Feeling Good Through Food

This is another recipe that came from my whole foods expert friend Emily. These cookies are soooooo yummy, oh my gosh! These are made with evaporated cane juice crystals. Not quite as nutrient as the sucanat but still much, much better than refined sugar. So they are a good occasional treat and much healthier than your average cookie, and much better tasting I must say! -1/2 cup coconut oil -1/2 cup earths balance (I get the soy free kind) -1 cup organic evaporated cane juice crystals -1/4 teaspoon black strap molasses -2 large organic eggs -2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract -2 cups hard white wheat flour -2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder -1/2 teaspoons sea salt -2 cups old-fashioned oats -1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut -1 cups raisins (0ptional) -1/2 cup good ingredient chocolate or carob chips (optional) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Cream oil/butter, sugar and molasses in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a...

This yummy recipe totally surprised me, potato tacos? But, it was really good, definitely blog worthy! I hope you try it! Recipe inspired by the cooking chicks Potato Mixture: -5 medium red potatoes (or russet potatoes) washed and cubed -1 red bell pepper chopped -1 medium onion chopped -2 tablespoons olive oil -1 teaspoon cumin -1/2 teaspoon chili powder -1 teaspoon basil -1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste) Add all ingredients to a 9x13 casserole dish and mix until well blended. Cover with foil and bake at 420 for 40 min or until potatoes are soft. Stir at 20 min. For the corn topping: -1/2 tablespoon olive oil -2 cloves garlic minced - 1 cup frozen corn -4oz can diced green chilies -1 yellow bell pepper chopped -juice of one lime -salt and pepper to taste Heat olive oil in a skillet, add all other corn topping ingredients and heat thoroughly Other ingredients: -corn tortillas -avocado diced When potatoes and corn topping are done, heat corn tortillas in a skillet for about 15 second...

This is the fastest easiest snack/dessert ever! It took no more than 5 minutes and they are super yummy! They are also gluten, dairy, and sugar free! Recipe inspired by heavenly homemakers and modified a little to our liking. -1 cup natural peanut butter (costco has a good kind) -1/2- 3/4 cup (depending on how sweet you want it) pure or raw honey -1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla -3 cups brown rice crispy cereal (whole foods also has it) In a medium bowl mix peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Add cereal and mix until well blended. Put in a square pan and let it sit in the fridge to cool a bit. Enjoy!

Oh my goodness, these are so good! The first time I tried making kale chips was in my oven and I just used salt, pepper, and olive oil for seasoning. They were really not good at all. I sort of gave up on the idea until I went to visit my friend Emily, who has been eating a whole foods diet for a long time, she is an expert! Her sister actually does the simple healthy tasty blog and Emily posts on there sometimes too! Anyways during our visit, she offered me some kale chips and wow, I went home and ordered a food dehydrator as soon as I could so I could make them! I got this one made by Nesco and love it so far! Recipe from simple healthy tasty . -1 or 2 bunches of kale ripped into chip size pieces (I used curly leaf kale) -1/3 cup raw cashews -2 tablespoons lemon juice -3 tablespoons water -1/4 cup olive oil -1/2 teaspoon sea salt -1/4 cup nutritional yeast -1 small chunk of onion -1/2 teaspoon chili powder -1/4 teaspoon cayenne -1/4 teaspoon turmeric -1 clove garli...

This is such a great recipe! My daughter was helping me make some for enchiladas and kept sneaking bites and saying "yum, cheese!" I decided to make another batch the next day when she started asking for "cheese" again. I made her a grilled "cheese" sandwich which she ate every bite of and asked for another! She ate it so fast, I didn't even have time to take a decent picture! We now double this recipe so we have plenty in the fridge for quick lunches! This is our most favorite "cheese" sauce recipe we've tried so far. -1/4 cup whole wheat flour -1/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is not bread yeast!! We order ours online but whole foods has it too) -1/2 teaspoon sea salt -1/2 teaspoon garlic powder -1 cup water -1 teaspoon mustard powder -2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted In small sauce pan add flour, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, and water and mix well. Heat on medium heat until bubbly and thick, happens pretty fast! Remove fr...

This is another recipe we used to LOVE before we started eating better. I knew there had to be way to make it a little more healthy. We tried "heathifying" it and it was a success! This soup is soooooo creamy!! Original recipe came from 365 days of slow cooking. -2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice -1 cup finely diced celery -1 cup finely diced carrots -1 cup finely diced onions -1 teaspoon dried oregano -1 tablespoon dried basil -4 cups water -1 teaspoon vegetable broth powder -1/2 bay leaf -1/2 cup whole wheat flour -1/2 cup coconut oil or earths balance -1 1/2 cups cashew cream (blend 1 1/2 cups raw cashews with 1 1/2 cups water until smooth) -1 teaspoon sea salt -1/4 teaspoon black pepper Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, water, vegetable broth powder, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt coconut oil over...

My husband loves enchiladas but I haven't made them since cutting cheese from our diet, when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it! It was so yummy! I wouldn't be posting it if it wasn't! We had our friends over for dinner and they seemed to really like it too. I think next time I make this I will put it all together the night before and stick it in the fridge until it's time to bake it for dinner the next day. There are a few steps but all are easy and fairly quick. Recipe inspired by simple healthy tasty and modified to our liking Enchilada Filling -1 medium zucchini chopped -1 medium onion chopped -few handfuls of fresh mushrooms -1 can black beans, drained -1 can pinto beans, drained -1 cup cooked brown rice -1/2 cup frozen corn (more if desired) -1 can diced green chilies -1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes -1/2 teaspoon cumin -1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste -1/2 teaspoon chili powder -1 teaspoon chipolte chili pepper -1/2 teaspoon garlic powder In so...

This is one of our favorite meals. The spaghetti is super easy and fast. The bread is a little time consuming, but easy! I didn't get pictures of the process of making the french loaf but I found a great tutorial I linked to if what I wrote doesn't make sense. For the Spaghetti -one package of whole wheat spaghetti noddles cooked and drained -jar of your favorite good ingredient spaghetti sauce (it can be tricky finding one without sugar/corn syrup, costco has a good kind) -1 tablespoon olive oil -1 small zucchini chopped -1 medium onion diced -1 cup+ mushrooms sliced -any other veggies you would like, diced tomatoes, olives, artichoke heats etc.... -basil -italian seasoning Saute veggies in some olive oil at medium heat until tender, turn heat to low and add the sauce, seasonings, olives if desired, and tomatoes if desired. Serve on top of cooked noddles when it's heated through out. For the Garlic Bread Dough -3 /4 cup warm water -1 egg -3 tablespoons honey -3 tablespoons...

These oatmeal chocolate chips cookies are so good! If you haven't tried sucanat in cookies yet, you are missing out! Sucanat stands for SUgar CAne NATural. It's non-refined cane sugar. Unlike refined and processed white sugar, sucanat retains its molasses content; it is essentially pure dried sugar cane juice. We still don't eat a lot of it but I feel better eating it knowing it's more of a whole food, meaning the body assimilates it better. It's got a rich flavor and it's heavenly! You could also try these with grain sweetened carob chips. Recipe inspired by simple healthy tasty and modified to our liking. -3/4 cup coconut oil melted -1 1/2 cups sucanat -1 organic egg -1/4 cup water -3 cups oatmeal -1 cup whole wheat flour -1 teaspoon sea salt -1/2 teaspoon baking soda -dash cinnamon -chocolate chips (I use dairy and soy free chocolate chips from whole foods) Beat together the oil, sucanat, egg, water and vanilla until creamy. Combine the remaining ingredi...

This dip is seriously amazing. I used to love (LOVE) atrichoke dip, you know the kind smothered in all the different cheeses? Well this is another recipe that reminded me how little I miss cheese. -1/3 cup veganaise or good ingredient mayo -1 can white beans drained and rinsed -1 clove garlic -1/2 shallot quartered -1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar -1/4 teaspoon sea salt -1/8 teaspoon ground mustard -1/8 teaspoon pepper -14 oz can artichoke hearts drained -4 oz can diced jalapenos (use green chilies for less spice) Add first 8 ingredients to your blender and blend on a low speed for about 15 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and pulse 5-7 times. Serve at room temp, cold, or shoot I bet even warmed up it's amazing. I haven't tried that yet!

My daughter had a strawberry shortcake themed party for her 3rd birthday this year, which also happens to be on Valentines day. What better treat to serve at her party than some yummy healthy chocolate covered strawberries? These were a huge hit! -1 teaspoons vanilla -2 tablespoons coconut oil melted -2 tablespoons agave -1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder -strawberries (about 15) Wisk all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Wash and dry strawberries, the chocolate won't stick unless the strawberries are dry. Dip strawberries in a twirling motion in chocolate and set on wax paper until chocolate is hard. Should get about 15 strawberries.

We were in charge of bringing an appetizer to a Valentines party and this caramel dip is what we brought. We really liked it, and hopefully those at the party liked it too! Of course, being healthy and raw, it's not the same texture as caramel, but the taste is spot on! It was delicious! The best part is, you can eat this guilt free! Recipe was inspired by Nourishing Meals -1 cup raw cashews -1 cup medjool dates, pitted (about 8-10 dates) -1/4 cup pure maple syrup -2 teaspoons vanilla -pinch sea salt -date soaking water as needed Place the cashews into a small bowl and cover with water. Let them soak at room temp for about 2 to 3 hours. Place the pitted dates into a separate small bowl and cover with water. Let them soak for about 2 to 3 hours. To make the dip, drain and rinse the cashews then place them into a blender along with the dates, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add about 6 to 8 tablespoons of the date soaking water and blend. Blend until really ...

I was pleasantly surprised when we tried these! Yum, they were so good and very filling! My parents, who are not whole foodies (yet) approved of them as well. I don't have a food processor so I just used my blender and it worked great! Original recipe can be found here. Brownie Bites -1 1/2 cups pecans -1 tablespoon almond butter -2 tablespoons agave -2 tablespoons cacao powder -pinch of sea salt For the frosting -1 cup raw cashews -1 teaspoons vanilla -2 tablespoons agave -1/2 cup water Start with the frosting as it needs a few minutes in the fridge to set. Add cashews into the food processor/blender and process into a fine flour. Add in the vanilla, agave and half of the water. Because this frosting is going to be thick, it can be hard to get it all mixed up by the blades. Add in more and more water (no more than the 1/4 cup) to thin it out and pause every few seconds to mix things up by hand. Be careful of the temperature of the frosting, it will heat up fast. Once y...

This was such a great meal, yum! The cornbread was my moms recipe and I just tweaked a few things. The chili was a little too spicy for my toddlers, but just perfect for us! The original recipe came from chocolate covered katie and we modified it to our liking. Sweet Potato Chili -1 large onion chopped -1 medium sweet potato peeled and chopped -1 medium zucchini chopped -1 can black beans -1 can kidney beans -1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes -1 14 oz can diced tomatoes -1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder -1 teaspoon cumin -1 cup water and a sprinkle of vegetable broth powder OR 1 cup vegetable broth Combine all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. Honey Cornbread -1 cup whole wheat flour -1 cup cornmeal -1 tablespoon baking powder -1 cup unsweetened almond milk -1/4 cup olive oil -1/2 cup honey -2 eggs lightly beaten Lightly grease a square baking pan with olive oil. ...

My husband has declared these better than the actual candy! I would have to agree, not only are they better tasting but 100 times better for you! These are only sweetened with pure maple. I know they don't look very pretty but they are good! Recipe was inspired by simple healthy tasty and we only modified it a little with the frosting -3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut -1/2 cup melted coconut oil -1/2 cup pure maple syrup -dash of pure vanilla -dash of sea salt -Almonds Frosting -cacao powder -coconut oil -pure maple syrup Add all ingredients into a bowl except almonds. Mix and mold into little circles or whatever shape you want and put on some foil or parchment paper. If you want almond joys, stick an almond in them. For the frosting I just add some maple, cacao, and melted coconut oil in a small bowl and mix. Drizzle chocolate frosting over the almond joys and let set up in the fridge and keep leftovers in there... if there are any!

We have breakfast for dinner at our house every Sunday. It's nice, the kids love it and on a Sunday the last thing I want to worry about is a time consuming dinner. We are always trying different versions of pancakes and waffles. For this one, we looked over a few different waffle recipes and came up with this. I'm always happy when our "healthified" modifications work out. These were really good! -1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour -3/4 teaspoons cinnamon -1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder -1/2 teaspoon salt -2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce or olive oil -1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk or other non dairy milk -frozen or fresh blueberries Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl then fold in applesauce and milk, don't over mix. Heat waffle iron and add batter. Then add blueberries on top of batter before closing the iron. Top with pure maple syrup.

This is a delicious smoothie my daughter absolutely LOVES because it's "so pretty" and it taste good too of course! It's also very healthy! -1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk -1/2 cup soaked almonds (soak overnight in water) -1/4 of a beet Blend Add: -1/4 cup oatmeal -8-10 frozen strawberries -1 banana Blend and serve.

A cold is really the bodies way of ridding itself of toxins, that's why there is no cure for the common cold, the cold IS the cure. It's best not to take unnatural cold medicine when you have a cold or flu if you can help it. They can really do more harm than good. Getting relief the natural way during a cold isn't as hard as you may think! Here are some of our families favorite natural remedies for colds and flu. Many of these I have learned from the School of Natural Healing . Hot Honey Lemon Tea -hot water -juice of one lemon -raw honey -fresh grated ginger -cinnamon For a cold, I heat about 1 cup water in a sauce pan just below boiling, pour it into a mug and then add few tablespoons of raw honey, the juice of one lemon, and some ginger and/or cinnamon. It actually taste really good and it's really soothing on your throat. Tea Tree Essential Oil A friend of mine told me about this! For sore throats, I just rub this on my throat and it helps the pain quite...

This soup is total comfort food. Be sure to get RAW cashews or you will end up with a cashew flavored soup. Original recipe came from here and we slightly modified it to our liking. -1 cup raw cashews -7 cups water -1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable broth powder (or omit water and powder and use 7 cups vegetable broth) -2 potatoes, cubed -1 medium onion, finely chopped -3 cloves garlic, minced -4 cups fresh chopped broccoli -1 teaspoon basil -1 teaspoon sea salt -pepper to taste Mix vegetable broth powder and water together. Place the cashews and 2 cups of the vegetable broth in the blender. Blend until smooth. Put the remaining cups of vegetable broth in a pot. Add potatoes, garlic and onions, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 min or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the broccoli and basil and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Stir in the cashew cream mixture, sea salt and pepper, simmering for another few minutes. Scoop about 4 cups of soup into a blender and blend until creamy. A...