Creamy Chia Dressing

Here is a fun way to enjoy chia. Chia is a nice thickener for dressing. This is great dressing for salad. It would also be great on fresh vegetables  as dip.

Ingredients

1/4 C plain yogurt
1/8 C olive oil
3 T honey
2 T vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 T chia

Directions  Makes about 1 Cup

1. Pour all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth about 1 or 2 minutes.
2. Serve immediately or store in airtight container in the fridge.
3. If it thickens to much after being in the fridge stir in 1 or 2 T water to thin out.

Pomegranate Granola Breakfast Bowl (no added sugar)

This was a wonderful breakfast this morning. The pomegranates add nutrition, color and a natural sweetness. This is loaded with nutrition and will get you powered up for your day. You can also eat as a snack and have an extra power boost.

Ingredients

1 C plain yogurt or Greek yogurt

3-4 T pomegranate seeds

1 T chia

1/4 C granola

2 T dark chocolate chips  chopped *optional

garnish with

pomegranate seeds

grated chocolate chips

chia

granola

Directions   serves 1

1. Put yogurt in a bowl and then stir in pomegranates, chia, granola, and *chips. Stir until all combined. 

2. Garnish with desired toppings. 

Layered Overnight Green Salad (healthier)

I have been wanting to make this for a while for my family. My Mom used to make this and I always got excited when you did. The great thing is you can make it ahead so you don't have to be making it at the last minute. It makes it very nice. I made it healthier. Not adding the mayo to it either and added honey mustard dressing at the end. It was a nice twist. Great for holiday gatherings.


Ingredients

2 C Romain lettuce washed cut in bite size pieces
2 C Spinach washed
2 C celery chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 lb of frozen green peas
5 oz of bacon bits
8 hard boiled eggs chopped up
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
garnish with 1 C shredded cheese and 1/2 C chopped green onions if desired

Dressings

1 1/ 2 C Plain yogurt
4 T honey
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Honey Mustard Dressing

6 T olive oil
2 T cider vinegar
1 T mustard
3 T honey
1/2  tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Blend until all creamy. 


Directions

1. In a large bowl put in Romain lettuce evenly on the bottom.
2. Next spread the spinach on top evenly.
3. Next the celery evenly distributed.
4. Green onions come next put evenly over the celery
5. Then pour the peas evenly on top of the onions.
6. Sprinkle the bacon over the top of the peas.
7. Then the chopped up eggs
8. Spread the cheese on top evenly.
9. In a small bowl mix up the dressing. The yogurt, honey, and garlic.
10. Spread the dressing on top of the cheese. Try to seal the edges.
11. You can garnish with the cheese and green onions.
12. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Put in fridge overnight. (We ate in 8 hours and that worked great. )
13. If desired you can drizzle on the honey mustard dressing before serving for added flavor. Yum! We love honey mustard at our house.

Summer Fruit Frappe (no added sugar)

Today I got to talk to my son Derek on the phone (What a gift to have telephones and hear from family and friends we love) when he was on his way to Michigan to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I admire him, and the things he is learning, and the way he is serving with his whole heart. It hit me again today. I have been blessed to have some wonderful children in my life. My husband and I have learned so much from them. We continue to learn and grow from them. Our role has changed we are no longer their caregivers. We are just here to support and love them as they go on to accomplishing great things in their lives. The Bonus is we get to have in-laws and grandchildren added to our family too. Our 4th grandchild is  coming in December. Life is full of many blessings.   

I love Summer time. Everything about enjoying the water, weather, summer nights, summer fruit, and playing with family at the lake. I created a yummy drink that combined a lot of yummy fruits and spinach into a great power drink. 

Ingredients

1 C water or almond milk
juice from 1 orange
1 C fresh or frozen pineapple
1/2 C fresh or frozen mangoes
1/2 C fresh or frozen peaches
2 frozen bananas chopped up
1/2 C blueberries or other frozen berries
3 T yogurt Optional (leave out vegan version)
1 C Ice cubes
2 T Chia
1 T flax seeds
1 C fresh spinach

Directions   serves 2 or more

1. Pour ingredients into the blender starting with the water or milk and then add all the rest. Blend and pulse until nice and smooth.

2. Serve and enjoy a refreshing power drink. Great for a Summer day.

Mango Gelato

The weather has been heating up around here. I love the sunshine and blue sky. We enjoy a nice evening on the lake. This is a sweet time of year.

This is a wonderful treat that is very refreshing. You could use another kind of fruit. It tastes so good with the mangoes in it. Yum! If you want it harder leave in the freezer for a couple hours.

Ingredients

2  C mangoes frozen cut up (Or frozen fruit of your choice)

1 C yogurt vanilla or plain

1 T honey (for vanilla) 4 T (if you use plain)

Directions serves 4
1. Pour ingredients into the blender and let it whirl until all creamy. You may have stir in between the pulsing. 
2. Pour  in cups and serve,  or freeze in freezer if you want it more solid. 
3. Enjoy a yummy treat.

Garden Dil Dip

We are having a fun time coming up with ideas of ways to use these cute garden cups. They are great for an outside gathering or inside. they add a new life to the party. I love them. Great idea for an Easter party too.  It is great to make your own garden dip with out all the extra additives of the ones prepared in the store. You can also try these garden granola cup (dirt cups).

Ingredients

2 Cups plain yogurt

2 tsp dry parsley

2 tsp dill weed (I love this :)

1/2 tsp granulated garlic (I got this at Costco)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt (I used real salt)

dash of chili powder

dash of crushed pepper *optional

Directions
1. First wash the garden pot with soap  and water and let dry.  
2. Put extra deep muffin cups at the bottom and then cut parchment paper in long strip that is the size of the pot. Stick the parchment paper inside of the muffin cup (You could also line the bottom with some extra parchment paper) so the parchment paper over laps.  Cut off the top to be the right height.
3. Mix it all together until all combined.
4. Pour into the clay lined pot.
5. This  dip is great for crackers, chips and vegetables. You could
also use it for baked potato topping, fish tacos. sweet potato fries. Come up with your
own yummy ideas. This was a hit with my family. Enjoy!

* Side note: Cute Garnish idea. I bought mini carrots and then poked the top of them with toothpicks and put in this (see below) edible grass in little pieces. It makes the carrots look so cute. It is a darling garnish. I got the edible grass at Target. :)

Granola Garden Dirt Cups

It's gardening time!

You know the super cute "dirt cups" that are so popular with little kids? They always look adorable, but my kids can never finish them. They are mostly just interested in the gummy worms anyway. And while they look awesome, is plain boxed pudding really that good? Or healthy?

But these Dirt Cups are good for you. And they are delicious. And they are a little more grown-up, so when you go digging into one of these, you won't look like you decided to join the kiddos. In fact, they would be adorable for an adult Easter Brunch or Breakfast.

Ingredients

Granola
2 cups old-fashioned oats
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa
2 1/2 Tbsp honey

Yogurt
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 frozen banana

Supplies
3 food grade terra cotta pots (these might be available at a local cooking store) or regular terra cotta pots with muffin liners and parchment paper
3 straws
fake flowers
ribbon


Directions

1. If you didn't get food grade pots, line your terra cotta pots (wash pots ahead of time) by putting a deep muffin liner in the bottom of the pot, and then, using a long rectangle of parchment paper, wrap it around the inside of the pot, inside of the muffin tin, to prevent your "dirt" from touching the pot. Tie ribbon around the

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the oatmeal in the blender and pulse until the oatmeal is slightly broken up but still chunky. (It should make about 1 3/4 cups by the time you are done, so it shouldn't be too broken up.)

3. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut oil, peanut butter, cocoa, and honey. Break it apart and place it on a cookie sheet, leaving it in small clumps. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

4. Blend together the yogurt and frozen fruit in blender until smooth. Pour the yogurt into the pot. It should be a little thicker than typical yogurt because of the frozen fruit. Place the granola on top of the yogurt. You might need to break it up a little more.

5. Cut the straws in half. Place one half of a straw in each pot, upright. The granola should hold it up. Cut a fake flower so the stem is short. Place it in the straw. The straw should prevent the flower from touching your food as well. Serve immediately.

Note: We found you could even drink the yogurt as you would a smoothie. My boys loved it!

Spelt Waffle Parfaits

Today I enjoyed a wonderful morning walk with my wonderful mother. I sure do love her. She is an amazing influence in my life. That teaches me from example and love. I will forever be grateful for her and the the way she has blessed me and my family. It was wonderful to see the signs of Spring coming. We saw some beautiful daffodils and new growth on trees. It is wonderful to see the world waking up. :) Happy Spring!

 I just spent a wonderful vacation in Mexico. The sunshine, water and blue sky were heavenly. It was a treat to have all that time with my husband. Life is sweet.

This is a fun way to serve your waffles. They could be a nice breakfast, brunch or dessert. Yum! I just finished eating one of them, and it tasted really good. You can decide what kind of fruit you want as your topping. You could even have make your own parfaits. There are a lot of fun options.

Ingredients

Spelt waffles

2 C spelt flour or whole grain flour

2 T cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/4 C coconut oil (Melted)
1 3/4 kefir or yogurt or buttermilk
2 T honey 
1 tsp lemon juice * optional
1 tsp lemon zest * optional
2 T cream tarter

Topping

plain yogurt

strawberry jam

fruit: blueberries and bananas or fruit of your choosing

Directions:  makes about 8 waffles

1. In a medium size bowl mix flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda with a wire whisk. Set aside.

2. Separate the eggs in two separate bowls. Into the egg yolks stir in the oil, kefir, honey, * lemon juice and *zest. Stir into the flour mixture until all moistened.

3. Beat the egg whites adding the cream of tarter till stiff peaks. Fold into the flour mixture. Set aside. (I have found if I let it sit 5 to 10 min. It grow and makes better waffles and pancakes

4. Bake the waffles in a preheated waffle iron. ( I wanted them a little more crispy since I was adding them to the  yogurt.) Take out and let cool. Cut into small squares. You could freeze leftover waffles in zip locks.

5. Place a few of the cut up waffles in the bottom of the parfait dish. 

6. In a small bowl mix yogurt and jam together. Spoon some on top of the  cut up waffles. 

7. Put a few banana slices and some blueberries on top. Then top with some more cut up waffles. Then some yogurt on top and you could end with a little fruit on top. Enjoy!

*Seve right away so the waffles don't get soggy.

Banana Splits for Breakfast!

So you really can have a healthy version of banana splits that is yummy. Think of the surprise on your families faces when you say we are having banana splits for breakfast. This is loaded with fruit, yogurt, granola and a little bit of chocolate. A fun healthy way to start out your day. 

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
1 C sliced  fresh strawberries or any fresh berry or your other favorite fruit
1 C greek yogurt (your favorite flavor)
1 C granola
1/4 C dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
*Optional chopped nuts and cherry for on top garnish 

Directions  makes 4

1. Slice bananas lengthwise and then cut in half again. Distribute evenly laying on the bottom of the dish kind of letting them go up the sides.
2. Place sliced strawberries or your other choice of fruit evenly distribute amongst the dished on top of the bananas.
3. Then scoop 2 spoonfuls of yogurt in each dish.
4. Pour about 1/4 C of granola into each dish on top of the yogurt.
5. Then place the chips into a small dish with the coconut oil and melt in the microwave or on the stove. Drizzle over the top of the granola. Top with Nuts and a cherry if desired. Enjoy!          

Healthy Orange Cream Smoothie

Orange Cream Smoothie

 I love oranges. I remember as a child having orange trees, and lemon trees in our yard it was so sweet.   Nothing tops an orange home grown. We even had naval ones. They were so juicy. I know I didn't fully appreciate it then like I would now. My daughter a few years ago got some home grown California oranges, and ate a couple of them at one time. Yum! So this may not taste like a home grown orange but it does taste really good. It has a very refreshing taste. 

Ingredients
1 C fresh orange juice
1 C almond milk or coconut milk
3 tsp honey
1/4 tsp orange zest
1/4 C plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 C Ice cubes

Directions  Serves 1-2
1. Pour into the blender and blend until all ingredients are blended smooth.
2. Serve at once.

Creamy Peach Pie Smoothie

I hope you had a nice Halloween. We had over 100 trick or tr-eaters so it was a big night. I have given out microwave popcorn packets the last 2 years. They are a big hit with almost all of the kids. It is something different. I got the idea from someone else and I have enjoyed it.

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to Sprouts this week and they had fresh peaches. They didn't have a lot. They were $1.49 a lb. It was a fun splurge. They didn't taste like the ones at the end of Summer, but they were still very enjoyable. It made me feel a little bit of Summer in my mind. :) Simple pleasures in life are good. It is wonderful that we can enjoy peaches all year with the blessing of frozen peaches. So I thought it would be fun to make a peach smoothie, and this is what I came up with. You could add some spinach or oatmeal to make it even healthier. Have a peaceful weekend.     

Ingredients

3/4 C nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3/4 C 1 percent milk
1 1/2 C frozen peach slices
2 T honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of fresh nutmeg or dry nutmeg
dash of ginger
1 tsp of vanilla or 1/2 tsp of almond extract would be fun 
optional healthy additions: 1 C fresh spinach or 1/2 C old fashioned oatmeal    

Directions  (Serves 1 to 2)

1. Pour all the ingredients in the blender and blend until nice and creamy. Enjoy!

Mixed Fruit Sorbet (no added sugar)

This is a wonderful way to enjoy your Summer. Eating a frozen fruit sorbet. With no added sugar. It has a nice mixture of fruit in it. You don't have to feel guilty while you are enjoying it. :) Great way to refresh yourself for the day.

Ingredients:
1/2 C water
1 C low fat plain yogurt
1/4 C frozen blueberries
1/4 C frozen strawberries or fresh
1/4 C frozen pineapple
1/2 frozen banana
1 C ice
1 peeled orange broken into pieces
sliced fruit for garnish

Directions: serves 2 to 3
1. Put the ingredients into the blender in the order listed. Blend or pulse until creamy. You may have to stop and stir it a couple times.  (Especially if you double it like I did)  Serve at once, or place in the freezer  for 30 min to 1 hour to thicken it up. Scoop into parfait dishes. Top with your choice of fresh fruit! Yum!

Green Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I have loved having fresh flowers from Mothers Day! We had a really nice Mothers Day. My husband goes all out on Mothers Day, making wonderful food with my children. It is a day we all love, and look forward to. I love being a mother. It is a gift that blesses my life everyday. They are the jewels along with my husband that fill my jewel box.

It was a really warm day yesterday. I am not complaining. I love sunshine. I thought it would be fun to whip up a smoothie to  refresh with. That could go with our dinner. ( I usually have a smoothie in the morning this was a nice change.)  This is what I came up with. It was a great way to eat some of our greens for the day.

Ingredients: Serves 3
12 strawberries
5 basil leaves *optional
1 C spinach
1 frozen banana
1 C plain yogurt
2  C ice cubes
1 tsp vanilla optional

Directions:
1. Blend all together putting in the yogurt and ice first. Blend until all combined and smooth. Enjoy today!.   

Black Bean dip

This is a great meal filled with protein that you can fix without heating up the kitchen. It was gobbled up by my family yesterday. I called it dump dip. I always enjoy meals that are quick and easy for summer. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 can black bean drained (I had some that were seasoned called Cuban black beans)
1 can diced tomatoes drained
1 can diced green chili's
1 1/2 C plain yogurt
mixed cheese
3-4 green onions chopped
chili verde sauce *optional

Directions:
1. Dump drained beans into a serving dish.
2. Dump the diced tomatoes on top.
3. Dump the green chili's on top. (Evenly)
4. Spread the yogurt on top evenly.
5. Spread the cheese on top. Heat in microwave till cheese melts a little if desired.
6. Sprinkle on green onions and drizzle on chili verde sauce if desired. Serve with chips.  

WholeGrain Almond and Fruit Yogurt Muffins

I made these yesterday for my family for breakfast. They were fast and easy to make and I like that. It was fun to put the homemade yogurt into them that I made over the weekend. Store bought will work too. You can switch them up by adding whatever fruit you have on hand. I used some dried blueberries that I had. :) I loved the almond flavoring in them too. It a great way to give your family some nutrition for their day.

Ingredients: 
3 C whole grain flour (I ground up kamut, spelt, oats and brown rice)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
6 T coconut oil
2 large eggs
2/3 honey or 3/4 if you want it sweeter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 C plain yogurt
1/4 C finely ground almonds
3/4 C dried fruit or fresh (I used dried blueberries)


Directions: Heat oven to 350 make 12 large muffins or lots of mini
1. In a bowl measure and stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Set it aside.

2. In a mixing bowl beat together the oil, eggs and honey add the vanilla and almond extract. Then mix in the yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients. and fold in the fruit and nuts.

3. Grease muffin pans and scoop in the batter. Place in oven. Bake for about 20-25 min for large and 10 to 15 for minis.

Mixed Grain Pumpkin Bread (Low gluten)

It is a wonderful time of year to eat pumpkin bread. I have made lots of variations of this bread through the years. I really liked adding yogurt to the bread, it made it very light. It was a nice moist bread as well. It was nice to use a combination of 4 different grains in it too. I always have room for pumpkin bread. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 C kamut
3/4 C spelt
1 C oat flour
1 C quinoa flour
1 T and 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin spice
*I grated in 1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg optional
2 eggs
1 C honey
1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
6 T coconut oil or another oil
1 T vanilla

Directions:

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.

2. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, honey, yogurt, pumpkin, oil and vanilla together. (I did it by hand)

3. Fold the dry ingredients into the wed ingredients. Stir until combined.

4. Pour into greased loaf pans. Makes 3 small or 2 medium size loaves

5. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 min. Watch the bread so it doesn't over cook.

Flax and Mixed Fruit Muffins

I made these over the weekend. They make a wonderful Fall muffin. They were moist and had a great flavor. It has been fun to have extras, to eat this week for a quick breakfast, or to put in school lunches. It is a great way to get flax seed in your food. You could change this recipe around by adding different fruits.

Ingredients: makes about 20-24 regular muffins

1C dried fruit mix of your choice
1 1/2 C hot water
4 C whole grain flour (I used spelt, kamut, brown rice mix)
2/3 C ground flax seed
1 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs beaten
2 C plain yogurt or vanilla yogurt
1/2 C honey or 1 C sugar
1/2 C coconut oil or oil of your choice
* 1/4 to 1/2 C chopped nuts Optional
Directions: Bake at 350*

1. Pour 1 1/2 C hot water over the dried fruit and let sit for a few minutes.

2. Measure and put dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

3. In another bowl eggs, yogurt, honey, oil and beat together.

4. Drain the liquid off the dried fruit. Save 1/4 C of the water to the wet mixture.

5. Stir in the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Don't over stir.

6. Then fold in the fruit.

7. Grease muffin pans. Scoop the muffin mixture into the cups.

8. Bake 15-20 min.

*I read if you cook flax seed at 350 or below it doesn't lose the benefits of Omega 3 that is in it. You can also replace eggs in a recipe with 1 T ground flax seed to 3 T water per egg.

Fettuccine with Cayenne Sweet Pepper Sauce

I was looking at the recipe cards at the grocery store, and I thought this sounded good. :) I love finding fun new recipes. I did a little tweaking and served it for dinner tonight. It was tasty. It had a great mixture of flavors. You could add other vegetables to it. I tried the sauce on brown rice and really liked it too.

Ingredients:
12 oz dry fettuccine pasta (You could put it on brown rice)
2 red peppers julienned
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 white onion thinly sliced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 C plain yogurt and 1/4 C kefir or 1 C sour cream or 1 C plain yogurt
3/4 C water
2 tsp thyme
3/4 C grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta, cook until al dente, then drain.

2. While that is cooking, spray a frying pan with non stick oil, and saute peppers, garlic, onion and cayenne.

3. Cook on me. heat for 5 min. Stir in yogurt mixture, water, thyme. Simmer uncovered for 5 min.

4. Take off the heat and add the cheese, stir until all mixed in.

5. Either pour the sauce over the noodles or mix the sauce into the noodles. (Or brown rice)

Enjoy!

Berries Yogurt and Granola Dessert

How about having a fruit yogurt, and granola for dessert. It tastes so good. I just had mine for lunch. =) Everyone could make their own, to their own liking. It could make a fun breakfast or brunch. I love the satisfying feeling after eating it.

Ingredients:
raspberries
blueberries
blackberries
strawberries
kiwi (They didn't have them at the store I went to. )
bananas
granola
plain yogurt (I used Dannon)
Whip cream for top

Directions:

1. I put the strawberries on the bottom, then layered it with yogurt and different berries. I did a layer of whip cream on top. Then I poured on the granola and the blueberries on top. There are lots of variations. It is a nice light dessert that looks great, and tastes even better. Yum!

* The granola and small dab of whip cream added the sweetness. =)
Happy Valentines! It is my daughter's Birthday today! We get to celebrate tonight! ;)

Almond Yogurt Chicken with Vegetable Medley (gluten free)

This was a variation of a chicken recipe with cracker crumbs. I decided to experiment and use almonds instead. It is a nice healthy meal. I loved how the chicken was nice and tender. It was funny to have my son sit down to eat it. He was wondering if it was fish or chicken. It was nice he enjoyed it. He came back for 3rds. =) I love when chicken is nice and tender and not dried out.

Ingredients:
Chicken
2 lbs chicken tenders
1 C plain yogurt
1 tsp basil
1 C almonds ground up fine
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp dried onions
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Vegetables
2 Carrots chopped thinly
2 Sweet Potatoes thin slices
2 Zucchini thin slices
1/2 Onion chopped up fine
3 garlic cloves minced
6-7 fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp fresh marjoram or 1/2 tsp dried
2 T olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 C water

Directions:

1.(I had frozen chicken tenders, its easier to put on the topping.) Put yogurt on a plate or a bowl. Grind in blender: almonds along with the spices, salt and pepper. Grind till the almonds are almost powder. Then pour almond mixture on a plate or bowl.

2. Dip the chicken into the yogurt one at a time and then roll it in the almond mixture. Place in a 9x13 inch pan. I didn't even grease the pan. Cover each of them with the almond moisture. Place in preheated oven at 350. I covered it with foil and since it was frozen, I cooked it for about 45 min. Then took off the foil for about 10 min. It will cook faster if it is not frozen.

3. The vegetables can be sliced thin with a food processor. I have a vegetable slicer. I put the oil in the hot pan. I first cook the onion and garlic, till it was softened. Then add the remaining vegetables, and basil. I stir them and add about 2 T of olive oil. Then pour in the water. I don't want the potatoes mushy just soft. Be careful not to over stir. I put a lid on after adding the water and check until the vegetables are soft. I cook it on med-low heat. Then add spices of as desired and salt and pepper to taste.