Day 20: I Find Recipes, Then Test Them!

 

Lately I've been doing a lot of web searching for exciting, healthy, and 'good' carb recipes. What captures my attention first are the pictures. I found this recipe floating around in cyber space. What attracted me was the idea of being able to have PANCAKES with syrup drizzled on them - as the picture suggested. The author claimed they were delicious, low carb and healthy.......why not try them!

 

 

Quinoa Almond Pancakes

You start this recipe off with leftover cooked quinoa, almond flour, eggs, vanilla, almond milk, coconut oil, baking powder, and a sweetener. 

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Lightly grease skillet with coconut oil and pour batter into skillet (1/4 cup for each pancake). Cook until browned on bottom; flip and cook other side until browned.

Sounds good, right? They look so pretty too.

 

  
I even made a fresh strawberry syrup for them using just strawberries and a little water.

 

Finally, pancakes for breakfast! I heated up some sausage on the side and a large cup of tea - I was ready!

Sorry folks, this recipe for quinoa almond pancakes gets a big fat D-! Maybe if I tinker around with it a little it can be saved. But, as for now - this recipe has ruined my craving for low carb pancakes. The texture and appearance where on point. However, the almond and vanilla mix did not blend well here. Maybe if they were done without almond flour?

I will not give up hope! The strawberry syrup was good though, but could not save the pancakes. Here are the ingredients in case you want to try them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked white quinoa
• 1 cup almond flour
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2-1 cup almond milk, depending on consistency desired
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sweetener
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Now, this recipe however was a winner!

Chicken and Cilantro Lime Quinoa  (with avocado sauce)

 

1. I seasoned some chicken tenders the night before with salt, pepper, green peppers, garlic powder, cumin, and olive oil.
2. The next day, I put 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan on medium high. I cooked the chicken for seven minutes per side with the lid on.

 

3. While this is cooking start your quinoa.

*Add chicken stock instead of water (follow bag directions) and quinoa to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed.
*Add the warm quinoa to a large bowl. Toss in some lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro to a cup of quinoa. Mix to combine.

  4. After the chicken breasts have cooked all the way through, remove them from the pan and let them rest for seven minutes before slicing them. Serve the sliced chicken breast on top of the quinoa.

 I also made a sauce. Blend a medium avocado, 2 tablespoons Tahini sauce, a splash of coconut milk, lime juice to taste, 1 tablespoon olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt to taste all together. Serve over chicken and on salads or as a sandwich spread.

This dish is cool, refreshing and very tasty!

The sauce even made it on a sandwich for lunch the next day.

Enjoy, and thank God for giving us our daily bread.

Day 18: To Believe or Not To Believe! That Is The Question???

The Shameful Truth About the Naked Juice Class Action Lawsuit Settlement and What American Consumers Can Do About It

I came across this article today on Facebook, and I must say - I am not shocked. I have a very hard time believing that many of these companies bringing in the 'big bucks' off of the "Organic and All Natural" rage, are being completely honest.

The primary basis of this article and the lawsuit against Naked juices, stems from the company’s use of the words “All Natural” on products that contained Archer Daniels Midland’s Fibersol-2 (“a soluble corn fiber that acts as a low-calorie bulking agent”), fructooligosaccharides (an alternative sweetener), other artificial ingredients, such as calcium pantothenate (synthetically produced from formaldehyde), and genetically-modified soy. Since these ingredients are either genetically-engineered or synthetically produced and do not exist in nature, it is completely misleading to consumers for these companies to claim that the juices are “All Natural.”

I am ebullient that this deception has come to light, and hopeful that it also puts other food manufacturers on serious notice that GMOs are anything but natural and cannot be marketed as such.
As for me, I am still on my journey to wellness living. I know that there will be many challenges. My goals however; are to better my eating habits, take care of this temple, and live a joyful loving life. We take our chances everyday with what we consume. All we can do is continue to trust our government - to a certain extent - fight for our concerns, and pray over every bite, breath and drink we take.


Like always, thank God for giving us each day our daily bread.

Day 17: Eating Clean, And Still Loving IT!

Hello, bloggers! I'm sorry I was away for a few days. I'm still eating clean and loving it! I've had a few junk food cravings, but I'm sticking to the 'taste it and walk away' or 'just walk' away methods. I'm also still having fun creating fun snacks and desserts. I haven't done much lately because I've incorporated some nursing duties into my full schedule.

So here is a glance of what I've done in the past two days...

I enjoyed a very simple and refreshing snack: sliced strawberries with shredded coconut and almond slivers. 

 I loved it so much they made an appearance in my salad later on for dinner.

I was craving chocolate while I was out running errands, and discovered this gem at CVS.

It was a life saver and only 2 carbs per serving!

 

Tonight's dinner was a delicious surprise. I usually make two dinners nightly because I'm still trying to convert my family into eating clean. So, tonight my family had sliced kielbasa sausage sautéed with onions and green peppers over whole wheat spiral noodles and generously sprinkled with parmesan cheese. All I had to do for myself was boil some quinoa and reserve some meat and veggies without the pasta.  Delicious.

 

 

Let me say it again. Delicious! Please garnish with lots of cheese!

Tomorrow I will be trying a quinoa pancake recipe with the leftovers. I cannot wait!

Last, but not least - dessert!

Tonight I made: "PUMPKIN BLONDIES!"

Very simple recipe. 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square pan.
2. Cream together butter and Truvia baking blend using a mixer.
3. Add cinnamon, egg, pumpkin, and vanilla to the bowl. Mix well.
4. Stir in flour, 1/4 cup at a time.

 

5.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Makes 16 brownies.  0 Proteins  1 Fats  0 Carbs

 

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Truvia baking blend
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup almond flour

I gobbled one down still hot and it was great! Can't wait until tomorrow to taste them cooled off! 

I hope you all enjoy. I can't wait to share tomorrow's pancake recipe. Until then, give Him His thanks for your daily bread.

Day 14: Never Give Up!

I loved this, and had to share it with all of my blogger friends. This was truly motivational. My life has new meaning. Please remember to thank God daily for giving you your daily bread, and ask Him how to partake of it. God bless and ENJOY!

Day 13: The Steps of a Good Man are Ordered by the Lord.

Hello All! It has been crazy over here in the Epps' household! I couldn't find any time to blog yesterday....well I could have, but I cheated and then felt disgusted with myself. :(  I ate 3 Oreo cookies, a hand full of Cheez-its and a piece of valentine candy. I didn't want it on Valentine's day, but all of a sudden it looked good to me! LOL, however, today is another day.

Cooking and researching recipes really does help me stay motivated and on track. I didn't do any cooking yesterday, and figured I could get away with leftovers. Sitting around most of the day, crunching numbers and filling out paper work does nothing for your wellness motivation - it makes a gal wanna munch.

Today is a new day! I learned that I can and should treat myself to something I really want...occasionally. Preservatives, bad carbs, sugar, and any product made or fed with GMO's are not good for you. I'm trying to change our bad eating habits, but this is not going to happen over night - and gosh darnit, those bad foods taste soooo good!

Okay, I'm over that break down...and nothing tasted as good as I thought it would. :/
Although today was pretty busy as well, I made it my business to whip up a few things tonight. Oh, and I ate out for lunch this afternoon. I had a wonderful chicken salad from Moe's southwest grill.

I wanted to try a blue berry muffin recipe from the Beyond Diet recipe board, and since I had some blueberries in the frig...here it is:

Blueberry Muffins to 'Live' For

I don't know about that, but they are good enough to throw in a ziplock bag and take along with you during busy days. This recipes makes 12 muffins and they are only 1 carb each! The next time I make them, I'll sweeten them up a little more and maybe use coconut or almond meal instead.

 1. Mix dry ingredients (spelt flour, stevia, salt, baking powder) in one bowl and wet ingredients (applesauce, egg, almond milk) in another bowl.

 

2. Mix each bowl until ingredients are well combined. Gently and with as little stirring as possible, mix the wet and dry together just until most of the dry is moistened.

 

3.  Fold in the blueberries just until somewhat evenly distributed. Scoop the batter into 12 lined muffin cups and bake in a pre-heated 400 F (200 C) oven until just browned - about 20 min.

 

4. Remove from pan and cool.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
4 1/2 tsp stevia
1/2 tsp salt
2 generous tsp of baking powder
Generous 1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup almond milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

 Like I said, today was busy so I literally threw my dinner together after making these muffins.

Quick Broccoli Bowl

1. Pour some EVOO into a pan over medium high heat

2. Crush 2 cloves of garlic in there

3. Add a few flakes of crushed pepper

4. Take a bag of frozen broccoli (I used one of those Steamfresh bags) and microwaved it for half the time suggested in the directions just to blanch it).

5. Toss the broccoli in with the other ingredients and shake the pan around like a real chef for a while

6. Pour your meal into a bowl and top with real bacon bits left over from breakfast and some almond slivers. Delish!

While I was playing with bacon - I showed my friend, Lorraine that you can make a yummy copycat recipe out of Raw products.

 

 Here I used some of the leftover chocolate pecan torte and topped it with bacon and a dot of chocolate syrup!
Viola, in ya face!
 

Day 11: Four Ingredient Key Lime Custard!

Today...was a GOOD day! It was food heaven in the kitchen, even though we were snowed in AGAIN, and the kids have missed school for the eleventh time this school year; I was in my glory! Yes, the air was awash with the wonderful aromas of culinary delicacies. I prepared a homemade spaghetti sauce that was out of this world, and over noodles -YES!!!  No more shall I linger on with words, instead I shall intrigue you with photographic imagery.

Hearty Spaghetti Meat Sauce with Mushrooms

 

1. I mixed onions, green peppers and garlic with ground turkey (free range is better) and let marinate for about an hour or two.

(These are some of my ingredients: Dreamfields pasta: made using durum wheat and with 5 grams of dietary fiber per serving, mushrooms, and Red Pack crushed tomatoes with no added preservatives or sugar - they were also 88 cents a can at Shop Rite).

 

2. I then browned the ground turkey and added chopped mushrooms and seasonings: sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano.

 

3. I let it cook down some more (maybe 20min), and then added the cans of sauce, a few splashes of olive oil, and a packet of stevia to cut the bitterness of the tomatoes.

4. Let the sauce simmer on low for about an hour while you prepare the noodles, salad and garlic bread (you can't have the garlic bread - but don't worry, I'll find a solution ;]).

( I added some parmigiano romano cheese)

 

The Dreamfields pasta was delicious and filling as well. I did not calculate a 2oz serving or 1/2 a circle as the box details. I think I ate a full circle, and enjoyed every bite!

 Ingredients:

  2-3 lbs ground turkey
  Half an onion
  Half of a green pepper
  4 cloves of garlic
  1 pack of mushrooms
  2 24oz cans of all natural crushed tomatoes
  Seasonings: sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, packet of stevia, oregano, and EVOO.
 Dreamfields spaghetti noodles 


Ho finito, or maybe not! What about dessert?
Of course I made dessert!

Key Lime Custard

 

This recipe only has 4 ingredients and is thus far my favorite! I did not have lime, so yes that is a lemon. I also used Agave instead of honey.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium organic avocado
• 4 Tbsp(s) organic lime juice
• 1 tsp(s) fresh lime zest
• 1/2 cup(s) raw honey
• 1 cup(s) organic coconut milk

Add all the ingredients into a high speed blender or Vita Mix. 

Pour into ramekins or a pie crust.

 (Aren't they sweet? I love the bright green color)

 

Chill for 30 minutes.

 This is my favorite dessert so far! It is light, and cool and refreshing. I can't wait to find a pie crust to put it into!


F.Y.I 

The Oil Pulling is coming along, we're into week two. I am starting to see some changes already - my teeth and gums are not bleeding as usual, and my sons breath is not as stinky in the mornings, as usual. Hmmmmm. 

(Here we are swishing the coconut oil for you all)

 

Thank you again for joining me, as I journal through this experience in my life.
And, thank God for His daily bread.

Day 10: I Can Have Cheesecake too!!!

Hey...this regiment isn't really taking much from me at all, it's just replacing bad food with better foods. I'm loving this journey to wellness thus far!  I have my moments when I want to taste what others are having. In those times of need, I either find a way to create a healthier version or simply taste it - one bite kills the crave.

I did quite a bit of experimenting over the weekend. Here are two new recipes that I made yesterday. I almost passed out when I discovered that I could consume cheesecake too. Then I thought about it - it is all carb friendly, except for the sugar and crust...easy fixes, right?  Yes. I replaced the sugar with Stevia and Erythritol, and for the crust I used almond meal. Genius!  Now, don't be afraid of either of these ingredients. Stevia can be found with the sugar at your local market and Erythritol as well, it is the only or main ingredient in a product called Truvia.

An Easy "Thank God" I can have Cheese Cake recipe

(You can buy organic sour cream, cream cheese, eggs and raw butter, but none of these products have any added preservatives in them. Also, like I said before, I'm slowly building up my organic pantry - it's expensive)

 



Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, make the crust: whisk together almond flour, 1 tbsp erythritol and 1/8 tsp stevia.

Mix in 2 tbsp. melted butter and press into the bottom of a pie pan.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool. 

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

 In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and remaining erythritol and stevia.

Beat cream cheese and remaining melted butter together until smooth.

Add cream cheese mixure to egg mixture and beat until smooth. (I added a little lemon juice and lemon peel here)

Pour cheesecake batter onto baked crust and transfer to oven. 

 Bake for 35 minutes using the water bath method. Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer to oven and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. 

 Top with fresh berries and serve. 

Crazy excited about this cake! It's not a real Junior's cheesecake, but it is cheesecake and it is good!

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp SweetLeaf® Stevia Extract
• 4 Tbsp(s) organic, grass-fed butter
• 1 large pastured egg
• 1 cup(s) ground organic almond flour
• 8 ounce(s) organic cream cheese
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 8 Tbsp(s) organic sour cream
• 7 Tbsp(s) Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Zero or Truvia

 

Grilled Steak with Herb Butter

1. Season meat to your liking. I used sea salt, pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil. I let it marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours. 

2. I put a little olive oil in the pan and seared it on both sides for 3 minutes each. Then I flipped it over again for 1 1/2 minutes on each side again.  

 

The steak came out juicy and delicious. I made a herb butter by mixing oregano and garlic powder to creamed raw butter.

Buying organic meat can be quite expensive, especially if you're feeding a large family. I checked the regular meat section and found an all natural "managers special" rib eye for $6. The organic one was $8 and a much smaller portion. I'm just saying......

 

 Enjoy, and thank God for giving you each day your daily bread.