myfoodprints

Pick a Peck of Pretty Pickled Peppers... at Poppytalk!

Pickled foods have always been a favorite of mine. Polish sausages are traditionally eaten with sauerkraut in part because fermented foods aid in digestion, and meats are some of the toughest foods for the human body to digest. Friendly Canadian neighbor Jeanette Ordas of Everybody Likes Sandwiches has a featured article on pickling peppers at Poppytalk's blog. Can't wait to try it!

Nikki's Healthy Cookies

Stumbled upon this recipe on 101 Cookbooks. I was just thinking yesterday how I wanted to find a cookie like recipe without the sugar and wheat flour that satisfied my chocolate cravings... I also happen to have almond meal and coconut oil in my cupboard, waiting for me to do something with it.

Thank you universe for sending me such a tasty recipe!

Peanut Butter Cookie

Larabar has just released some new flavors for their product lines: Larabar and Jocalat. Although they are all absolutely scrumptious, this has got to be my favorite: Peanut Butter Cookie. My taste buds tell me it is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. When taste testing the new flavors with my husband a few weeks ago, he turned to me and asked, 'So... what's the difference between these bars and a candy bar?" Heh heh heh..!!  Good question, John! What IS the difference? Larabars are derived from WHOLE FOODS; NO added sugar, preservatives, processed anything.

Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients: Peanuts, Dates and Salt.

Strawberry Pie

Earlier this season I made this recipe for my husband's birthday. I was very happy with how it turned out... couldn't keep my hands off of it long enough to even take this picture, as you can see. I'm the Stawberry Pie Monster... RRRAAARRRR!!!!

Recipe found at Happy Foody, who discovered it through Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Pass on the love and read on!

Raw Strawberry Pie
The Joy of Vegan Baking
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

It is best when served within an hour or two of preparing it, since
it is at its most fresh then, but it holds up just fine in the
fridge.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8-12

Crust:
2 cups raw almonds or pecans
3/4 cup pitted dates, preferably Medjool

Filling:
5 cups sliced ripe strawberries
5 pitted dates, soaked 10 minutes in warm water and drained
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Place the nuts in a food processor and grind until they’re a coarse
meal. Add the 3/4 cup of dates (for the crust) and process until
thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into a non-stick or very
lightly oiled pie plate or spring form pan.

Arrange 4 cups of the sliced strawberries on top of the crust and set
aside.

In a food processor or blender, combine the remaining 1 cup of
strawberries with the 5 soaked dates and lemon juice. Puree until
smooth. Pour the sauce mixture over strawberries.

Refrigerate the pie for 1 hour before serving. This will help the pie
set and will be perfect for slicing.

The Healthy Hippie

Healthy Hippie is a fabulously fun, health inspiring company created by Tara Silberberg. I met Tara at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition during our Immersion year, an intense health counseling and mentoring program. Always bursting with energy and a contagious festive flair, she embodies her brand in everything she does.

Healthy Hippie offers holistic health counseling, a line of handmade clothing called Yummy Wear, and a newly developed publication, Healthy Hippie magazine. I receive her free monthly enewsletters which arrive in my inbox packed with juicy tips on healthy living, amazing recipes, local music reviews, as well as Tara's latest adventures in her hometown, Burlington, VT. If you're interested in receiving her free enewsletter, sign up here.

Pictured above, Tara is savoring one of her recipes featured in her May enewsletter:

Avocado, Hummus, Sprout, Seaweed Wrap
Submitted by The Healthy Hippie. She was listening to Afromotive.

Ingredients
1 big sheet of nori seaweed
1/2 of an avocado
1/4 cup of clover sprouts
2 tbsp of hummus
Directions
Place all of the ingredients on top of the sheet of nori
Roll the nori into a burrito
Enjoy!!!  This is soooooo good!!!
Learn more recipes at www.healthyhippiemagazine.net

Cherry Bomb Smoothie

I am so in love with fruit and veggie smoothies. Something about combining unusually paired whole foods to create a new taste makes me feel so alive.

I just threw these flavors together this morning and it turned out delicious.

Cherry Bomb Smoothie:

- 1/2 banana
- handful frozen organic cherries
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 3/4 cup organic almond milk

Blend and enjoy!

Maple Millet Breakfast

1/2 cup millet

1 ripened banana

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 tbsp maple syrup, add more for a sweeter taste

1 tbsp ground flax seed

1 tbsp coconut milk

Cook 1/2 cup millet in 1 1/2 cups water- simmer for 25 minutes. If you leave it be as it cooks you'll have fluffy grains, like rice. If you stir it while it cooks a few times and add some more liquid to it, you'll get a consistency like mashed potatoes.

Add the raisins to the millet while cooking, so they're juicy and plump. Once millet is done, sprinkle on ground flax seed, banana, maple syrup and coconut milk. If you want to sweeten the grains even more and get the mashed potato consistency, add coconut water to the mixture while cooking.

Nutritionally, millet is about as high in protein as wheat (about 4.2 grams per half-cup serving) and also provides niacin, vitamin B6 and folic acid along with some calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc.

Enjoy!

Cook Simple with Mark

   

Mark Bittman, aka 'The Minimalist', is a chief (and one man brand) featured on The New York Times website. My partner John brought his blog/ mini t.v. show style videos to my attention a few months ago, and now he watches them as mindless fun.

This video on how to make 'Glazed Carrots' is a perfect example of how he incorporates his simple cooking style, humor and wit to create a visual piece of art that whets the appetite on many levels.

Can't Get Enough of These

As my best girlfriends from college will recall, (particularly fellow foodies Beth and Joy), nothing beat a catfish burrito and sweet potato fries from our local favorite haunt Alto Cinco. We're still recovering, always seeking the perfect Mexican meal in hopes it will be accompanied by sweet potato fries, the holy grail of side dishes. This recipe for sweet potato fries really hits my sweet spot for a number of reasons: it's fast, healthy, and DELICIOUS.. Especially served with a ramekin of salsa, pictured here we have pineapple peach salsa (store bought).

Sweet potatoes rock on so many levels: they are rich in beta-carotene, potassium, and vitamin A (5 times the recommended daily allowance!) The potassium helps maintain electrolyte and fluid balance in the body's cells, and also aids in normal heart function and blood pressure. If you have a sweet tooth like I do, have yourself a sweet potato: they are fabulous for curbing sweet cravings.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 4

Sweet potatoes are too good to limit to the holidays. For variety you can replace the Cajun spices with curry or your other favorite spices.

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. powdered Cajun spices
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, washed, unpeeled, and cut into 1/2 inch strips
salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat the foil with olive oil. In a large bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, and cajun spices. Toss potatoes in oil mixture until coated. Place wedges on baking sheet. Season with salt, to taste.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn wedges over. Return to oven and continue cooking until crisp and brown on both sides, about 10 minutes more.

Per serving: 108 calories; 1 g protein; 7 g fat; 12 g carb.

I Scream...

It's quite fitting that my first entry be about ice cream. When I was little, I had a children's book about a girl who dreamed of doing whatever she wanted, and one of her daydreams consisted of eating ice cream for every meal. I will never forever the illustration of her at the kitchen table devouring scoops of ice cream piled high for breakfast. Since learning (and feeling one too many times) the downside of processed sugar and dairy, I don't eat ice cream as much as I used to... Only at times when I know I don't have to be 'mentally on' (otherwise it puts me in a brain fog) When this recipe was sent to me by fellow health counselor Susan Kimball I couldn't have been happier. Until I had a BITE.. Ciao, bella!

Fruit Ice Cream

3-4 frozen bananas
1 package of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries)
1-2 Tbsp of frozen grape juice concentrate (or grape or berry jam)
2-4 Tbsp water
¼ cup chopped walnuts or other nuts as a topping (optional)

Buy a bunch of bananas and let ripen.  These can also be used for smoothies.  Cut into chunks and freeze for at least 8 hours.

Remove bananas and berries from freezer and thaw for 10-15 minutes.  Put in a food processor along with concentrate (or jam), water, and blend until you get ice cream consistency.  Vary sweetness with the amount of concentrate/jam.  Vary consistency with the amount of water.  You could al so use plain yogurt if you so choose – replace water with about ¼ cup of yogurt.  Top with nuts if desired.

Inspired by “The Whole Truth Eating and Recipe Guide” by Andrea Beaman, HHC, AADP