Chocolate, PB & B Protein Shake

This is one of my favorite protein shakes. In fact, I will drink this over having dessert any day. It's filling, energizing, nutritious and delicious!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Protein Shake

3/4 C milk (or dairy alternative)

3 ice cubes

1/2 banana (mine is usually frozen)

2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TB peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/4 avocado

1 TB chia or flax seeds, optional

2 raw eggs or 1 serving of protein powder (I use THIS one sweetened with stevia)

stevia, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and tasty!

Layered Grapefruit Cake with Buttercream Frosting - GF

I didn't want to post this picture. I am such a perfectionist and this is far from perfect. I just have to remind myself that this is my first cake decorating attempt...and I was in a hurry! It is still super cute, but next time I want to spend a lot more time working on it. I got the idea from I Am Baker, which you should check out if you haven't.

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. She is GF and DF so I wanted to make her a special cake. I started by looking for a GF White Cake recipe. I found this one, but wanted to add something else to the mix. I was thinking orange or lemon, and then I saw these two big grapefruits sitting in the fruit bowl. I decided to make a Grapefruit Cake. What possessed me? I'll never know. Did you know how heavenly the smell of zesting a grapefruit is? I might do it every day, just for the smell!

The cake itself was delicious. Now, as you can see from the photo, the term "white cake" is used loosely here. I used dark raw agave and coconut palm sugar so I knew it wouldn't end up white like the original recipe. The frosting was too sweet for most of us, but I don't know how to make a buttercream frosting without truckloads of sugar...I'll have to keep working on that one. It was still yummy, but you can't eat much of it. I made a few tester cupcakes before I made the cake itself and that was delicious, with just a little bit of frosting on top.

Gluten Free White Cake

Adapted from Evil Cake Lady
Makes 1 - 6" round (Double the recipe for a layered cake)

3 egg whites

1/2 C agave nectar (I used half dark raw agave and half coconut palm sugar)

3 TB butter or coconut oil, melted

1 C GF all-purpose flour blend (I used Namaste brand)

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 C milk (or dairy alternative)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 C freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

2 tsp freshly grated grapefruit zest

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 6" cake pan.

2. Beat the eggs and sweeteners on medium speed until fluffy.

3. Slowly add the melted butter or oil.

4. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Mix well.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredient to the wet. Turn the mixer back up to medium and beat until all the ingredients are well combined.

6. Add the vanilla, grapefruit juice and zest and continue to beat until the batter is fluffy.

6. Fill the cake pan about half way full. Cook for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing the cake. Let cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

(Double or triple if making a layered cake Rose Cake)

3 C powdered sugar

1 C butter (I used Spectrum Organic Shortening to make it Dairy Free)

1 TB milk or cream (or dairy alternative)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp freshly grated grapefruit zest

1. Combine the sugar, butter and milk in a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes.

2. Add the vanilla and grapefruit zest and beat for an additional 1 minute. Add more milk if needed to thin out for spreading.

Buckwheat Banana Nut Coconut Pancakes - GF

The ultimate comfort food...pancakes. Inspired by the yummy Banana Nut Coconut Muffins I made awhile back, I created this recipe. I have had some buckwheat in my cabinet for quite awhile, but haven't used it yet. They turned about perfect! Light and fluffy goodness.

Gluten Free Buckwheat Banana Nut Coconut Pancakes

Yields 8 - 4" pancakes

1 cup gluten free flour blend (I use 1/2 buckwheat, and then a combination of any of the following; brown rice, quinoa flakes, sorghum, almond...all of which I grind in my high-power blender)

1 TB palm sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 C oil (I used melted coconut oil)

shredded coconut, nut pieces, and/or chocolate chips (optional)

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

2. In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredient.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined, do not overmix. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes (or longer) to thicken and combine. Meanwhile heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.

4. Pour 1/4 C batter into the skillet. If desired, sprinkle the batter with coconut, nuts, and chocolate chips. Once you see bubbles coming up through the middle of pancake, carefully flip over. Cook until that side is browned. Serve with hot syrup (and a drizzle of coconut milk if you are feeling REALLY decadent) and be comforted!

Note: If you do not need gluten free pancakes you can substitute the 1 cup GF flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour.

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays. Go over and check out all the delicious recipes being shared.

Wholesale Buying

With a family of 11, the only way my mom can afford to feed us healthy, and plentiful, is to buy a lot of our foods wholesale. The prices are usually 30-40% off what you'll pay at the stores. You can find conventional, natural and organic products; fresh and frozen produce, bulk flours and nuts, gluten free products, beauty products and supplements.

For years we have used two different wholesale companies. The first is UNFI (previously Mountain People's Warehouse). However, you cannot order or pay online and you have to buy cases at a time.

Most of the time we prefer to buy from Azure Standard. You can order and pay online, or you can pay when you pick up your order. You can buy 1 or 2 of something, or a whole case if you would like. You can place an order once a month and the orders are delivered to a location in your area where you meet the truck. If your order is under $50 you are charged a processing fee, so let me know if you want to combine orders and I'll match you up with someone. To find a drop location in your area visit the Utah/Idaho website or to set up an online account contact Heather at 208-429-1989.

Another great resource is Bountiful Baskets. You get a basket full of fruits and vegetables. The conventional baskets are delivered every week and are $15. The organic baskets are usually delivered every other Saturday and are $25. You never know what you are going to get, but it is always a great deal. The site is really confusing. Here is a page with good step-by-step instructions.

Local Harvest is a website source of local products including produce, eggs, honey, meats, etc. Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to get great local organic produce. You buy a seasonal “share” and get weekly baskets full of great produce.

Utah Co-op is a non-profit store located in Murray, Utah. All proceeds from sales go back into buying more inventory. Their prices are usually 15-20% off retail. If you want a specific item, request it and they'll do their best to fulfill it. They usually have Pasture Pride cheeses, $1.00 for 8 ounces.

DIY Almond Milk (and Almond Meal Flour)

I have had a horrible rash on my arms for about 2 months. I went to a doctor for a female check-up and when I mentioned it to her, she suggested to eliminating gluten and dairy completely from my diet to see if that might help. So for the last 2 weeks I have been doing gluten and dairy free...and my rash is nearly gone!

To replace cow's milk I have been using almond milk, which can be expensive, but after trying all the other dairy alternative I decided that almond milk is the best tasting. I decided to make my own to see if it would be more economical. The conclusion? Yes. IF you use almond meal/flour as well, which I do in a lot of my recipes. A natural by-product of making almond milk is almond flour. It is also worth it to be able to control exactly what goes into your almond milk and if you get the almonds wholesale you'll save even more. For every one quart of almond milk you also get one cup of almond flour, which can be pricey, so you save there as well.

Here is the break down on the cost comparisons:

Retail Pricing (32 ounces of almond milk)

	Store-bought	Homemade	Minus the Cost of Buying Almond Flour
Conventional Almonds	$2.29	($6.99/lb) $3.96	- $.80/1 cup = $3.16
Organic Almonds	$3.00	($9.99/lb) $5.58	- $1.13/1 cup = $4.45

Wholesale Pricing (32 ounces of almond milk)

(For more information on how to buy wholesale, click HERE)

	Store-bought	Homemade	Minus the Cost of Buying Almond Flour
Conventional Almonds	$1.95	($5.20/lb) $2.97	- $.71/1 cup = $2.26
Organic Almonds	$2.15	($5.83/lb) $3.24	- $1.00/1 cup = $2.24

The end price shows the cost of homemade almond milk if you deduct the amount 1 cup of almond flour would cost you to buy. In other words, buying store bought organic almond milk would cost me $2.15. To make my own costs $1.09 more, but then I also get $1.00 worth of almond flour, so in the end it only costs me $.09 more for the same amount of milk and a cup of almond flour.

If you don't use almond flour and aren't too picky about what is in your almond milk (all store-bought almond milks have additives), it is not worth it to make your own almond milk. For me, it is for cost effective to make the milk myself, to control exactly what goes into it and have the added benefit of the left over almond flour.

Anywho, for those of you still interested in making your own almond milk and almond flour, here is the recipe:

Almond Milk

Yields 32 oz.

1.5 C raw almonds (to minimize the cost, you can cut it down to 1 cup)

4 C filtered water

pinch of sea salt

1. Soak the almond in the filtered water for 8-12 hours. Rinse and replace the water once in the process, if possible.

2. Drain and rinse the almonds. Place in a blender with 4 cups of fresh water and the salt. Blend on high for 2 minutes. If using a regular blender (not heavy duty, like a VitaMix) you may need to do two batches, blending 1/2 at a time.

3. Strain the milk from the pulp using a nut milk bag (I did not have one so I just used a tightly woven cotton kitchen hand towel) or several layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze as much of the milk out as possible. Reserve the pulp to make almond flour, recipe to follow.

4. Place the milk in a clean air-tight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Variations:

Chocolate Milk

32 oz of Almond Milk

1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 C raw, dark agave

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chai Milk

32 oz of Almond Milk

1/4 C raw, dark agave

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Almond Flour

Yields 1 cup

Pulp left over from almond milk

1. Spread the pulp on a baking sheet. Let dry for 8-12 hours. Store in an airtight container.

*Note: I have also started running it in my VitaMix one more time after it dries. It seems to make it a finer texture.

Thanks to Kim at Nourishing Gourmet for hosting Penny Wise Platter Thursdays. I linked this post there for others to see. Check out her blog. She has beautiful recipes and amazing photographs.

Hummus

I have been trying to eat more veggies, and with this loveliness I can eat a whole lot of them and not even think twice.

Hummus

2 garlic cloves

1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 C tahini (sesame paste)

6 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1/3 C extra virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor with the S blade process the garlic cloves until well minced.

2. Add the chickpeas, salt, tahini and lemon juice and process until it turns into a thick paste.

3. While the processor is still running slowly drizzle the olive oil through the feed tube. Process until it is a smooth puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with your favorite veggie sticks!

Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs and Chard

Update 4/8/11: I am sharing this recipe via Food Renegade courtesy of Fight Back Fridays blog carnival where everyone shares recipes. Thanks to Food Renegade for hosting such a great event!

I saw this recipe in a cookbook and thought about making it for months before I actually did. The anticipation was well worth it. This is now one of my favorite ways to eat sweet potato.

Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs and Garlic Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard

Serves 4

30 minutes

1 large red-skinned potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

1 TB butter

1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic glove, finely minced

1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

2. Warm the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the green pepper, onion and garlic and saute until the red onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. (The original recipe is vegetarian, but I added some turkey bacon at this step, about 8 slices of bacon, chopped.)

3. Add the potatoes, spreading them in one layer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes start to brown and the peppers are soft, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile start the swiss chard, recipe follows.

4. Stir in the green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper (if desired, add a pinch of crushed red chilie flakes for a little heat) and cook, stirring until the pototoes start to break down and the green onion is softened, about 1 minute. Divide the hash among serving plates.

Rainbow Swiss Chard

Two bunches of Rainbow Swiss Chard, leaves removed from stem. Wash and dry and chop into 2" pieces.

2 TB olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a medium saucepan heat 2 Tb olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until soft.

2. Add the chard and cook 5-8 minutes (meanwhile start your eggs), stirring occasionally until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Eggs

4 eggs

1 TB butter

salt and pepper, to taste

You can prepare your eggs any way you want; poached, soft boiled, sunny-side up, over-hard, etc. In a dish like this I like sunny-side up fried eggs.

1. Heat a large heavy-bottomed non-stick pan on the lowest setting for 5 minutes. Add 1 TB of butter. When the butter has stopped foaming, about 1 minute, swirl to coat the pan.

2. Gently crack the eggs into the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook 2 1/2 minutes for soft runny yolks, 3 minutes for soft, yet set yolks, 3 1/2 minutes for firmly set yolks.

3. Place the eggs on top of each serving of hash and serve immediately.