Please, Sir, I want some more...

In my humble opinion, this is one of the most nutritious and filling breakfasts ever! Hot oatmeal cereal, sweetened or not, with milk or not, some dried fruit and nuts or with fruit on the side.

Old Fashioned oats is good enough for this granola girl but you may prefer steel cut oats.  I've even picked up the 'quick cook' oats since learning that they are nutritionally identical to the 'old fashioned' and I can make my own "instant oatmeal" packet-like servings with the 'quick cook' variety.

I prefer my hot cereal with a bit of almond milk and a few pumps of the Parkay spray, a dusting of cinnamon and dry Stevia sweetener and a few raisins tossed into the oatmeal and water before cooking.

Two methods of cooking I have success with:

1)  For old fashioned oats, I use a large 4-cup, glass measuring bowl.  Mix together 1/2 cup oats and 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of raisins.  Cook for 5-6 minutes on power level 6. 

2)  For "quick cook" oats, I place 1/2 cup oats and 3/4 c. water with a few raisins in a regular microwavable cereal bowl.  Add your sweetener and any other spices, too.   Microwave for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes on high.  This will make your oatmeal a bit stickier than method number one but I love making my own "instant oatmeal" to my own taste and liking. 

Just like those 'flavored instant oatmeal' packets you buy at the store, you can  DIY (Do It Yourself)) at home; this is so much healthier because you know what has been added.  Add some of these to your cereal after it's finished cooking

*half a banana with 1 tsp of cocoa powder

*sugar and cinnamon (I use stevia and cinnamon) with pureed pumpkin or leftover sweet potato
*grated apple with a tablespoon of raw almonds, walnuts or pecans, chopped
*blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries and drizzle of 100% maple syrup
 

 

 

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Sweet and simple.  Throw in a little more milk for a larger serving portion and a few ice cubes to make it go farther.  I've added 'spinach' to this smoothie before but decided to keep this recipe in the 'ungreen' category.  This taste treat is also worthy of a mid-afternoon snack break or after dinner dessert.

There should be a comma after "almond milk" as the 'vanilla/unsweetened' describes the almond milk.  I prefer the 30-calories-per-cup variety.  Yummy stuff!

Enjoy!

Lunchbox Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe in "Forks Over Knives:  The Cookbook."  So glad I did.  My prior attempts at a healthier cookie always left me wanting.  The secret ingredient in these beauties is almond butter and it makes all the difference in the taste!   Now my 'go to' cookie recipe and really hits the spot when I have a cookie craving.  A note of caution:  It's hard to eat just one.  So, I don't even try.  When the cookies are baking in the oven, I brew up a fresh cup of coffee or tea.  When my tea is steeped to perfection, the cookies are ready to come out of the oven and I serve up THREE of these taste treats and Enjoy every bite.  The rest I store in the freezer and remove a few at a time for that next cookie craving.

Makes 24 Cookies

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup almond butter

1/2 cup dry sweetener (I use Stevia)

1 T. ground flaxseeds

2 t. pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups rolled oats (I use closer to 1 1/2 cups since dough is very sticky)

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 cup sorghum flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (I use the latter)

1/2 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips (Easy to use less.  I can get away with using only 2 T. and prefer regular semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat baking mats.

2. In a mixing bowl, use a strong fork or wooden spoon to beat together applesauce, almond butter, sweetener, and flaxseeds.  One relatively smooth, mix in the vanilla extract.

3.  Add in the oats, baking soda, and salt and mix well.  Add the sorghum flour and chocolate chips and mix well.

4.  Drop by small spoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheet in about 1-1/2 T. scoops, about 2" apart.  Flatten the cookies a bit, so that they resemble thick discs (they won't spread much at all during baking.)  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  The longer you bake them, the crispier they will be.  

5.  Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Final Notes:  After making these cookies several times, I've found that my smallest melon scoop works very well for a uniform size cookie and makes closer to 30 cookies rather than the 24 the original recipe states.  Also, I squeeze all the cookies onto one large cookie sheet, leaving less space between each cookie, no problem. 

Enjoy!  And special thanks to Isa Chandra Moskowitz for her contributions to this cookbook!

Favorite winter fruit salad

I like my pineapple chunky, from the can, in its own juice. I use some juice in the salad and reserve some for my morning Emerald Elixir smoothie.  By all means, use fresh pineapple if you prefer!

Tangerine Cuties are abundant at this time of year.  I peel them, pull apart the sections, remove any seeds and cut each section into thirds.

I like my grapes purple and seedless and cut them in half.

I buy only unsweetened coconut, prefer my almonds unsalted and I use very few dried cranberries--just enough so I get one or two in every bite.  If I have an orange on hand, I zest it and squeeze some of the orange juice over the entire batch of mixed fruit.

Making extra of this salad is a good idea!  Keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator to have on hand for any time of the day or evening.  Perfect dessert or for that time you desire just a little something 'sweet.'

ENJOY!

Cauliflower Soup

This is a simple soup to make.  A bit of time and the following ingredients are all that is required to achieve this 'scrumptiousness in a bowl.'

Here's what you'll need:

Soup Base

2-4 cups cauliflower florets and thinly sliced stems, fresh or frozen.  I use an entire head of cauliflower or one 16-ounce bag of frozen.  Cook the cauliflower until fork tender.  Use whatever method you are most comfortable with.  I get good results in the microwave.

2-3 cups almond milk, unsweetened (use whatever milk floats your boat)

Pour your milk into a blender and add 1/2 of your cooked cauliflower.  Liquify until smooth.
**Rev. 10/30/14:  I've started using my immersion blender instead of my counter-top blender.  So much easier! Remove a cup of your steamed cauliflower from the pot and set aside.  Add your milk and blend with immersion blender. Add the cup of cauliflower to your blended soup base.

Add 1/2 tsp. white ground pepper.  This pepper has got a little kick so use less to start and taste before adding more. 

Your soup base is finished.  See?  Easy!

Now, gather together the following vegetables:

Mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, spouted lentils  I like my mushrooms Portobello and sliced thickly, my onions, sweet....my bell peppers in all the rainbow colors and my lentils sprouted to about 1 - 1/2 inch.

Clean, slice, dice and saute them in your favorite way.  I use a bit of non-stick spray to coat my pan...and Parkay Spray on my veggies, along with a few of Mrs. Dash's no-salt seasonings.   I do not use oil or butter (apologies to all my Paleo family and friends).  I encourage you to use what tastes best to you.  If you have never tried the water saute method, this is the perfect dish for a 'first time.'

I like my veggies al dente and sauteed long enough to incorporate all the natural flavors.   You can cook them for as little or as long as you like and then turn the heat way down and cover with a lid. 

In the microwave or on the stove top, bring your cauliflower soup to a soft simmer.   Ladle hot soup into serving bowl.  Then scoop up and add 1-2 cups of cooked veggies.  Enjoy!

**Notes from experience:  The first time I made this soup, I kept it very simple, adding only a few bits of diced red bell pepper and some lightly sauteed mushrooms.  The next few times I made it, I started using different vegetables and lots more of them.  As you can see in the photo, may ratio of sauteed veggies is much greater than the amount of soup base.  Broccoli is another great veggie to add to this mix but it will change the flavor of the dish because of its own distinct flavor.  I eat lots of broccoli so decided to keep this dish broccoli-free.  Zucchini squash is another wonderful addition to this saute mix and I've used shredded carrots, too.

Final note:  When I make enough to have leftovers, I refrigerate the soup and the veggies separately...and reheat them separately, as well.  The soup presents more lovely when the soup is ladled first...and veggies added to the soup.  I'm just sayin'. 

Ninja Blender

I purchased a Ninja Kitchen Pulse System last spring and love it!  It's been worth it for the smoothies alone.  This recipe came from the recipe booklet that came with my Ninja blender.  I made a couple of changes and substitutions throughout the summer to suit my taste buds; mostly keeping the basic recipe you see here.

EMERALD GREEN ELIXER

1/2 cup white grape juice (I save & use the juice from my canned pineapple)

1/2 small banana, peeled

1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

1 kiwi, peeled

2 tsp. raw, unfiltered honey (I use dry sweetener)

5-6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the blender and pulse until smooth.  Serve right away!

Yummers!

Turning the page... on 2012

This blog was originally created to help me keep track of my creative food exploration.  Last year at this time, I was preparing to leave Tulsa and fly to Idaho.  Mom needed a bit of help and I felt lucky I could do it.

Preparing healthy meals is high on my list of things I consider, no matter where I am.  So, I snapped some photos of my more favorite dishes and wrote up some recipes.  Posting them to this web log served as a cookbook reminder of sorts and I referred to it a number of times while 'cheffing' in Mom's northwest kitchen.

Turn the page to now, November 2012.  It's been many months since I posted anything to this blog except for a new banner photo.  This 'vegetarian delight' stuffed pita pocket served as my reminder to get a move on and update my food journal.  So much 'life' has happened since I added recipes to this site.  The biggest food related change was my switch from low calorie/low fat foods to mostly 'whole foods.'  More specifically, a change to veganism or being nutritarian.  My main goal was to kick my huge sugar habit (Starburst Jelly Beans being my drug of choice).  Secondary benefits were the possibility of losing a few extra pounds I'd been comfortably carrying ever since I quit smoking.

With me, nothing is ever half way.  I committed to this cleaner-eating regimen in early March 2012 (eight months ago). Since then I have read and researched all kinds of nutritional information, soaking up lots about veganism, vegetarian habits, the Paleo diet, DASH, and the Ornish diet.  There are as many opinions about what is best for us as there are diets.

Additionally, I was interested in trying to drastically lower my cholesterol (one of the few ways I can reduce risk of heart disease) and work toward going off my blood pressure medication.  I couldn't see being able to do this unless I followed a fairly restricted diet plan.  I am happy to report that I was able to accomplish all of the above stated goals.  Since this diet works for me, it's the path I will stay on for now.  Kicked my candy habit, went off my blood pressure medication, impacted my cholesterol numbers in a way I didn't even believe possible and took off about 10 pounds of 'quit-smoking' weight.  Then I challenged myself to a physical fitness program that was more than I've ever done before.  And here we are, at the present and wrapping up 2012. 

It is at this writing that I begin posting updated dietary delights.  Bon Apetit!