Shredded Potato Tacos

Instead of using ground beef or shredded meat in our tacos (along with romaine greens(use as the tortilla wrap or just inside the tortilla), black beans, tomatoes, avocados/guacamole, cashew white sauce (we use in the place of cheese for lots of recipes), and homemade salsa….

….a friend gave me the idea to use grated red or gold potatoes seasoned with choice (homemade) taco seasoning and a little avocado oil or olive oil in it’s place! We tried it and it was super yum, the flavors were still there, but the health benefits greatly multiplied! Definitely a keeper recipe in this home. :) Mr. J Squared even liked it too! Hooray for a success on the home front! =D

Carrot/Rutabaga/Garlic Dressing

Grind sesame seeds, garlic, sauerkraut juice (with a little water added as well)

Add avocado/beet/carrot/cauliflower and blend.  Use as a salad dressing. =D

 

I used sesame seeds, ground them in a blender, added maybe 2 T of garlic, and about 1/4 c. sauerkraut juice with a few shreds of the cabbage too.  Then, I added maybe 2-3 large carrots, and 1/2 of a rutabaga. 

It was delightfully wholesome tasting with some original flavor and its all very good for us! yay! Fermented veggies in our intestines is much better at breaking down food particles and allowing for nutrient uptake and moves along more efficiently than other putrefactive food forms =D.  Yay for trying something totally and completely different! I also roasted rutabaga and sweet potatoes this week trying to make homemade chips, and they actually came out super soft…lame…I’ll have to get some pointers on that whole effort…but the rutabaga actually tasted quite yummy, to my surprise.  Sweet potatoes are always so wonderful too.  Hooray for new healthy experiments in the kitchen and new things to try out!

Millet Refried Beans

If you watch the fusion grain show on the BYU channel you will learn from a grain expert that millet is very good for you. I would like to share with you one of his homemade millet refried bean recipes. We just had it tonight for dinner and the boys asked for seconds. We had it with tortillas to make into burritos but you can just eat it as a side or even over chips and make it into a mexican salad. This is super healthy, clean, and easy.

3 cups of dried pinto or black beans (super cheap at Walmart)
1/4 cup uncooked millet   (got mine at sprouts)
9 cups of water
1 tsp. salt
1 T. olive oil

Place beans, millet, and water in a crock pot on high for 6 hours. After the beans are soft mash or blend them in the pot to make into however chuncky or smooth you want. Then add oil and salt.

Curry Over Quinoa or Rice

 

3 large sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes

5-6 red potatoes, cut into small cubes/pieces

1/2 red onion, chopped in long slices

2 large carrots, chopped into small slices

Roast assorted veggies, adding any other you would like, in oven at about 375* for about 25 minutes.

 

Then, prepare and warm the curry ingredients below in a saucepan while veggies are roasting.

2 cans light coconut milk

2 t. curry powder (got mine from Trader Joes, and it was yummy, but different brands might yield different flavors)

 

Add roasted veggies to the curry sauce and pour over quinoa or rice prepared in a rice cooker. 

Sesame Cabbage, Carrot & Cucumber Salad

half head of red cabbage, cut into small pieces (or shredded in a blender)
two large carrots, grated (or shredded up in a blender)
one large cucumber, grated
Toss together in a medium bowl.

1/2 cup sesame seeds & 1 T. hemp or chia seeds
1/4 cup (or a little more, based on dired consistency) water----> blend these into a paste
1/4 c. toasted sesame oil
dash of salt
dash of pepper
Bend together then drizzle over salad.

Yummy flavorful bites off veggie goodness!

Peanut butter banana quinoa muffins!

Here's the recipe: Peanut Butter Banana Quinoa Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 and 1/2 whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil ( or vegetable oil)
1 generous cup peanut butter
1 cup skim milk
1 large egg
2 overripe bananas
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

The day before making the muffins:

In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and the water to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes or so. Leave to stand over night so quinoa becomes tender.

On the day you make the muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper lins.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and 2 cups cooked quinoa.

3. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the coconut oil (its ok if your coconut oil is still solid. You may warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds if you desire), peanut butter, milk, egg, bananas and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until combined.

5. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Larabars

Hey ladies, Fred Meyer has Larabars on sale for 1 dollar. Great way to get a sweet snack. Does anyone have any ideas for quick good things to take to work for snacks?

Faster then fast, quicker then quick snack

I am not yet experienced enough to do all the fancy things but I will share with you something that I have enjoyed and it is very fast and super quick!

1 brown rice cake
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

*Put the applesauce on the rice cake and put into your mouth. Quick, Easy, Tasty.

Kale Chips

Crispy Kale "Chips"

 

Cook Time:  20 min in the oven  or 2 minutes in the microwave.
Level: Easy
Serves:  4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.

Yummy Banana Oat Bars

Yummy Banana Oat BarsSugar-free and delicious!!!   ;-)

Serves: 8

These bars are great. I've made them several times and they have been delicious. I've changed the nuts to pecans and added dried cranberries but you can mix and match any way you like.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup finely chopped apple
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Press into a 9-by-9-inch baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut into squares or bars.

 

Gluten Free Oat Free Nut Free Granola

This recipe came from Lisa Leake. She brought some with her with she came to visit and it was delicious. I'm going to make it and post a pix.
Me

Note:  This recipe does have shredded coconut in it, so if you are very strict nut free, take it out and increase the equivalent amount of any other ingredient listed.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa flakes (or any other flaked grain or cereal you like)
• 3/4 cup puffed rice cereal ( Make sure its gluten free! Rice Krispies isn’t.) (Anti Candida/ Paleo: Try slivered almonds or increase the seeds/unsweetened dried fruit)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries     
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (Top 10 Free and Nut Free: Try any dried chopped fruit)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup puffed millet cereal (or any other puffed grain cereal you wish) (Anti Candida/ Paleo: try chopped walnuts or increase the seeds’ unsweetened dried fruit)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (Sunbutter)
• 1/4 cup honey (Vegan: 1/2 cup agave  or yacon syrup) (Reduced Sugar: 1/3 cup coconut sap plus stevia drops to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp extract of your choice- vanilla, almond, or anise. I love anise, but not everyone does ;) . If you use vanilla, feel free to use up to two teaspoons.  Other flavour ideas:  a little bit of orange zest,  powdered or candied ginger,  unsweetened chocolate shavings.

Directions

1. Put the quinoa flakes and coconut on cookie sheet and spread out.  Toast at 350 for a few minutes to lightly brown.  Watch! They burn fast!
2. Put the sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on a separate cookie sheet and do the same.
3. Dump the quinoa flakes, rice cereal, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, coconut, pumpkin seeds, and millet cereal into a large bowl.
4. In a separate smaller bowl, add the honey, sunbutter, salt and extract. Heat over low heat so that it milts and mixes together ( I just microwaved it for about a minute or so).
5. Pour the mixture over the seeds and cereal, and mix until everything is covered. May take a few minutes.
6. Spread the mix over 2 cookie sheets and roast in the oven for about 10 min at 350 (keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn).
7. Done! Serve with berries and rice milk , or munch on by the handful as a tasty snack :)

Easy Mint N’ Chip Ice Cream

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 huge handful of spinach (or kale)

1 tsp peppermint extract

1/3 c sweetener (honey or maple syrup)

Mix all together with a handful of ice in a blender.  Enjoy! Even add a few chocolate chip chunks or garnish with coconut flakes…to super enjoy! Super yum!

Blender Pesto

4 c. spinach (or kale, chard or cilantro…depending on what you have or taste you’re looking for)

20 basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/2 c walnuts (instead of pine nuts)

1/2 large tomato

1 T. olive oil

Blend in blender! Drizzle over noodles, potatoes or even as a pizza sauce topping! This version is modified from Green SMoothie Girl’s “12 Steps to Whole Foods.” Enjoy! It’s super wholesome and yummy!

“The Basic White Sauce” by Stacy Stowers

2 c raw cashews

1 c olive oil

3/4 c lemon

2 tsp salt

3 cloves garlic

3/4-1 c water

Blend all ingredients in your high speed blender.  Use more or less water until you reach desired consistency.  Once you store the sauce in the refrigerator, it will thicken.  Simply add more water if you need to thin it out.  Enjoy!

You could use this instead of sour cream, it’s also good on kale, or you could add it to a marinara to make it more creamy and richer in taste.  It can be eaten over potatoes or as a healthy veggie dip! You could even modify it a bit by adding some salt and pepper and 2 drops of essential oil…for example dill (or just add the herb itself)…then you have a dill dip, viola!

Tyrannosaurus Rex Sauce (Stacey Stowers)

4 c tomatoes (chopped)

1 red bell pepper

3 garlic cloves

1/2 c. olive oil

2 T lemon juice

1-2 pitted dates

2-3 T. Italian Herb Seasoning

1 tsp salt

1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes (the ones in a jar soaked in oil)

1/3 c. chopped red onion

1/4 serrano pepper or jalapeno pepper (cut and remove seeds-can use 1/2 if want to be more hot in flavor)

 

There are two family versions for preparing your marinara:

Family Fav #1: For creamy consistency simply blend all ingredients in your blender.

Family Fav #2: If your family likes a chunkier version, put ingredients into your food processor and pulse, using “S” blade.  Or just pulse blend lightly in your blender. Enjoy!

This has become one of our newest favorites! This sauce totally depends on the quality of your tomatoes.  Pick fresh or organic ones and this will be sooo sooo delicious! Serve on noodles, or on potatoes, or just as a yummy dip!

Sesame Milk!

1/2 c. sesame seeds
1 T. chia seeds (optional) then grind in blender
Add 8-10 dates and blend.
Add water to fill blender and blend until smooth!

Flavor as desired: berries, peanut butter, almond butter, banana, cocoa powder, etc!
We love to add a few chunks of frozen banana, and it tastes heavenly! J loves it with PB and cocoa too! YUM!

Here is some nutrition information about sesame seeds:

http://saveourbones.com/the-power-of-the-sesame-seed/
"Sesame seeds are full of calcium, magnesium, copper, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber. They offer the most nutritional value when the entire seed is used (un-hulled).
Whole sesame seeds contain about 88 mg of calcium per tablespoon of seeds. Just a quarter cup of natural sesame seeds provides more calcium than a whole cup of milk. A quarter cup of raw natural sesame seeds has 351 mg of calcium while one cup of non-fat milk has 316.3 mg, and one cup of whole milk has only 291 mg of calcium. Plus, they are alkaline whereas milk is acidic.
Sesame seeds are also rich in zinc, another mineral that has a positive effect on bone mineral density. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a correlation between low dietary intake of zinc and osteoporosis at the hip and spine.1
Copper, better known for its anti-inflammatory ability shown to reduce some of the pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis, is also a supporter of bone and blood vessel health.

While calcium is vital to bone health, it also can help with migraines2 and provide relief for PMS.3
These multi-tasking seeds are also rich in sesamin and sesamolin, fibers called lignans that can lower cholesterol and help prevent high blood pressure.4
As if you need another reason to make sesame seeds a pantry staple, they are a great source of phytosterols, plant sterols that have also been shown to lower blood cholesterol5 and improve heart health."

http://www.healthandsuperfoods.com/2012/03/why-are-sesame-seeds-good-for-you.html
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84

Studies have supported magnesium usefulness in:
-Preventing the airway spasm in asthma
-Lowering high blood pressure, a contributing factor in heart attack, stroke, and diabetic heart disease
-Preventing trigeminal blood vessel spasm that triggers migraine attacks
-Restoring normal sleep patterns in women who are experiencing unpleasant symptoms associated with menopause

In recent studies, calcium has been shown to:
-Help protect colon cells from cancer-causing chemicals
-Help preventbone loss that can occur as a result of menopause or certain conditions such as rhematoid arthritis
-Help prevent migraine headaches
--REduce PMS symptoms during luteal phase (the second half) of the menstrual cycle

So many great things to learn about them! We have been using this sesame milk/or banana smoothie in place of milk AND as a LOVELY alternative to ice cream or other delicious sweets! Make some almost every day! Love it!

So excited to have a place to share, learn and grow together!

So excited for our new sisterly (And motherly too!) blog to share our newest favorite healthy recipes, child activity ideas, fun book finds, family strengthening ideas and more! Even though we may live far apart, I'm so excited to have a place to share our great ideas, and learn from each other as we take on this one great adventure of life, ever-learning, ever-loving, and ever-growing together!!