Carrot Butter

We just recently harvested our carrots although the garden for the most part struggled this year, the carrots did great. Of course I had to make me some carrot butter. You maybe have never had carrots this way but oh this recipe is wonderful!  A great Spring time recipe that would be great at part of a Easter dinner, breakfast, brunch or whenever. But also an awesome Fall recipe in fact it is quickly becoming a Thanksgiving favorite around here....heck I say it's great any time of year.  We love this Carrot Butter on toast, scones, with rolls, as a fruit dip, or any way you can think of eating it.  I personally like it by the spoonful! ;)  ENJOY!

Carrot Butter

1-1.5 pounds carrots peeled and cut into small pieces
Large pot of water
1 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3-4 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons Real Salt

Place carrots in large pot of water and boil until the carrots are very, very soft.  Drain carrots then add them with all other ingredients to blender and puree until really smooth.  Good warm or cold.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Egg Replacer, Make Your Own

I bought energy brand egg replacer for a lot of years. A few years ago I wondered if I could make it myself. I found that I could make it myself and have been using this recipe for years now. Today I looked up prices and did the math again and changed to updated numbers below. It still saves more then 50% and stores really well! Or you can just buy it already made it's a pretty good price through Azure right now at only $6 for a box. Whatever works best for you! I just thought you might like a little update.

I had bought some tapioca flour (and for the life of me can't remember what I was going to use it for but that's okay cause I found another use) which was one of the main ingredients on the box. The other was potato starch. So I went to the Azure website to see if by chance they sold it in bulk. And sure enough there was potato starch.

At an average of 7 dollars a box I figured making my own should save me some money. So I did the math:
5 pounds potato starch = $9.80
5 pounds tapioca starch = $8.95
I already had the baking soda and other ingredients on hand but I figured that cost in there too.

So my best calculations tell me that to make a pound of egg replacer will cost me not quite $2.75. A one pound box of Energy Egg Replacer is $6.00 right now through Azure. That's a savings of over half!

At more than 50% savings I say it's worth it to make my own. I will be making my own from now on.

This obviously would make more than just the one pound box so the upfront costs would be more. But then you have plenty in your food storage and you are never out of eggs so to speak. ;)

I'm pretty excited about this because I use this in a lot of my baked goods.  Like these Snicker Doodles, Blondie Brownies, Ginger Bread Cookies, etc. A lot of times I will use a ground flax or chia seed paste as an egg replacer but certain recipes don't hide their flavor and/or texture well enough so that's when I opt for this.

It took a few tries to get the recipe to where I felt it was "right" but I have been using it for well over a month now and find it works every bit as well as the stuff you buy.

Make Your Own Egg Replacer

2 1/2 cups potato starch
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1/3 cup baking powder (non-aluminum)
2 Tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tarter (optional)
1 teaspoon guar gum (optional)

Mix all ingredients together into a jar with a lid. For the replacement of one egg use 1/2 Tablespoon of powder to 1/4 cup water. May add more or less powder depending on consistency you want.

Ranch Dressing Mix

I found we were making my Ranch Dressing recipe quite often.  So of course I wanted to make it even more simple and quick to make.  Now it takes hardly any time to make  I just make this mix up and keep it in my pantry.  It works great!  Plus have you ever read the ingredients in the store bought dressing mix packets?  Give it a try, make your own Ranch Dressing Mix.....it's cheaper, tastes better and is oh so much healthier!

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

(all herbs are dried)
1/4 cup basil
1 cup dill
1 cup parsley
1/2 Tablespoon garlic granules
1/4 cup onion powder
1 Tablespoon Real Salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Combine ingredients in a jar stir or shake until well combined.

To make Ranch Dressing:
2 cups Vegenaise
1 Tablespoon of this mix (more or less to taste)
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or to taste)

I just mix the dressing ingredients in a jar and add a little water to desired thickness.

Dill Pickle Dip

When I first started dating Ryan it didn't take long for his family to introduce me to dill pickle dip. I'm not sure why I had never had it before but I don't remember trying it until then. I thought it was pretty good and was fine with adopting the dill pickle dip tradition........

That was until I started learning about ingredients! Then that poor little container of fun family tradition became the enemy. I mean those tiny letters on the back of the container was an ingredient list that was way to long with many big words some of which were monosodium glutamate also known as MSG.  Which is a big hit list item on my ingredient list.

Ryan was great to be understanding (his family less so...not that I blame them) but I still felt pretty bad and wondered if I could ever figure out how to make it healthy and still taste like the dip he loved.

Well a few years down my healthify all the foods we love road, it was time to take on the dip! It was so easy and we even liked it better than the old store bought version. I was happy to bring back a fun little tradition!

We have been loving this dip for years now. I always make up a bunch at Christmas and New Years!

Hope you all have a fun and Happy New Year!

Dill Pickle Dip

1 cup Veganaise (did you know my sister has started making her own, I need to get her recipe)
1/2 cup sunflower seed sour cream (optional, in fact I usually leave it out)
1 Tablespoon Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1 heaping teaspoon Dill weed (more or less to taste)
1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 medium dill pickles chopped fine

Stir all ingredients together. Great to dip veggies and/or crackers in.  Good with potato chips too but you didn't hear that from me. ;)

Zesty Dairy Free "Cheese" Ball

I can't take credit for this one! My Mom and Sister came up with it quite a few years ago to take the place of the cream cheesy ball that Mom always made when we were kids that everyone loved.

I made this 5 or 6 years back at Christmas and now my husband asks for it every year. It has become a tradition!

It's very good with veggies or crackers! I love that our family feels like it's a special treat when in reality it is super duper healthy with mainly raw sprouted almonds packed full of whole food nutrition and enzymes that well help you digest those maybe not so much whole food treats! ;)

I love to make this up just before Christmas and have as part of all our fun dips with our finger foods. I make enough that we have some leftover for New Years too.

Zesty Dairy Free "Cheese" Ball

2 cups almonds, soaked for 8 hours

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 4 hours and sprouted for 4 hours (or just add 3 cups of soaked almonds instead of 2)

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/2 cups chopped green onions

1/4 to 1/2 cup Tahini

1/4 cup Shoyu

3 slices sweet onion, cut in small chunks

1/2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

6 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

2 to 3 medium cloves garlic, minced

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of ginger powder

pinch of cumin

pinch of paprika

1 can crushed pineapple, drained very well

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Place the soaked and drained almonds and/or sunflower seeds, lemon juice and water in a food processor and process until smooth. Scoop into a large bowl. Stir in the chopped green onions, tahini, shoyu, onions, parsley, bell pepper, garlic, cayenne, ginger, cumin, and paprika. Add the crushed, drained pineapple into the mixture till well blended. Shape with dampened hands into a rounded ball shape and place carefully on a plate or dish (approx. eight inch diameter) Press the chopped pecans onto the ball with your hands so that the ball is covered with nuts. Can garnish with a parsley leaf and dried cranberry if desired.

How to make your own Curry Powder

I don't think I had curry anything as a kid growing up but at
some point in my adult life Ryan and I both decided that we really like curry. It doesn't matter what kind of curry, we think Indian Curries are fabulous (on my list of recipes to perfect) we also just love Thai Curry.

There are a number of recipes here with curry powder:

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
Curried Lentils over Rice
Curried Cauliflower with Sweet Potato and Black Beans
Spicy Pumpkin Soup
Cauliflower and Curry Soup
Curry Dip

Although I was able to find some pretty decent curry powders to buy that contained all good ingredients......I had to order it I couldn't just go pick it up at the store. One day I was in the middle of making dinner and realized I was out of Curry Powder.....I don't know how I let that happen I buy most everything in bulk and rotate through and don't very often totally run out.

But I did.....it was okay though because I had been thinking about trying to make my own anyway. So I quickly put together a small batch so I could finish making dinner. I was so surprised that it smelled and tasted very much like the powder we liked so well.

Homemade Curry Powder

12 parts turmeric
2 parts Real Salt
6 parts Sucanat
6 parts cumin
3 parts coriander
2 parts white pepper
1 part cayenne
1 part mustard
1 part paprika
1 part ginger
1/4 part fennel
1/2 part allspice
1/2 part garlic

Combine all ingredients and combine well. You can choose how big you want 1 part to be depending on how much you want to make. I usually use a Tablespoon to 1/4 cup. For example is you use a Tablespoon then just put Tablespoon in place of part(s) in the recipe. Simple as that!

Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds

These are a super simple super healthy snack that the entire family loves. Pumpkin seeds are a super food in my mind they are high in  zinc that can sometimes be hard to get enough of. They are also anti-parasitic, cleansing and great for prostate health for men. And that's just off the top of my head. Search their many health benefits and you will see what I mean.

Since they are such a healthy little seed I like to find ways that we will want to eat them. I like to add them to granola whenever I can but I found that Charly didn't really like eating granola with pumpkin seeds. For some reason she doesn't like their flavor in granola (although I do give it a try) but she loves pumpkin seeds when I flavor them this way.

She even asked if I would be sure to make them this past Halloween to go with dinner! Quick and easy to make and they are great to just munch on, to add to a salad or top soups or stir fry and I'm sure other things I haven't thought of! ;)

Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds

3 cups raw pumpkin seeds (without hulls)
a few splashes of coconut aminos or lime juice (for chili lime flavor) just enough to lightly coat the seeds and make them damp
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin seed in bowl, add the coconut aminos or lime juice. Stir to coat the seeds. Add the seasonings stir well to coat again being sure all the seeds have a good amount of seasoning on them. Spread out on a single layer on a cookie sheet (may use parchment paper if desired) bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the seeds are dry, kind of puffed up and toasty. Be sure to stir about every 10 minutes while baking.

Bruschetta

One day last year I was at my Mom's and she had just mixed up something that looked like salsa only it tasted different. She said it was Bruschetta and that you have it on toast or crackers. I had heard of Bruschetta and maybe even had some before but not that tasted like this.

I just love the way fresh basil and tomatoes taste together and right then I knew that I was going to have to be sure to plant plenty of basil so I could make some fresh Bruschetta. It's so simple to make and has a yummy Italian flare you could add balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice which is good. I just like the fresher flavor of the lemon.

And just so you know I have plenty of basil still growing if you need some! ;)

Bruschetta

6-8 large fresh garden tomatoes, chopped
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice (or to taste)
8-10 leaves of fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons
1 teaspoon Kosher Real Salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Mix everything together in a bowl. Spoon onto toasted baguettes or sourdough artisan bread.

Almond Milk, Stretch Your Dollar Recipe

So I told you I would share my almond milk recipe that I have been putting in my latest favorite smoothie.
Now just so you know I don't consider this a nice rich creamy drink alone type milk...although some of my kids like drinking it straight from a glass.

This recipe is fairly dilluted compared to a lot of the others out there and because I wanted it to use mainly for smoothies or as milk in baking that it didn't need to be as thick either so I didn't bother with adding Irish moss or guar gum to give it a thicker, creamier texture. You could though if you wanted too.  Anyway just don't expect it to be a super tasty drink on it's own. That's a recipe for another time.

I like this recipe because IT'S CHEAP. I only use 1 cup of almonds and it makes 2 quarts of milk. It really helps that dollar stretch. Plus you are basically using raw sprouted almonds so it's full of enzymes and good nutrition. I also make sure and use the leftover almond pulp in pancakes or granola or something. Yep there will be recipes once they are perfected. ;)

Okay know that you don't need a high powered Blendtec Blender to make almond milk. The almonds are soaked and soft and there is plenty of water so a regular blender should work just fine.

I put a colander over a bowl and then place the nut milk bag in the colander it just makes it easier.

Then I usually just clip the bag closed and let it sit there and drain on it's own for a little while. After a bit or longer depending......you know how it is for Mom's ;) I then squeeze the rest of the milk out then finish making the milk. I put the pulp in the fridge to use later and rinse out the bag right......it cleans up really easy especially if you have got most of the liquid out of it.

Simple Cheap Almond Milk

1 cup almonds soaked in water overnight
8 cups water, divided
1/4 teaspoon real salt
20-30 drops liquid stevia, vanilla flavored

Drain water off the soaked almonds and rinse. Discard soak water. In blender blend the almonds and 4 cups of water until very well blended. Then strain through a nut bag or cotton cloth (see pictures above to see how I do it.) Pour strained milk into 2 quart pitcher, add 4 more cups of water the salt and stevia. Refrigerate and use within about a week. Stir well before each use. Save almond pulp in fridge to add to muffins, pancakes, granola etc.

Just a couple more days and The Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle will be gone!

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I was looking at this book about Kale last night and since I still have lots of kale growing outside I'm excited to see all the fun ways to use it that even I haven't thought of! Hello Curried Carrots and Kale and Sneaky Chocolate Shake!

Of course this granola book caught my eye too! There are some great tips and ways of making granola so it turns out really good and not so chewy although sometimes I think a good jar workout never hurt anyone. ;) We make a lot of granola around here and I'm thrilled to have all these added recipes. I also like the idea of adding juice as part of the wet ingredients.......oh so many great ideas. As soon as my kitchen is cleaned up from all the fall harvest food preservation I'm going to try out some recipes!

And I almost feel silly saying this but I found myself really taken by this Natural Homestead book. I'm not sure why but something about living on a homestead really appeals to me. It's like a secret dream that I don't like to talk about much because I don't think I'm capable of that much work. Maybe it's all the Little House on the Prairie that we read to the kids but it just seems so romantic to me. I don't know I'm sure if I ever get the chance to try it I will wonder what the heck was I thinking but for now a girl can dream right! Don't tell but I'm nearly through this book! And I'm eying the other books in the Gardening and Homesteading group.

Sale ends at 11:59pm on Monday, September 15th. See all the details here.
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Dill Pickles

Alright I'm so excited to share this pickle recipe with you but first because it's only around for a few more days (Monday, September 15th to be exact) I have to share more about the bundle. Sorry for those who already have theirs and are getting tired of hearing about it.......but it's so limited time I don't want anyone to miss out!

This sale is now over if you would like to be notified of future sales that are similar click here subscribe to the newsletter.

I just thought I would take just a quick minute and share of few of the other resources that I'm excited about!

As soon as all my canning and preserving is done for the season I'm diving right into the Essential Oils and Natural Health ecourse!

I have grown to really appreciate the role of essential oils in my natural healthy lifestyle and I do have a few favorite brands. But mostly my expertise is more in herbs and I feel I lack the kind of knowledge I would like to have about essential oils. But I have been having a hard time finding classes that weren't brand specific and I want my knowledge to be more general. Although I have liked learning about what the different brands have to offer and do find much of what they teach to be very informative I'm just really excited to go about it in a more unbiased way.

Like herbs I use essential oils very often and would just like to be more educated about them. So when I saw that this $95 course was included with the bundle.....lets just say I would buy the bundle just for that course!

This sale is now over if you would like to be notified of future sales that are similar click here subscribe to the newsletter.

I'm excited about this whole section......I guess it's just my passion! I have already started reading a few of these books The Eczema Cure is one I have been wanting to read for a while although my family has not really had to deal with eczema I know a lot of people who do and I would just really like to know more about it. I have also started reading The Healthy Home Economist's book and already found myself reading quotes to my husband out of it......and that was just the introduction!

And then Can I get a Pickle without Yellow Number 5 Please? really resonated with me because I have spent so much time at the grocery store just looking for a jar a pickles without food coloring in them! They can be really tricky to find. The book goes into the history of food coloring, asks about their safety, talks about everyday foods that contain artificial dyes and gives you practical alternatives to ditch the dyes. Really it was love at first sight! ;)

I have personally found that food dyes have no place in my home.......they make me irritable, cranky and depressed and I have seen them make my kids (some more than others) down right mean and aggressive when they are not normally.  Which is why we now grow our own pickling cucumbers and dill and why I'm excited to share this awesome recipe with you!

Last year my Sister Emily found a great pickle recipe that her and her family just love. We got together at our Mom's house last Summer and made some and my family also decided they really liked these pickles. This year I made sure we grew lots of dill and cucumbers and adapted the recipe just a bit to make it to be enough to fill 7-8 quarts that fit into my canning pot. Knowing that I can also easily double it to fill up both my canning pots if needed.

So once I thought I had enough dill, garlic and cukes to make a batch I went to work excited to start filling my empty jars. Well of the 7 jars I first made this..........

.....happened to 2 of the jars while canning. I had my jars and brine pretty darn hot but obviously not hot enough and the quick dip in the boiling water shocked them. I have had a jar break once in a great while but really only one or two that I can remember in my whole canning career. So to have 2 in one batch led me to believe that these were not good odds and that I needed to figure out a way to make it much less likely.

You see the problem is that if you want crispy pickles you can't just place them in cold water and let it slowly come to a boil and then boil for 20 minutes. When you do that you get yummy pickles but they are pretty soft and overcooked. Great to chop up and add into Chickpea sandwiches maybe but not as good for crunching on.

So Ryan and I did a little brain storming to try to figure out how to greatly decrease the shock factor for the jars without going to the hassle of preheating them in the oven and still risking some shock factor since they cool off so fast.

I think we figured it out because we tried 2 more batches, 14 more jars, and not a one of them broke. Then just last night I made 2 more batches, yep again 14 more jars they all sealed up nicely and again no breaky!

Read the recipe below to see what worked!
NOTE: It may all seem a little complicated and overwhelming but trust me it's actually the quickest canning project I have done since they only need 5 minutes in the water. Me and one person helping can whip up the 2 batches start to finish in about an hour.

Quick Crispy Dill Pickles

3 cups water
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Real Salt
6-8 large pickling cucumbers, sliced (enough to fill 7-8 quarts)
28-30 cloves of garlic, about 4 bulbs, peeled
8-14 sprigs of dill

You will also need 7-8 clean wide mouth jars with rings and new lids and your other water bath canning supplies hopefully a pot with a good rack that will set above the pot like this one.

In a large pot bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil. This is your brine.

In your canning pot fill it with enough water that it WILL NOT overflow when you place full jars down in. On my pot this is about 1/2 inch above the first line but your pot may not have "lines" so figure out what it is BEFORE you try it with boiling water.


Place the pot of water on the stove on high then place the rack on the pot lifted up out of the water. You are going to place your filled jars on here as the water comes to a boil. This way the steam will warm up the jars so they won't break. Placing the lid to the pot on top of the jars will speed this up some, note that the lid will be on top of the jars not on top of the pot because the jars are not down in the water yet.

In each jar place 1 or 2 sprigs of dill 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and as many sliced cucumbers as you can fit. Then using a funnel, pour the boiling brine into each jar and place a sterilized lid and ring on each jar. Be sure to use a hot pad to do this because the jars are hot now.

Once all jars are filled, and on the rack with lid over them as soon as the water comes to a boil VERY CAREFULLY lower the rack and jars into the boiling water. Place the lid on the pot and set the timer for only 5 minutes. AS SOON as five minutes are up quickly take the jars out with a jar lifter and set them on a heat proof surface to cool. As they cool the lids should seal. If by chance you have one that doesn't seal you will want to store it in the fridge but all that have sealed will store well on a pantry or food storage room shelf for at least a year probably longer.

Brussels Sprout that even picky eaters like!

I have always pronounced them Brussel Sprouts and I guess a lot of people do so many that it's not really "wrong" to spell or pronounce them that way.

But I was curious so I looked it up and from what I could find the original way was Brussels Sprout, and yes that's plural. But some will say Brussels Sprouts I'm really sure it doesn't make a huge difference unless of course you speak and/or teach more proper English than I. ;)

You know though if your are saying it fast the two S's kind of just come together anyway so maybe no one has ever known I have been saying it wrong all these years. But that's exactly what I have always heard.....and I'm guessing many of you have heard it that way too. So the question is.....Who started dropping the S in the first place and let the rest of us astray? 

It seems they originated in Brussels and wow it's all coming together now! Learn something new everyday. Either way you say it though (and I personally think I'll keep saying it the way I have always said it but with a new awareness ;) you have got to try them cooked up this way.

Even my very pickiest eaters who would always turn up their noses on something with the word sprout in it will down a side of these and ask for more. We even planted some a few years back because they insisted we needed to eat them more often.

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts or Brussels Sprout

1 package Brussels Sprout, quartered
1-2 Tablespoons coconut or olive oil
a few splashes of balsamic vinegar about 2 Tablespoons or to taste
Real Salt and pepper to taste
No Salt Seasoning to taste, we like the Costco kind

In a large frying pan warm the oil. Add the sprouts and saute for a minute or two. Then add the vinegar and seasonings, cook until nice and tender but not soggy. Sit back and be amazed that your kids will eat them. (May not work for picky eaters under 6.....but I would still try ;)

Teriyaki Almonds

Do you ever take the time to look at the ingredients on packages of seasoned or sweetened almonds at the store? Do you know what all the ingredients are in them? Do you know a lot of them contain MSG disguised under a different name?  Heck some of them don't even try to hide it and come right out and put it on the label but not near as often anymore.

If the snacks you buy at the store say things like "natural flavors", "yeast extract," "hydrolized" something or other......you don't want it because it more than likely contains MSG.  And even if it doesn't have MSG you don't want all that nasty table salt do you? And again who knows what else.  Go on try it look at the ingredients next time you are in the store. You will see what I mean.

But who doesn't love a good crunchy snack!  And you have been grabbing those almonds and other nuts cause they are so much healthier then say chips and other things aren't they!!!!!

Well here's the thing they may be a better option and there are ones with better ingredients all the time but have you looked at how much they cost? Why not make sure it has excellent ingredients and save you a whole bunch of money by making your own! And hey while you are at it soak and dehydrate them first to give them a awesome enzyme boost.

If you are not into or get tired of Teriyaki flavor try out these fun Seasoned Almonds or want some sweet try these Candied Almonds.  Great snacks for anytime and fun to have around for the holidays too!

Teriyaki Almonds

5 pounds raw almonds, soaked overnight and dehydrated at 105° until completely dry
10 dates, sliced, soaked and drained
1/2 cup coconut aminos
3/4 cup nama shoyu
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Blend everything but almonds in blender until smooth. Add almonds and blended mixture to a large bowl. Stir well and let soak for at least an hour stirring once or twice during that time. Lay almonds out on dehydrator sheets and dry at 105° overnight. Take removed from sheets and flip over and continue to dry until dry and crunchy.

Note: A one gallon bag full of raw unsoaked almonds is about 5 pounds.

Hot Carob Mix

Cold windy days with rain and snow I say it's time to bring this forward!

Okay so I love it when people take my recipes and make them even better!  A good friend tried my original recipe and said, "I like it but......" the recipe below is what she came up with and let me tell you I like it lots better than the original one.  Not that it was bad but this is so good.  Honestly I have never been a very big hot cocoa fan but this is wonderful on these freezing cold nights and snowy days!  I just love good friends who share good recipes!  Thanks Lisa!

Homemade Hot Carob Mix

7 cups powdered coconut milk
1 cup carob powder
4 1/2 cups Sucanat or Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals
1 or 2 vanilla beans, cut in half the long way
1/2 teaspoon of Real Salt


In a large bowl mix powdered coconut milk, carob powder and salt.  Mix well.  Add vanilla beans.    Mix 2-4 Tablespoons of mix with every cup of boiling water.  Obviously you spoon around the vanilla beans they are just there to give it a hint of vanilla flavor.

Teriyaki Sauce

I've been looking back in my archives and there are quite a few recipes that are buried that need to make a reappearance. 

I have been am still working on and wanting to come up with different really good sauces, because if you have a good sauce you can make any number of whole foods taste really good.  I have to admit most of my good sauce inspirations come from looking at ingredients on jars and cans at the store.

I have made many I'm working on  a coconut curry sauce and I am really close to the perfect one, a really good fail proof pasta salad dressing, (still working on this one) other curry sauces, (Ryan really likes curry),  a honey walnut shrimp type sauce, (really haven't tried this one, I kind of forgot about it) and others!

This Teriyaki sauce will be great with Chow mein,  as a veggie dip, on stir fry, different types of salads, or anything else you can think up!  But don't take my word for it go ahead and give it a try!!!  It's Simple, Healthy, and Tasty!

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup sesame oil (can use olive but sesame tastes more "authentic")

1/2 cup agave and/or honey

1/2 cup Shoyu

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder (or you could use fresh minced)

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1-2 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes, optional (only add if you want it SPICY)

Mix all the ingredients together.  Don't be afraid to add your own spin on this or change amounts to give a stronger sweet, salty, tangy, or spicy flare!  This recipe fits perfectly in my old "Good Seasons" glass cruet Italian dressing bottle thing!  I'm sure a lot of you have one.  Be sure to shake well before serving!

Calc Punch

The idea for this recipe came from the recipe disc that comes with this book.....(click on the book if you want to order one of your own it's a EXCELLENT book)

Traci improved Dr. Christopher's Calc Tea recipe by adding Hibiscus Flower and then she pours it into Popsicle molds and makes Calc Tea Popsicles out of it.  I thought this was an excellent idea and we have done it many times and my kids love it!  I also found that my husband and I prefer it as a punch.  I made a few changes and added lime to the finished product.  We are pleased as punch!  We love the tart tangy taste yet it's sweet.  One day Ryan told me he would drink it just like most people drink Gatorade!  So I have tried to keep some made up in the fridge especially when he's out working hard.  I always pour some of it into Popsicle molds too.   

What I like best about this recipe is that it is full of Organic Assimilable Calcium because it's made from herbs that are full of not only calcium but things like magnesium that help with the absorption and other vitamins and minerals!   I mix up a big batch of the dried herbs and keep in a gallon bag.  Less than 1 cup of the herb mixture will make 1 gallon of the punch.

Calc Punch

3 cups horsetail grass
2 cups comfrey leaf
1 1/2 cups oatstraw
1/4 cup lobelia
2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
1/2 cup stevia leaf

Combine all herbs together.  In a quart jar place 3/4 to 1 cup of herb mix.  Fill the jar the rest of the way with boiling water cover with a lid and let sit for at least 45 minutes I usually let it sit for about 4 hours to infuse more of the herb into the water.  Warm 3 quarts of water in a pot on the stove, just warm enough to melt honey.  Stir in about 1/2 to 1 cup of honey, or what you want for desired sweetness.  Take the jar with the herb mix and strain out the herbs.  (I compost the leftover herbs)  Pour the red punch into water and honey mixture stir well.  At this point I pour the punch into a pitcher and put in the fridge and pour some into Popsicle molds to freeze.  Once the punch is cold in the fridge pour yourself a glass and squeeze the juice of one small lime into the punch!  The lime is a must have!

Berry Lemonade

I couldn't help but laugh a bit about the picture above when I first saw it. Just look back behind the berry lemonade.  Yep that's one of my boys and yep his pants usually have knees that look like that.  It's kind of frustrating right now but I know one day I'll look back with fond memories of this time.  Somehow this was just my picture of choice.

Our family really likes this berry lemonade.  We always have all sorts of frozen berries in the freezer for smoothies.  So it was another fun use for them.  Blueberries are tasty, or mixed berries, who doesn't love Raspberry Lemonade and we haven't tried strawberry yet but I know it would be good too.

A very refreshing Summertime drink.  Inspired by this recipe.

Berry Lemonade

1 cup frozen berries of choice
1 cup Sucanat
1 cup water
2+ cups fresh Lemon juice (more or less depending on how tart you like it)
6-8 cups ice water (again depending on how strong you like it)

In medium saucepan bring berries, Sucanat, and water to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.  Strain berries out with a fine strainer.  You can use leftover berries for ice cream topping, on toast, or even in smoothies.  Let the berry mixture cool then add lemon juice and ice water.  Stir and enjoy. 
Makes 2 1/2-3 quarts.