Getting Healthy, Saving Money, and Living Well
This week on Facebook, I mentioned that I ended up staying up ’til 12:30 making homemade marshmallows and gluten free graham crackers for my kids.
There was a ton of really fun and thoughtful responses, including a number of readers asking for the recipes.
Well, here is marshmallow recipe, that just happen to be sugar free!
The graham crackers weren’t quite really what we wanted, so…back to the drawing board on those 
.
Summer.
It’s busier than I thought it would be.
We’ve had a lot going on and some real personal struggles that have made it hard to have things running smoothly.
I am finding myself over and over again reaching for fast meals a lot, but while they are typically healthy (no, we haven’t succumbed to drive throughs ), they can get a little boring redundant.
Today, at The Balanced Platter, I am sharing some of our “go to” fast favorites.
Please join me by clicking here and share your favorite fast meal and snack tips too. I could use some more !
How’s this summer been for you? I’d love to hear your fast meal and snack ideas!
Saint Patrick’s Day holds a special place in my heart.
My father is from Dublin, Ireland and March 17th was my late mother’s birthday.
In fact, most of my father’s relatives still live on the Emerald Isle.
I visited there during my college years and it really is a special place. (Though I’m sure in the many many years since then that it’s changed quite a bit.)
Eating healthy can be hard sometimes. Just planning regular meals that will satisfy while keeping your body running the way that it was meant to.
But finding healthy snacks can be one of the most troublesome things, whether you are just trying to find healthy munchies for yourself or for a whole household.
Join me today over at my debut post on The Balanced Platter where I am sharing today a plethora of super healthy and super-satisfying snack options.
And while you’re there, feel free to poke around a bit. I think you’ll like what you see. It’s just getting started, but the bloggers there all bring something special to the table.
You can read the rest of my post on Almond Joy Bars and Other Healthy Snack Alternatives by clicking here.
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
Looking for a healthy snack or a way to use up extra greens from your garden? How about a healthy substitute for potato chips?
You new healthy snack solution to the rescue is — Kale Chips. (We have even taken to eating them as a side dish when I need a fast veggie !)
Kale Chips, you say? Why make Kale Chips?
If you remember from my post on Considering a CSA? – Information You Must Know, an over-abundance of greens (especially kale) was one of the hardest things about participating in a CSA.
This year, though we are quite happy with our CSA experience, we still have a bit too much kale and chard, especially considering that our kale is one of the crops that really decided to do well in our garden (we still need to figure our why our zucchini seems to be the only zucchini resistant to growing .
In past years, we have made Oven-Baked Kale, which was quite a hit, and I will be sure to share the recipe with you soon.
However, the kale is really coming in fast and furious and I needed another solution (though it’s great, there are only so many nights that my family will eat baked kale .)
Well, here it is. Tasty, crisp, salty and delicious and good for you – and a great way to get veggies into your family’s diet!
Fudge is one of those comfort foods that makes you “not too comfortable” after you’ve eaten it. And fudge isn’t good for you anyway right?– evaporated milk and tons of sugar. But then, you knew that.
Well, you can now change your thinking about fudge, because I have a recipe for you that you can feel good about eating and serving to your kids. I have been known to offer it to my kids for breakfast and snacks without batting an eye — and while having a piece or two myself .
Reminds me of the old Bill Cosby “Chocolate Cake” routine. If you’ve seen it, remember Bill Cosby singing “Dad is great! Gives us the chocolate cake?!”
Anyway, this recipe is so good that there is no reason to be “secretive” about what the main ingredient is. Some non-real-foodie folks have even asked for the recipe!
Looking for kid-friendly, budget friendly, and healthy snack ideas?
Well, if you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know how much our family loves popcorn.
So you will understand why, since seeing the original recipe for “Peanut Butter Popcorn” on Frugal Granola’s site, I was determined to make it work for our family. Since my oldest son has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and we are off most sugars, the recipe needed some altering.
Well, after one botched batch, we got a winner! And we have made it a number of times since — we even took it to a potluck and it was a big hit.
I have eagerly added it to our family’s repertoire of “healthy fast food options” for our home. You know…those times when your day has completely gotten away from you and/or a number of things have gone wrong and you would order out for a pizza but you can’t (we have a son with life-threatening food allergies who is also gluten-free)?
That kind of a day.
We had one of those yesterday. I had had little sleep, my oldest son (the one with Asperger’s) was having quite a bit of anxiety, and I had a guest post for another blog that I was working on when….that’s right….it was dinner time. So to give Mom a break we heated up steamed carrots, pulled out some preservative-free hotdogs and heated up the popcorn popper.
(This popper is really great. Your kids will have a great time helping in the kitchen and it’s stainless steel, not aluminum, which is a sturdier and I think, better option for a healthy kitchen.)
It’s fun to color foods for special occasions, but on a whole foods diet, regular food colorings just do not make the grade.
It’s always hard for me to take my kids to the grocery store and see them oogle the multi-colored “foods” and feel like I’d love to make them something fun like that, but knowing that I don’t want all those mystery chemicals going into their bodies.
And we love fudge, but regular fudge being loaded with white sugar and other things that aren’t great for us, leave my feeling less healthy than I’d like to once I’ve indulged.
Luckily:
.For Saint Patrick’s Day this year, why not have some Dairy-Free Fudge colored with– [Read more...]
This recipe for soaked and baked whole grain doughnuts is probably my family’s favorite sweet whole grain recipe.
Did I say, “probably”? Silly me. I made two batches yesterday, one with gluten and one without. Two of us (including yours truly) ate the gluten and sugar free version and well, there are very few of those left. This time, it was my oldest son who was guilty of over-indulgence. Typically I share that “honor” with him.
We took the gluten- and sugar-free version (see notes following the recipe) to a doughnut eating contest at a homeschool gathering recently. Somehow, we were able to suspend my gluten-free treasure on a string between the other doughnuts without it falling apart into crumbly nothingness.
My daring husband entered himself in the contest and there he was, coming in second amongst a crowd of men eating those lightweight, devoid of all nutrients, processed rings of nothingness. Yes, in my humble opinion, he should have won. One of my doughnuts clearly by weight and amount-of-chews-needed-to-make-before-you-swallow equalled 2-3 of theirs. But then, I’m really not that competitive .
Ah well, back to baking.
I have had this recipe for a long time and it is adapted from one by Sue Gregg in her Breakfasts cookbook. They are easy to make, don’t require any special pan, are not deep-fried, and are coated with just a slight bit of oil, milk, or water to make the delicious sweetened cinnamon topping stick. And they have a wonderful hearty texture and flavor to them.
Ingredients: (See below for alternative measurements of grain, etc.)
4 1/2 c whole grain flour (use 5 1/2 if using spelt)
4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt (I recommend Real Salt)
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
2 eggs (or alternative – See Homemade Egg Replacer)
1 c granulated sweetener
5 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 T apple cider vinegar or lemon juice added to milk or milk substitute to make a total of 1 c liquid)
Topping:
3 Tbsp granulated sweetener
1 t cinnamon (See my post on The Best Cinnamon Sugar – made healthier!)
Directions:
For soaking:
1. Combine the flour, sweeteners, fats, and liquids together (excluding the eggs. However, if you are using a powdered egg replacer, you can add the liquid that you would add to the recipe at this point in order to make the dough easier to handle). Let dough rest for 12-24 hours. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
2. Roll out dough to approximately 1/2″ thickness. Cut with doughnut cutter (this one is really nice). Or alternatively, shape into desired shapes. Brush tops with melted coconut oil, milk, milk substitute, or water. Sprinkle with topping.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
4. Try not to eat them all in one sitting!
Non-soaking Method:
Just mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wets in the other. Then add the dries to the wets. Continue with the recipe directions. But you can really step things up a bit in the health department by soaking the grains for at least 12 hours. You really will get a serious workout for your arms with the soaking method, but then you’ll get two health benefits at once ! Let me know how they turn out!
Interested in other Gluten Free Yummy Treats? How about:
- “Almond Joy” Bars
- Grain Free Coconut Macadamia Cookies
- Super Pumpkin Cookies (taste like store bought)
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Oh, and if you happen to link through to Amazon.com to see this doughnut cutter that I use, and then purchase that or something else from them within 24 hours (other restrictions apply, but they are really strict), I earn a very small commission. You pay the same price, so I’d be happy if you choose to do so and so support my site. Just so you know how these links work .
These muffins are a favorite in our family for a number of reasons. One of them is they are delicious. Another is that the recipe comes from a dear friend. Margaret is a wonderful hostess who likes to cook simply and have people over often. She will have you into her house even though it isn’t perfect –and she doesn’t expect yours to be either. In fact, Margaret and her husband, David, have been known to phone us while driving though Grand Rapids just to tell us that they are in town in the hopes that they can drop by. Sometimes they have even called us from our driveway! Now that’s my kind of friend!
Margaret is, like a lot of us, very busy–she has five children and she is very active in ministry. She doesn’t like to cook much and so her recipes tend to be simple. These muffins are no exception. You will probably have much of what you need in your pantry to make these so you can whip up a batch at a moment’s notice anytime. You could also choose to bake multiple batches because they freeze well, though muffin baking experts say that mixing more than 1-2 batches at a time will result in an inferior product because their texture depends upon not too much stirring of the batter.
They work great as regular or mini muffins, or you can try my favorite time saving method by baking them on a baking stone as muffin tops! That saves the time-intensive cleaning of muffin tins.
I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole grain flour (or whole grain gluten-free blend of your choice)
1 cup toasted wheat germ (for gluten-free diets, substitute rice bran)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
(If using gluten-free flour, increase baking powder and soda by 25%)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1 large egg
1/2 cup light brown sugar (I use Sucanat)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup milk or milk substitute
Topping:
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Mix first set of ingredients (flour through raisins) together. Mix second set of ingredients (egg through milk). Add dry ingredients to wet. Drop into 12 greased muffin cups. Sprinkle topping evenly over all.
Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes or until centers test dry with a knife or cake tester.
Enjoy with a cup of tea, your family members or a friend or two, and make sure that you don’t clean up too much before you invite a friend over to enjoy them!
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