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Recipe: Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Dessert, Snacks, Recipes, Chocolate, Vegan, America, Baking,
Our family likes to make up a batch or two of these healthy oatmeal cookies to keep in the freezer, they work great for when we are feeling like something sweet but not wanting to be “bad.” They make a healthy treat for the whole family, and they are so easy to make. I make these cookies if I am wanting to do some cooking with the kids but don’t have time to make something that is really involved. Because you don’t have to bake these cookies, they make up in less than 30 minutes.
Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or other shortening of choice)
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, less if you don’t like a really rich chocolate flavor
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a saucepan over medium heat combine the maple syrup, oil, cocoa and cinnamon. Boil for three minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, rolled oats and vanilla until well blended.
- Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto waxed paper (I used foil and sprayed it so they wouldn’t stick) and chill to set, about 30 minutes. Keep refrigerated.
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Recipe: Blueberry Pecan Whole Grain Muffins
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dishes, Snacks, Recipes, Grains, Nuts, America, Baking,
I made these muffins last night to go with our dinner and, wow, they were awesome! The kids loved them—in fact, I think they would have preferred to just have muffins for dinner! I got this recipe from All Recipes and altered it quite a bit. I was very happy with how they turned out, very moist and full of flavor. If you want a little sweeter muffin, add more honey, or just drizzle a little honey on your warm muffin. These were great, we will be trying them again soon.
Click to continue reading Recipe: Blueberry Pecan Whole Grain Muffins
Wanting To Live A More Organic Lifestyle
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Farming, Health, Trends, Organic, America,
Many people would love to buy organic produce, organic meat, and live a more wholesome life. But what stops most of us? Money, time and space. The mindset I’ve struggled with is, “I can’t buy organic because it’s too expensive,” or “I don’t have the space to have a garden because we have such a small yard.” My husband, Chris, found this website called Path to Freedom, that really challenges those limiting mindsets. The website is put together by a family who lives in urban Pasadena, California. This family has turned their small 1/5 acre lot into a rich garden with around 400 varieties of edible plants, supplying nourishment for them as well as a sustaining organic produce company. I found this site interesting and extremely inspiring. Take a look at their site and see if it doesn’t inspire you to turn your rose bushes into string beans!
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| Path To Freedom
Blackberry Salad Dressing Recipe
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Side Dishes, Recipes, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, America,
My friend Crystal is a creative cook, and she came up with this salad dressing recipe when we were over for dinner the other day. It was amazing! I was so glad when she shared the recipe with me. We enjoyed this dressed over a lush bed of greens tossed with candied pecans and dried cranberries, the salad was to die for! I plan to share a pasta recipe from Crystal later this week.
BLACKBERRY DRESSING
Ingredients:
- 2 cups blackberries
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 -3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2-34 cup apple cider vinegar
Directions:
Puree, douse a bed of delicious greens, and enjoy.
Sprouting and Dehydrating Seeds and Grains
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: How To, Grains, Vegan, Vegetarian, America, Dehydration,
Sprouting grains and seeds is easy and fun. The health benefits are well worth the extra work. You can sprout wheat berries, barley, buckwheat, alfalfa, sesame seeds, and flax seeds, to name a few. When the seed or grain sprouts, nutrients are released during the growing process that are not present in the seed or grain by itself. By sprouting, dehydrating, then grinding your grains, you are creating flour that is many times more nutrient rich than any flour you can purchase in the store. I love watching my food grow, it’s inspiring!
Step 1: Soaking
The first step is to soak the seeds or grains. Place the seeds or grains in a large pot overnight (the size of the pot depends on how much flour or sprouts you will need, keep in mind that soaking causes the grains to expand as they absorb the water).
Step 2: Rinsing
After the overnight soak, you will want to pour your grains into a colander, about half full, and rinse. When I rinse them I like to get my hands in there to mix it up to make sure that all the grains are well rinsed. Do this 2-3 times a day until the sprouts form, you want the sprout to be about 1/4 inch in length. Each seed and grain has a different germination phase. Wheat berries take around 48 hours while quinoa sprouts in as little as 12 hours.
Step 3: Dehydrating
Depending on what you are planning to use the sprouts for, you may or may not choose to dehydrate your seeds or grains. I use my sprouted wheat to make bread flour and buckwheat to make Buckwheatie Bars. Dehydrating is simple. Just give the sprouts one last rinse and place them on the dehydrating trays. It usually only takes around 4-6 hours to dry. Use your dehydrated sprouts quickly, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a month or so.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Dessert, Snacks, Comfort Food, Recipes, Chocolate, Sugar, America, Baking,
About three years ago my family took the plunge and left white flour behind. We have switched from using white flour to using only whole wheat flour. It’s been a slow process, I began with exchanging portions of white flour for wheat in recipes that called for all purpose flour. This slow change allowed our palates time to get used to the change in flavor and texture. Now we use almost 100% whole wheat in all our recipes. Most people who prefer the taste and texture of white flour, will be surprised that these cookies are made from 100% whole wheat flour. In fact my neighbor told me, “I think these are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten!” I adjusted this recipe from an old church cookbook from my childhood. These have definitely become a family favorite, but we try not to make them too often, you can’t just eat one!
Click to continue reading Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Pot Roast with Vegetables Recipe
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Dinner, Recipes, Beef, Meat, Vegetables, America, Roasting, Slow Cooking,
There is something wonderful about the smell of a roast cooking for hours on a cool autumn day. The spices and juices from the meat fill the house with a lovely inspiring smell. This wafting scent will lure even your pickiest child to the dinner table, to taste of the labors of your hard working oven. I was excited to see that this recipe from All Recipes called to use a Dutch oven because I had not used one before. I used mine for the first time a few days ago, and I was extremely impressed with how well it worked. A worthy investment if you don’t have one.
Click to continue reading Pot Roast with Vegetables Recipe
Recipe: Diced Rainbow Fruit & Veggie Salad
Posted by Monica Edwards Categories: Side Dishes, Health, Recipes, Fruit, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, America,
My husband Andru has come to the realization that a lot of the food we eat on a daily basis contains a lot of sodium. Not because I have chosen to dash everything we consume with a bit of salt here and there, but because some foods come into our home with so much added salt through processing. He was fuming about how he had chosen to purchase some soup simply because the label said “Organic” because in our mind set “organic” is supposed to mean good for you, but that is not necessarily true so he went off in a tirade after reading the label and seeing that in a one cup serving of this “good” soup there was 980 mg. of sodium, 41% of the sodium we need for the day in one cup of delicious death. He was very concerned that this percentage was in relation to an adult’s body mass, not a 3 year-olds tiny frame. How much sodium can a toddler take before a salt-induced coma? Anyway, to alleviate his worries, he is on a mission to eat more foods that are “living”, meaning less meat and processed foods and more fruits and vegetables.
In order to support his new found revelation, I decided one night to come up with a raw fruit and vegetable salad that is delicious despite not being smothered in dressing—and I aptly named it Rainbow Fruit & Veggie salad because after all was said and done, I threw in so many different colors of fruits and veggies, it became a taste sensation for the eyes. I was very tempted to add a touch of sugar to the natural dressing mixed in, but then thought, well that defeats the whole purpose, so instead added some strawberries for that touch of sweetness. Voila…a new recipe was born, and Andru loved it and the kids seemed to like it also, thank you strawberries. It is a great side dish and the recipe can be varied in so many ways, I added raw zucchini when I made it a second time and it was a hit at our Fellowship meal after church. I hope it pleases your taste buds also!
Click to continue reading Recipe: Diced Rainbow Fruit & Veggie Salad
Whole Wheat Cornbread Recipe
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Dinner, Side Dishes, Recipes, Grains, Vegetarian, America, Baking,
We love cornbread in our household. I liked that this recipe called for whole wheat flour. I think it makes the cornbread turn out a little less moist, and more crumbly. But definitely still wonderful - especially slathered with butter! I got the recipe right from the back of the Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal package. We ate this with some delectable Lentil Curry Vegetable Soup, yum!
Click to continue reading Whole Wheat Cornbread Recipe
Lentil Curry Vegetable Soup Recipe
Posted by Jenni Burns Categories: Dinner, Recipes, Grains, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, America,
Last year my husband and I were on a raw food kick. We bought a great book called, “The Raw Food Detox Diet” by Natalia Rose - that is where I got this recipe. My husband and I have begun a slow journey of becoming healthier people. We are trying to regain ground for ourselves at the same time as we teach our children the many benefits of eating healthy. One of the main points in this book, “The Raw Food Detox Diet,” is that we need to eat in such a way that our meals will exit our bodies in a timely manner. But equally important, we want our food to give our bodies the maximum amount of nutrients possible. One of the ways we can do this is by not eating starchy foods and meats together as they take much longer to digest when eaten together. This recipe is a great, “quick exit meal,” not raw, but definitely a great source of nutrition and it tastes great. I will be sharing more thoughts about this book in later entries, so look forward to hearing more from me on the subject of the Raw Food Diet.
Click to continue reading Lentil Curry Vegetable Soup Recipe
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