These are a great substitute for those cookies I (don't) miss eating.
1 1/2 C rolled oats
2 T whole wheat flour
2 medium apples, grated
1/2 t vanilla
1 T oil
2-3 T water
1/2 C raisins
1/4 C finely chopped pecans
Combine first six ingredients well in a bowl. Add raisins and pecans and mix well. Form into 16 balls, pressing the mixture together. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
My husband *loved* these!!! My kids, minus my raisin picky daughter, enjoyed these as well. I think these are a great tasting treat!!
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Cauliflower Pizza Bites
If you are thinking "That sounds disgusting!" or "what the heck are those?" then you're normal. But! Don't let the name scare you off, these are in fact delicious. In fact, my whole family, kids and father in-law included, said these were yummy! If you're expecting pizza, then you'll be disappointed. If you are expecting something yummy and healthy, then you are in for a good time. I loved these! They are easy peasy to make!
1 head cauliflower
1 1/2 Cup shredded cheese
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t dry or fresh basil
1/4 t salt
1 egg
Shred using blender or food processor until the consistancy of rice and cook in skillet for 5-10 minutes to remove as much liquid as possible. Mix all the ingreidents well. Press into paper lined cupcake tray and bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce.
1 head cauliflower
1 1/2 Cup shredded cheese
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t dry or fresh basil
1/4 t salt
1 egg
Shred using blender or food processor until the consistancy of rice and cook in skillet for 5-10 minutes to remove as much liquid as possible. Mix all the ingreidents well. Press into paper lined cupcake tray and bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Raspberry Vinaigrette
1/2 C water
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 C fresh raspberries
Put all those ingredients in your blender and blend baby, blend! This is a really delicious dressing!
1/2 C water
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 C fresh raspberries
Put all those ingredients in your blender and blend baby, blend! This is a really delicious dressing!
Chick Pea Avocado Salad
This stuff is delicious! The only thing I did differently was cook about 1/3 C quinoa and add it at the end. So yummo! I put this on our lettuce salads today and it made a really delicious topping!
http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/chickpea-avocado-salad/
http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/chickpea-avocado-salad/
Zuchinni Pizza
Ahhhh I am so glad I made this discovery.
I sliced a large zuchinni about 1/2" thick and broiled each side for 6-7 minutes. Then topped that with spaghetti sauce, a little sprinkle of parmesan and some cheddar cheese and broiled that for about 5 minutes. It was amazing!
What else is amazing is how eating healthy whole foods has totally changed what I think is delicous. Yes greasy pizza still sounds good. But when I think of actually eating greasy pizza, it doesn't sound good. It sounds gross.
Anyway, you should try this. It was great! Two of my four children loved it!
I sliced a large zuchinni about 1/2" thick and broiled each side for 6-7 minutes. Then topped that with spaghetti sauce, a little sprinkle of parmesan and some cheddar cheese and broiled that for about 5 minutes. It was amazing!
What else is amazing is how eating healthy whole foods has totally changed what I think is delicous. Yes greasy pizza still sounds good. But when I think of actually eating greasy pizza, it doesn't sound good. It sounds gross.
Anyway, you should try this. It was great! Two of my four children loved it!
Monday, July 27, 2015
Homemade Ranch
If you're expecting something to taste like the bottle you would buy from the grocery store, this is disappointing. If you are ok with dressing tasting different but still yummy, then read on.
Homemade Ranch that my family likes
1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, depending on your own preference
1 C of plain Greek yogurt
Few shakes of parmesan
1/3 C oil
2 t dill
1/4 t salt
Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix it up good and long! The oil should be combined well. This dressing has to be shaken up before each use to spread out the dill.
Homemade Ranch that my family likes
1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, depending on your own preference
1 C of plain Greek yogurt
Few shakes of parmesan
1/3 C oil
2 t dill
1/4 t salt
Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix it up good and long! The oil should be combined well. This dressing has to be shaken up before each use to spread out the dill.
Zucchini, Black Bean and Brown Rice goodness
Recently I had to feed my husband's family of 30 people dinner at a reuinon in Yellowstone. My husband grew up eating sugar cereal with added sprinkled sugar for breakfast, meat for lunch and meat for dinner with lots of cookies and chips in between. :) Every kid's dream right? I wasn't sure how to feed everyone who is used to eating like that in a way that wouldn't be disappointing but I decided I was going to make a healthy meal and hope no one cared. Everyone loved it! I had endless comments about how good it was to eat something so delicious and healthy. I had a big fruit salad, a really great lettuce salad, non GMO whole wheat bread and butter, homemade hummus with veggies (it was amazing with olives!) and zucchini, black bean, and brown rice skillet with cheese to sprinkle on top. It was a big hit! I wish I could post a picture of this meal, because it was every bit as delicious to look at as it was to eat.
Here is the recipe for the skillet, and to our way of thinking it is very delicious!
1 zucchini quartered length wise then sliced
1/2 of a green bell pepper chopped
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can black beans
3/4 C water
1 C instant brown rice
Shredded cheese for the top
Sautee the zucchini and bell pepper in a skillet for about 6-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and black beans, heat through. Add water and brown rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 7-8 miuntues or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Cover with cheese and serve it right out of the skillet.
This is another meal that even the pickiest eater at my house loves!
Here is the recipe for the skillet, and to our way of thinking it is very delicious!
1 zucchini quartered length wise then sliced
1/2 of a green bell pepper chopped
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can black beans
3/4 C water
1 C instant brown rice
Shredded cheese for the top
Sautee the zucchini and bell pepper in a skillet for about 6-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and black beans, heat through. Add water and brown rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 7-8 miuntues or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Cover with cheese and serve it right out of the skillet.
This is another meal that even the pickiest eater at my house loves!
You know what I discovered?
I have this spaghetti loving child! This girl could eat it for every meal and not get sick of it. I think. So the other day, to please her I said I would make spaghetti but knowing I wouldn't have time to make sauce, and being at the store anyway, I decided to take a look at what they had. In the past I would buy whatever was one dollar. This time I bought the $2.50 jar of Classico garlic basil onion sauce because it was organic and had no GMO ingredients.
So, the big news is . . .
IT WAS COMPLETELY WORTH IT! The extra money was TOTALLY worth it!! Not only were the ingredients all real food, but it was amazingly delicous. As in, really amazing.
We put it on top of 100% whole wheat pasta with a little parmesan and my entire family loved in, including those typically opposed to spaghetti dinners and including my picky picky eater.
It was amazing! Next time you want a fast meal and have $2.50 to drop on one jar of sauce, give this stuff a try!
So, the big news is . . .
IT WAS COMPLETELY WORTH IT! The extra money was TOTALLY worth it!! Not only were the ingredients all real food, but it was amazingly delicous. As in, really amazing.
We put it on top of 100% whole wheat pasta with a little parmesan and my entire family loved in, including those typically opposed to spaghetti dinners and including my picky picky eater.
It was amazing! Next time you want a fast meal and have $2.50 to drop on one jar of sauce, give this stuff a try!
Sweet Potato Quesadilla
Well Mom,
Believe it or not I have still not figured out how to load pictures.
So! I'll describe the deliciousness instead.
Sweet Potato Quesadillas
1 cooked and mashed sweet potato
2 Tortillas
2-3 hand fulls of shredded fresh spinach
Shredded cheese
Lay out a tortilla, top with mashed sweet potato, shredded spinach and cheese then top with another tortilla and grill until warm and melty.
Trust me . . . this is GOOD! Something about it makes the spinach taste super seriously delicous and I couldn't get enough!
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Fries and fry sauce heaven!
Last night I made this dinner that was so good, my kids asked for it again. I sautéed a bunch of zucchini that I had shredded along with carrots and onions. De-lish! But that was the best part! This was:
(Imagine a picture here of delicious, thick cut baked russet and sweet potato fries! I'll figure out how to put pictures in!)
They were so good that my five year old asked if "we can have them 100 days in a row and then have something else for one day and then have them again for another 100 days in a row!"
So. The scoop.
Truly these are delicious. Truly they are easy.
Cut up a sweet potato and russet potato thick, and put them in a bowl with salt water. Let them soak an hour if you can. Then drain the water and best an egg white and.dump it on the fries and stir until it is well spread out. Season russet potatoes with garlic salt, onion powder and cumin. Season the sweet potato fries the same, but add cinnamon. Toss them to evenly coat. Place on a baking sheet at 400 for 25 minutes. Serve with fry sauce--mix up homemade ketchup and homemade mayonnaise
PS homemade mayo is amazing and easy! Best two egg whites well! Add 1/2 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T mustard, 1/3 C olive oil and 1/3 C coconut oil. Blend until it is light and fluffy. It is so good!
(Imagine a picture here of delicious, thick cut baked russet and sweet potato fries! I'll figure out how to put pictures in!)
They were so good that my five year old asked if "we can have them 100 days in a row and then have something else for one day and then have them again for another 100 days in a row!"
So. The scoop.
Truly these are delicious. Truly they are easy.
Cut up a sweet potato and russet potato thick, and put them in a bowl with salt water. Let them soak an hour if you can. Then drain the water and best an egg white and.dump it on the fries and stir until it is well spread out. Season russet potatoes with garlic salt, onion powder and cumin. Season the sweet potato fries the same, but add cinnamon. Toss them to evenly coat. Place on a baking sheet at 400 for 25 minutes. Serve with fry sauce--mix up homemade ketchup and homemade mayonnaise
PS homemade mayo is amazing and easy! Best two egg whites well! Add 1/2 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T mustard, 1/3 C olive oil and 1/3 C coconut oil. Blend until it is light and fluffy. It is so good!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Thought for foods
Liz's unsolicited tips:
If you don't want to eat it, throw it out. If you don't want to eat sugar, lots of meat, processed food, GMO's . . . the answer is simple! Get rid of them. Lloyd Newel said it really well in the Sunday, June 14 broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. The first step I took to help my family create healthier habits was to get rid of the food we had in our home that I didn't want myself, my husband or my children to eat. If you know having cookies and junk food around means you will eat some of it, then throw those things away! Simply not having those items in your home does not mean that you are weak. It means you are strong enough to remove what you know is a temptation for you. Temptations are something we all have to experience in life, and I believe that having the temptation to over eat or eat junk isn't a problem we necessarily gave ourselves.
Next tip, learn what to type into search engines! Once I started thinking only slightly outside the box on this one, I came up with a zillion good meal ideas. I would type "Vegetarian main dishes" into the search engine and it would come up with some good ideas but none that I wanted to try. Vegetarian doesn't equate to healthy good foods. I was looking for recipes and ideas without white flour, without lots of butter, without lots of sugar. I wanted recipes with whole foods that I didn't have to say "It's all good for us except the . . . " about. So think outside the box when you are searching for meal ideas.
When you make the switch to eating whole foods you have to change what you think of as delicious. When you stop thinking of a brownie with two inches of frosting as delicious (that would be my former definition of delicous) finding tasty things to eat is really pretty easy! Just change the way you think about food. We want things in our bodies that nuture and support the immune system, brain function, organs, digestion, etc. and not attack or stress them. I am not old yet but I do believe the kinder we are to our bodies now, the happier and better we will feel in them throughout life.
In General Conference it was said that taking care of our bodies is a way to improve our confidence before God. I believe this is true. I am so thankful and happy for the things that came about that helped my family to take the steps to treat our bodies with more care and respect.
I never ever judge people on what they eat or what size they are or aren't. Who cares?! We are all just doing the best to get through this mixed up tumbled up shook up world. I feel like what we eat is as personal as underwear! To me they are matters of "you do what you do, and I do what I do. I'm Alvin, you're Bill." So if you do happen upon this blog, which I am keeping mostly for myself, please don't feel bad or pressured or confused by anything I write. A lot of times I will think "To heck with this! Let's all go out for steaks!" But I will tell myself to stay the course, and I am always glad when I do. So I am writing this blog about my experiences as a way to keep me going when I need something to help me keep going. So don't feel any kind of bad or mad about anything I write, I'm Liz, you're you! Which, by the way, is a very good person to be!
If you don't want to eat it, throw it out. If you don't want to eat sugar, lots of meat, processed food, GMO's . . . the answer is simple! Get rid of them. Lloyd Newel said it really well in the Sunday, June 14 broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. The first step I took to help my family create healthier habits was to get rid of the food we had in our home that I didn't want myself, my husband or my children to eat. If you know having cookies and junk food around means you will eat some of it, then throw those things away! Simply not having those items in your home does not mean that you are weak. It means you are strong enough to remove what you know is a temptation for you. Temptations are something we all have to experience in life, and I believe that having the temptation to over eat or eat junk isn't a problem we necessarily gave ourselves.
Next tip, learn what to type into search engines! Once I started thinking only slightly outside the box on this one, I came up with a zillion good meal ideas. I would type "Vegetarian main dishes" into the search engine and it would come up with some good ideas but none that I wanted to try. Vegetarian doesn't equate to healthy good foods. I was looking for recipes and ideas without white flour, without lots of butter, without lots of sugar. I wanted recipes with whole foods that I didn't have to say "It's all good for us except the . . . " about. So think outside the box when you are searching for meal ideas.
When you make the switch to eating whole foods you have to change what you think of as delicious. When you stop thinking of a brownie with two inches of frosting as delicious (that would be my former definition of delicous) finding tasty things to eat is really pretty easy! Just change the way you think about food. We want things in our bodies that nuture and support the immune system, brain function, organs, digestion, etc. and not attack or stress them. I am not old yet but I do believe the kinder we are to our bodies now, the happier and better we will feel in them throughout life.
In General Conference it was said that taking care of our bodies is a way to improve our confidence before God. I believe this is true. I am so thankful and happy for the things that came about that helped my family to take the steps to treat our bodies with more care and respect.
I never ever judge people on what they eat or what size they are or aren't. Who cares?! We are all just doing the best to get through this mixed up tumbled up shook up world. I feel like what we eat is as personal as underwear! To me they are matters of "you do what you do, and I do what I do. I'm Alvin, you're Bill." So if you do happen upon this blog, which I am keeping mostly for myself, please don't feel bad or pressured or confused by anything I write. A lot of times I will think "To heck with this! Let's all go out for steaks!" But I will tell myself to stay the course, and I am always glad when I do. So I am writing this blog about my experiences as a way to keep me going when I need something to help me keep going. So don't feel any kind of bad or mad about anything I write, I'm Liz, you're you! Which, by the way, is a very good person to be!
Good enough!
Who doesn't need a little amusement every day right? Well we got our daily dose of that at dinner last night.
Two points I need to make:
A. I need to get better at taking pictures, and I will.
B. You know the saying not at that is nutirious is delicious and visa versa (or however that is spelled)? Sooo true about last night's dinner!
To start with I decided on calzones. Yummmmo! Love them. Ever since my big bro worked as a chef in an Italian restaurant and taught me the perfect the calzone look, I have been wild about them. So last night I'm feeling brilliant as I am thinking, what could be better than incorporating grains, veggies, and a little dairy to make a fabulous healthy calzone? I made up my own pizza crust which, turned out to be the only good part. I put a little whole wheat flour and garlic salt in a bowl, mixed in another bowl a little oil, honey, water, and a very little yeast. Bam. Then cooked some spinach. I rolled out the pizza dough, put on some spaghetti sauce, piled it high and deep with spinach, and added a very little cheese and cilantro and fresh parsley. I sealed up the calzones, baked them at 425 for 12 minutes. They came out looking, amazing actually. But because I appreacite honestly from myself as well as others, I'll tell you they weren't the greatest. Like, at all! Matt and I sat and laughed as we choked them down! I kept saying things like "What's one meal out of the thousands we have had since we got married?" Notably he didn't remind me that about 1/4 of those thousands of meals we've had together were in the first year or two when we were first married and all my meals were pretty . . . interesting. Anyway, I give myself pretty high score for presentation and content but lets just say I would never make it on Chopped with that food last night.
Haha!
But seriously. It was healthy and it was food. No one is starving here and our stomachs were able to handle the food combination well enough that maybe it is some kind of weird success after all!
Two points I need to make:
A. I need to get better at taking pictures, and I will.
B. You know the saying not at that is nutirious is delicious and visa versa (or however that is spelled)? Sooo true about last night's dinner!
To start with I decided on calzones. Yummmmo! Love them. Ever since my big bro worked as a chef in an Italian restaurant and taught me the perfect the calzone look, I have been wild about them. So last night I'm feeling brilliant as I am thinking, what could be better than incorporating grains, veggies, and a little dairy to make a fabulous healthy calzone? I made up my own pizza crust which, turned out to be the only good part. I put a little whole wheat flour and garlic salt in a bowl, mixed in another bowl a little oil, honey, water, and a very little yeast. Bam. Then cooked some spinach. I rolled out the pizza dough, put on some spaghetti sauce, piled it high and deep with spinach, and added a very little cheese and cilantro and fresh parsley. I sealed up the calzones, baked them at 425 for 12 minutes. They came out looking, amazing actually. But because I appreacite honestly from myself as well as others, I'll tell you they weren't the greatest. Like, at all! Matt and I sat and laughed as we choked them down! I kept saying things like "What's one meal out of the thousands we have had since we got married?" Notably he didn't remind me that about 1/4 of those thousands of meals we've had together were in the first year or two when we were first married and all my meals were pretty . . . interesting. Anyway, I give myself pretty high score for presentation and content but lets just say I would never make it on Chopped with that food last night.
Haha!
But seriously. It was healthy and it was food. No one is starving here and our stomachs were able to handle the food combination well enough that maybe it is some kind of weird success after all!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Homemade tortillas/chips, and delicious healthy nachos!
Hi Mom! You said I should write a blog about food, here it is! For you and me to read! The first thing I want to say is thanks! Thanks for inspiring me to get my family eating well. Thanks for answering my questions! Thanks for being a great example! Thanks for learning enough about food to use it to BEAT CANCER! Mom, You=Super Mega Ultra Lightening Babe Awesome. Period!
So! Today's food adventure begins with my four children at home. Plus two little boys I was babysitting. Plus five nieces and nephews. In my past life, this level of kid-ness and loudness would have put one thing on my mind. Brownies. Now.
But since I threw the brownie mixes away and my recipes in the dungeon, I thought of something else instead. Something I have always wanted to try and perfect. Something I have wasted so many ingredients on trying to figure out. Something I figured I was culturally incapable of making. Whole wheat tortillas. Can I just say success happened in my kitchen today? It went from chaos, noise, and insanity to pure joy when I made these tortillas today! They were excellent! So here's the recipe and scoop from 100 Days of Healthy Eating:
Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C healthy oil
1 t salt
1 C warm water
Combine the flour, oil, salt in mixer. Set it on low speed and beat it up for about 3-4 minutes. Then slllloooowwwlly add the water. At this point you give your mixer a little pat on the head as you let it do it's job of kneading this dough for the next 3-4 minutes. After that, roll the dough into a log shape. Cut it down the middle, then cut those pieces down the middle, then cut those pieces down the middle, etc until you have 16 pieces. Roll the pieces until they are in a ball. Grab yourself a plate or something glass and flat, and press down individually on all the dough balls until they are the shape of pretty flat discs. Cover the discs and let them sit 15-20 minutes. Heat up the griddle, roll those suckers out on a floured surface until they are thin thin thin! Cook about 30 seconds per side then enjoy!
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Lightly oil one side of the tortilla and sprinkle lightly with salt and seasoning. Or not. Cut up your fanciful and delicious homemade tortillas into whatever shape you'd like. Bake at 400 for about 8 minutes. These little beaut's burn quick so watch them like a dingo watches a human baby.
Yummo-rific Pretty Health Nachos
Tortilla chips
1 can black beans
Cheese
Taco Seasoning
Tomato
Avacado
Salsa
Cilantro
Cook your black beans in your taco seasoning (homemade blend is fab!) then spread your chips in a pan and cover the chips with black beans. Next the cheese, then bake at 350 for ten minutes until the cheese is melty. Serve with the afore mentioned toppings and enjoy! Obviously these are made healthier by going easy on the cheese, but I'll tell you what, my kids from a-z loved this meal!
So! Today's food adventure begins with my four children at home. Plus two little boys I was babysitting. Plus five nieces and nephews. In my past life, this level of kid-ness and loudness would have put one thing on my mind. Brownies. Now.
But since I threw the brownie mixes away and my recipes in the dungeon, I thought of something else instead. Something I have always wanted to try and perfect. Something I have wasted so many ingredients on trying to figure out. Something I figured I was culturally incapable of making. Whole wheat tortillas. Can I just say success happened in my kitchen today? It went from chaos, noise, and insanity to pure joy when I made these tortillas today! They were excellent! So here's the recipe and scoop from 100 Days of Healthy Eating:
Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C healthy oil
1 t salt
1 C warm water
Combine the flour, oil, salt in mixer. Set it on low speed and beat it up for about 3-4 minutes. Then slllloooowwwlly add the water. At this point you give your mixer a little pat on the head as you let it do it's job of kneading this dough for the next 3-4 minutes. After that, roll the dough into a log shape. Cut it down the middle, then cut those pieces down the middle, then cut those pieces down the middle, etc until you have 16 pieces. Roll the pieces until they are in a ball. Grab yourself a plate or something glass and flat, and press down individually on all the dough balls until they are the shape of pretty flat discs. Cover the discs and let them sit 15-20 minutes. Heat up the griddle, roll those suckers out on a floured surface until they are thin thin thin! Cook about 30 seconds per side then enjoy!
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Lightly oil one side of the tortilla and sprinkle lightly with salt and seasoning. Or not. Cut up your fanciful and delicious homemade tortillas into whatever shape you'd like. Bake at 400 for about 8 minutes. These little beaut's burn quick so watch them like a dingo watches a human baby.
Yummo-rific Pretty Health Nachos
Tortilla chips
1 can black beans
Cheese
Taco Seasoning
Tomato
Avacado
Salsa
Cilantro
Cook your black beans in your taco seasoning (homemade blend is fab!) then spread your chips in a pan and cover the chips with black beans. Next the cheese, then bake at 350 for ten minutes until the cheese is melty. Serve with the afore mentioned toppings and enjoy! Obviously these are made healthier by going easy on the cheese, but I'll tell you what, my kids from a-z loved this meal!
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