The Mover: your new favorite summer slaw

Once you try this recipe, you’ll understand why it’s called the Mover. With a bunch of ruffage goodness and apple cider vinegar to help with digestion, you’ll be feeling as light as summer.

I love this recipe because it will last all week.

Summer Slaw, aka the Mover

½ head of green cabbage, shredded
½ head of red cabbage, shredded
½ cup radishes, sliced or shredded
½ bag of shredded carrots
2 apples, chopped
2 pears, chopped
½ cup walnuts
1/8 cup olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 T agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste

Put cabbages, radishes, carrots, apples, pear and walnuts in a large bowl.
In a bowl, mix olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, salt and pepper.
Toss dressing over vegetables and fruit and let chill overnight.

Feta Cucumber Mint Salad

MMMM….life must be good if healthy foods like this salad can taste so great. I love win-win scenarios!

This is great to take out to a summer BBQ or just enjoy for yourself when you need something to cool and refresh.

Feta Cucumber Mint Salad
Time: 15 minutes

2 cucumbers
6 ounces of organic Feta cheese crumbles
1/4 cup Packed mint leaves chopped
1/2 Lemon, zested
2T of olive oil
4 T of lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

Slice cumber in half and then into quarters.
Mix with feta, mint and lemon zest.
Place oil, lemon juice, and good pinch of salt in a glass jar.
Close and shake well.
Pour oil and lemon juice over other ingredients, grind on some pepper, and toss lightly to coat.

Serve immediately.

If you are taking this to a friend’s picnic, add the lemon juice and olive oil right before serving. Stay tuned Monday to learn how to make sure your grilling the best way for your body. Interesting stuff!

Lemon Mint Salad Dressing Recipe

It’s salad season, which means it’s time for dressing up! This recipe tastes great over some arugula mixed with spring mix. Check this Wednesday’s post for more info on arugula.

I recently had this amazing Lemon Mint dressing in Lancaster, PA. If you are ever there, go to Prince’s Cafe. They have great local food. I believe it is the local yogurt that is the secret ingredient in this dressing.

I loved the dressing so much I asked for the recipe and being the friendly place Lancaster is, they gave it to me.

So here it is for you. Compliments of the Prince Street Cafe in Lancaster:

Lemon Mint Dressing

1 cup local yogurt
2 T of honey
1/8 cup of fresh mint
1/8 cup of fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
Lemon zest

Mix it all together. Yum!

Hope this wets your appetite. On Monday I posted on how to make sure all your dressings are as healthy as this one, the benefits of mint and more. Keep reading.

Gluten-Free Granola

This is delicious and great to add to trail-mix or as a breakfast with some ground flax seed and almond or rice milk. A great friend provided the basics for the ingredients and then I added my own little twist.

Gluten-Free Granola

4 T butter

2 T Grade B Maple Syrup

6 cups of Gluten-free Oats

3/4 cup of dried coconut (make sure to get sugar free)

1 T vanilla extract

1/4 c. almonds

1/4 c. walnuts

3/4 c. pecans

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter
Add 2 tablespoons of Grade B Maple Syrup

mix in:

6 cups of gluten free oats

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Spread onto a cookie sheet and put into a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes. Stir once around the 7 min point.

While that is cooking chop the nuts and add them to the cookie sheet stir in and then cook 10 more minutes.

Cool completely before putting into an airtight container

This will last you for several weeks. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Smoothie

Now Carlos tells me making smoothies is no big deal. But I find it is because you want them to be SMOOTHie not a RUNnie which can happen to me when I make them. The secret is adding in a banana at the end. So simple, so wonderful!

Smoothie Recipe (this is for multiple servings)

1. Put a tray of ice cubes in the bottom of your Vita-Mixer or blender

2. Add in rice or almond milk (enough so it blends the ice)

3. Add in whatever fruits you choose (we buy frozen strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries ) and blend.

4. Add bananas and blend. I cannot say how many because it depends on your preference. I’d start with one and then go from there.

We make enough for multiple servings and then put the remaining smoothie in the freezer so we only have to clean the Vita-Mix once. Saves time and your sweet tooth!

Sneak In Your Greens Smoothie

So by now, you know greens are important. Especially during Spring! Here’s a quick and easy recipe to help you get them in on the fly.

Sneak In Your Greens Smoothie

Yield: 6 servings

1 granny smith apple, washed, cored but with skin
1/2 pear, washed, with skin
4 stalks celery, ends & tips removed, use leaves
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 large Haas avocado
1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed
3-4 cups filtered water

Chop fruits and vegetables into 1 inch pieces for easy blending. Fill blender with 3-4 cups filtered water (more or less water depending on how thick you desire your shake). Add all ingredients into blender. Puree till smooth or desired consistency.

* You can also add lemon, lime or a dash of ginger juice

One Bean Guacamole

This recipe is so wonderfully quick, simple and delicious. I adapted it from a Moosewood Cookbook. I ate it with a Sunshine burger and some broccoli for a very filling spring time lunch.

Serves: 4
Ingredients

One ripe avocado
1 can of kidney beans (15 ounces)
1/2 cup of salsa
1/4 cup of cilantro
sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice avocado in half. Scoop out each half and set in dish.
2. Rinse kidney beans and smash together with fork. Mix salsa, cilantro, sea salt and pepper to taste
3. Pour over avocado slices.

Apple and Berry Crisp

Here’s another delicious recipe from the Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cookbook by Susan O’Brien. I made this last weekend and plan on whenever I’m craving something sweet with some crunch. It is delicious! And to make this recipe easy, use whatever fruit you have in the house. That’s what I did. It all worked out!

Ingredients:
Fruit
4 cups apples, peeled,cored and slice
5 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen
3 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 T arrowroot (you can use cornstarch too)
1 T o.j. (I used lemon since I didn’t have orange juice)

Topping:
6 T agave nectar
2 cups oats or rice flakes (I used Eden’s rice flakes – my first time, turned out great!)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup butter (calm down, it’s for the entire recipe!)

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, combine fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and arrowroot. Squeeze the orange juice over the fruit and toss again. Place the fruit in a 9 x 13-inch pan that has been lightly coated with olive oil (I used the biggest dish I had that would fit all the fruit and it still turned out for me)

Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until hot and the fruit is beginning to bubble (I don’t like to use aluminum so skipped this too)

While the fruit is baking, mix together the agave nectar, oats, flour, cinnamon, allspice and walnuts. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly.

Remove the pan of fruit from the oven and spread the topping over the fruit. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking, uncovered, for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the topping is browned.

Serve hot or at room temperature. The crisp will thicken as it cools.

Gluten-Free Gingerbread

I found one of the best cookbooks this past weekend – Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O’Brien. The recipes are easy and super tasty. I’ll probably be posting recipes from this book for weeks to come.

This bread comes out amazingly well and the orange zest adds a refreshing flavor. Try this as soon as you can!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of pecans or walnuts, chopped finely
1/2 cup of agave nectar
1/4 cup of grapeseed oil (this is a change I made rather than use canola oil)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp of orange rind (I used 2 tsps)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of brown rice or sorghum flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
2 tsps of ground ginger
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/4 tsp of grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine agave and oil. Mix together thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time. Be sure to mix well between additions. Add the orange rind and vanilla. Blend well together. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 9-inch square pan with oil (I used a standard bread pan and it turned out fine)

3. Sift together dry ingredients, including the nuts.

4. Add some of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, a little at a time, blending well. Add 1/4 cup of  the applesauce, blend, then add more of the dry mixture. Continue until you have added all the ingredients.

5. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until the ginger bread is done. Check by inserting a fork or touching lightly on the center. If it springs back, remove to a cooling rack.

The bread freezes well or will last in the fridge for about a week.

Natural Non-Dairy Yogurt

Everyone knows I’m not a dairy fan. The occasional organic dairy indulgence with friends and wine is fabulous for the soul. But when it comes out in 50 years (or however long it takes the Dairy industry to loosen it’s grip on the FDA) and it’s common sense that dairy contributes to asthma, osteoporosis and breast cancer, I will know I wasn’t silent!

Yogurt can be beneficial for some, mainly because of the probiotics. Well this recipe gives you those (in the fermented pineapple) without the dairy. My wicked smart Mom came up with yet another winner here. How can one woman be so brilliant?

Coconut Yogurt

To make the pineapple vinegar to add to coconut milk:
1 cup of fresh pineapple pieces – cut up pineapple chunks into small pieces
3 – 4 Tbs. of juice from the pineapple

Place pineapple in a glass jar or dish (no plastic). Cover with a paper towel/rubber band or cheese cloth/rubber band. Put container in a warm place or on the kitchen counter. Stir once a day. Allow to ferment for several days. It will take less time during the warmer, summer days. When your recipe begins to smell like vinegar, it is ready to be crushed and strained.

Save the juice in the refrigerator. This is your pineapple vinegar to be used in the “yogurt” recipe

Coconut Milk Yogurt

2 Tbs. of pineapple vinegar
1 – 14 oz can coconut milk
Optional : Add a little sweetener such as stevia, honey, or maple syrup to taste

Mix ingredients in a one-pint mason jar and close tightly. Place on counter for 24 hours or until milk has thickened to yogurt consistency. Enjoy!!!