#me: I will keep gluten free flour in my pantry at all times and use it for everything from now on just in case

[sternbilder]

the unspoken tenderness of having a particular way you like to show affection to others both noticed and quietly reciprocated back to you.................god

[hournites]

Bake it till you make it

for @theozmachronicles

Hournite Week Day 7 - Romantic Comedy 

~.~ 

Beth heaves a weary sigh, closing her books from the study session a half hour after the JSA meeting at the garage. “Great.”

Rick sneaks a look at her from his desk. She’s not one to be so pessimistic or downtrodden at all.

At first, Rick ignores it because he gets her, this English assignment is ridiculous, but then she gets up and announces she’s going to leave because she has to bake. She makes it sound like a death sentence.

Rick’s brows knit together. “You love baking.”

“Not exactly,” she mutters.

Rick begins to scoff, which turns into a laugh-cough when she shoots him an unimpressed glare.

Is she serious? Beth—the only girl Rick knows who brings homemade three-course meals in sectioned containers for lunch and had somewhat run a soup kitchen working around her parents' work schedules for years—was trying to tell Rick she’s not a fan of being in the kitchen? “Uh, yes. Yes, you do!”

“Not for this.” Beth lets out another sigh and starts to explain. “Before we were a part of the JSA, I signed myself up as a Prairie Dog Bake Sale Member.”

Rick stares. Rick is smarter than he looks, but more times than not he probably appears dumb next to someone as all-around bright as Beth. He tries to correct that by at least half-pretending he knows what new obscure factoid she’s talking about to carry on a conversation with her. This is not one of those times he can fake it. “And that is…?”

“It’s for volunteer credit. You bake at least 3 dozen batches of separate baked goods for bake sales. I used to do it with my mom and dad. I liked doing it together because it was family bonding but now….” She doesn’t finish and she doesn’t have to. According to Beth, the Chapels are always either too busy or too involved. Never in between.

Rick stares down at his essay outline and thinks about how much he doesn’t want to write it. “You need some help or something?”

Beth immediately perks up. “You want to come over?” She grins. Rick would throw himself in a heap of flour and baking soda if it meant that grin stayed on her face. So that settles what they’re doing after JSA training that afternoon, clearly.

~.~

They were going to be making brownies (nut-free), cookies (gluten-free) and cupcakes that Beth pulls out five hundred different toppings, icing tubes and decorations for, so Rick assumes they won’t be free of anything.

He stands in her large kitchen with his hands awkwardly hanging by his sides as she gets organized. He already tried opening five different cupboards only to find nothing he was looking for, so Beth explains how her kitchen is set up. Rick’s sat on her porch to pick her up for school over a hundred times but never has he found himself actually inside of her house. It all feels very sleek and expensive.

All of the measuring cups, mixing bowls, pans and trays are compartmentalized just so. He watches Beth hum to herself as she occasionally consults the massive recipe book.

“Sorry,” she keeps saying, shooting glances over her shoulder at him as she arranges everything together. “I’ll have it together in a moment—You should see what it’s like baking with Chuck, he lists the ingredients and steps out right in front of me, it makes all the setup so easy.”

Rick would kind of like to see it. “We can still do it that way.”

“Oh, I suppose, but…” She wrinkles her nose. “It’s not very inclusive for you. We should do it the old-fashioned way.”

He picks up one of the containers of sugar from her pantry that she placed beside him. “Do you want me to start with the dry ingredients and—”

“Oh, no, that’s okay. You can just mix stuff!”

She makes a grab at the sugar, but Rick just grips on tighter, his mouth agape. “I am not useless in the kitchen, Beth!”

Beth reels back and blinks at him, needing the second to process. “Wait, you really want to bake?”

“Why else am I here?”

“I’m sorry,” she says yet again. Rick quirks an amused eyebrow. He doesn’t think anyone ever apologized to him so much before, if ever. “I just assumed you wanted to keep me company.”

“No?” What did she think he was going to do? Watch her sweat over the oven while he ate grapes or something? What the hell? “I’m helping.”

She lets out a tiny breath. Rick can tell she’s wonderfully pleased. He flips over the recipe book page for the brownies, trying not to smile to himself. “Do you want me to take these and you do the cookies?”

Beth stands on her tiptoes, trying to see the book in his hands. Rick lowers it and she peers over. “Sure, if you want? I can print the steps out so we don’t have to keep flipping back and forth.”

“Cool.”

Rick is pulling brownies out of the oven nearly an hour later, wearing bright orange oven mitts with the Blue Valley Medical Centre insignia printed on them.

“I think they’re done this time.”

He had tested them ten minutes before, as Beth warned her oven ran hot, but it needed a few extra minutes.

The oven beeps incessantly. He drops the brownies on the cooling rack and shoves one of the mitts under his arm. He presses the off button over and over with no success in cutting off the piercing noise. This oven is freakin’ fancy with all of its conventional settings and shit. An annoyed growl escapes his throat. “How do I turn this damn thing off again?”

Beth spins in her apron, yellow, and still covered in the brown sugar Rick accidentally spilled on her in a crossfire; she was backing up from the kitchen island with her batch in her hands as he was concentrating on levelling the one-cup with a knife—It was a hilarious disaster.

Her cookies are already packed and stored away. The dry ingredients for the cupcakes are just mixed in with the wet on her counter. “Double press on cook time,” she instructs.

The warm smell of chocolate lures her in. She holds the handle of the oven, eyes bright, enchanted by the perfect brownie tin.

Rick drops the oven mitts to the side and inspects it with a toothpick Beth laid out. He admires the nearly clean toothpick with only a few wet crumbs, incredibly smug. “Told you I could—Hey!”

Rick snatches Beth’s wrist from picking at the hot tray. She stills, caught red-handed. Her brown eyes pool even darker as she sucks in a breath, sheepish. “I just want a taste!”

“No! It hasn’t cooled yet!”

He’s acutely aware that he’s still holding her wrist. It’s soft and warm in his grasp. Rick lets go and flushes, thinking desperately about anything that’s not the adorable wide-eyed look she gave him for her desperate plea for brownies. “I mean—I thought these were for the bake sale, anyway.”

Beth doesn’t say anything. She just brushes her hands against her apron before side-glancing up at him.

Nice going, Rick. He snapped at her over brownies and now she’s going to kick him out of her house and never invite him over again.

In the awkward silence, Rick starts to panic as Beth continues to serve a completely unreadable expression. “I’m an asshole,” he blurts out after moving the brownie batter bowl and spatula, to open drawers to find a server and knife to fix everything and cut her a square. “You can try the brownies, this is your kitchen and—”

Beth laughs.

Rick freezes, slowly turning around. “You’re not mad.” His shoulders slump with relief and he wipes his forehead with the back of his palm.

“You’re a Gordon Ramsey!”

“I’m not!”

“You are!” She nods, covering her mouth with both hands, unable to help the eruption of giggles that follow. “And you just smeared chocolate batter in your hair!”

“What?” He reaches up and finds his hand sticky. He splutters. “So? You’re covered in sugar!” he shoots back.

Beth gasps out another startled laugh. “That’s not the same thing! You bumped into me!”

Rick smirks with a terrible idea. “Wanna make it even, then?” He reaches for her with his messy hands but she evades him with a yelp, dancing around the kitchen island. “Don’t! It’s too soon for another wash day!”

Rick doesn’t know what a wash day is and at this point, he’s too afraid to ask.  Either way, he isn’t planning to actually throw ingredients in her face, but still steps forward just to see what she’d do. Her shriek is worth it.

She grabs a whisk from off the table to defend herself and fixes her stance very much as though they were suited up in battle.

“Rick, I mean it!” She points her whisk at the sink. “Wash it off! Now!”

Rick’s feet walk him over to the sink automatically. It’s gotta be something to do with Beth ordering him around. It’s best not to think about it too hard.

~.~

Rick groans at his third failed icing rose in a row. Beth, on the other hand, has perfectly frosted twelve blue daisies. Her hand is steady and her gaze is focused on her cupcake handiwork. Her tongue sticks out just a bit, eyes squinting as she appraises the pattern. Rick lowers his disaster cake to lean his chin on his palm at the island and watch her.

“You’re really good at this.”

Beth smiles without taking her eyes off the cupcake. Her hand turns to get a new angle, finishing off the last petal with a thick layer. “Thank you!”

She takes a look at Rick’s progress. She does a double take but smooths her instant mirth over with a quick smile. “Yours is good too!”

He rolls his eyes.

“It just takes practice.” Beth hands him another plain vanilla one. “I’ve been doing this with my parents for so long, that’s why my lines are good. When is the last time you decorated a cupcake?”

“Beth. You know, as it is plainly obvious, I have never decorated a cupcake.”

“Which makes this a phenomenal first attempt. You’ll get the hang of it!”

She shows him her technique again and Rick copies her very sloppily. He stares down at his mess and decides to run it over with a knife and smother it with toppings instead like oreo bits and MnMs.

Beth flashes him two thumbs up when he presents his new and improved decorating method. “It looks great!”

Now he knows she’s just being nice on purpose. Rick studies his work. He thinks this would give someone instant cavities. “It’s not too much?”

“Why don’t you try it out?”

He slides it over. “Why don’t you?”  

“Oh, so now you’re letting me try?” she teases, peeling back the paper liner. She bites into it and makes a happy sound.

Rick leans in again, captivated. He rests his head against his arm, letting the other hang off the table, enjoying the taste test a bit too much. She’s as bright as ever, unable to stop taking more bites. Beth must be a chocoholic. Rick loves finding out tiny facts like this about her.

“It’s that good?”

“Mmm!”

He grins into his palm.

“Oh my gosh,” she manages out a few bites later, her mouth full. “I need water.”

Rick gets a glass. “I’m poisoning you.”

“No!” she insists after the longest gulp of water Rick’s ever seen. “It’s very thick. Intense.” She chews some more. “Rich.” She lights up. “That’s it! We’re calling these Rick’s Riches!”

“I wasn’t aware that cupcakes need to have names.”

“They do now.” Beth finishes off the cupcake and scrunches up the wrapper. She’s got cookie crumbs on her mouth. She starts naming off other name ideas for the brownies and cookies to provide on labels for the bake sale, but Rick can no longer concentrate. He feels her breath stop on his thumb when he reaches out with a napkin, brushing it off.

Beth swallows. “Rick.” She touches her lips.

“Uh.” He doesn’t know why he did that. “You had some..oreo dust.”

He sinks in his seat, abashed. It made so much more sense to brush the crumbs from her mouth in his head. In his head, where he couldn’t actually feel her face with his touch. The softness of her lips, the roundness of her cheek like he just did now. Rick squeezes the napkin into his fist with his other hand.  

“Thanks,” she says.

He is making this weird. Rick clumsily gets on his feet. “I should—”

“You don’t have to go.” She mumbles something else under her breath. Rick doesn’t catch it.

“What?”

“I didn’t mind it, I said.” Beth is looking anywhere but at Rick. Before he can even register that, she shoots him another nervous glance and then bolts out of her seat for the opposite end of the kitchen.

“You know what? Silly me, we need to clean up!” She pushes a broom into his empty hands. “Clean! Clean, clean, clean.” She finds a sponge for herself and starts scrubbing the island surface like a neat freak.

Rick grips onto the broom unable to do anything—Think anything but her words. A different kind of sickening sweetness twists in his stomach. She’s still going at it, the spot isn’t even sticky anymore. He’s never wanted to kiss a girl so badly in his life.

“Beth? Can we talk?”

“About the cupcakes? Sure!” she chirps, “I was thinking Classic Kooks for the gluten-free and—”

“That sounds fine. I meant about us.”

Her voice falters. “Us?”

“Like….What just happened….”

She shrugs so casually that Rick knows it’s being faked. “What’s there to say?”

A silly smile spreads across Rick’s face as she gets more and more flustered, chattering circles around what she just admitted.

The embarrassment gets to her and she stops huffing. “So what that I said that I liked that you touched my lips? It was with a napkin and I like to be clean! It’s not that big a big deal!”

“Okay,” Rick says, still smiling.

“It’s not!” she insists.

He sets the broom against the island and steps forward.

“I don’t see you sweeping anything. Why are you putting the broom down? That’s the opposite of—Mmph!”

Beth’s eyes grow cross-eyed at the smashed dusty rose cupcake to her mouth. She gapes and gasps, eyelashes blinking fast up at him in total shock. A chunk of icing drops on her shoe.

“Oops,” Rick says. “Let me get that.” He foregoes the napkin, wiping some icing clean with his thumb. He slows the movement when she halts him. Her wrist on his hand, still on her face. The current in her eyes rises like a challenge.

“Don’t make me,” she warns, voice dropped to a breath of a whisper.

“Make you what?” Rick tries to ask innocently but before he could get the full sentence out, Beth wiped her sticky mouth and smeared cupcake icing right across his face.

“Get even.”

The sponge falls from her hands. She grabs Rick instead, kissing him with her frosty lips, yellow apron pressing flour into his shirt. Her hands catch in his hair and it feels perfect. Rick kisses back, embracing the sweetness and the cake and the way Beth clings to him in the kitchen of her house, the realness of it all. They are never coming back from here. Rick is never coming back and it doesn’t matter if that’s nerve-wracking, in terms of stopping, he doesn’t want to.

“Beth?” Dr. Chapel stands at the doorway in her lab coat, surveying the mess in her kitchen and on their faces. “…Hello Rick.”

Rick turns around, scrubbing uselessly at his face. If it weren’t pink from the icing, it would’ve turned so from sheer embarrassment. Beth reaches for his hand still, slowly unfurling every tightly clenched finger one by one.

“I came home early for Prairie Dog bake sale prep…” She raises a paper bag of ingredients. “…But I see you have that handled.”

“We were—”

“I don’t need the details,” she says. “As long as my kitchen gets cleaned up after yourselves.”

Rick gulps. “Yes, Dr. Chapel.”

“And Rick?” Her mother blinks at him. “If you’re going to make a habit of re-enacting romantic comedies with my daughter, please call me Bridget.” She sets down the groceries. “I’m showering off the hospital funk. Save me a cookie, please. And some brownies for your father."

They stand in absolute silence after her mother leaves.

Rick rubs the back of his neck. "We should probably, uh. Do what your mom said. Clean up."

Beth shakes her head. "It's supposed to be three dozen per treat."

"Oh." Rick calculates the sheer amount of cookies and cupcakes that would take. "We're going to be here all night."

Beth grins and leads them to the kitchen sink, dunking a towel under warm water. She brings it to Rick's face, dabbing at the pink streaks and sprinkles from his eyebrows. "I don't think I'll mind."

[famouslong]

Edible cookie dough recipe

#Edible cookie dough recipe free

Vanilla extract – vanilla adds such a rich, sophisticated flavor to the dough.Salt – just a dash to balance all that sweetness.Sugar – depending on the recipe you choose, you’ll use white granulated sugar, light brown sugar, or both.

#Edible cookie dough recipe free

Butter – your butter (or dairy free alternative) will act as the glue to hold your gf cookie dough together.Gum free gluten free flour blend – I tried other gf flour variations, and none came close to being as delicious as this one.In your pantry, right this very second, you likely have all the ingredients you need to make irresistible gluten free cookie dough: Gluten free edible cookie dough ingredients Skip the pretenses and just dig in with a spoon and a smile!.Coat them in chocolate to make decadent gf cookie dough truffles.Drop them on top of warm brownies and watch as they melt slightly into the perfect topping.Eat it by the spoonful without any guilt or worry! Add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk to the edible cookie dough, and make it smooth and creamy.As bites, drop them into some ice cream (bonus points for homemade vanilla ice cream!).Make them into little cookie dough bites, and keep them chilled in a jar in the refrigerator for snacking.Here are my favorite things to do with the raw dough: Shape and stash the bites in the refrigerator or in the freezer for longer storage. You can make this dough in a small batch, or even double or triple it. You can make this dough in a small batch and even double or triple it. This one-bowl (!) gluten free edible cookie dough recipe requires as few as 6 ingredients (!!) and is ready to eat in under 15 minutes (!!!) I ask a lot of myself sometimes, but you have to push to get what you want - and I did. I also wanted the recipe to be quick and easy, both in preparation and cleanup. I wanted a gf edible cookie dough recipe that was indistinguishable from the “real stuff”. I had to experiment a bit with different gluten free flours to find the best for this particular recipe. Every time my family sees me making cookie dough, they ask if it’s edible raw gf cookie dough. Making cookie dough made to be eaten raw is just never a bad idea. You could put it into the base of a chocolate trifle or use it in an ice cream terrine.Why this is the best gluten free cookie dough that you can eat raw The cookie dough is also delicious in other desserts. Adding slightly less milk to the cookie dough mixture will also make it easier to shape into balls that will hold their shape while in the ice cream. Make sure your ice cream base mixture is cold, as it will melt the butter in the cookie dough otherwise – you’ll lose the shape of the dough and the chocolate will melt. Then, mix the dough pieces through your crème anglaise before churning it. We'd suggest freezing the cookie dough first and chopping it into small pieces or shaping into tiny balls and freezing those. Can I add this cookie dough to ice cream? If you were to bake off this cookie dough, we would suggest either crumbling it over ice cream or poached fruit as it may spread too much for cookies. If you are looking for a baked cookie recipe, we recommend trying these basic cookies. As it doesn’t have any eggs or leavening agent, the dough will spread. We couldn’t recommend baking this dough, although it is safe to do so. Once they’ve frozen, tip into a freezer bag and return to the freezer for up to three months. Simply roll the cookie dough into balls the size you’d like and arrange on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, well spaced apart. How long does cookie dough last in the fridge?ĭue to the high sugar content in the dough, it will last for up to four days. We'd also suggest making chocolate cookie dough by added 1 tbsp cocoa powder to the mix. Apple and cinnamon is also a delicious flavour combination for cookie dough. For a s’mores cookie dough, add 1 tbsp hazelnut spread, some crumbled biscuits and mini marshmallows. For a salted caramel cookie dough, simply add 1 tbsp dulce de leche and ½ tsp salt along with a handful of chopped dark chocolate to the dough. The best thing about this cookie dough is that it’s easy to alter the flavour to suit your tastes. Simply spread it over a baking sheet and cook it at 175C for 5 mins until the flour reaches 60-70C. Due to the fact flour is not usually treated to kill pathogens, you could heat-sterilise it yourself at home. In the recipe, we've compensated for the lack of eggs by using milk and more butter. This recipe for cookie dough is safe to eat as it doesn’t contain egg, so the risk of salmonella food poisoning is reduced.

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

Hi! First of all, congrats on your recent achievements in the kitchen! That was a massive amount of food you prepared.I have a question, I hope you don’t mind. You’ve mentioned preferring to mill your own flour a couple of times, and I’m wondering what are the advantages of that for you? I’m guessing it might have something to do with freshness or quality? I’d love learn more about this from you if/when you have the time and energy to talk about it. Thank you!

thank you! and i don't mind answering, no problem.

there are multiple advantages to milling your own flour, but most of them only really matter to hardcore bakers. you can choose exactly what type of grain you want, you can grind it super fresh and keep it from going rancid as it sits in your pantry - which all flour will, eventually, especially whole grains.

the bran and germ of wheat and other grains contain oils, and once the berry is cracked in the mill, the countdown to it going rancid starts. so you could purchase a big sack of whole wheat berries for a low bulk price and keep it fresh by grinding it in small batches.

you can also use it to grind whatever kind of weird, fancy grains or legumes that you want to use. have you seen that fancy black "forbidden" rice in the store? you can't buy that in flour form, but you could grind it yourself and make some black rice bread or whatever else you want. you could try different beans, heirloom corn varieties, etc, though you can't mill oilier things like nuts or seeds, the machine just isn't designed to process it.

however, none of that is actually why i personally grind my own flour, lol.

my mom has been wheat/gluten free for just about as long as i can remember, but she doesn't have something as severe as celiac disease, she just can't handle more than a tiny amount of wheat without it making her sick. she could probably have a slice of pie with a wheat crust about once a month, but not really any more than that.

so when i started cooking and baking ~ten years ago, i tried to cook gluten free for her. back then, there were a lot more gluten free options than there were ten years before that, but not nearly as many as they are now - and i don't know if you've ever tried baking gluten free, but it's a pain in the ass.

gluten is a protein that binds flour together, so when you're baking without it, you have to add other types of sticky things to keep it from crumbling to pieces. but it still tends to crumble, and you can't make the typical sort of bread items that you knead or allow to rise. the flours and binders are also usually a lot more expensive, so i would make regular wheat baked goods for me, which means i'd have to make two versions of things. that was exhausting.

it was all such a fucking drag. then somehow, i actually can't even remember how, i discovered that my mom could easily tolerate this ancient variety of wheat called khorasan, or kamut (a brand name). if you've heard of spelt, emmer, or einkorn wheat, this is a bit similar; it's originally from egypt, and it has a different type of gluten that is apparently easier for some gluten-sensitive people to tolerate.

i can't explain the science of it, but my mom can have unlimited amounts of kamut without any problems. it bakes almost exactly like typical wheat; you can't get a perfect baguette or pasta out of it, but i've made bread, muffins, rolls, flatbread, bagels, cinnamon rolls, pie crusts, scones, english muffins, and more, and it has a lovely nutty flavor. it's not as light as white flour, of course, but it's golden in color and isn't as heavy as that really dark brown you get from hard red wheat berries. i find it to be a really nice medium - it's more substantial and nourishing than featherweight white flour products, but it doesn't have that "kind of a bummer" quality you associate with whole wheat.

another great benefit is that it's PACKED with protein and fiber! one cup of kamut berries has 28 grams of protein and 20 grams of fiber! it's an amazing food.

so back when i started baking with it, you simply couldn't buy kamut flour, so i asked for a grain mill for christmas and found a source where i could buy 25lb sacks of kamut berries. (which was azure standard, if you're interested. i was able to get 25lbs for ~$35. you can also get it in smaller packages from bob's red mill.) i typically milled all 25lbs at once since it's a bit of an ordeal, packed the flour into baggies (about 5lbs fits in one gallon ziplock), and stored it in the fridge or freezer to stay fresh.

nowadays you can find kamut flour online, though of course it's more expensive than regular flour. however i still have a bunch of grain that i bought ~4 years ago before my health tanked, stored in a bucket in my pantry, and it seems to still be good, so i'd like to get it ground up and in the freezer before it goes rancid.

so that's the whole answer! it's kind of a long explanation, but i figured i might as well be thorough in case it's useful information for anyone. :)

eta: for anyone with a wheat sensitivity who might want more info, the official kamut website has a page discussing how many people with wheat sensitivity can better tolerate kamut and studies on the matter.

[chaoticgabby]

My Cheap & Relatively Healthy Grocery List for College Students

Context: I had been used to eating fast food so much because it was cheap that when I went to the doctors' they said I had high glucose content. That wasnt good. So I started eating healthier. Anyway let's skip the BS and get straight into it:

Ramen: the OG cheap food. I personally don't own ramen bc I dont like it that much, but if you want to save money this is the meal, at least add an egg or some veggies to make it healthier.

Frozen Veggies: anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar or two a bag. Can easily be kept in your freezer (if you have one) for months

Mac n' cheese: my all-time favorite. Of course, it might not be healthy for everyone to eat pasta all the time, but I do it anyway. Add some real cheese and spices for taste or chicken and veggies in it / on the side.

Other Pasta boxes (Pasta Roni, Velveeta, Hamburger Helper, etc.): basically as cheap or almost as cheap as Kraft macaroni, but maybe you arent a fan of mac n cheese.

Soup (Soup!!): Cambell's Tomato soup is often $1 a can. I like to eat mine with grilled cheese. Thats a whole ass meal. But of course you can get other soups just as cheap. Basically, any canned foods.

Canned foods & veggies: this one goes without saying. Although, the better options are sometimes $2 to $3 the same can be said for frozen veggies, but just heat these up and cook them in fried rice or just add butter and eat them aside a nice entré

Chunk light tuna: speaking of canned foods, canned tuna is soooo cheap and is a great option (if you even like tuna). Dont actually get the "pack tuna" for $1 a pack unless you want to keep it in your bag bc canned tuna is around 60 cents a can. Mix it with Miracle Whip (or mayo) and spread it over break for a good sammich.

Grilled cheese (or cheese toastie if you arent American I think??): similar to previous options, youre getting your cheese and your butter and your bread. Not as healthy as other options but way better than fast food calories.

Quesadillas: similar to grilled cheese, except spICY. My brother only eats these and he has no meal plan. I do it now too. Honestly, adding up tortillas, cheese dip, shredded cheese, & chicken is kind of costly but worth it. Also cooking chicken is annoying bc I dont have time for that. But. Yknow. A great option.

Pillsbury Crescents: a little costly, about $2+ per tube, but still fookin delicious. Also imma be real: actually havent checked the nutrition label to see if these are actually healthy. But these are sO useful. Make them by themselves for breakfast (with jam, eggs, or alone) or use the dough for other recipes. I use these with Manwich sauce, cheese, and ground beef for snacks :)

Manwiches: manwich sauce cans are $1 and although they have some sugar, its not nearly as bad as fast food. Just cook up some ground beef to go with it & maybe add cheese, sliced bread, or hamburger buns

PB&J: Another OG. I could never get tired of these. You just gotta make sure you have soft bread and the pb&j and youre good to go. Although..like.. some people apparently like theirs toasted or with different jams (I like strawberry).

Eggs!!!! : Just keep these in your fridge. Just do it. You never know when youre going to run out of food. Boiled? Scrambled? Fried? Soft boiled? With ramen? Omelet? In fried rice? Egg sandwich??? Eat them with bread, eat them with toast, eat them as a breakfast sandwich, scramble them with cheese, the list goes on. If you dont eat them often, get a smaller carton, but always have eggs! Also, for baking.

Rice, or fried rice: If you like rice, have been cooking rice for a long time, and can actually make it without burning, make sure you have rice. If you like rice but have never actually made it yourself, it takes trial and error in a pot. Or just invest in a rice cooker. Additionally, fried rice is not that difficult to learn & it fits the bill for healthy bc you can add unlimited veggies and meats. Im not here to educated you but the more ingredients, the better, is how i see it.

Fresh Food:

Fruit: I literally have "an apple a day" for breakfast. It's just good for you. Keep them in your fridge to keep them fresh. Keep one in your bag in case you get hungry. Bananas? Awesome! Use them in smoothies or a milkshake or eat them with your cereal or even with peanut butter. Possibilities are endless with fruit. Just make sure they dont spoil. Apples are OG bc they dont spoil as easily.

Vegetables: Make sure to only periodically get them so that they dont go to waste. Make some broccoli with butter & eat it alongside pasta. Or asparagus. Anything you want. Just make sure to have some with your meals sometimes. Greens are good. Additionally, carrots can get addicting if yoh eat them with ranch. The plus side is they are filling. If you have a tendency to want to munch on something: carrots.

Deli Meat / Sandwich Options: I personally dont make deli sandwiches because ham (as well as roast beef or turkey) can be expensive and then wanting to add lettuce and tomato to a sandwich sounds amazing but I'm scared they will spoil. Dont let me stop you though! Sandwiches are amazing.

Meat: you dont want to be cooking meat all the time bc it can get expensive, but the basics I always get are ground beef and chicken. I prefer "boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets" but you would need to cut off the fat. You could always get rotisserie if you arent feeling to for cooking. Also, if you're feeling expensive one week, salmon is just sooo good. I ate it with asparagus and seasoned with lemon. Delicious.

Snack / Dessert Options:

(I personally don't keep snacks or dessert in my home very often bc you dont want to binge eat. But here is what I have)

Peanut butter: classic, filling, can be potentially bad if you eat a shite ton

Nuts: peanuts, almonds, cashews, and especially pecans

Cookies: make your own, a lot of simple cookie recipes exist and it's a lot easier than you think. Baking essentials like flour, sugar, milk, and eggs are not that expensive to keep around in an apartment kitchen. Difficulties may be vanilla extract (the avg student doesnt have this lying around) a baking sheet, a big bowl, and possible a whisk. Store bought cookie dough isnt too bad either.

Box-cakes / box-brownies: simple and easy. Takes a few eggs sometimes and some oil, milk or water. The same goes for pancake mix. Honestly, I had an out-of-country roommate and he had never heard of boxed cake mix or brownie mix. They always made from scratch where he lived.

Low-calorie ice cream: okay ice cream can be pretty expensive and filled w/ added sugars. I used to eat this strawberry icecream sweetened with stevia and it was SO delicious, but I couldnt find that at my grocery store. Other options are "low-calorie" ice cream or "no added sugars" ice cream. I have one of these and the thing abt it is that its just the right amount of sugar to taste like ice cream and the neat thing is that you dont feel like binging it bc it doesnt have addicting added sugars.

Milkshakes / smoothies: this is a tough one bc me and most other students dont own a blender or juicer. I personally get my smoothies from a local smoothie place that only uses fresh fruit and then I ask not to add the natural sugars bc it is sweet enough with the fruit. Natural smoothies are delicious & I find that you can kind of make then if u freeze your fruits and blend w a fork. "Handmade" milkshakes are actually super easy w this method.

Yogurt: just...mmm.

"Healthy" snack food section, often called the gluten-free aisle: im not too experienced with this and im sure they have added sugars too but what I do know is I tried these gluten free oreos once and they were delicious

Fruits: I mentioned earlier but apples are great snacks

Veggies: also like I said earlier, carrots are great snacks. Not exactly a veggie but possibly potatoes for a meal or snack.

Granola Bars: for when youre too lazy to keep up with fruit and if fruit will spoil, granola bars (they healthy kind, not the chewy sugary kind) are so good to have in your pantry or keep in your backpack for a snack (and to keep you from on campus temptations). Also I used Nature Valley ones instead of cereal. They actually dissolve and are delicious with milk, since some cereals are so sugary.

Since my last college tips post got some notes I figured I'd keep writing these advice posts. For reference, I am hoping to become an RA next year at my college, so I'm not just speaking out of my ass. I generally have experience at college thus far and want to help students.

[c-e-mcgill]

Apocalypse Cookies

Hi all! So; things are looking pretty rough right now. If you’re like me (i.e. an unquestionably Non-Essential worker), you’ve likely been stuck at home the past week or two with no one but your family and a dwindling supply of toilet paper to keep you company. (And several hundred pages of edits I should be working on as we speak, but let’s not talk about that.)

No, what I’m here to talk about today is cookies! A recipe I affectionately refer to as Apocalypse Cookies!

Or, if you prefer, I’ve Got Jack Shit Left in the Pantry and I Ran Out of Sweets a Week Ago But I Can’t Go Out and Buy More Because I’m Practicing Responsible Social Distancing cookies. I thought I’d share it here, in case any of you are working with the same appalling lack of baked goods as I was this morning. This recipe is designed to be easy, quick, and nigh-infinitely adjustable to whatever leftover back-of-the-pantry crap you’re working with.

So, without further ado!

Step One: Check your pantry. If you have the ingredients for making regular cookies, make those first. This recipe is for the DESPERATE, do you hear me? If you still have chocolate chips, what are you even DOING here?

Step Two: Re-evaluate your conception of what counts as a cookie. These things are going to be imperfect. They may even be a little ugly. But be honest: you’re in your pajamas right now, aren’t you? I certainly am. We’re in no place to judge. Give these cookies space to be whatever they turn out to be — at least 6 feet of space, preferably.

Step Three: Gather the ingredients. The following is what I used to make my Apocalypse Cookies, but make whatever substitutions necessary.

1½ cups flour. Regular, gluten free, leftover waffle mix, anything you have. If you don’t have any flour, use oats.

1½ cups almond flour. Or hazelnut flour. Or flour flour. Or more oats. Or, if you’re truly insane and have 45 minutes to kill, stick some almonds in a food processor and grind them yourself.

Approx. ½ cup oats. Or oatmeal mix. Useful for adding bulk and filling in for any flour you don’t have. Disregard if you don’t like oatmeal cookies.

1 cup brown sugar. Or date sugar. Or coconut sugar. Or white sugar. Or ½ cup honey or maple syrup.

2 eggs. Or 1 mashed banana. Or ½ cup of yoghurt or apple sauce. Or 1 Tbsp flax or chia powder + 3 Tbsp water.

6 Tbsp water. I’m assuming you have this. I hope.

2 tsp baking powder. Or 1 tsp baking soda + 2 tsp cream of tartar. Or ½ tsp baking soda + 1 tsp lemon juice. Or use buttermilk or sparkling water in place of the 6 Tbsp water. Or, honestly, if you already have eggs, you’re probably fine to skip this extra raising agent.

1 pinch of salt.

2 capfuls almond extract + 2 capfuls vanilla extract + 1 capful orange extract. Or whatever flavors or extracts you have on hand. Some (i.e. professional bakers) would say this is far too much extract. They would be WRONG. The trick, you see, is to disguise the sins and substitutions elsewhere in the recipe with as much flavor as possible.

Optional accessories: Cinnamon. Cocoa powder. Chopped walnuts or almonds. Go nuts.

Step Four: Preheat oven to 325°F. Then, while you’re waiting:

Step Five: Rewrite your recipe. Write it down. Write it dooown! Especially if you’re using complex substitutions or a different raising agent.

Step Six: Add dry ingredients.

Step Seven: Add wet ingredients.

Step Eight: Mix. This is a one-bowl, one-spoon recipe folks. I know you don’t have the mental or physical energy to wash eight different bowls right now.

Step Nine: Line a tray with baking paper and spoon cookie-sized dollops onto tray. If your mixture is very sticky (as mine was) I recommend using a wetted fork to get the mixture off the spoon and shape it on the tray.

Step Ten: Bake until done. About 25 minutes, probably. But look, every batch of Apocalypse Cookies is its own unique creature. Listen to your cookies; talk to them. Give them the time they need.

And that’s it! Eat them on their own or with tea, coffee, or whatever else you have. This is a tough and stressful time for all of us, but we’ll get through it if we just stick together. I mean — not stick together. Stay apart, that is to say. Stay at home. You know what I mean.

Eat cookies and stay safe!

— CEM

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

47 Gluten Free Healthy Meal Prep Breakfasts for the New Year

New blog post! Are you a sweet or savory breakfast person? I'm constantly switching back in forth, but now that 2020 is in full swing and I'm back to my busy grad school and work schedule, I'm alll about healthy meal prep breakfasts...so I thought it would be a great time to share a ton of gluten free meal prep recipes on the blog! Whether you're looking for a healthy keto recipe, general meal prep ideas or healthy grab and go breakfasts to fit your own busy life, this round up has a recipe that will make eating a nutritious breakfast extra easy this year. Sweet and savory breakfast options galore!

And because I'm so excited to dig into these gluten free breakfast recipes, I'm keeping this intro short. So without further adieu, here are 47 gluten free healthy meal prep breakfasts to make your 2020 extra delicious.

1. Crustless Spinach Cheese Pie (Low Carb) - Low Carb Yum

This simple low carb recipe turns pie into breakfast food.

2. Paleo Blueberry Muffins (Vegan, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free) - A Sweet Alternative

These paleo muffins seriously give the traditional wheat-packed bakery muffins a run for their money.

3. Pepperoni Pizza Frittata (Whole30, Low Carb, Keto) - Cook at Home Mom

Healthy pizza for breakfast = mind (and taste buds) blown.

4. Overnight Quinoa Flakes (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

If you're craving a warm porridge but can't tolerate oats, this overnight quinoa flakes breakfast is the perfect alternative. Plus, I include multiple different flavors you can make!

5. Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls (Vegan, Refined Sugar Free) - A Baking Journey

Is there any better combo than peanut butter and chocolate?!? I don't think so!

6. Green Dairy Free Egg Bites - Really Are You Serious

Upgrade the typical breakfast egg muffins with spinach and tofu!

7. Chocolate Protein Pancakes (Low Carb, Keto) - Wholesome Yum

First of all, droooool. Secondly, this big batch recipe means you'll have plenty of leftovers to eat later that week or freezer.

8. Skinny Mini Mexican Frittatas - Jersey Girl Cooks

Sweet peppers, hot sauce and Mexican cheese give these frittatas some extra kick.

9. Homemade and Healthy Nuts and Seeds Instant Breakfast Mix (Dairy Free Option) - Original Homesteading

Just add water to this nuts and seeds mix for a crunchy breakfast full of plant-based protein.

10. Keto Breakfast Casserole (Low Carb) - Sorey Fitness

This healthy keto breakfast can be whipped up in just 30 minutes, and is packed with ground cheese, sausage, eggs and jalapenos.

11. Easy Vegan Breakfast: Superfood Stone Fruit Rawnola - Stacey Homemaker

Whip up this vegan granola on Sunday so you have a yummy, nutrition-packed breakfast all week long.

12. Breakfast Meal Prep Blueberry Turkey Breakfast Sausage & Roasted Veggies (Dairy Free, Egg Free, Paleo) - Hungry Hobby

I've never eaten blueberries and turkey together before, but this breakfast bowl makes me want to try.

13. Spiced Apple Granola (Vegan) - Recipes From a Pantry

Make your kitchen smell like apple pie season all year round with this vegan granola recipe.

14. Breakfast Chia Seed Pudding, Two Ways (Vegan) - Lathi's Kitchen

Strawberry or mango puree makes these chia seed puddings super fruity and flavorful.

15. How to Bake Eggs in an Oven Tin in the Oven (Dairy Free, Soy Free) - Key to My Lime

Once you try baking eggs in the oven, you'll never go back.

16. Roasted Vegetable Sheet Pan Omelette (Vegetarian) - The Recipe Well

An omelet that you don't have to flip?!? Sold!

17. Super Clumpy Summer Squash Granola (Vegan, Oil Free, Sugar Free) - Casey the College Celiac

Pair this gluten free granola with your favorite yogurt or eat it like cereal with milk.

18. Tortitas de Berro, or Easy Guatemalan Watercress Fritters (Vegetarian) - A Taste for Travel

Popular in Guatemala and El Salvador, you can think of these as bite-sized omelettes packed with good-for-you ingredients.

19. One Bowl Blueberry Oat Flour Waffles - Flavor the Moments

Make your own freezer waffles at home with this easy one-bowl recipe. Just make sure you use gluten free oats to grind into flour. 

20. Cinnamon Swirl Protein Muffins (Keto) - The Helpful GF

I was sold at "cinnamon swirl"...

21. Roasted Tomato, Kale and Goat Cheese Frittata (Vegetarian) - Hot Pan Kitchen

If you've been looking for an easy cast iron skillet recipe, this frittata breakfast is a winner.

22. Easy Chia Seed Pudding Recipe (Vegetarian, Vegan Options) - Two Healthy Kitchens

If you're looking for an extensive guide to meal prepping chia seed pudding, Shelley has you covered with this post.

23. Southwest Tofu Breakfast Bowls (Vegan) - The Fitchen

I'm not even a huge fan of tofu, but this meal prep breakfast still has me drooling!

24. Banana Snacking Cake - Best of This Life

Banana and applesauce combine to make an extra moist gluten free cake that's healthy enough to eat for breakfast or a snack!

25. Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl (Paleo, Vegan, Nut-Free, Whole-30 Option) - Paleo Gluten-Free Guy

This gluten free and paleo smoothie bowl will keep in the fridge for up to five days, and you'll love how thick and creamy it is.

26. Coconut Chia Pudding (Vegan, Low Carb) - Pepper Bowl

No cooking necessary for this vegan breakfast. Just throw the ingredients together and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

27. Maple Pecan Granola (Refined Sugar Free) - Zestful Kitchen

No gluten or refined sugar needed to meal prep this epic granola.

28. Chickpea Savory Muffins - Mind Body and Spirit Wellbeing

Who knew that chickpea flour could taste so good?

29. Crockpot Fiesta Breakfast Casserole (Paleo and Whole 30 Options) - Pink Fortitude

And if you really want to meal prep ahead of time, you can even freeze this paleo breakfast casserole for future breakfasting!

30. Cozy Cacao Oatless Zoats (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

If you want to make a gluten free porridge breakfast while also sneaking in some extra veggies, zoats need to land on your weekly menu ASAP.

31. Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole - Leelalicious

No one will complain about eating this gluten free casserole several mornings in a row!

32. Skinny Strawberry Shortcake Bites Recipe (Vegan) - Bake Me Some Sugar

These shortcake bites are as tasty for a snack or dessert as they are for breakfast.

33. Instant Pot Egg Bites (Keto, Low Carb) - Tasty Galaxy

Using the instant pot makes this healthy keto breakfast insanely quick and easy.

34. Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oatmeal - Pinch of Wellness

Cinnamon roll in oatmeal form? You know that caught my taste buds' attention!

35. Blueberry French Toast Casserole (Dairy Free Option) - This Mama Cooks 

Use your favorite gluten free bread, and you'll never want to eat plain toast for breakfast ever again!

36. Easy Egg Muffin Cups - Fearless Dining

There's no easier - or tastier - healthy grab and go breakfasts than these egg muffins!

37. Tropical Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats (Dairy-Free, Vegan) - Clean Eating Kitchen

Send your taste buds on a tropic vacation with this gluten free oatmeal recipe featuring papaya and coconut cream.

38. Banana Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins (Vegan, Paleo, Refined Sugar Free) - Emma Eats and Explores

Because banana and cinnamon are always a pair made for culinary heaven.

39. Creamy Spirulina Chia Seed Pudding (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

Put this chia seed pudding in the blender for a super thick and creamy vegan breakfast that's full of fiber and plant based protein.

40. Western Omelet Egg Scramble with Cheese Sauce - Sweet Peas Kitchen

Who knew you could freeze egg scrambles? The cheese sauce also takes this breakfast to the next level.

41. Dairy Free Waffles - Eating on A Dime

You only need six simple ingredients to make and freeze these dairy free waffles for super easy (and yummy) future breakfasts.

42. Healthy Blueberry Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Peanut Free, Nut Free) - Allergy Yummy

You won't believe you only need three ingredients to whip up these super gooey, chewy bars.

43. Cheesy Spinach Mini Frittatas Recipe - Urban Bliss Life

These easy egg muffins are the ultimate healthy grab and go breakfast option for busy mornings.

44. Vanilla Chia Pudding (Vegan) - Debra Klein

You only need fifteen minutes and four ingredients to make this creamy vegan breakfast.

45. Triple Berry "Whole Grain" Gluten Free Muffins (Vegan, Oil Free) - Casey the College Celiac

'Cause there's muffin better to start the day with! ;)

46. Instant Pot Egg Bites (Keto, Low Carb) - Tasty Galaxy

The instant pot makes cooking a healthy keto breakfast extra easy and quick.

47. Healthy Pumpkin Bread - Claudia Canu

This gluten free pumpkin bread proves that pumpkin is delicious year-round, especially when baked in a naturally sweetened treat like this one.

Happy 2020!

Regardless of where 2020 is taking you so far, I hope that these meal prep breakfasts will give you the tasty fuel you need to kick life's booty! And if you need even more gluten free breakfast inspiration, check out my previous roundup: 49 Healthy Gluten Free Breakfasts For the New Year. Which of these breakfast recipes do you want to try first? Are you a sweet or savory breakfast person? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger https://ift.tt/2T7MhKK

[paleorecipecookbook]

Clean Eating Made Easy with Better Product Choices & Substitutions

This year on the blog I want to give you as many tools as possible to continue to make better choices in your own life. I want to show you that you can have a healthy relationship with food, a long term relationship with exercise, and that getting in shape doesn’t have to be expensive. So today I wanted to talk about ways to improve your health long term with just a few simple changes. I think whenever people think about paleo, they think of some drastic change that is close to impossible. At least that’s how I felt when I first thought about implementing paleo into my own life. But like any other habit, a few small changes can make a big impact with time.

Today I want to show you some of my favorite products that I purchase regularly from Thrive Market that help me make better choices with my diet, day in and day out. By making some of these small changes, you’ll be instantly making a difference in your own health, especially long term. That means a happier life with less health issues, doctor visits, and most of all, less health-related bills. And the best part about Thrive Market is that you can find all of these products for up to 30% below traditional retail prices. One thing that throws people off when it comes to healthier food choices is often the price. But Thrive Market removes that issue all together. Everything you’ll see me talking about today is going to have a price tag lower than MSRP. That means money stays in your pocket so you can use it towards better things! Like living a hella fun life, every single day.

So let’s get in to it! And let’s kick it off with condiments, because condiments can easily become a downfall when trying to make better choices with what you eat.

If you like dipping your sweet potato fries in ketchup or dunking your cauliflower pizza in ranch, well that doesn’t have to change! Primal Kitchen has tons of amazing products including Ranch, Ketchup, a ton of other dressing, AND they also have avocado oil spray with no other added ingredients or fillers. If you take a look at most normal ranch brands out there, you’ll find ingredients like modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid and calcium disodium. How sketchy is that? Primal Kitchen uses all organic ingredients. And you can actually pronounce everything on the label. And at Thrive Market, you can get the ketchup for 17% off MSRP, the ranch for 25% off, and the avocado oil spray for 28% off!! How amazing is that?!

I also always purchase Rao’s Arrabbiata Sauce and Thrive Market Coconut Aminos. If you start looking at ingredients on the products you’re purchasing, you’ll quickly find that there is added sugar is EVERYTHING, especially marinara. But not in Rao’s. And it’s the best sauce you will EVER taste. And for when I’m cooking anything that requires Asian ingredients, I always turn to coconut aminos instead of soy sauce since soy is so incredibly processed. And Thrive Market label provides the most affordable coconut aminos on the market!

Now I have all kinds of pantry staples for you to stock up on!

I ALWAYS keep bone broth in my freezer as well as my pantry. And the Thrive Market Bone Broth is great for keeping in your pantry at all times. It’s made with all clean, organic ingredients and you can get it for up to 42% off!

Spices and spice blends are so important for full, flavorful meals every day to keep you interested in your healthy food. But many spice blends include fillers such as cornstarch or they add sugar to it. And they usually are never organic. But Primal Palate Spices uses all organic ingredients to create the most delicious spice blends EVER. Their Steak Seasonings blend is a must in any kitchen!

And I’m about to throw you a curve ball with a non-paleo item. But since so many people love pasta and have a hard time giving it up, I wanted to share my favorite pasta brand that includes veggies in it. Cybele’s Free to Eat Superfood Green Rotini Pasta includes only green lentil, kale, spinach, and broccoli, and it’s damn good! It’s such a better option than most pastas on the market, plus it’s 20% off MSRP!

And if you’re anything like me, meaning you love to bake and snack, well Thrive Market has all the options for you. And they make it super simple to search! You can easily search ‘Paleo’ in the search tab then choose your category whether it’s baking, chocolate, snacks, candy, and more. They make finding your exact brand super easy and finding a brand new company you’ve never seen before, easier than ever!

If you like a crunchy snack and find yourself turning to chips on a regular basis, especially chips like ranch Doritos, well start looking at their label and thinking twice. They use ingredients like canola oil, multiple kinds of sugar, and other sketchy ingredients like sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. Do you know what those ingredients are? I don’t. But I do know that Siete Chips ranch tortilla chips only uses ingredients that I can pronounce and that I use in my own recipes on a regular basis. And you can get all of their different kinds of chips for 20% off!

Now if you’re a granola lover and have it for breakfast every single day, it may be time to switch it up to a brand that won’t irritate the gut as much as popular brands on the market can. Many of those brands include soy lecithin, excess sugar, and different flours and oils. But Paleonola has a ton of different flavors to choose from and includes absolutely no extra sugar in their Chocolate Fix flavor! Just clean, wholesome ingredients!

Now when it comes to baking, paleo has really made it’s stamp in the flour and sugar world. Instead of only having white and brown sugar to choose from, and white and wheat flour to take home, there are now a ton of unprocessed sugars and clean ingredient flours to use! I personally love Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour and Coomb’s Organic Maple Sugar, and both are over 20% off MSRP. Both of these substitutions are so much better on the gut and better for blood sugar!

And let’s end this with some of my favorite snacks and treats. Because let’s face it – if you’re going to stick with any sort of diet or lifestyle change, it has to feel like you’re not missing out. And when I first started paleo, I was desperately scared of giving up treats. While I do believe treats have their place and shouldn’t be consumed daily, I do think making better choices with those treats is super important.

If you’ve been looking for some snacks to throw in your purse or car for after a workout or in between running errands, two of my favorite brands I always keep on hand include Primal Kitchen Peanut Butter Protein Bars and Wild Zora Meat & Veggies Bars. The protein bars only have a handful of ingredients and the protein comes from egg whites. And the meat and veggie bars are so much better than the normal jerky on the market. Each bar contains grass-fed meat, multiple types of veggies and is sweetened by natural dried fruit! And you can find both for 20-25% off MSRP.

If you’re a chocolate lover, Thrive Market has so many different items to choose from. Whether you like a solid a 100% cacao bar or you just want some chocolate chip cookies, they got yo’ back. I personally love having Alter Eco Coconut Clusters on hand for a sweet and salty crunchy snack. I also love having Eating Evolved Coconut Butter Cups for whenever I have a sweet craving and need a little extra fat to keep me full and satisfied, instead of just reaching for more. And last but definitely not least, Simple Mills Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don’t know how they make the most delicious cookies with such clean ingredients, but they do. Go look at the ingredients list in most cookies on the market and prepare yourself to be appalled. But not with Simple Mills. Stop feeding yourself or your children cookies that have ingredients you’ve never even heard of! And when you can get all these treats for up to 25% off MSRP, you really have no excuses!!

All these brands through Thrive Market make eating clean easier than ever. And that’s why I love Thrive Market. Their whole mission is to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. Whether you’re trying to eat keto or vegan or gluten-free or you just want to find items that are fair-trade certified, Thrive Market makes it so incredibly quick and easy. Plus now they even offer the highest quality meat and seafood! Now you barely have to even go to the grocery store. Everything is quickly delivered to you in packaging that is completely recyclable, which means 100% zero waste!

Eating healthy and feeling your best all comes from small choices that become bigger with time. Making small choices like changing the ketchup in your house to learning to use a new baking flour will make a huge difference later on. It’s time to be more aware of what you are putting into your body and understanding the differences between different products on the market. And Thrive Market will help you make that happen. If you haven’t tried out Thrive Market yet, not only will you get up to 30% off your Thrive Market’s prices, but today you can get an EXTRA 25% off your first order + free 30 day trial! That’s savings on top of savings! And you know what the best part is? I’ve put all my favorite products together in a PaleOMG Kit! So instead of writing all of these down or having to go back and fourth between tabs, it’s all in one kit! All you have to do is sign up for your free 30 day trial to check it out! And if you’re already a Thrive Market member, all you have to do is click ‘claim offer’ to check it out! 

I hope this post gets you excited to continue on your own health journey. Just because it’s February doesn’t mean your clean eating habits should change. Keep with it, continue making small changes in your life, and you’ll quickly see how much better you can feel. We should be forever grateful for the bodies we were given and we should take care of them, one better choice at a time.

___________

This post is brought to you by Thrive Market. It contains some affiliate links and I may be compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running! Thank you for all your support!

The post Clean Eating Made Easy with Better Product Choices & Substitutions appeared first on PaleOMG - Paleo Recipes.

Sourse of this article: http://paleomg.com/

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: December 2020

  And just like that December is over.  Happy new year to all of you!  2020 was a bit of a crazy ride but all-in-all, for us, it was quite alright.  While we didn't have a great year financially, we really can't complain.  We learned that we could tighten our already tight financial belt even more.  With that it ensured our bills are paid, we have food in our pantry and freezers, the animals are very well taken care of, our business survived, and we had more time to spend on things we weren't finding time to get done in previous years.  

Please know that I am not trying to be insensitive to those who had tragic outcomes in 2020, rather, we are trying to focus on what went well for us.  On that same note I am super grateful we had made the decision not to move our business off of our farm so our overhead was limited.  We had struggled with that decision since we started the business and just about a year and a half ago made a final decision that we would not grow the business any larger than what we could handle ourselves in the space we've got.  

the mound on the left of this photo is my Jeep Grand Cherokee....

Well, Jay had been complaining that it didn't feel like Christmas a couple of weeks prior.  He said that because we didn't have snow he just wasn't feeling it.  Sooooo....I blame him completely for the 3 feet that were dumped on us shortly before the big day.  Yup - he is the one you can blame as well if you'd like.  It took a full 2 days to complete our snow removal - paths, deck, porches, and roofs and, since he does most of it, he was exhausted by the time it was done.  Of course he didn't much appreciate my singing of Christmas songs as we suited up to head outside for each round of shoveling or snow blowing.  Clearly he doesn't always appreciate my enthusiasm or talents.

Christmas was quiet, as it was just the two of us and the critters, so I made some special meals and treats to celebrate the day.  We basked in the hum and warmth of the pellet stove, binge watched the new season of Virgin River on Netflix, drank mugs of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows, and enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing day together.

And then Saturday I deemed a "no cook" day.  We had simple breakfasts, leftovers for lunch, and frozen pizza for dinner.  I did throw chicken wings in the air fryer for Jay's dinner as well, but it's no more difficult then throwing frozen pizza in the oven.  It was perfect.

Oliver & Jackson -  Let's start with updates on Mr. Oliver.  We took him to his consultation for alternative treatments to help keep him comfortable with his multiple herniated discs.  First, let me tell you that he had to finish up a round of a steroids in December and I am SO HAPPY it's over.  My goodness that boy was constantly starving!!  Steroids increase hunger and thirst and if he wasn't ravishingly hungry he was drinking a ton.  My day was spent feeding him, filling up his water bowl, and taking him out to go to the bathroom.  Repeat.  I also decided after the first morning of his poor bladder being so incredibly full he was clearly uncomfortable, that I would get up at 2a.m. every night to take him out to pee.  I did this until that darned steroid was out of his system.  I felt so bad for him.  He absolutely will not go potty in the house so he holds it despite the discomfort it causes.

His doctor decided that acupuncture and laser therapy were not necessary as of yet, so we purchased a therapy loop that she recommended to give him electromagnetic therapy at home.  She's hoping this will help keep the inflammation down for a while.  Eventually we will add in the other 2 therapies when needed.  He also has some stretches we do daily to keep his little body limber. 

He is not allowed to run, jump, etc. and we are keeping his walking to a minimum which is what the remainder of his life will be.  He is happy, seems to feel pretty good (we have to hold him back from trying to run, jump, etc.), and takes nice long naps so all seems to be well at the moment.  He will turn 11 in January and I think he's definitely feeling his age.

And then there's Jackson.  Actually, he's doing well.  He's the same - bratty but handsome, and is still loving his new routine of going to bed in his very own bedroom.  He LOVES taking his Rescue Remedy every night.  I have no idea why.  I do have to make sure the room is always "Jack-proofed" because he gets into anything and everything during his 7-8 hours of alone time.

In The Coop - We have EGGS!!!!  Jay is so happy.  Although we aren't getting many, at least we are getting an egg or two each day as of a week ago.  He's still rationing his use since he's not fully confident we will get them daily, but that will change soon I'm sure.

The Coop Girls are doing well.  They dislike the colder temps and absolutely detest that beautiful white snow.  When we leave their coop open they get so excited to run out and that lasts all of about 3 minutes.  Once they realize that there is snow everywhere except for their coop they return to their outdoor coop.  There's usually a lot of chatter after this is attempted each morning.  I suspect it's a bit of disappointment being shared amongst the flock.

Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread

In The Kitchen - I've been making this recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread (by King Arthur Flour) and we've been enjoying it.  If you happen to have any maple sugar lying around it is perfect in this bread.  I substitute out most of the white a/p flour with white whole wheat flour but other then that I follow the recipe exactly.  It's a fairly dense, sweet, and moist loaf that is perfect for morning toast or a sandwich where a slightly sweet bread would work.

I also made up a few batches of bean burgers (using 3 different recipes as guides) to store in the freezer for quick meals.  And as a surprise snack one day I made a batch of DELICIOUS Honey Butter Popcorn (it's good with or without the nuts).  If you add a touch of salt it's almost like a kettle corn (without the nuts) or cracker jacks (with the nuts) but not cloyingly sweet.  I altered it slightly by using a non-dairy butter and about 10-12 cups of popped popcorn (it calls for 6 cups) so it wasn't too sweet.  It was good even days later.

I also discovered a recipe for vegan Amaretti Cookies.  They are gluten free as well but the recipe does use refined sugar.  They are really good.  My husband (the anti-vegan) loves them.  After he ate 2 I told him they are almond flour and aquafaba.  After explaining what aquafaba was he said "why did you have to go and tell me there's chickpeas in my cookies???"  (Of course aquafaba is the chickpea cooking liquid not the beans, he was being dramatic)  I told him because I'd promised that I will always tell him what's in food he tries and never hide ingredients.  But I tell him AFTER he's tried the recipe of course!  😁  (p.s. mine look more like snowball cookies because they didn't crack but they were still delicious!)  He ate quite a few more over the course of a couple days and has requested them for this week's dessert.  So I guess he likes them!

What I've Been Reading - I haven't read as many books over the past month but I did read a few good ones. (affiliate links)

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman - this was a very different book for me to read but it was written so incredibly well.  A word of caution that it does deal with child abuse but it really is brilliant.  It's tragic, sad, funny, and enlightening.

The Twelve Dates Of Christmas: A Novel by Jenny Bayliss - apparent from the title it's a rom-com and a very well written debut novel.  I really liked the main characters and the little twists and turns of the story which is set in England.

The Clause In Christmas: A Poppy Creek Novel by Rachael Bloome - honestly, I really didn't think I would like this book.  I guess I thought it would be a bit too cheesy.  Quite surprisingly I enjoyed it (not cheesy at all).  It was light, the events were predictable, but I liked the characters and the storyline and it was a fun read.  It's the first of a series of five.

That's what happened around here in December!

This Month On The Farm: December 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[sfarticles]

A month is not enough to celebrate pasta

Pastene Spaghetti Carbonara (recipe in column): Spaghetti, America’s favorite pasta shape, is enjoyed with a light cream sauce. Photo: Pastene

October is the month to celebrate one of America’s favorite foods, pasta.

A recent survey conducted by the National Pasta Association shows pasta is eaten seven times a month, nearly twice a week. Perhaps that is because of its versatility, value and health factors. When respondents were asked what food they could not live without, 60 percent chose pasta — even beating out chocolate.

Pasta’s history is as varied as its shapes. According to the NPA, “While widespread consumption is documented from the 14th century, it is believed to have existed in some form in ancient China and Greece. And evidence of pasta dishes appeared in Italian recipe books in the early 1200s.”

There are hundreds of pasta shapes, some being regional and not widely known. There are gluten-free pastas (if you haven’t tried Aldi’s, you won’t be disappointed) and pastas made from barley, buckwheat, rye, rice, maize, chickpea and other flours. It is available dried, fresh, frozen and canned (think Chef Boyardee). That, by the way, is not a fictitious name, though the spelling is a bit different — Ettore Boiardi. It was interesting to learn that Boiardi worked his way up to head chef at the renowned Plaza Hotel in NYC. That is quite a step up from canned spaghetti for which he was known.

One of the fun aspects of celebrating food holidays is finding appropriate books on my shelves and looking through them for cooking ideas. I also enjoy finding products, especially new ones, to use in cooking with the celebrated item.

“The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook,” by Serena Cosmo (2017, Cider Mill Press, $39.95), might just become your pasta “bible.” The 800-page volume details the origins and uses of 350 types of pasta and noodles from around the world, as well as the ingredients and equipment that can be used to make your own. Several pages cover the art of cooking both dried and fresh pasta.

It was fun taking another look at the book based on the popular YouTube channel of the same name, “Pasta Grannies: the Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks,” by Vicky Bennison (2019, Hardie Grant Books, $29.99). The collection of Italian recipes from 75 nonnas from all over Italy transported me into the heart of their homes, the kitchen, and provoked memories of my trip to Italy last year. Handmade pasta styles range from Giuseppa’s pici (a very thick spaghetti) that is simple to make to Anna’s lumachelle della duchessa  (tiny, ridged, cinnamon scented tubes). What makes this cookbook great is the extraordinary stories of these ordinary women and shows you how with the right know-how and a few good ingredients, truly authentic Italian cooking is simple, beautiful and achievable.

Two new products I found and curious to try are the Pastene tri-color tomatoes and the Prosecco Wine Vinegar. You can try the tomatoes, too, with the pasta recipe below. The vinegar, made from 100 percent Prosecco wine, piqued my interest. It can be used to make a light dressing with extra virgin olive oil and lemon, or as a marinade for chicken or fish that will heighten and enhance the flavors. Or, check out the recipe below for Halibut with Prosecco Wine Vinegar and Succotash. Rather than the succotash, a recipe using pasta is perhaps more appropriate this month.

I am familiar with the Pastene brand, and was curious to know a bit of the company’s history. You might know by now, I am a food history buff. There is a New Haven connection, too. Pastene is North America’s oldest importer of premium Italian packaged goods. It began as a pushcart operation in Boston’s North End in 1848. Pastene has the distinction of being one of North America’s oldest, continuously operated family businesses. In 1848, Luigi Pastene came to Boston from Italy and began selling produce from a pushcart. By the 1870s, Luigi, now joined by his son Pietro, had established Pastene as a company selling groceries as well as produce. In the early 1900s the company expanded geographically with distribution and packing facilities established in New York, Montreal, New Haven and Havana as well as in Italy in Naples and Imperia.

Celebrate National Pasta month by trying some new shapes of pasta and recipes or prove to everyone you’re the ultimate pasta aficionado with these facts.

Fun facts:

— Americans eat approximately 20 pounds of pasta each year. But wait: in Italy, the average person eats 51 pounds.

— The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn in 1848. It was not an Italian that started the U.S. industry, rather, a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega.

— Americans named spaghetti as their favorite pasta shape.

— 54 percent of Americans keep 1-4 packages of pasta in their pantry at all times.

— According to a National Pasta Association analysis, the average price an American pays for pasta is about $1.45 per pound. This makes it one of the most affordable meal options.

— The U.S. produces 4.4 billion pounds of pasta annually, making it the second-largest pasta-producing nation in the world.

— According to a recent Grain Foods Foundation survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults representing a cross-section of the population, approximately one-third of consumers named pasta (36 percent) and bread (29 percent) as foods that are comforting during a stressful time.

To see the recipes, please visit

https://www.ctinsider.com/living/nhregister/article/Stephen-Fries-A-month-is-not-enough-to-celebrate-15623042.php?cmpid=gsa-nhregister-result&_ga=2.210900375.389376881.1602367142-1128023684.1499900500

[amatchgirl]

Carrot Cake Pancakes (gluten free + dairy free!)

I don’t know about you but this whole quarantine thing has me ridiculously excited about breakfast every morning. I treat it as a little adventure where every day I have to peek into my fridge or pantry and find something new and exciting to make. I mean, who doesn’t love mixing it up?!

These carrot cake pancakes were a result of me finding carrots in my fridge and oats in the pantry — and admittedly inspired by my obsession with all things carrot cake including: carrot cake smoothie, healthy carrot cake muffins, the best healthy carrot cake (it’s gluten free), carrot cake oatmeal cups, carrot cake cookies and now, these ridiculously delicious healthy carrot cake pancakes!

Just call me the carrot cake queen plz.

Pancake batter made right in the blender

What I love about these carrot cake pancakes is how simply they are to whip up. You just need a blender, a few pantry staples and a nonstick pan. Add all the ingredients minus the mix-ins to a blender and you’ve got yourself an easy carrot cake pancake batter that’s made without any flour — just oats! Yum.

Feel free to try some of my other reader favorite blender pancake recipes that use minimal pantry staples:

Ingredients in carrot cake pancakes

These healthy carrot cake pancakes are made with super simple ingredients that keep them gluten free, dairy free and packed with both fruits & veggies—making them perfect for kids! Here are the ingredients you need:

Unsweetened applesauce: applesauce keeps these pancakes super moist and flavorful, and adds a touch of natural sweetness from fruit. If you don’t have applesauce, feel free to sub in a mashed ripe banana.

Eggs: these will help your carrot cake pancakes stay together nicely. I haven’t tested with a flax egg but let me know if you give it a try!

Unsweetened almond milk: for additional moisture. Please note that you can use any milk you want in this recipe!

Maple syrup: to add a natural sweetness. Feel free to use coconut sugar or honey as well.

Rolled oats: oats make the pancakes nice and hearty! Feel free to use gluten free rolled oats, but do not use steel cut oats.

Baking powder: to make the pancakes super fluffy.

Spices: I used cinnamon & nutmeg in this recipe for a cozy carrot cake flavaaaa.

Salt: just a pinch to bring the flavors together.

Shredded carrots: for that amazing carrot cake flavor plus a sneaky boost of veggies!

Chopped walnuts: walnuts add a little crunch plus omega-3s in every bite. Feel free to use pecans instead if you’d like.

Raisins: love a good carrot cake with raisins. Totally optional, but they make these pancakes extra delicious!

How to make carrot cake pancakes

Place all of your ingredients besides the mix-ins into a blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Then, stir in your shredded carrots, walnuts and raisins.

Add olive oil, coconut oil or vegan butter to a griddle or large nonstick pan and place over medium heat. Add carrot cake pancake batter 1/3 cup at a time and use a spoon to spread it out a bit into circles. Cook for about 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and tiny bubbles appear around the edges.

Flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on underside. If you find that pancakes are browning too quickly, then you need to lower the heat. I normally start on medium heat, then reduce to medium low later so that my pancakes don’t burn. If at any point your griddle starts smoking, it means your pan is too hot.

Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter.

Serve pancakes with almond butter, cream cheese or yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup!

How to keep pancakes warm

You can also make these gluten free carrot cake pancakes ahead of time and keep them warm in the oven. Simply place oven at 200 degrees F, then add pancakes to a baking sheet or oven-safe plate and place in the oven until ready to serve.

How to freeze pancakes

If you want to make your carrot cake pancakes ahead of time and serve them at a later date, you can place the pancakes on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place them in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply add pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.

More carrot cake recipes to try

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal Cups

Healthier Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake Smoothie

Healthy Carrot Cake Cookies (made with coconut oil + dairy free!)

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze

I know you’re going to love these healthy carrot cake pancakes! Please let me know if you make it by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! Enjoy xo!

Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes

Fluffy, healthy carrot cake pancakes made right in your blender with delicious spices. These easy carrot cake pancakes are dairy free, naturally sweetened and packed with yummy mix-ins like walnuts and raisins. Top with almond butter, cream cheese or yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup for a wonderful, cozy breakfast!

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or sub coconut sugar or honey)

1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

Mix-ins:

1 cup shredded carrots (shred with a cheese grater)

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

3 tablespoons raisins

For cooking:

Olive oil or coconut oil, for cooking

Add all of the ingredients (besides the carrots, walnuts and raisins) to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the carrots, chopped walnuts and raisins (DO NOT BLEND).

Lightly coat a griddle with coconut oil or olive oil and place over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add about 1/3 cup of the batter to the griddle for each pancake and use a spoon to spread them out a bit into circles; cook for 2-4 minutes until pancakes slightly puff up and you see a few bubbles along the edges.

Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside. If you find that pancakes are browning too quickly, then you need to lower the heat. I normally start on medium heat, then reduce to medium low later so that my pancakes don’t burn. If at any point your griddle starts smoking, it means your pan is too hot.

Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter. Makes 6 pancakes total. Serves 3, 2 pancakes each.

I love topping these pancakes with almond butter or cream cheese and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. You can also top them with yogurt! Yum.

To freeze pancakes: if you want to make your carrot cake pancakes ahead of time and serve them at a later date, you can place the pancakes on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place them in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply add pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.

Nutrition

Servings: 3 servings

Serving size: 2 pancakes

Calories: 351kcal

Fat: 12.8g

Saturated fat: 1.3g

Carbohydrates: 52.4g

Fiber: 7.1g

Sugar: 18.8g

Protein: 11.5g

  from WordPress http://sweetly.site/carrot-cake-pancakes-gluten-free-dairy-free/

[healthyworthyofficial]

Keto Vanilla Berry Mug Cake + VIDEO — 5 g net carbs

This web page could include affiliate hyperlinks. Any commissions earned will assist my web site to stay free ceaselessly. (Full disclosure).

How to make a fast and straightforward 1-minute coconut flour keto vanilla berry mug cake – even whenever you don’t need to cook dinner! The better part? It’s keto, sugar-free, low-carb and made with coconut flour – this can please even essentially the most ardent cake lover! It’s solely 5g net carbs! Whoop whoop!

Keto Vanilla Berry Mug Cake

If you may have ever had a cake emergency, a mug cake is an absolute lifesaver when a sugar craving hits, and also you don’t need to cook dinner. You merely combine a number of easy components collectively in your favorite mug, pop the wholesome mug cake within the microwave and in 1 minute – growth, you may have a keto vanilla berry mug cake able to take pleasure in. The fantastic thing about keto mug truffles is which you could take pleasure in an occasional candy deal with however with out ruining your each day macros. It received’t elevate your blood sugars and it received’t set off sugar cravings. More Low-Carb Dessert Recipes & Low-Carb Cake Recipes …

No Microwave? No Problem! Now I perceive that a lot of you don’t personal a microwave or don’t like utilizing them. You can nonetheless make the keto vanilla berry cake batter, however you'll have to cook dinner it within the oven. Of course, it's now not a 1-minute mug cake, and it turns into a 12-minute cupcake as an alternative.  But it may be completed. Simply bake at 180C/350F in a cupcake case or muffin tray.

Why coconut flour? If you may have been with me for some time then you recognize I like coconut flour. And if you're new right here, keep in mind to subscribe right here and get a free copy of my Top 10 Low-Carb Recipes to get you began. Coconut flour is an excellent low-carb, keto, gluten-free flour. It is gentle, filled with fibre, straightforward to make use of, requires little or no portions and so finally ends up being a really inexpensive baking grain-free flour. Further studying:

Why You Need Sugar-Free Dessert Recipes In the long run, we need to depend on candy recipes much less and fewer. And we need to use sweeteners, much less and fewer. So why do we'd like sugar-free dessert recipes? Because if I advised you that you simply have been by no means allowed a candy deal with ever once more, most of you wouldn’t even ponder embarking on a keto or low-carb life! Another cause for having wonderful sugar-free recipes is so chances are you'll provide to carry a wholesome sugar-free and low-carb dessert to a celebration or ceremonial dinner. Because in the event you carry a keto or low-carb dessert, you might be in command of the largest supply of sugar and carbs in a meal. LOW-CARB SWEET TREATS: Want to take pleasure in events AND keep on observe? Get wholesome low-carb recipes you’ll LOVE – CLICK HERE

These are my favorite ceremonial dinner desserts to share (hyperlinks under):

Keto Vanilla Berry Mug Cake

How to make a fast and straightforward 1-minute coconut flour keto vanilla berry mug cake – even whenever you don’t prefer to cook dinner!   Prep Time3 minutesCook Time1 minTotal Time4 minutes Course: Baking, Cakes and desserts, Coconut Flour RecipesDiet: Gluten Free, Grain free, Keto, LCHF, Low Carb, No Sugars, Wheat FreeDiet: Diabetic, Gluten FreeKeyword: keto vanilla berry mug cake Total Carbs: 10g Fibre: 5.5g InstructionsPlace the butter and cream cheese in your chosen mug. Microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds. Add the coconut flour, sweetener, vanilla, and baking powder. Mix effectively. Add the egg. Mix once more Scrape down the perimeters of the mug, then press in 6 frozen raspberries into the cake batter. Microwave on HIGH for 1:20 seconds minute. Want to start out low-carb FAST?Grab your FREE 5-day meal plan, pantry information, buying checklist & tracker CLICK HERE NotesYou can cut back the overall carbs additional by omitting the raspberries (1.5 whole carbs) to make a easy keto vanilla mug cake.  Please alter the microwave cooking occasions in line with the power of your microwave. My microwave is fairly highly effective and solely requires 1 minute, however most traditional microwaves could require the 1:20 as acknowledged within the recipe. No microwave? No downside. Simply bake at 180C/350F in a cupcake case or muffin tray for 12 minutes.  Nutrition Facts Keto Vanilla Berry Mug Cake Amount Per Serving (1 mug cake) Calories 342 Calories from Fat 243 % Daily Value* Fat 27g42%Carbohydrates 10g3%Fiber 5.5g23%Sugar 3g3%Protein 9g18% Vitamin A 980IU20%Vitamin C 3.1mg4%Calcium 107mg11%Iron 1.1mg6% * Percent Daily Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie weight loss program. NEED MORE HELP?Ditch The Carbs PRO – your low-carb course PLUS the FAMOUS mini-challenges that cease you falling again into outdated habits – JOIN US Cookbooks & Meal PlansTake the stress out of cooking, all of the assets you’ll ever want – SHOW ME Need assist, ideas & methods?Join our pleasant SUPPORT GROUP to assist help and information you and your loved ones to reside low-carb for all times!

If this text has triggered you to make well being a precedence, however you don’t know the place to start out, be part of us at Ditch The Carbs PRO. Get IMMEDIATE entry so you can begin TODAY!

Want to start out low-carb quick ?

Grab your FREE 100 Top Tips For Beginners as a publication subscriber bonusJust 1 of the following pointers may very well be your #lightbulb second for wonderful progress.You'll be a part of my wonderful FREE e mail neighborhood. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy Success! Now examine your e mail to obtain your eBook and to verify your subscription. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=;t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e); s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '389949918466211'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); Source link Read the full article

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

31+ Healthy Junk Food Alternatives for the New Year

New blog post! Now that 2020 is here, I know a lot of people set goals for moving their body a little more and eating a healthier diet. And while I 100% believe that junk food can be part of a healthy diet (and have even written a post about why I’m healthier eating more processed foods), I did discover plenty of healthy junk food alternatives in 2019 that not only had less sugar, more veggies and protein or a little more nutrition than the typical treats...but also tasted freakin’ delicious. Some of the foods I’m including below have been mentioned in previous blog posts, but most were completely new to me last year, and are totally new for the blog too!

So whether you’re looking for healthy snack options or just want some ideas of delicious snacks to try in the New Year - that also happen to be a little more nutritious and 100% gluten free - keep reading to learn about 31+ healthy junk food alternatives.

Savory:

Crunchy Snacks:

The Real Coconut chips

If you’re looking for grain free or paleo chips that give tortilla chips a run for their money, look no further than these. These healthy chips are also vegan, and I love that these are thick and crunchy. As a bonus, all of the Real Coconut's products use easily digestible plants like coconut, plantain and cassava as their main ingredients.

Rhythm Superfoods vegetable chips 

Be warned - these vegetable chips are not everyone’s favorite, and people seem especially torn about the beet chips. However, if you want some crunch and to increase your vegetable intake at the same time, I think Rhythm Superfoods' veggie chips are an awesome choice.My top three favorites are the kale chips, carrot chips and beet chips (in any of the flavors). All of the healthy chips are not only gluten free, but also vegan and non-GMO. 

Beanfields chips

I’ve written about these gluten free and vegan snacks before, so I’ll just say they’re made partially with beans (yay extra protein, fiber and potassium) and addictively tasty.

Artisan Tropic chips

Artisan Tropic offers a variety of certified gluten free chips made out of cassava or plantain. They come in flavors like Barbecue and Jalapeño, but my favorites are the plain sea salt. These chips are also vegan and paleo, and have fewer calories and fat than the traditional potato chip. 

Saffron Road chickpeas

Saffron Road offers a variety of certified gluten free frozen meals and sweet chickpeas, but I also love their savory baked chickpeas, which come in flavors like Bombay spice, Chipotle, Korean BBQ and Sea Salt.

Green Mustache crackers

Biting into Green Mustache’s “Cheddarish Crackers,” you would never guess this healthy savory snack is gluten free and vegan. Green Mustache makes their “munchies” out of nutritious ingredients like chickpea flour and kale, and I love that they donate any unsellable crackers to local farmers for livestock.

Simply 7 Snacks chips

Like Artisan Tropic, Simply 7 Snacks sells certified gluten free chips with a range of different base ingredients, including chips made with quinoa and lentils. All their snacks are free of gluten, trans fat, preservatives and artificial colors and flavors. My favorite chips of theirs are the Original Quinoa Curls and Sea Salt Lentil.

Meals and Sides:

Real Good Foods' pizza  

As I've shared before on Instagram (the best place to see even more gluten free product reviews!), Real Good Food’s cauliflower crust pizza consistently blows me away. I don’t taste the cauliflower at all and I love that the pizzas are the perfect size for one meal. Their cauliflower pizzas are grain free, low carb and high protein. 

Right Rice

I definitely don’t think that you need to avoid or replace regular rice in order to “eat healthy.” However, if you are trying to increase the amount of protein in your diet, Right Rice is a tasty plant-based option. Right Rice actually made of lentils, chickpeas, peas and rice, but you can cook it just like you would at regular rice and serve it the same. It comes in many different flavors and my favorites are Original, Lemon Pepper, and Spanish. 

Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi

For months, I heard everyone and their mama rave about Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi, and the rave reviews were right on target. My favorite way to prepare the cauliflower gnocchi is defrosting it a bit in the microwave before finishing it off in the skillet. 

Mikey’s hot pockets

Ommmggg, y’all. Like I’ve shared before, I’m an ambassador for Mikey’s and while I love their grain free pizza crusts and English muffins, their gluten free hot pockets are something else. So far, I’ve tried (and loved) the Ham and Cheese, Cheese Pizza Pockets and Pepperoni Pizza flavors. This traditional junk food is given a bit of a nutritious upgrade by using plant based cheese and cassava flour. Besides being grain free, Mikey’s hot pockets are dairy and milk free, soy free and paleo friendly. 

Sweet:

Crunchy Sweets: 

Safe and Fair's kettle quinoa chips

If you like sweet and salty popcorn, this flavor of Safe and Fair kettle popcorn quinoa chips is sure to become a new favorite. They also feature quinoa for a boost in protein and are certified gluten free, as well as free of eggs, shellfish, fish, dairy, peanuts and treenuts.

Spudsy's sweet potato puffs

Sweet potato gets a sweet upgrade with these gluten free puffed chips. Made with a mix of sweet potato flour, rice flour, pea protein and other ingredients, their churro flavor seriously tastes like a delicious cinnamony fried treat.

Skinny Dipped Almonds

I can thank Skinny Dipped for making me absolutely obsessed with chocolate covered almonds. Their dark chocolate is my top pick, but strawberry and PB are delicious too. The almond base makes this sweet snack high in protein and fiber with just the right hint of chocolate. 

Dang Foods' coconut chips 

If you love dried fruit, Dang is another awesome company to know about. Their coconut chips come in many different flavors and the crunch is out of this world.

Bada Bean Snacks

You already know I love snacking on flavored chickpeas, but these roasted broad beans are equally delicious. These high-protein snacks are also high in fiber and relatively low in fat, and Bada Bean has many different sweet and savory flavors, but cocoa and cinnamon are my favorite. Bada Bean Snacks are also gluten free, soy free, non-GMO and vegan.

Foods Alive's Globe Trecker Trailmix 

As I've mentioned previously, I’m an ambassador for Foods Alive and one of my favorite products of theirs is this superfood trail mix. Can’t go wrong with crunchy peanuts and cacao nibs and chewy dried mulberries and goji berries. All gluten free, raw, non-GMO, organic and vegan.

Quinoa Munch

This healthy snack is made with quinoa and corn and not only tastes like a light, crunchy cross between popcorn and cereal but also offers some calcium, iron and protein. I prefer the chocolate flavor to passion fruit but both are tasty.

Bare Snacks' banana chips 

Bare Snacks sells gluten free dried chips made from bananas, strawberries, coconut, apples, sweet potato and many other Whole Foods. Their dried banana chips are one of my favorite healthy snacks before bed.

Candy and Cakes:

Free2B's Dark Chocolate Sun Cups

Now, these sunflower butter cups certainly aren’t “health food.” However, compared to a traditional Reese’s peanut butter cup, Free2B’s is a bit lower in sugar, avoids the top 12 allergens, uses Fair Trade dark chocolate and tastes just as delicious. Free2B also sells different chocolate bark (called “Snack Breaks”) that are also made with high quality, allergen-free ingredients and addictively tasty.

Alter Eco's Coconut Clusters 

This healthy chocolate snack only lasts a few days at my house...and I live alone. There is just something so irresistible about a chocolatey treat that also has the crunch of toasted coconut shreds. Besides being certified gluten free, Alter Eco’s Coconut Clusters are free of soy, artificial flavors and emulsifiers, and only have 5 grams of sugar per serving.

Project 7’s Gourmet Chewies

I’ve never been a huge Skittles person, but I do love having a few of Project 7 Gouet Chewies with my night snack. These are chewy candies with a slightly crunchy exterior that are made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. They’re also gluten free (of course), non-GMO, organic and made in the US.

Nibmor

I’ve stumbled upon tons of delicious, healthier chocolate brands over the years (if you want me to write a round up of just those, let me know in the comments!), but Nib Mor is the brand that can now always be found in my parents’ pantry. Their chocolate is certified gluten free and vegan, organic, non-GMO and Rainforest Alliance certified. My Mom’s go-to buy is the Extreme Dark Chocolate, which is 80% cacao and features crunchy cacao nibs for extra antioxidants.

Rule Breaker Snacks

Who knew that gluten free brownies and blondies made with chickpeas could taste so good!?! Rule Breaker Snacks’ desserts are also vegan and nut free, and come in several flavors. My top two choices are the Birthday Cake Blondies and Deep Chocolate Brownies, and I appreciate how big the chocolate chunks always are.

Veggies Made Great

It is seriously amazing that the gluten free muffins from Veggies Made Great have vegetables as the two first ingredients. You don’t taste the carrots or zucchini at all, and these muffins (particularly the double chocolate and banana chocolate chip flavors) are especially delicious popped into the microwave for a few seconds. These veggie-packed muffins do contain eggs but are free of gluten, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.

Julie's Real Carmel Vanilla Blondie Mix

I couldn't resist sharing an amazing product from another company I love and serve as an ambassador for: Julies Real. They only recently released their paleo blondie and brownie mixes, and they are seriously some of the tastiest gluten free baking mixes I’ve ever tried. Plus, the mixes are certified gluten free, non-GMO, organic, paleo and free of dairy, soy, peanuts, cane sugar, flavorings and extracts. The instructions on the back of the baking mixes do call for an egg and a good amount of nut butter, but I’ve made these baking mixes vegan and lower fat as well by instead using one ripe banana, one vegan egg replacement from Bob Red Mill and only 1/4 cup of nut butter.

Soozy’s Grain Free Muffins

This was one of my last finds in 2019, and these paleo muffins seriously blew my mind. They are made of all-natural, unprocessed ingredients like cage-free whole eggs, almond and coconut flour and extra virgin coconut oil. Plus, Soozy’s Muffins are certified gluten free and free from grains, soy, dairy, GMOs, fillers and additives. I’ve tried the Double Chocolate and Wild Blueberry flavors and both were insanely soft, moist and loaded with flavor. They reminded me a lot of the fancy coffee shop muffins I enjoyed before celiac disease!

Ice Cream and Cold Desserts: 

Wink Frozen Desserts

Since my last dairy free ice cream round up, I hadn’t tried Wink Desserts yet, and they definitely deserve a mention. This vegan, low sugar and low calorie ice cream alternative is def not a good option if you don’t enjoy artificial sweeteners, since you definitely taste them with Wink. However, I still really enjoyed all the flavors of Wink I got to try - especially Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Bean and Salted Caramel - and the texture of the ice cream got super creamy when given time to thaw.

The Worthy Company's Blendie Bowls 

This isn’t a frozen dessert per se, but the Worthy Company's Blendie Bowls are some of the tastiest veggie-packed puddings I’ve ever tried. Each blendie bowl is packed with two servings of veggies, eight grams of vegan protein and fiber and only eight grams of sugar. You’d never guess that there are legumes one this thick pudding, and while I enjoyed eating it chilled on its own, it also makes a BOMB healthy frosting.

Vixen Kitchen

On the note of frozen desserts, I wanted to mention Vixen Kitchen’s paleo and vegan gelato. It’s sweetened with maple syrup as well as being organic, and I ended up loving the Midnight Mint flavor, as well as Naked Vanilla. This isn’t my favorite vegan or paleo ice cream that I’ve ever tried, but it’s a pretty tasty option if you’re looking for a frozen dessert with more wholesome ingredients.

Eat Fronen

Last but not least - I talk about making banana ice cream all the time, but Eat Fronen takes banana ice cream to the new level. This dairy free frozen dessert comes in five different flavors that are made mainly of bananas, along with four or fewer other ingredients.  Madagascar Vanilla and Strawberry were my two surprise favorites. I really wish I could make my own banana ice cream half this thick and creamy!

What I Hope You Learn about "Healthy Eating" in 2020

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I do not think that people need to avoid traditional junk food or comfort food in order to be healthy. Personally, I lovvvve digging into a decadent full-fat, high-sugar cookie when I’m craving one...but I also love eating it with a veggie-packed pudding or using super dark chocolate while baking. That’s my definition of balance, and I hope that 2020 - and maybe even this list of yummy recommendations - will help you find yours.

In fact, my biggest hope for and goal of this post is to expose people to brands that might make it a lil’ easier to eat more vegetables and protein or less sugar. And if you are starting a new lifestyle like paleo or vegan, or need to avoid allergens like gluten, dairy, soy or nuts, this list should give you more ideas on what food options are really available for you, too. So whether eating a bit healthier is a goal you want to set in the new year or you just scrolled for the foodporn, I hope you’re taking away whatever tidbits of information will help you craft an even yummier new year! Have you heard of or tried any of these products before? Which are your favorites...or which do you want to try first?

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2FdeuaQ

[foodtrails25-blog]

Papad ki Subzi,a spicy and tangy Rajasthani curry made with yogurt and papad/poppadoms and chickpea flour.

A simple and fuss free curry from the royal state of Rajasthan. If you follow me, by now you must have known my love for Rajasthani Cuisine. I spent 3 years of my college life in Rajasthan and fall in love with the food. It is very much similar to the cuisine of from where I come from Western U. P but still many dishes  like Dal Baati, Gatte Ki Subzi, Gatte Ka Pulao, Rajasthani Kabuli/Jodhpuri Pulao are native to the state.

Rajasthan is basically is a dry state and people have adapted there cuisine vegetarians especially to the local available ingredients. Due to scarcity of water, the state does not enjoy a wide range of fresh vegetables. Now a days almost everything is available in big cities but few decades back and still, people in small towns relied on local ingredients. Yogurt, spices and chickpea flour and millets like bajara are widely used in making dishes.

Other Rajasthani Recipes on the blog.. Rajasthani Pyaz ki Kachori, Mawa Ki Kachori, Choorma , Rajasthani Lehsun Ki Chutney

Papad Ki Subzi/Dahi Papad Shak

One such curry rich in flavors and very quick and easy to make is Papad Ki Subzi or Dahi Papad Shak as known in local language. I first tasted this curry from one of my classmates lunchbox, who used bring homemade food for us(those living in college hostel) . We loved this simple curry used to gorge on it with ajwain paranthas.

The curry is very simple and we just need sour yogurt, chickpea flour and papads. It is a very good way to use leftover papads/papadums from the last nite’s party or when we run out of vegetables for making lunch or dinner. Did this ever happened with you that you are about to prepare dinner or wake up early morning to find no veggies, no tomatoes not even onion and potatoes in pantry to cook!!?? I am sure sometimes it happens with all of us, especially towards the weekend..

Khali Fridge/Empty Refrigerator

I am right na?? What you do when you have practically no veggies in pantry/refrigerator. This specially happens when we come back from a long vacation or cleaning the pantry and refrigerator when gong on long vacations. Or sometimes it just you don’t want to go grocery shopping 😉 !!

There are many recipes that one can think of making with veggies, onion and tomatoes.Lentils or frozen veggies are on thing usually that come to our rescue.Dishes like khichdi like Yellow Moong Dal Khichdi, Hari Moong Dal Khichdi  or  simple dal preparations like (Dhuli Moong Dal/Red Lentils, Dal Tadka)with steamed  rice, crepes made with various flours like Chickpea flour(Besan Chilla), Instant Ragi Dosa, Dal Parantha or Pooris(Bedmi Poori) can be prepared in jiffy for such times.

#KhaliFridge is the theme for this week’s Foodie Monday Bloghop group for this Monday.This wonderful theme was suggested by Renu who blog’s at Cook with Renu. Renu’s blog has a wonderful collection of recipes where she uses gluten-free flours like coconut, millets and healthy ingredients which suit the taste buds of both the grown ups and kids. Do check out here blog..

What to have with Papad Ki Subzi

I make Papad ki Subzi many times especially when I want something quick, easy and different for dinner.  Kids love this curry as I top it more crunchy papads and they like to have it with chapatis/rice. You can serve it your guests too, along with other main course dishes like Aloo Matar or Matar Paneer, Rassewale Aloo Tamatar, Palak Paneer,Chautneywale Aloo, Besanwali Bhindi. This curry goes well with chapatis, paranthas and even with pooris(Methi Dal Poori).

For a quick, wholesome meal, pair it with Sookhi Urad dal(Dry Split Black Gram Lentil). Another recipe that  you can make when there are no veggies.(updating next),

Let’s see now how I make this super simple Papad Ki Subzi/Dahi Papad Ki Subzi

All the ingredients(papad,boondi, spices) are available at Indian Grocery stores

Papads or better known as Poppadoms, use preferably Moong Papads or Urad Dal Papads.

To make Dahi Papad ki Subzi, we need Curd/Yogurt. Old or sour yogurt should be preferably used used for the authentic taste.

Chickpea flour/besan to bind the curry, spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper for flavour.

You can also add boondi to it. Boondi are fried chickpea balls that are used for making boondi raita or used in chaat recipes. I am adding it here.

I am also using dried feugreek leaves(kasuri methi) in the recipe, as it gives a nice flavour and aroma to curry. This is optional and not used in traditional preparation.

Traditionally fried papads are added to this curry, but I usually add roasted papads. You can roast papads on stovetop or in microwave.

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Method..

Roast papads and keep aside. Crush it to the size as you like it in curry. Soaked papads increase in size after sometime, you

In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, chickpea flour/besan , salt and other powdered spices like coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder.

Add about 1 cup of water and mix well.

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Heat oil/ghee in a kadhai, add hing(asafeotida), cumin seeds/jeera and other whole spices.

Add ginger green chilli paste saute for few seconds.Then, add dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi and saute for another 1-2 seconds.

Add yogurt and chickpea mixture and stir it well. Take care it should not curdle.Once the mix comes to roaring boil, add salt.

Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes and then add crushed papads and boondi to it. Many recipes tell about soaking papads and boondi in hot water before adding to curry, but I add it directly. It get’s cooked and soaked in curry. I  like it that way.

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Top with finely chopped cilantro/coriander(optional). Top it more crushed papads and boondi while serving for the crunch if you like.

Serve hot with Chapati/Parantha or Poori.

Other Yogurt based curries from the blog that you will like… Chatpatte Kale Chane, Kadi Pakodi,

Papad Ki Subzi

1 Cup Yogurt/Dahi

1-2 tbsp Chickpea Flour/Besan

½ Cup Crushed Papad/Popadums

¼ Cup Boondi

Spices used

1 Bay Leaf

1-2 Whole Red Chillies

4-5 Cloves

1 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera

1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1" Ginger

1-2 Green Chillies (optional)

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

Salt to taste

1-2 tbsp Oil/Desi Ghee

Roast papads and keep aside. Crush it to the size as you like it in curry.

Crush Ginger and green chilli in motor pestle or finely chop.

In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, chickpea flour/besan , salt and other powdered spices like coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder.Add about 1 cup of water and mix well.

Heat oil/ghee in a kadhai, add hing(asafeotida), cumin seeds/jeera and other whole spices.

Add ginger green chilli paste and saute for few seconds. Add dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi and saute for another few seconds.

Add yogurt and chickpea mixture and stir it well. Take care it should not curdle.Once the mix comes to raring boil, add salt.

Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes and then add crushed papads and boondi to it. You can also soak papad and boondi in hot water(separately) before adding to curry, but I add it directly. It get's cooked and soaked in curry.

Top with finely chopped cilantro/coriander(optional). Top it more crushed papads and boondi while serving for the crunch if you like.

Serve hot with Chapati/Parantha or Poori.

Variations for Curry

Add one pureed tomato for a different texture and flavour.

You can add boiled potatoes and peas to it.

For the drier version add more papad, reduce water to half cup and add green capsicum to it along with chopped tomatoes.

Variations for Papad Ki Subzi

Add one pureed tomato for a different texture and flavour.

You can add boiled potatoes and peas to it.

For the drier version add more papad, reduce water to half cup and add green capsicum to it along with chopped tomatoes.You will love this simple and yumm version with hot chapatis!!

Do try this yogurt based curry for loved ones not only when you run out of vegetables, but also for festive meal menu..

  Do give me your feedback whenever you make it.. tag me on  my social media handles..

Say Hello!!and  visit my social media accounts.. FB, Pinterest and Instagram. Whenever you make this, do post on my FB page or tag me on Instagram.  Pin the recipes for later use.

If you like my work, then do hit the follow button and subscribe to the blog to get notifications on new posts and share the blog with your loved ones. I promise won’t spam your mailbox 🙂.

Thanks for stopping by and keep coming back!!

            Papad Boondi ki Subzi Papad ki Subzi,a spicy and tangy Rajasthani curry made with yogurt and papad/poppadoms and chickpea flour.

[gethealthy18-blog]

Quick, Healthy & Easy Meal Ideas to Save Your Weeknight

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Quick, Healthy & Easy Meal Ideas to Save Your Weeknight

I try to keep systems in place to organize my life and make sure things get done (homeschooling, cooking, blogging, travel, etc.). But I’m just like anyone else in that sometimes things pop up that interfere with my carefully laid plans. Out of necessity, over the years I’ve come up with quick, easy and healthy “emergency” meals that I can count on when I’m short on time or energy.

Prevention Is the Best Medicine

As with most things, prevention and preparation are a better way to go than putting out fires when they arise. Here’s how I prepare for busy nights:

Batch Cooking – This is simply preparing and cooking as much beforehand as possible. For example, cooking chicken breasts or meatballs on the weekend and having those for lunch throughout the week. I also pre-slice and chop ingredients so all I have to do is throw them together (or cook them) when dinner rolls around.

Meal Planning – I also use a meal planning service to plan out our meals for the week (plus the shopping list). This helps me to do batch cooking. It also helps keep me organized so I know exactly what I need to cook and when. I only choose quick meals for busy nights.

Keep a Stocked Pantry and Freezer – Keeping healthy ingredients on hand is one of the best ways to be prepared to make a quick meal. Thrive Market is totally my secret weapon for this. I use the app so I can reorder my usual lists with the click of a button, and time my order for when they’re having a special freebie or offer I really want. If you’re curious, you can read about my favorite items and how I use the service in this post.

Being prepared for busy nights and unexpected events is a great way to keep healthy meals on the table. But if you’re in a dinner emergency already, it’s too late to try these. In that case, try the following recipes for healthy meals to save your weeknight.

Easy Healthy Dinner Recipes (for THOSE Days)

We’ve all had a day where plans go right out the window. I certainly have been there! They say necessity is the mother of invention, and they are right… some of my best easy meal ideas were born on days I had to work with limitations like:

When You Have an Hour Until Dinner (and No Plan)

These recipes take about an hour or less. They’re also very simple so you can get a lot done while dinner is cooking (like bathing the kids, prepping lunch for the next day, or just sitting down for a few minutes!).

Roasted Chicken – I love that this recipe uses just one pan but is a complete meal (keep frozen Brussels sprouts or broccoli on hand to round it out). It’s so simple, as long as I have about an hour until I need to feed the family, it’s a lifesaver.

Pizza Stir-fry – This recipe is a favorite because it’s simple and can be made in just one pan. Stir-frys are great for getting lots of vegetables into the meal and this one really tastes like pizza (so the whole family loves it!).

Stuffed Acorn Squash Boats – Filled with tasty meat and vegetables, this recipe is healthy and a family favorite. To make it even simpler you can toss some frozen squash in with the sausage instead of baking the squash halves.

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice – Instant pot recipes are amazing when it comes to cooking a meal quickly. This recipe gets the job done quickly and all you have to do is steam a few veggies for a side dish.

Tuna Noodle Casserole – If you’re craving comfort food, this recipe is perfect. It’s the traditional tuna noodle casserole but it’s made with healthier ingredients (including gluten-free noodles, which you can leave out or substitute with something grain-free if you wish).

I like how the above recipes are hands off, won’t get a lot of dishes dirty, and serve a crowd. You do still need to plan a bit to make them and have the ingredients around, however.

When You Haven’t Bought Groceries Yet

If you get caught off guard with an empty fridge/pantry (and there’s not enough time for that wonderful invention called grocery delivery!), these recipes are an easy way to get a healthy meal on the table:

Simple Tomato Soup – This healthy version of a comfort soup favorite takes just 30 minutes to make and you can use fresh or canned tomatoes. Add some leftover chicken and it’s a complete meal.

Salmon Asparagus Recipe – This quick meal uses just one pan (my favorite way to cook!) and a few ingredients. Salmon is loaded with healthy fats and lower in mercury than most fish, making it one of my favorite simple meals.

Vegetable Frittata – Frittatas are not just for breakfast (though they’re delicious then too!). They are a great way to add more vegetables to a meal and take hardly any time to prepare. They are also very versatile, so you can add whatever veggies you have in the refrigerator.

Coconut Flour Waffles – We almost always have eggs and bulk coconut flour on hand, so we’ve served these for dinner in a pinch.

Because these recipes use minimal ingredients (many of which will be in the pantry or freezer) they’re a must-have for busy weeknights at my house.

When You Have 30 Minutes or Less

If we get home really late and the kids are starving and exhausted (not a good combination!) I know I need to get something on the table quickly. Here are my favorite recipes for those days:

Guacamole (or Hummus) and Veggies – Though this isn’t a meal recipe, guacamole can pass for a meal if paired with some vegetable sticks. If you have leftover protein to round it out, great, but if not, the healthy fats in the avocado and the fiber in the vegetables help fill everyone up. If your kids will eat sardines, we open a few cans of those as well.

Taco Scramble Stir-Fry – You may have noticed that a running theme here is one pan stir-frys for simple meals. This recipe is another on the list that makes mealtime so easy. I love that it has the flavor of tacos but without all of the extra steps.

Miso Soup – If you already have some broth in the freezer, this recipe becomes a very quick meal. It’s perfect for cool days or when the family is under the weather.

Egg Drop Soup – Another quick soup recipe, this one is a family favorite. My kids call it “breakfast soup” since it has eggs in it.

These meals can often be made with the ingredients you have on hand, so if I don’t have something I figure out a substitute. If I don’t have homemade broth in the freezer I grab some grass-fed shelf-stable broth from the pantry.

Code Red! When You Have No Time and Everything Is Frozen

When you’re running so late (and unprepared) that even the easy meal ideas above won’t do, here are some other ideas to get everyone fed:

Instant Pot Chicken – This instant pot chicken recipe can be made with fresh or frozen chicken breasts, making it a lifesaver when you forget to pull the meat out of the freezer. Add a quick side dish (fresh veggies and fruit work!) and you have a quick, healthy meal.

Smoothies – When you’re tight on time, a healthy smoothie is a great choice for a fast meal. These recipes make sure to include healthy protein and fats so that the smoothie is filling and healthy.

Leftovers – An obvious choice for nights when you don’t have time. Pull together whatever leftovers you can find in the refrigerator and make it a fun game for everyone to make their dinner from what’s available.

Snacks – If you tend to have healthy snacks in the house anyway, this isn’t a bad choice. If you can get healthy protein, healthy fat, and vegetables into the meal, you’re good! That might look like a slice of ham, some avocado, and some carrots sticks. You could also put together some almond butter, apple slices, and celery. Here’s a complete list of our favorite snacks.

Salad – Salads are easy and quick to throw together. They’re even easier if you prepared the ingredients earlier in the week.

Keep in mind that we don’t need to have every food group at every meal. The main thing I worry about is not making a meal entirely out of carbohydrates or all protein. I think variety is important but if one meal is a bit lopsided, you can make it up in the next meal. Our bodies are amazing food compasses that will tell us what we need.

Remember… Balance Is a Moving Target

I’ve been trying to remind myself that especially in mother/parenthood, balance is a moving target. We won’t hit all of our goals every day, and that’s ok! I’ve learned that as long as my family has healthy (and tasty!) food to eat at every meal, I don’t care how fancy it is (and neither do my kids!).

What are your go-to recipes for busy nights?

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/418358/easy-meal-ideas/

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: December 2020

  And just like that December is over.  Happy new year to all of you!  2020 was a bit of a crazy ride but all-in-all, for us, it was quite alright.  While we didn't have a great year financially, we really can't complain.  We learned that we could tighten our already tight financial belt even more.  With that it ensured our bills are paid, we have food in our pantry and freezers, the animals are very well taken care of, our business survived, and we had more time to spend on things we weren't finding time to get done in previous years.  

Please know that I am not trying to be insensitive to those who had tragic outcomes in 2020, rather, we are trying to focus on what went well for us.  On that same note I am super grateful we had made the decision not to move our business off of our farm so our overhead was limited.  We had struggled with that decision since we started the business and just about a year and a half ago made a final decision that we would not grow the business any larger than what we could handle ourselves in the space we've got.  

the mound on the left of this photo is my Jeep Grand Cherokee....

Well, Jay had been complaining that it didn't feel like Christmas a couple of weeks prior.  He said that because we didn't have snow he just wasn't feeling it.  Sooooo....I blame him completely for the 3 feet that were dumped on us shortly before the big day.  Yup - he is the one you can blame as well if you'd like.  It took a full 2 days to complete our snow removal - paths, deck, porches, and roofs and, since he does most of it, he was exhausted by the time it was done.  Of course he didn't much appreciate my singing of Christmas songs as we suited up to head outside for each round of shoveling or snow blowing.  Clearly he doesn't always appreciate my enthusiasm or talents.

Christmas was quiet, as it was just the two of us and the critters, so I made some special meals and treats to celebrate the day.  We basked in the hum and warmth of the pellet stove, binge watched the new season of Virgin River on Netflix, drank mugs of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows, and enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing day together.

And then Saturday I deemed a "no cook" day.  We had simple breakfasts, leftovers for lunch, and frozen pizza for dinner.  I did throw chicken wings in the air fryer for Jay's dinner as well, but it's no more difficult then throwing frozen pizza in the oven.  It was perfect.

Oliver & Jackson -  Let's start with updates on Mr. Oliver.  We took him to his consultation for alternative treatments to help keep him comfortable with his multiple herniated discs.  First, let me tell you that he had to finish up a round of a steroids in December and I am SO HAPPY it's over.  My goodness that boy was constantly starving!!  Steroids increase hunger and thirst and if he wasn't ravishingly hungry he was drinking a ton.  My day was spent feeding him, filling up his water bowl, and taking him out to go to the bathroom.  Repeat.  I also decided after the first morning of his poor bladder being so incredibly full he was clearly uncomfortable, that I would get up at 2a.m. every night to take him out to pee.  I did this until that darned steroid was out of his system.  I felt so bad for him.  He absolutely will not go potty in the house so he holds it despite the discomfort it causes.

His doctor decided that acupuncture and laser therapy were not necessary as of yet, so we purchased a therapy loop that she recommended to give him electromagnetic therapy at home.  She's hoping this will help keep the inflammation down for a while.  Eventually we will add in the other 2 therapies when needed.  He also has some stretches we do daily to keep his little body limber. 

He is not allowed to run, jump, etc. and we are keeping his walking to a minimum which is what the remainder of his life will be.  He is happy, seems to feel pretty good (we have to hold him back from trying to run, jump, etc.), and takes nice long naps so all seems to be well at the moment.  He will turn 11 in January and I think he's definitely feeling his age.

And then there's Jackson.  Actually, he's doing well.  He's the same - bratty but handsome, and is still loving his new routine of going to bed in his very own bedroom.  He LOVES taking his Rescue Remedy every night.  I have no idea why.  I do have to make sure the room is always "Jack-proofed" because he gets into anything and everything during his 7-8 hours of alone time.

In The Coop - We have EGGS!!!!  Jay is so happy.  Although we aren't getting many, at least we are getting an egg or two each day as of a week ago.  He's still rationing his use since he's not fully confident we will get them daily, but that will change soon I'm sure.

The Coop Girls are doing well.  They dislike the colder temps and absolutely detest that beautiful white snow.  When we leave their coop open they get so excited to run out and that lasts all of about 3 minutes.  Once they realize that there is snow everywhere except for their coop they return to their outdoor coop.  There's usually a lot of chatter after this is attempted each morning.  I suspect it's a bit of disappointment being shared amongst the flock.

Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread

In The Kitchen - I've been making this recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread (by King Arthur Flour) and we've been enjoying it.  If you happen to have any maple sugar lying around it is perfect in this bread.  I substitute out most of the white a/p flour with white whole wheat flour but other then that I follow the recipe exactly.  It's a fairly dense, sweet, and moist loaf that is perfect for morning toast or a sandwich where a slightly sweet bread would work.

I also made up a few batches of bean burgers (using 3 different recipes as guides) to store in the freezer for quick meals.  And as a surprise snack one day I made a batch of DELICIOUS Honey Butter Popcorn (it's good with or without the nuts).  If you add a touch of salt it's almost like a kettle corn (without the nuts) or cracker jacks (with the nuts) but not cloyingly sweet.  I altered it slightly by using a non-dairy butter and about 10-12 cups of popped popcorn (it calls for 6 cups) so it wasn't too sweet.  It was good even days later.

I also discovered a recipe for vegan Amaretti Cookies.  They are gluten free as well but the recipe does use refined sugar.  They are really good.  My husband (the anti-vegan) loves them.  After he ate 2 I told him they are almond flour and aquafaba.  After explaining what aquafaba was he said "why did you have to go and tell me there's chickpeas in my cookies???"  (Of course aquafaba is the chickpea cooking liquid not the beans, he was being dramatic)  I told him because I'd promised that I will always tell him what's in food he tries and never hide ingredients.  But I tell him AFTER he's tried the recipe of course!  😁  (p.s. mine look more like snowball cookies because they didn't crack but they were still delicious!)  He ate quite a few more over the course of a couple days and has requested them for this week's dessert.  So I guess he likes them!

What I've Been Reading - I haven't read as many books over the past month but I did read a few good ones. (affiliate links)

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman - this was a very different book for me to read but it was written so incredibly well.  A word of caution that it does deal with child abuse but it really is brilliant.  It's tragic, sad, funny, and enlightening.

The Twelve Dates Of Christmas: A Novel by Jenny Bayliss - apparent from the title it's a rom-com and a very well written debut novel.  I really liked the main characters and the little twists and turns of the story which is set in England.

The Clause In Christmas: A Poppy Creek Novel by Rachael Bloome - honestly, I really didn't think I would like this book.  I guess I thought it would be a bit too cheesy.  Quite surprisingly I enjoyed it (not cheesy at all).  It was light, the events were predictable, but I liked the characters and the storyline and it was a fun read.  It's the first of a series of five.

That's what happened around here in December!

This Month On The Farm: December 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)