tofu yogurt

So, Olivia has been sick, and didn't eat anything for a few days. I started to get worried and decided that I needed a new approach.  I bought some silken tofu and blended it with fruit to make something like a yogurt, and it turned out pretty good.  She at 2 cups of it, and some scrambled eggs (organic, of course), and seems to be doing better this evening.  I'm not really a tofu/soy buff, but I'd recommend trying it if your struggling giving up dairy, or getting your children to give up yogurt.  It kept in the fridge a while, and tasted better after being chilled.

quick bean burgers

hi all.  i tried some pre-maid falafel mix last week.  it was pretty good and really easy to make at home.  here's some of the basic ingredients and proportions:

1 3/4 cup chickpea flour

1/4 cup ww flour

onion powder

garlic powder 

salt 

dried herbs like parsley

you mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add 1 1/2 cups water to 2 cups flour mix.  stir it together and let sit 10-20 minutes, until water is all absorbed.  you might try adding a little ground flaxseed to hold it together.  to cook you can deep fry them, or, i just oil a cookie sheet and place patties on that, then bake for 25 min at 375, flipping halfway through.

i'm still playing around with this, so i don't have an exact recipe.  adding a little uncooked millet before soaking lends a good texture, and bread crumbs help too. it's an easy way to use beans. i also use bean flour in breads, cakes and cookies to lighten them up, and sprouted beans in stir fry or coarsely ground and sprinkled on pizza's.  cooked beans make great spreads and dips and black beans are excellent on their own or mixed with salsa and guacamole.  

beans are my greatest culinary challenge, so if you have any ideas please post them.

All dried up!!

Last Thursday I woke up and felt like drying a bunch of food. The kids thought that it was a fun project for school and we all pitched in! We dried bananas and made fruit leather. We made some granola(that the kids promptly devoured) and we even tried making the raw potato chips that I found in a recipe book of Mom's. They turned out surprisingly 'chippy', but I really didn't like the apple cider vinegar taste on them. Next time I will try lime or some other flavoring to keep them from browning in the dehydrator.

Anyway, we had a good day and filled all of our dryer trays with good snacks. It's really a lot of fun to teach the kids about healthy eating. Seth even decide to try all raw this week...we'll see how he likes it!!

recipe book

Hi guys.  I'm working on publishing a book of all my recipes (not for sale, just for me and anyone who wants one. cost is about 10$) and would like to add some of your favorites as well.  This is kind of a culmination project to wrap up my 1 1/2 year obsession with health foods and allow me to move on to other things like my schooling and homeschool.  Please keep posting and add digital pictures, if you can, so that I can add them into the book.  Thanks. 

Candice

REAL BROWNIES

Hi.  This is the promised recipe for Real Brownies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup WW flour (very finely ground)

1/2 cup soy or garbonzo bean flour (also very finely ground)

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4-1/2 cup non-alkali cocoa (depending on your chocolate preferance)

Mix ingredients in mixing bowl until well combined or, I put all the dry ingredients in my dry blade blender and blended on high until it was all ground very finely, almost like powdered sugar.

1/4 cup applesauce (I use 1 medium apple pealed and cored)

scant 1/4 cup raw coconut oil (looks like shortening but not as smooth)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cider vinegar

scant 1 cup water

scant 3/4 cup honey

I place all wet ingredients in my blender and blend until smooth then pour into the dry ingredients and use electric beaters on high until smooth and creamy. You can probably just use the electric beaters by mixing dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls; beat the oil until smooth, add apple sauce and honey.  Beat again.  Finish with wet ingredients and beat until smooth. Then add dry ingredients and beat until smooth.   Grease a smallish baking dish, pour in brownie mixture and bake about 20 minutes.  Check with a toothpick.  The brownies should not be runny, but make sure you don't over bake.  Cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting:

1/8 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup honey (or to taste)

1/8 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

3/4 cup date nut cream (1 cup walnuts or pecans, 1 cup pitted dates, scant 1 cup water blended until creamy)

Place oil in mixing bowl and beat on high until creamy.  Add honey and beat again.  Add cocoa and beat until a thick creamy fudge is formed.  Add vanilla and almond extract and beat until combined.  Add date nut cream and beat until smooth and creamy.  Place in the fridge to chill until the brownies are ready to be frosted.  Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!!

note:  The coconut oil in the frosting will firm up and curdle a little when chilled, but this makes it easier to spread.  Also, most of the sweetness of the brownie depends on the frosting, so make sure you use a tasty one.