Category Archives: Recipes

September 3, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – PEACH ICE CREAM

I was assigned the blog, Feeding Andy, for my September Secret Recipe Club assignment.  The blog’s author, Peggy, is a culinary student and her blog follows her progress through school as well as her daily exploits working at Louisville mainstay, Jack Fry’s.

I bookmarked a lot of recipes when trying to decide which recipe I would go with.  Some of the finalists were Rice Pilaf, Spicy Pickled Carrots & Asparagus, and Indian Spiced Lentils.  I ultimately decided to make her Peach & Clove Ice Cream after my latest trip to the farmer’s market since the peaches there were so ripe it felt like I was slapped in the face with their wonderful perfume.

What a perfect Summer dessert!

INGREDIENTS

1-1/3 lbs ripe peaches; peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 peach; peeled, pitted and finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. Triple Sec (I dislike the taste of alcohol, so I eliminated it)
1 teaspoon ground cloves (I wanted the flavor of the peaches to take center stage, so I eliminated it)
3/4 cup sugar (I used 2Tbs. SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia/sugar replacement)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 1 single-serve container of So Delicious Vanilla Almond Milk Greek Yogurt)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer)
1/2 cup milk (I used So Delicious non-dairy milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
juice from 1 lime (I used the juice from 2 tangerines)
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Combine the coarsely chopped peaches and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until peaches are soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat.  Mix in SweetLeaf Sugar Leaf stevia, and set aside to cool to room temperature (or speed-up the cooling process with an ice bath).

Add the cooked peach mixture to your high speed blender with yogurt, cream, milk, vanilla, and tangerine juice. Process until smooth. add the finely chopped raw peach and blend VERY briefly so some chunks of peach remain.  Chill thoroughly in refrigerator, about 6-8 hours (or speed-up the process once again by pouring the mixture into a glass jar and cooling it in an ice bath). Once chilled, transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.



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Filed under Cooked Fruit, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Gluten Free, Ice Cream, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Secret Recipe Club, Vegan, Vegetarian

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August 21, 2012 · 8:00 am

RECIPE REDUX – Most Memorable Summer Meal

I first learned about a group called the Recipe Redux through a blog I follow called Jeanette’s Healthy Living.  The recipe Redux was founded by registered dietitians and I knew I wanted to take part in it when I read what they are all about…

“As the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians, The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you.  The group was founded “[O]n the belief that healthier eating should always taste delicious. As the Latin term ‘redux’ means to revisit or reinvent, we are reinventing the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach. We aim to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover.”
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Once accepted into the group I received my first assignment which was to blog about our ‘Most Memorable Vacation Meal.’ The challenge was to make the meal healthier.

As I thought through the vacations in my life and the wonderful meals I have had, one truly did stand out.  It may seem overly simplistic, however this meal was truly a standout to me.  Last summer we went on a Disney Cruise on the Disney Dream (click HERE to read my post about it).  The crew was so overly accomodating to my vegan diet and to the dietary restrictions my daughter lives with on a daily basis.

Disney owns their very own island called Castaway Cay in the Bahamas and the first day we spent on the island the crew sent my daughter’s and my meals for the day onto the island.  When we went to pick-up our lunch at the designated restaurant, both my daughter and I were amazed by what they prepared for us.  They provided my daughter (5 years old at the time) with 3 meals to choose from and made me the most gorgeous ENORMOUS fruit platter.

It was HOT HOT HOT that day and the fruit was perfectly ripe and gorgeously displayed.  I could not have imagined a more perfect meal.  Whole food, bursting with flavor, naturally cooling to the body…the perfect summer meal…a meal I couldn’t even possibly make healthier.

What is your “Most Memorable Vacation Meal” and have you taken the time to re-create it as well as make it healthier?



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Filed under Appetizers, Breakfast, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Recipe Redux, Recipes, Salad, Vegan, Vegetarian

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August 6, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – Apple Cinnamon Waffles

This summer is flying by and that is made all the more clear to me by the fact that it is again time for another Secret Recipe Club post.  This month I was assigned Amber’s blog, Bluebonnets and Brownies.  Amber is a true Texan married to a Brit with a shared love of breakfast tacos (who doesn’t love breakfast tacos???).

I had a lot of fun rummaging through her blog and bookmarked more than a few recipes to try.  I ultimately narrowed it down to her Cucumber Tomato Salad, Borracho Beans (which I am DEFINITELY going to make), Oktoberfest BBQ Sauce, and Apple Cinnamon Waffles.  My son and I decided to go with the Apple Cinnamon Waffles and began the process of making them vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free.

The results were fantastic.  Apple-cinnamony goodness.

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

INGREDIENTS – Makes 3 to 4 large waffles

3/4 cup all-purpose flour*
1/4 cup cornstarch*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon baking soda* (Used a total of 1 cup Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix in lieu of * ingredients)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Used 1 tsp…we really like cinnamon!)

1/2 cup organic skim milk (Used 1 cup almond milk…we needed to use more liquid since working with gluten-free flours)
1 6 oz cup of Apple Cinnamon Chobani Greek Yogurt (Used Almond Dream Plain Yogurt…it is THICK)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (Used a snack size container of applesauce)
1 egg (Used the equivalent of 1 Energ Egg Replacer egg)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (Used 1 heaping tsp Sweetleaf Sugarleaf)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 apple, peeled & finely diced (we decided to add this to the recipe)

DIRECTIONS

  • In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cinnamon. Whisk together to combine and aerate.
  • Add the almond milk, yogurt, applesauce, Energ Egg, Sweetleaf Sugarleaf, and vanilla extract directly to the flour mixture. Mix again with the whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and incorporated, and you have a smooth batter.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap for 30 minutes to overnight.  We prepped the batter at night and put it in the refrigerator until morning.
  • When ready to cook, heat your waffle iron. Allowing it to go through its heat cycle a couple of times will ensure crisp waffles.
  • Fold the finely diced apple into the batter.
  • Cook the waffles according to your waffle iron’s instructions.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.



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Filed under Breakfast, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Secret Recipe Club, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 30, 2012 · 1:30 pm

ONE GREEN PLANET – Chocolate Health Cookies

Check out my newest recipe on One Green Planet…Chocolate HEALTH Cookies.

Click HERE to get the recipe.

5 Comments

Filed under Beans/Legumes, Cookies / Bars, Dessert, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, One Green Planet, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 23, 2012 · 9:51 pm

Ethical Ocean Recipe Contest – Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

I am honored to have been asked by Ethical Ocean to enter the Ethical Ocean Vegan Recipe Challenge where they are looking to crown the vegan recipe of summer.

You can vote every day for 3 weeks and every time you vote you’ll be entered to win a daily prize from Ethical Ocean (the place for vegan and eco shopping). And if you vote for the winning recipe, you’ll be entered to win a Grand Prize – $500 gift card to Ethical Ocean.

Please vote for my recipe HERE!   Pssssst…I truly appreciate your votes!

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Filed under Cake, Contests, Dessert, Recipes

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July 23, 2012 · 1:30 pm

SECRET INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE AMARETTO PUDDING

This recipe was created prior to learning about my oat allergy.  While I loved how this recipe turned-out, my body did not.  That being said, if your body does not have any issues with oats, this pudding is for you…it is healthy, lowfat, and free of processed sugar.

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Trying Wayfare’s puddings at this years Natural Products Expo West inspired this recipe.  I like the idea of using whole grains to thicken pudding since they are essential to a healthy diet and also health-promoting.  What’s better than that?  This pudding is so healthy that I will let my kids eat it for breakfast… after all it is made out of oats.  Hurray for healthy desserts!!!

If you are not a fan of almond extract…go ahead and leave it out.  You will love the chocolaty results.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup gluten-free old fashioned oats
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup So Delicious Creamer
1 cup So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
1/2  cup cocoa powder
6 stevia packets
6 dates
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract*
 
*Feel free to substitute other flavorings, i.e. mint, raspberry, orange…but start with 1/2 tsp and work your way up from there.  I have not tried any others, so I am not sure how much of each to use.

Place the oatmeal and filtered water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat.  Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow the oats to simmer until thickened.  Once the oats have thickened, turn off the heat and place the lid on the saucepan.  Let the oats sit for 10 minutes.

Once the oats have thickened, place them in your high-speed blender (I use a Vitamix) with the remaining ingredients.  Allow the mixture to blend for a full 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed (I know it’s a long time…trust me on this).  Once the 3 minutes are up, CAREFULLY remove the lid since the pudding will be VERY HOT!!!

Pour the hot pudding into a glass tupperware and allow it to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge to set.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

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Filed under Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten Free, Grains, Kid Friendly, Pudding / Mousse, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 19, 2012 · 4:42 pm

TEMECULA TANGERINES

Last year I was introduced to Temecula tangerines.  I had seen them in Mother’s Market before and never even thought about buying them because quite frankly they aren’t very enticing.  I know, don’t judge a book (or in this case fruit) by its cover, but these oranges look like they would be dry and not juicy in the least.

Last year the kids and I went shopping and Mother’s was sampling the Temecula tangerines.  Man, they are good!  Juicy, flavorful, and uber-convenient.

Temeculas peel so easily and can quickly be peeled into a bowl of sorts, which is our favorite way of eating them.  We peel off the top of the tangerine and are left with a wonderfully tasty “bowl” of tangerine segments which easily pull-out segment by segment.

Have you tried Temecula tangerines yet???

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Filed under Fruit, Kid Friendly, Product Reviews, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 12, 2012 · 1:30 pm

QUICK & EASY BERRY JAM

My daughter has been chomping at the bit to make jam.  I’m not sure where she got the idea, but with all of the juicy berries we have been bringing home, now is definitely the time to preserve the berries while they are at the height of their flavor so we can pop into the jars when the bounty is no longer here.

My maternal grandmother was the queen of canning.  She grew-up on a farm in Minnesota with a gazillion brothers (she was the youngest and the only girl…even her twin was a boy!  Just based on that you know she lived in the kitchen).  I could go on and on about her canned peaches and have so many memories of all of the grandchildren being horrified when we discovered that there was only one can left in the pantry…they were THAT good.

Don’t even get me started on her huckelberry syrup…absolute heaven!

And her garden.  Oh her garden.  When it was dinnertime she would send my sister and I out to the garden to harvest the salad for the meal.

And her backyard.  It was HUGE and lined with fruit trees.  We would go out there and play for hours.  When we got hungry, we just reached-up and picked whatever we wanted to snack on.

Grandma Ruba made some amazing jam as well and I was always excited when she brought some on her visits.

Needless to say, I was definitely nostalgic while making jam with my daughter.  Perfect weather, cooking with my little one, and a tasty jam as the result of a wonderful day…another slice of heaven.

This jam my daughter and I created was definitely fresh vs. the cooked-down taste with a traditional jam.  I like both versions, but this version seems so appropriate for capturing the fruit in it’s prime.

We have one in the fridge and I froze the rest for later use.

INGREDIENTS
Inspired by 5 Dollar Dinners
 
3 lbs. berries (I used 2 lbs. strawberries, 1/2 lb. blueberries, 1/2 lb. raspberries)
1 box fruit pectin (I used Sure Jell)
2 tsp agar powder
1 12oz. container frozen organic apple juice concentrate (I used Cascadian Farms)
sweetener to taste (depends on ripeness of berries) with stevia, honey, or maple syrup.
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Wash, de-stem,  and dry the berries.

Mash the berries with a potato masher.  If you are using some blueberries, make sure to pop open all of the blueberries.  The kids will have A LOT of fun helping you with this.  Make sure they have clean hands and then encourage them to get their hands into the action and squish the berries.

Bring the apple juice concentrate to a boil and add in the pectin and agar agar.  Whisk until dissolved and pour the boiling mixture over the crushed berries. Mix well.

Pour the jam into glass containers and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate the cooled mixture to set.

The jam will stay well in the fridge for 3 weeks or freezer for 3 months.

I can’t wait to try this with the apricots we have been getting at the Farmer’s Market!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Quick, Recipes, Sauce / Spread / Jam / Yogurt, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 9, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – PB BANANA BON BONS

After a one month break from the Secret Recipe Club (SRC) I am thrilled to be back.  I have so much fun participating in this wonderful group.  For those of you unfamiliar, the SRC is a club that was:

“[B]orn from an idea that it’s founder Amanda had one day while trying to come up with ways to bring more exposure to her cooking blog, Amanda’s Cookin’. She thought it would be fun to make a recipe from a friend’s blog and that friend could do the same. But instead of just the two of them, including several others would be even more fun. Plus, it would also help give added exposure to their food blogs. And so it began…”

Their first month yielded 19 participants and now there are hundreds. The concept is simple really. Each month you are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and it’s a secret until reveal day.

This month I was assigned the blog, Baking and Boys, penned by an amazing baker, Katrina.  In her words, “It’s a crazy house full of boys around here with me trying to keep it all together. Ya gotta love it! Welcome to Baking and Boys.”

It didn’t take me  long to choose which recipe I was going to make.  As I explored her blog I zeroed in on her recipe for Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles which she found on a coconut recipe website.  I made this recipe as a surprise for my children during the last week of school.  They were thrilled to come home to it.

But you know me…I had to switch it up a bit by adding some sliced banana and turning these into frozen treats akin to a healthier bon bon.  The other changes I made were to eliminate the added salt and sweetener.  Since the banana slices were nice and ripe, they had a natural sweetness all their own and the chocolate coating was sweet as well.  I also upped the amount of chocolate slightly since adding the banana slices meant the bon bons were slightly larger than the original recipe, meaning more chocolate was needed for coverage.

This recipe came together so quickly, uses simple ingredients, and was a resounding success!!!


INGREDIENTS – Makes 20 bon bons

6 Tbs. organic peanut butter
¼ cup coconut flour
6 ounces Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
1 banana
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METHOD

Slice the banana into 20 slices and place them individually on wax or parchment paper.

In a bowl combine the peanut butter and coconut flour using a spoon and eventually your hands.

Using a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, form the peanut butter mixture into half circles and place one on each banana slice.

Freeze for 30 minutes to one hour.

Once the banana and peanut butter is frozen, heat the chocolate and coconut oil together over a double boiler until completely melted OR in the microwave at 30 second intervals (stirring in between) for approximately 2 minutes.

Insert a toothpick in the top of the bon bon and submerge it in the chocolate.  Shake off the excess and place the bon bon back on the waxed paper.  Continue with the remaining bon bons and place back in the freezer to set.

Serve straight from the freezer.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Candy / Fudge, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Nuts, Quick, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 2, 2012 · 1:30 pm

WATERMELON POPS

It is getting hot here!  My brain is constantly thinking about what I can make as a nice cooling treat.  With all of the cute fruit and melon wands I have been seeing on Pinterest, I decided to take it one step further by freezing them while simultaneously simplifying the fruit wands by sticking with just one fruit and one cookie cutter cut per Popsicle.

I cut off all of the rind of the watermelon while keeping the watermelon in tact and then made 1/2-3/4″ thick big round slices (We used a mini-melon, but next time I plan on using a standard watermelon).  The kids and I then cut out shapes in the watermelon using cookie cutters, stuck small wooden dowels in them, placed them on cookie sheets and froze them…Instant whole-food Watermelon Popsicles.

Yum!  Perfect for the Fourth.

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Filed under Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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