Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

We had this as a side for dinner tonight. YUMMO!!! I was wishing I had brought it for Thanksgiving. It was delish.

Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

1 Pound Fresh Brussel Sprouts
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Dried Cranberries

Shred Sprouts by removing the core and thinly slicing. Warm oil over med. heat. Add sprouts, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook until bright and slightly wilted (2-3 min). Add walnuts and cranberries and toss to combine. Serve!

For original recipe click HERE. Thank you food network! Hope your Thanksgivings were Wonderful!

--Ashlee

Friday, November 26, 2010

Dip

Another Melissa recipe....Dip! You can change this up any way you want. Add or take away. The sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, lemon juice and water is the base...don't change that.

1 cup raw sunflower seed

1/2 sesame seed (or hemp seed..another super food)

juice from two lemons or lime (if you use lime you may need to use 3)

about 1/4 cup water

2 tbsp maca powder (optional. this is a super food)


to taste...about 1 tsp or maybe more.. (use fresh if you can but dried will do the job. i use dried because fresh is expensive).

thyme

chives (a lot)

rosemary

sage

put in food processor or a blender will do the job, until smooth. This is a yummy veggie dip.

I sometimes use garlic, green onion, basil etc. The sky is the limit.

Crisp

Here is something a Melissa recipe. I think it is yummy and will help with those chocolate cravings that we all have.

2/3 flax (I use 1/3 ground up and 1/3 seeds. you can grind it all up is you want. Costco has ground up flax for way cheep).

1/2 tsp sea salt

a few squirts of Agave or Honey

1/4 cup cocoa or cacao

Mix by hand

You want it to be like cookie dough that is a little dry. You can make it more wet if you want. That is up to you.

Cut up an apple or pair, scoop it right out of the bowl with your sliced up fruit and eat. I love this!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Get Well Green Smoothie

Hello friends! We are sick. AGAIN!!! It took me a really long time to get over being sick in Utah and I woke up this morning with a disgusting nose and sore throat! Darn it, darn it, darn it!

I totally know why this has happened though. I have been eating horribly! I am going to partially blame the pregnancy... (yes you all know so I can talk about it) because I have truly only been able to stomach VERY mild things like mashed potatoes, white breads etc. Whole grains, fruits and veggies etc. have been so hard for me to eat. But I decided today that I cannot cater to those things anymore. It is messing with my whole body and I need to get back to eating well. I will make it work! I WILL!

Thank you guys for continuing this blog and our nutritional conversations. It has been a long time since I have done any research and felt motivated to eat healthily, and our recent conversations have really helped. I am feeling more excited again and I am ready to get back on track!

I have started already in fact. I read up on green smoothies and raw foods yesterday. I have decided that we are going to start eating green smoothies frequently for breakfast. I think my goal will be 4-5 times a week for now. We'll see how it goes. Baby steps right? We started today with a smoothie of my own concoction that I am hoping will help us "get well," hence the name.

Get Well Green Smoothie

The "Meat," of one Pineapple, chopped
2 Bananas, peeled and chopped
2 Oranges, peeled but with a generous amount of pith left on (that stuff is good for you!) and chopped
1 bunch of Lacinato Kale, stems removed, chopped
8 ounces of water

Blend, chill and serve. (Warning: If you don't have a large capacity blender I would do it in batches! Also: if you are scared of the Kale I would do a bit less to start out with. We really liked it with that much in, but if you have picky eaters I would start out with a bit less until they warm up to that kind of flavor)

I was so blessed at the store today. I ended up getting my Kale organic and for only a dollar! Can you believe it? Also the pineapple was the already peeled kind in a container also on super-mega sale. I was so thrilled!

To get the boys to agree to drink a green smoothie (they are great about healthy food, but I knew the green would freak 'em out... and I was right.) We had a big exciting talk in the morning about a new drink that would make us healthy and strong like Superheroes! And it's even a crazy color! We are going to have it a lot for breakfast now and if we keep drinking them we will get so strong! Etc. Etc. I don't feel like I was lying. I absolutely believe there is a correlation to how you feel, your health and well being etc. with what you choose to eat. Don't we all? So ANYWAY- we made a big deal about it, went to the store and bought ingredients to last us for the rest of the week, and I even bought some cheap "special superhero glasses," that we will drink them out of. Then I was totally honest with them about what they were eating. They watched me make it. I wanted them to know that Kale could taste delicious. I didn't want to hide it from them. They were worried when they saw how it looked, but once they smelled it they were good to try it. Jack drank his and flexed his muscles and said he felt stronger.

So far it's sitting in my tummy pretty well. Wish me luck!

Last note: This made a LOT of smoothie. More than enough for the 4 of us.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Raw Chocolate Pudding

This is yummy and super healthy. You can eat it just as pudding or for dipping fruit. Enjoy! This recipe is from, "All Recipes.com". I love that site.

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

* 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
* 1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks
* 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
* 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
* 2 tablespoons agave nectar
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

You can even sprinkle a little cinnamon on top (optional)


Directions

1. Place avocado, banana, soy milk, cocoa powder, agave nectar, lemon juice, and coconut into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Divide into small containers, and store in the refrigerator 1 hour until set.