Meatless Taco Soup..... the healthy version.

Meatless Taco Soup
serves 4-6

3T olive oil
1 jalapeno, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 green/red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4c brown rice, uncooked
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne
1 can (15oz) diced tomato
1/2c fresh salsa
1 quart organic chicken broth
1 can organic black beans
1 can organic white/kidney beans (we use 2 cans of black beans or some left over pinto beans) 
1 can of organic corn
salt & pepper

topping suggestions: organic corn chips, sliced avocado, diced green onion, cheese, cilantro, sour cream.

Saute the jalapeno, green/red pepper, onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Next add all of the seasonings and brown rice. Stir well, then add the rest and bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for 45-60 mins. Top with your favorite toppings and Enjoy!

Chipotle Orange Grilled Chicken

Chipotle Orange Grilled Chicken
                 serves 4
2T 100% orange juice concentrate
1T finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 lb. chicken breasts

This meal is so simple to make. Mix the first 5 ingredients and baste while grilling chicken. Voila! One way to make this meal go further and to serve more is to triple the sauce, grill your favorite veggies (we like red onion, zucchini, button mushrooms, shredded carrots, bean sprouts etc.), then chop up the cooked chicken and serve all over brown rice as a stir fry. Naturally we have to double if not triple the sauce anyways..... houseful of dippers, remember? Enjoy!

New Dinner Recipes!

So for the next few days I will be updating with some dinner recipes. I have hundreds. It could take longer than a few days. Let's just see how the week goes. :)

Pecan Crusted Chicken
         serves 4-5

4 chicken breasts
2c chopped pecans (I have done 1/2 pecans and 1/2 almonds before, it was good)
1c brown rice breadcrumbs
2 free range eggs

Once your chicken breasts have thawed, pat dry. Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Whip the eggs in a bowl. Mix the chopped pecans and brown rice breadcrumbs into another bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the egg then into the pecan mixture. Now I usually fry mine in organic olive oil. You could also fry in grapeseed oil. Another option is to bake them on top of a parchment sheet, then bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 mins.

Honey Mustard Sauce

3T raw honey

1 1/2 T rice wine vinegar
1/4c mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/3 tsp. sesame oil

Mix all in a bowl. Take note we have to triple this sauce recipe, but I have a houseful of "dippers". Enjoy!!

Coconut Chocolate Pudding.

1 can coconut milk (14oz)
3T maple syrup
1/4 tsp. Redmonds Realsalt
1/4T arrowroot powder
3T organic cocoa powder
1/2c allergy-free chocolate/carob chips
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Shake can of coconut milk. Bring 1 1/4c coconut, maple syrup and salt to a simmer over med-low heat. While that is heating in  separate bowl whisk together remaining coconut milk, arrowroot powder and cocoa powder. It should look like a smooth chocolate frosting. When maple syrup mixture has started simmering turn heat to low and slowly add cocoa mixture while stirring quickly. Whisk the entire time until it thickens up which is approx. 1 min. Remove from heat and continue whisking 1 more minute. Slowly whisk in chocolate chips and vanilla. Place plastic wrap on top to prevent a "skin" from forming. Chill approx. 2 hours. Try serving with shredded coconut or sliced strawberries on top! Enjoy!

Menu Plan Nov. 19th -25th

Tacos with homemade spanish rice
Black bean chili with allergy free cornbread
Pizza and a spinach salad
Bean and cheese burritos with spicy corn salad
Omelette's with berry smoothies
Crockpot chicken and quinoa with a raw kale salad
Honey-glazed penne brown rice pasta with autumn apple salad and homemade bread
Tostadas with black beans and steamed broccoli

Extras

lemon kale chips
pumpkin bread
pumpkin oatmeal
lemon bars
granola bars
date balls
kettle corn with maple syrup

Honeyed Date Apple Bars.

Honeyed Date Apple Bars

1 1/2c honeyed dates
1c warm water
2 1/4c apples, unpeeled, shredded
1/2c coconut/rice milk
1 tsp. Redmond's real salt
2 tsp. vanilla
5c oats
1/2c shredded coconut, not sweetened
1/2c shredded carrots, patted dry after shredding
1T cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
2T flaxseed meal
scoop of chia seeds
3 tsp. guar gum
1c dried cranberries
1c chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9X13" pan. Put honeyed dates and warm water in vita-mix and blend well. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend thoroughly. Transfer to pan and bake for 40 -45 mins. or until knife comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

We have made this for a snack and also as a cake with coconut frosting on top. It's super yummy!

A new snack idea.

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted, life's been pretty busy! I am going to try to post some new snack ideas this next week!!

Brown Rice Pudding

3c brown rice, cooked
3/4 tsp. sea salt
4T arrowroot powder
2T cinnamon
3c coconut milk, divided
1/2c maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
handful of dried cranberries (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl dissolve arrowroot in 2c coconut milk and mix well. Then mix in rice, dried cranberries, syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and sea salt. Mix well. Pour into large greased 9X13" baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until lightly browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and stir in remaining 1c coconut milk. Leave pudding to cool approx. 1 hour before serving. Add any favorite topping such as nuts, bananas, chopped apples or allergy-free chocolate chips for a special treat!!!  Enjoy!


Date, Oat, Coconut Balls

1c honeyed dates
1c oats
2T chia seeds
coconut or crushed pecans/almonds for rolling the date balls in

If your honeyed dates are tough, you will need to boil them in water for 5 mins., drain the water and mash the dates in a bowl with a fork. Add the oats and chia seeds then roll into a ball. If it is still sticky add more oats. Then roll the balls in shredded coconut or chopped nuts. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins. Quick and easy yet yummy snack!

Lunch Ideas Day 5

Here are 2 of our favorite salads to have for lunch:

Black Bean Luau Salad

1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1c brown rice, cooked
1/2c bell pepper, chopped
1/2c carrots, shredded or chopped
1/2c red/green onion, diced
leftover chicken (if we have it)

honey-dijon dressing

Mix all and drizzle with dressing.


Rice and Bean Salad:

1/2c onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves
1T coconut oil/ olive oil
1 1/2c brown rice, cooked
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
can of green chile's
1/2c grape tomatoes, sliced
1/2c cheese (if allowed in diet)
organic corn chips, crushed
iceberg lettuce (we use whatever we have, usually spinach)
ranch dressing, honey mustard dressing or a balsamic-honey dressing

Saute first 3 ingredients in pan. Stir in cooked rice, beans, seasonings and green chile's. Mix well. Put lettuce in a bowl and ass tomatoes, cheese and chips. Add the bean/rice mixture and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

Lunch Ideas Day 4.

Sandwiches:

-sunflower butter and jelly
-sunflower butter and raw honey
-egg salad
-buffalo chicken sandwich (with leftover chicken fingers dipped in brown rice)
-tuna salad
-raw honey and banana
-chicken salad with grapes
-chicken salad with apples
- lunch meat (turkey, ham, chicken, etc.)
-veggie (cucumbers, roasted peppers, red onion, cream cheese or mayo)
- avocado and sprouts with red onion
-fried egg
-BLTA (with turkey bacon and avocado)
-avocado chicken club
-pannini's (I just throw together whatever I have and grilled it)
-grilled apple, chicken and cheddar  (if you can have cheese)
-http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/08/f-n-grilled-veggie-sandwiches.html - these are my FAVORITE!!!


Avocado Chicken Club

bread of choice
mayonnaise
iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
cooked chicken breasts, sliced or canned
turkey bacon (if desired)
pepper to taste
1/2 red onion sliced
1 avocado
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 bunch arugula or watercress, chopped
radish or broccoli sprouts
havarti cheese (if cheese is allowed)
2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds, toasted in a frying pan for 2 minutes without oil (optional)

Have a beautiful Wednesday!!!

Lunch Ideas Day 3.

Dips!!!

Here are some dips we have throughout the week, makes for an easy lunch because most of these you can make the day before!

Hummus- whether its store bought or homemade we LOVE it! We have hummus 2-3 times a week.
Black bean and pineapple salsa
Carrot white bean spread
Layered black bean dip
Fake queso dip
Black bean pepper salsa
Artichoke goat cheese dip
Pinto bean with green chile dip
Fruit dip
guacamole is always a winner here and healthy!

Most of these dips are yummy with organic corn chips, rice crackers, on rice cakes, homemade sweet potato crackers, homemade sweet potato chips, or four grain flat bread. We do serve fruit with the fruit dip ;)

Layered Black Bean Dip

2 cans or 3c (cooked from dried) black beans
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. redmonds real salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 c cilantro leaves
3 poblano chiles, roasted
4T olive oil
splash of lime juice
1 onion, diced
1/3c corn cut off of cob or canned
1/2c fresh salsa
4 oz. goat/vegan cheese (optional)


Saute onions in 2T olive oil until softened. Heat beans and add seasonings. Add 1T olive oil, splash of lime juice, sauteed onions and if needed some water. If you are adding cheese you will want to add 1/3 of it into the beans. You want it to be a smooth paste. Blend cilantro, poblano chiles and 1T olive oil until smooth. Spread bean mixture in bottom of an 8X8" pan and then spread the cilantro mixture on top of bean mixture. Sprinkle corn on top of that. Now you can either add the salsa before you bake it and have it warm or add it after it has been baked. We prefer to add it after it has been baked. If adding cheese sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. We like to serve this with organic corn or sweet potato chips and guac!




These are some links to some I have never tried due to other allergies but I thought you might want to try!
http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/dipspate/r/queso.htm although I would use rice/nut milk NOT soy milk.

http://www.godairyfree.org/Alisa-s-Blog/Alisa-s-Milk-Free-Blog/Super-Bowl-Challenge-Dairy-Free-Dips.html

http://www.vegalicious.org/2007/08/31/eggplant-dip-or-spread/

Have a beautiful Tuesday!

Lunch Ideas Day 2.

Happy Monday!

One of our favorite things is smoothies and bars. Here are some ideas:

-green smoothies
-berry blast smoothies
-kefir smoothies
-mango-orange smoothies
-rise and shine smoothie
-chocolate banana smoothie
-chocolate kefir smoothie
-homemade spicy power bars
-homemade enzyme-rich larabars
-homemade granola bars
-homemade pecan bars
-homemade healthy lemon bars
-homemade protein bars
-homemade pumpkin bars
-oatmeal jam bars
-date apple bars

Ok so I understand there are alot of ideas here and EVENTUALLY I will post all of these recipes, but for now I will leave you with a couple of new recipes. If anyone has a particular interest in a certain recipe just leave a comment and I will try to post it for you. Have a beautiful Monday!

Chocolate Kefir Smoothie:

4c combination of organic milk/organic vanilla yogurt/organic kefir (I like to use all 3)
2-3T organic cocoa powder
1T vanilla
2T raw honey (more if you like it sweeter- I have also used maple syrup when we run out of honey)
3T coconut oil
1/2c honeyed or regular dates
2 bananas
12 ice cubes


Spicy Power Bars:

1/2c macadamia nuts or almonds
1/2c honeyed or regular dates
1/2c dried cherries or cranberries
1T vanilla
1T raw honey
1-2T chia seeds
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. dried cardamon
1/4 tsp. Redmond's realsalt

Put it all in your vita mix or food processor and blend well, then remove and press into lightly greased 8X8" pan and refrigerate at least 6-8 hours. Enjoy!

A week of Lunch Ideas.

This week I will be posting a healthy lunch idea daily. Here are some ideas you could do with eggs.

-boiled or deviled eggs with a yummy spinach salad
-you could even put the boiled eggs IN the salad, spinach and egg compliment each other nicely
-egg salad on gluten free bread or on an allergy free grain flatbread (I will post recipe for this, this week)
-fried egg sammies on bread of choice or allergy free grain flatbread
- breakfast burritos in homemade tortillas (recipe to come) or GF tortillas
-sweet potato, black bean, egg burros... yum.
-omelette's (I can post the recipe but I must warn you we only have these if Daddy's home, he makes the best omelette's!!)
-scrambled eggs with a smoothie is always easy
-eggs in a nest with bread of choice
-quiches with a potato crust can be thrown together quickly (lets face it eating healthy isn't usually a
"quick" task, it's choice, it does take more time but its so worth it. Your body will thank you)
-my kids love to dip homemade sweet potato crackers or rice crackers in egg salad

Anyone have any other ideas??? Post them if you do!!

Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas.

Sauce:

1T olive oil
1T arrowroot powder
1 lg (28 oz) can of enchilada sauce (green or red) or green Verde salsa
2c organic chicken broth
1 tsp. Redmond's real salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3T chopped cilantro

Filling:

2 lg. cans of black beans (or 3c cooked black beans if cooking from dried)
1 1/2c cooked brown rice
1 lg. onion, chopped
1T olive oil
1 (4oz) can green chile's
1/2 tsp. Redmond's real salt

corn tortillas (as many as you can roll and fit in a pan)
olive/coconut oil for frying
1 medium can of sliced olives
1c chopped green onions
cilantro

now if you can have cheese you can add 2c of cheese, or sprinkle some goat cheese inside the enchiladas. OR just don't have cheese at all :) We didn't and it was yummy!

First start cooking your rice as directed on package, then put 1T olive oil and 1T arrowroot powder in saucepan and whisk together over medium heat allowing it to thicken approx. 1 minute. Add everything in the sauce ingredients except the cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer while you make the rest. Now chop your onions and saute in 1T olive oil. Add green chile's and real salt. Set aside. Now fry your corn tortillas lightly, you do not want them crispy. Drain on paper towel. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cooked rice, olives and beans to the filling mixture. Pour 1/2c of sauce in the bottom of your 9X13 inch pan. Dip your tortilla in the sauce and set in the 9X13 inch pan. Put the filling in ii and roll up. Place seam side down and repeat with the rest. Now stir the remaining 3T chopped cilantro in the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with extra cilantro and cheese, if there are no allergies. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!

Black Bean Brownies. Trust me, do it.

,Black bean brownies

2c black beans, cooked
1/4c organic cocoa powder
4T flax mixed with 3/4c warm water/rice milk or 4 eggs
1 1/2 T vanilla
2-3T fine coffee granules
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1c raw honey
1/2 c coconut oil, melted
1/2c chocolate/carob chips
1c nut of choice, chopped (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8X8 baking dish. Combine first 7 ingredients in the blender/Vita-mix. Blend well until kind of soupy. Pour into a bowl and mix in chocolate/carob chips and nuts if not allergic. Mix well and pour into baking dish. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Seriously they are good, its weird.

10 things I am grateful for today.

1. A hard working, handsome, responsible, sensitive, loving husband.

2. A warm, cozy, laughter filled home that no one is running in. I despise running in the house.

3. The passion I have for cooking. The Lord knew I would need it.

4. Children that love to snuggle. With me.

5. Coffee, especially on chilly mornings.

6. Children who will eat whatever I put on their plate.

7. My Pioneer Woman cookbook. Love it.

8. World maps. I love them. They intrigue me.

9. Friends who encourage me.

10. My Dr. Bronner's ginger-pineapple chap stick. Yum.