Banana Ice Cream

I love this so much! It has become a favorite in our home; along with family and friends.

4 bananas
1 Tbsp Coconut oil (optional)
1/4 cup agave or honey
1tsp vanilla or one vanilla bean

Cut bananas in small pieces and freeze the night before.

Mix Vanilla with honey or agave the night before (you could also use mint and then just take the mint leaves out the next day).

Mix all ingredients in food processor (you could use a blender but if you do only add a little banana at a time). You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. When it is creamy and fluffy then it is time to eat.

There are so many things you could do with this recipe.

Enjoy!

Sweet Broccoli Apple Slaw

Ashlee's Sweet Broccoli Apple Slaw

1 bag (12 oz) Broccoli Slaw or Rainbow Salad
1 large apple, shredded
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
a sprinkling of dried cranberries
Raspberry Pecan Vinaigrette

Toss and eat!

Yummmmmmm. Today broccoli slaw was on a MAJOR sale and so this is what I concocted for my lunch.

From the Broccoli Slaw alone I got:

200% Vit A
360% Vit C
16% Calcium
16% Iron
48% Folate
8 G Fiber
8 G Protein

and all for just 100 calories. Dr F would be proud.

Hope you guys are having a great day!

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

We had this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit! Andrew, who is notorious for going several nights in a row without dinner had two bowls full! I wasn't sure how having a soup without any chunky stuff in it would go....they usually don't like that, but I gave them some curly straws and they went to town. Now, to give fair warning, (and credit) this is a recipe from Giada of the Food Network; however it's not as rich as most of her stuff.

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped (I used an onion)
  
• 1 sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

In your soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil, (not sure why she used both.....obviously this could be changed to "healthify" the recipe but I went with it). Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sage leaf, (mine looked kind of small, so I used two for good measure) beans, garlic, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes. I turned mine down way low and simmered for over an hour; I had the time and wanted the beans to be nice and soft and the flavors to have plenty of time to cook in. Next, pour the soup into a blender or food processor in batches. Puree until smooth. Return to soup pot and add cream and pepper. Serve.

Now for those that don't like cream....okay, let's face it we all LIKE cream, but for those who are dieting better than me, you could totally leave it out if you wanted. The soup was creamy from the beans alone...it just added a little more flavor and depth. And let's face it, coming out of that first trimester morning sickness fog, my family is lucky to have dinner at all. Brandon's actual words tonight were, "No offense, but this was great. The first dinner in a while that hasn't tasted like cardboard." Yeah ladies....I was in a bad way. Nothing sounded good, therefore I made no effort. Glad we're past that.

By the way Ash, I took your advice and used real garlic instead of the stuff from the jar for the first time. I may have turned a new leaf! It was every bit as good as you said it would be. And for full disclosure, one of my cloves of garlic looked a bit small, so I used 5. Livin' on the edge!

One more thing: Emily, I made your banana cookies this week and they were awesome!! Everyone in my family loved them, and I loved them having a treat with no sugar! ;)

A Cry For HELP

Hello Ladies,

Question... what do you eat for lunch? What do you feed your kiddos for lunch? I have gotten into a very bad rut and our lunches have been just AWFUL lately. It's easy to do a healthy breakfast and dinner, but what about lunches... and snacks for that matter? This pregnancy really has thrown off our normal eating habits in a bad way and I need help getting back on track. PLEASE any ideas would be appreciated!

-Ashlee

ps- I love you guys!

Quiona

Make your quiona like normal (water and quiona, bring to boil and then let simmer until soft).

When it is done cooking add a little bit of honey, cinnamon, and fruit.

I like putting blueberries and strawberries in mine. I think apples, bananas or pears would be good too.

Sometimes I add other spices like ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

This is a yummy treat and filling. Ayo and Simeon even like it.

Breakfast in a Muffin

This Recipe comes from My Mom.  We used to eat these all the time growing up.  My recipe card is very well loved and is written in her hand writing.  It is one of my favorite recipe cards because of this.

1 cup blended fruit [not juice]
1 egg slightly beaten
1/3 c butter [I have also substituted apple sauce for this, or half of it, and it works pretty good too]
1 c oats
1 c flour [I use whole wheat]
1/2 c sugar [can use brown or white]
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Bake 20 minutes at 400*

Flaky Vegetable Pot Pie

This is from The Vegatarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook

1 potato diced (I used one sweet potato and one Russet Potato)
Diced Onion
Diced Carrots
Frozen Peas (thawed)
Broccoli
[and any other veggies you want to include, this is a good recipe to use whatever you have in your fridge.]

Crust
I have a crust recipe, but it was much easier for me to use pre-made pie crust, so thats what I did.  If you don't have a good pie crust recipe, and want one, I have a tried and true one that is quite easy.

Preheat oven to 350*, lightly oil a casserole dish.

[Cook filling, I just steamed my veggies and softened my potatoes.  Don't steam all the way since they will be cooking quite a bit in the oven.  I just wanted to make sure that they would get done all the way, so I steamed them a bit before hand.  I bet it would work just putting them in raw too though, hmmmm, maybe I should have tried that before I posted this!  :D]

place filling inside pie crust, fold over and press edges with a fork.  Also press top of the pie crust with the fork too, to allow air to vent through.

Bake until heated through and the crust is browned.  40 - 45 mins

[If you want to use the least amount of pie crust possible, you can put in bake-able bowls and just cover the top with the pie crust.]

We really liked this.  It is a nice home-style recipe and it is nice to just throw in any veggies that you have that need to be used as well.  It's very versatile.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Stew over Couscous

Combine in Crock Pot and cook on high 4 - 4 and a half hours or more on low:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced fine
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 med-large carrots, quartered lengthwise and chopped into 2 inch pieces (large julienne)
3 gold yukon or 1 large russet potato, cut in bite size pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained
3/4 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
3-4 cups veggie broth

Add during last 30-45 minutes of cooking:

1 red bell pepper, cut to bite size
1 zucchini, cut to bite size

Serve over:

whole wheat couscous

This is a recipe we were introduced to at a Progressive Dinner. I changed it slightly to be completely vegetarian and a little less expensive. It's still kind of an expensive dish, but it makes a lot and it's really good. We splurged this week and made it. I don't think I would have picked this out of a cook book to make, so I'm really glad someone else made it and I just got to try it. My whole family really, really loved it. It was refreshing to have such different flavors for dinner. We sometimes get in a rut and this certainly was unique and tasty.

Original recipe came from THIS cookbook which I think I am going to buy. My friend told me that it has very healthy recipes and a lot are vegetarian- without being PURPOSELY vegetarian. There's not a vegetarian section or anything (I was glad to hear that, I think naturally vegetarian recipes are usually better than the ones that someone created just for the purpose of being vegetarian).

--Ashlee

Chimichangas

Cindy made this for our family and we really liked it!

Chimichangas

Filling:

8 0z chopped cabbage or 1 bag coleslaw mix
15 oz canned corn, drained
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (I use more than that)
1-2 cups shredded cheese (optional)
1 cup tomato, chopped (again, I use more)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onion (works fine with normal onion if you don't have green on hand - or you could omit completely if you don't like onion)
1 small can diced green chilies
juice from one lime
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon cumin

8 burrito sized tortillas

Optional Toppings:

Sour Cream
Salsa
Guacamole
Diced Tomatoes
Diced Onion
Sliced Olives
Chopped Avacado

Mix filling ingredients, divide between tortillas, roll to make a chimi, place seamside down in prepared baking dish close together (I usually use a 9x13 and a 9x9) Spray tops with oil. Bake 400 degrees for 20 min. Serve with toppings.

--Ashlee

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

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!

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.

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.

Tomato Soup

I finally found a tomato soup recipe that I like. I have tried... no joke.. 4 recipes before this... all of which were horrible. I think the difference is that in this one there is more than just tomato. If any of you have a recipe for tomato soup I would LOVE to try it. We liked this one a lot, but if you had a good one you use I would want to know about it!

Tomato Soup - Family Fun

1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Onion, Chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, Chopped
1 Carrot, Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1 28oz Can Tomatoes with Juice
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Teaspoon Oregano (I used more)
6 Cups Veggie Broth
2 Teaspoons Sugar
Salt and Pepper
Fresh or Dried Basil
1 Cup Milk (optional)

Melt butter in large pot. Saute onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 more min. Add tomatoes, paste, oregano, broth and sugar. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 min uncovered stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Blend in batches in blender or food processor. Return to pot. Season with Salt, Pepper and Basil. Stir in milk if using.

We used the milk and liked how creamy it was even with just skim.

Sorry to post 2 days in a row! I just made this last night and wanted to share. Katie... Whitney... it's your turn for a recipe I believe!

--Ashlee

An Alternative Snobby Joe

Hey guys! Emily already posted a really yummy snobby joe recipe that uses lentils. I wanted to give you the one we use which uses black beans. I just basically stole Rachel Ray's sauce (and changed a couple of ingredients) and then substituted beans for meat. This is a family favorite at our house:

Ashlee's Snobby Joes

1 tablespoon olive oil
A few slices of onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (red is best... green will do)
1 tablespoon-ish mustard (I just give it a good squeeze)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons (I like less) steak seasoning blend (we use McCormick Montreal)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil. Saute onion and pepper. Add all other ingredients and simmer for a few minutes.

Eat on Buns with:

Pickle Slices
Tomato Slices
Barbeque Sauce

Yumm.

Random thought: I recently switched from packaged, pre-chopped garlic to fresh. I am loving my new life. Do any of you have an opinion on that?

Random thought #2: I don't think I'm going to the trouble of adding color etc. on my posts anymore. I'm boring.

Juice, "Morning Sun"

You need a juicer for this one. If you don't have a juicer I highly recommend getting one. It does not need to be fancy. I promise you will love it! I have been juicing for 7 months now. I have one to two juice a day and I LOVE,LOVE, LOVE IT!

My new favorite juice is from a book called, "Living Raw Food", by Sarma Melngailis .

"Morning Sun"

4 medium oranges, peeled
1 Apple
1 Pear
4 Cups pineapple (or one large can seems to do the trick)
one 1inch know of ginger
2 tsp honey

mix honey in after all fruit is juiced.

Enjoy!

Raw Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Raw Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting and Easy bake Banana Cookies

Raw Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with raw cashew cream cheese

Cookie

1 3/4 c almond meal
...1/2 cup pumpkin
1 dash cayenne pepper ( optional)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 cup Raisins
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup agave nectar of honey
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Put in food processor until dough like. add chocolate chips and more raisins. place in food dehydrator about 108-116 degrees for 2-4 hours, desired texture. I did mine for 2 1/2 hours. I like them a little soft. If desired, put cream cashew cream cheese on top of cookie and eat.

Chocolate chips

Need rolling-pin, pizza cutter, mixing bowl and spoon

1 cup cocoa
4 Tbsp Agave nectar or honey
2 Tbsp cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

Mix chocolate by hand. Place on wax paper, fold wax paper over the chocolate, roll chocolate out
place in freezer for 20 minutes, take out of freezer, peel back wax paper, cut chocolate into bit size pieces.

Cashew cream cheese

Soak cashews in a bowl of water for 4 hours before making cream cheese.

1 C cashews
1/8 cup water
6 Tbsp honey
Juice from one tangerine or half and orange
1 tsp vanilla

Put in food processor until well mixed. NO chunks.
Put in fridge. You can put this on top of cookies. So yummy!



Banana Cookies

2 1/2 cup oats (you can use gluten free. best price i have found is sun flower market $5.99 for two pounds)
3-4 bananas
1/4 cup canola oil, olive oil, coconut oil (the type of oil is up to you and your taste buds)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt (optional)

Bake 400 8-10 minutes

I like to add chocolate chips and raisins. If using coconut oil I like to add coconut, craisins and chocolate chips. The sky is the limit.

Lots of Love,

Emily

An Indulgent Sunday Breakfast

Hello veggie loving darlings. Our breakfast this morning was good. SO good. Way better than I thought it would be actually. It looks like just another breakfast bar, but we thought it was very special. Try it if you like. I call it indulgent because it has more sugar than we all would like, but there are a lot of great things in it too- and my kids won't eat nuts, but they loved this, so I figure it's worth it. Promise me if you try it that you won't healthify it too much. I know, I know. We all LOVE to do that to recipes- but just don't with this one will ya?

And to give credit where credit is due this recipe is from Ellie Krieger over at the Food Network. I got two of her cookbooks from the library and am absolutely in love. She's their "healthy," chef and for the most part I think she does a truly great job. I got the books "So Easy," and "The Food You Crave," (which is a collection of favorite recipes made healthy. Tonight we are trying her macaroni and cheese which has 20 ounces of pureed winter squash in it, and significantly less cheese than normal recipes... it's baking as we speak and smelling SO good)

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars

1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (I toasted normal wheat germ in a pan over med heat for a few minutes- worth the extra effort in my opinion)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey (okay I didn't put the entire 1/2 cup but it was close)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white
3/4 cup chopped dried cherries or cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup fruit only apricot preserves

Preheat to 350. Spray 8x8 pan. Stir dry together. Stir wet together until well combined. Stir walnuts and dried fruit in wet. Stir wet into dry until well combined. Spread in pan. Bake 30-35 min. When bars are nearly done heat preserves in small saucepan until runny. When bars come out immediately spread preserves on top. Cool and cut into bars.

They are very filling so one bar and a piece of fruit is a very satisfying breakfast! Yumm! And for pete's sake do NOT cut the preserves out of the equation. That was a stroke of genius!

Apple Crisp

It has been way to long! I have a recipe and it is not healthy but it is the best apple crisp I have ever eaten in my life. The recipe is similar to others but it is the way you prepare it that make is so dang good. Almost cookie like. You can use apples, peaces, pears etc.. for the fruit.

8-10 Apples- Peeled and sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp flour
cinnamon (as much as you want)

1 1/2 Cups oatmeal
1 Cup butter (you can use Earth Balance butter (vegan) if you want)
1 Cup brown Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Flour

Put sliced apples in bottom of glass 9x13 pan, mix sugar, cinnamon and tbsp of flour and sprinkle over apples.

In bowl , mix oatmeal, softened/melted butter , brown sugar and flour.

Mixture will get lumpy and sticky (like cookie dough).

Drop clumps of mixture over apples- don't smooth out.

Bake 350
30-40 minutes

This is so yummy and perfect for the fall.

Enjoy!