Healthfully Delicious |
healthfully delicious
real food. real life.
It's called air conditioning folks! Or, better yet, it's those amazing heat pumps you've all heard of! Seriously. It was gross hot out. Kind of made me miss winter. So, yes, we stayed indoors most of the day and made soup.... :) Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: Oil for cooking - I've gotten used to using coconut oil for everything now! 1 onion, chopped 1 large sweet potato, chopped bite-size 2 medium potatoes, chopped bite-size 2 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped bite-size 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped bite-size (carrots missing here... still tasted great without though - just goes to show, use whatever you have) 2 cloves garlic, minced OR as I did tonight, large bunch of garlic scapes finely chopped Vegetable stock, enough to fill up just to cover veggies (varies on the amount of veggies - usually 2-4 cups) 2 tsp-ish each: cumin, ginger, summer savoury 1 tsp-ish each: sea salt, pepper, cinnamon, paprika optional: 1 cup more/less of coconut milk (gives it a creamier texture and taste (could any kind) optional: green onion on top! What to do: 1) Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and half garlic scapes if using them. 2) Keep medium heat on and add veggies. Stir around. Add a splash or two of stock. Stir and scrape flavours from the bottom of the pot. Once well incorporated, add rest of stock, spices and coconut milk, if using. You just want to barely cover the veggies. Too much and you'll have a watery soup, not creamy. 3)Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes or so, until veggies are soft enough to each (pierce with a fork or just try one!) 4) Once veggies are soft enough to eat, use an immersion blender to half blend the soup. Or, transfer half of the soup to a blender, blend up, and return back to the pot. Stir together so it is chunky and creamy. Devour with crusty warm bread or crackers. Yum.
I eat a lot of peanut butter.
Luckily, Costco sells a great natural peanut butter in larger jars and a cheaper price! As a teacher, peanut butter is a no-no. Lots of kids = lots of allergies. No peanut butter sandwiches. No apple slices and peanut butter dip. No peanut butter and crackers. Easiest thing to eat for lunch. But not for the school life. And I truly feel sad for the kiddos who can't enjoy a delicious peanut butter sandwich. It's so good, easy, cheap, and filling. But, there are alternatives. My fave was sunflower seed butter. That became my peanut butter while working. It has it's own flavour, but I loved it. Used it in place of peanut butter for cooking, baking, sandwiches - it's great! I definitely recommend it! But I'm not teaching anymore! I'm home! Woohoo! Peanut butter for the win! And did I ever get back into my peanut butter groove. And Hannah has eaten her fair share of it, too! I wanted to make sure she could tolerate peanuts, as they are so much apart of my life! Haha, so far, so good!
Not only has peanut butter become my go-to lunch and snack, I've gotten back into the routine of using it to cook with. Not having to worry about bringing leftovers for lunch that had nuts in it.
So, here, I present you with a recipe I use often - a spicy peanut sauce. It's smooth, creamy, rich and spicy. Using peanut butter as a base for sauces started out as a make-shift ingredient in place of soy sauce when making stir fries. I definitely miss soy sauce when it comes to that. But then, over repeated version and attempts, this yummy sauce has emerged! We use it over stir fried veggies with rice or noodles. Or, it makes a great dipping sauce for rice wraps! Another frequented meal around here. If you haven't tried those yet, get going with it would ya!? They are super easy and healthy! A simple recipe found here and here. Anyway, I urge you to opt for a different kind of sauce for your next stir fry. If you can't serve peanut sauce because of the peanuts, try a different nut or seed butter in place! I used to make it a lot with almond butter since my students could tolerate almonds. It tastes great, as well!
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. all natural smooth peanut butter 1 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. rice vinegar 1 tsp. sesame oil 1 cup vegetable broth/bouillon + water zest and juice from 1/2 lime 1 tsp-ish (more or less, depending on your preference) each: garlic powder, ginger, cumin, cilantro 1/4 tsp-ish each: cayenne, sea salt, pepper What to do: 1) Add all ingredients to a small bowl or jar. Mix well until combined and 'saucy'. :) You do not need to heat this up, although you can if you prefer a warm sauce. It's good cold or hot! Great for dipping wontons, rice roll ups, overtop stir fry, noodles, or chicken. So good. Enjoy!
Revamping an old recipe here. And working on my food photography skills! What do you think? I'm starting to put Lee's fancy camera to more use.
Macaroons, Haystacks, No-Bake Cookies - whatever you call them - they are a classic sweet treat. Perfect for snacking, a light dessert, or showing up to a family event with a tray of treats. Everyone loves them. Kids, adults. They're a great, safe treat, sure to be eaten up. Unless, of course, you're concerned about what's in them. Like I normally am. Dairy and sugar for sure. Nuts? Wheat? Soy? I never know and I usually stay away. I miss a chewy, sweet, chocolate macaroon! They were so delicious. Well, here's an easy recipe. An easy one at that. Looks and tastes delicious, just like the traditional chocolatey, coconuty goodness, only this one has just a few ingredients - and those ingredients are usually pretty safe to serve! I've brought these to many gatherings. It's easy to make a little ingredients card to go with it. People are always surprised at how little the ingredient list is, and how awesome it is that everyone can enjoy them! Well, not everyone... I know there are some who can't have coconut, etc. :( Sorry! And, if I haven't sold you yet on how useful it is to have a food processor in your kitchen, then here goes another try. Seriously. Easy. Fast. Delicious. I use my food processor almost daily. So easy to make up fast snacks and sauces. Actually, I think I'm going to need a new one soon... hint, hint, Lee.... :)
Total Time: 5 minutes + 15 minutes+ freezer/fridge time
Ingredients: 1/2 cup melted coconut oil (just melt in the microwave!) 2 tbsp cocoa powder 1/3 cup honey (or use another sweetener of choice) 1 tsp vanilla 1 pinch sea salt 1-2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut What to do: 1) Mix everything except the coconut in a food processor until just combined. It should make a yummy smooth chocolate sauce. *This is my chocolate sauce that I use for EVERYTHING. Harden and it makes a great hard chocolate. Melted, it makes a great sauce over ice cream, drizzled onto granola bars, bowl of fruit, anything. So yummy and easy. 2) Remove sauce from food processor and pour into a medium bowl. Add coconut and stir to combine. 3) On a parchment lined cookie sheet, drop spoonfuls of the coconut mixture (should make about 12) and then place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Keep cool in the refrigerator until ready to serve. |
All Vegan, Refined-Sugar-free, Soy-free. A sprinkling of Gluten-free. And a pic of my babies, when they were babies. :)
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