Chia Breakfast "Cereal"

This is a simple, nutritious, delicious and easy alternative to cereals and oatmeal for breakfast.

Ingredients:
About 1/4 cup chia seeds
Almond milk to fill up your bowl (about a cup) - The more "milky" you want it to be, the more almond milk you use.  Otherwise it is more of a pudding type consistency, which is also delicious.  The more milky, liquid style is more similar to eating cereal.
maple syrup to taste
optional:  add bananas, blueberries and/or strawberries

Directions:
Put chia seeds in a small bowl
Add almond milk and stir
Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the chia seeds to get soft and to gel
Stir again and break up clumps
Sit for a few more minutes (you can place in the refrigerator if you would like)
Add maple syrup to taste and enjoy as you would a bowl of cereal or oatmeal.

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

YUM and easy!  Only three ingredients!  It is so creamy and delicious!

Ingredients:

Frozen organic strawberries - around 10, but use amounts to your liking

coconut sugar - you can make it as sweet as you like

1 organic avocado

Directions:

Blend all together in a food processor until smooth

Enjoy your creamy treat!

Gluten Free Healthy Oatmeal

I don't post a lot of recipes with grains anymore, since my son and I no longer eat them.  However, my husband loves this oatmeal!  It is so easy to make and has no refined sugars.  I make him a small portion, but with the added fruits and nuts it fills him up just fine.  You can make larger portions easily.  I only buy gluten free, organic oats.  See the link below.  Also, be very careful which kind of stevia you purchase.  Some are loaded with chemical additives.  I use sweetleaf stevia.  This is also great with added fresh blueberries or other berries.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup gluten free, organic oats
1/2 cup pure water
1 ripe banana
ground cinammon
1 stevia packet
handful of walnuts

Directions:
In a small pot, bring the water to a boil.
Add the oats and stir until water is absorbed.  (It only takes a few minutes, so keep an eye on it.)
Smash the ripe banana in a bowl using a fork.
Add some shakes of cinnamon and the stevia packet.
Mix together with a spoon and then add the oats and mix again.
Break some walnuts into the bowl and then mix together again.
Add berries if you like.
Enjoy your oatmeal!

OMG Grain and Dairy Free Carrot Cake

There is a good reason for the name of this cake:  It is that incredibly delicious.  I literally uttered "Oh my god," while I was eating it.  I made this for myself as a special treat for making it through a challenging week.  It is inspired by a recipe from Elana Amsterdam of Elana's Pantry blog.  I tweaked it in several ways, including this dairy free cashew frosting.  I also only made one layer instead of two.  Remember that when you find a recipe you want to make, but have certain dietary conditions, just change it to meet your needs.  I do this all the time, and I will admit that I was really hesitant to try it at first.  Sometimes the results are not so good, but sometimes they are amazingly fantastic like this cake today!  So, be brave.  You never know how good it can be until you try it.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tblspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 organic eggs
1/2 tsp of ground chia seeds
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Grease a cake pan (or a pie pan) with some coconut oil (or other oil) and dust with almond flour.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, and spices.
In a medium bowl, mix together the safflower oil, maple syrup, eggs and ground chia seeds.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
Add in the carrots, raisins and walnuts. (I actually ground the walnuts with a nut/coffee grinder.  It was like adding another flour.  And I left a few chunks, which are so delicious in the cake.)
Put the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 minutes until a fork or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Let the cake cool off.

Cashew Frosting:

I love to experiment with different non-dairy versions of typically dairy foods to make with cashews.  You can adjust this frosting to your own sweetness level.  I made this one "too sweet" for my husband, so I got to eat the whole thing by myself!  :)
Blend together in a high speed blender on very high the following ingredients:
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 - 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup almond milk

You really want to blend on high so that it is smooth and also less liquidy and runny.

Pour over the cake and spread evenly.  Cool in the fridge for a bit to set the icing.  I know it is hard to wait, but it is worth it for the total yum experience.

I hope you enjoy!!   This is by far one of the best things I have ever eaten.  :)

Balsamic Beets

I have never been a big beet eater, but this recipe really has won me over!  Delicious!  I actually bought three large beets at the store.  The first, I juiced and drank.  That was OK.  The second, I cut up and ate raw with a salad.  Also, OK.  The last one, I cooked and oh boy was it good!  Beets have so many healthful qualities and I am glad that there are so many ways to enjoy them.

Ingredients:
Red beets
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt

Directions:
Cut off stems and peel however many beets you want to cook.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place beet(s) in an oven safe dish with 1/2 - an inch of water and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
Cook in oven for 45 mins - an hour until soft enough to poke a fork through.
Remove from oven and dump out water or change beets to another bowl.
Pour some balsamic vinegar over them, followed by a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Enjoy!!

My Homemade Dog Food Recipe

Over the last few months, I have been making my dogs' food myself.  My smaller dog never liked eating store-bought food.  He used to dump his bowl over and then walk away, leaving the food on the floor!  Over the years, I have tried several brands for them, moving away from the popular, but highly toxic Science Diet, once learned about the dangers of GMO corn and soy.  I even bought ones with more organic ingredients, but little Murphy still dumped his bowl over.  So, finally, I decided to make it myself.  Now, he gets so excited to eat his meals, he whimpers at me and jumps around until I give him his food!  They both devour every morsel as quickly as they can.  I feel so good that I can give them what they need and what they like each day.  It does take some time, but it is so worth it.  Our dogs are an integral and important part of our family and they deserve healthy foods, too!

I spent a lot of time researching until I came up with this recipe.  The added nutrients I learned about from Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.  I make his "Healthy Powder" in bulk and keep it in the refrigerator and then add 4 spoonfuls to each batch of food I make.  You can make as large of a batch as you want and freeze it.  I prefer to make smaller batches and use them right away.  But, I have made more when I have had to go out of town and freezing them worked out perfectly.  This is the most common recipe I use for them, but I have also used chicken and also eggs as a protein base.

My little Murphy can't digest any veggies except for sweet potatoes, although Hollie is fine with other veggies.  So, if you want to add more veggies and see how your dog does, you can do that.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of organic or natural (no antibiotics or hormones) ground beef

2 organic sweet potatoes

Organic olive oil

Dr. Pitcairn's Healthy Powder (see link above)

2/3 scoop of organic wheatgrass powder

Three or four handfuls of organic, gluten free oats

coconut or safflower oil for cooking

Add ins:

I add a little bit of cod liver oil to their bowl in the morning and a scoop of plain, organic yogurt with their dinner.

Directions:

Boil the sweet potatoes until completely soft

Once they are cooled a bit, peel them.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.

Add the beef and brown.

Once the meat is cooked, remove from the heat.  Pour olive oil over it and mix it in.  Add the sweet potatoes and mix together with a spoon or spatula.  Add the oats and then mix 4 tsp of Healthy Powder and the wheatgrass.

Allow to cool and then feed the happy dogs!

Store in the refrigerator or freezer and use as needed.  This much would last quite a while for a small dog, but with my Golden Retriever and the little guy together, it only lasts three days.

Kids' Favorite Green Smoothie

If your child does not like to eat veggies, have no fear!  Smoothies are the answer!  This is the recipe for my son's favorite green smoothie.  It is easy to make, delicious and contains loads of beneficial fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Plus, it is packed with detoxifying power!

Ingredients - Use Organic:

Two big handfuls of fresh spinach leaves

One ripe banana

One carrot, cut into chunks

About a 1/2 cup of frozen mango (more if you are making it for two people)

1/2 - 1 cup of unfiltered apple juice (use the 1 cup if you are making it for two people)

An extra dash of pure water

Note:  You do not have to use the apple juice.  I have made this with water as a base and it is still delicious.  Also, you can use orange juice.

Optional:

Add a few tablets of organic, broken cell wall chlorella for extra detox support.

Directions:

Place everything in a high speed blender.

Blend until completely smooth.

Note:  I have a Blendtec and I use the "smoothie" setting and then blend it again for about 20-30 more seconds on a 3 setting.

Pour into a tall glass and smile as you watch your child drinking up the goodness!