Tip of the Day #2

Ok so it's happened two days in a row - PLEASE no holding your breath for a third tip in a row :)

This morning I was making waffles and realized I didnt have any almond milk or any other kind of milk in the house. I REALLY wanted waffles, and I just as equally REALLY didn't want to go to the store.

SO... I got creative and I mixed up protein powder with water and used that in place of the almond milk. It make the waffles SO smooth and DELICIOUS!!!! I honestly think I'll be using protein powder and water instead of almond or rice milk in the future. Seriously, it was that good. Yumm!

I put some frozen berries in a saucepan and boiled them down and mashed them up until they were good and squishy, added some stevia, and the whole family absolutely loved our healthy, yummy breakfast :). Success!!!

Tip of the Day

I'm making it sound like I post a tip each day. I don't. Sorry :). Anyways... this is a tip that maybe you're already doing and it's a big "duh" for you, but it just occurred to me yesterday!

So, pretty much every week I cook a big batch of brown rice in my rice cooker and add it to things like breakfast burritos, soups, broccoli and some ginger/sesame oil/sesame seeds, etc. throughout the week. Makes life a lot easier if I'm hungry and need an emergency meal! I've been doing this for seriously almost two years. Oh my. Anyways, it's SO bland, and especially on the detox, there aren't many condiments we can use to spruce up rice, and it seems like my bland rice actually sucks the flavor out of any food that mix it in with. Yet, for nearly 2 years I continued to mindlessly eat it that way! UGH.

Ok. Moving on. So I was making my batch and a light bulb went off. What if I were to use my organic vegetable broth for the liquid, rather than only water? So I put a full carton of vegetable broth in the rice cooker and a little water, turned that baby on, and viola! Delicious, flavorful rice!!! I am so proud of my discovery :). It doesn't have so much flavor that it will overpower anything you use it on, but it's just not bland like before where it killed anything with flavor.

I hope this helps any of you "flavor-seekers" like myself. Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Protein Powder Cupcakes

Ok. I'm not going to lie to you, these have more of a "muffin" texture than a "cupcake", but perhaps thats in the type of flour I used. I didn't have coconut flour like the recipe calls for, so I used part Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking mix, and part tapioca flour. I'll post the icing recipe too, just know that I thought it was way too sweet, but had to be that sweet to combat the bitter carob chips, and it made my tummy hurt :( But it took care of my sweet tooth, and my snack attack for sure :)

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE

¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup chocolate protein powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
¼ cup grapeseed (or coconut oil)
½ cup agave nectar

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, protein powder, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, blend together eggs, oil and agave
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet thoroughly
4. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and scoop a scant ¼ cup into each
5. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes
6. Cool and cover with icing if you want :)

ICING RECIPE:

Melt 1 cup unsweetened carob chips with 1/2 cup grapeseed or coconut oil (get the expeller pressed so it doesnt have a strong coconutty [is that even a word] taste) over VERY low heat, stirring constantly. Add a dash of sea salt, 1 Tbls vanilla, and then 1/2 cup agave. Whisk that together. I had to add more agave, and then some more, and then a little more before it was tolerable and tasty. Then whisk it really well, and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Take it out a whip it with a hand mixer until it gets pretty fluffy and spreadable. Put on cupcakes and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 eggs
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup agave/brown rice syrup &/or coconut nectar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional- makes a cake-like brownie)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/spray an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside. Add black beans to food processor or blender and process until a paste forms. Easier if beans are slightly heated. Add eggs (or egg replacer), oil, sugar, cocoa, salt, vanilla and baking powder (if using). Process/blend until smooth and well combined. Stir in nuts (if using). Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until done. Top will be dry and edges should pull away from sides of pan.

Trail Mix

Take handfuls of cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, and any other nut you want - like pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, whatever, and mix them together.

Get a bar of 100% pure cacao. You're going to smell it and want to taste it. Don't do it. Well, I already know you're not going to listen to me, so go ahead, but just know that I warned you. It will make your mouth want to turn inside out! Anyways, use a big knife and shave of itty bitty pieces of the cacao and sprinkle that into your mixture of nuts.

Now, put everything in some kind of storage container you can put in the fridge. Drizzle it with agave or coconut nectar and stir it up.

you can even add some air popped popcorn to this if you want! I eat this by the spoonful out of my fridge as a nutrient packed, semi sweet treat. So don't ever come grab some outa my fridge - I double dip :)

Garlic Shrimp with Brown Rice Pasta

Garlic Shrimp with Brown Rice pasta

1 lb deveined and peeled shrimp
several cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
Onion
cooked brown rice pasta

Ok. Sautee the minced garlic and chopped onion in your pan with some olive oil. Once that's good and starting to brown, throw in your shrimp. With shrimp, you don't want to over cook it, so flip the shrimpies around until they are no longer translucent. During this time, sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Once the shrimp are all white, hurry up and remove them from the heat. Toss with your brown rice pasta, then enjoy your meal!