recipe Inside)

Who knew that cinnamon is not just a tasty spice you put in desserts and Oriental food? Well.. me! And I'm here to share with you what a lot of people don't know: Cinnamon is probably one of the healthiest yummy spices you'll ever flavour your food with.

Now there are two types of Cinnamon. "True" cinnamon, otherwise known as Ceylon cinnamon. This is originated in Sri Lanka. Then there is Cassia cinnmon, which is rather different, cultivated in China and Indonesia. Unfortunately Ceylon Cinnamon is more expensive because it has to be imported. More information about the differences in these cinnamons can be found in this blog. So it's up to you after reading this blog which one you'd like to invest in!

There have been studies that shown that Cinnamon has extremely valuable to people with Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes, Obesities, sensitive immune systems, sensitive bowels/digestive systems, Arthritis and Osteoporosis, depression, and can help cognitive and brain development, and cholesterol. But that is not even the complete list! Cinnamon is also a anti-oxidant, holds a tree-trunk load of nutrients, anti-bacterial, a natural disinfectant, an order neutraliser, anti-microbial, warming agent, and even an anti-fungal!  

So let me go into a little more detail. Cassia Cinnamon is what we usually find in grocery stores. And while it's high levels of a natural blood thinning agent of Coumarin can be toxic to the liver, it's only a health risk if you take very large doses everyday. So as long as you're not taking any more than one or two cinnamon tablets or eating an entire jar of ground sugar everyday - you'll be just fine. 

Now, I know you guys want me to give an extensive list of what cinnamon can do for you. But I found someone who already has.  Cinnamon Vogue has given a large list  of what studies have been done - and how they can effect a person. I highly suggest clicking the link and reading the list of things that Cinnamon can actually do for you. 

Lamb Loin with Baby Spinach, Golden Raisins, Preserved Lemon and Cinnamon

Here's the recipe from John Critchley, executive chef of Bourbon Steak in Washington, D.C. It calls for ras el hanout, a North African spice blend, and sumac, which are available at many halal markets and online.

Yield 4 portions

2 pounds lamb loin

1 pound baby spinach

1 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons preserved lemons, chopped

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ras el hanout

1 tablespoon sumac

¼ cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

Method:

1. Season lamb loin with ras el hanout, sumac and 1 tablespoon Saigon cinnamon and sear in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat.
2. Cook until medium rare or about 12 minutes constantly turning over medium heat.
3. Let rest on your cutting board.
4. In a mixing bowl combine the baby spinach, cinnamon, raisins and preserved lemon with olive oil and lemon juice.
5. Slice the meat and arrange on a platter.
6. Plate the salad in a bowl

Let's Talk Poison

"Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, triticale and oats. In some people, eating or drinking anything containing gluten can cause different types of undesirable reactions. The most extreme of these is the auto-immune condition known as coeliac disease. Some other types of reactions are known as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, gluten sensitivity, or gluten intolerance. Gluten sensitivity is different from wheat allergy."

Please. As if anyone is gonna read that garbage. I wish "Smart" people who deliver this sort of information to people would realize they need to dumb it down, and maybe make it less Snore-Worthy. 

Don't worry! I'm here to help.  Unfortunately with Gluten, there is so much jargon surrounding it, that still to this present day, people are not sure if it's harmful to people. 

What is simple to understand are there are people who have Gluten sensitivity, and some even can develop Auto-Immune diseases with the consumption of it. Consumption of too much Gluten flares up those nasty IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms, causes bloating and gas. And those spastic tummy pains? You guessed it. Gluten induced. .

When you think about the so few people with the Auto-immune diseases, it  seems like no big deal. But if you count all of the people with the other things I mentioned, you realize that it's actually a substantial problem around the globe!

Unfortunately, there's still some confusion as to whether or not it's Gluten that is the culprit to all these things, or the FODMAPS that's usually found hand in hand with Gluten.

Either way, what you mostly need to know about Gluten is that over all: An excess of it, much like anything else is unhealthy. Especially to those whose bodies need a substantial less amount than the every day average person.

But... why?

Well. I'm going to leave the internet searching as to what Gluten is and does up to you if you're actually interested. I'm actually going to be taking another route with it, one that isn't actually approached often when talking about the "Problem?" of Gluten. 

It's found in grains and carby stuff yo. 'Nuff said.

Uh...no it's not 'Nuff said.' WTF are you talking about?

Damn. So much for keeping this post short nyah? Well. Okay. I'll keep this simple: 

Grain = "Bad" Carbs = Gluten Surplus = Poison

You still...haven't actually explained.

I'm GETTING there! Patience. I just wanted to catch your attention first. Sheesh. First of all. 

When you go shopping you see so many labels that say "Rich in Whole Grains" and blah blah... you also hear it "reduces the risk of heart disease" and some types of cancers. Sounds super great? Right? Well, what they aren't telling you that they discovered in the research is that these very same "heart disease risk reducing" foods are also the reason why your Grandpa has Alheimerz, Grandma has dementia, Dad has IBS, Mom is occasionally depressed, and that oddball cousin has Schizophrenia. Sorry if that is a bit abrasive and harsh, but you'd be shocked how the typical every day family is constructed of these literal problems (with the exception of rearranging family members for diseases). 

First of all. I'm gonna take you back, WAY back. FARRRRRR back. Like... Ten THOUSAND years ago. Well. That's actually not that far back for the human race to be honest. That's just when the Agriculture Revolution came about for the world. Before that we had a few tens of thousands of years without a stupid amount of grain consumption. 

That's what research says anyway. And the important thing is...it's not grain in particular that causes these things, but everything that revolves around grains, carbs and the consumption of it. Now, I know that when you peek around the internet you find pages like : This Harvard study CRAP 

Pages like this infuriate to the point of looking for a "Feedback" button so I could give them a piece of my mind. Why? Because they either didn't do their research very well, or they are lying. Blatantly so. Do you honestly think with those big Harvard brains of yours, that our ancestors before 10,000 years ago were actually consuming whole grains as a quarter of their total food intake a day? 

Please people. Let's use our common sense. Now, a common argument for using Skeletons and fossils as an example are statements such as: "They never lived past the age of 25..."

I'm going to nip that in the bud now. IT'S NOT TRUE. Sure. Maybe cavemen didn't, when they didn't have the ability to fight off a common cold, or had to worry about mammoths stepping on their head (I'm being figurative people) or predators nomming on their yummy entrails. Still however you see it, research points that since the Agricultural Revolution ten thousand years ago, humans were a neurological peak. Our bodies have lost density and mass - and I'm not talking about the in style fatness. I'm talking about our body's physically have less muscle, and our bones are smaller, more fragile. 

And sure, maybe some of them had a hard time fighting off a common cold, and other 'every day' ailments we get. But, wanna know some things that they didn't have before cereal grains became a stable that was put in literally everything?

1. Diabetes
2. Alzheimer's
3. Schizophrenia
4. Depression was a minute problem
5. Heart Attacks
6. High Blood Pressure
7. High Cholesterol 
8. Epilepsy
9. Autism 
10. Obesity was practically non-existent
11. Infertility has sky rocketed since the A.R
12. Cancers
13. Anxiety
14. Auto-Immune Diseases of all sorts,
15. Even Allergies weren't a problem!

But this by far is not the full of extent of the list. I really don't feel like continuing it because it's sort of depressing right?

But you don't have to take my word for it. I don't have five PhD's (or one). But someone I admire a lot for his brilliant research and his ability to execute this information in an interesting way is Dr. David Perlmutter, the author of one of the most enlightening books I've ever read: Grain Brain

And if I haven't actually scared you enough to compel you to read that book (which I highly recommend, he explains all of this so much better than I do!), maybe clicking the next two links I provide will.

It's about time people are educated on what they are eating and how "Whole Healthy Grains," and other sources of Gluten, and "Bad" carbohydrates effects them. Because when I go shopping, I see people picking up and filling up their shopping trolleys with items that are composed up of all these harmful things.

Not only is your 75% to 80% "Grainy" diet hurting you - but it's also hurting the future generations of your family, the future generations of the world.  

How Grains Are Killing You Slowly

The Awful Truth About Eating Grains

Wicked Witch's Temptations (Recipe)

Wicked Witch's Temptation

Ohh I know! Green apples! So...stereotypical right? Well. I couldn't help it because not only is this recipe wicked, but is absolutely so tempting.

Best part? It's not that unhealthy for you. While it's not really the healthiest thing, what dessert is? My point being, it has no processed sugars, no unnatural additives, and it's ingredients are all individual good for your body in some way. 

And while I couldn't resist adding a bit of flare (which is why I made the photo up top) this dish turns absolutely astoundingly delicious!

What you need: 

1. Apples (Granny Smith are the best, but works with all kinds of apples)
2. Ground Cinnamon
3. Honey
4. Butter

The Process:

It's so simple! Slice the apples into stripes, about 4 mm thick. Line them up on the bottom of your casserole dish, and sprinkle some cinnamon, and drizzle some honey. You don't need a lot of honey, For the demonstrated amount in the picture above, I used maybe two tablespoons. If you have more apples add on top of them, make sure you do it layer by layer so that each layer has a nice coating of cinnamon and honey.  When you're done with that, put about 3 chunks of butter on top of them, (about two table spoons), put a lid on your dish, and pop them in the oven.

Special Notes:

This recipe works great with pears as well! It's great for a Thanksgiving Day Dish, and it's so easy and cheap to make it's ridiculous for how delicious it turns out, so this year sign up to make the Dessert and bring this! 

And if you're a custard fan, it tastes great on top of it.