Interesting Breakfast

I've seen this recipe in lots of different ways in many cookbooks. When I first saw the ingredients I thought what an interesting idea. So I tried it! The other morning, things were busy and I wanted something quick that wasn't poured out of a box, so I made it! You know what, I liked it! The hardest part was pushing away Ryan from eating all of it!

Avocado, Banana, Carob Pudding
1/2 avocado
1 medium sized, ripe banana
1 T. carob powder

1. Mash banana and avocado together and mix in the carob.

That's all and you're done! Serves 1
This is way easier than boxed pudding and so much better for you!

Yummy lettuce wrap fillings

In the raw food cookbooks there are a lot of recipes for pate's. I've tried a few of them and have realized I can easily make up my own combos. It's so easy. I make enough to serve 4 and then eat it for lunch the first day, and it store it in the fridge for the next 3. Then it's so easy to have lunch ready to go. I've been doing the same with the smoothies, so now I can make things up one day and be ready for breakfast and lunch, the next 3. I love it! It makes my life so much easier and I feel better when I eat more fresh! So here's one I tried the other day.

1 c. wanuts
1/4 c. flax seed meal
4 carrots, shredded
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lime, juiced
2 t. onion powder
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. dill
1/2 t. sea salt

Additional ingredients:
Romaine lettuce leaves
chopped tomatoes
avodado
green onion, chopped

1. Place all above ingredients, walnuts through sea salt, in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Spoon some into a Romaine lettuce leaf and top with optional extra ingredients.

I thought this would be weird at first, but I really enjoy them! Soooooo easy! Serve with a side of fresh fruit! Enjoy! Serves 4.

Raw and dairy free smoothies galore!

I've had a great time experimenting with raw smoothies lately. First I looked through a great cookbook "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" by Ani Phyo, for some beginning ideas. This cookbook is the best I've seen so far, I love it! All of her recipes got me thinking of my own smoothie combo's. So here's a few I've experimented with.

Orange, Vanilla and Coconut Smoothie
2 oranges
1 t. good quality vanilla
1 T. shredded coconut
1/4 c. of almonds soaked in 1 cup of water for 2-3 hours
1 T. coconut oil
2 t. agave nectar**

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. It will be a little chunky. Serves 2. Will keep in the fridge for 3 days.

**Agave nectar is an alternative to honey. It's extracted from the agave plant and is vegan. It has a low glycemic index to prevent a spike in blood sugar. It is 25% sweeter than sugar. You could substitute honey if you don't have agave nectar.

Carob, Strawberry, Coconut smoothie

1 1/2 cups strawberries
1/4 c. cashews
1/4 c. pitted dates soaked in water to soften
1 t. good quality vanilla
1 T. coconut oil
1 T. carob powder
1 c. water
1 T. flaxseed meal

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 2. Will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Pina Colada
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. fresh cut pineapple
1/4 c. almonds, soaked in water for 2-3 hours
1/4 c. pitted dates soaked in water to soften
1 T. coconut oil
1 T. shredded coconut
1 t. vanilla
1 T. flaxseed meal

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Can be refrigerated for 3 days. Serves 2.

I actually prefer these smoothies the day after I make them.

Nutritious Peanut Butter Fudge

I know, you're reading the title and thinking how can that be. But this is so good! It comes from my mom, the healthfood expert in my life! She made this as I was growing up and I remember turning up my nose to it, as most teenagers would. But I made it today and realized how good it is. It's so easy and so satisfying!

1 c. honey

1 c. natural peanut butter

1 c. sesame seeds

1 c. carob powder**

1 c. raw sunflower seeds

1/2 c. raw shredded cocnut

1/2 c. raisins

1. Mix the honey and peanut butter together in a bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients.

2. Mix well and divide and roll into logs.

3. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

4. Cut into slices when serving.

**If you don't know what carob powder is, you can buy it at whole foods. It's an alternative to cocoa. It doesn't have any added sugar or caffeine. It's from carob beans and has a different taste but really good!

On a side note, I bought raw shredded coconut at Whole Foods yesterday and it is so yummy! So much better than the regular sweetened store bought kind. It wasn't expensive either. It's about the same price as sweetened and is so worth it! I added it to a smoothie yesterday and it made such a difference. That pina colada smoothie recipe is soon to come!

Sorry the pictures are not the best. I'm not a pro when it comes to photography, and our camera isn't the most advanced.

Going Raw

So the past few weeks I've been looking into eating raw. I have been able to go through some really great cookbooks and get some ideas. I went to Whole Foods and got some ingredients to get me started. It wasn't the cheapest trip, but some of the things I bought will last a long time. I'm so excited! I tried three new recipes today! It's so great and easy! You just throw most of it into a food processor and you're good to go. No cooking and creating more dirty pans, and I'm saving energy and money! Tonight I made a raw pasta sauce. I was really nervous about serving it to Martin, but he really liked it. It was different that it's cold, but he ate it over noodles. The recipe calls for spiralized zucchini or squash, but I figured I'd ease him into it. The flavors are so amazing in raw food! I don't look at cooked food the same way anymore, so bland and so much loss of nutrients. I don't plan on going totally raw, it can get really expensive, but I'm going to try for at least 50% of my diet. So lots of my recipes upcoming will be more focused on raw cooking! Hope you get inspired to fuel your body with more live food!

Oatmeal Raisin Bran Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. oats

1/2 c. wheat germ

3 T. brown sugar

1 1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 T. oil

2 T. flaxseed

2 T. honey

2 T. molasses

1/2 c. raisins

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tins with oil.

2. In a large bowl stir together the flour, oats, germ, baking soda,baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together eggs, buttermilk, oil, flaxseed, honey, and molasses until smooth. Stir in the raisins.

3. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

4. Spoon into the muffin tins filling to 2/3 full. Bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remve.

5. Makes 12 muffins

Orange Yogurt Muffins

These muffins are so yummy! Originally they were just white flour, but I changed that, along with some other things, and they still taste great and are so moist!

2 oranges

3 T. sugar

1 1/2 T. water

3 1/2 T. butter

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

2/3 wheat germ

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 egg

1 egg white

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1/2 c. milk

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and spray muffin tins with oil

2. Grate the zest from the oranges. Combine the zest, 2 T. of the sugar, and the water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and stir until melted. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining 1 T. sugar. Set aside.

4. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, milk, and orange mixture until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

5. Spoon into the muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then remove.

6. Makes 12 muffins.

Green Smoothie

Smoothies are great! I usually just clean out the fridge and throw whatever fruit I have in one.

This is what I used in one from the other day.

1/2 pear

1/2 apple

1/2 banana, peeled

1/2 orange, peeled

handful of fresh spinach, washed

1/2 cup of plain, fat free yogurt

1 T. flax seed meal

ice cubes

little bit of water or soy milk

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! Serves 2

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are full of good vitamins, a lot more than regular potatoes. They are great as an alternative to regular fries and so yummy.


Sweet potatoes
canola oil spray
seasoning salt (optional)


1. Peel potatoes and cut them into sticks
2. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with canola oil spray
3. Spread out the potatoes and spray lightly with canola oil spray
4. Sprinkle with seasoning salt if desired
5. Bake in a 450 degree oven
6. Stir and flip the potatoes about every 6-8 minutes
7. Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on desired crispness

Fried Plantains

These aren't the most healthy food, but I love them! So simple and so good! They're a great side to tacos or enchiladas. They're cheap too, only 54 cents at Wal-Mart.

1 plaintain

canola oil

kosher salt

1. Peel and slice plaintains 1/4inch thick.

2. Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet over medium heat, just enough to cover the bottom.

3. Lay slices of the plaintains in the skillet and sprinkle with a little bit of kosher salt.

4. Cook for a few minutes until brown and then turn over and cook on the other side.

5. Drain on paper towels

Beans

I love adding beans to my diet in any way that I can. They're full of fiber and protein. It's so much cheaper to buy them dry, in bulk. So I soak them overnight in water. Then I rinse them and bring to a boil. Then simmer for about an hour or until done. Then when they are cool, I put one cup of beans in a ziploc bag and lay them on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer.

They're easy to pull out of the freezer and add to recipes. I add beans to almost anything: salads, soups, or eggs in the morning.

Creamy Vinaigrette

This dressing was actually given to me by my friend Kelley. It's by far my favorite dressing right now.

Creamy Vinaigrette
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cider or balsamic vinegar, or a mixture
3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tb. honey
1 tsp. each salt and black pepper
2 tsp. each dried oregano and basil
3-4 stalks of celery
Dried chili peppers (optional)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.The celery makes the dressing creamy, and helps hold it in an emulsion (so the oil and vinegar don't separate so much). You can make the dressing without it, too, if you want.

Before Blending

After

Carrot cookies

Originally these were scones, but I changed some ingredients and made them into cookies. Great for kids, Ryan loved these. They are so yummy!

Carrot and Raisin Cookies
1 c. white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
pinch of salt
5 T. butter
3/4 c. soy milk
1 egg, beaten
1 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. raisins

Cinnamon glaze:
1/4 c. powdered sugar
2 t. soy milk
1/2 t. cinnamon
Mix sugar, soy milk and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Stir in the milk, egg, carrots, and raisins. If the batter is too stiff, add a little more milk.

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and drizzle with the Cinnamon Glaze. Serve warm.

Starting Out

So I have a secret passion for finding new recipes and changing them to make them more healthy. I thought I would share the good ones that I've tried and have turned out well. I'm always looking for ways to add a little more vegetables or make things more whole grain and reduce the sugar. Hope you enjoy some of them!