Gluten Free Pancakes (Almost Paleo Approved)

I love when I whip something together and BAM a blog post comes out of it. So this morning I was just throwing some stuff together. I have made a similar recipe called Almond Banana Pancakes, but this one slightly different and a TON better. They literally melted in our mouth. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Free Range Organic Eggs 
• 2 Medium Sized Bananas Smashed
• 1/4 Cup of Organic/Natural Peanut Butter  (This can be replaced by Almond Butter, Almond Flour or Coconut Flour)
• 6-8 Ghiradelli 60% Pure Cocoa Chocolate Chips 

Directions:

1. Turn on the skillet. I used my cast iron. No butter or oil is needed for mine. Plus the might burn with some kind of oil. 
2. Smash the bananas in a separate bowl. 
3. Beat the eggs until smooth. 
4. Add in smashed bananas, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. 
5. Mix well. 
6. Take a small spoon or scoop and pour in pan. They should be about the size of a silver dollar. If they are too big, they may burn and not cook properly. 
7. After about 45 seconds to 90 seconds flip the pancakes. 
8. Then take out when ready and enjoy. Eating them slightly warm is best. There will still be some peanut butter in the middle just melted which causes a melt in your mouth sensation. 

Recipe Menudo

Menudo is a cure all fix for me. It seems like any time that I am down, sick, or in a lot of pain Menudo helps. Menduo is basically an organ meat, hominy, onions, and red powder chile. It is one of my favorite meals and actually easier to make than most think.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of Honeycomb tripe. This is usually about 4-6lbs in one pack. (This can be found in the beef section or frozen foods section). There is significant evidence that organ meats are beneficial to the body. 
• 7-8 small to medium cans of yellow and white hominy. We don't have a preference of one over the other. So I usually get one large can of the white and 3-4 small cans of the yellow. 
• 1 cup of red powder chile. I recommend the Loma Vista or the Bueno brand. The reason is I know it's pure red powder chile. Other brands may have silicone dioxide which is an anti-caking agent. Other brands also have sugars, garlic and other spices which can cause the menudo to have a different taste. 
• 1/2 cup of oregano. 
• 1 onion diced small
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, chile pequin, or chile pod crushed up for a hotter taste. 
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup of oil. I usually use olive oil. Coconut oil may alter the taste. 
• 1 1/2 cup of flour. I prefer the Bob's Red Mill since it is a safer choice than the bleached, processed white flour. 
• 3 cups of warm water
• 1 cup of diced garlic cloves 
• Salt to taste 

Instructions:

1. Dice the honeycomb tripe into one inch squares. 
2. Put all the diced up tripe in a large pan and put on medium in a pan of water. Fill the pan about 4 inches above the tripe. 
3. Add in the oregano to boil with it. Once it starts to boil turn to low to simmer. 
4. Let it simmer for about 4-6 hours depending on your stove, and the size of the meat. I usually will take one out and try it. You will know it's almost done when it's not too hard to chew. You don't want it completely soft, because you can over cook it. If the tripe becomes over cooked it can become slimy almost. 
5. Once the tripe is about 80% done you can add in the hominy. I always drain the juice and rinse it out, since it is really hard to find organic hominy. I have not been able to find any to date yet. 
6. In a separate pan add in the oil, flour and garlic. Use a whisk or a fork to mix it up. Once the flour is toasted enough add in the red chile powder, and the water. It will be a very thick paste like chile. Turn off the pan with chile and set aside. 
7. Immediately after the chile is done add small amounts of the chile to the tripe and hominy. You will need a whisk to mix it in. It may clump so the whisk helps break it up. 
8. Let it simmer together for about 30-45 minutes. 
9. Once it's done serve is with diced onions, and a squeeze of lemon. The chile pequid or crushed red pepper is for added heat to the chile. I usually use a hot red powder chile and don't usually have to add in any other chile. 

Menudo Soup

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

I would like to thank Charity for being a guest blogger on my page and writing this post for me. Hopefully we will hear more from her. 

Prepping the Pumpkin

                                                              

Preheat Oven: 350 degrees 

Cook Time: 2 Hours

Make pumpkin puree . 

Preheat Oven: 425 degrees 

Cook Time: 35-40 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 15oz pumpkin puree
• ¾ tsp Ground Cinnamon---I added a couple extra dashes. J
• ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
• ½ tsp. Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
• 14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 9” Deep Dish Pie Pan  (I used a ready made pie crust)

Directions:

1. Measure out 15oz of your pumpkin puree. (Which is almost 2 cups. The exact measurement is 1 cup 7 ounces) 
2. Mix in above ingredients. 
3. Mix well. 
4. Pour into your pie crust and place into 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes reduce oven to 350 and cook an additional 35-40 minutes. 
6. Make sure pie is completely cooled before serving. 

Finished Pumpkin Pie

Let me know what you think. I love hearing your thoughts. 

Juanita 

Pumpkin Puree

I would like to thank Charity for being our guest blogger on this post. Hopefully we will be hearing more from her in the future.

I loved this idea and thought who wouldn't want to do this. Everyone loves a pumpkin spice latte in February or pumpkin pie in June that just sounds delightful.

All you need is a pumpkin, oven, baking sheet, and a blender/mixer/food processor etc.

1. Cut up the pumpkin and gut it out by taking out the seeds and the stringy stuff. 
2. Cut it in chunks and put in the oven on 350 degrees. 
3. Bake for 45-75 minutes or until soft all the way through. 
4. Peel off the peeling and the outer part of the pumpkin. 
5. Put the "meat" of the pumpkin in a food processor of your choice. I used the Ninja blender and it worked great. 
6. Mix until soft and put in container, or freezer bags to freeze. For 1 quart of freezer bags I was able to do about 3 cups of pumpkin puree. (Most recipes call for 2-3 cups of pumpkin puree) So could have one bag for each pumpkin pie. 

Spicy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I have to say this is by far my favorite snack. I am always looking at what I can do to my food to give an extra benefit. For instance if I put garlic on my food it's to help kill bacteria, fight of infections, or just keep my immune system ready for defense. So when we went and got our pumpkins I wanted to do something different than just salt on my seeds. I am not a huge fan of lime so I did Capsicum flavored pumpkin seeds. Recipe is as follows.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin Seeds from one or many pumpkins. 
• Sea salt to taste
• 1/4 of a teaspoon Capsicum powder or Cayenne pepper (I used capsicum) per cup of pumpkin seeds. 

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Rinse and drain the pumpkin seeds. (Get as much of the guts off as possible)
• On a cookie sheet or cake pan put the seeds in an even layer. Try not to stack them so they evenly cook.
• Sprinkle the salt on there very sparingly.  
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light to medium brown. 
• Put the seeds in a container and put the desired amount of chile (Capsicum or Cayenne powder) to the seeds and shake around so it gets on all the seeds. 
• Save or eat while warm. 

Now for my reasoning of capsicum instead of cayenne. Capsicum is often a cleaner part of the chili, and has a lot more zing. Capsicum unlike Cayenne has several health benefits. (Click HERE for the full list) Some of the benefits are it's a blood thinner, speeds up metabolism to help aid for weight loss and is high in vitamin C. 

Treating Ear Infections With Garlic Oil

It is getting that time again..cold and flu season. The weather is getting cooler and the sun isn't out as much as it is in the Summer. One of my most favorite treatments is garlic oil.

I don't keep it made because it can go rancid and then you can't use it. I feel like that is a waste. It usually only takes about 3-4 minutes to make it. So I feel that you don't have to keep it readily available. You can if you know your child is starting to get something, by doubling the the amounts to have some on hand for the week if you like though.

What you will need is:

• Fresh Garlic Cloves (1 clove for each tablespoon)
• 4-6 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• A pan 
• A Cleaver knife

Steps to make it happen:

1. Take the garlic cloves, and the cleaver knife and hit it to pop the garlic open. 
2. Turn the pan on medium.
3. Once the pan starts to heat up put the oil and the garlic in. Let it simmer with each other for about 3-5 minutes. 
4. Take out and let it start to cool. 
5. Put the garlic oil in each ear when the garlic oil is lukewarm. 
6. Repeat every hours to two hours. 

In babies most of the time fevers are caused from an ear infection. The baby may or may not pull at the ear. The fever usually starts even before the pain from the ear infection. 

Another observation that was made by us and was confirmed by our ND's is many times with congestion the child will get an ear infection. Most of the time kids won't show signs of one but may have some discharge a few days later. So with congestion and runny noses in our home out comes the garlic oil. 

Here are my reasons for using it over other things:

• The warmth from the garlic oils helps soothe the pain. 
• The garlic oil is a "natural antibiotic". 
• Making it yourself you don't have to worry about the "odor controlled". (This removes the antibiotic properties)
• You can control the amount of garlic and olive oil that is put in. 
• It is cheaper than most things and you can use it for other ailments, and to cook with as well. 

All Purpose Cleaner

I have used these items in our home for over 5 years now. I love them and they work absolutely wonderful. I use them only for surface cleaning, not for windows and mirrors. The ingredients and not that expensive and can last a long time.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 Cups of lukewarm water 
• 7-10 drops of an essential oil of your choice (I use tea tree, clove, sweet thyme or lavender)

Directions:

1. Mix the Apple cider Vinegar and baking soda in a container. (I use a spray bottle from Walmart for around a buck)
2. Slowly add in the water, because of the apple cider vinegar and baking soda it will fizz a lot. If you do it too fast it will overspill. 
3. Add in the essential oil and enjoy. 

Let me know what you think. Leave me a comment of what oils you used and why. I love hearing different blends. It might be one that I will use next.

Saving Time With Starter Packs

This is my first guest blog by my good friend Carol Ann. She does these packs to help save on time. It has been a life saver to many and very cheap. I love the idea because I can easily make some brown rice, or some beans and mix. These are also great to add in a roast, or ham and cook it up. 

Clean, peel, and dice any root vegetables you desire along with the following.  Add in seasoning mixture and freeze.

root vegetables (turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, beets)

onion

bell peppers

Kale (or other greens if you have them)

peas (if desired)

add seasonings you desire..

I use:

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp basil

2 bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 tbsp Herbamare

& 1 tbsp of my hubby's secret seasonings... I know it contains turmeric, maybe coriander.. not sure what else. 

Place all in a ziploc and freeze.

I made 10 of these so they are conveniently ready for a crock pot meal or for the pressure cooker.  I use them in two ways as of right now.  I put beef in the crock pot, layer it with the starter pack, then put halved peeled potatoes on top and then add water or broth.  I would also do this with beef, starter pack, barley, and diced tomatoes w/ water or broth for a beef and barley soup.  The combinations are endless.  It is nice to do most of the prep work at one time and just have to add a few ingredients when it is time to start the meal.  Celery I do not put in the freezer packs because my meals will cook for several hours and I wouldn't want the celery to get soggy.

 

I hope that helps!  Enjoy!

To read more of Carol Ann's tips you can find them at her BLOG. 

Let me know what you like to put in your starter bags. Let's get healthy and creative together. 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I love eating mashed potatoes but I don't like using some ingredients. Home made mashed potatoes just has that yum factor.

So here is my recipe for it.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Medium to Large potatoes
• 12-15 Cups of water 
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt 
• 1 tablespoon of black pepper
• 1 garlic clove 
• 1/4 cup of onion finely diced 
• Dash of oregano
• Dash of basil
• 1-2 cups of raw milk 

Directions:

1. Put the water on medium to high to start a boil. 
2. Cut the potatoes up in 1-2 inch square pieces. 
3. Put the potatoes with peeling on, 1 stick of butter, salt, pepper, and garlic in the water to boil with the potatoes. 
4. Once they are soft, drain the water. 
5. Smash them add the other stick of butter, milk and salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste. 
6. Serve warm and enjoy. 

These are a house favorite. We love them. 

Candied Pecans

These I will be making at least once a week. These are a great snack to put in kiddos lunch boxes, take on the go or just eat while watching a movie on a Saturday night. I am always trying to get creative. Something that I can do that is still nutritious for the family and tasty.

People always think to eat healthy you have to eat food that doesn't taste good. I used to think the same thing but as you start to make healthier choices your taste buds tend to like other foods and dislike the unhealthy foods. 

My favorite thing about this recipe is that if you don't have pecans that will probably be the only thing you will have to buy. 

Ingredients:

• 1lb Pecans
• 1 Egg White
• 1 TBSP Water
• 2/3 Cup Honey
• 1 TSP Coarse Grain Sea Salt
• 3/4 TBSP Ground Cinnamon 

Directions: 

1. Pre Heat Oven to 250 Degrees. 
2. On a Cookie sheet add Parchment Paper or Wax paper 
3. In a large bowl add the egg, and water. 
4. Mix well until it becomes frothy. 
5. Add in the pecans and stir until all the pecans have the egg white wash on them. 
6. In a separate bowl add in the honey, sea salt and cinnamon. Mix well. 
7. Add the honey mix to the pecans while mixing until all the pecans are coated with honey mixture. 
8. With a rubber spatula spread the pecans out evenly on the cookie sheet making it one layer. 
9. Put in oven for 1 hour 30 minutes stirring it every 15 minutes. (This needs to be done other wise it can and will stick to the paper. 
10. When done remove the pecans from the paper immediately into a glass bowl otherwise they may stick to the paper as they cool. 

They are great. If you made them please leave a comment and let me know. 

This is what they will look like when they come out of the oven. 

Raw Almond Butter

I have to say I was a little nervous anytime I try something new. I always wonder if it will be as good as a brand name, or the one I get from my local farmer, or as good as someone that went to school to specialize in this kind of stuff, but I am doing better and better everyday.

Let's face it I am just one person trying to make a difference and help those wanting to live a healthier, wholesome, natural living life. I guess I should give myself more credit than I do. Today I made almond butter with raw organic almonds. I don't have a food processor so I was worried about how it would come out and if it would even come out. So here it is...It is AMAZING.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Raw Organic Almonds
• 2 tablespoons of Raw Local Honey 
• 1 tablespoon of Sea Salt (I chose the coarse) 
• 1/2 teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Optional, you may or may not need this)

Directions:

1. Put the almonds in the food processor of your choice. I actually used the Ninja. (Note it does take a little longer with the Ninja but will work)
2. Keep mixing until it become butter. The whole process will take around 20-25 minutes. You may have to stop and scrape the sides every couple of minutes. (See pictures below)

After about 5 Minutes

After about 15 Minutes

After about 20 Minutes 

Finished Raw Almond Butter

Please comment if you have a question, comment or made it your own. I would love to hear if you did anything different and what you did.

Guilt Free Brownies

Who ever says that it's hard to go Gluten Free and Sugar Free have never tried these brownies. These were so good that our neighbors loved them. My 14 month old kept coming back for more and even checked my plate to see if they were really gone. I didn't even feel guilty for giving them to him neither since they were loaded with nutrients and you will see why.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz of walnuts
• 1 egg
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tbs pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 oz unsweetened dark chocolate chopped (I used Ghiradellia 60% Cocoa due to availability in our area)

1 – 2 tbs coconut oil

Directions: 

1. "Grease" the pan with the coconut oil.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
3. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor. (**Note I used the Ninja Mixer. It did take probably a little longer than with a food processor. It took about 15 minutes, you will have to stop and stir it around a bit)
4. Keep pulsating until it is creamy. 
5. Beat the egg in a separate bowl. 
6. Add in the egg to the walnut butter. 
7. Add in the honey, cocoa, and vanilla. Stir for about 2 minutes or until blended in. 
8. Next add in the sea salt, baking soda and dark chocolate. 
9. Once thoroughly mixed put in the pan. I used a 11X7 inch glass cake pan. 
10. Baked for 25-30 minutes and ENJOY every bit of it.