Saturday "Supper"... Enchilada's

 

 http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/cheese_enchilada_recipe.html

     This is what I'm making for dinner and I found a website ( link above - has videos too) to make my own Enchilada sauce. The ones in the store are not appealing ingredients or taste wise. So as I often do in my kitchen I go on the hunt for a recipe to make myself. I love sauces because you can make a double batch and then next time the only thing you have to do is defrost and use. You could even double the enchilada's and freeze!
      Don't forget the refried beans, spanish rice, a coleslaw, guacamole or whatever you and your family like to go with it. Use what you have available to fill your enchilada's - cheese, chicken, beef, onion, peppers etc. It's an easy dish to make for a no-meat day.

Monday "Mention"- Flourless...

Baking/Cooking without flour? 

Why you ask? It gives your body a small break from flour of any kind ( http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Your-Body-Can-Do-Without-Grains---Including-Whole-Grains&id=3648259 ). And if you can make/bake, and it tastes good, why not! The internet is full of recipes to try your hand at baking/cooking without the use of flour. Here are five websites to get you started...

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/great-recipes.asp?food=flourless

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/flourless-peanut-butter-cookies-recipe.html

http://recipeland.com/recipes/list?q=flourless

http://homecookinginmontana.blogspot.com/2011/03/flourless-bread-with-no-sugarmade-with.html

http://www.yummly.com/recipes/flourless-cooking

If you would like help reading labels, shopping and/or making meal planning easy contact me athttp://www.wholefood-living.com/contact.html

Tuesday "Try"... Conscious Eating

Try and pick one meal in your day that is not distracted by, TV, cell phones, phone calls, emails, reading, or even conversations and try to consciously eat that meal. Pause ~ take a moment to really look at the colors, smell the aroma that rises up from your plate, feel the work and care that was put into preparing it ( even if it was yourself). Bring your awareness to each small bite and consciously chew and taste your food. Feel the appreciation for the abundance that this meal is on your table and take a breath before the next bite.

Just give it a "try" ~ One meal ~ one try...

Tuesday "Try" Cacao Nibs..

Candied Cacao Nibs

http://candy.about.com/od/chocolate/r/candiedcacaonib.htm

In honor of Valentines day this week I thought I would try something with chocolate ( any excuse to eat chocolate is good enough for me!) Cacao nibs are a healthier option then most chocolate consumed and they offer great benefits for your body http://www.livestrong.com/article/462015-benefits-of-cocoa-nibs/. They contain, magnesium, calcium and zinc to name a few, and what better way to get these minerals then through eating chocolate. Now with that said they do have a dark chocolate bitter taste and the internet if full of great ideas to remedy that without loosing all the good qualities. I found this recipe for candied cacao nibs, and it was easy to make and great to put away for later use, like sprinkling on my coconut yogurt, or grind them up and put in a smooth or just nibble on them, which I found myself doing and put the rest away before they were all gone.

This is what they look like. They have a rough crunchy texture with somewhat of a bitter taste.

I put the sugar ( the recipe didn't specify what kind of sugar, so I used my coconut sugar to add a more brown sugar/molasses like taste). Then put on med. high heat and continued to stir.

The recipe said to wait till the sugar was dissolved to put the butter in ( I used Earth Balance instead of butter to make it dairy free) but after a few minutes I put the Earth Balance in and it did fine. It got a caramel like coating on all the cacao nibs ~ Yum! Once it was all incorporated I spread them out on parchment paper and sprinkled some salt while still hot. I love sweet and salty.

~Happy Valentines Day~

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Tuesday "Try" ~ Gluten Free Product

O'Dough's Original Bagel Thins

http://odoughs.com/

I found these GF bagel thins at my local EarthFare store ( $4.99 for six bagels). Since I've gone Gluten Free I'm always in search of a product that delivers quality texture and taste. This one delivered all that and more because they are also non GMO and low in sugar ( only 1 gram for a whole bagel)! The texture was really soft but not gummy, and the taste was mild enough to not over power anything you would put on them. I was never a big bagel eater before but when I did eat them, I always had trouble with the amount of bread ( even GF ones) they are made with. So that is what sparked my interest when I saw these thin bagels. The first thing I made with one of them was a bacon, egg, and cheese ( for me - non dairy cheese). Oh boy was that good! Then next was a sandwich - Yum! And then one with non dairy cream cheese - Oh my! It is not something I would want to eat often ( because of price and it is still bread, and as you can see I've already had my quota for awhile) but every now and then - Oh yes! I will be on the look out for some of their other products. I think even those that eat gluten would like these as well.  ENJOY!

( I do not get paid to endorse this product)

Ingredients

filtered water

potato starch

soya flour

tapioca flour

chickpea flour

whole grain rice flour

cellulose fiber

glycerine

yeast

sunflower oil

sea salt

organic evaporated cane juice

Salba chia seeds

xanthan gum

baking powder

baking soda

Tuesday "Try"... Jicama

Jicama

Pachyrhizus erosus, also known as Mexican yam or Mexican turnip, is a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean, although the term "yam bean" can be another name for jícama. The names for jicama include Mexican potato, ahipa, saa got, Chinese turnip, lo bok, and Chinese potato. (In Ecuador and Peru, the name jicama is used for the unrelated yacón or Peruvian ground apple, a plant of the sunflower family whose tubers are also used as food).^[2]

This is the Jicama I bought at my local store, it was 1.69 lb. and I'm so glad I tried it. The taste and texture was similar to an apple, celery and a potato and my favorite part was the "crunch". I loved it! When I "googled" how to use it, there were many options, from salads to stir fries, and a great snack idea, like the one I made. I tried peeling the Jicama with my potato peeler but the skin was a bit tough ( could have been my peeler ), so I just used a small knife and it came off easily. 

I then cut in half, sliced thin, sprinkled sourthwest seasoning an lime juice on it. I had a hard time not eating them all. I just LOVED the crunch I usually crave when I'm looking for something to snack on. I even made a few with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on ( thought if it tasted like an apple - why not) and that was yummy too. I'm looking forward to incorporating Jicama in my diet.

Some health benefits..

Jicama is an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C ( 44%) of the daily value per serving. 

It's a powerful antioxidant that zaps free radicals to protect against cancer, inflammation, viral cough, cold, and infections. http://foodfacts.mercola.com/jicama.html

Pick and Choose

        A good start to the new year is learning to "pick and choose" what products and foods will benefit you the most and lead you to a successful year of better health.

       I picked up this certified Gluten Free/ Dairy Free crust ( two pack) from Earthfare for $5.99 ( making each crust roughly $3.00 each). For me, I don't make a lot of desserts for the obvious reason - I would eat them ( as well as trying to cut down on consuming too much sugar). So rather then make a homemade crust I "picked and chose" to pay for the convenience and save my energy for meals that I cook on a daily basis.

        This crust worked great for the pumpkin pie I made  http://www.whole-food-living.blogspot.com/index.html.  It was a bit tough when eaten right out of the oven ( couldn't wait to try it ) but the next day the moisture from the filling gave the crust a nice softness. Crusts made without gluten are not going to be as tender or as flaky but I felt overall the product delivered just what I was looking for, which was convenience and a good taste and texture to compliment the pie filling. And I love that I have another crust waiting for me in the freezer ~ time well saved!

The Ingredients in the Pie Crust:

Brown Rice Flour

Water

Non-Hydrogenated Palm Fruit shortening

Organic Evaporated Cane Juice

Tapioca Starch

Potato Starch

Sea Salt

Aluminum Free Baking Soda

Xanthan Gum

If you want to learn more about Gluten free/ Dairy Free pie crusts, the different ingredients, as well as the many food ideas that pie crust can be used for - Visit me this January 2014 on facebook https://www.facebook.com/WholeFoodLiving?ref=hl . And as always, you can find help with your nutritional needs by visiting me at :http://www.wholefood-living.com.