Maple Pumpkin/Squash Muffins

I made these muffins today: Maple Sweetened Pumpkin Muffins with Oats by Cookie and Kate. They were excellent! I used flax eggs (1 Tb. ground flax and 3 Tb. water - stir and let sit for 5 min), and I used butternut squash for the pumpkin, and I ran out of whole wheat flour half way through, so I subbed quinoa flour for the rest! And....I used apple sauce instead of coconut oil.... when I have more time, I will write it out as my own recipe. But this one's a great base for now!

Picture from HERE

Going Dairy-Free - Making the Transition

My friend asked me if I could tell her more about what made the transition to Dairy-free eating easier for me. I thought - that needs to be a blog post. Dairy free is really awesome, and I feel so much better than I used to, and now I know how to eat without dairy which is quite a feat! It's been over a year, and I love it! Here are some of my favorite substitutes:

Milk: 

Almond Milk is my favorite for anything that is not savory. We like regular Almond Milk the bast for cereal, they also have unsweetened and vanilla. (actually they make lots of flavors, but those are the ones we stick to. Almond milk also has 50% MORE CALCIUM than dairy milk! Cool :)

Soy Milk is excellent for savory things. We always get plain because we are not big fans of vanilla soy milk. So we get plain and use it to make sauces (cashew cream), and to cook any savory dishes with. I actually mix half soy milk and half almond milk into my breakfast muesli because Soy milk is full of PROTEIN (and Almond milk doesn't have much protein.

Butter:

Avocado: Avocado is nature's butter. It is full of healthy fats. I love to make avocado toast with a spritz of lime or lemon juice and some salt and pepper for a savory snack. You can slather it on bread to eat with your dinner, and you won't miss the butter or the cholesterol!

Coconut Oil: I really like using coconut oil for baking (if I want to use oil instead of applesauce),

Olive Oil: This is a given substitute, but you would be surprised at far a little bit of olive oil can go!

Margarine: We very rarely use margarine. But if ever we do, we like to get Earth Balance. (I still want to do more research about margarine)

Cheese:

Avocado: I love to put avocado on my sandwiches, salads, soups, really anything that I used to put cheese on. It has truly been a saving grace and has eased my transition to dairy-free. People think avocados are expensive, but if you consider how much cheese costs, and how much healthier avocados are, it's not so bad. Costco sells very good ones in bags that are usually 6 for 5.

Hummus: I also put hummus on sandwiches, use it (with some soy milk to thin it out) as salad dressing with some herbs, put it in soups to make them creamier, dip veggies in it. The sky is the limit! I also use it to make delicious pizza. Slather the pizza crust in hummus, and then cover the hummus with pizza sauce, then add your toppings. There is no greasiness about it, but you still get to enjoy the deliciousness of pizza! (especially it you add avocado after you bake it). You can get hummus from the store (Costco sells a big tub for $5), or you can make your own. Here's my homemade recipe.

 

Nuts: Nuts have kept my diet full of enough healthy fats, and much more good nutrition than I used to have when I ate dairy. Cashews are a go-to in our house. We make cashew cream all the time. They make an excellent cream sauce:

-Soak 1/2 cup cashews in water overnight, drain and rinse

- add 1/2 cup of plain non-dairy milk, blend on high until very smooth

You can make your own sour cream with cashews (add a bit of lemon juice, salt and apple cidar vinegar), and also sweet creams for desserts (add some lemon juice and maple syrup), etc.

Nutritional Yeast: This is has nutty cheesy flavor, and I put it in everything I can. Here is a good explanation of Nutritional Yeast, what it is, why you should use it, and how to use it.

There are many more things I would like to say about eating dairy free, but those will have to come later.

But here are a few of my very favorite cookbooks and blogs that have helped me out a lot!

The Colorful Kitchen

Oh She Glows - she also has an amazing cookbook!!

Peas and Thank You - This cookbook helped me a lot to make the transition, although it has more processed vegan food than I would like, so I often alter the recipes:

Why Juice?

Sometimes people ask me, "Why do you juice?" What's the point? Aren't you just losing all the fiber? Wouldn't it be better to put in a smoothie?"

Here are some of my answers: On most days, my husband, 2 year old son and I drink a juice that consists of Kale, Chard, Bok Choy, Celery, Carrots, Lemon, Ginger, Cilantro, Apple and Pear. (That is just one example of a juice we drank this week). 

It is so delicious that my son immediately chugs 10-12 ounces of it. There is no way I could get him to eat a whole leaf of raw kale a day. His little mouth couldn't chew it, and if you put all this in a smoothie it would be so thick and filling that you wouldn't be able to drink it all down with out a fight and possibly some major bloating....

People ask me why not just put it in a salad or a smoothie; the answer is that I just wouldn't. I wouldn't consume that many vegetables or even that much fruit in one day, let alone a sitting. 

The benefits are that I am arming myself and my family with all of the nutrients from these veggies and fruits in a way that our bodies can absorb them right away, and they can heal us and keep us healthy and strong. Our diet is so full of fiber that we are doing just fine on that account. We do drink smoothies often (and they usually have veggies too), but we can't drink as much in a smoothie. And it's winter time, and I'm too cold to want many frozen drinks!! Brrrr. Juice is just what I need.

Learn more about juicing here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/

Stay tuned! I am working on a post all about Wheatgrass Juice! How to grow it, and juice it :)

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA

Our friends, Sam and Emily Barker made this amazing meal for us. You have got to try it! It is going to become a staple dinner for us :) at least during mango season. 

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA from http://www.thedivineaddiction.com/

INGREDIENTS

For the Salsa:

2 (16 oz.) can black beans; rinsed and drained

2 avocados; diced

2 small (or 1 large) mango; diced

½ cup red onion; small dice

Juice of 2 fresh limes

Sea salt & pepper; to taste

¼ tsp ground cumin

Fresh cilantro; chopped finely; to taste

Superbowl Recipes

Well, I know it's not the superbowl now, but these are some awesome recipes!

I'm going to make this one tomorrow :) Enjoy! Forks Over Knives Super Bowl Recipes

Update - We made it, and it's amazing! You should try it, especially during tomato season!

TheColorfulKitchen.com

My friend Beth is seriously the best at finding excellent new recipes online! This week she shared 2 AMAZING recipes with us from thecolorfulkitchen.com
Delicious doesn't even cut it to describe this pasta, and have you ever thought of making cookies and brownies out of beans? Well, you should try it. It's amazing!

Easy Cheesy Pasta - Seriously, this is going to become a weekly staple in our house!

Black Bean and Oatmeal Brownies - Add a handful of chocolate chips, and a bit extra agave, and these are excellent!



 

Chickpea Chocolate Chunk Cookies - I could eat these everyday! And I could feed to my husband and son everyday without worrying about their health!



A blog that is vegan and gluten free is a dream come true, and this site is definitely that! Check it out!!!

 

thecolorfulkitchen.com

Choose Peaceful Response, Not Painful Reaction

This is something I'm working on. I'm on the step of recognizing triggers, and trying to widen the gap between them and my reaction so that I can choose a peaceful response. It is going to take a while, but I'm thankful that I am already more aware, and I know it is helping me and will bless my life in the future as well.

Nourishing, Life Affirming Rituals

I really hope you will take that time to watch this video. It really supports what I'm trying to do and helps put it in perspective what benefits are available to all of by taking care of ourselves. I feel that doing these uplifting and nourishing rituals that Bernadette talks about are helping me to get my life in balance and in control, and I want to keep it that way; not just to get me out of a rut but to keep myself living at the level that I want to.

I'm taking B's advice and writing down my list of rituals that nourish and uplift me, that I know are important to me; those things that make all the difference in my day.

Prayer (morning and night, a frequently throughout the day, and constantly with a prayer in my heart)
Daily Devotional (whether that is reading (studying) or listening to the scriptures, or the words of living prophets and apostles in general conference talks or the Ensign. - sometimes as a mother of a toddler, I have to listen rather than read to prevent tantrums and keep the peace)
Meditation and Guided Imagery
Positive Affirmations (listening to them and saying them)
Yoga
Swimming
WheatGrass Juice first thing
Fresh Veggie/Fruit Juice in the morning
Green Smoothies
Being Quiet in Nature
Journaling/Blogging

I am sure I could add more to my list, but these are the main ones that really come to mind that do me good. What are your nourishing rituals?