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!

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.

Homemade Peanut Butter Chips!

I just discovered how to make my own peanut butter chips! I simply chopped up my fudge (see previous post) into tiny pieces and added it to my cookies. :)

Yeah! (Be sure to keep them in the freezer though :))

Naturally Sweet Double Berry Oatmeal

  You will notice the oatmeal looks a little purplish-almost gray especially compared to the background----but don’t fear! It’s because of how it’s made.

 

I discovered that I left a mug of herbal raspberry tea out and decided to experiment with using that instead of water in my oatmeal. I also added some strawberries. It was perfect. It gave it just enough flavor….oatmeal, strawberries, and a hint of raspberry flavor! :) Try it! :) You might be surprised. :)

 

I try to use as little sugar as I can especially on oatmeal so this was perfect option for me. :)

 

*GF’ers- be sure to use GF oats or quiona flakes!

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. :)

Sloppy Joe Boats

After finishing up my hamburger buns and still having meat left I decided to make a healthy low carb variation of my sloppy joes!

Viola! Take a leaf of lettuce (like Romaine), add meat, and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy! :)

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.

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 #6: 2-hour Memory Buns

Celiac Teen recently posted a recipe for these incredible rolls/buns. Seeing that they were rolls/buns and whole grain I was very excited to try them!

Here's the alterations I made:

• 1 and 1/4 c. + 1 T. water (I used less water because of the agave
• 3 T. agave (Agave is at least 25% sweeter than sugar so I used 1 T. less, and I don't like to use cane sugar)
• I ended up adding about 1/8 c. more teff flour, 1/8 c. more sorghum flour, 1/4 c. more corn flour, and 1/4 c. more millet because the batter was pretty runny.
• I also let it rise, covered with plastic wrap in a 200 degree oven (preheat to 200 and then turn it off. Then place the bread in).
  
• I only had to cook this about 15-20 mins.

They came out a little flatter I think due to the alterations I had to make and more flour. They are very tasty. Mine got more mashed together as you can see and I may just pour the batter if that runny in the future. Still, they tasted great!

In the future, I plan to use less water and also possibly add baking soda/powder to help it rise more. I think they would be great with butter if you can use it instead of oil or as I plan to, I will use Earth Balance next time! I am also thinking of decreasing the total oil amount. I also think it would be a great recipe to convert into a regular bread recipe!
Thanks again Celiac Teen!

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!

Recipe Review #4: Gluten-Free Whole Grain Waffles

I was in the mood for waffles. Real, hearty, whole grain waffles, like the whole wheat ones my mother used to make.

I found this recipe on The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen Site. I love this recipe! So delicious and simple! I tried it with a few alterations to the wet ingredients:

• I used 6 T. apple sauce (homemade or organic, sugar-free)instead of oil to make lower in calories and fat
  
• 4 tablespoons dark agave, low glycemic, similar taste to maple syrup
• 3-3.5 c. of water, I used this simply because I ran out of milk, use more water to make it less thick, (it's up to you)
  

Also, I used 2 t. cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Healthy and Delicious Low Calorie Breakfast :)

One morning I had about 5-10 minutes before I needed to leave for work when I realized I didn't have anything prepared for breakfast. Oops! So I threw together this quick, easily changeable recipe.

Per person:

• 2-4 egg whites or 1-2 eggs (higher calorie)
• 1 chopped up tomato
• 1/2 c. left-over or fresh cooked vegetables (I used zucchini)
  

Combine. Add salt, pepper, and any spices you wish! Cook on a oiled or sprayed skillet until done. Eat and "Scramble" :) out the door if needed :).

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.

Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

After paying a ridiulous high amount for organic pasta sauce, I thouhgt, wellI could try one of my own. So here it is. And it’s based of my mothers recipe! (The photo shows this sauce in the recycled organic jar).

• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• A few shakes of basil, oregano, and garlic
• 1 leek chopped or one small onion (brown first)
• 2 T. olive oil (opt)

Combine and cook for about 10-15 mins.

Store in the fridge or use for your meal.

Easy and simply delicious!

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.

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.”

Recipe Review #2: Healthy! Guilt-Free Key Lime Pudding!

Here it is! The recipe that the most of you requested! Key Lime Pie Pudding! I got this recipe from Ricki’s dietdessertndogs website. See the original (almost the same recipe) here. I give her all the credit for this recipe and thank her for it! It is definitely nutritious and delicious! Thanks Ricki!

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large chopped ripe avocado

3-4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

stevia to taste or 1/4 cup agave

Pour all of the ingrediants into your food processor and blend! Serve immediately! And enjoy!