-
Recipe Parade: Berry-Mallow Yam Bake
This recipe is for Berry-Mallow Yam Bake. Hands-down, it’s my husband’s favorite dish! I made the marshmallows at home this year, and it was super easy!! You can make the marshmallows ahead of time – since there’s no egg in them; they have a great shelf life in a sealed container! Ingredients 2lb organic yams, cooked 2c organic cranberries 1c water 1c organic sugar Homemade marshmallows Crumb mixture 1/2 c flour [use your favorite kind] 1/2 c brown sugar 1/2 c dry oats 1 t cinnamon Cut in 1/3 c butter Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350°. 2. Make cranberry sauce by bringing 1c water and 1c sugar to…
-
Recipe Parade: Carrot Souffle!
With Thanksgiving getting closer, I wanted to share my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you! We celebrate Thanksgiving with our extended family, so I’m grateful to not be responsible for making EVERYTHING. I do have several favorites that I make every year, just because we love them! The first is carrot souffle! I can almost eat JUST this dish because I love it so much! Cooking the carrots does take some time, but it is one you can make ahead of time. I’ve included directions for ‘making ahead’ at the bottom. Enjoy! Carrot Souffle Ingredients 1 3/4 lbs organic carrots, peeled & chopped 1/2 c organic sugar 1 1/2 t…
-
Easy Homemade Marshmallows
Since Thanksgiving is getting closer every day, I sat down with my menu last night and started thinking about what I wanted to serve. One of my husband’s favorite dishes is Berry-Mallow Yam Bake. In years past, I’ve made it with a bag of store-bought marshmallows (along with canned yams that have high fructose corn syrup in the syrup. sigh) Then I read the ingredients, among them: corn syrup, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (a thickener), artificial flavors, and blue 1. Too many yucky ones in there for me. What to do? Make my own at home! The experiment began and I had a houseful of eager helpers. I’m pleased to report…
-
What is Kefir?
When we began learning about eating real, whole foods instead of processed foods, kefir was one of the first foods (beverages, really) that came onto our radar. I tried out a bottle of the Lifeway brand from the store, and was pleasantly surprised. It was good FOR me and it tasted good! Later, I learned that I could actually make my own and that began a fun process of experimentation. But first, what IS kefir and why should we drink it? Kefir is a cultured milk product that contains lots of probiotics aka healthy bacteria that your body needs so you can stay healthy. Kefir has been consumed for…
-
Simple & Delicious Meatloaf
Photo credit: Taste Inspired I made meatloaf for dinner last night, we had meatloaf sandwiches for lunch, and we liked it so much we’re having it again for dinner tonight! I’m also making dinner for a friend-of-a-friend who just had a new baby, so she’s getting meatloaf too! Hope she likes it as much as we do. With an easy recipe that good, I thought I’d share and give you a fresh dinner idea. Meatloaf Recipe 1 lb organic ground beef 2 eggs (preferably organic free-range) 1/2 t Italian seasoning bread crumbs (preferably fresh – just make some crumbs from a few pieces of bread. Otherwise, Whole Foods is the…
-
“Natural” Cereal that’s easy on the bank account!
Breakfast is definitely the most challenging time of day for me. Ideally, I would leap out of bed in the morning and whip up a breakfast of fresh fruit, oatmeal, homemade pancakes, or the like for my kids. In reality, that almost never happens. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time that did happen. When I do make a breakfast meal, we usually have ‘breakfast’ around, oh, 11am. 11 am breakfast doesn’t fly with my kids. The littlest one especially wakes up ravenous. I’m thankful to have found an easy breakfast alternative for them that’s not laden with artificial ingredients, hydrogenated oils, and high fructose syrup. Equally important…
-
Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes! (Tasty Tuesday)
We have a love for all things pumpkin (as you’ve probably picked up on by now), and had been on the search for a good pumpkin pancake recipe. We finally found one that passed muster (with flying colors!) and has become a family favorite. Enjoy! Pumpkin Pancakes Ingredients 2 c all-purpose flour (substitute your flour of choice) 2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 3 tbs organic brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 c raw milk 1 c fresh pumpkin puree 1 organic free-range egg 2 tbs grapeseed oil 2 tbs vinegar Combine flour, baking…
-
Baylor Shout-out: Healthy Food Choices
At a recent stop at our alma-mater to catch up with some college friends and visit the bears, we grabbed lunch in the SUB (student union building) and I was actually impressed with the food choices! I expected to quickly walk through with the kids and then head off campus to find quasi-healthy munchies elsewhere. A quick perusal told me we’d be just fine in the Baylor cafe. Our array of choices included Naked Juice, Odwalla, Odwalla bars, fruit cups, Chick-fil-a, and Mooyah burgers with avocados and mushrooms! (I really enjoyed the burger. 🙂 ) Mooyah even had a fancy computer system where you used a touchscreen to order…
-
Fruits & Veggies to Buy Non-Organic (Frugal Fridays)
We talked last week about the fruits and veggies that are important to buy organic (because they contain 47-67 different pesticides per serving!!). This week’s post features a nicer topic, produce that’s safe to buy the conventional version. The Clean 15 (thanks to the Environmental Working Group) Onions Avocados Sweet corn Pineapples Mango Sweet peas Asparagus Kiwi fruit Cabbage Eggplant Cantaloupe Watermelon Grapefruit Sweet potatoes Sweet onions Some of these have a strong outer layer that makes them more resistant to pesticide contamination. I’ve also read that bananas are safe to buy conventionally.
-
Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Creamy drinks are such a treat. One of my favorite fall drinks is a pumpkin spice latte, homemade! (Good for my bank acct and even better for my nutrition, since I pick the ingredients!) I made this for a party with some friends last fall and they loved it! I got lots of requests for the recipe, so I thought I’d share it with you! I especially love recipes that are quick and easy, and this one definitely qualifies! Ingredients: 2 cups raw milk 2 tablespoons fresh pureed pumpkin 2 tablespoons organic sugar 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1 cup of strong brewed coffee (optional)…
