Tuesday "Try"... Food Swap

Change comes in small doses. Take what your family is already eating and "try" a food swap. Below are some ideas and a website to help you start swapping! Don't get overwhelmed, just try one swap a week and before you know it, a habit is formed.

*Try grilling meat instead of frying

*Brown rice instead of white or start with half brown and half white

*Open face sandwich - use one piece of bread instead of two

*Make soup once a week instead of a meat dish (put all ingredients in a crock-pot)

*Dip veggies in dip instead of chips

*Incorporate veggies whenever you can ( like in your meatloaf - no one will notice)

*Use avocado instead of mayo

*Eat a whole piece of fruit ( like an apple) rather then apple juice 

Here are 50 more healthy food swap ideas

http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/nutrition/50-Healthy-Food-Swaps

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and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!

Tuesday "Try"... Homemade Cereal

Vanilla Almond Cereal Puffs

http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2014/01/vanilla-almond-cereal-puffs/

This is my version of the Vanilla Almond Cereal Puffs. And for those who know me best, know that I use whatever I have on hand and what works for my family. I love taking an idea and playing.

I mixed together, the almond flour, gluten free all purpose flour ( which I didn't have, so I used part potato starch and part tapioca starch), rice flour, vanilla ( extra because I'm not fond of almond extract), half of the amount of maple syrup ( used for the other half of the liquid was coconut milk), a little honey, plain coconut yogurt and coconut oil.

You just put all in the food processor and mix. It seemed a bit wet so I just added a very small amount of coconut flour ( but any flour would do) and blended again - Perfect!

Then you roll them into little balls. I would make them even smaller then I did next time. You bake them for about 12-15 min. 

Magic... You have cereal! It was fun and easy to make, well except for all the rolling. I wish I had known about this recipe when my children were little. They make a great little snack too.

Had a few with some almond milk.

This recipe sparked my interest in seeing what other cereal I can make ( besides my homemade granola). I LOVE making my own food. So keep coming back, because you never know what I will be making next!

My Version of - Vanilla Almond Cereal Puffs

1/2 c almond flour

1/4 c potato starch

1/4 c tapioca starch

1/4c rice flour

2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 c maple syrup

1/8 c coconut milk

honey ( about 1/8 cup or less)

1 Tb. coconut yogurt

1/2 Tb. coconut oil

Blended all in food processor and rolled in small balls. I put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 min.

You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving

and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!

Tuesday "Try"... Re-purposed Lasagna

Re-purposed Lasagna

My oldest son comes to visit a couple times a month ( when were lucky!) and I always send him home with a homemade meal. So when I'm anticipating his visit I am on the search for what to make. The great thing about my son Matt is he has always been my "Mikey"... He'll eat anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc ( here is the commercial where the reference comes from). I look around to see what I have, what is leftover that others don't want, what I have in the freezer , or just one of his favorites. I found this large piece of lasagna in my freezer. I made it for my other son but he said it was to dry and didn't like any of the options I offered to revive it. So... I thought what can I do with this? How the ideas come to me sometimes I'm not sure, but I think some are from trail and error, some are from just playing with my food over the years and some come from what I've seen others do. With this idea, my kids were questioning my sanity a little, but I thought what have I got to loose. No one was eating it anyway ( I couldn't eat it because it wasn't gluten/dairy free).

What I did was not let it defrost all the way so when I cut it, it would hold the shape and not fall apart.

I then proceeded to batter it with egg and bread Italian bread crumbs. I fried them in a small amount of organic Spectrum shortening in a pan. 

Just long enough to brown on both sides. These could be baked as well.

Then I put the pieces in a baking dish and poured some spaghetti sauce over the top and sprinkles cheese on. Baked it for about 15-20 min in 350 degree oven. I could not taste it ( not gluten/dairy free) but both my son's loved it.

I hope this inspires you to play a little with your food and see what you come up with. Don't forget to share!

You can follow me on https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving

and visit http://wholefood-living.com/index.html to see how I can help you on your way to a healthier you!