HEALTHY BERRY PIE

HEALTHY BERRY PIE

ALMOND FLOUR CRUST:               
2 & 1/2 cups almond flour                                   

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract


BERRY PIE FILLING:
1 & 1/2 cup Blueberries,  
3/4th's cup blackberries, 
1/2 cup raspberries
2 Tbsp's lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp maple syrup
 2 Tbsp's coconut oil
a few sprinkles of stevia (optional)
2 Tbsp's Arrowroot


For crust:
Turn oven on to 350.
1. In a food processor, mix the dry ingredients together.  Melt the coconut oil and mix with vanilla and maple syrup, then add to dry ingredients and blend until it forms a doughy consistency.  This only takes a minute or two.  You don't want the dough to be too wet so add a little more almond flour if it feels to sticky or wet. 
2.  Grease a 9 inch pie pan, then place dough in pan and mold it to pan evenly.
3.  Place pie crust in oven and bake 10 minutes or until crust is golden color.
4.  Remove from oven.  

For filling:
1.  Place a large skillet over medium heat.   
2. Add coconut oil, lemon juice, maple syrup and stir until melted.  Add cinnamon and nutmeg.
3.  Add all the filling ingredients to the pan and stir to combine. 
4.  Cook on medium heat until fruit begins to soften and liquify. 
5.  Add arrowroot and stir until filling begins to thicken, then remove from heat.
6.  Pour the filling into the pie crust and allow to cool. 
Enjoy!!

Spaghetti Squash with Pasta Sauce

I gave up eating pasta several years ago.  Not that I am gluten free because I'm not,  it's just that after following Dr. Fuhrman's diet, I have removed many things including pasta from my diet.  I have a great pasta sauce recipe (http://psychobabble4u.blogspot.com/2015/05/healthy-pasta-sauce-very-easy-to-make.html)  and was looking for something to go with it.


One of my favorite dishes is spaghetti squash with pasta sauce.

1 medium spaghetti squash              

I batch of healthy pasta sauce
parmesan cheese (optional)



Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cut spaghetti squash in half length wise and scrap out seeds from the center of each piece.  Spray a pan with pam and place spaghetti squash face down in the pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until a fork easily punctures the skin of the squash.  When the spaghetti squash is slightly cooled use a fork and scrap out squash from the shell and put into a bowl.  Mix in the pasta sauce and some parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Other options to go with pasta sauce include:
black bean pasta, adzuki bean pasta, and red lentil pasta

Healthy Pasta Sauce -very easy to make

Sara's Tomato Sauce Recipe:

2 TBSPs Olive Oil
6 Cloves Garlic chopped
1 Yellow Onion chopped
2 cans Tomato Paste
2 15 oz Cans Chopped Tomatoes
2 Tsps Oregano
2 Tsps Basil
1 Tsp Thyme
2 TBSPs chopped fresh Parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
A splash of Red Wine
1 TBSP Butter (if you want the sauce to be a little creamier)
Chopped Zucchini, Mushrooms, Green Beans (optional)

1.  Heat up olive  oil in pan with a lot (!) of garlic and onions (the entire pan should be covered)
2.  Add tomato paste and mix well.  Cook 1-2 minutes.
3.  Add tomatoes,  and mix well.
4.  Add herbs and parsley (fresh).
5.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add a splash of red wine.
7. Add a little bit of butter (if you want the sauce to be a bit more creamy).
8. I like to add chopped zucchini, green beans, and mushrooms to the sauce.  This is completely optional.
9. Let everything cook for about 30 min. on medium-low heat.
10.  I either use the sauce on adzuki bean pasta or spaghetti squash for a healthy pasta dish.

The same sauce can be used for the eggplants, it is just better to add fresh basil instead of parsley.

Brussel Sprouts, Walnuts, and Figs

My grandparents were ranchers and brussel sprouts were a staple in our home.  We were always looking for new ways to dress up these little cabbages.  I came across an interesting recipe online from Ilili Restaurant in New York and decided to make a healthier version of it.

Ingredients:

1 pound brussel sprouts, stem trimmed and outer leaves removed if wilted or brown.
1/2-3/4 cup roasted walnut pieces
1 TBSP olive oil
1tsp fig basalmic vinagrette
3/4 cup seedless grapes cut in half
6-7 dried figs cut into pieces

3/4 cup water

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  I put oven setting on roast.  Make sure oven rack is in the middle row.

Wash and dry brussel sprouts then place in a bag with the olive oil and shake bag until olive oil is spread over all sprouts.  Place parchment paper in a roasting pan then place brussel sprouts on top of parchment paper.  Cook brussel sprouts for about 18 minutes, turning them twice during cooking time.  The outer leaves of the brussel sprouts will begin to blacken but the inside should remain tender and green.  Remove sprouts and mix with roasted walnuts and vinaigrette.  Add grapes.

To prepare fig puree:
In a pot on the stove top place water and figs and simmer until figs soften.  Remove from heat and put mixture in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Spoon fig mixture onto brussel sprouts and serve.

Artichoke Lentil Loaf

I am always looking for new and interesting recipes for burgers and loafs.   I adapted this recipe from the one on Dr. Fuhrman's website.  My family find a lot of my recipes bland; which basically means they are missing the salty taste that is prevalent in all foods in our american diet, so I try to spice up recipes I find online to make them more flavorful.  I feel very sad when they add salt to the foods I cook but I also understand it takes a while to adapt to recipes without salt.  As a result, the recipe has a little more zing in it than the original one.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced red onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups finely chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup diced celery

1-2 minced jalapeno peppers, seeded and cored

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 tablespoons minced basil

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

2 TBSPs porcini mushroom powder (ground dried porcini mushrooms)

1 1/2 cups cooked french lentils

6 oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and mashed (I throw them in my cuisinart to shred them)

1/3 cup finely chopped raw pecans or walnuts

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup tomato paste (plus extra reserved for top of loaf)

1 TBSP dijon mustard

2 TBSPs adobo sauce or ketchup (optional) 

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or whole wheat flour)

2 tablespoons no-salt seasoning blend like Spike, adjusted to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan with pam or lightly oil pan with olive oil. 

Cook lentils while prepping vegetables.  Add 2 tablespoons water to a sauté pan.  Add the onion, garlic, and jalepenos and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, a little more water if mixture is dry, cover, and cook until mushrooms are tender.  Add celery, parsley, basil, italian seasoning, and porcini mushroom powder and sauté for about 5 more minutes.  Add just enough water to keep mixture from sticking to the pan, if needed.  

Place cooked veggies, lentils, artichoke hearts, nuts, rolled oats, tomato paste, mustard, adobo sauce, arrowroot powder, seasoning, and pepper in a bowl and mix together.  I put everything in my cuisinart and use the pulse button to blend the mixture but am careful not to puree it.   I don't like my loaf to be too chunky but I don't want it mushy either.  After I pulse it a few times, I make sure mixture is well blended and then put it all into the prepared loaf pan.  Press mixure evenly into pan.  Smooth a layer of tomato paste over the top of the loaf and put it in the oven.  Cook for 1 hour.  Allow to cool enough to handle the pan and then cut and serve.

Healthy Carrot Cake

I love carrot cake. It is one of those cakes you can make sweet and moist and healthy at the same time.  I set out to make a recipe that healthy,  easy to make and delicious.

2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp's lumina (a sweetener found in health food stores) optional
1/4 cup maple syrup
 Stevia to taste

3/4 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup apple sauce
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup currants or raisins

Frosting
12 ounces light cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stevia to taste
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Turn oven on to 325 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.   In a separate bowl, mix the pineapple, apple sauce, and eggs together. Add melted coconut oil and maple syrup and blend well.  Add carrots, shredded coconut, walnuts, and raisins to wet ingredients and blend.   Fold the wet and dry ingredients together.  Place cake mix in two greased 9 inch round pans.  Cook for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

For frosting: mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Place one cake layer on a plate and frost top and sides.  Place second layer on top and frost top and sides.

Almond Coconut Cookies

today I was in the kitchen looking for something sweet and tasty to munch on.  Of course I didn't find anything to satisfy my craving since all I have are an excess of veggies in the fridge and nuts in the pantry.   I decided to make something and began digging through my cupboards.  I love using almond flour in recipes as much as I love adding coconut.  The two flavors work well together and since these ingredients are what I have in stock, I figured I'd better make something out of them.

2 cups almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsps almond extract
2 eggs
Shredded coconut
Stevia (optional if needed for additional sweetness)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a cuisinart or other mixer.
Melt coconut oil and add to dry ingredients.  Add almond extract and eggs.   Mix until dough forms into a ball.   Roll dough into small balls then flatten them and place on greased cooking sheet.  Sprinkle cookies with coconut flakes.  Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.