Christmas Goodies

Christmas baking has been a tradition in my family since I can remember. I have fond memories of taking an extra week off school over the Christmas season just to have time to bake dozens of cookies and candies to give away to neighbors, friends, family, and of course to eat. Since getting married, I have never done quite the variety of baking that we used to do, but I usually do three or four different types of goodies. This year however, I decided I wasn't going to bake anything at all. I have pretty much gone without normal dessert type foods for the past several months and just didn't feel like coming up with low/no sugar cookies for Christmas. But then I went to a mom's night out for my mops group and saw the pretty cookies. The next day I talked to my sister on the phone and she was mixing up a batch of fun traditional Christmas goodies and I got the baking itch bad. So, I will not go so far as to say that my collection of goodies for this year was healthy, but they were (yes were) certainly delicious. Unfortunately I think I may have to make another batch of chocolate covered nut cookies to have on hand this weekend. So, for our goodies, we had chocolate covered coconut macaroons, almond shortbread cookies, and my all time favorite, chocolate covered nut cookies. I wasn't super thrilled with the macaroons. They were a bit to chewy for my taste. But the shortbread and the cookies are definitely going to become traditional Christmas cookies for this little family.

My little chocolate lover had to make sure that none of the chocolate dip got wasted

I found the recipe for the shortbread cookies online and I didn't tweak it much at all, so I won't share the recipe on here, but you can find it here. It's the sugar free spicy star recipe. I did use almond extract instead of allspice though and it was delicious.

But as for the nut cookies, please let me share this yummy and I must say addictive recipe with you.

Chocolate Covered Nut Cookies - adapted from Joy of Cooking's flourless nut balls

1 c. almonds, chopped super fine in a food processor

1/2 c pecans, also chopped super fine. You can do both nuts at the same time.

2 egg whites beaten well

1 1/2 t. butter, melted

2 T palm sugar, or you can just use regular brown sugar if you like.

Mix all ingredients together and stir over medium heat just until warm. Use a teaspoon to measure out the dough into balls. A level teaspoon is just the right size as you don't want them to be too big. Place the balls on a well greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until browned on the tops and sides. Cool completely. Makes about 40 cookies

For the dip:

Combine 1/2 T butter, 1/2 T coconut oil, 1 1/2 squares unsweetened bakers chocolate, and 1/2 to 1 T honey in a glass dish and melt it all together. We like a very dark chocolate flavor, so 1/2 T was enough for us, but taste it and see what you need. Dip one half of each cookie in your chocolate dip and place it on wax paper. Place cookie sheet in the freezer to harden the chocolate and the store cookies in a cool place. I love them straight out of the freezer. Happy Christmas baking!!

Thanksgiving is on its Way!

I always know that fall is officially underway when I start craving foods made with pumpkin. And in particular, sweet baked goods. Usually I reserve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I've spent the last couple of months coming up with dessert recipes that are either sugar free or very low in sugar, so pumpkin pie made it on the list of experiments. This week we are enjoying take two of my pumpkin pie experimentation and I must say, it is delicious. Who says you can't have your cake (er pie) and eat it too? This pie has 1/3 - 3/4 less sugar than traditional pie recipes and is made with a pecan crust, which lowers the carb count even more. Here's to guilt-free dessert consumption for Thanksgiving! OK, maybe I got a little carried away, but I'm just excited!

Pumpkin Pie with a Pecan Crust

Crust
1 c pecans
1 1/2 T butter, melted

Filling
2 c pumpkin puree
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t maple flavoring
1 t vanilla
1/4 c sweetener of choice - I used palm sugar, but you could use Sucanat or regular sugar
10-15 drops liquid Stevia

For the crust, chop pecans in a food chopper until finely ground, almost to a cornmeal type consistency. Add melted butter and press into bottom of pie dish. Crust will come a little way, but not all the way up the sides of the dish. Bake at 425 until set and just beginning to brown. Remove and set aside.

For the filling, combine pumpkin, eggs, and milk and beat well. Add remaining ingredients. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake 15 minutes at 425. Lower the temperature to 35o and bake an additional 45 minutes or until pie is set. If desired, top with unsweetened whipped cream, or sweeten your cream with a drop or two of Stevia.

Our Ice Cream Boy

A couple of weeks ago, I experimented with a mint ice cream recipe I found and used a new sugar substitute I recently found called Just Like Sugar. It was my attempt to create my favorite dessert without it being quite so bad for us. The ice cream was pretty good, although not amazing, but Benjamin LOVED it! So much in fact that he spread it all over himself and decided he could get more in his mouth if he used his hands. Mmmmmm. Yummyness!!!

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Well, we have certainly been enjoying this zucchini bread and have already eaten one whole loaf. :) Here's the recipe:

Whole Wheat Zucchini Carrot Bread

3 cups zucchini -- shredded - I used a combo of zucchini and yellow squash and it worked well
1/2 cup carrot -- shredded
3 cups whole wheat flour
½ c oats

3 T flax meal
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup raw honey

¼ c melted butter

¼ c melted coconut oil
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two bread pans and set aside.

Combine the flour, oats, flax meal, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a glass measuring cup combine butter and coconut oil. Place in a pan of water on the stove and heat until melted. Add honey and stir until thinned. In a separate bowl, beat eggs well and mix with applesauce, zucchini, carrot, and vanilla. Slowly combine with honey/butter/oil mixture. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated.

Pour into prepared pans.Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely.

Store in the refrigerator.
Yield: 2 loaves (20 servings)

Fresh Eggs

Oh I am SO excited! We now have a source of fresh free range eggs. Matt works with a lady who got chickens a few months back and they have just begun to lay on a regular basis. She even gave us our first dozen for free since they were very small. I have been itching to try making my own mayonnaise, but I'm too squeamish to use raw eggs from the store. So now I am going to try it with these. Aside from that, I'm excited to get all the health benefits that are stripped from the regular eggs in the store due to the chickens being grain fed and kept indoors in cages. Yay for usable vitamins and healthy fats!

The Week and a Recipe

Well I have not been a very faithful blogger this past week. It's been a crazy one! We had a Walk Through the Bible (Old Testament) Seminar at our church on Sunday all day, which was wonderful. If you have never done one, it's a great way to see the big picture of the Bible and get a better feel for the timeline as you read through. Then on Monday I went with one of the girls from our Sunday School class and bought over $600 worth of groceries to stock our church's food pantry. Our class is in charge of stocking it this month and God has been so good. He has provided for our class to purchase on average over $500 of food every week. I just love this ministry of our church and it's been a blessing to be a part of it. Monday night, I had a much needed Mom's night out with my MOPS group. I stopped to get a snack item to take and my car died in the parking lot of the store, so that added to the craziness of the week. Praise the Lord it was only the battery and also that a friend came and picked me up, so I still got to have a night out. Tuesday was catch up day since I spent so much time doing the shopping and then taking the groceries over to the church on Monday. Wednesday was another crazy day with getting the battery changed in my car, then going and helping out with Manna Ministries at our church (this is what the groceries went to - they provide groceries once a week to those who are in need, as well as share the gospel). Then I had to do my bi-weekly shopping and get home in time to put Benjamin down for a nap before heading back out for my Bible Study. Yesterday was less crazy. Just the gym in the morning and then some cleaning and cooking in the afternoon. Just going back over all of this is making me tired. :) Today was errand day, yogurt making day, and oh yes, my recipe for the week: cheeseball making day. Mmmmm. And tomorrow, I am hoping to re-paint our bedroom. And to top off this very busy week, Benjamin is definitely in a very challenging stage. He has such a fun-loving spirit and is so sweet, but he is also developing his sense of Independence and defiance when he doesn't get his way. It's been very challenging trying to be consistent with training and discipline without breaking that sweet spirit. We could definitely use prayer for wisdom in this area.

And now onto my yummy new recipe for the week. I am such a snacker! Something about the middle of the afternoon, I don't know, but I always want something to munch. So I have been trying so hard to be healthier with my snacking and today I made this really yummy cheeseball that is great for dipping veggies in. I just love cheese!

Cheeseball:
8 oz cultured cream cheese (I used some I made with yogurt)
2 1/2 c shredded cheese
1 T mayonnaise
2 T cream
1 t soy sauce
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t Cajun seasoning
2 t parsley
1 - 1 1/2 c chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients but pecans and mix with a hand mixer until well incorporated. Place chopped pecans on a piece of wax paper and spoon cheese mixture on top of them. Use the edges of paper to roll pecans around the cheese. Chill until firm. Would work well with an assortment of veggies, or crackers. Happy snacking!

Whole Wheat Pizza Recipe

Well, here is the promised pizza recipe at last. :) We love this recipe and usually have it a couple of times a month. Benjamin loves it too and continually walks up to the oven window saying "Pikhah" (Pizza) the entire time it's cooking. Best of all, this recipe makes enough for our small family that we usually get it for at least two nights. (Heart shape is optional, but fun for Valentine's Day)

Whole Wheat Pizza - Makes one large pizza

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast

1 c warm water

3 1/2 c whole wheat four

1 T wheat gluten

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c olive oil

Combine yeast and water with a drizzle of honey to activate. In a mixer, combine flour, gluten, spices, salt, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Combine oil and yeast mixture, then add to flour mixture. Knead in mixer until dough forms and is soft and pliable. Remove from mixer and let stand 30 minutes.

Pizza Sauce - makes enough for two pizzas - I like to freeze the leftovers for a later time

29 oz tomato sauce

6 oz tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp dried fennel - add a little water and coarsely mash it with a mortar and pestle

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

3 tsp dried basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and let sit a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. The flavor improves after the spices have time to sit in the sauce.

Roll out your rested pizza dough and place on a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Spread sauce over pizza along with your choice of toppings. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until pizza is nearly done. Remove pizza and sprinkle 3-4 cups of cheese over top. Bake another 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cooking time depends partly on the number of toppings you choose. It seems to take less time for a one topping pizza than a 4 or 5 topping one. Enjoy!

Sauerkraut

Well, we are still (or should I say I am still) having trouble staying healthy, but in between being sick, I finally tried my hand at making sauerkraut last week. Other than making a pretty big mess, it was really pretty easy and it tastes great! Matt says it doesn't taste like any he's had before, and this is my first experience with it, but we both like it. I actually think it tastes kind of like pickled cabbage. When I'm not sick with a stomach bug (which I have been twice in the last week - two different kinds,) I've been really enjoying having it on my salads. I think it would also be good with some kind of roast. Those are typically not my specialty as I'm not a huge beef person, so sometime I will get brave enough to try making one to have some kraut with. Anyway, the recipe for the kraut was super easy. I used the Nourishing Traditions book directions and shredded one head of cabbage. I added 6 T of whey (I had a big head of cabbage), 1 T salt, and 1 T caraway seeds. Then I pounded it until the juices began to come out of it. I packed it in two quart jars and set it on the counter for 3 days. I was a little surprised by how much it expanded during the fermentation, but I guess that meant it was doing it's thing. Now I'm feeling a little braver and want to try fermenting some other things.

Get Those Veggies In!

Since I naturally tend toward sweet things, getting enough fruit in my diet is never a problem. Veggies however, are often more difficult. Here are a few ways we have been incorporating more veggies in our days:

-Adding chopped spinach or zucchini to our scrambled eggs - this is especially great because Benjamin will eat them without a single complaint. We have also added green peppers and onions before, but since Benjamin usually spits those out, I am really liking the spinach and squash.

- Adding veggies to our rice. Matt found this great recipe for rice that is cooked in the oven with chopped celery, carrots, onions, and cilantro. Delicious and wonderful for you! I have also chopped spinach up very small and thrown it in the rice as soon as it's done so that it's just barely wilted and that was good too.

- veggie sticks to snack on during the day - this is the hardest for me. When I want a snack, the last thing I usually reach for is something like veggies, but carrots and celery dipped in peanut butter makes a great snack and gets in a few more veggies.

- Salad at least once a day - this can be so versatile depending on what you have on hand. Sometimes our salads are just lettuce and cucumbers, but other times we have them with grated carrots, radishes, peppers, avocados, and feta cheese. Yum!

- a side veggie with dinner each night. Along with trying to add veggies to the main dish and having a salad, I usually try to have a side veggie. Sometimes these are simply green beans or broccoli, but this is where I am trying to branch out and have us try something new every once in a while. Interesting vegetables can get expensive, but since we only do something different about once a week, it's not too bad. We tried brussel sprouts last week and they were wonderful. This week we are giving beets a try. We'll see about those. I've never been a fan, but I've also never had them where they weren't pickled out of a can.

Yummy Pancakes

This was an absolutely crazy week. I had to go somewhere every day except today which meant that I was more rushed in getting things done in the kitchen and around the house. On top of that, poor Matt is sick and we have not been sleeping well because of it. Yucky Mountain Cedar! We're pretty sure his sickness was spurred on by the cedar allergies. So he's home early today getting some rest and I just put a pot of chicken and veggies on the stove to make a broth that will hopefully be soothing for him later on.

So due to my crazy week, I was super tired last night and didn't feel like cooking anything at all. Unfortunately, whenever I get that tired, what I usually want to do is eat pizza and chocolate chip cookies with a huge scoop of ice cream. But since it was not our splurge night, I had to come up with another plan. Breakfast for dinner. Yay for my husband who loves breakfast any time of day. I had tried some pumpkin pancakes a few months back and they were OK, but not something I would make again. But I had this pumpkin in the freezer that was calling to me, so I decided to use my normal pancake recipe and substitute pumpkin for some of the milk. They were SO good! Topped with some chopped pecans, unsweetened whipping cream, and a smidgen of honey (we were out of maple syrup), and I felt like we were having dessert night after all. Of course I also made us some eggs with grated zucchini and chopped spinach and we had salads on the side, but those pancakes sure hit the spot. Wanna Try em?

This recipe is one that I grew up with that I have adapted to be 100% whole wheat. Now I just need to figure out how to soak them without changing their fluffiness and they will be perfectly healthy!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Griddle Cakes

1 3/4 Cups + 1 heaping Tablespoon Whole Wheat Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Tablespoon Sucanat or Rapadura
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 Cup Milk
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil or melted butter
3/4 Cup Pureed Pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together and stir into dry ingredients just until all is moist. Drop by spoonful onto hot griddle. Serve with butter, unsweetened whipped cream, chopped pecans, honey, peanut butter, or real maple syrup and enjoy!

Nourishing New Years Resolutions

I just love having a new year in front of me. I love that feeling of a fresh start to life. I love to think of God and how He is not bound by time and never needs a fresh start, but I think He knows that we do. And so as this year gets started (and is already passing far too quickly), I thought I would share a few of my goals for the year.

I struggle with health related goals because I get so excited about a new thing and put my whole being into it only to get tired after a couple of weeks and decide it's not worth the effort. But this year is my fresh start and I really want to stick to the plan. So, here are my goals:

-Cut out refined sugar and flour from our diets completely
-Dessert only once a week made with healthy flours, sweeteners, and fats
-Find ways to include more variety of vegetables in our meals. (get outside the box of carrots, peppers, celery, and lettuce) On this one, we tried eggplant this week and well, I just cannot stand the texture of it, so I will continue my search for other varieties. This will also include learning about what vegetables are in season at particular times in Texas and eating what's in season.
-Learn about cultured veggies and hopefully incorporate them into our regular meals.
-I want to learn more about soaking grains so I can add that step into my baking. I have been making our bread for a while, but currently I purchase WW flour from the store. I would like to do more research on purchasing grain and a mill so I can incorporate different flours into my bread making as well.
-Lastly, this may be a stretch, but I'd love to find a way to get a few fresh eggs and some raw milk so I can begin making our own mayo and yogurt.

This post is part of the Nourishing New Years Resolutions Carnival found on the Nourishing Gourmet website.

I'll try to share some of my spiritual and family related goals in the next few days.