Monday, April 30, 2012

Grain-Free Apple Flax Muffins

LINK
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flax seed meal
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Stevia
4 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil (For MSPI, use coconut oil)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 large apple, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Method:
Mix dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and add to dry mixture along with oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add apple and nuts and stir to combine.
Allow fully incorporated mixture to stand 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease muffin tins. Spoon into tins (the batter will be very thick) and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Makes 18-24 large muffins.  
We store them in the refrigerator, per the suggestion of the author of the blog we got the recipe from.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Hummus

 Spinach Salad
with Layered Greek Dip using hummus & Spiced Pita Chips.

Recipe adapted from HERE.

2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c. garbanzo beans (I cook mine in the crockpot.)
2/3 c. water
4 T lemon juice
2 T tahini
1 t. salt

Mix in blender until creamy.

 



French Bread




adapted from HERE
Make into Super Stuffed French Bread Pizza

6 c. all-purpose flour
6 t. active dry years (2 1/2 packages)
1 1/2 t. salt
2 c. warm water
1 T cornmeal
1 egg white
1 T water

Mix 2 c. flour, yeast, and salt.
Mix in 2 c. warm water until well blended (using a dough hook).
Stir in the remaining flour (as much as you can).

Knead on a lightly floured surface to make a stiff, smooth dough. 
Knead for 10 minutes.
Shape into a ball.
Put in a greased bowl and turn once.
Cover and rise until doubled.

Punch down and divide in half.
Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
Roll each half into a large rectangle.  Roll up and moisten edges with water to seal.  (Taper ends.)

Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.  Place loves, seam side down, on the baking sheet.  Beat egg white and water then brush on loaves.
Cover with damp cloth and rise 40 minutes (until doubled).

Use a sharp knife to make 4 diagonal cuts 1/4 in deep across each loaf.
Bake 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Brush again with egg white mixture.
Bake 15 to 20 more minutes.  (You may need to cover loosely with foil to prevent browning.)

Cool on a wire rack.

 
Don't eat too much or you'll have a FAT BELLY like our toddler!

Pita bread


  


These are good to make spiced pita chips or to eat with Layered Greek Dip.
adapted from HERE
2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (one package)
1 1/4 c. warm water
2t. salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a mixing bowl.  Stir in salt and enough flour to make a dough.  Knead on a floured surface for 7 minutes.  Do NOT let rise.  Divide dough into six balls.  Knead ball for a minute then roll into a 5 inch circle. 

Cover and let rise until doubled- 45 minutes.  Place upside down on greased baking sheet.

Bake 500 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove from pan to wire rack to cool. 




Deodorant


THIS is the best recipe I have found for making deodorant. 

2 T baking soda
2 T starch (arrowroot powder or corn starch)
3T coconut oil

Mix the baking soda and starch then add the coconut oil in until smooth.
Put in a silicone container (or muffin liners) and refrigerate until hard.  


Use like regular deodorant.  This amount lasts about 2 months.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Black Bean Casserole

Original recipe found HERE.

1/2 lb ground turkey
onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. ground red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 c. chicken broth
4 c. black beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. almond cheese  (Monterrey Jack Cheese if no Bear)
1/4 c. green onions, sliced

Preheat oven, 425F

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook turkey and 1/2 of the onion until meat is browned.  Remove.

Spray pan.  Add the rest of the onion, pepper, and jalapeno.  Saute for 4 minutes while stirring occasionally.  Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic.  Saute 1 minute, stirring constantly.  (You may add up to 2 T of water if desired to help not stick if desired.)

Stir in broth and black beans.  Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes.  Mash beans to desired consistency.

Put mixture into an 8-in sq. sprayed baking dish.  Top with turkey, bacon, tomato, and cheese.

Bake for  10 minutes with almond cheese so it is slightly melted (or 30 minutes until lightly browned if Monterrey Jack Cheese.) 

Top with green onions and let cool for 10 minutes.

Serve with vegan sour cream

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Don't Feed the Bear

Little Bear is having some food issues.  He can't have dairy or sugar.  Also, he is being tested for a gluten allergy.  Let the FUN begin on learning how to cook a new way for a 3 year old and the rest of the family!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Sugar Body Scrub

Recipe found HERE. Simple things you have on hand and an enjoyable bathtime treat.

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. light olive oil
2t. cinnamon
2t. ginger
2t. nutmeg

Mix. Put in a container with a lid.
Use a teaspoon or two to massage into your skin, leave on for a few minutes, and rinse thoroughly.

Shampoo


Recipe found HERE.

I like this more than Castile soap alone.

1/4 c. coconut milk
1/3 c. Dr. Bronner's peppermint liquid castile soap
1 t. vitamin E oil (or olive oil)

Shake.

Shake before using 1 t. to wash hair.
Keeps up to one month.

Lip Gloss


I tried a different lip gloss recipe that was simple but did not have any coloring or strong scent.
I saw THIS recipe and wanted to try it. I liked the results. The smell is strong so I might cut back on the candy flavoring next time but the results were fantastic. I found the little containers at WinCo in the travel section in packs of two. My 2 year old wanted to add glitter to the gloss but I managed to convince her the scent was enough.
Here is my version of the lip gloss:
1 t. beeswax
4 t. coconut oil
4 t. Vaseline
4 pink candy melts
1/2 t. oil-based candy flavoring


I melted the ingredients in a mini crockpot then used a glass measuring cup to pour them into the clean containers. You could also melt them in a ziploc bag over hot water or in the microwave if you melted the beeswax first and stirred often.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Yogurt

IT WORKS!!! Oh my gosh. It actually works, is easy and tastes good.

HERE and HERE are two of the many recipes I read.

So I have seen how to make yogurt on multiple blogs but I was so scared to try it. I had a fear of it smelling like spoiled milk and in my mind it seemed so complicated. Finally, I gave in and tried it after I saw the stack of 32 oz yogurt containers piling up under the sink. Two 32oz yogurts every week.

32oz of yogurt costs $3.50
1/2 gallon of whole organic milk costs $3.50+ $1.50 worth of honey, starter and vanilla

I was persuaded by the price to try it.


Ingredients
1/2 gallon whole milk (1% to whole is fine)
1/2 cup starter (I use just plain yogurt with live active cultures.)
1/2 cup honey (or other sweetener)
1 T vanilla (optional)


Put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crockpot on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Turn the crockpot off and let sit for 2 1/2 hours.

Whisk together a cup of yogurt from the crockpot, 1/2 of plain yogurt starter, 1/2 cup honey and 1 T vanilla. Add back to the crockpot and whisk together.

Wrap the crockpot in a beach towel and place in a cool oven overnight. (8+ hours. The oven is to keep it the same temperature, safe from drafts.)

Pull it out and YOU HAVE YOGURT in the morning!
It is amazing. Almost as cool as making bread.

One of my children likes to drink it with a straw. Put if you want it thicker you can put a coffee filter at the bottom of a strainer to let the whey drain. (See link given above.)

There are videos to watch on YouTube if you are nervous too. I think, it is worth it!