Saturday, April 28, 2012

Frozen Juice/Drink Concentrate Slushy

Frozen Juice/Drink Concentrate Slushy :)

12 oz can of frozen concentrate
1 cup water
4 cups ice

Place in blender until desired consistency.  We love this for orange juice slushies, lemonade (so refreshing!) slushies and for just about any juice combination!  Enjoy!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Favorite press in dessert crust recipe

I do not love rolling out crusts, so I always use this press in one for desserts :)

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter/coconut oil/olive oil melted
1/2 cup oats

Combine, set aside 1 cup for topping your pie and press in the remaining mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. We use this for fruit pies and for my chocolate pie recipe. :) I'll try to post the apple pie part of this recipe soon.

Drive-Thru comparable milk shake

We make these all summer long.

2 cups ice water + 1 1/2 cups powdered milk OR 3 1/2 cups milk of choice (almond/soy/rice/coconut+water/cow/cashew etc)
1/2-2/3 cup honey/sugar/agave
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1-2 tsp vanilla (or I often throw in a vanilla bean)
Fill rest of blender full of ice
2 TBS olive oil or other pourable oil
1 tsp emulsifier-liquid lecithin OR 5 second spray of non-stick spray (I learned this trick from another recipe and it makes all the difference in the world)

Place ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. I have both a Vitamix and Blendtec. If you find that your motor on your blender is struggling, you'll need to add more water and have a less thick shake. I often add a bananaor peanut butter. You can also leave out the chocolate and add more vanilla. ENJOY! We *LOVE* this recipe and use it all summer long!

Veggie Stir Fry with a twist :)

Veggie stir fry is super easy and fast! It's also a great way to get veggies into your kids. Well, at my house it is :) There can be great variety in the sauces and the "starches" that you use as well.

Being tired lately, I typically buy the bag of mixed vegetables at the grocery store. We use at least an entire bag. It has cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and baby carrots in it. Then I chop them into smaller pieces. I often add other veggies that I have on hand. Here are some vegetable ideas:

Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Bell pepper
Celery
Bok choy
Green onions
Green beans
Chinese cucumbers
Sugar or snow peas (whole)
Onions
Bamboo shoots (canned are okay, but only needs warmed, not cooked)
Water chestnuts (canned are okay, but only needs warmed, not cooked)
Baby ears of corn (only needs warmed)
Summer squash
Mushrooms
Cabbage

Be sure to put the firmer things in first and add the ones that need less cooking later. For example, if you are doing carrots and broccoli, they could be together, but summer squash would cook MUCH faster. I use coconut oil and you can use peanut oil, which is traditionally used. Many oils have a lower combustion temperature, so be sure to check them. I know that coconut oil and peanut oil are both safe.

Starches you can use under or in your veggies:
Brown rice
White rice
Noodles
Quinoa (one of my favorites)
Potatoes (you can add them to the stirfry or use like a mashed potato)

Sauces:

Orange sauce
2 TBS olive oil
1-2 TBS garlic (our family loves garlic, but I use less to bring out the orange flavor here)
1 cup water
3 TBS orange juice concentrate
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS rice vinegar
4 TBS Braggs Liquid Aminos/Nama Shoyu/Soy Sauce
1/2 cup honey (or to taste)
1/2 tsp red pepperp flakes
1 1/2 TBS arrowroot powder + 2 TBS water to mix before adding to sauce(though you COULD try cornstarch)
6-8 drops essential oil

Using a small saucepan you can saute the garlic and olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients except arrowroot powder/water mixture and heat to a boil. Whisk in arroroot/water mixture. Lower temperature and stir constantly until it thickens.

Peanut-miso Sauce
3 TBS peanut butter
2 TBS lemon or lime juice
1 TBS yellow miso
1 TBS grated fresh ginger (or you can use the pre-minced ginger from the fridge)
1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 clove)
1/3 cup cup water

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside while you cook your veggies. After your veggies are done, place them on starch of choice and drizzle sauce over the top.

Honey Orange Rolls

Any roll recipe, though I used my pizza crust recipe (doubled) and it was awesome and FAST!

Here is the sauce:
3/4 cup honey (or 1 cup sucanat, raw cane sugar etc)
1/2 cup butter/coconut oil
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup water
2 TBS grated orange peel (either fresh or dehydrated)
8-10 drops orange essential oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a bundt cake or fluted 10 inch tube pan. Melt together in a sauce pan on low heat. If you have used my pizza dough, that was about the same time to have it resting. Oil your hands and shape into balls, make one layer and pour some of the sauce over it. Add another layer and pour sauce over it until you have used the dough and sauce all up. Pour the extra sauce over the top.

My oven wasn't hot yet, so I let it rise over one of the warm burners for probably 10 minutes. Then I put it in.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serving warm is best. My 8 year old said it's the best breakfast ever. It was our special General Conference breakfast this morning.

Chocolate pudding recipes!

These are chocolate pudding, but are not your typical recipes! So, please, don't turn your nose up, try it out, it's DELICIOUS!

Chocolate pudding #1
2 cups baby Thai meat or 2 small avacados
3/4 cup coconut water or just water (more if it needs to be thinned)
1/2 Cup maple syrup
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup cocoa powder or carob powder
2 TBS vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend and enjoy!

Chocolate pudding #2 (less ingredients)
2 small avacados or 1 large
1-2 TBS cocoa
1 TBS honey (or to taste)

Use blender or food processor to mix. Use coconut milk or water to thin.

I usually make the second recipe because I really do have those ingredients on hand. I also sometimes decrease the amount of honey or sweetener and will use berry flavored stevia extract. SO YUMMY!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Vegan Chocolate Shake

I love chocolate shakes but I don’t love sugar and dairy. This reminds me of the shakes you get at a fast food restaurant but guilt free.

1 cup cashews

3 cups ice

3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa

2 dates, pits removed and chopped finely or try you luck in the blender

¼ cup water

¼ cup agave or pure maple syrup

¼ tsp sea salt

Add ingredients to a strong blender in the order listed and blend until smooth. Freezes great for a snack tomorrow.

Savory Vegetable Quinoa Soup

When I made this I really didn't think my kids would like it. Surprisingly all ages 2-16 loved it and had seconds. This is very versatile. I add green beans, parsnips, zucchini and whatever vegetable I think would taste good. I have left out other vegetable because I didn't have them on hand.

Serves 6
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 yellow onion (diced into small pieces)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 very large red potatoes (about 14 oz.) (diced into small squares)
2/3 cup quinoa (uncooked)
3 vine ripened tomatoes (diced)
2 carrots (diced into small squares)
1 yellow squash (diced into small pieces)
9 cups unsalted vegetable broth (I used Rapunzel, Vegan)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. stevia powder
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/4 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
4 fresh basil leaves (sliced)

1. Add olive oil to a large stock pot and add minced garlic & onion. Season by
sprinkling some salt and pepper while cooking.
2. Add quinoa, diced potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, dry seasonings, stevia, salt & pepper.
Continue to cook, stirring frequently, Cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetable broth and yellow squash. Bring to a boil and then turn to low and
simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add nutritional yeast and stir well. Turn burner off and add in chopped parsley
and basil leaves.
5. Serve with crusty bread and a green leafy salad. ENJOY!!

Gogi Berry Balls (superfood cookies)

This is truly one of favorite recipes. It will give you energy and it high in nutrients. I made a batch of these when I ran Ragnar and it kept me going. I also eat these when I am pregnant because they taste so good and keep me going throughout the day.

2/3 cup agave nectar
1/4 soaked goji berried
1/2 cup cacao nibs (I use chocolate chips)
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup raisins
10 pitted dates
5 dried black mission figs
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup cocoa or carob powder

1 cup unsweetened coconut

Add all ingredients, except coconut, in a food processor and process until it is as creamy as you can get it. You can add a little water if necessary but don't add too much or it won't roll into balls. Next roll in coconut and chill in fridge or freezer for 30 min before serving.

Vegan Homemade Noodles

I have worked on tweaking this recipe to truly taste and feel like the homemade noodle I grew up with. This recipe has no eggs and uses Spelt or whole-wheat flour. I add it in a "Non-chicken" noodle soup base which I will post someday soon.

2 cups spelt or wholewheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs gluten (for binding)

2 Tbs Flax soaked in 2 Tbs water (egg substitute)

1/3 cup water

1 tsp olive oil

Mix the flour, salt and gluten in a bowl. Add the flax, water and olive oil. Knead until smooth and elastic. Let sit for 20 min. Now either roll out onto a floured surface and cut in thin noodle strips or use a pasta machine on 1/16 th inch thinness. Add these noodles to your soup and let them bowl for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. I have also air dried these on the side of a bowl and used them later. They never last long in our house.