RECIPES Archives • Page 53 of 68 • New Nostalgia

Balsamic Vinegar + Pomegranate Mist For Salads! Yum!

I have been eating soup and salad almost daily since my diagnosis. It is a great way to get most of my vegetable servings in. I have loved experimenting with my salads, the goal always to have lots of different colors going on for maximum health benefits.

I have been on the lookout for the perfect salad dressing, and have not been too happy. There are so many in the grocery store that have high fructose corn syrup in them, or bad oils that I do not want cloggin’ up my body. The non-fat versions crank up the sugar, in an effort to add the taste back in that is missing, once fat is removed. The few that I did find that were healthy enough, lacked in the taste department.

Because of all this…I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW FIND!!

Hello

Gourme’ Mist!!

I was at my local health food store and a cool- looking mist bottle among their salad dressings caught me eye. It said “Balsamic Vinegar + Pomegranate.“ I love both flavors. I looked at the ingredient list and guess what is in it??

~100% Barrel Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Medena, Italy
~Pomegranate Juice

Just 2 ingredients! Isn’t that a beautiful thing?? Another beautiful thing is that each bottle contains 384 servings! They are super fun to use–pump 5 times and then spray.

The mist bottle is very cool. So very convenient. I looked it up on Amazon.com to see if I could get it any cheaper, and if it comes in any other flavors. It does. They have just plain Balsamic, Balsamic and Raspberry, Olive Oil Mists, ect. I noticed they also come in a half size, which would be perfect to throw in your purse to use on the go.

I cut some pepper strips and broccoli florets for a snack, and had a whole bunch of fun spraying them. It is really, really tasty– so much flavor! I plan on drizzling my salads with some olive oil, then giving them a mist. Simple and healthy.

It is a bit pricey- I paid 7.99 for it- but the amount of servings in a bottle helps justify that, plus I plan on re-using the bottle by filling it up with olive oil or my own balsamic vinegar. I’ll make up for the pomegranate part by sprinkling my salads with pomegranate seeds.

If you wanted to save money, you could skip the Gourme’ Mist all together and just purchase a spray mist bottle like this one, then fill it with your own Balsamic Vinegar.

RECIPES/ Sides

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas!!

**This is a guest post from my girl Erin @ A Bird And A Bean
I just made her recipe tonight and I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!! My Todd is too, they are so crunchy and awesome, we loved them.

From Erin @ A Bird & A Bean

I found this recipe in the January issue of All You. I seriously love these little things. I’m eating them right now! They are so easy and you can flavor them with ANYTHING you want. We’re on New Year’s Resolution diets around here and so these are GREAT for me. I crave ‘crunchy and salty’ way more than ‘sweet’, so these are perfect!

They’re really good for you, too. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a great source of folic acid, fiber, and protein. Plus they provide an excellent source of molybdenum, which is a trace mineral that’s needed for the body to detoxify sulfites! (I need this since sulfites are in red wine!)

I made them for our football party last night and it really kept me from eating junk. You can flavor them with any spices you like. I am posting the recipe just as it is in All You, but I’ve seen lots of different versions online.

I used Curry powder and Chinese Five Spice (a spice blend with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cassia and ginger…it has all five flavors that we can taste in it) in my batch last night and I LOVE ’em. I used Garam Masala (an Indian spice blend that has yummy cumin, coriander, cardamom, pepper and cinnamon) last week and that was super tasty too. I figure using these fun spices makes this little snack even healthier since things like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon etc…. are so good for helping to prevent cancer, diabetes, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s.

I might try using a packet of chili seasoning to make a more “normal” version for the hubby next time. 🙂 I think a sweet and salty ‘kettle corn’ version would be good too. All you would need to add is a little sugar and a little salt.

Prep Time: 2 minutesBake: 50 minutesYield: 2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)Cost per Serving: $.36

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 15 1/2-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained, thoroughly patted dry

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and toss to coat thoroughly. Turn chickpeas out onto baking sheet and roast, stirring or shaking baking sheet often, until chickpeas are browned and crunchy, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before serving, stirring occasionally.

Brunch/ RECIPES

Oatmeal Fully Loaded

**Guest Post by Julie from Color Chic

Growing up I remember my Grandma cooking the best oatmeal, creamy delicious with lots of brown sugar & butter and always served with buttered toast! Not sure if the health benefits of the oatmeal balanced eating all that butter, but it sure was good! This morning I decided to make a healthier version of Grandma’s Oatmeal– Oatmeal Fully Loaded! Of course you start with Quaker Oats:

Put in a pan and cover with cold water, cook until soft (sorry but I don’t measure, just add water about 1/2″ above oats). If it doesn’t look like you have enough water you can always add more:

Once cooked add apples, currents, pecans, coconut, and brown sugar, Stir it in and cover for a few minutes:

The heat from the cooked oatmeal will soften the fruit just enough to make it perfect!

Top the cooked oatmeal with nonfat plain yogurt and sprinkle with cinnamon, top with just amount of warm milk that suits your taste!

Of course serve it with buttered toast, sparkling water with a splash of OJ and French Press!:

All that color and texture makes for a perfect breakfast!

Julie is an interior designer with a passion for all things colorful!

Visit her at Color Chic.

**Thank you, Julie, for this awesome post. I love oatmeal and man would I love to be sitting there at the above picture and chatting with you over its yumminess!

GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES

Vegan Pesto

**Guest Post by Jessie @ The Brown Bag

Every once and a while I get a major craving for this pasta. I love making pesto sauces, but this one is by far my favorite because of the Nutritional Yeast. It brings out an amazing nuttiness and compliments the basil so well.

If you’ve never heard of or seen Nutritional Yeast before (you can find it in the bulk food section of your health food store), it’s good stuff…especially if you’re vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian like we are. It’s a great source of protein and amino acids, gluten-free, and is rich in B-complex vitamins and folic acid.

Here’s the recipe:

1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts (other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts may be substituted)
5 cloves garlic
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Throw it all in your blender and let it rip! Toss it with your favorite whole wheat pasta and eat it up on its own or add some Italian sausage or shredded chicken if you insist on not being a vegetarian despite eating a Vegan pasta!

Other ways to utilize Nutritional Yeast:

sprinkle on salad
add to soups or stews
add it to your popcorn

——————————————–

Thank you, Jessie, for this healthy and easy recipe! I’ve always been curious about nutritional yeast, your link is very informative.

{Jessie, her handsome husband, and cutie little Sadie}

For more from Jessie, visit her blog- The Brown Bag

She just posted a recipe for Warm Sourdough Chicken Salad that looks divine!

Brunch/ RECIPES

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls As A Christmas Gift?!?

Yes, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are exactly what our neighbors and my husband’s co-workers got for Christmas! I made a quadruple batch, which made 12 pans of 6 rolls. With rising time it took most of the day, but I was able to get a lot done around the house in between batches. I only had one mis-hap, but despite that, I had a blast! I cranked the Christmas music and kept thinking about how great it was to have energy and feel good!!

I got the idea when I was at our local Dollar Tree and I spotted foil pans with lids. They came in packs of 3 for $1.00! I knew they would look pretty tied with ribbon or even with a sticky bow slapped on the top. They carry 2 sizes, the smaller size is 4 for $1.00. They would be a great size for fudge or small cookies.

I found the Cinnamon Roll recipe at AllRecipes.com. They are called “Clone Of A Cinnabon” and were rated 5 stars and had 3, 943 reviews! They were the highest rated cinnamon roll on the site, and they were full of sugar and butter, so I knew they would be good! They also use a bread maker, which I liked, but in the reviews, there are alternative directions if you do not have a bread maker.

Speaking of a bread maker, this is where my mishap came in. Cinnamon roll dough is a bit thick, which made my bread machine complain a little bit. It rattled and shook itself right off my counter, and took my eggs with it! I love how the dough stayed in the machine, safe and sound. This is one tough machine, I’ve had it for 12 years and it survived the fall.

Finished pan. Ugh, lighting. I hate taking pictures at night in artificial light! Not my cup of tea..

Tied with wire ribbon, also from the dollar store. The star tags are from Micheals.

I was really pleased with how the rolls tasted. This recipe is for sure a keeper for when I want a sugar splurge!

“Clone Of A Cinnabon”

Ingredients

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

How-Tos/ RECIPES

Trader Joes=Thumbs Up!

{click on the picture for a larger view}

We finally got a local Trader Joe’s. I went today and I’m pretty excited about what I found, and I loved their great prices, the amount of organic produce available, and the surprise of some not-so-typical items–like chocolate covered pomegranate seeds! Mmmm. Another huge plus for me? No high fructose corn syrup in their foods!

Here is what I bought today. I have a pretty full freezer, and meals are still coming for dinner, so I mostly needed produce and some snacks.

1.Bananas
We eat them sliced on cereal, spread with peanut or almond butter, or just plain. 19 cents a pound!

2. Organic Cheese Sticks
Great for getting some protein into my kids. Good for snacks or in a lunchbox.

3. Organic Spring Salad Mix
I have a salad every day with my lunch and most evenings with our dinner. I should have bought 2 bags!

4. Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
This was only 99 cents! It was in their refrigerator section. I had a friend bring a bunch of homemade tomato sauce that she froze in muffin tins and then threw the discs in a freezer Ziploc. I will use a couple of those for the sauce.

5. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
I will slice this into rounds and use it on our pizza.

6. Asparagus
I love to use these in our breakfast omelets or just sauteed’ in some olive oil, or even as a pizza topping. Leftovers are great chopped and thrown cold on top of a salad. I keep reading about how important it is for breast cancer patients to eat asparagus, so I am!

7. Brussel Spouts
Another veggie that is great for cancer. I am trying to become friends with Brussel Sprouts. As of now, I only like them when paired with way too much butter! At Trader Joes, they come in a bag that you can throw into the microwave to steam them. Easy!

8. Organic Broccoli
I usually buy and cut up myself, but the price was great on the bag of pre-cut broccoli. We eat it raw as a snack, chop it up over a salad, or I steam as a side dish.

9. Sweet Peppers
I love these. They are small, sweet and so colorful. Love the red, yellow and orange. Full of antioxidants. Great chopped over salads or in an omelet, thrown in rice pilaf or a stir fry.

10. Clementines
As I wrote about here, these are the best little snack. Great for the girls lunch box. Easy to peel, full of vitamin C.

11. Sweet Potatoes
I have the best recipe for Spiced Sweet Potatoes that I will post soon. I love to cut into wedges, drizzle in olive oil and roast them at 350 degrees along with a wedged onion and a few whole cloves of garlic. It makes the house smell great. The whole family loves them roasted this way.

12. Organic Apples
Gala for snacking. Granny Smith for juicing.

13. Sunflower Seeds
I use these to give my salads some crunch.

14. Sea Salt

15. Romano and Parmesean Shavings
I love that these are fresh. Great with crackers or sprinkled on pasta or salads.

16. French Cut Frozen Green Beans
Yum. A vegetable that all 3 of my girls will eat without grumbling!

17. Organic Carrots
We eat them cut into sticks, steamed as a side with dinner, grated onto salads. I uses them for juicing every morning.

18. Organic Whole Milk
We are not big milk drinkers so I only buy 1/2 gallon per week. We use it over cereal, in recipes or in creamed soups.

19. Multi grain Crackers
We eat them with cheese slices as a snack. I use them in my girls lunches in place of chips.

20. Olive Oil
This huge bottle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil was only $7.00. It comes with a spout, which I love.

21. Organic Whole Wheat Bread
I hope it is good, because the price sure is!

22. Avocado
I’m not a big fan of Avocados, but I know they are really healthy. I found a recipe for Avocado Salad Dressing that I am going to try.

23. Butter Sticks
I wish they had organic, but they didn’t 🙁

24. Black Peppercorns
Comes in a pepper mill. Cool.

25. Organic Beans-black, kidney and pinto
They were only 99 cents a can! We just open the can, drain and rinse. I put them out in a bowl cold and the girls will snack on them if they are just sitting there. I use them in wraps and sprinkled on salad, and in chili, of course!

26. Baking Soda
Needed some, ran out.

I was pretty impressed with the selection of frozen berries, but I didn’t need any as my freezer is full of them right now. I also really loved their nut selection and the variety of frozen vegetables.

Another thing I noticed– the workers were not in typical uniform black polyester pants-lol! They were wearing cool Trader Joe’s t-shirts and jeans. I found myself happy for them…:)

Do you have a Trader Joe’s in your area? What are your favorite things to buy from there?

Wanna know more about Trader Joe’s? Here is an interesting article about them from Fortune.

Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

The Simplicity Of Sprouting

**This is a guest post written by Kelly from The Morris Tribe. Enjoy~

During the winter months, I truly miss the fresh produce from my garden. I also resent the high prices of mediocre produce at the store! Sprouting is an option that has worked very well for our family and may be something you might want to consider. Not only is it inexpensive and highly nutritious, but it’s fun!

Sprouting is like having your own little garden in your kitchen all winter long. Your supply of sprouts keep coming every few days, just about the time it takes to eat your last batch. They require only a sunny window and two rinses a day, how easy is that?

All of the energy that a plant requires to produce a full-sized plant is released when a seed germinates, or sprouts. This time in the life cycle of a seed is the best time to consume them.

The nutritional value of sprouts is just short of ridiculous, read here. They are a wonderful supplement to your winter repertoire. I count on them to help my family with building immunity during cold/flu season.

Sprout People is a great source of information about what seeds are best to sprout and gives this nutritional info for sprouts:

Nutritional info:
Vitamins A, B, C, E and K
Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc
Carotene, Chlorophyll
Amino Acids
Trace Elements
Protein: up to 35%

You’ll need a mason jar, a lid ring and some cheesecloth. You can purchase a sprouting lid for a wide-mouth mason jar here for just a few bucks. I prefer a plastic lid myself. The most important thing to remember is that it needs to be clean! I like to put my jar in the dishwasher to sterilize it.

For high-quality, organic sprouting seeds, check around your town. I usually purchase my alfalfa seeds at the health food store, but they are available at grocery stores and on-line as well. A small package of seeds will cost just a few bucks and will last a year or longer as you only need a tablespoon of seeds at a time.

You’ll want to soak your seeds in a few inches of water overnight. The next morning, rinse them thoroughly. That’s it! Just set your jar near a sunny window and watch them grow! Rinse them again that night. Be sure to drain the seeds well, you don’t want excess water in the jar.

The next morning, rinse them again and then once more at night.

By day 3, you’ll be getting pretty excited as your sprouts will have germinated and will be close to ready. Just rinse your sprouts every morning and evening thoroughly.

You might want to take a taste of your sprouts on day 3 or 4 and see how you like them. Their taste will change just a bit from day to day, you can establish what day you like them best.

Once they are complete, you’ll want to rinse them well enough to get the hulls off. Then store them in a sealed container in the frig.

I like to just munch on them myself, but they also make a great addition to sandwiches. I have used them them in smoothies, the kids will be none the wiser! A strong flavored fruit like blueberries or blackberries will insure that.

“The Sprouting Book” by Ann Wigmore is an excellent resource on sprouting and fairly inexpensive as well. Being an older book, I’m quite sure you could get it from the library.

Kelly Morris is a wife and mother to 9 children, 6 biological and 3 adopted, living in small town Ohio. She can often be found blogging, writing, reading, cooking, gardening, digital scrapbooking and drinking good coffee. Kelly authors “The Morristribe: Creating Balance for Busy Moms” and loves helping other moms find balance in their lives.

*** Kelly made this super helpful video on the sprouting process. Once I saw on this video & how simple it is, I felt way less intimidated by sprouting. It is EASY!
Thanks, Kelly, for this great post and for being such a great friend to me!

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