Pumpkin Spice Blend

Pumpkin Spice is always so popular this time of year. Pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice ice cream, pumpkin spice breakfast smoothies, next there will be pumpkin spice kale salad! Here's a simple recipe for your own blend.  I like to make a batch in the early fall and hope it lasts throughout the holiday season, so I can add it to all sorts of recipes.  To do that, I would recommend doubling the recipe below.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoons ground cloves

Store in a glass jar with a tight lid.  I like to use Mason Jars.

COCONUT ALMOND MILK

If you want to make your own almond milk, there are lots of easy recipes to be found online.  This recipe is different. The secret ingredient is coconut water, which adds a delightful hint of sweetness to your home made almond milk. I think you will love it. 

This smooth and creamy, subtly sweet recipe comes from Joe the Juicer, and his team at rebootwithjoe.com. It is really delicious. When I read the recipe the first time, I thought it a strange concoction, but since it was a small amount to experiment with, I went ahead.  Even as I was putting the ingredients into the blender, I was skeptical. . .but felt that it could always  be used in a smoothie if I didn't like the taste or texture on its own.
The smoothie option was not necessary. Twice.

Ingredients:
1 cup/250 ml coconut water (if you have access to a fresh coconut, use the water from that, but if not, try to find organic coconut water.  At the very least, be sure it is 100% coconut water with no additives or added sugars)
1 tbsp. raw almonds
1 tsp. coconut oil
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
About 1/2 pinch of Himalayan salt, to taste
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1 handful of ice cubes - 3 or 4

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a high powered blender and blend on high for 45 – 60 seconds, until smooth. 
Enjoy!

Hot Cereal

Looking for a really healthy, tasty, warming breakfast? Allow me to share this amazing post from one of my favorite recipe authors, Elana Amsterdam. Her website and her book are an inspiration, and her recipes usually take very little manipulation to make them "Advanced Plan Approved." Her Porridge recipe is a perfect example. There are enough superfoods in this lovely cereal to get anybody going in the morning!

Enjoy.

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ¼ cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 to 1 cup boiling water

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a high speed blender.
2. Pour boiling water into the blender, cover with lid. Then cover lid with a tea towel.
3. Blend very carefully starting on low setting, then moving to high, until porridge is smooth
4. Transfer porridge to a bowl.  By the time you rinse and dry the blender, the consistency will be perfection!
5. We like to garnish this with a few tablespoons of frozen blueberries.
6. Serve

Delectable Pumpkin Bread - Wheat Free and Sugar Free

This might be my new favorite use for almond flour and for pumpkin puree. The batter is made in a food processor in record time!
However, let's do the "Notes" first:
1.)  The pumpkin bread is easier to remove from the loaf pan if you let it cool for about an hour.  This is only an assumption on my part, since the warm loaf was far too appealing for me to wait.  Delicious warm or cold! (I'm thinking toasted, for breakfast. . .)
2.)  I enjoyed the process of making my own pumpkin puree, following Elana Amsterdam's easy recipe.  I am sure you would have wonderful results using 1 cup of any good organic pure pumpkin puree.
3.)  This recipe, like so many of my favorite almond flour recipes, is adapted from one I found at Elana's Pantry.
Enjoy.

2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons good quality ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (If you can grate your own nutmeg, use less)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup roasted pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon "Kal" brand or "Now" brand concentrated powder stevia
6 organic eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and seasonings in a food processor.  Pulse to mix.

Add the pumpkin puree, the stevia, and the 6 eggs to the mixture, and process for approximately 2 minutes.

TASTE the batter.  IF you want to add seasonings or stevia, do so.  (When I made my roasted pumpkin puree, I used a Grey Ghost organic squash, which has a sweeter taste to start, so I did not need to add anything.)

Pour the batter into a glass loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes. You will have a wet batter, and your end product will be moist when it has cooled.

Green Juice - You Can't Imagine How Great This Tastes!

I don't know how many of you have seen the film, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."  It is a very inspiring story of an Australian man's journey to heal himself from the inside.  To do this, he traveled across the United States armed with a juicer! Along the way, he met many people who also needed a bit of a food intervention and introduced them to the idea of juicing.  Since I saw the film, I have been incorporating this green juice into my nutrition and I LOVE it!  Here's a link to a recipe for the green juice featured in the film by one of the more inspiring characters, Phil Staples.
Yes, I know it's green.  What you need to know is: IT IS DELICIOUS!
Enjoy.

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS – FINALLY A RECIPE WORTH SHARING!

I have been reading, testing, and rejecting recipes for a Carrot Muffin for the longest time. Many of the recipes I found were loaded with Agave nectar, which, by the way, is still sugar! If the recipe didn’t contain grains or sugar, it was dry or (worse yet) complicated to prepare. I had a snow day last week, and took matters into my own hands. I am happy with this recipe for two reasons. It tastes really good, and it can be prepared very quickly in a food processor.

Let me know how you like it.

Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION:
2  cups almond flour, less 2 Tablespoons 

2 Tablespoons coconut flour 

½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon powdered concentrate Stevia, such as KAL Brand or NOW brand.

¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 scant pinch of cloves

PUT ALL THESE DRY INGREDIENTS INTO A FOOD PROCESSOR. PROCESS TO COMBINE.

THEN ADD:

½ cup melted organic butter

1 tablespoon vanilla (no sugar – check the label)

½ cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (you can use water or organic whole milk)

5 extra large organic free range eggs

PROCESS TO COMBINE INTO A SLIGHTLY WET BATTER.

POUR THE BATTER INTO A BOWL OVER:

1 ½ cups grated organic carrots

½ cup chopped raw pecans or walnuts.

STIR TO MIX.

DIVIDE INTO 12 MUFFIN CUPS LINED WITH PAPER OR SILICONE LINERS.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 30 TO 35 or 40 MINUTES.

Coconut Flour Crepes

These crepes are surprisingly delicious. They can be used for breakfast or brunch, and would be the beginning of a lovely dessert. To that end, I would suggest rolling fresh, local, blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries into the crepes, and topping them with a dollop of organic, stevia sweetened, cinnamon whipped cream. If you are using them for breakfast, I would top them with the Strawberry Sauce recipe which you can find in GOOD FOOD.

I also did a chocolate version of this recipe. I simply added 2 tablespoons of organic unsweetened cocoa powder, and substituted unsweetened chocolate almond milk for the milk in the original recipe. I also had to bump up the stevia to counter the bitterness of the cocoa powder. (Frankly, I preferred the original recipe, but I know there are lots of chocolate lovers out there.)

I tested the crepes in two types of pan. I used an old, very well seasoned, cast-iron pan, and I used a new Earth Chef pan that I recommended in GOOD FOOD. Both worked beautifully.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Stevia liquid drops, to taste (I use about 10 drops)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - NO sugar, check the label (can substitute almond extract)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons organic coconut flour, sifted
small pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup organic whole milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Preparation:
In a medium bowl with a wire whisk, beat together the eggs, oil, stevia, vanilla, and salt. Mix in sifted coconut flour, nutmeg and cinnamon; stir in milk.
Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, melt a tiny bit of coconut oil in the pan.

Pour 1/8 cup (two tablespoons-full) of batter in the skillet and swirl around in pan until a thin layer of batter covers the bottom. The crepe should be about 6-inches in diameter. (If you don't want them paper thin, govern your swirling accordingly.)

Cook 1-2 minutes, or until batter is bubbly and cooked around the edges. Flip the crepe and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes more, or until done.

These should be kept in the refrigerator if you want to use them for a dessert later in the day, but I would separate them with layers of parchment paper, and remove them from the fridge about an hour before dinner.

AMARETTO CAPPUCCINO SMOOTHIE

If you are wondering if there is a way to “Maximize” an Iced Cappuccino, here it is. Sometimes, I impress myself.

Ingredients:3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 scoop Chocolate Organic Whey Protein
1 teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder
1 tablespoon “Spoonable” brand stevia, or equivalent, or to taste
1 teaspoon raw almond butter
4 strong coffee “ice cubes”

Preparation:1) AHEAD OF TIME: Prepare an ice cube tray with strong coffee and freeze. I use approximately 10 oz. of water to 3 generous teaspoons of instant espresso powder, and mix the coffee in a drinking glass before pouring it into the ice cube tray. Adjust the strength of the coffee to your taste. Once frozen, keep the coffee ice cubes in a re‐sealable plastic bag in the freezer.
2) Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
DO NOT consume after 3:00 P.M.

ALMOND PROTEIN BARS

ALMOND PROTEIN BARS 

Ingredients:

2 cups raw almonds

½ cup hemp seeds

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 scoops Organic Whey Protein (optional)

½ cup raw almond butter (I sometimes use Organic Peanut Butter. Not as healthy as Almond Butter)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

 1 teaspoon (approx) Vanilla 

½ cup coconut oil

3 - 4 ounces Lily’s Chocolate Chips 

Topping:

3 - 4 ounces Lily’s Chocolate Chips 

1/4 cup coconut oil

Preparation:

1) Place almonds, hemp seeds, shredded coconut, (Organic Whey Protein - Optional), almond butter, vanilla and salt in a food processor.

2) Pulse briefly, until you get a “sandy” consistency 

3) In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat.

Add 3 - 4 oz. Chocolate chips and very gently, melt with the coconut oil 

4) Remove chocolate and coconut oil from stove, add mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.

5. Press mixture into an 8 x 8 silicone baking dish. **

6) Chill in refrigerator while you prepare chocolate topping

Topping:

7) Melt chocolate and 1/4 cup coconut oil

8) Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator until protein bars harden (an hour or two)

9) Remove from refrigerator, cut into 32 bars, and serve.

** Until you purchase a silicone baking dish, you can use glass - lined with parchment paper. The silicone is definitely worth buying.

Asparagus Frittata

Asparagus Frittata has been a family favourite for Christmas brunch for years. Everyone enjoys the beautiful look of it, not to mention the delectable savory taste. But I have always enjoyed using it as the centrepiece of the brunch because it finishes in the oven while I put the finishing touches on the table and other specialties of the festive family meal.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, or two small shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, spears cut diagonally into 1‐inch lengths
4 to 6 large (preferably organic, free range) eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded raw organic (Imported) Gruyere or (Domestic) Swiss cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1) Gently heat olive oil into a 10‐inch oven‐proof frying pan (see our blog on cookware) over medium high heat.

2) Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 3 minutes.
3) Add asparagus, reduce heat to medium‐low, and cook, covered, until the asparagus are slightly tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
4) Pour in eggs and cook until almost set, but still runny on top, about 2 minutes.

5) Sprinkle cheese over eggs and put in oven to bake uncovered until eggs are set and cheese is melted and browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. (You may want to turn on the broiler during this baking time, to better brown the top.)
6) Remove from oven with oven mitts and slide frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.

Cinnamon Strawberry Flax Muffins

These muffins will keep for a week in the refrigerator (if they last that long), or 3 months in the freezer.
Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup “Spoonable” brand Stevia (or equivalent - I use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon KAL brand concentrated Stevia powder)
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla (no sugar – check ingredients)
2 tablespoons grated orange peel (optional)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional for topping)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F
Line muffin tins with paper or silicone liners.
1. Chop strawberries into a medium sized dice.
2. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients (minus the strawberries) separately, then, mix them together.
3. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes to thicken.
4. Fold in strawberries.
5. Fill each muffin cup about half way, and sprinkle with nuts.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Variation: Substitute fresh or frozen blueberries for the strawberries.

Note: If you are going to freeze the muffins, I recommend beginning with fresh berries.