Raw Cabbage Salad

 

This is inexpensive, simple to make and delicious, too! You can add extra protein like walnuts or organic turkey or chicken for more protein if it is your main meal.

Ingredients:

• Green and purple cabbage
• Raw, hulled hemp seeds
• Apple cider vinegar
• Olive oil

Directions:

• The most convenient way to make this is to buy pre-chopped cabbage. But you can chop it yourself. Add the amount you want to a bowl.
• Add 2 or so teaspoons of hemp seeds. They add texture and tons of nutrition without any flavor.
• Add a very small amount of olive oil. Less than a teaspoon should be enough.
• Add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar.
• Sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt. Add a little pepper if you like.
• Mix together and enjoy!

Gluten Free Sugar Free Oatmeal

Oatmeal can be a healthy breakfast, but not when you eat the kind that comes in a package from the store. Making your own meal only takes about ten minutes or so. Here's how to do it:

• Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a pot.
• Add 1/2 cup of rolled oats. I use gluten free, organic oats. 
• Stir until the water is dissolved and you have your oats the consistency that you want them. Add more water for a creamer result.
• Place the cooked oats in a bowl.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Add 4 - 5 drops of vanilla or chocolate or whatever flavor you like stevia. Or if you don't have liquid stevia, use powdered.
• To add more nutrition, sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of hulled hemp seeds or some ground flax seeds or chia seeds.
• Mix it all together and then add a banana and some berries.

If you are watching your blood sugar, be sure to only use rolled or steel cut oats. Quick oats are too fast to break down and digest and will raise your sugar levels faster.

Low Glycemic Vegan Meal

Some of the best and safest foods for people with Diabetes or blood sugar issues to eat are cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, and greens because they have a lot of nutrition and don't significantly raise blood glucose. You can have healthy, delicious meals that fill you up without grains or meat.

It's easy and delicious to make meals using these vegetables all together. Cook them in some water until they're soft (Add the greens at the last minute or leave them raw to retain more of their natural nutrition). Add some protein like tempeh (see picture below), tofu, or white beans. You can add healthy flavor in different ways: Make a sauce out of organic, reduced sodium tamari and some garlic and cinnamon powder. Or use a little coconut oil with sea salt. If you can't have soy, add some coconut aminos for flavor.

Organic Vegan Stir Fry

 

It's so easy to make delicious veggie meals. You can chop your veggies, or if you are in a hurry like I was with this meal, you can use a mix of frozen vegetables. Whole Foods sells a few really good organic mixes. You can't go wrong with the veggies - use the ones you like and it will taste good to you.

To keep unnecessary fats at bay, cook the veggies in plain water until they are soft. I even cooked this tofu in water, too.

You make a super easy and delicious sauce by using these ingredients:

• A spoonful of peanut or almond butter
• Organic, reduced sodium tamari (use tamari over soy sauce to avoid gluten
• Tiny pinch of stevia powder if you need some sweetness (Be careful, it's strong!)
• A few sprinkles of cinnamon, garlic, and a little ginger
• If you want some extra flavor, add a little bit of coconut oil to the sauce

Mix it all together in the pan with the veggies and add your protein of choice or leave the extra protein out if the nut butter is enough for you. Examples could be tofu or tempeh (only use organic to avoid GMOs), chicken or beans.

Enjoy your easy and delicious veggie stir fry any time of day!

Grain Free Pecan Cereal

You will not believe how simple and delicious this is!  There are only three ingredients and they combine perfectly to create a "cereal" you can enjoy eating with a spoon!  If you soak and then dry out the pecans beforehand they will be easier to digest.  I soak mine overnight when I get them home from the store, then dehydrate them until they are crispy, and then store them in a mason jar in the fridge until I want to use them.

You can use any type of milk that you want for this.  I think that almond milk tastes especially good with the pecans.  If you don't have almonds for making your own almond milk on hand, I recommend Whole Foods Organic 365 Unsweetened Almond Milk because it has the least amount of additives.

Ingredients (I used all organic):
Pecans - as much as you would like
Raisins - as much as you would like
Almond Milk

Directions:
Break up the pecans into small pieces with your hands.
Place all ingredients together into a bowl.
Enjoy your cereal!!

Grain Free Dairy Free Almond Flour Chia Biscuits

I bought some great looking fruit preserves on sale the other day and I really wanted to try them, but I didn't have anything to spread them onto!  So, I made these biscuits!  They were really good by themselves, but with the sweet topping, they were AMAZING!  Yum!  With the strawberry on top, it tasted like a dessert - with no sugar at all!  Oh, and they smelled fantastic while they were baking - like fresh bread!

I found the biscuit recipe from Elana Amsterdam's, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  I made a few changes and I'll share those with you:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 large organic pastured eggs
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp chia seeds ground and mixed with 1/4 cup water (forms a gel)
2 tsp water if needed

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I use bleach free)
• Grind the chia seeds (I use a coffe/nut grinder) and then mix together with 1/4 cup water in a medium bowl.  Let sit to form a gel while you do the next step.
• In a larger bowl, mix together the almond flour, sea salt and baking soda.
• Whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry in the large bowl until combined.  If there isn't enough moisture to thoroughly combine, add a little bit of water.
• Place the batter in small scoops on the parchment paper.  You can reshape with your hands if you wish.
• Bake for about 20 minutes until they are golden.
• Let them cool briefly and then enjoy!

You can slice them carefully in half and eat with jelly or add ghee or any other topping you like!  Or just eat them plain.  You could substitute ghee for the coconut oil.  The coconut oil adds a bit of sweetness that I like!  Delicious!

Vegan Carob Brownies

These are AMAZING!  And they only have 3 natural ingredients!  And you don't have to bake or cook them at all!  My son and husband gobbled these right up - couldn't get enough of them!  I've decided after making several batches that they actually taste like tootsie rolls!  Yummy!!   I have not eaten chocolate in over a year and I was really, really wanting it, so I used carob, which, unlike chocolate is caffeine free and alkalizing!  Hooray!

All you need is:
10 - 12 large medjool dates (Use soft ones.  If they aren't soft, soak them in some water first.)
Two giant, heaping spoonfuls of almond butter (plain, no salt or oils added)
Three tsp carob powder (You can find this at natural food stores or online)

Directions:
Place everything into a food processor.  Process until it starts to form a unified ball.
Everything should be smooshy and there should be no separate date pieces.
Use your hands to shape into a large square.  Then, cut into four squares with a knife. 
That's it!  You can eat it right away or put into the refrigerator - it's just as good cold. 
Or you can just start eating it right away and forget about the whole shaping and cutting thing.  It tastes like candy, anyway!  Enjoy!!