The Best Kiss….(Of the food variety! :))

My mother sent me this huge kiss for Valentine’s Day……I’ve been meaning to share it because look what is inside!

Dried, unsweetened, delicious pineapple! This is my kind of treat!

 

Thanks mom! :)

 

Thought you all would enjoy seeing a cute alternative to candy and chocolate for valentines or any other special occasion!

Chocolate Crepes with Chocolate Sauce and Strawberries

Just pretend I posted these for Valentine’s Day ok? This is what I had intended too….shhh…I’m a little behind….. :)

Whether for Valentine’s Day or for any occasion, especially those special ones….this makes a delightful breakfast or dessert.  Top with whip cream if you have it on hand and can eat it. :)

The crepe recipe was altered from this recipe. The rich, dark chocolate syrup is my own creation.

Ingredients (crepe):

• 1 cup flour (whole wheat or GF mix)
• 2-4 tbsp  unsweetened cocoa powder (depending on how strong of a chocolate taste you desire-start with 2)
• 1 tbsp honey/sweetener
• 1 1/2 cups  milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. oil

Heat a pan on medium heat.   Mix wet ingredients. Then add dry ingredients. Grease pan. Pour scant 1/4 c. batter into pan and lift the pan off the burner, moving the batter around until you have a thin crepe.

Top and fill with strawberries and

Rich Dark Chocolate Syrup

• 3 T soft butter
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 4 T. agave/honey
• 6-8 T. water (to your desired thickness.

Combine all ingredients and serve over crepes. Use leftovers for chocolate milk or ice-cream (cow, almond, soy, etc).

Mini Easy Little Cheesecakes

 

Don’t these look good? And the best part too is that they are really simple and relatively healthy to make:

• One “slice” of cheese from a box of Original, Laughing Cow, Creamy Swiss (or other flavor),3/4 oz. Soft Cheese Slices OR cream cheese cut up into wedges

 OR  for a DAIRY-FREE OPTION try Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese or Follow Your Heart Organic Vegan Cream Cheese (again, cut up into wedges etc)

• 3 chocolate chips (I used Sunspire Grain Sweetened)
• Chocolate Syrup (cocoa powder, honey, and a little water will do the trick in a pinch)
• Peanut Butter (that’s the tan stuff you see- my pb is made from a powder- it’s not as yummy but anywho…)

Arrange your slice of “cheesecake” on a plate. Top with your favorite toppings or those mentioned above. Relax and enjoy! :)

Healthy Chocolate Cookies with Homemade Peanut Butter Chips!

Or, How to get your chocolate peanut butter fix all in one stop! :)

Note: I made a small batch since I was adapting this from another recipe and also didn’t want too many cookies around. :) This recipe makes about 10 cookies though…Feel free to double or triple it according to your needs and wants.

Ingredients:
1/4 (~2T) banana, mashed
3 T. honey/agave

1 T. milk/water/dairy-free milk
1 T. cup melted butter/earth balance/oil

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat/GF flour blend)
1/4 c. cocoa

(Or if you want to make these as a basic cookie, use 3/4 c. flour and no cocoa)

pinch salt
1 /4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. homemade peanut butter chips

Preheat your oven for 325*. In a small bowl, (if you are making 1x the recipe, a cereal bowl can be used) mix together the wet ingredients and then add the dry (minus the chips). Spoon the dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies if desired and then add chips. :) Cook for about 15 minutes.

PS. These are very satisfying with the chips added. If you don’t use the chips, they might be a little bland and not as sweet. I would suggest adding additional sweetener in that case.

Recipe Review: FUDGE! Refined-Sugar-Free Carmel-like Peanut Butter Fudge/Truffle

I tried Comfy Belly’s homemade peanut butter fudge recently! It was so good! I followed her recipe except I used 3/4 c. honey instead of 1 c. honey and used my low-fat peanut butter that I get and finish at home here. It was really sweet-even with less honey. Next time, I think I’ll experiment with 1/2 c. honey instead and maybe some extra water/peanut butter .  Be sure to watch it though- I burned the butter/honey mixture the first time! :/ :)

 

 

ALTERATIONS:

For those of you who are dairy-free, sub coconut oil or earth balance for the butter.

For those of you who are peanut free, try a different nut butter.

For those of you who are nut-free, try sun-butter.

For those of you who are vegan, try it with agave, maple syrup, etc.

Let me know what you come up with! :)

Yummy, Homemade Use-what-you-have Pizza

My room mates went out for pizza and I decided since I was staying home, I’d make my own…healthier version with what I had on hand. (yeah-for double frugality! No money spent on going out, no money spent on more food supplies!)

I topped this with some frozen chicken pieces, bits of pineapple, frozen shredded cheddar cheese, and parmesan. Feel free to top it with whatever you have on hand (and can eat :)).

It was really yummy…soft, bread like, dough. It was very thick. I think next time I might split it into two pizzas.
 

No Rise Pizza and Crust – adapted from this recipe

 

Ingredients:

1 T yeast
1 C warm water

1 tsp. honey/agave
1 tsp. salt
2 T olive oil
2.5 C whole wheat flour or some other (GF flour) combo

Prepare the crust by mixing warm water, honey,and yeast in a small bowl. Allow yeast mix to sit for about 5 minutes.  Then add the oil and stir. After that add the flour and salt. 

Next knead the dough for a few minutes with your hands (or alternatively a kitchen aid/bread maker), then let it sit for 5 mins while you grease your pizza pan and gather the ingredients for the toppings.

Take the dough and put it on the center of the pan…stretch it out slowly until it covers the entire pan. Top it with your favorite sauce (I used straight tomato paste) and toppings.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is done and the toppings (such as cheese) are done.

 

Frugal, Filling, and Hearty Carrot Soup

The other week I noticed I had some carrots that were in dire need of use! I didn’t want to waste them so I decided to make something with them. I found a recipe for carrot soup and then modified it to fit my needs and what I had on hand. The original recipe doesn’t advise to use “older carrots” but I found it worked just fine.  It was delicious and so filling. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a soup this filling before! :)  I would definitely make this again, even with fresh carrots. :)  I like how frugal this recipe is too.

Carrot Soup

Modified by Ari, from this recipe

About +/- 10 carrots (use what you have)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups+ water
1.5 T lemon juice (half a lemon’s worth)
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

cinnamon (as much as you want)

and or garlic (again, that’s subjective to you)

Peel, cut, and cook carrots in 3 c. boiling water. After they are soft, add lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and or garlic. (I used a both- A little garlic gave it more flavor- and the cinnamon heightened the sweetness of the carrots.) Then use a potato masher to mash up the mixture.  If you want a smoother soup, use an immersion blender or if you don’t have that, do as I did and use a regular hand mixer. :) You could also  use a food processor or a blender to do the same thing. After mixing, serve! :)

The original recipe says it serves about four, I would say that is about right. :)

Mom’s Homemade Sloppy Joes

Mmm…sloppy joes! A classic American favorite. I just recently made my mom’s recipe and I will quote it here with some minor add-ins:

Sloppy Joes

Brown 1 pound hamburger with one diced medium onion.

Add one 6 oz. can of tomato paste,  1 1/4 cup water, and shake in a few shakes of dry diced garlic.

Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns.

That's it.  Easy, huh?  Yup, real easy. Real tasty!

This makes enough for our entire family.  (There are 7 of us) Her suggestion (if you are the only one eating it or have less people) is that  you may want to half it and then freeze it in baggies in 1/3 cup portions that you can pull out to eat quickly.  Or you could add it to spaghetti sauce to use it up.

Soft and Chewy, Healthy! Chocolate Chip Cookies

WOW! This is the first time in years I’ve had a chocolate chip cookie! It’s amazing! And my first try worked! :) They were so good I ate way too many! and burned my tongue. :) I think these would be great too with the alterations listed but I was excited that they turned out so well with whole wheat flour and no refined sugar. Give them a try and let me know what you think!!! :)

They aren’t quite as sweet (just a little bit less sweet) than your normal cookie but they do the trick for me! :) Hence, the burnt tongue and disappearance of a 1/3 (ok…ok…1/3 sounds better…I ate 6! :) They were that good!) of my cookies! :)

Amazingly, Yummy, Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Ari (me) based of this recipe

1 cup whole wheat flour (or GF flour blend)

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter(or melted earth balance, melted coconut oil, etc)

1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used grain-sweetened, which are sugar-free)

Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together honey, vanilla extract and butter until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Place spoonfuls of batter on cookie sheets and bake for 13-17 (no more than 17- the maximum actually gets you a very crisp cookie with a tiny bit of a chewy center) minutes for soft chewy cookies. I would guess 15 minutes is about perfect. Cookies will set up as they cool. :) Makes 12-15 cookies.

ENJOY! :) Serve with a glass of cold milk! :)

Mom's Applesauce Muffins

I LOVE my mom's applesauce muffins. And after hearing from Celiac teen, how she has been making recipes to fit her celiac diet from those from pre-celiac days, I have been doing some of my own experimenting. :) So, here's what I came up with. Also, it is has less sugar and no oil versus the original recipe! Enjoy!

Also, as noted in my previous post, I am doing a 2 week glutenious trail and that made me think that some of your who aren't GF, may want to make this too! :) So for those of you who don't have to eat wheat/gluten-free, feel free to sub 1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour=my mom's recipe or white flour) Also, if you are GF, you may sub 1-1/2 c. of your favorite flour mix for my mix. Sorry if that was confusing! :)
Mom's Applesauce Muffins


1/2 c. corn flour
1/2 c. millet flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
3/4 t. cinnamon
2 1/4 t. baking powder
Combine dry ingredients set aside. (xanthum not necessary, if you think you need it just add a pinch)

1/2 c. apple juice ( OR 2 T. apple juice concentrate and water) or milk
1 c. apple sauce
1/4 c. agave
1 egg
Combine wet ingredients. Add in dry ingredients until just barely mixed. Fold in apples and raisins. Drop into greased or papered muffin tips until almost full


1 c. apples chopped
1/4-1/2 c. raisins (I used 1/4 c.)
1/2 c. cashew/almond meal (I used cashew) optional, adds protein!

Cook at 400 for 20-25 mins. Makes 12.

In the future, I would use 1/4 teff, 1/4 corn, 1/4 sorghum and 1/4 millet (my favorite GF whole grain mix!) I was out of teff though! Also, may leave out the nuts or something next time...who knows! Also, more raisins and I could leave out the apples (but I'm not sure though if I would want to)

Inspired by mom's recipe and delicouswisdom.
I am entering this into Slightly Indulgent Mondays here.

Recipe Review #5: Super Easy (and yummy) peach crumble

Have some peaches that need to be eaten up? I sure did! I was looking at a dessert I could make that my family may enjoy even though they in no way eat the same as I do. I came across this recipe by Gluten-Free Goddess and had to try it.

The verdict? YUM! Thank you for the recipe!

Here's the only alterations I made or how I followed it:
For the topping:

• I used oat bran for the oats (I thought these would be interesting to try for texture and easier to digest) Make sure they are GF though if you have celiac!
• 2 T. oat flour
• 2 T. dark agave
  
• no walnuts or mesquite
• pinch of cinnamon
  
• 1/2 t. vanilla
  
• 2 T. earth balance (not melted)

In the peach filling, I didn't use arrowroot because I didn't have any on hand. I used 2 T. light agave.

Anyway, everyone of my very picky eaters (that would be my siblings especially) loved it. Most of them asked for seconds and thirds!

Pulled Barbeque... Chicken

Just the other night, my family had pulled pork. Like I've mentioned, pork is not one of those foods I can eat. So, spare of the moment, I created this healthier and quite tasty recipe. Feel free to multiply and double this recipe as many times as needed.

Ingredients:

• One large cooked chicken breast
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 2 T. organic refined-sugar free ketchup
• 2 T. dark agave

Pull chicken into small string-like piece. Combine tomato paste, ketchup, and agave. Toss chicken in the sauce until covered. Warm. Serve over rice or on a gluten-free bun! :)

Simple Chicken Parm Twist

Wow! Mmmm.. Yum. That was all I could think of when I created this recipe. And even better, it tastes very little time to make.

The inspiration? Mom was making some chicken cordon bleu. And you know what? Provolone and ham are both "off" my list of what I can eat but I was definitely in the mood for stuffed chicken of some sort.

......So what did I do? I improvised! I decided to make my own stuffed chicken. Looking around the fridge I saw, "Rice Shreds Mozzarella" and fresh from the garden tomatoes! Perfect! I took a large chicken breast after it was defrosted and pounded out and covered it in corn meal first on one side. Then I took the uncovered side and stuffed it with juicy tomato slices and a handfuls of "cheese". I held it together with toothpicks and sprinkled a little more "cheese" on top. I put into the oven for 30 minutes at 400. Delicious!

For those of you who can tolerate dairy, go ahead and use the real thing! :) And for those of you who can't, leave a comment and let me know your favorite dairy free "cheese".

Oh, and the name? When I was thinking about what I should call this, I thought it was sorta similar to the classic chicken parm I used to love. :)

I posted this recipe for Slightly Indulgent Mondays here.

Low-fat Creamy Fruit-Sweetened Banana Coconut Ice-Cream

I was really inspired by Elana’s recipe. Thanks Elana! It looked delicious but I had one slight problem! I have a hard time handling large amounts of fat at once so I set about to make my own version.

First off, I had to make a lower-fat coconut milk. So, I figured out that 2T of full fat coconut milk mixed with about a cup of water in my blender would equal 60 calories per serving and 5 g of fat. And guess what? That is the basic recipe for low-fat coconut milk! Just double or triple it, etc to make a larger quantity.

My recipe:

4-5 medium bananas, sliced thin (see photo)
2 dates, sliced thin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-4 c. l0w-fat coconut milk, homemade

Preheat your oven for 375. In a 9×13 pan, place sliced bananas. Sprinkle dates over the bananas. Pour the vanilla over the whole dish. Throw it in the oven for 20-45 mins (depending on how long it takes for your bananas and dates to caramelize). Watch carefully as you don’t want them to burn!

When they are done, take them out and let them cool a little. Add coconut milk and banana mix to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into your ice-cream maker. Best served then and there but left-overs can be stored in the freezer and then defrosted carefully on the counter.

Homemade Low Calorie, Low Fat Peach Sherbet

Mmmm…..peaches. I love summer fruit. I decided to make this recipe after looking at Katrina’s recipe.

1 c. almond milk or your favorite non-dairy milk of choice

1/4 c. fruit-sweetened jam (peach especially)

1 egg white, if desired (helps texture)

4 cups of peaches (peeled and cut up)

1 peach set aside, peeled and cut up

Blend jam, egg white (opt), peaches, and milk in a blender. Add set aside peach slices and don’t turn the blender back on. Just stir. Pour into your ice cream maker. Enjoy!

Let me know what variations you tried…and how it came out!

Best Gluten-Free “White” Bread

Mmm…finally! I found a good! gluten-free “white” bread recipe. I found it online and did some alterations to fit my tastes and what I did. This is definitely one of my new favorites! It tastes just like “homemade normal gluten-containing white bread”. I even tested it on my picky normal family and they all said it was fine, just a little chewier or moister maybe. Anyway, I’ve tested A LOT of bread recipes out there and this ones sure amazing! Try it and let me know what you think!

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Energy-Egg Replacer
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Wet Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 4 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups water

For bread makers: Sift and mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Place wet ingredients in your bread maker and then dry ingredients (or according to your bread makers instructions). Select the gluten-free cycle if you have one, or select basic bread/white bread. Cook. Remove from pan immediately when done and allow to cool before slicing.

For those of your doing it in the oven: Grease one bread pan, preferably a smaller one. Set aside. Combine 1/2 cup of the water (make sure its about 110 degrees, warm, but not too hot), 1 T. honey, and yeast. Whisk together. Let sit for ten minutes. While you are waiting, sift together your dry ingredients (except yeast) or whisk them together. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir. Add the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Preheat the oven to 200. Turn it off once it reaches 200 degrees. Knead the bread with a mixer or strong muscles, for about 4 minutes or more. (Or if you have a stand mixer, let it mix a little longer). Scoop dough into prepared pan. Smooth the top of the dough with wet fingertips. Cover with plastic wrap and place in warmed oven. Let rise 20 mins or until the dough is to the top of the pan or close to it. Take the bread out. Preheat the oven to 375 and then take the platic of the dough. Place the pan in the oven. Cook for 40-45 mins or until done. Let cool before slicing (if you can!) Enjoy!

I would love to hear any comments, suggestions, alterations, results etc that you found! Please comment and let us know!

Homemade Healthy Fish Sticks/Fingers ! :)

Traditional Fish Sticks

Breaded Fish Sticks

What’s in your fish sticks? Are they full of gluten and preservatives? Here’s a recipe I love that’s gluten-less, preservative free, sugar-free, milk-free and simple. It is so much healthier and cheaper too! Plus, the kids will love it! Freeze a bunch in advance for a healthy, quick dinner!

Recipe:

2 skinless fish fillets

1/2 c. corn meal OR 1/2 c.GF bread crumbs

sprinkling of salt, garlic, and pepper (plus any other spices you desire) over the corn meal or bread crumbs

1 egg OR 2 egg whites OR 1/4 c. oil

If frozen, defrost fish fillets. Cut into fish sticks or patties/fillets if you like. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400. Pour 1/2 c. corn meal on a plate with spices. Mix spices and cornmeal together and spread out evenly on a plate. Prepare eggs or oil in a bowl. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Dip the fish into the oil or eggs, and then place in the cornmeal mixture, flipping so it gets on bottom of the fish too. Place completed fish sticks on the cookie sheet. After the tray is full, cook for about 10-15 mins or until done. Breaded fish fillets take slightly longer.

Double or triple this recipe and experiment with the exact measurements. This is a rough estimate and it really depends on how big your fillets are etc. Based off my chicken nugget recipe.

Looking for a healthier tarter sauce recipe? See mine here.

Healthy, Delicious, and Simple Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Ever crave those McNuggets? Ever think to yourself, $1 or more for 4 gluten-laden, 56% corn, 38 ingredient,petroleum antioxidant sprayed chicken nuggets isn’t worth it? (Want to read more about what is really in those “nuggets”? Read this. ) Anyway, rather than buy these guys or even those prepared and frozen at the grocery store, try this recipe. It is so much healthier and cheaper too! Plus, the kids will love it! Freeze a bunch in advance for a healthy, quick dinner!

Recipe:

2 skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c. corn meal

sprinkling of salt, garlic, and pepper (plus any other spices you desire) over the corn meal

1 egg OR 2 egg whites OR 1/4 c. oil

If frozen, defrost chicken breasts. Cut into bite-size pieces or strips if you like. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400. Pour 1/2 c. corn meal on a plate with spices. Mix spices and cornmeal together and spread out evenly on a plate. Prepare eggs or oil in a bowl. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Dip the chicken into the oil or eggs, and then place in the cornmeal mixture, flipping so it gets on bottom of the chicken too. Place completed nuggets on the cookie sheet. After the tray is full, cook for about 20 mins. Chicken strips take slightly longer. Nuggets/Strips are done when you can pierce them with a fork and there are no juices or the juices are clear.

Double or triple this recipe and experiment with the exact measurements. This is a rough estimate and it really depends on how big your chicken is etc. Based off this recipe.

GF, DF, and Sugar-Free Rice Krispie Treats!

Mmm, gooey rice crispy treats! My favorite! I missed these guys for a while . Anyway, I found a recipe (and then edited it) and “marshmallow” type treat I could eat these with.

Here’s my recipe.

Ingredients:

3 c. Erewhon Brown Crispy Rice

1.5 t. Earth balance, ,melted or extra virgin olive oil

slight more than 1 c. of Suzanne’s Rice Mellow Creme

Stir Rice Mellow Creme and “butter” together on the stove until combined. Add the brown rice crispies and pour into a greased 8×8 square pan. Let cool. When it’s hard enough to eat and cut, serve. If not, place in the freezer for a few minutes or until hard enough. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Review #3: Avacado Mayonnaise

This recipe also comes from Ricki via Dr. Kim at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs! I love it dip and mayo! Take Ricki’s and my word for it! This is a great mayo alternative and it is sooo good on tomatoes! See her post here.

“2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, scooped out of skins, and cubed

large handful of fresh basil leaves [or a couple shakes dreid basil]

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) extra virgin olive oil [I didn't use it but I'm sure it'd taste even better!]

2 tsp. (10 ml.) fresh lemon or lime juice

1 garlic clove, peeld and minced

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine basil, garlic, and a pinch of sea salt in a small food processor and blend until ingredients form a paste.

Add avocados and process until smooth. Blend in oil and lemon or lime juice, and then season with salt and pepper. Makes 4-6 servings.”