Key Lime Pie or Ice Cream

I have a bucket of limes sitting on my counter so decided to revisit an old favourite healthy treat. If you like sweet/tart you will love this!

Raw Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients - Crust
1 ¼ cups macadamia nuts or 1 1/2 c almond total
1 ¼ cups pecans
3 ounces date paste (5 Medjool dates)
¼ tspn vanilla
1/8 tspn salt (Himalayan)
• Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until there are no large chunks.
• Press into lined spring form pan and refrigerate till needed.


Ingredients - Lime Filling
¾ cup lime juice (8 limes)*
½ cup honey
¼ cup coconut cream
1 cup avocado (2 medium)
2 tspns vanilla
1/8 tspn salt (Himalayan)
2 tablespoons soy lecithin
½ cup + 2 tblspns coconut oil (flavourless may be preferred)

• Add all filling ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hrs or until set. (or freeze for about an hour and enjoy!)


For 'Ice Cream' skip the crust and place in a deep dish. Let it thaw slightly and it should scoop out like ice cream.

Freezes well and lasts a few weeks.

*This is very "limey." Just reduce the juice for a more subtle lime flavour. I have used bottle juice before and it’s good, but not as yummy as the fresh lime!

Candy - Amended

(AMENDMENT: This candy is still my favorite. I found a problem in making it too quickly that I wanted to share with you. I got lazy and just dumped all ingredients together and blended in the food processor. It was ok, but had a funny texture. Be sure to blend the nuts first, then add the rest of the ingredients and pulse just until blended, then remove to baggie and freeze. A small thing that made a big difference.)

This is the beginning of the Sugar Season.......starting with Halloween.  I don't know about you, but if I have a plan in place I don't succumb to the candy setting out EVERYWHERE. I make the following recipe and keep it in the freezer. It is my 'go to' when I need a little sweet something with chocolate to get me through. I've given you a "Healthy Fudge" recipe before, but I tweaked that one and came up with this version, my new favorite. The fat in it is nuts and coconut oil. The sweetness is coconut syrup and stevia, a healthier choice than the white processed sugar. I hope you will give this a go. 

Chocolate Candy

3/4 cup macadamia nuts

3/4 cup cashews

1/3 cup coconut oil      

1/4 cup cacao powder  

1/4 cup coconut syrup  

3 drops liquid stevia              

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or Himalayan salt 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In food processor or blender, put macadamia, cashews and coconut oil and blend until it starts to "butter" a bit, but still has chunks. Add remaining ingredients, blend until completely mixed, scraping the sides to mix well.  Pour into a baggie, flatten out and freeze. When frozen, tear open the baggie, cut into bite size pieces. Put into a container and return to freezer. This will melt at room temperature so store in freezer or refrigerator. 

(Be sure to remove any plastic that sticks to the candy!)

Green Bean Casserole - Healthy Version

We all love the famous Green Bean Casserole for the holiday. But what if you have sworn off the chemicals in the can of Mushroom soup or you can no longer have gluten? Well, here you go.....a healthy version that you are going to love! You might want to subscribe to this brilliant lady's blog....she comes up with some great recipes!  Detoxinista.com

VEGAN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Serves: 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 pound frozen cut green beans (or fresh)

1½ cups cooked garbanzo beans, or 1 (15 oz.) can, drained and rinsed

1¼ cups water

1 clove garlic

1½ teaspoons salt, divided

1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 1 teaspoon minced)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Optional topping:

½ cup dry roasted hazelnuts, skins removed

¼ teaspoon salt, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Heat the olive oil in a 3½-quart dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the onion until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the frozen green beans and ½ teaspoon of salt and stir well. Cover the pot and let the vegetables cook until heated through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, combine the beans, water, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, rosemary, a couple grinds of fresh black pepper, and the balsamic vinegar into a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside. If you'd like to prepare the optional topping, use a mini food processor or blender to grind together the hazelnuts and salt, just until coarsely ground. (It's doesn't need to be super-fine like a nut flour-- you want some crunch!)

When the vegetables are tender, pour the sauce over the top and stir well. Adjust any seasoning to taste, then sprinkle the crushed hazelnut mixture over the top, if using. Bake the casserole at 350ºF for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are piping hot and the topping is lightly golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Author: Detoxinista.com

Mexican Rice Soup

This Mexican Rice Soup recipe by Heather McDougall caught my attention because I love all the ingredients. But as we all know, sometimes "healthy" doesn't satisfy the palate. I followed the recipe to the letter and Rusty's comment was, "It isn't healthy if no one will eat it." So we doctored it a bit. It's still healthy, but not as strictly as the original. 

We put TWO Tablespoons of chili powder in it for more spice. Because it has tomatoes in it, they tend to taste acidic, we cut that with 2 teaspoons of raw sugar. We added a teaspoon of salt. We also added a cup of roasted corn. I made this in my Instant Pot. If you have one, it makes it much easier. 

I recommend you start with the original recipe, then add to that as needed. We used the tortilla suggestion and ate it as a taco filling. Very nice. 

MEXICAN RICE SOUP

By Heather McDougall

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can black beans drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can pinto beans drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 cup long–grain brown rice, toasted (see note)

Salt to taste

Toppings:

- Chopped tomato

- Sliced scallions

- Salsa

- Baked tortilla chips

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon low-sodium vegetable            stock or water over medium-high heat for 7 minutes. (Gale note: if you add the chili              powder at this point as you cook, it will give it better flavor)

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

3. Season to taste.

4. Serve with toppings of your choice, or the ones listed above.

(Note: To toast the rice, put the uncooked grain in a nonstick pan preheated to medium-high and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.)

Since this is such a thick soup, I like to have this rolled up in a tortilla for leftovers the next day. This recipe also lends itself well to using different ingredients that you have on hand. Switch up the beans, use some roasted corn, or add some kale. If you don’t want it to be so thick, add some additional stock or water. Enjoy!

From drmcdougall.com

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

This recipe is really good if you like citrus flavor. It hit the spot for me. This version is gluten free, but you can substitute "normal flour" if you wish. But I'd still keep the almond flour in because it adds to the sweetness of it. 

Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

10 min prep, 10 min cook

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter

1/4 c raw sugar or honey

2 eggs

1 t baking powder

1 t vanilla extract

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 or 2 lemons, zested - depending on your preference for tartness

1 c GF flour*

1/4 c almond flour

2 T almond or soy milk

3 t poppy seeds

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Prepare mini muffin pan with cupcake liners 

3. In a medium bowl whip butter with hand mixer. 

Add sugar and eggs, continue to beat together (apprx 30 seconds) 

Add baking powder, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest from lemons. Combine. 

Slowly add baking flour while continuing to beat mixture. Add almond flour and almond milk. Continue to beat mixture until fully combined (apprx 1 minute) 

Fold in poppy seeds. 

Spoon 1 Tablespoon into each cupcake liner. Makes approximately 20 mini muffins.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Notes:

You can make this in standard cupcake pan. Yields 6 muffins - Adjust baking time to 15-20 minutes. 

*Favorite Gluten free flour mix: 

450g brown rice flour

280g potato STARCH

150g sorghum flour

120g tapioca starch or flour (same thing - also known as arrowroot)

3 t xanthan/guar gum blend

Blend well and you are ready to cook/bake.

Chai Tea

Are you a Chai Tea lover like I am? The Starbucks Chai is so tasty, but so full of sugar. The powder Chai from other places gives me a headache (still wondering what is in it!).  Here is a version that will omit the caffeine and keep the flavor and no headache!

Ingredients:
3 cardamom pods
3 cloves
3 peppercorns
3 star anise or 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 cm pieces ginger, finely chopped (I leave the skin on) or 1 tbs dried ginger root
1 teaspoon ground licorice root, optional
1 cup milk of your choice (I prefer almond or soy)
1/4 cup loose organic rooibos tea (found at most health food stores)

3 cups of water

honey to taste

Directions:
1. Using a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and star anise (you can leave them whole, but crushing releases some of the flavor). 
2. Tip the crushed spices into a saucepan and add the ginger, liquorice root (if using) and 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. 
3. Take the saucepan off the heat and let steep for 4–5 minutes. Add the milk and rooibos tea and add back to the heat and bring back to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover and steep for another 5 minutes. Strain and serve.
Try these delicious variations:1) To make an iced version, omit the milk and place the chai in the fridge overnight to steep further. Strain the concentrate, then serve over ice with cold milk or blend in blender.

2) To make a mocha chai version, stir in 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder at the end.

3) For a super-fun treat, blend the strained hot milky chai with 4 tablespoons almond spread (yum!)

How to Cook a Turkey

I am a vegetarian, however, every year at Thanksgiving I am asked to cook the turkey. So from your resident vegetarian, here are a few tips on how to cook a turkey. 

First, start with an Organic turkey if at all possible. Keeping out hormones and chemicals is always a good thing. Thoroughly thaw your turkey in the refrigerator. Depending on the size, this could take 2-3 days. If you have a “pop up” thermostat thingy in your turkey, pull it out and toss it. Those just tell you when the turkey is overdone. Invest in a good meat thermometer, preferably one that can be read from outside the oven. Place prob into the breast, but not touching a bone. 

Preheat oven to 500 degree F. 

Rinse turkey, pat dry with paper towels. 

In Bird cavity stuff: 

fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, sage, 

one onion

two celery stalks

2 large carrots

All roughly chopped in large pieces. Pack loosely.

Place turkey, breast side up, on a V-shaped rack set inside a large roasting pan. (this is just to keep the turkey out of it’s own fat....I make a coil of aluminum foil to set under the turkey to elevate it a bit. If you have a small rack that would elevate it even 1/2” works well.)

Cut a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil that when folded in half is big enough to cover the turkey’s breast. Lay this onto the breast, shiny side up, and mold it into the breastplate. Remove it carefully so it will retain it’s shape and set aside. 

Rub bird with 1/4 stick of butter - really massage it in. Put in oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. This should brown it nicely. Remove the bird and apply the “breastplate”. Insert the meat thermometer into the breast through the foil. Reduce temperature to 350F and return turkey to oven. If you have a temp alarm on your thermometer, set it to 161 degrees F. 

If you leave the oven door closed, an 18-pounder should hit this temp about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. after the oven temp has been reduced. NO BASTING. Try not to open the oven. 

When 161F is reached, take turkey out of the oven, cover with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. 

Eating meat is ok......once or twice a year :)  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!