Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Always on the search for healthy sweets, I was looking for a healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I found a good base recipe then modified to make them healthy. This is the result, and though the ingredients seem strange, my husband who is extremely picky wolfed them down!

2 Cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup organic canned chickpeas, drained and ground fine in food processor
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups Sucanat or turbindo sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 cups rolled oats
1/ 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375
In mixing bowl combine oil and sugar, mix well.
add all other ingredients except chocolate chips, and mix with hand mixer until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-15 mins.

Makes approx. 40 cookies

P.S. If anyone makes these and likes to photograph food, I would love to have a picture of them! I've tried photographing food and I suck at it lol

My Spanish Rice

I recently moved and can longer have my favorite spanish rice from a restaurant where I used to live, so I’ve been on a quest to find a rice similar. After many failed attemps I think I finally have it!

Prep time: 5 Min. Cook time: 60 Min. Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 cups brown long grain rice

1 onion diced fine

4 cups chicken broth(or vegetable broth for vegan)

3 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. oregano

Instructions

Heat oil in large sauce pan on medium heat. Meanwhile rince rice in cold water until water runs clear(this helps keep it from sticking together). pour rice into pan and mix to coat well with oil. Cook over medium heat until rice turns golden brown. Add chopped onion and mix well, cook additional 2 mins. In seperate bowl mix the broth and the paste well, then add to rice. Cover and bring to boil, then turn down and simmer until rice is cooked through. Serve hot!

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Healthy Vegan Fudge

This fudge is ooh sooo yummy! I took it to work this week(today updated being 11/17/2009) and a whole plate full disappeared in 10 mins flat! I didnt dare mention healthy because well all know what most think of healthy. I found a good base recipe for fudge then tweaked the ingredients to make it healthy. The result was in my opinion the best fudge I've ever tasted(next to grandmas anyway) and it will not affect the blood sugar like regular fudge, so eat up! Here is a description of how turbinado(used in this recipe) is better for blood sugar. As well as other natural sweeteners...Click Here.

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups turbinado sugar aka demerara(I use this but it does not cost that at walmart)

12 ounces coconut milk(pure coconut milk with nothing added, i.e. Thai kitchen brand)

18 ounces vegan chocolate(I use these)

1/2 lb extra virgin coconut oil

3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 pinch sea salt

1 nuts, of your choice or raisins

Instructions

1. Bring to a boil the sugar and milk, and let it boil exactly six minutes, stirring constantly. (If you can do this over a double-boiler it will help you, but it isn’t required.).

2. In another pan or bowl, have the chocolate, oil, vanilla extract and salt ready. You can use chocolate chips or good quality bar chococate. The better the quality of chocolate, the better the fudge.

3. Pour hot mixture of sugar and milk over the other ingredients, and blend together until all the chocolate has melted. Using a high powered hand mixer or stand mixer will make a smooth fudge. If you try to mix it by hand it will start to harden before its mixed and come out dry and grainy.

4. Add nuts—whatever type you prefer, and in the size you prefer in fudge.

5. Pour into pan and set for six hours in the fridge until the fudge has set.

makes 36-40 servings

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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

It's been a really long time since I posted! I've really been neglecting my blog, so I'm making a mental note to post a new recipe at least once a week! Today's recipe I got from another blog, but I cut a few corners, making it quicker and easier while still keeping it healthy.

Ingredients

1 Jar 505 organic green chili

Enchilada Filling

2 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed, drained

4 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh lime juice from 2 big juicy lime

2 large diced sweet potatoes

1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro(I used freeze dried)

Assembly

2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, as needed

16 organic white or yellow corn tortillas

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. Fry sweet potatoes until golden, then add veggie stock and turn on low until sweet potatoes are soft, add the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the 505 Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of a 9x9 glass baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them, one at a time, then layer 8 of them in the bottom of your pan. Pour sweet potato mixer on top of tortillas, then pour on the beans. Next lightly cook the other 8 tortillas and layer them on top.

Top with the rest of the sauce.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Nectarine spinach and greens salad with garlic and herb dressing

My kids LOVED this. I'm not sure what prompted me to try nectarines with greens, but I'm sure glad I did. They ate it up, and there wasn't a single bit left. The flavors compliment each other amazingly. Yummy and refreshing all in one, what more could you ask for?

This salad is a perfect compliment to this black beans and rice recipe. Everything is fresh, and homemade making for an extremely healthy meal!

Firm nectarines create a lovely crunch in this salad. Dont worry about how sweet they are, they will taste much sweeter with homemade salad dressing.

Prep time: 10 Min. Cook time: 30 Min. Serves: 8

Ingredients

2 firm nectarines, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 bag prewashed baby spinach and greens(or other mixed green salad)

1/4 c. olive oil

3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. mustard seed

1 tbsp. onion powder

1 tbsp. garlic powder(or fresh garlic if you prefer)

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

2 tbsp. dry parsley flakes

1/8 tsp. sea salt

Instructions

place olive oil, mustard seed, onion and garlic powders, oregano, basil, sea salt and parsley into a food processor(or use immersion blender) and process until mustard seeds are pulverized. remove from processor and place into a small tupperware bowl, drizzle in apple cider vinegar and shake well. cover and refrigerate. Until ready to serve.

Place salad into a large bowl, then top with the chopped nectarines. chill for 30 mins. drizzle salad with desired amount of homemade dressing and toss to coat, just before serving.

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Crunchy Nutty Brown Rice

Crunchy Nutty Rice

Serves: 10

I thought some might want a new twist on plain ol rice. This sounds really yummy. I think it would be awesome with almonds or chopped peanuts!

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup chicken stock or broth(more water, or vegetable stock to make it vegan)
1-1/3 cups uncooked long-grain brown rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans(or other nuts)
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1 cup finely chopped celery
5 oz. sliced water chestnuts
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Black pepper to taste
Sea Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring water and stock to a boil in medium-size saucepan.
2. Add rice and stir. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Reserve.
4. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet.
5. Sauté onion and celery over moderate heat 3 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients including reserved cooked rice. Fluff with fork before serving.

Healthy homemade pizza with vegan cheese

My daughter is allergic to dairy so I had to come up with a healthy alternative for her since she loves pizza. I made this on friday and Kevin demanded that I make it again on sunday he liked it so much.If you cant find vegan cheese, it would be great without any type of cheese also!

This recipe is for making the dough in a bread machine on the dough setting.

If you use Tasty Planner here is the link so you can save it to your recipe box.

Prep time: 10 Min. Cook time: 45 Min. Serves: 16

Ingredients

crust:

1 1/2 c. hot water

2 tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. basil (or to taste, I love basil)

2 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

3 1/2 c. naturally white flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

sauce:

6 oz tomato paste

1 tbsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

2 Cloves Garlic

1/4 tsp salt(or to taste)

toppings:

2 packages vegan mozzarella cheese

1 package natural ham

1 can pineapple tidbits in its own juice(no HFCS here!)and well drained

other toppings of choice(all veggies to make it vegan)

Instructions

place first 7 ingredients into bread pan, add flours then make a well for the yeast, add yeast and set bread machine to dough cycle. Add more water or flour as needed to get a pliable dough.

in the mean time mix together the sauce ingredients and let sit until dough is done.

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

This makes a HUGE thick crust so lightly grease an 11×13 glass baking pan(or two pizza pans might work) with olive oil. turn dough out into pan and pat down while spreading it out in the pan. Poke holes in the entire crust with a fork. spread sauce out on crust, then top with toppings of choice. sprinkle cheese on top of toppings, then bake pizza in oven for 30-45 mins or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and starting to bubble.

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Why should you, when there are water bottles that are "plastic" and made from plants??? They even come in 3 and 5 gallon sizes! Check em out....

http://www.primowater.com/

Is it hard?

I had a friend tell me yesterday that "you have a very complicated eating life , you wear me out. lol" It made me wonder if other people might think eating naturally is complicated, hard or confusing. It really isn't. My "diet" breaks down to this; no refined sugar, no dairy, and no processed food. How is it simple? I no longer buy things that come in a box(other than the occasional whole grain, quinoa or rice noodles from the health food store). I'm not saying it doesnt take a little research either. I've spent a lot of time reading articles and reading labels at the grocery store. Getting back to nature eating what God put on this earth, what is complicated about that? I admit there were a few things that threw me for a loop that I thought were natural but aren't. Another thing that really shocked me is some of the items I've found that have High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) in them, a few examples: Yogurt, dried cherries, "100%" fruit juice/frozen concentrates, mayo, A1 sauce, and ketchup just to name a few. Eating naturally is so easy, even the cavemen did it(yea I know it was cheesy, but it is the truth)! It is less complicated than following any of the fad diets out there! I dont count carbs, I dont count calories, and I dont count fat, and there are no phases either, so it really isnt hard at all.

Some tips for shopping healthy:

1. buy as many organic products as you can instead of non organic.

2. stay away from boxed or white foods, the few exceptions I have to this rule are organic canned tomatoes, and organic beans. I can get these items organic and to be certified organic they can not have anything in them are not naturally occuring. Not to mention that I cant get organic fresh tomatoes(which go bad quickly anyway and are more expensive) and I cant get dry organic beans either.

3. sugars. these took me quite a while to figure out and has been the hardest aspect of getting healthy. I have a family of 5 so I had to find something that was healthy yet affordable at the same time. Agave nectar is an awesome natural sweetener but pretty pricey so it wouldnt work for my family. I finally decided to use turbinado sugar for several reasons, first is that the sugars dont enter your bloodstream as rapidly as some of the others(honey, syrup etc) which is a big thing for me because I have hypoglaucemia. It can be used in recipes the same way as regular sugar(I use less than what recipes call for though with good results) and you get more bang for your buck with it. You can get turbinado sugar at the health food store, but in doing my research I found that turbinado sugar is evaporated cane juice, and I also found that florida crystals makes an organic cane sugar that is quite a bit cheaper and more easily found. You can get it at walmart which is where I do most of my grocery shopping anyway. The ingredients are, organic evaporated cane juice.

4. always make extra! make extra dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch, this saves time, money and frustration. You dont have to worry about finding healthy lunch ideas, and you save money by not buying bread(which has HFCS in it anyway), lunchmeat and those nasty cheese slices. It saves time because you dont have to plan different lunches and shop for extra items. It saves the frustration of trying to figure out alternative lunches when you get bored with what you normally have. You get something different everyday, and most meals that are truly healthy taste better the next day anyway.

5. buy oatmeal in bulk if you can. I buy mine 25lbs at a time. for me a 25lb bag costs around $17.21. oatmeal is so virsatile too. I use it in everything, like baked oatmeal for breakfast, and I grind it up in the blender and add 1/2 tsp. guar gum to it too use as an all purpose flour for cakes, cookies, breads(quick bread, no yeast), and a thickening agent. 25lbs lasts my family about a month, but I make a cake at least once a week, 2 9x13 pans of baked oatmeal a week, several dozen cookies and a loaf of bread. It does take a *little* extra work, but knowing that its healthy and yummy at the same time makes it totally worth it!

I have tons more tips that I will add at a later date. Its getting late here and I can't think of anymore at the moment. If anyone has questions about natural cooking/baking please ask and I'll answer as best I can!

Foods That Make Your Skin Glow

Top skin creams average about $400 per ounce (and you thought gas was expensive!), yet most offer little proof that they do half of what they promise. Want to save a bundle and improve your skin? Load your shopping cart with nutrients that have been shown to possess skin-hydrating, sun-protecting, and even wrinkle-preventing powers, says Manhattan dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD. Here’s her grocery list of the best foods for your skin:

Firm and Bright
You’re probably up to your eyebrows (Botoxed or not) with the mantra “eat more fruits and vegetables.” But if you’ve yet to take that advice to heart, maybe knowing that they prevent wrinkles will do the trick.

The skin doc’s three top picks: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and cantaloupe.

What they do: Replenish your skin’s supply of antioxidants, so they're ready to scarf up free radicals whenever they make an appearance. Free rads are highly reactive oxygen molecules that damage cells and contribute to just about everything that can go wrong with skin, from dryness to wrinkles.

Fresh and Juicy
Your body can’t store much wrinkle-fighting vitamin C, so you need to top up your supplies regularly. The easiest way: Have some citrus every day.

The skin doc’s four top picks: oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit.

Ounce for ounce, oranges are the top citrus source of C, but you can only eat so many, right? For variety, make lemonade; squeeze limes on melon; add grapefruit to salad; and, instead of drinking soda, fizz OJ with sparkling water. It all adds up.

What they do: Keep skin’s vitamin C levels high. While C is a nifty antioxidant, that’s not the key reason it’s here. It helps keep collagen -- the supportive protein fibers that stop skin from sagging -- strong and resilient. (Flimsy collagen means lines and wrinkles.) Since collagen breakdown really picks up in your mid-30s, eat citrus early and often to head off aging.

Smoothing and Soothing
There’s a particularly potent antioxidant known as EGCG that does all kinds of good things for skin. The best place to find it? True teas: black, green, or white (not herbal). Brew a full teapot every morning so that sipping 4 to 6 cups throughout the day is a no-brainer.

The skin doc’s #1 pick::green tea.

While all true teas contain EGCG (by the way, that stands for epigallocatechin-3-gallate), the various types of green tea have the most. Dr. Wechsler’s personal favorite is hojicha green tea (available at http://www.adagio.com/). “The roasting process that turns this green tea a brownish color also lowers its caffeine content,” she says -- handy if you’re caffeine sensitive or it’s one of those days when you don’t need another stimulant.

What it does: Gives your skin a healthy dose of EGCG, which is a great multitasker. EGCG puts a damper on inflammatory chemicals involved in acne and sun-related skin aging, it helps prevent skin cancer; and it has a lion-tamer effect on tumor cells. What’s more, green tea contains L-theanine, a de-tensing amino acid -- and anything you can do to stanch the flow of the stress hormone cortisol helps keep collagen fibers intact.

Dark and Green
Certain dark green vegetables, whether they’re fresh, frozen, raw, or steamed, really deliver on vitamin A, one of the most skin-essential vitamins going.

The skin doc’s three top picks: spinach, turnip greens, and broccoli.

What they do:Deliver a hefty supply of vitamin A, which supports skin-cell turnover, the process that keeps cell growth and development humming along flawlessly. Without enough A, skin becomes dry, tough, and scaly.

Fish Faves
Several cold-water catches give your skin a double benefit: age-fighting omega-3 fatty acids and the restorative powers of protein.

The skin doc’s seven top picks: salmon, trout, tuna, sardines, Atlantic mackerel, Pacific herring, and most shellfish.

Just don’t, uh, go overboard. As good as omega-3s are for skin (and the rest of you, too), worries about the amount of mercury in many fish mean it’s smart to limit seafood or freshwater fish to two meals a week. That’s a must for young children and for women who are pregnant, who may become pregnant, or who are nursing. (Go here for the government’s fish guidelines)

What they do: Omega-3s fight inflammation, now considered one of the top skin agers, and they also help protect against sunburn, enhancing the effects of your sunscreen’s SPF. Protein is required to build and repair skin cells and to make enzymes and hormones that help keep it glowing.

Fill your grocery cart with all of these foods and you won’t just look younger, you’ll be younger. Eating at least one serving of fish a week and getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements lowers your biological age. In fact, the antioxidants alone can make your RealAge up to 6 years younger.

For more ways to look years younger, take the RealAge Skin Care Assessment.

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