What Is Up and What Is Down.

To say that this has been a busy season of life for me would be a little bit of an understatement.  I've got a lot to tell you about, but I'll keep it short, because I've got more interesting things I should write about, like the grain-free granola I made this week...

This semester was my last of undergrad.  I knew Senior Spring would be very busy and it was.  Besides classes I tried to do as much as possible (not knowing how long I would really still be in California) like hanging out with my friends, going new places, and trying to figure out the next step for after graduation.  The latter was the most hard.  I know my passions, but couldn't figure out how i should use them.  For years I have been thinking about pursuing graduate work in nutrition or going to medical school to become a Naturopathic doctor.  As the semester unfolded it was looking like I was going to stay in California (not move home to the East Coast), find a job, work, and save up some money before going on to whatever graduate school path I decide.  So I applied to jobs, I applied to internships, (one of them was on a old agricultural estate, ie, an organic working farm in Tuscany, Italy), but nothing worked out.  Then during Spring Break I was visiting a friend and I was in the area of an naturopathic school and so I decided to visit.  It really opened my eyes, and when I got back to school I applied to three different naturopathic schools in three days.  And so from the beginning of April to the beginning of June, I juggled finishing up undergrad and planning for medical school in the Fall.  This preparation largely consisted of visiting all three schools for personal interviews.  I traveled to Tempe, AZ,  then to Seattle, WA, and after graduation, to Portland, OR.  All of this within a mere six week period.  I was admitted to all three schools, and given scholarships to two.  And so I am officially, officially, going to naturopathic medical school.  I know this is what God wants me to do.  I feel so much peace and excitement when I think of pursuing this new path.  I'm doing this because I believe He has given me talents and a calling.  My arms are open and I am excited for everything new and all the adventures that await me around the bend.

And that explains just why you haven't been hearing for me.  On top of all that my parents are moving, and my older brother is having TWINS next month.  My life is very full right now, which is such a blessing.  So dear reader, know that I am busy, and with all these changes in my life I have no idea what path my blogging is going to take.  Lately it's been the last thing on my mind.  I still cook and bake, and I still read my favorite food blogs, but as anyone who blogs will tell you, blogging takes time and effort.  After a long day lifting boxes or making phone calls or studying, sometimes is the last thing I'd like to do.  Thanks so much for all the comments you've left over the last few months.  It is so great to know that my recipes are making a difference in your lives.  That's why I have this blog.  Helping people make something taste good and have it work for their dietary restrictions and also be healthy (which they thought wasn't possible), really gets me excited.  Keep reading, and I promise you I will keep sharing.  It may not be as frequent, as you've already witnessed, but I will share.  Thanks for sticking around!  I am excited for what's next!  And if you don't already, try following me on Twitter... sometimes I can more easily update that than write a post.

I hope to get a few recipes up this week... stay tuned!!

Sunbutter Chocolate Raisin Bars

As I promised last week, here is another delicious protein bar! These are a spin off of my favorite Nourishing Protein Bar recipe. I was in a rush to make them, felt like experimenting, wasn't in a "recipe mood," so I just started throwing some ingredients together. I never officially wrote down the recipe measurements since I decided to wing it, but here are some estimates. Most of my bar recipes are very forgiving and you can always adjust if the "dough" is too wet or too dry, by adding more oil or nuts. It's fun to experiment in the kitchen!

Raisins and chocolate = yum!

Sunbutter Chocolate Raisin Bars

    1/2 cup organic Sunbutter or any organic sunflower seed butter

    1/2 cup organic dates
    1/4 cup organic prunes
    2 large organic turkish figs
    1/2 cup organic brazil nuts
    1 cup organic coconut flakes
    1/4 cup 100% unsweetened cocoa baking chips
    1/2 cup organic cacao powder
    1/4 cup organic coconut cream concentrate
    2 Tbsp organic coconut flour
    2 Tbsp molasses
    2 Tbsp raw honey
    2 tsp vanilla extract
    pinch: sea salt, cinnamon
    2 Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars, for melting
    Raisins, for topping

To make your bars:
1.  Place all ingredients (except the last two) into the food processor and whiz. Pulse the first few times, and when most of the ingredients are the same size, whiz until it all comes together. Taste and adjust as needed :)
2.  Press down hard into a baking pan (I used a round cake pan). Sprinkle raisins on top and press in those too.
3.  Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Pour over pressed down bar mixture and spread evenly with a cake spatula. Freeze or refridgerate until chocolate is hard. Let bars warm to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Since I used a round pan, mine came out like wedges!

Have a happy healthy snack (and dessert)! I love these bars. They really satisfy my want for chocolate, healthy fats and a slightly sweet treat all in one bite!

Red Vegetable Soup

Waiting to share this recipe with you has been agonizing! The original post was actually created on April 8th! I did not have lots of time over the school year, and so I am finally posting up this wonderful dish. This recipe is probably one of the simplest dishes I have ever made, and yet it is extremely flavorful. It stands as one of my most favorite meals I have ever had. I love this soup! I know you will too.

I created the recipe when on vacation in La Jolla over spring break. It was an instant hit in our family. I vowed to make it went I returned home, I did, and it was just as tasty as before! I made up a ginormous batch last week and had it with extra pulled roast chicken for dinner each night before my early morning bakery shifts. It was nice and easy on the tummy, satisfying and so delicious. [Notice the yummy crispy roasted chicken skin in the picture.]

Roasted Chicken and Roasted Red Vegetable Soup

3 large sweet potatoes, washed and quartered

2 large red peppers, washed, seeded and halved

3/4 large vidalia onion, peeled and quartered

1 bag of organic carrots, cut off ends and washed

1 small fresh chicken

4 cups chicken stock

olive oil as needed

real butter as needed

salt

pepper

To make your soup:

1. Open chicken from bag, rinse well with warm water. Take out the giblets/organs and set aside.

2. In a large roasting pan (for oven), place chicken in the center and cut up veggies around the chicken on the sides.

3. Sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Pour olive oil over the top and rub into the chicken, top and bottom.

4. Arrange the red peppers so that they have the skins down and the insides facing up, making a cup shape. Place the rinsed giblets inside.

5. Drizzle veggies with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes, then add about a cup or more of chicken stock and cover, roasting until vegetable are tender and chicken juices run clear.

7. Remove pan from the oven, let the chicken rest in a separate dish lightly covered with foil for about 10 minutes as you prepare the soup.

8. On the stove top, bring remaining chicken stock up to a simmer on medium heat. Take the cooked vegetables and place into a food processor, blender or Vitamix and process in batches until totally pureed. [You can also place all the cooked vegetables right into the pot with the stock and use a hand blender, I think this method works best.] Add 2-4 Tbsp of butter, and salt and pepper to taste to the soup and simmer until ready to serve.

9. Uncover the chicken and break it down, separating the wings, thighs and cutting off the breast meat. Save the bones for making stock later and remove as much of the meat and fat from the bones as possible. Be frugal!

10. Serve the soup in bowls, with chicken on the side. Or if you prefer, you can shred the chicken further and stir it into the soup.

This picture is from our stay in La Jolla. I served the soup and chicken with roasted spaghetti squash and some local gluten free cornbread. I was more than satisfied, however, with just soup and chicken.

Be sure to serve this soup with lots of real butter, because the good fats in the butter help you absorb all of the nutrients from the vegetables, like fat soluble vitamin A.

One final note: This is a thick, pureed soup. For a thinner consistency, add more chicken stock, water or raw cream.

-Update 2/23/10-

Here are the most recent photos of the version I made when I was at home.

Breakfast Ideas

Sometimes I feel like I am stuck in a rut when it comes to breakfast. The normal person tends to grab anything they want, and they usually do not even care about it's nutritional value! But since I have a different food philosophy, I know that this is not an option. I want to eat food that nourishes my body. Food that is gluten free and soy free, local, sustainable. REAL traditional foods that our grandma's and grandpa's used to enjoy. Nothing that's packaged, genetically modified or is something you can't pronounce. Food that is traceable back to it's source. Food in its simplest possible form. Food that is alive, not dead.

Nutrient dense, healthy and delicious food is what I crave. I don't eat wheat, or soy. I avoid sugar and conventional dairy products like the plague. I don't eat very many grains. Most surprising thing of all? I don't miss it, and I don't focus on the food I can not or will not eat. There is so much REAL food out there in the world! Vegetables, raw dairy, cultured/fermented food, properly raised meats, traditionally prepared whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, real fats, real eggs. The list goes on!

When it comes to breakfast, I love to chop things up and throw it all together in a bowl to savor - there are so many flavors, why not have fun? But when not doing a breakfast bowl, I love to have roasted vegetables and eggs (fried, scrambled, baked) for breakfast.

My favorites list:

goat whole milk yogurt

raw whole milk

butter

cinnamon + other spices

rice protein powder

bananas

raspberries, blueberries, strawberries

watermelon

pineapple

raisins

dried apples

cocoa nibs

organic coconut flakes

raw honey

organic maple syrup

walnuts, almonds, macademias, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, hazelnuts

sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, chia seeds

oatmeal

soaked granola

The mix in the above picture is: warmed and crumbled Upside-down Creamy Sweet Potato Breakfast cake, with fresh raspberries, goat milk yogurt, cocoa nibs, organic coconut flakes, cinnamon, pinch salt, raisins, and chia seeds. Delicious! Buying a few ingredients and mixing them up makes the combinations endless :) It stops the boredom of breakfast on a budget short!

And this? This you say? THIS is my very first Green Monster (smoothie). I have heard so much about it from Kath's and Emily's and Sarah's blogs that I just had to take the plunge! I used my handy dandy Hamilton Beach multipurpose hand blender - so the consistency was not super smooth, but after a little bit of a fight, it worked!!

Green Monster

The components:

~3 cups spinach - I have no idea because I was stuffing my tupperware full (thanks cafe!)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

some scallions (yes I am that adventurous even on the first time!)

1 frozen small banana

~2 oz goat milk yogurt

aloe vera juice for liquid

To make your green monster:

1. Place all ingredients in blender, or bowl.

2. Blend on high until mixed together!

3. Eat with a spoon or pour into a glass! Enjoy.

This was for today's lunch. I made a lot and couldn't finish it all! You might notice that the recipe is lacking protein-- I opted to have 2 HB eggs on the side instead of going for my rice protein powder. I have to admit that my first Green Monster wasn't a total success, but I loved how it gave me so many good nutrients and is easy to digest on my tummy. I will be experimenting further in the future!!

By the way, my phone is dead/has officially died. Pray for me as I navigate the world without technology. It's more difficult than you would realize!

Power Outages and Omelettes

Once upon a time, the power went out at Biola. So, we went to my friend N's house and I got to make some breakfast. My friends R + K were so wonderful and they let me make them an omelette. They gave me full creative freedom [insert Hallelujah Chorus here]. They said it was delicious!

Here were the components - try to replicate it in your own homes!

Eggs

Milk

Baby Spinach - chopped

Cherry tomatoes

Feta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Spices:

Cayenne Pepper

Nutmeg

Basil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Bon Appetit!

Nourished Breakfast

Mhmm... don't we all need a good start to the day every now and then? I feel that breakfast is the highest offender in terms of nutrition in the typical American diet. Grains, sugar, industrial fats, processed dairy, empty calories. Those of us who have discovered real food have found a more nourishing and tastier way to eat. Why did we ever eat that other stuff before?

I whipped up this recipe this afternoon after a long day of class - prelab - lab. Lab was an adventure, I got to see my heart beat, because we did EKGs! In one portion of the procedure, we had to raise our heart rate to see the difference between that and resting state. I had to run out of the building and around a part of campus to get my heart rate up enough! (I had electrodes stuck to both legs and one arm, and I took off my Rainbows so I could run easier -- I must have been a funny sight to watch: a crazy girl running barefoot around campus with funny things stuck to her arms and legs!) I tried doing stairs but soon after my heart returned to normal rate. I am happy to have a healthy heart!

This is very similar to my breakfast carrot creation, and my fruity vegan oatmeal bake. I like doing these nourishing breakfast "quick breads." They are easy to make and give me an easy option for a college student breakfast on the go. This version uses roasted sweet potatoes, which I surprisingly happened to have on hand.

Upside-down Creamy Sweet Potato breakfast cake

(It's kinda like baked oatmeal meets sweet potatoes! and you know me, I always must have some creative name.)

2 cups soured raw milk + 1 1/2 cups GF rolled oats - mix well, place in glass jar, cover loosely with a dishtowel, set in an undisturbed spot to ferment and soak for 3 whole days

1 cup pureed sweet potatoes - mine were cooked and I even pureed the skin

1/2 cup melted organic coconut oil

1 medium banana

1/4 scant cup raw honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup organic coconut flour

1/2 cup raisins

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 handful chopped roasted/salted macademia nuts

2 Tbsp real butter - cut into chunks

1/2 cup shredded organic coconut

To make your nourishing breakfast:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To your fermented oats add: sweet potato, banana, vanilla, raw honey and coconut oil. Puree well with a hand blender. I added my raw honey to my melted [warm] coconut oil to help make it more blendable.

3. In a separate large bowl, add: coconut flour, raisins*, leaveners, cinnamon, salt. Toss well with fingers until distributed.

4. In a 8x8 pan, rub some butter or spray with Misto to lubricate the pan on all sides especially the bottom. Place chopped macademia nuts on the bottom of the pan, followed by coconut and then distributed the chunks of butter evenly on top.

5. Combine wet oat mixture with raisin-flour mixture and stir well to combine.

6. Using several large spoonfuls, dollop the mixture on top of the coconut into the pan. Spread out evenly with a spatula, being careful not to disturb the bottom!

7. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes depending on your oven. The cake will be risen, set, have cracks and sound "bubbly," with the sides pulling away from the pan. Take out and let cool on the counter overnight. Cake will fall in or "rest" slightly. Wait to cut it until the morning, it's gooey inside :) When you take it out of the pan, flip it over and find the nuts and coconut all buttery and delicious on the bottom.

*It's important to mix the raisins with the flour. If you skip this step and just fold them in, then they will fall to the bottom of the pan while baking.

-Update 3/14/10-

This cake is dense and has a really cream consistency! I totally tastes like sweet potato! I might even try pumpkin next time! The texture is so smooth you can't even tell it has oats in it! It actually kinda reminded me of fudge :) It is not sweet, so I would suggest adding in some stevia drops and swapping the raw honey for a full 1/4 cup of organic maple syrup. The macademia nuts kinda get lost in the sweet potato flavor, so next time I will swap them for a more flavor assertive nut, like pecans or walnuts. It also seems that 1 Tbsp of cinnamon was not enough!! I will increase the amount and also add some allspice and nutmeg to warm up the flavor a bit. I definitely want more raisins too! This is totally a work in progress recipe, though some of you might like it just the way it is. Normally I wouldn't post a recipe until it's ready, but cooking is fun, and we can all learn together! Also, this recipe is a success, the flavors are just lacking a little bit, and that is easily fixed. I think the best way to eat this cake is how I did this morning - warmed for 40 seconds in the microwave (or even better use a toaster oven!) topped with real butter, extra raisins, sliced banana, cinnamon and raw cocoa nibs. Delish!

-Update 3/15/10-

I had my friend K taste test my creation. She absolutely loved it, and said she wouldn't change a thing! Her favorite part was the gooey cake part in contrast to the crunchy and chewy raisins and nuts.

I love Friday nights. I try to let it be my time to do "nothing." At least nothing having to do with school! This is my first baking endeavor of the semester. Hopefully it won't be my last, but it is time consuming and it's March (typically the month of HW horror).

Spring break is the first week of April. We have a beach house (temporarily, no we didn't buy one), and it has a kitchen! Success :) There will be cooking!!

Enjoy your yummy new breakfast option; feel free to experiment and tell me what you think!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

Happy 2010 everyone!

The recipe for this lovely ice cream actually comes from a fellow food blogger who adapted Sally Fallon's famous raw milk ice cream recipe from her book Nourishing Traditions. It was originally suited for an ice cream maker that makes only 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream, but both Kelly and I have the same ice cream maker, which makes a full 2 quarts of ice cream.

I made this recipe several times this summer since I asked for the ice cream maker as an early birthday present. I wanted to be able to use the ice cream maker during the summer before I went off to school. Mom and Dad agreed, and later everyone reaped the benefits because I made several batches of all kinds of flavors of ice cream!

The very first one I attempted was vanilla. It is so delicious!

Sally Fallon's Vanilla Ice Cream.

    recipe from Kelly

    4  egg yolks - grass-fed from our local farm

    2/3 cup  real maple syrup

    4 cups  raw heavy cream

    2/3 cup  raw whole milk

    3 Tbsp  vanilla extract

    1 1/2 Tbsp  arrowroot starch

    dash  unrefined sea salt

To make your vanilla ice cream:

  1.  In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, arrowroot, maple syrup and sea salt.

  2.  Then pour in your heavy cream and milk into the same bowl and whisk vigorously.

  3.  Pour into your ice cream maker per manufacturer's instructions.

Ice cream making tips:

  1.  Have all of your ingredients very cold. Usually taking the cream and milk from the refridgerator is fine, but for some extra quick freezing action put them into the freezer while you are assembling the other ingredients.

  2.  Don't take out the frozen ice cream bowl until you are ready to pour in your ingredients and start churning.

  3.  Insulate the top (there is a hole) by covering the ice cream maker with a "tin foil hat." This keeps the cold in and your ice cream will freeze up much quicker, around 20-25 minutes. I've found that not doing this increases churning time.

This ice cream is perfect with some homemade chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream! It is also quite versatile, since its vanilla, so try folding in your favorite ingredients... blueberries, chocolate chips, peanuts - whatever you like.

I am sorry for the lack of pictures... I never got a chance to snap some before we ate it up! After playing with this recipe a little more, I've adapted my own French Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, which is now my go-to recipe as the base for all my ice cream endeavors. Go there for some pictures! Or do you want some chocolate? Try this out.

You won't be able to keep this ice cream in the freezer!

Breakfast and Biola

I am so bummed I haven't gotten a chance to post sooner. Thing is, there really isn't anything to talk about, or anything that is "blog worthy." But I need to force myself to write something.

Now I am back at school. I have successfully completed my first week of classes. Most of my courses are the same and my schedule has the same basic structure to it. I am taking Biology and Chemistry again, no, not because I failed them, but because it is a two-part class. You have to take both CHEM 105 & 106 and BIO 111 & 112. Yup, I am taking two sciences at the same time! It was really fun last semester, (well not really), but then again it wasn't horrible. Nothing I can't deal with, it just means that I have to take less genED classes, and that means that I have to take some courses over the summer if I want to graduate on the four-year plan. That doesn't really bother me. I think it will be good to have another university experience at home.

Being at school also means that I will not be posting recipes frequently. I don't have the time or the resources to do any baking. Hopefully I will be able to do some things (which I will have to at some point to keep my sanity) but it will not be often. I downgraded my meal plan from 20 meals per week to 12 meals per week, which has been great. Breakfast is always in my room now, which I love. I have some of my own pots and pans and now I can cook some things myself. I also got this great steamer basket from Whole Foods (now I know it's cheaper elsewhere, oops) so I can steal some spinach, peppers, broccoli, zucchini etc, from the cafe and STEAM IT! Now I can also make my own oatmeal and quinoa. On Wednesday night I made some sauteed red onions and snow peas :) My diet shouldn't be so limited now. It also helps that the grocery store is an easy less than a mile walk down the street. I wish it was a VONS and not a Stater Bros. because I have a VONS card and VONS has much higher quality produce. Albertson's is also an easy walk down the opposite direction, but it's more of a hike.

I tend to eat a lot of bananas here. They are really good for my muscles and they taste like bananas, YUMMY. I have one for breakfast typically every morning, that is of course, unless my roommate H hasn't stolen one, which she confesses to me later. I think she currently has a banana debt of 2? That's fine, her banana stealing has not kept me from having my morning banana yet.

As for my muscles? Most of you know that I am trying out for the varsity volleyball team this FEBRUARY. Around the end of February I will be trying out. I am so excited but so nervous and scared of failure. God give me strength! Ever since I decided (and of course talked to the coach) I have been training hard. Running, weights, sprints, stairs, jumps, wall sits, pushups, you name it. If it's good for volleyball, I am probably doing it. All of this training makes me a little sore, yay for building muscle, and I am sure my intake of bananas helps. The potassium in bananas is what muscles need, though there is more potassium in spinach then there is in bananas!