Sweet sesame bars

I found this recipe in Living Cuisine by Renee Lou Underkoffler. It seemed simple and yummy enough, however I found that it took MUCH longer to dry in the dehydrator than the recipe supposed it would.  Underkoffler also says to dehydrate at 108 degrees. When that wasn't getting things dried, I bumped it up to 115 and we made progress from there.

Sweet Sesame Bars
2 cups sesame seeds
6 TBS raw honey
2 TBS lemon juice (I used fresh)
pinch dried sea salt

Mix ingredients thoroughly in bowl. The texture should bwe sticky and able to hold a shape when pressed. Using wet hands to prevent sticking, press the mixture into thin bars about 1 1/2 x 3 inches onto nonstick sheets on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 108 degrees for 12-20 hours or until quite dry. Flip over the bars to dry the underside and return to the dehydrator without the nontstick sheets for 2-4 hours.

If you didn't care about maintaining the live enzymes in the food, you could probably bake these in the oven on a nonstick pan.

If Pecan Pie...

...had to be wheat, dairy, and sugar free, this is the one I'd want to eat!  I was a bit skeptical when I found the recipe in The Spunky Coconut Cookbook (by Kelly V. Brozyna), but this pie held up to it's promise. A couple tablespoons of xylitol an 1 tablespoon of honey are what sweeten this pie, along with a handful of soaked prunes (really!) and dates.  

Here's the recipe:
Soak 1 cup cashews for 8 hours
Soak, in a separate bowl, 7 dates, 7 prunes and 1 1/4 c. water for 8 hours.

CRUST:
Rinse and strain soaked cashews three times.  Add cashews to the food processor with:  1 TBS ghee (I used Earth Balance), 1 TBS honey, 1/2 TBS xylitol, 1 tsp vanilla.  Puree. Scrape sides. Then add:  1/2 cup shredded coconut.  Puree to form ball. Using wet hands or spatula, press into pie dish.

FILLING:
Add dates, prunes and soaking water to blender, along with: 1 TBS xylitol, 1 TBS ghee (I used Earth Balance), 1/2 TBS vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 TBS quinoa flakes (I used quick oats). Puree in high powered blender until smooth.  Add 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans (lightly toasted if you like) to the filling.  Pour the filling into pie crust. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 and bake for another 10 minutes.  Chill in fridge for at least a few hours before serving.

Mocha Chia Frappucino

I found a site last week that teaches you how to make a Starbuck's frappucino at home for significantly less money. With a little fine-tuning, I was able to make a semi-respectable mocha frap. But then, last week, I was perusing healthy eating blogs and stumbled across this Choco Chia smoothie drink (sorry, I lost the site address!) and had a flash of brilliance--what about a mocha chia frappucino? Think about the added protein and omega-3s from the chia seeds, all masked by a creamy, icy chocolatey coffee smoothie. It was an experiment gone GREAT.  My vitamix burned up those chia seeds so that I never even knew they were in there.  And yet, the chia seeds absorb water, so as the ice in the frap melted, it remained thick--the perfect texture.  I'm so loving treats that don't even taste like they could possibly be good for you but ARE.

Mocha Chia Frappucino

3/4 c. double strength cold coffee (I used decaf)
3/4 c. milk or milk alternative (I used coconut milk from cardboard carton)
splash of vanilla
5 drops stevia
1-2 TBS raw honey
2 TBS chia seeds
1/8 tsp xanthan gum*
1 TBS raw cacao powder (you can use regular cocoa powder)

Blend on high speed until chia seeds are ground up. Add two cups of ice. Blend until ice is completely integrated into drink.

*xanthan gum keeps the coffee and milk from separating and, I hear, is used in Starbuck's original recipe

This drink is SO good that all three of my girlies scramble to the table the second they hear "frappucino."  I even snuck in 1 TBS of hemp seed protein powder on Saturday morning and they didn't even know the difference.

How could you not love quinoa?

Seen here with roasted beets, sauteed spinach, olive oil and salt.

Raise your hand if you know fermented foods are good for you.

Cultured ginger carrots.
Grated, pounded. Left to the magic of ginger, salt, and lactobacilli for three days.

Buttermilk dill dressing

Homemade sour cream and buttermilk combine with a few simple ingredients for an amazing salad dressing on chicken and apple salad. Yum.

Science experiments

Left: milk on its way to becoming buttermilk.
Middle: cream on its way to being soured.
Right: oats soaking in water and acids so is easier on our tummies when we cook it tomorrow.

(Bacteria arrived in the mail today.)