Wednesday

What are you drinking each day?

Read this article: Still hungry? It could be that fructose in your drink.  It is a great inspiration to change what you choose to drink in 2013.  Are sweet drinks okay to be consumed occasionally, sure!  But too often they are a part of our daily and weekly routine.  They are causing drastic effects on our health that we cannot see until later down the road when our bodies have begun developing degenerative disease.

So what are some good drink choices?  
*Water is top on the list - consume 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day (150 lbs = 75 ounces of water)
*Herbal tea with a small amount of raw honey or stevia to add a little sweetener 
*Pero or caffix to replace acidic coffee 
* Kombucha

The liquid that you put in your body on a daily basis will either help you fight disease or promote it!

Saturday

Roasted Vegetable Chili

4 cups crushed tomatoes
4 cups fire roasted tomatoes
4 cups cooked red beans
1 acorn squash
1 bell pepper
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup broccoli
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic- minced
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups cooked rice of your choice!

Preheat oven to 350. Chop cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, acorn squash and onion into pieces. (You will need to cut the skin off of the acorn squash first before chopping.) Place on a pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Add minced garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir well. Place in the oven. Roast vegetable about 20 minutes until tender. Stir them around every 5-10 minutes as they are roasting. Remove from the oven.

If you like the size of your vegetables the way you cut them, just put them straight into a stockpot. If not, you can place them in the food processor and pulse them a few times then place them in a stockpot.

Add all other ingredients. Simmer on medium to low until ingredient flavors meld together. I simmered mine for about 20 minutes.

Serve over rice!

**Adapt the ingredients to your taste and what is in your refrigerator or available at your local market.  I just used what I had on hand!

Sunday

Polenta Pie!

1 cup stone ground corn (grits)
1 cup black beans
1/2 cup organic salsa
1/2 cup cheese (your favorite!)
1 clove garlic - minced
1 T Bragg Liquid Amino

Cook grits according to package directions. Immediately add garlic, Bragg, and salt & pepper to taste. Pour into a 9 inch pie pan. Spread black beans and salsa on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil dish until cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and allow dish to sit about 20 minutes before serving.

Cut into pie wedges and serve with avocado dip and chips!

Alterations- you can line the pie pan with a tortilla, add avocado/sour cream/cilantro/green onions/ etc. I just use what I have on hand each time!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cup whole grain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c pumpkin purée
1/3 cup olive or coconut oil
2 eggs (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon/nutmeg/clove combination*
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine wet ingredients; add dry. Stir until just combined. Bake at 350 for @ 15-18 minutes!

I baked these in a mini muffin pan. I usually double the recipe. They freeze well (although mine usually disappear before that can happen).

*Nutmeg and clove have a stronger more intense flavor than cinnamon. I put 1/4 a tsp of nutmeg and clove and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Thursday

Banana Chocolate Chip Mookies

Ingredients:
2 cups freshly ground flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil- melted
2 bananas- smashed
1 egg (optional)
1/4-1/3 cup mini chocolate chips or carob chips (or dried fruit)
1/4 cup natural sugar (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Smash bananas on a plate until they are thoroughly combined.  Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until mixed well.  Place spoonfuls on a baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes.

I usually do not put added sugar in them.  The bananas and chocolate chips give them a sweet taste.  If you are used to eating foods sweet, you might enjoy a little additional sugar.  You could replace the chocolate chips with dried fruit as well!

We call these mookies (muffin cookies) since they are soft like a muffin but shaped like a cookie!

Monday

Veggie Chili


Ingredients:
16 ounces black beans - cooked
16 ounces red beans - cooked
16 ounces pinto beans - cooked
32 ounces tomatoes (I used ones I had canned this summer)
8 ounces tomato paste
1 package of Quorn cumbles (meat substitute)
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp oregano
1 T basil 
salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Combine all ingredients into a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes.  

Tips - I soak and cook my beans.  It is more cost effective, healthier, and more environmentally efficient  (without the cans to throw away!).  I typically cook a pot of beans every 10 days or so.  I freeze what we have leftover and use them later.  They are great to keep in the freezer to be used in recipes!

If you don't have one of these ingredients, substitute with something else!  Get creative!

Friday

Cranberry Harvest Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups whole grain flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t ginger
1-2 t cinnamon
1 1/4 cups almond milk
1/4 cup coconut oil - melted
1/2 cup soft fruit (figs, cooked pears, bananas, etc)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup nuts (optional)



Directions:
In a mixing bowl, put flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until ingredients are combined. Make a well (hole) in the middle of the flour mixture and add the other ingredients. Stir gently until combined. Place in muffin tins. Bake for 18 minutes on 350.

Note- I grated fresh ginger instead of using powdered. I had sliced pears I had put in jars a few weeks ago, so I used those. (I chopped them up.) You could use fresh cranberries when they are in season as well!  These will freeze well, so you can double the recipe and have them later, too!

I used freshly ground soft white wheat flour.  We have a Nutrimill grain grinder and order our whole grain from a local health food store!  You can also purchase whole grain flours at a local store already ground.

Saturday

Homemade Whole Grain Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:
4- 4 1/2 cups whole grain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp celtic sea salt
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups water
2 T vital wheat gluten
1 T yeast
1/8 cup cinnamon
1/8-1/4 cup turbinado



You need a mixer with a dough hook to make this recipe as well as a rolling pen (or get creative with something that could roll out dough!). (You could knead it by hand.  I have never tried it that way to give you feedback with this recipe.)   Place first 6 ingredients into the mixer and mix on medium speed until combined.  Then add the yeast.  Leave mixer running for about 5-7 minutes until dough begins to "peel" away from the sides of the mixer.  The dough should still be sticky.  If it looks dry.  Add 1 T of water at a time until it begins to combine well and be slightly sticky.

When finished mixing/kneading, turn mixer off and allow dough to sit while you are getting the next step ready.  You can either using a pastry board or the counter to roll the cinnamon rolls out onto.  Sprinkle a layer of flour onto your surface to keep the dough from sticking.  (You will need to add more flour throughout the process when the dough sticks to your rolling pen or surface.)

Choose a pan in which to place your cinnamon rolls.  A 9 inch round pan works well for this recipe.  (If you double or triple the recipe you can use a larger pan.)  Place oil in the bottom of the pan and spread it around to prevent sticking.  Grease the sides as well.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Now, remove dough from the mixing bowl, and place it on your surface.  Sprinkle with flour to keep rolling pen from sticking.  Roll dough into a rectangle.  Make it about 1/3-1/2 of an inch thick.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar evenly over this surface.   On the "long end" begin on one end to roll the dough.  Continue to roll the dough all the way across and start over again until you have finished.

Then, simply cut the cinnamon rolls in 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Place them in your pan, touching each other.  Allow them to rise until they have doubled in size (usually about 30 minutes).  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cover with icing.

ICING:
1/2 block of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 fresh strawberries
1 tsp almond flavoring
2 T almond milk (if icing is too thick)

Blend all ingredients well in the mixer.  This will store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.  It will make more than you need so you will have additional icing for another batch!

TIP:
1. I tripled the recipe.  It made 2 loaves of bread and a large pan of cinnamon rolls!
2. I am trying to get better at using what I have and at least trying an idea immediately instead of putting it on my To Do list.  For example, if you do not have the right kind of sugar for this recipe, just use what you have for now.  If you don't have cream cheese, just use powdered sugar and strawberries or combine greek yogurt and honey.  Get creative and use what is easily available to you.  You can do it differently next time but chances are, what you make will be just as good, and you may even like it better!