Granola

My friend Autumn gave me this recipe, she calls it Granola from Heaven:

5 cups mixed nuts of choice, raw & unsalted
   (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
1 1/2 cups mixed seeds of choice, raw & unsalted
    (sunflower seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds)
4 cups unsweetened coconut
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together - Split between two cookie sheets - Bake @ 275 degrees for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes - Enjoy
Sweet variation:  add your favorite dried fruit to the mix when finished baking.

I never use coriander because I don't have that spice and for better digestion I use soaked crispy nuts. You can find out about soaked crispy nuts from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions.

Easy Potato Recipe

I found this recipe through Pinterest, it comes from tastykitchen.com, have not read anything else on the site, just went there for the recipe after seeing the pictures.

You need potatoes, a chunk of parmesan cheese, a cold stick of butter, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, cream and a bit a shredded cheese, I used cojack.  This are items I always have on hand in my kitchen.

Scrub the potatoes and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
First slice the potatoes, but use chopsticks or wooden spoons so you don't slice through:

 Second fill the slots. Alternate between cheese and butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake this for an hour. Be sure the potatoes are done before going to the next step.

Take out of oven and drizzle cream in the slots.  I used less than 1/2 cup for four potatoes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake another 15 minutes.

 Finished potatoes.  Yummy and easy.

FYI, I thought I could cook the potatoes for 45 minutes and count the last 15 minutes towards an hour of cooking.  My potatoes were not quite done this way, we ate them anyway.  I will definitely make these again.

Mounds Bars

The original post I got the recipe from:

http://thecoconutmama.com/2011/10/healthy-homemade-mounds-candy/

I did not have the dates in the recipe so I used coconut sugar and used more coconut oil.

1 cup organic shredded coconut

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 - 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Warm coconut oil is a sauce pan with coconut and sugar until coconut is somewhat softer.  Add vanilla and salt. Pour mix into a loaf size pan and freeze until set, not long. Then cut up.

The second time I made them I mixed in a handful at a time of chocolate chips and made them chocolate.  I never dipped them like the recipe above.

Oatmeal Yes and No

I was asked today if Oatmeal is Gluten Free.  Is it?  Yes and No.  Oats are gluten free, however they are handled and grown in the same fields and processing centers as other grains. I buy gluten free oats, the Bob's Red Mill brand, I can get it in my grocery store or buying club.

Is oatmeal good for you?  Yes and No.  Oatmeal is nutritious if prepared correctly.  If you are not soaking your oatmeal, don't eat it every day.  Grains that are prepared improperly bind up the nutrients and also damage the gut lining. 

Oatmeal is a carbohydrate, so if you are over weight and you eat oatmeal, eat it with lots of butter and/or coconut oil.  Try to add as little sweetner as you can.  I like oatmeal with maple syrup, butter, coconut oil and blueberries.  I don't eat oatmeal for breakfast, I eat eggs. 

If I don't eat oatmeal, why do I buy it? I use the gluten free oatmeal as the bread crumbs when I make meatloaf or meatballs. My daughter uses oatmeal to make no-bake cookies.

Recipe Site Alert

Eatnourishing.com is a great site for finding all kinds of healthy recipes. This is their purpose as stated on the site: The purpose of this website was to create a space for everyday home kitchen tested recipes that center on whole, unrefined ingredients that are prepared in traditional ways in order to optimize nutrition. There are lots of gluten free recipes and great pictures. Enjoy

Road Trip

I have been going on the road more often lately and starting to figure out food to take with me and food to leave for those left behind.

In my refrigerator cooler goes raw milk, kombucha, kefir, gouda cheese, crackers I can eat, cod liver oil, bio-cult probiotic.

This last trip the choices left behind in the freezer were anything that could be warmed up easily because it was just dad and one teenage boy. Chili, Easy Beef and Bean Burritos, a pizza in the freezer, brats and dogs, sloppy joe meat, lunch meat, taco chip ole meat, ravioli. The bonus of making so much, they didn't eat it all so I have meals in the freezer.

The week before I made two pizza's and froze one. The chili was already in the freezer. The burritos, sloppy joes and taco meat were easy to throw together. The rest was a matter of picking up stuff at the store.

My mind is already mulling around ideas of what to take when I go overseas this summer for two weeks.

Leftover meatloaf

I had some leftover meatloaf and this is what I did.
Warm in pan with a little fat, I used tallow.

Shape the meat in a nest.

Drop an egg in the center. Let it cook for a bit.

Gently flip. Cook a little more.

Enjoy.
This is quite tastey.