finally, recipes!

hey hey fellas! happy monday!

i survived my 21st birthday. thank you all so much for your sweet comments! it was awesome to see new faces around here, too! hi to all my new friends (welcome!), and old friends - you guys make the world go round.

it was an absolutely wonderful day, although 18-year-old rebekah would have hung her head in shame...

i hung out with my amazing family, went for a barefoot run, napped, went to church, and hung out with an old friend. i did have a birthday sip of bourbon, and quickly remembered why my wild-child days are over... i was home by 11pm. apparently between 18 and 21, i turned into a little old grandma :)

i finally have recipes for you guys!

i've been pretty worn out the last few days, so not too much kitchen wizzardry going on here.

but i am still doing my gluten-free trial (still going strong!) and my celiac sister needs bread for school, so i got off my lazy butt to make that gluten-free sandwich bread i've been promising you all for years and years. yes, i'm irresponsible... wanna fight?

i can't believe i'm saying this... but i wrote this recipe! me! klutzy, klutzy me! i didn't have any of the ingredients called for in the recipe i was going to use, nor was it animal-free, so i winged it. it actually turned out really good!

here's my gf version of your classic whole wheat sandwich bread - soft, pliable, and a nice background to fillings, because let's be honest, sandwiches are really just vehicles for hummus, right?

gluten-free sandwich bread
makes one 9x5 loaf

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) active yeast
drizzle of honey/sprinkle of sugar
6 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons sweetener (i used a mixture of honey and blackstrap molassas, but agave is fine)
2 cups gluten-free flours, for structure (i used 1 cup teff, 1 cup brown rice)
1 cup gluten-free starch (i used tapioca)
1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

let's get cookin:
1. proof your yeast: heat your water to where it's warm to the touch (about 110 degrees), stir in a little bit of honey (or sugar), and sprinkle your yeast over top. after 5 minutes, do you have bubbles? score.
2. stir in your flaxseeds and sweetener.
3. in a separate bowl (or your mixer), combine your flour, starch, xanthan gum, and salt. sift with a fork until ingredients are combined.
4. add your wet ingredients in with the dry, and mix until you get a ball of dough (highly technical). if it seems really dry and crumbly, add a few splashes of warm water and try again.
5. plop that bad boy into a WELL GREASED 9x5 pan and let it rise until doubled (about an hour). my mom taught me to put it in the microwave with a cup of boiling water next to it so it's nice and warm... but DO NOT forget it's there and use the microwave! eek!
6. preheat your oven to 350 degrees. once it's risen, stick it in and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. let it hang out on a cooling rack for 10 minutes still in the pan, then take it out and cool it on the rack until room temp. enjoy!

i also made homemade larabars.

i've made them before, but it's been a while... and these were better anyways. i wouldn't even call it a recipe, and so many people make them i i feel silly even writing it out for you.

if you're interested, i made some with dried figs, raisins, cashews, and brazil nuts. i'm trying to expand my nut repitoire because i'm sensitive to almonds and peanuts, so they were unique! but so, so good - like healthy fig newtons (my childhood obsession).

basically, just process your nuts into fine "sand," dump them in a bowl, and process your fruit into a sticky paste. add to the nuts, and moosh together. divide into balls, and taa-daa! just make sure you use a little bit more dried fruit than nuts so they stick together. i keep mine in a container in the fridge so they don't get funky, and just throw a few in a baggie when i run out the door.

that's all folks!

tomorrow i'm gonna post an email about why i went animal-free. i wrote it in response to a sweet blogger's comment, and thought it might explain a little more about who i am and why i choose to eat the way i do.

i know people are very opinionated about vegans, and understand if you aren't interested in reading my story. i would ask you approach it with an open mind, though, because it's kinda unique! i never thought i would eat this way, either. just a head's up!

have you guys made anything interesting recently?
have you ever "winged it" and written a recipe?
-rebekah

perfect timing.

sometimes, god gives us little pick-me-ups on days we're just hanging on by a thread.

and yesterday was one of those days.

i had a much-dreaded doctors appointment that, unfortunately, went worse than i was expecting.

nothing life-altering happened... it was just really unpleasant. so when i got home, i crashed hard. seriously, it completely wore me out. i didn't really leave the couch until i went to bed.

but guess what i found on my porch last night during one of the fifty times i got up for food?

jessica from healthy exposures can apparently predict the future, because her timing in sending this package couldn't have been more perfect!

she is too generous, y'all.

after i almost peed myself over some naturally nutty white chocolate coconut peanut butter she used in one of her heavenly bowls of oats, jess was kind enough to send some my way!

jess also sent me this bar from her co-op. it's made by a local company, back home again cafe.

i had to taste-test it before i went to bed last night, and i almost fainted from excitement...

reason number two she must be psychic?

i kid you not, this bar tasted just like the inside of a fig newton - MY FAVORITE SNACK EVER.

i haven't had one in years because of the hydrogenated oils in them, but when i bit into this, i was taken back instantly. i seriously sounded like a cow in heat savoring that little bite. the rest of it doesn't stand a chance today... bwahaha.

you just really can't beat figs and almonds... except with white chocolate coconut peanut butter.

maybe. it's a close tie. i won't lie, i've spent a good amount of time lusting over the naturally nutty webpage, hopelessly dreaming of what i could do with their nut butters.

...and whadda ya know, this morning, i had an impressively large dollop on my oats.

but how good was it?

... almost that good.

girl, you are amazing! thank you so much!

i anticipate the pb showing up in breakfast every day.

if you guys haven't hopped over to her little blog, please do so!

(i've blogged about how incredible she is before...)

and she doesn't know it, but i'm jealous of her for 3 reasons:

1. she is one of the ONLY people who can rock a nose ring.

2. she takes pictures that look like they're from a pottery barn catalog.

3. she rides horses... and i'm TERRIFIED of horses. maybe one day i will conquer that fear?

finnnnnallllllly, a random but note-worthy snack.

1/2 an avocado, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, garlic powder, ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and chopped heirloom tomatoes on 3 wasa crackers.

have you guys done any blogger swaps?

would you like to???

-r

a clarification, a bar review, and a thought.

thank you guys so much for your encouragement yesterday!

i know being excited about hunger is a strange thing to think about, but after a few years of feeling like a freak with my health, just to do normal things again is such a blessing.

1. allow me to clarify something:

my links were almost the same color as my regular words, so i changed it to make it easier to see. 

sorry about the the link to the justin's nut butter giveaway being hard to see... enter for free justin's here!

2. a bar review on a bar actually worth buying.

ok, i'm probaby the last person on earth to try something from amazing grass, but i can't help it!

a) i'm a starving student, and b) they ain't cheap! but i snagged this bar buy one get one free at whole foods the other day and thought i'd give it a try.

i love that it has so many incredible ingredients packed into one little bar!

"The peanut butter protein Bar is a premium blend of organic peanuts and whey protein in a chocolate covered bar. Each bar is loaded with 12gr of protein."

270 calories
14 grams of fat (healthy omegas)
12 grams of protein
19 grams of sugar
28 grams of carbohydrates

Ingredient List: Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Dates, Whey Protein Concentrate, Organic Peanuts, Organic Rice Crisps, Amazing Grass Green SuperFood (Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach, Organic Chlorella, Organic Broccoli, Organic Acai, Organic Maca, Organic Carrot, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Organic Rose Hips, Pineapple, Green Tea, Organic Flax Lignans, L. Adidophilus, Alpha and Beta Amylase, Protease, Lipase, Lactase, Cellulase, Organic Peppermint), Natural Flavor, Peanut Extract, Organic Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt Organic Dark Chocolate Coating: Cane Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor

i usually don't do chocolate covered bars, but this one seemed pretty wholesome as far as they go. i shared it in the dark with the boy during a movie, and when i ate the next one the day after, i started cracking up... if he knew the inside was green, he wouldn't have touched it for a million dollars!

this is actually a bar i think could be a good addition to my snack rotation. i like.

have you tried it or the shake packets? whaddya think?

3. a thought.

do you guys buy all organic produce?
i grocery shop for 4: me, my mom, my little sister, and my little brother... except my sister, brother, and i are all athletes, so we eat for more like 10,000.

... so i just try to buy what i can afford.

sure, i'd love to bring home the organic produce section of whole foods everyday, but there's no way i could fit that into my budget.

so what is really important to be organic, and what isn't?
if you're like me, you have a limit budget for food, but you want to make the best choices with your money.

so what's worth the money for organic, and what can you pass on?

the dirty dozen:
you should always try to buy these organic.
they retain the highest amounts of pesticides from being sprayed with chemicals during farming.
- celery
- peaches
- strawberries
- apples
- blueberries
- nectarines
- bell peppers
- spinach
- kale
- cherries
- potatoes
- grapes

not quite as bad, but also on the naughty list?
- salad greens
- carrots
- pears
- meat
- milk
- coffee

the clean fifteen:
these are foods that are considered safe from the chemicals used in farming.
these are ok to buy regular, so go nuts!
- onions
- avocados
- corn
- pineapple
- mango
- asparagus
- peas
- kiwi
- cabbage
- eggplant
- papaya
- watermelon
- broccoli
- sweet potato
- tomatoes

want a printout of those lists to take shopping with you?

the bottom line?
do the best you can with what you have.

if you eat an apple everyday, you might consider going organic. if you only eat blueberries twice a year, don't sweat too much if they aren't organic.

think about what makes the biggest impact in your life, and stick with that. life is about making good choices, not wasting it worring about what might kill you. eat well, and live well!


do you guys think organic food is worth the price?
do you make it a priority to buy organic produce every time you shop?
- r

i made some food this weekend.

hey guys!

hope your weekend was as amazing as mine!

mine was awesome for many reasons, but let's focus on the food, shall we?
as usual, saturday was family dinner night.
but it was an unusually EXCITING dinner.

wanna know why? let me explain...
since i have been eating meat-free, i haven't encountered a single problem. no one thinks i'm weird, there's always food for me to eat, and i get plenty of protein (right girl?).

the cool thing?
my mom has gone mostly vegetarian now! she and i have had a few discussions about why i went veggie, and she's joined me! not only that, but my boy watched food, inc. and has really stepped up his eating habits (and totally supports me meat-free).
both of them are totally transforming their diets, and i'm so proud!

soooooooo, where was i? dinner, right?
for the last few weeks, mom and i have started making more meat-free meals for the family.
as a family that's lived off meat-starch-veggie for all of our lives, this is huge! so saturday was no exception.

and whose recipe did i consult for my veggie venture?

my future hubs, bobby flay of course.

my baked version of bobby's falafel

1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and rubbed dry with a towel 

4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1/2 medium onions chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons smoky paprika
2 teaspoons hot curry powder
Scant 2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- saute garlic and onion until translucent (3 minutes over medium)
- throw everything in in the food processor and pulse until roughly combined (scraping down the bowl when needed)
- form into 4 patties, pressing tightly so they don't crumble
- spray with pam and cook on your grilltop pan (or bake at 425* until brown)
serves 4.

i'm just gonna put it out there - my dad ate one, my mom and i ate one, and my boy ate two.
slam dunk.

also on the menu?

sweet potato fries,

sliced thin, sprayed with olive oil, and sprinkled with garlic powder and steak seasoning (ironic for our veggie meal, no? they're a delicious combo of seasonings!)

i may have made my boy addicted to these :)

aaaaaaaand...

you will never see me post a meal without a kitchen sink salad.

ever.

quick bar reviews:

gnu bar orange cranberry:
not bad. orange tasted a bit fake, but i had to try these for my girl!
my mom and i got a free sample at whole foods, and can't complain.

my favorite part is the bird "it works!"

i think that means heck yes this bar will (...ahem) clear you out.

raw revolution raspberry and chocolate:

my thoughts? if you NEVER eat sugar, you will be fine with this bar (i was).

otherwise? it might be a bit too "earthy" tasting for you.

a word of caution: i think it had 300 calories in it.

that might matter to you if you're trying to lose weight.

it's kinda a "meal replacement," i guess.

do you guys have family dinner traditions?
is it hard for you vegs to eat family meals?
-r

get in maa bellahh

good morning everyone!

i got over 8 hours of sleep for probably the first time in 6 months or so

... today is a great day!

(the flowers are fresh cut from my mom's garden... i love you spring!)

some foodzzzz i has been scarfin':

english muffin topped with cottage cheese, chocolate PB2, cinnamon, and a few fresh strawberries.

strawberry shortcake, anyone?

dinner on sunday - black beans, 1/2 avocado, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, a HUGE blob of salsa, and a disgusting amount of seasonings.

Q: do you guys HEAVILY season your food?

i can't just eat anything plain anymore. everything is a blank canvas now :)

OIAJ - this is a gift of god. seriously.

in the mix: 1/3 c oats, 2 tbsp oat bran, pinch salt, 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder, coffee to cook (maybe 1/2c?)

sweet, caramelly gooooooooddddddddnesss.

product review: PURE BAR cherry cashew (tj's - $1.49)

the taste was "meh." the nutritional stats were not "meh," however.

basically, it's a larabar with a few less nuts and rice protein substituted, but the calories/fats/protein is pretty similar. it's pretty nice for someone like me who tries to save their nut consumption for aforementioned OIAJ.

they are 100% raw and natural, so i would definitely keep them in mind in a pinch.

want a coupon? 

low and slow sweet 'taters, tomato sauce, hot sauce, and nutritional yeast.

two things -

1. homemade tomato sauce is INFINITELY better than canned.

... especially if you don't make it and your mom does all the work. score.

2. nutritional yeast is my new favorite non-meat protein source. i love it.

yeah, i'll jump on that blogger bandwagon.

do you guys use the website coupons, too?

hope your week's kickin' off right.

-r

ps - tonight is my cinco de mayo cooking demo at whole foods with miss stephanie and miss brittany!!!

wish me luck, and i can't wait to meet these lovely ladies.

cake wrecks

sometimes in the kitchen, you gotta make a few disasters before you appreciate a product that comes out gorgeous.
that is the story of my week this week. in fact, i got so frustrated i didn't hardly take pictures of my recipes. at all. but i will thrill you guys with the written word this week... :)



first recipe - made for my little sister who is allergic to practically EVERYTHING. she just got allergy tested again and discovered a few more things she needs to cut from her diet (namely: sesame seed, cinnamon, ALL grains + oats, and most nuts). she's actually the reason i started cooking (shoutout to my girl rach!), so i owe her thanks. her only request after ten years of eating as a nut-free celiac?  PIZZA!
p.s. - this was the ONE recipe this week that didn't fail.. but i've made it before! (cheating? nahhhh)

the gluten-free goddess's millet-buckwheat wraps 

(used as pizza crusts, i got 16 small crusts)

Whisk together the dry ingredients:
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour (i used brown rice because i was out... oops)
1/2 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (i doubled this because we're garlic addicts)
1 teaspoon thyme
(i also added in a few spoonfuls of flax to bump up nutrition... maybe 3 tbsp?)

Add in:
3 tablespoons olive oil (i used two)
1 tablespoon honey or raw agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon light tasting vinegar (i used apple cider vinegar)
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 2 eggs whisked with 4 tablespoons hot water (i just used 2 eggs)
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup hemp milk (or non-dairy milk) (i used regular milk because she can have dairy just fine)


directions: beat the wet ingredients into the dry mix until the batter is smooth. It should look and feel like a thick pancake batter (though it appears strange and goopy at first, keep beating).

rebekah's directions: i heated up our pancake griddle and made these just like pancakes. the batter was reaaaaaally thick, but i wanted them to be to make a heartier crust. to make her pizza, i headed up our pizza stone, topped the "crusts" with her favorites, and baked them for about 10 more minutes. she loved them, and they are flexible enough to use as pitas for sammies!




second recipe - last weekend was my nephew's 4th birthday party! isn't he adorable?

my sister requested a mickey mouse cake for his party, so naturally i stepped in. i picked out a recipe i KNEW could never fail me... one from Smitten Kitchen! she's pretty much a baked-goods god, so how could i go wrong? i had made this SAME EXACT cake probably 938409324 times before, so i thought it would be fine. WELLLLLLL i had a hard time figuring out how many times i needed to double the recipe to have enough batter for mickey's two layers. as well as the two layers for BOTH ears... 6 cakes in all. seems like simple math, but with the different size cake pans... it wasn't so simple (at least, not to this nutrition major!). after multiple hours of getting pissed off at lava-cake, i ended up just making one big layer cake with mickey candles (with mom's LIFESAVING help! thanks mom!). my frustration aside, it tasted great, and logan was thrilled. so this is a half-fail.

deb's best birthday cake

(bastardized by storebought frosting)

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.


(the fail-lava cake part was no fault of deb's! love her! and logan handled the chocolate frosting juuuust fine)

happy 4th, lolo!

third recipe - once again, this was for my lovely little sister. she goes to swim practice in the mornings before school, so she needs a quick boost of energy she can cram in her mouth on the way out the door (at 5am!). i adapted this recipe a lot because of all her food allergies, but it would be delicious as-is (elena uses almonds, coconut oil, and tops it with chocolate (!!!)) the texture when i make them is similar to a larabar. the recipe wasn't a fail, but it took me about 65 times as long as it should have because my brain apparently decided to VACATE my head and i kept forgetting where i put things, measuring wrong, etc. so really i was the fail!

Gluten-Free Cashew Power Bars

(original recipe from elena, adapted by yours truly)

2 cups trader joe's salted cashews
2 tbsp hemp seed
2 tbsp chia seed
½ cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
½ cup cashew butter
½ cup almond oil (i wish i had coconut oil!)
1 packet stevia
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


1. process cashews, seeds, shredded coconut, and cashew butter in a food processor for 10 seconds
2. gently melt almond oil in microwave, then mix with stevia, honey, and vanilla
3. add melted oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste
4. chill in refrigerator for hour, until mixture hardens up some
5. spoon heaping tablespoons into plastic wrap, portion, and freeze until snackin' time :)

elena suggests it makes 20 bars, but i got 14 good portions out of this. gluten-free, nutritious, tastes like cookie dough, and around 200 calories. perfect in the mornings with a banana out the door.

in the end... this was NOT a fail! :)

after a LONG recipe recap and blogger absence, i present to you: the EATS!

kashi bar - eaten on the run to logan's party. i bought these for my sugar-junkie dad a while ago in an attempt to help him manage his blood sugar. i think he thought they were ok, but not sweet enough.

duh.

i kinda thought the opposite - they just tasted like nuts and oats glued together with sugar to me. but i'm not a big bar fan. other than larabar = love.

mama and i at the party, after cutting the DRAMATIC FAIL cake (see above).

we're both pretty wiped out.

and now,

i have a confession to make. i have an obsession. it's a healthy one! sorta. but when is an obsession ever healthy? isn't that the definition of obsession is that it's not a healthy relationship!?!

ah, i digress.

y'all, i'm obsessed with egg wraps. like, no joke. i cannot get enough. i eat one everyday! i would eat more than one if i could affort to buy all those cartons of egg whites from costco.

love love love.

here's one...

with my new peach and mango salsa! more on that tomorrow.

and with avocado... omg.

with salt, pepper, and laughing cow garlic and herb flavor.

'gasm.

as the lovely miss katie would say... the money shot.

prob with laughing cow and garlic powder.

why not!?

and another obsession/habit/love of mine:

cottage cheese, stevia, and annie's graham bunnies.

my version of cookies and cream ice cream (my absolute fave when i ate sugar)

love them.

and a really REALLY dumb question:

what the heck is this???

i bought it at whole foods SOLELY because i had no idea what it was. it rang up "mango" on the receipt, but i've never seen a yellow mango? the only one i've ever seen here in va is the green/reddish mangoes, but i may just be an ignorant fool.

that's highly likely, actually....

the only thing i know is that it tasted incredible. like i-wanna-snack-my-face-off incredible. fruit from heaven!

phew! and lastly:

QUESTION FOR YOU BEAUTIES!

when you make a recipe and it fails, what do you do? quit? try again? revamp/modify the recipe? pick a different recipe!?

- r