Monday, November 21, 2011

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Today is a perfect fall day. The weather is cool and crisp outside and my kids are out of school for the Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately, they are both feeling under the weather so we are all confined to indoors. Otherwise we would all be out working away on our gardens and other outdoor projects (they planned this on purpose). So, like a responsibile mom, I've broken out the herbs and other potions to get these little darlings better asap. However, my sweet tooth is screaming for something right NOW! I found a recipe and made a few adapations so that the vegan-ness of our situation can be accomodated. Actually, these cookies turned out AWESOME!!

Ingredients:
2/3 c. brown rice flour
1/3 c. spelt flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/2 c. corn starch
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan or guar gum

Mix together dry ingredients, then add in:

1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tsp almond milk
1 c. fresh, creamed or canned pumpkin
1/2 c. light olive oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. molasses
1 c. vegan chocolate chips

Your mix is going to be very sticky, coat your hands in some of the same oil you used in the batter and roll your dough into small balls. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Vegan Enchiladas

I was going to make this for dinner tonight. Hence, the reason I posted the recipe (so that I could easily go to it). I snagged it from the "Oh She Glows" blogsite. However, things happen and I never got around to making it. This is in the line up for the next couple of days so I'll be leaving it up if it is a hit. If not . . . well, then it gets the axe. End of story.

Ingredients: (Makes 4 enchiladas)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (~2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup sweet potato, chopped (or zucchini)
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 handfuls spinach, chopped
1 can black beans (~2 cups), drained and rinsed
1 (14oz.) can Enchilada sauce or pasta sauce (~2 cups) see note
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice, to taste
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder, or to taste
4 whole grain tortilla wraps (I used Food for Life Ezekiel)

Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce, to pour on top (recipe below)
Green onion & chopped cilantro, to garnish Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce
1 & 1/4 cup avocado flesh
2 tbsp water, or more as needed to thin out
2-3 tbsp lime juice, to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
1 cup packed fresh cilantro
1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp ground cumin
Black pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grab a baking dish large enough for 4 enchiladas. Pre-cook the chopped sweet potato, by simmering it in a small pot of water for about 5-10 minutes until just tender. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet or pot, add 1 tbsp oil and bring to medium to low heat. Add in the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until translucent. Add in garlic and reduce heat to low and cook for a couple more minutes. Now add the chopped pepper, pre-cooked sweet potato, drained black beans, and chopped spinach. Cook for about 5-7 more minutes on medium-low heat.
3. Now add in your enchilada or pasta sauce. Stir well, and add in your seasonings: nutritional yeast (optional), cumin, fresh lime juice, salt, garlic powder, chili powder- all to taste. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Stir well.
4. Scoop about 3/4-1 cup of the mixture onto the bottom of your casserole dish and spread out in a thin layer. Scoop about 1/2-3/4 cup of the mixture onto each tortilla and wrap, placing the fold down on the casserole dish. Repeat for the remaining 3 tortillas and leave a bit of filling left to spread over the top. Sprinkle with vegan cheese if preferred.
5. Bake tortillas at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Meanwhile, make your Cilantro cream sauce (see below). When enchiladas are cooked, remove from oven and pour the sauce over top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onion. Serve immediately. Makes 4 enchiladas.

Cilantro cream sauce
1. In a food processor, process the avocado flesh and water until creamy. Now add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and well blended. Use immediately for best results.

Note: Depending on what kind of sauce you use, you will have to adjust the seasonings to taste. I used a pasta sauce so I likely needed more seasonings to achieve the taste I desired.

Tips
1) Due to the avocado in the cream sauce, this sauce needs to be used immediately for best results. If you plan on having leftovers, my advice is to wrap the leftover enchiladas without sauce and store in the fridge. You can try storing leftover sauce in an air-tight container for up to one day or you can make a half batch and make fresh sauce as needed.

Vegan Blondies

I was feeling a tidge bit domestic this Saturday and started frolicking around on my computer for great vegan desserts. I have discovered that my twins both have food sensitivites and am really striving to provide good tasting, healthy foods for them - no small task. However, I stumbled upon this recipe on a blogsite called "Chocolate Covered Katie". Catchy name and she's absolutely adorable. These blondies didn't last long. They were absolutely amazing (hence the reason they are featured here, lol).

(makes 15-20 squares)

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained and rinsed) (250g)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
heaping 1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (I substituted Stevia here)
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup ground flax (20g)
1/4 cup peanut butter (my son has a pretty bad peanut allergy so we used almond butter)

optional: 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients (except chips) until very smooth. Mix in chips, and scoop into a greased (or tinfoil-lined) 8×8 pan. Bake for 38-40 minutes. You want the blondies to look a little undercooked when you take them out, because they’ll firm up as they cool, and you don’t want them to get hard. (Note: you can probably sub any white bean for the chickpeas)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Raw Chocolate Fudge

Holy mackeral! This was absolutely fabulous. I found this recipe while playing around with Pinterest (btw, if you haven't gotten on board with Pinterest, you haven't gotten on board!). There are several different sites that have this delicious easy dessert but I kind of adapted it to my liking. I brought this to a potluck last night and it went over really well. Several of my friends said that it reminded them of Andes Mints. Yum!!

2 VERY ripe bananas
1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded raw coconut
about 6 drops peppermint extract
3 droppers full Sweet Leaf chocolate flavored stevia

Place all the ingredients in a Vitamix (or food processor) and blend them until they are smooth. Spread the mixture in a container (pie plate, 8 x 8, 11 x 14 etc) depending on how much you are making. This can set overnight in the refrigerator or for a quicker set it can be placed in the freezer for a couple of hours. It needs about 20 minutes to thaw before serving.

Optional: Cacao nibs or spearmint sprigs on top

Note: I tripled this recipe for the 11 x 14 pan that I brought to the potluck. It was perfect.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

This recipe comes from Diana Rattray. I found it out there on the net. It's super yummy although it really doesn't quite meet my high standards for "healthy". I'll play around with the recipe later to get it more friendly with our healthier lifestyle. However, I can't deny how exceedingly yummy they are and how quickly they disappear from the kitchen!

2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 flax eggs (2 T flax meal + 6 T water, mix & allow to sit)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups gluten free flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrot

Grease 12 muffin cups. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat the oil and eggs, sugar and vanilla.

Combine flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients, stirring until blended. Fold in the shredded zucchini and carrots.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full (mine were completely full and it was fine). Bake 20 minutes. Watch 'em disappear!!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - Vegan!

3 cups gluten free flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 t. sea salt
1-1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 t. vanilla
2 t. vinegar
1 cup water
3 cups zucchini - shredded

Set oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients, beat on medium speed until smooth. Bake in greased 9 x 13 25-30 minutes.

*Do NOT over bake. Better if slightly undercooked
*Can add a couple Tablespoons flaxseed oil
*For stronger chocolate flavor add 1-2 tablespoons more cocoa (suggested)
*Make sure to bake right away so the baking soda and vinegar stay active (add vinegar last)

Monday, August 15, 2011

Zucchini Pizza

Like a lot of people right about this time of year, we have an over abundance of zucchini. When we initially put those little tiny cute plants in the ground we have no conception of how they will evolve into these ginormous plants that yield a seemingly unending amount of gorgeous green squashes. Well, I got myself busy and found some really great recipes. This one, tonight, was pretty yummy. The twins LOVED it (they aren't normal kids, though. They eat mostly a vegetarian diet and seldom see junk food pass in front of them).

3 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup egg substitute (I use flax eggs)
1/3 cup gluten free flour
1/2 t. salt
2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella cheese
2 small tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup julienne green pepper
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
3 T. shredded vegan parmesan cheese

Optional items:
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 5 because I LOVE garlic)
chopped artichoke hearts
sliced olives
be creative!!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In bowl combine zucchini, egg substitute. Mix well. Add flour and salt. Stir well. Spread onto the bottom of 12" pizza pan coated with non-stick spray. Bake for 8 minutes. Reduce to 350 degrees. Sprinkle with mozzarella, tomatoes, onion, garlic, green pepper, oregano, basil, parmesan cheese and any other goodies you deem worthy of your pizza experience. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until onion is tender and cheese is melted. Remove and enjoy a pretty unique example of extraordinary cuisine!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Lemon Millet Patties

This recipe is from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook (one of my favorite books). You will need a food processor to make these. You can make the patties up to 3 days ahead of time and store them in between pieces of waxed paper in a storage container in your refrigerator. My 13 year old twins just love these and ALWAYS go for seconds!

Serves 4

1 cup millet
2 cups water
pinch of sea salt

2 small carrots, chopped
1-2 green onions, chopped
small handful fresh parsley
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3-4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil for sauteing

1. Rince dry millet in a fine strainer under warm running water. Place rinsed millet, water, and sea salt into a medium pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a low simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

2. Place chopped carrot, chopped green onions, fresh parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sea salt into a food processor and pulse a few times. Add cooked millet and continue to pulse until just mixed.

3. Form millet mixture into patties. Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Lightly saute patties on both sides.

Chicken Pox

My son started with some "spots" on his face last Thursday (today is Monday). I thought they were possibly flea bites (we have cats). Of course, my son is a picker and a scratcher so I assumed when the "rash" appeared to be getting worse that he was just picking at it. When the school phoned me on Friday to express their concern I assured them it was "no big deal."

The weekend came along and my husband (being the all-knowing medic, lol) proceeded to put Neosporin on the sores. I chose not to say anything because I didn't want to contradict him (against my better judgement). Today I sent the young lad off to school with a hug, smile and a "don't pick at your face, please!"

Of course, the school called this afternoon and was concerned because his rash appeared to be getting worse and spreading. I, once again, informed them that it was no big deal and "no, I was NOT taking my child to a doctor. I only seek the medical community's assistance in a life or death situation and when there are broken bones involved." That was that . . . or so I thought.

My child arrived home and I looked at his "rash" to see what the fuss was about. Yeah, it was all over his body! How could I have missed that? Well, I quickly determined that he has chicken pox. Here's the information that I can offer on this:

Chicken pox is very contagious. Since I choose not to vaccinate my children (any more), I should not be surprised to have this outbreak begin in my home. It is usually NOT a problem that needs to have a doctor involved. There is usually a slight fever in the beginning and then the rash starts to make it's appearance. Lots of information is all over the internet about what to look for and various other uncommon complications that sometimes can occur.

What am I doing?

Well, I immediately threw the young man into a tub with very warm water and baking soda (to help with the itch). You could also use that Aveeno oatmeal bath - it's pretty soothing as well. I like the hot water because it helps the spots to make a really grand entrance. Why do we want as much of a rash as we can get? Well, it's the toxins in the body coming out. You supress the rash, you lock those toxins in the body to make an ugly appearance sometime later in life. No good.

In addition, I'm giving my boy HOT yarrow tea. That warms up the inside and just helps those toxins to work their way out. Of course, we don't tell HIM that! However, this particular child of mine is pretty excited for all the attention. His twin sister, however, is looking on in horror (I informed her that it is pretty inevitable that she's going to be visited by the same fate).

I will have to trim my son's nails (like I said, he's a scratcher and a picker) so as to minimize the scarring that "could" result.

Other than that, I'm just letting nature take it's course. Our bodies are VERY intelligent and know exactly what to do. Unfortunately, our society and culture has lost touch with that simple fact.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Back to Basics

Last night I made a decision to take my 13 year old daughter to the ER. She was experiencing rapid, shallow breathing (which was a big concern) and was running a moderate fever. She had had a cold for about a week now and this has been going on pretty consistently. The night before last she was vomitting mucus that had accumulated in her stomach and had passed out while doing so. Prior to my decision, I had called my dear friend, who is an RN, and her advice was to take her in immediately.

As soon as I had filled out all the necessary paperwork and she had gone through the usual routine of temp, bp and pulse checks we were settled into a room to await the doctor. He came after quite awhile (that was to be expected) and after a 30 second exam and a brief chat with her and I he prescribed cough syrup and nausea medication. I was perplexed. The reason for my visit was her abnormal breathing pattern. I left there more convinced than ever that I really need to become more confident in my own skills.

I have spent the last three years certifying in footzonology, facezonolgy and herbology. Ideally I would like to continue my education but family and time are a current obstacle. However, it is now clear that I need to hone in on the skills that I do have and put them to good use. My family, clients and friends could all benefit.

Up until very recently in the history of the world, people were healing and benefitting from the gifts of the earth. We have wonderful resources right at our fingertips and we, especially we here in the west, have slowly evolved into a people who depend on modern science to heal us. We seek after instant gratification. However, that instant gratification has a very high price tag attached to it. There are side effects to all of those medications that are so freely dispensed.

Herbs and plants do not have the side effects that we experience from pharmaceuticals. It does take a little time and patience to obtain the desired results but often the regimen is just a temporary visitor and then we are free. Free to live our life without pain or discomfort. Free from side effects and the dependence of drugs and more drugs.

The purpose of this blog is to dole out snipets of information that will hopefully help others in their search for a better, less expensive avenue to ultimate health. I love what I do and love to share. I love the challenge that is presented when someone wants to pick my brain about what is going on in their body. I invite all who read my blog to feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments you may have.

To your good health, vitality and longevity!