08.29.2016

Delicious Peppermint Smoothie

Peppermint is one of my favorite flavors!  I have fond memories of indulging in York peppermint patties, Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, and those Christmas peppermint nougat candies … and, errr, not being able to stop myself from eating more and more and more.

Obviously those aren’t the most healthy food options out there …

BUT, what if you could combine this wonderful peppermint flavor with healthy eating?!!

Introducing: The Magnificent Peppermint Smoothie! IMG_3121

 

Last week I wrote about all the amazing benefits of the superfood kale.  (Click here to read.)  In this article I detail how the nutrients in kale will work for your body to fight against things like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and eye-sight failure, and a myriad of other health conditions.  Today, I want to show you one of the many ways that my family has chosen to incorporate this awesome vegetable into our lives.  Let me share with you our peppermint smoothie!

Ingredients: IMG_2144

  • 1 cup coconut milk (I like full-fat coconut milk because it gives a thickness that resembles ice cream!  Mmmm)
  • 1 Tbsp honey (or more to reach desired sweetness)
  • 1-2 handfuls of kale
  • 30 peppermint leaves or 1-2 drops of Peppermint essential oil
  • Dark chocolate (or carob), chopped or shaved into small piecesIMG_3303
  • A dash or two of salt
  • about 10 ice cubes

 

 

 

 

Directions: 

I love using the Nutri Ninja individual cup for quick and easy blending and cleanup!  (Get yours here.)  You could always use a regular blender as well, but you may want to double the peppermint smoothie recipe to fill the blender a bit higher.

  1. Toss all of your ingredients, except the ice, into the cup and blend for about 10-12 seconds.  This should be enough to incorporate all the ingredients together.
  2. Add in the ice cubes and blend again.  This addition will make the shake nice and thick and ice-creamy!  (You don’t want to add the ice cubes right away, because it can cause the honey to solidify into one big glob, and not distribute the sweetness evenly) IMG_2145
  3. Stir in chocolate pieces or sprinkle on top.
  4. Enjoy this delicious smoothie while delighting in the fact that you’re feeding your body such nutritious food! IMG_3141

 

**Anne Warren is a wife & mother who loves blogging about healthy food (inside & out)!  She has had her own health struggles throughout the years, yet she is thankful that it has brought her to a place of better health.  He health struggles have helped her gain an understanding that the things she puts into her body – both physically and spiritually – will indeed have a huge effect on her overall energy and wellbeing.  She shares with you here today because encouraging others is a great passion! IMG_7579

If you are interested in getting more of her recipes, please check out her blog at www.foodthatsatisfies.com.

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10.30.2013

Soaked brown rice flour Pumpkin muffins

Soaked brown rice flour Pumpkin muffins

The cool, crisp fall air brings out the “bakers”. They gather up their beloved pumpkin and spices and churn up their oven. The smell of cinnamon and the cold cups of milk await the treat in the oven. Soaked brown rice pumpkin muffins are the perfect fall treat. They are healthy, nutritious, and can be a quick breakfast or after school snack.

Baking time

This recipe has been in a folder almost a year now, along with about 20 other recipes. Why have I not published them? Because I lost the coconut oil-sticky-honey stained recipe scraps. Am I the only one who does this?  Good news, I just found them all and I promise to write them up for you now that baking is “in season”. You know what I mean…these cool fall days make you want to to crack open the baking cabinets and mix up some yummy treats to share.

GAPS and soaked brown rice

Soaked brown rice was one of the first grains my mom started to eat on the full GAPS diet, so I got a lot of practice baking with it. Im out of practice now baking anything really, but maybe getting this post out there will spark my interest and creativity again. In this post I show you how to make soaked brown rice flour from scratch.

*Remember: Don’t substitute regular rice flour, because it will end up much denser (the soaked and dehydrated kind is much fluffier). Plus, soaked grains are a must for mineral absorption.

 

INGREDIENTS:

dry:

wet:

topping:

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add rice flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, clove, and ginger in a mixing bowl.
  3. Combine dry ingredients well with a whisk.
  4. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl (honey, pumpkin, apple sauce, water, eggs, melted butter, vanilla bean, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar).
  5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix until combined.
  6. Line stainless steel muffin tin with non bleached parchment paper muffin cups.
  7. Fill up tins 3/4 full.
  8. Cook in oven. 15 min for mini muffins. 25 minutes for regular muffins.
  9. Mix coconut butter and cinnamon until smooth. Top warm muffins with coco-butter mix you just made.
  10. Enjoy with a glass of homemade coconut milk, or raw milk!

 

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04.05.2013

Baked Molasses Apples

This is a simple recipe to bake for breakfast or a simple dessert. I kept the ingredient list very open ended because it really matters on your preference of sweetness and how many apple you have on hand.

You can serve it with raw cream or blend it into a nice rich “apple butter puree”.

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Why should you eat Molasses?

The other day my mom was craving molasses, I could not help it- I HAD to know why. I found out some cool facts. Let me share. I found a spoon full goes along way and is a nutritional powerhouse!

-High in manganese “helps support thyroid and keep blood sugar levels even”.

-High in Iron “needed for energy and helps transport oxygen from the lungs to EVERY cell of the body!”

-High in calcium:”need keep those bones strong and helps keep the colon clean by removing toxins”

 source

Baked apple butter puree.

(sorry there is no picture- my family ate it before I got a chance to take it.)

Dont just stop by making these yummy apples (or pears- do you see the 2 hidden pears in the corner?”). I used what was left over from dessert to blend in the blender or  you can use a food processor too.

1. Apples can be warm or cool.

2. Place apples and all juices in the blender.

3.  turn on high until a nice smooth consistency -you can leave a little chunky if you like.

4. Store in ball jars. (lasts for many weeks- the butte helps preserve the sauce very well.)

*some people in my family like the “apple butter puree” better then normal apple sauce (learn how to make it here) because it does not give them a sugar crash, and instead the fat helps them absorb the sugars a lot slower. Plus it is a lot more nutrient dense.

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INGREDIENTS:

organic apples or pears (I used 6 total) -make sure the fruit is organic because apples can be high in pesticides. If you cannot get organic, then peel them first.

organic grass fed butter  or ghee (I used 4 Tbsp)

sea salt (1/8 tsp)

organic honey or organic maple syrup (2 Tbsp) – feel free to use vanilla honey too!

organic molasses(2 Tbsp) <—not GAPS legal

filtered water  (1/4 cup)

organic cinnamon (1-2 Tbsp)

 

DIRECTIONS:

*preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Wash the fruit and cut in 1/2. Core the seeds out by making a “v” shaped wedge.

2. Lay the fruit face down in a pyrex oven safe dish.

3. Spread the softened butter on each piece of fruit.

4. Drizzle the honey and molasses over.

5. Sprinkle on cinnamon and salt.

6. Pour water in the bottom of the dish (just a little bit to steam the apples)

7. Place in oven for 30 minutes about.

* The apples should come out soft with a nice “syrup” on the bottom that you can spoon over the top. mmm…

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~Stay Gutsy, Caroline

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02.07.2013

Soaked brown rice pancakes

Its Pancake time! Nothing can beat the “warm butter fried pancakes with a hint of maple syrup smell”. mmm…

 

brown rice

The perfect pancake

Since we cant have any cross contamination in our kitchen (due to my sensitivities), the only way my family can use flour is if they make it themselves. Right now, we know that I am for sure I am not allergic to rice. We cant buy rice flour from the store so we decided to make our own–plus we got to soak it first–a must! Even if I could buy it, I find making rice flour is a fun process (even though I cant eat it). Plus, I know exactly where the rice is coming from.

Rice is gluten free and a good grain to introduce after GAPS has healed your gut. Are you ready to take the plunge? These pancakes are nourishing and hit the spot for a warm savory breakfast (or lunch, or dinner!).

This morning, I was looking for a rice flour recipe and I could not find one without extra ingredients like quinoa flour or xanthan gum. That only left me with one option–make my own. That is just what I did. I always strive for an easy, one bowl, fluffy pancake recipe. Who wants alot of dishes first thing in the morning?! Not me!

Why soak your rice?

I will do a separate post on how we made our own soaked brown rice flour, but for now, you can buy it from the market place-flours, grains, legumes. Why soak your grains--read about it here. Learn how soaking grains is a timeless/traditional practice. It is VERY important to soak your grains because of the anti nutrients.

*Gasp* But rice is a grain!

I know I know. Many of you are on the GAPS diet, and cannot have rice. Rice is not evil. Grains are not evil- and actually grains are healthy! Once your gut heals, rice can be very nourishing, if you prepare it the right way of course. Bookmark this recipe if you are getting close to eating sprouted rice–but are not quite ready. Im not trying to tempt you :).

Pancakes

I made pancakes for my mom as a surprise (she loved them!). She is on the GAPS diet and just introduced soaked rice. I had the idea of making soaked rice flour to make pancakes. She soaked her rice and dehydrated it. Before she woke up, I blended the dehydrated rice and made it into flour. (learn how to here!) I then mixed a few ingredients together, and hoped this mixture would make good pancakes. Voila it turned out sooooo well.

The apple cider vinegar and baking soda react. It is awesome–the batter will all of a sudden fluff up like someone just blew a ton of air into it! My favorite part. You will love this recipe if you can eat rice.

brown rice 233

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

2/3 cup soaked rice flour- buy soaked rice flour here or make your own!

2 pastured eggs

3 T Honey  or Maple syrup

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 kefir cream or kefir
.
1 Tbsp butter (for frying in)

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat together eggs in a big bowl.

2. Add in honey/maple syrup, kefir, ACV, salt, cinnamon, and soaked flour. (mix well)

3. Heat up your skillet with 1 Tbsp of butter.

4. Once everything is mixed together well, sprinkle in the baking soda. (Stir as you sprinkle and it will puff up!!)

*Don’t leave clumps of baking soda (that is why you “sprinkle”), but don’t over stir (you will know if you over-stirred, if the batter is not fluffy anymore)

5. Spoon the batter (it expands)–I would suggest 3-4 TBS– into the hot buttered pan.

6. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side until light brown.

7. Top with applesauce, raw butter, vanilla-honey, fresh fruit, GAPS chocolate chips.  Eat! yum.

~Stay Gutsy, Caroline

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09.03.2012

GAPS Apple Skillet Pancake

Where am I today?

Im guest posting at Health Home and Happiness! Come take a peek at my warm GAPS Apple Skillet Pancake! YUM. 

**a perfect “back to school” nourishing breakfast!**

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GAPS Apple Pancake <— get recipe here

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Here are the supplies I use…

Ingredients:

6 pastured eggs
½ cup coconut milk (canned/boxed or homemade)
4 medium apples
¼ cup ghee or coconut oil
¼ cup coconut flour
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp vanilla honey or (2 T honey + 1 tsp vanilla extract)

 

Unseasoned cast iron pan (I prefer to season it myself because most companies use soy or corn oil to “season” theirs.

 

 

appps

~Stay Gutsy, Caroline

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