Sunday dinner minus pot roast, mashed potatoes, and gravy

For the past couple weeks Merlin, his sister Kim, Kevin, and I have been eating a ton more veggies and fruits, hardly any processed foods and dairy, and no cookies.  We are learning a lot and coming up with some decent menus.  Our systems (some more delicate than others) are adjusting quite well, and we have all been surprised that we have been able to make some significant changes in our diet.  Tonight's meal was especially colorful and appetizing.  The menu included asparagus spritzed with Balsamic vinegar, Luana's sun-dried tomato pasta salad (whole wheat pasta), grapes, and nectarines. (Yes, the text is red to match the plates.)

Sweet Potato Recipe

by candace

Again, from Joel Fuhrman's Eat for Health book

Made this tonight and it was tasty. I think the kids would like it too.

Healthy Dinner

by candace

Dinner was pretty successful tonight so I thought I'd share:

(Both of these are from Joel Fuhrman's Eat for Health book)

Cranberry Roasted Brussel Sprouts — these are really good!

Cut off ends of 3 c Brussels sprouts and cut them in half

Combine with 1/4 c coconut oil (I used 1/8 c and think you could omit it all together) and 1/4 c organic pure maple syrup and sea salt to taste. Place in casserole dish and roast in oven at 350F for 20-30 minutes until slightly browned. Add 1/4 c cranberries the last 5 minutes and serve hot!

(Recipe from Graci...don't know where she got it)

Smoothies

by candace

So here are some of my smoothie recipes/tips...

Always start with water (1-2 cups) and then fill your blender with greens...the more the better. Mix that up then start adding fruit.

In my opinion, every smoothie is better with banana. Then I either add some apple or some orange, then I add the fruit that I want to be the main flavor.

Protein is optional. Dave was feeling like he needed more protein so he now adds it to his smoothies. We buy the Garden of Life Raw Vegan Protein. Looks like this:

http://www.gardenoflife.com/Products-for-Life/Foundational-Nutrition/RAW-Protein.aspx

There are comparable ones...this was the cheapest last time I bought it so that's why I went with this one. I think Stef said Green Smoothie Girl sells in bulk in the fall and it's much cheaper so maybe that's a good option.

We usually add Chia seeds and Flaxseeds to our smoothies...about 1 tablespoon of each per serving.

THE SMOOTHIE DAVE MAKES EVERY MORNING (1 serving)
Water and greens
1/2 frozen banana
1/3 to 1/2 apple
Blueberries—not too many
Lots of frozen mangos—maybe a cup

(Protein, flaxseeds, chia seeds)

CHOCOLATE MINT SMOOTHIE (from Stef) — love this one, it's like dessert

1/2 cup coconut milk (or almond, flax, etc)  —  Candace uses Almond

2 spoonfuls of avocado 

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/2 cup or more of spinach

2 packed tsp of mint leaves

2-3 drops peppermint oil

1/2 banana

8 ice cubes

Blend well then add 2 tsp cacao nibs and briefly blend

BERRY LIME SMOOTHIE

Water and greens

1 banana

1.5ish cups of frozen mixed berries

1 T lime juice

(Protein and seeds)

FESTIVAL BLEND SMOOTHIE

Water and greens

1/2 - 1 banana

Some apple or orange

1-2 cups of the Festival Blend mix from Costco (Papaya, Mango, Pineapple, Strawberries)

(Protein and seeds)

These last two are nothing special—just trying to show you some of the things I've tried that have been good. They are not quite as good as the mango one above. We love mango in our smoothies so we use them a lot. I don't love the smoothies as much when I dump a bunch of random fruit in. I like them more when one flavor is stronger. And if you've made a smoothie and you don't love it add more banana. That usually helps.

SEE FISH SALSA

by Stefanie

Well, I wish I was coordinated enough to do the salsa.  Zumba has taught me that it's not exactly my forte...but this is a salsa I can do:

There is nothing better to do with fresh, summer tomatoes than making salsa.  We make it in LARGE batches at our house with really no set recipe but here is the gist:

In a food processor we blend 6-8 tomatoes, a handful of parsley, two handfuls of cilantro, one large onion (yellow or red or a little of both), several cloves of garlic, 3 or so stalks of celery, a sweet pepper, a hot pepper (if you want--we often don't), two or more tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (or lime or a combination of both), and sea salt to taste.  You really can't go wrong--unless your onions are strong and you put in too much.  Sometimes I don't have all the above veggies.  Today I made some and was lacking sweet peppers.  I had some radishes, so I threw several of those in.  It's just kind of whatever--  although I would say the essentials are tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lemon.  Make it for your taste and how it looks.  I personally like to see a lot of green in mine; I don't want it to look like straight tomatoes.
Enjoy!

FISH FAVORITES

by Stefanie

My favorite thing to eat--hands down--is a cookie.  (Actually not a cookie, but cookies--one is never enough.)  I think most of my family would say cookies are one of their favorite things as well.  We didn't have a lot of store bought treats growing up, but my mom did make homemade cookies and pies.  She loved to make chocolate chip cookies and eat the dough...who doesn't?!  She always had a stash of chocolate chips in food storage room--I think specifically for cookies--and I stole more than my share for midnight snacks.

Unfortunately, cookies are not the most healthful thing, so I've tried many recipes of healthful alternatives--none so great that I would make them again and again.  When we are hunkering for a treat at our house, we default to our Mrs. Field's oatmeal, chocolate chip recipe.  I've made it so many times I can do it without the recipe, with my left hand, and with my eyes closed.  Tonight I experimented (again) with the recipe trying to make it a little more nourishing.  A woman told me about a flour mix--equal parts of spelt, barley, and brown rice--that she uses in place of white flour in all her cookies and cakes.  She claimed her kids love the substitution, and she never makes her cookies with white flour anymore.

Well, I thought I would give it a go since I will eat just about anything that has chocolate chips in it.  I happened to have those three grains on hand, so I ground my own instead of buying the flour.  (For those of you in Utah, you can get the flour mix at the Bosch kitchen store.)  I didn't want to chance ruining a whole batch of cookies, so I still used half of the white flour.  And...THEY TURNED OUT DELICIOUS!  Here's my modified recipe:

3 cubes of butter, softened
1/4 cup coconut oil
4 eggs
2 cups organic sugar (at Costco!)
2 cups brown sugar (and if you're daring you can substitute sucanant)
1 T real vanilla
Cream together in a Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer.  Then add:
2 cups organic white flour
2 cups of the spelt-barley-rice flour
(The original recipe calls for 4 cups of white flour.  I've also modified it by doing 3 cups of white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour without my kids noticing.)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Mix. Then add:
4-5 cups of rolled oats (part of this can be quinoa flakes!)
2 cups coconut (raw, shredded, unsweetened to be most healthful)
1 1/2 - 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Then if you wish, you can add raisins if you are weird like me or if you are like my mom, you would add nuts.  If you do add these extras, I would stick with only 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips.
Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 9 minutes.  Enjoy!

SEE FISH FEAST

by Stefanie

How fun is a post with no pictures? NOT! But I ate my salad so fast--and am now so full--that I forgot to take a picture.  However, I still wanted to share this amazing entree salad with you.  I'll call it Ginger Steak Salad.  The dressing is where it's at so, make it up first:

1/2 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2 T fresh ginger root (finely grated or just peeled and coarsely chopped if you are making this in a high powered blender that will blend it smooth)
3 T honey
4 cloves of garlic (minced or blended)

On a bed of your favorite organic greens add all or some of the following chopped veggies:
cucumber
red onion
avocado
zucchini
sweet bell peppers
mushrooms
cilantro
sprouts

Then cook up some high quality steak, cut it into strips and toss into the salad.  I marinated and cooked my meat in teriyaki sauce.  Here is a recipe for homemade teriyaki:

1/4 c Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 c water
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t garlic power
5 T sucanant (or brown sugar)
1-2 T honey
Begin to heat on stove and add 2 T cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c cold water as a thickening agent.

Well, of course the last thing you do is pour your delicious dressing on your salad.  You might want to make extra because you'll be craving it the next day!  Enjoy!

HAPPY MONTH OF VALENTINES AND LOVE!

BY STEFANIE

I went to Costco and found the most delicious organic granola called “Love Crunch.” As I was examining the contents I was thinking, “I can make this, AND I can make this more healthful and nutrient-packed!” So that’s what I set out to do. Here is my own version of “Love Crunch.”

Combine well in a large bowl:

10 cups of rolled oats

2 cups raw, unsweetened coconut (large or small flakes—or both)

2 cups quinoa flakes

1 cup sprouted almonds, chopped (raw almonds soaked overnight and then dehydrated until crisp)

1 cup chia seeds

1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup flax seeds, freshly ground

½ cup raw cacoa powder

On the stove over low heat, melt—do not boil:

2 1/2 cups raw honey (you can substitute agave and/or molasses for part of this)

1/2-3/4 cup extra-virgin coconut oil (I’ve made this without the oil and it turns out good—just not as many clusters to crunch on.)

1t salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons vanilla

Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread contents evenly into 3 sheet cake pans. Convection bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stir, then bake for another 10 to 20 minutes depending on how crunchy you want it.  I've also dehydrated it at about 115 degrees.  It takes much longer but helps preserve the nutritional value of it that high heat destroys. Cool. Mix in freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries and chunks of high-quality dark chocolate to your taste.  I like to store mine in the freezer.  I also love it with almond/coconut milk (Almond Breeze brand) and fresh bananas.

*Always use organic ingredients when possible. Not only is it so much better for your health, but it supports farmers and others who are trying to supply us with higher quality, sustainable foods.

ENJOY!

SEE FISH BAKE a healthful treat

Well, Amy's post on pumpkin muffins motivated me to make this pumpkin cake recipe that I have been wanting to try for awhile. I always procrastinate making something new that is supposed to be both super nutritious and delicious because it works less than 50% of the time. Plus I hate wasting my time and expensive, healthful ingredients on something that no one wants to eat. This time, however, it was a success! and I'm going to share it with you:

WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN CAKE--slightly adapted from The Diet Rebel's Cookbook, Eating Clean and Green by Jillayne Clements and Michelle Stewart (These girls are right up my ally--I highly recommend their book.)

2 cups sprouted soft white wheat flour (it's ok if yours happens to not be sprouted)

3/4 cup dehydrated cane juice (sucanat)

1 1/2 tsps. baking powder

2 tsps. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

4 eggs

1/4 cup water

15 oz. pumpkin puree

3/4 cup butter or coconut oil (I used both)

1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey

*Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Combine both mixtures and mix well. Pour the batter into an ungreased 9 x 13 glass baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely. In the meantime, make the topping:

12 oz. cream cheese (I used cream cheese that I made from Greek yogurt that was non-fat. See my post "See Fish Experiment")

3/4 cup butter

3 tsps. pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup sprouted (then dried) chopped almonds--optional

*Blend all of topping ingredients, except the almonds, with a mixer. When cake is cool, frost it, sprinkle almonds on top, and refrigerate.

Fish Family Favorites: Random Stuff

by Stefanie

Egg sandwiches with leeks, greens, and sometimes turkey sausage or gluten

sausage on an Orowheat 100% whole wheat, 100 calorie sandwich thin. Wow! That's a long name for a sandwich. We crave these at our house. Here's how to make your own:

Saute finely chopped leeks in coconut oil.

(*Note: Leeks and coconut oil are among our favorite things! Leeks are a mild onion that are a lot easier to cut than a regular onion. Cut off the ends; slice it length-wise; run it under water to wash out the grit; then slice it up! Coconut oil is amazing for many reasons. I can't list them all here, but check out The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife as well as www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com for the best price on the highest quality.)

Add some fresh or frozen chopped greens of your choice. (We like beet greens, collards, swiss chard, or kale). The water from them being washed or frozen should be enough to steam them and cook them down a bit. If not, add a tablespoon or so.

At this point you can add some sausage or bacon, but it's not necessary.

When the greens are cooked down, add some eggs and scramble everything together.

Serve on bread with mustard and Veganaise (another one of our favorite things for a more healthful alternative to mayo. I feel like the yellow label is the best).

Enjoy!

InstaHot. I don't know if that's it's real name, but magically out of this little faucet at my kitchen sink comes boiling hot water. It's incredibly useful and time saving: like when you need a quick cup of hot chocolate or herbal tea; like when you are canning and need to put the lids in boiling water first; like when you need to sterilize something fast--you get the picture. I use this multiple times a day. It's a must. Call your favorite plumber and get one installed today.

Hydrangeas. I picked these hydrangeas from my yard in September. I think they are going on 5 or 6 weeks now. I've changed the water twice and re-cut their stems once. Now, what fresh flower arrangement can compete with that?? I see the carnations lining up--but seriously, I'll I can say is "Wow, you make me happy!" every time I walk in that room. Come spring, pick yourself up some Endless Summer variety and plant them in your yard.

Colored eggs. Yes, these are the very eggs that go into our egg sandwiches, and yes, I raise chickens too. These colored eggs are a delight to behold and just as fun as playing "Colored Eggs" when I was a kid. Remember that game? Anyway, again, come spring, get yourself some cute chicks that will eventually produce these amazing eggs.

SEE FISH DEHYDRATE

by Stefanie—fish #2

I, like my mother fish, have matured in my gratitude for the harvest and the amazing abundance of the the earth. (See post "See Fish Muse"). Today I have a hard time seeing any of that abundance go to waste. I distinctly remember--in my less mature years--having a bad attitude about growing and picking the garden, canning and freezing food. It seemed to take so much time and effort when food was so readily available and cheap at the store. I remember my mom, grandma, and great-grandma teaching me lessons on gratitude, thanksgiving, and self-reliance by consistently taking the abundance year after year and preserving it--never wasting it--for the future. Their values as well as their persistence and patience with their posterity have come full circle in me as I now see the valuable lessons and blessings that this kind of work brings.

I have some somewhat obnoxious Italian prune trees growing wild on a hillside in my yard. We cleared the hillside of most of them a few years ago, but they are persistent and determined to grow there. Every year they produce an abundance of small plums that fall and make the ground a mess. I don't necessarily like them but appreciate that they will grow and produce without any effort on my part. Since I have a hard time seeing things go to waste, I'm always trying to figure out what to do with these plums. Most years I make fruit leather out of them. This year was no exception, but I was extra proud of my leather this year. It turned out just like I remember my grandma's fruit leather that I used to sneak out of her food storage room. This was possible because I was able to use her dehydrator instead of my oven. My aunt inherited this this dehydrator--that I'm taking serious advantage of--but if I had known how much I would love it, I would have begged my grandma to will it to me. Anyway, I not only made plum leather but plum/peach, peach, and peach/strawberry. It's as easy as blending up the fruit in your blender, pouring it out onto a tray, and letting the dehydrator do the rest of the work. I've discovered that fruit leather really isn't a food storage item because it disappears all too quickly around my house.

I also dehydrated tomatoes from the abundant crop my brother grew this year. I don't like tomatoes--mostly a texture issue--but I love these. I also don't like mushrooms but enjoy them chopped, tossed in olive oil and seasoning, and then dehydrated until crispy.

Another thing I like to use the dehydrator for is sprouted grains and nuts. When you sprout wheat for instance, not only does it greatly increase the nutritional value, but it also increases the ease with which you digest it. Basically you soak it overnight, let it sprout for 12-24 hours (just until you can see the bud on the end swell), and then put it in the dehydrator to dry it back out so you can grind it. I also soak raw almonds overnight to sprout them and then dehydrate them. They taste so much better this way and are much better for you. Keep in mind that high temperatures destroy the enzymes in food, so keep the dehydrator under 115 degrees. I've got mine turned down to 100. Unfortunately the lowest my oven will go is 140 degrees. If you don't have a dehydrator (and can't borrow from someone like I do) then still give dehydrating a try in your oven. It's a good skill to know and is easy and satisfying!

Get healthy and stay healthy!

SEE FISH EXPERIMENT

by Stefanie—fish #2

So I've been experimenting a little making whey. Whey is a mineral rich liquid that comes from milk and is used as a starter culture for lacto-fermented vegetables and fruits, for soaking grains, and as a digestive aid. You can make it from raw milk, piima milk, buttermilk, yogurt, etc. The first time I tried making it I used raw milk--and a whole gallon at that. It was rough. Yesterday I tried making it from yogurt, and it went a bit smoother. You can google "how to make whey" and find all sorts of methods. I originally used Sally Fallon's instructions in her book Nourishing Traditions. However you do it, you need to start with a high quality, preferably raw, non-pasteurized, non-homogenized product. I couldn't find yogurt that was not pasteurized (without making it myself) but found some that was high quality and full of live cultures--so I went with it.

Basically I just put a strainer over a bowl, lined it with cheese cloth (you can use a tea towel), and plopped the yogurt in. After about an hour or so I tied up the cheese cloth, hung it from a knob on my cupboard, and let it drip into the bowl. I let it drip overnight. Once it had quit dripping, I untied the cheese cloth to reveal some delicious cream cheese. It has a little tartness to it like yogurt, but turned out much better than the cream cheese from the raw milk. (I do need to give the raw milk another chance. Things that I make the first time rarely turn out). And, of course, I had a bowl full of whey. According to Sally (Fallon, that is) the cream cheese by-product of this process is far superior to commercial cream cheese. She says, refrigerated, the cheese will last up to 1 month and the whey for 6 months.

So now I'm going to take the whey and try to make some lacto-fermented vegetables. Hmmmm...Maybe the cream cheese will end up on the the top of one more zucchini cake.

I'll post on my progress...

To your health!

SEE FISH COOK...healthful

by Stefanie—fish #2

So I can't make many things in the kitchen without trying to pack them with nutrient-dense ingredients. I think this is nobel and good, but the things I make aren't always palatable—or they're just a one time thing that I will never make again. I decided I would write about successful food attempts: recipes that I will make again and again because everyone in my pond enjoyed them and because they are wonderfully nutritious. Here are some successes from this past week:

Whole Wheat and Oat Blender Pancakes

This recipe is adapted and doubled from a common recipe of whole wheat blender pancakes--you may want to half the recipe if you think it's too much for your blender.

Combine in blender (I use a Blend Tec, which for me is an absolute essential kitchen appliance!) and mix on high until smooth:

1 cup whole wheat berries, 1 cup oat groats, and 2 cups milk (or almond milk)

Then add the following ingredients and blend well:

4 eggs

2/3 cup walnut oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

*optional: 2 tablespoons chia seeds or ground flax seed

can also add fresh blueberries...or chocolate chips if you need to keep the kids happy :0)

Cook on a medium hot griddle coated with coconut oil, butter, or ghee

* add more milk if too thick

(These are delicious with pure maple syrup, but I also like them with sliced bananas, organic natural peanut butter, hemp seeds, chopped pecans, quinoa flakes, etc....and then the maple syrup!)

Creamy Vegetable Soup

(This is adapted from Joel Fuhrman's "Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup" which is in his book Eat to Live.)

1 head cauliflower cut into bite-size pieces

Approximately the same amount of broccoli cut into bite-size pieces

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 leeks, sliced thin (tip: cut lengthwise first to wash out grit and then slice)

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon evaporated sea salt

2 1/2 cups carrot juice

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

In a food processor or high powered blender, blend two-thirds of the soup (or all of it if you don't want any vegetable chunks) and 1 cup raw cashews until smooth and creamy. Yum! If you want to be extra healthy you can return the soup to the pot and stir in some steamed shredded kale or other greens like spinach, Swiss chard, or collards.

To your health!