Sour Cream

I have looked for a good alternative for sour cream for a while. I have listed here some that work for me. My favorite is the macadamia nut. It actually has the sour flavor of sour cream along with the right color and very close texture. It is more expensive to make then either of the other two however, so there is a trade off. If you click on the title of each recipe it will take you to the original site that I got the recipe from, except for the almond sour cream, I am not sure where that one came from, sorry.

Macadamia nut sour cream

1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 6 hours or longer

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch Celtic sea salt
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water (or less)

Measure all ingredients -- macadamia nuts, unsweetened coconut flakes, lemon juice, Celtic sea salt, apple cider vinegar and water into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stop to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula.

Note: The amount of water can differ depending on the soaked nuts and coconut moisture. Start with a small amount of water and add as needed for the desired consistency of smooth sour cream.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup water
5+ Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove pressed or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Almond Sour Cream

½ C almonds

½ - ¾ C water

¼ tsp non salt veggie salt

Dash of garlic powder

Blend all together

Turn blender to low and ass 1-1 ¼ C sunflower/avocado/safflower oil thicken

Add: 1 Tbsp lemon

If you want it to last longer add ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is one of my all time favorite meals! There are no measurement for my recipe because you just cut up and make as much as you think your family will eat.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Cooked brown rice or, my new favorite cooked millet.
Celery, diced
Olives, sliced
Tomatoes, diced
Water chestnuts
Pineapple tidbits
Green onion, sliced
Green pepper, diced
Mandarin Oranges
Slivered almonds, or even better sprouted whole almonds, chopped
Shredded coconut
May add a little cheese
Gravy (recipe below)
Salt and pepper to taste

Layer on plate, rice or millet, gravy and then assorted toppings as you like.

This recipe is from simplehealthytasty.com

Simple Basic Gravy

2 cups rice milk

1 level Tablespoon Vegetable Broth Powder

( or another veggie broth powder, but I LOVE this one)
2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

Salt, pepper or other seasonings to taste (optional)

Take 1 1/2 cups of the rice milk and put in a sauce pan mixing in bullion. Bring to a simmer. In a small bowl stir the last 1/2 cup of rice milk with flour. Slowly add while stirring to simmering mixture. Stir until thickened use warm!

Whole Wheat Veggie Lasagna

This Lasagna was so yummy. I have made it a few times and keep forgetting to take a picture.

Whole Wheat Veggie Lasagna

1 package of whole wheat lasagna noodles

2 Tbls olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms

2 cloves fresh garlic

1 zucchini finely chopped

1 yellow squash finely chopped

½ green pepper finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt to taste

10 oz fresh spinach

1 (16 ounce) container cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese

2 eggs

3 tablespoons dried basil, divided

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook lasagna noodles in a large pot of lightly salted, boiling water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cool water, drain, and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chopped onions, mushrooms, garlic, and zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, pepper in the oil until soft. Stir in both cans of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, Drain cottage cheese. Using a mixer, blend cottage cheese, eggs, and 2 tablespoons basil until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan cheese.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 cottage cheese/spinach mixture, some fresh spinach, and a 1/3 of remaining sauce. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle top with cheese mixture and remaining 1 tablespoon of dried basil.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tamale Bake

I LOVE tamales! I will say that again, I LOVE tamales! I really do! I decided that I would try to make a healthy and easy version so that I could have them. I found and healthified a recipe for a Tamale Bake. I made it last night and it was wonderful. Just a note when it comes to canned beans. Always check the label. Some brands add stuff that is really not good. I try to make sure the ingredients are just beans, water and salt. Some day I am going to can my own beans so that I don't have to worry about it. I just need to find the time. When I do, I will be sure to post about it. I hope you enjoy.

Tamale Bake

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup hot water
2 eggs or 2 Tbls flax seed mixed with 4 Tbls water
3 Tbls Olive or coconut oil (melted)
2 cups salsa of your choice, preferably a healthy one
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Mix the first seven ingredients together. Oil an 11x11 baking dish. Pour mixture into dish. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and put on top of the cornmeal mixture leaving 1/2 inch around the edges. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I am being daring and bold these days!

So, I am starting to get a little bored with some of the food that I have been making lately. Notice I said the food I have been "Making", not eating. I never bore of eating any of the delicious recipes that I have, but I really am not looking forward to making them lately. I decided that I need a change of pace for a while. Maybe it is because summer is upon us. I don't know. Anyhow, I decided that I was going to get daring and try healthifing some of my own recipes rather then using other peoples that are already tried, tested and fabulous! I know, crazy huh? I don't know what has gotten into me! Well, I tried one the other day and it actually turned out pretty good! I thought I would share.

Curried Veggies

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
1 small onion, halfed and then quartered
1 Tbls ground curry powder
2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 can coconut milk
2 cans pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 cup raw whole peanuts
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Brown Rice

Prepare rice. Mix together curry, cornstarch, ginger and salt. Add veggies a little olive oil and spices to a large skillet. Saute veggies for 2 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add peanuts and coconut right before serving. Serve over rice.

Frittata

I know, I know, Frittata is made of eggs! So, let me just say that we don't hardly eat eggs. I will occasionally use them in my baking, but mostly I use flax seed or chia seed ground up and mixed with water so that it will form a mucus. Our bodies do not process animal protein very well and yes, that includes eggs. Dr. Colin Campbell (The China Study) recommends about 5% of our daily calories be from animal proteins. It is a fabulous book! I recommend it to everyone!
Let me just say that when I do use eggs I use cage free organic eggs, that have no hormones or antibiotics. Costco sells some now that I buy. They are 5.99 for two dozen eggs. Not bad for good healthy eggs! We don't have this recipe often, but sometimes I make it to satisfy my husband who really likes eggs. It is better then making him a plate full of scrambled eggs because it really is just one egg that we are each eating and there is so much other good stuff in it that fills us up. It really is a good transition recipe to help you move forward in your quest to eating healthier! I am guessing that you could use an egg replacer like this one in this recipe, but I have never tried it, so I am not certain.

Frittata

3 cups chopped potatoes (chopped into small bit sized pieces, like country style hash browns)
1/2 green or red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 medium onion, diced
1/2 pound fresh asparagus spears, or fresh broccoli cut into one inch pieces
or a large handful of baby spinach
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 eggs beaten (or you could do one per person in your family up to 8 eggs)
2 small roma tomatoes, sliced

Place potatoes, bell pepper, onion and garlic (you will also want to add the asparagus or the broccoli now if you are using that option) into a large skillet with a little olive oil. Cook on medium heat with very little stiring until potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Reduce heat to low. Add salt, pepper, and eggs to potato mixture (If you are using spinach add now also). Cover with lid and cook for about 15 minutes or until eggs are set in the middle. Place sliced tomatoes on top and cover again. Let sit for about 3 min to allow the tomatoes to soften a bit.

Again, sorry there is no picture! I am working on getting a new camera.