Cinnamon Crumb Banana Muffins (Gluten-free)

from Michelle Gill - www.rebornjoy.com

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bananas
2 Tbsp. raw honey
2 eggs, beaten
5 Tbsp. butter, melted

Crumbs:
3 Tbsp. almond flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup of walnut pieces

Instructions:
Preheat the oven at 350 degree.
Mix dry then add wet ingredients.
Spoon into a dozen muffin pan (spray or use muffin cups).
Add crumb mix on top of each.
Bake for 18 minutes or until tops turn golden brown.

Makes 12 muffins.

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

from Daniel Plan (download all recipes free)

The Daniel Plan Cookbook includes more than 100 delicious, healthy recipes from breakfast to dessert. Go to www.danielplan.com to order.
Ingredients:
½ cup water
⅓ cup low-sodium soy or tamari sauce
2 Tbsp. raw honey
¼ cup fresh orange juice (or pineapple)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, cut into long thin strips
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 pound flank steak, cut against the grain into thin strips
2 tsp. coconut oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
2 cups brown rice

Preparation:
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup of this mixture into a plastic bag; add beef. Seal bag, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Remove steak from bag, and discard marinade. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry beef in oil for 2−3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Add broccoli and onion to pan; stir-fry for 4 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Return beef to the pan. Whisk cornstarch and reserved marinade until smooth; stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve over brown rice if desired.

* Tip from Michelle:  One of my best purchases was a rice cooker.  I add a little more water to brown rice so it will be as fluffy as white rice.  This way my daughter, who is seven, will eat brown rice instead of white and enjoy it.  A rice cooker also saves me time.  I bought mine at Big Lots for less than $15.

On Guard Pumpkin Seeds from doTERRA International

Horrifyingly Healthy Raw Pumpkin Patch

(from Reboot with Joe - site encourages sharing of recipes)

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-healthy-pumpkin-patch/

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups/360 g. cashews

1/2 cup/110 g. goji berries
1/4 cup/75 g. rolled oats
2 Tbsp./30 ml. pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp./30 ml. coconut oil
Pinch of Himalayan salt
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
2 parsley stems with leaves

Directions:
1.) Combine cashews, goji berries and rolled oats in food processor and process on high until a fine crumble forms.

2.) Add cashew, goji, oat mixture into large bowl and then add maple syrup, coconut oil and salt.

3.) Mix all ingredients together well until a dough forms.

4.) For half of the mixture, roll small spoonfuls into little balls, then shape them into pumpkins (that resemble candy pumpkins) by adding in little crevices with a sharp knife.

5.) Then cut celery into skinny stems, about 1/4 cm. wide and 1 in. tall. Place the celery into the top of the pumpkin with a small leaf off of the parsley stem. TIP: This was easiest when I kept a little stem on the leaf. Then I placed the stem on the middle of the pumpkin and used the celery to stick it in.

6.) For the other half of the mixture, make these into the "carved" pumpkins. First, roll a small spoonful of dough into a ball, similar to the above, then flatten the sides and bottoms of the balls and shape into pumpkins, as you see in the picture.

7.) For the face, slice a thin disc-shape from a large carrot, then use a sharp knife to carve a mini pumpkin face. These do not have to be perfect. As you can see from my picture below, they definitely look homemade but that gives them character!

8.) Stick the carrot face onto one of the flat sides of the pumpkin then add a skinny celery stalk to the top.

9.) Place all pumpkins in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes before serving.

Flavorful Coconut Spinach Rice

Serves 6

 

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 cups white basmati rice

1 2/3 cups coconut milk

1 1/2 cups water, bone broth, or vegetable stock

10-ounce package frozen spinach (Squeeze water out)

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice 

14-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained 

1/2 cup toasted coconut, lightly browned

 

1. Toast cumin and mustard seeds in a medium pot for 1 minute over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. 
2. Add curry powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, rice, coconut milk, and water.  Bring to a boil.

3. Cover, reduce the heat to simmer, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes. Allow to set for 5 minutes.

4. Add the spinach, lemon juice, and garbanzo beans, if desired, and gently toss well.
5. Top with toasted coconut before serving.
6. Add parsley and/or a tomato wedge for extra color.

Problem Solved! A New Way to Cook Fresh Eggs So They Peel Perfectly!

by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - August, 2014

For years I have tried various tips for hard cooking  fresh eggs to make deviled eggs so they wouldn't look like they had gone through a battle, with much of the egg white peeling away along with the shell.  As a result of numerous failed attempts, many of my hoped-for deviled eggs left me with no choice but to turn them into egg salad!   

None of these previously tried solutions really produced good results.  I have added baking soda to the water, pricked the eggs with a pin at the wider end, and plunged them into ice water before peeling.  Well, just today I tried a new way (new to me), and it worked like a charm!

The Real Solution: 
If you have a steamer, you're all set! 

1. Run water into the bottom of a cooking pot - one that a steamer fits well.
2. Place the eggs in a steamer, so that the eggs are not submerged in the water, but use enough water so it won't all boil away.
3. Bring the water to a boil and simmer in the steamer for 20 minutes.  Set a timer. 
4. Remove the colander (or steamer basket) from the pot after 20 minutes, and plunge the eggs in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Thankfully I found my farm fresh eggs peeled to a super smooth finish using this method!

Sweet Potato Brownies (Gluten Free)

http://draxe.com/recipe/sweet-potato-brownies/

Do a search for other healthy recipes at http://draxe.com/

1 avocado
1 cup cooked sweet potato puree
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

1/4 cup coconut flour

2 tbsp. arrowroot flour

½  cacao powder (This is not cocoa powder)

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

 Icing

• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup almond butter
• ¼ cup cacao powder
• ½ cup coconut milk
• sea salt

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease 8×8 pan with coconut oil and line it with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, combine avocado, sweet potato, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Once creamy, add in cacao powder.
4. Add in eggs one at a time.
5. In a separate bowl, combine coconut flour, arrowroot flour, salt and baking soda.
6. Combine both mixtures until smooth.
7. Transfer to greased pan and bake for 25 minutes.
   Make icing and frost if desired.

Refreshing Cherry Lemonade

Refreshing with an added dimension - cherries!

1 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or follow directions and skip squeezing the lemons)

2 quarts pure cold water

1/2 pound fresh cherries, pitted and pureed (any kind)
Stevia to taste (safe and natural sweetener)

If you have a Vitamix or powerful blender, simply peel the lemons, removing the rind and seeds. The pulp is full of vitamin C and will thicken the juice a bit.  Pit the cherries (any kind), and puree the lemons and cherries until smooth.  Add pure cold water and ice.  Add enough stevia to make it sweet.  Pour into glasses, add ice, and serve!

Caesar Salad Dressing

Yield: 1 cup

1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 anchovy fillets
1 raw organic, pastured egg yolk
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Allow the garlic and lemon juice to set for 10 minutes to take the "bite" out of the garlic.  Pour garlic mixture into a blender, and add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. 

Note concerning the egg yolk, anchovies, and oil:  
Caesar salad dressing is traditionally made with raw eggs, but it is suggested you purchase organic, pastured eggs and wash the shell before cracking.  Salmonella is the result of sick chickens so be sure the eggs you use are good quality.  Using pasteurized eggs is another option if you're not comfortable using a raw yolk.  

The addition of anchovies will not cause the dressing to taste fishy. 

I find that using "light" olive oil tastes less strong for a dressing.

Leek and Potato Soup

Note from Lois:  I made this delicious recipe after the April 1 trick I played on my husband.  I told him there was a LEEK in the bathroom sink, but what he really heard was, "There's a LEAK in the bathroom sink!"   

By the way, in case you didn't realize it, you can find bacon in the grocery store without any nitrates now.

Recipe by Michelle Tankersley Haines - Used by permission

http://crunchyinthesuburbs.com/2013/11/08/leek-potato-soup/
1 lb. bacon, thinly sliced
3 leeks
3 lbs. potatoes, diced
1 quart chicken stock (homemade is best)
1 1/2 cups Half & Half (preferably organic)
salt & pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onion

In a large soup pot, fry your bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with paper towels to blot off the grease. Set aside.

Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. of the bacon drippings. Add your leeks to the pot and increase heat up to medium high. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Stir and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the leeks are tender.

Add your diced potatoes to the pot, along with the chicken stock. You should have just enough stock to barely cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes start to fall apart. Stir occasionally. You want the potatoes to start to break apart and thicken the stock.

Stir in your half and half. You may need a little more or a little less to your taste. Don’t add so much that the soup becomes runny, you want it to be rich and thick. Stir the bacon in, taste the soup and adjust the seasonings.

Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream and chopped green onion.

*You can also use the bacon as a garnish, but I’ve discovered that when I serve it this way Hubby Dear takes all the bacon, so I stir it in so we all get a fair shot at it :)

* Please don’t use milk in this recipe and then say the soup tastes watery. Milk is just not the same. You need the cream. I sometimes use the cream from my raw milk if it is available, but in a pinch will get some organic half & half. And don’t talk to me about fat. The cream makes it rich and satisfying so you eat less. And milk fat is good fat. Don’t get me started. I won’t stop talking about that.