Tuesday, November 24, 2009

{HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE}


This is the recipe that our mom always made at Thanksgiving when I was growing up, and it's one of my favorites.  As soon as I start seeing cranberries in the stores, I start craving this.  I like it way better than the canned version.

The ingredients are simple:

1 12-oz bag of cranberries (can be fresh or frozen)
1 can frozen apple-juice concentrate
1/4 can frozen orange-juice concentrate*
(1 drop stevia)

  • Combine cranberries and juice concentrate in medium saucepan


  • Heat over medium to medium-high heat, stirring every once in a while.  The juice will melt, and after about 5-7 minutes the cranberries will start bursting (you'll hear the little popping noises - it's my favorite part!).


Reduce heat and simmer on low (stirring occasionally) until it reaches desired consistency:

It will also continue to thicken a little bit as it cools. 

*I think the original recipe calls for one of the extra-large cans of apple-juice concentrate, and no orange juice concentrate, but we like it with the extra orange flavor.

**I like it tart, but you can add a little sugar if it's not sweet enough for you.

***This would probably be really good with the rolls in the last post.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

{WHOLE-WHEAT AND HONEY PULL-APART ROLLS}


(I forgot to take a picture of the rolls after they were out of the muffin tins)

This recipe is the same as our whole wheat bread, with a few changes to make it more roll-like.

2 c plain soymilk
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
4 c whole wheat flour


• Mix well and allow to sit for at least one hour (up to over night).

Proof (in measuring container with remnants of above honey):
2 T yeast
in 1/2 c warm soymilk


Add:
yeast + soymilk
2-3 c whole wheat flour
1 T egg replacer
1 T butter buds
2 t salt


• Knead on speed 2 (Bosch) for 8 minutes
• Allow dough to rise double. Punch Down.
• Allow to rise double again.
• Divide dough into 24 equal parts (half (2), half again (4), half again (8), thirds (24)).*
• Divide each roll into 3 equal balls and put all 3 balls into 1 muffin space of a greased muffin tin.
• Repeat for 24 rolls.
• Allow to rise.
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

*You could probably stretch this recipe to make 36 smaller rolls. I just wanted to cook them all at the same time, so I wanted them to fit into 2 muffin tins.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

{ SWEET POTATO PUDDING }

Mom made up this whole-foods variation of the original recipe:

1 c. water
1/4 c. raw almonds
1/4 c. dates (packed in)
1/4 t. vanilla
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 c. cooked sweet potatoes
  • Blend water through pumpkin pie spice until very smooth.
  • Add and blend sweet potatoes.


And here's the original:

This recipe is from pcrm.org. It has lots of cancer fighting beta carotene in it. We call it pumpkin pudding at our house, because one of my children thinks he doesn't like sweet potatoes. We've made it twice in the last few days and he's loved it both times. Hmm... now I have to go eat some because this post made me hungry!

1 c. cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1/2 c. non dairy milk
1/3 c. oats
1 T. maple syrup
  • Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.
  • Serve with cinnamon and nutmeg (We like ours warm).

    {PUMPKIN CHIP MUFFINS}

    These are a great fall time treat. Pumpkins (even canned) are loaded with vitamins A, C, K, and E, they have tons of antioxidants, and are high in magnesium, potassium, and iron. I love making healthy snacks!

    2 T. Ener-g egg replacer + 1/2 c. warm water, whisked (or 4 eggs)
    2 c. honey (or sugar)
    1 16 oz. can pumpkin
    1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (or oil)
    2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
    1/2 c. rolled oats
    1 T. baking powder
    1 T. baking soda
    1 t. cinnamon
    1 t. salt
    2 c. vegan chocolate chips
    • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
    • Beat eggs, honey, pumpkin, and applesauce until smooth
    • Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture
    • Fold in chocolate chips
    • Fill muffin tins 3/4 full
    • Bake for 16-20 minutes
    *I like using mini muffin pans for this, because then they are just bite size and perfect for after school snacks. You do have to adjust the cooking time (12-13 minutes usually works for me.)
    *I don't always use honey- this last time we used 1/2 c. agave nectar, 2/3 c. sucanat, and 1/2 t. stevia and it worked great.
    *These are better than the picture looks! I'm not a food photographer.

    Note from Rebekah: We love these. I always make them with 1 c. honey and 1/4 t. stevia. It works great!

    Sunday, November 1, 2009

    {HALLOWEEN... (A LITTLE LATE)}

    The fireman picking out his loot
    I meant to post about Halloween a couple days ago (thanks Angela for the suggestion) but I ended up in the hospital having a baby instead. Now that we're back and settling in I thought I'd share what our family does- but I don't really have any great ideas. If you have any, I'd love to hear!
    I am not a huge fan of Halloween, just because of all the junk and all the scary evil stuff. But I do love that the kids get to dress up and be something fun for a couple of days. I don't see an easy way to have my children avoid all the candy that comes around this time of year, but we do try to limit it. One of our favorite healthy treats during the fall are pumpkin chip muffins*. If I have those around, it satisfies everyone's need for treats and lets us forego some of the less healthy stuff. We try to always take healthy treats to friends and neighbors (like if we get "booed") so that we don't have to buy or make junk.
    As far as trick-or-treating goes, we go and have fun and then when we get home the kids get to pick out 10 pieces of candy to keep. We might have to increase that number in the future, but it has worked great so far. They never complain, because that's actually a pretty big pile of candy if you think about it- especially when people are handing out full size candy bars. My 5 year old kept saying this year (after picking out his 10 pieces) "I get to eat all of this?" We then let them choose when they want to eat it, so if they eat it all in one day that's their choice.
    One thing we do always try to do is explain why we prefer to eat healthy, and why the "junk" doesn't make us feel good. Before my daughter's class Halloween party this year, I reminded her that she tends to get a stomach ache if she eats too many treats and she will probably be happier if she only chooses a few things. I have no idea what she ended up eating, but at least she was reminded. In the end it's their choice but I hope they are learning along the way.

    *I just went through the blog and couldn't find the recipe for the pumpkin chip muffins. I thought for sure I had posted it before. I will get that on here soon, because they are good!