Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

Jefferson and Emily (via Leah)

Jefferson and Emily taught me this one and I eat it every other morning, maybe twice a day...

So easy, so good, so eat it!

Take 2 peeled oranges, throw them in a blender, add 2 ice cubes.
Blend till smooth
Add  2 bananas blend till smooth.

Drink it. love it. Awesome!

Feel free to add in other fruits as you want.

The thing that makes this drink so amazing is using fresh not frozen fruit.  Also make sure your bananas are pretty ripe, somewhat bordering on over ripe.

So do it, and love it!

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

by Ashley and Caleb

OK! I know that all I post are breakfast recipes, but when you're trying to minimize your wheat intake, eggs or smoothies in the morning get old really fast.

Remember how you made that awesome oatmeal and then saved the leftovers? Here's what you do:

1 ¼ cup almond flour (or 1 cup flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
1/3 cup maple syrup 
3 eggs, lightly beaten (reduce to 2 eggs if using wheat flour)
1 cup leftover oatmeal 
1 cup raisins (optional) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, combine coconut oil, eggs, oatmeal, syrup, raisins and vanilla; add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Divide between lined muffin cups. Bake for 18-25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

*Notes: These are very moist muffins so I keep reducing and reducing the amount of coconut oil. A little less than a 1/4 cup will usually do. Because they are so moist, these muffins freeze really well.

Mango Sauce Lettuce Wraps

Filling:

Collard or any kind of lettuce Leaf
Sliced Tomato
Sliced Bell Pepper, any color
Chopped Lettuce or cabbage or filler of your choice

Sliced Cucumber

Any other veggies of your choice

Mango Sauce:

1 Cup Chopped Mango (if using frozen then add an extra date)

1 Tbsp. Tahini (raw, or roasted)
1 Pitted Medjool Date

1 Teaspoon (approx) chopped scallions/chives

1 Leaf Sage, or you can use 1 teaspoon of dry.

2 Leaves Basil, or you can use 2 teaspoons of dry. 

Blend all ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Spread sauce on lettuce leaf, add veggies, roll into a wrap and dip it in the extra sauce. Devour!

This is soooo Yummy! 

We also use this sauce as a salad dressing. You can use it for practically anything you want, even a fruit dip. It's THAT good!

Mexican Lettuce Wraps

Base:
Shredded Carrot
Shredded Zucchini
Shredded Cucumber

You can use any one of these vegetables or a combination. Put shredded veggie in a strainer and drain the juice if you don't want it so watery.

Put shreds into a bowl and Mix in desired amount of the following:
Salsa
Chopped Cilantro
Lime Juice
Diced Avocado
Optional: A little bit of guacamole or taco seasoning.

Spoon Mixture into a Lettuce Leaf and Enjoy!
You can also use this as a salad topping or however you want. We like to make them into lettuce wraps but they are definitely messy :)

Bananas with Date Caramel Sauce

Rich delicious dessert, a healthy alternative to puddings and trifles

Slice banana rounds in to a bowl, make sure they are ripe bananas for best flavor.

Blend (or Magic Bullet) 4-5 dates with just enough water for it to blend, should be a thick creamy sauce, or continue to add water to desired consistency.   You can add a dash of vanilla for a more caramel flavor.

Add none or whatever fruit on top for more tastebud excitement.

Pour sauce over bananas.  Devour!!

Swimming Mangoes

Swimming Mangoes is a refreshing breakfast/dessert/anytime snack!

2 cups of chopped mango (we used Champagne mangoes but any kind will work)
1 YOUNG thai coconut, just use the water and not the jelly/meat ( here's how to open, its a lot easier than you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEdI_gSNQ4 )


Put the chopped mango into a bowl and pour coconut water over them.
Devour!!

**Use the meat in our zuchinni pad thai recipe.

Cauliflower French Fries

Cauliflower French Fries

By Jeff and Leah

I made these yummy "french fries" the other day with Anna Lisa's delicious Veggie Pita and Jeff and I have never looked back!

Once again we must give credit where credit is due.....
Delighted Momma is a fabulous place and I couldn't get off the computer!

When I think of a crunchy salty snack... chips, french fries and carb loaded goodies (everything I have been craving this pregnancy but resisting) come to mind. I recently heard about cauliflower poppers and I knew I had to try them.

I have said before that I am not a big fan of raw cauliflower (yucky) but after I made skinny mashed potatoes using cauliflower I knew it was my new favorite lo-carb substitute.

What you will need:

• 2 heads of cauliflower
  
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash and clean the cauliflower. Cut off and discard the stem. Cut the cauliflower up into small pieces.
   
3. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat each piece.
4. Place cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and turn 3 times during cooking until each piece has a nice brown coloring. The browner they are the better.
   
5. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Make them! Dip them, OR NOT!  They are that good!