Comforting Adzuki Bean Soup

  
I came up with this recipe when trying to come up with ideas on how to use Adzuki beans. I had never before used them and had only recently had heard of them. I thought though that SOS Kitchen Challenge was the perfect time to try them out! I could only find them canned, so that is what I used. I found this surprisingly quick to make and comforting because the miso creates a comforting texture.  I did a quick search for ideas and this is what I came up with…So without further ado….

 

 

Comforting Adzuki Bean Soup

by Ari Anderson, based off this recipe
(Vegan, GF, Sugar-Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 c. boiling water
• 2 T. miso
• 1 t. veggie bouillon (I use Better than Boulion) or 1 bouillon
• 1 can of Adzuki Beans, rinsed and drained (or about 1-3/4 c. cooked beans)
• 1.5 frozen cauliflower blend (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
• 1 c. brown rice (pre-cooked)
• 1/2 c. fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Add miso and vegetable bouillon to boiling water.
2. Stir until dissolved.
3. Add beans and let beans absorb some of the flavor by cooking for about 10 minutes.
4. Add frozen veggies, brown rice, and fresh parsley.
5. Let cook until frozen veggies are cooked through.
6. Serve. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 3-4 servings.
*Note: The second day it becomes closer to a stew because it thickens. It is very good either way.

BIG announcement

Hi there! I bet you thought I’d disappeared of the face of the planet (or maybe just the blog-o-sphere! I’ve just been rather busy as usual, plus I was making some major changes in my life and trying to make some decisions too. Sorry it’s been awhile.

It’s been about a month since I found out and been wanting to tell you my big announcement.

What’s the BIG announcement you ask? I am celiac. I have celiac sprue disease. It’s true. All my guesses that gluten is not good for my body were correct. Even though I’ve had 2 or 3 colonoscopies, an endoscopy, 2-3 blood tests, camera tests, etc…all saying “NO”, I found out that I do in fact have it. How? After years of going to doctor after doctor after doctor (this is no exaggeration), I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired (no pun intended). I went to see a highly recommended naturopath and she diagnosed me with iridology. She also told me I have leaky gut and candida and am malnourished. She put me on digestive enzymes at every meal (this is something I will do for the rest of my life) because of the celiac. I’m also on probiotics, and some other things. She also told me to eat for my blood type---which is where some of the big changes have come in.

Would you guess? All my staples and favorites: bananas,  yams/sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, coconut, oranges, tangerines, vinegar, pepper, gelatin, coconut oil, cashews, garbanzo beans…..and more! All of these are not allowed or good for my blood type. I can have them on rare occasions but most of the time, nadda. Following it has been tough but it has seemed to help. (I've especially had a hard time with subbing for coconut flour! Anyone know a way to sub? And how to sub for coconut milk? When you can't have real cream either?)

Another big change? Since before I had only assumed that I was gluten intolerant and wasn’t even sure of that, I didn’t worry a bit about cross contamination. I was grinding my flours in a wheat grinder that I cleaned out (but it’s not possible to clean it all out of gluten entirely) to grind my gluten-free grains into flours. I was using the same toaster as my family and roommates. I was even eating standard oats. Gasp, I know! I was also not washing down the counter or table before eating or preparing. I wasn’t worrying about products like “Great Value” brand that say may contain: WHEAT (even in vegetables and spices---which by the way, I’m really annoyed about.) If it was in theory gluten-free to begin with, I thought I was ok. WRONG! So while I thought I was gluten-free, I really wasn’t. Add to that that I would cheat on occasion and sometimes for weeks on end…trying to figure out if that was really what was wrong with me.

And one more change: I now have a limited amount of dairy back in my life, at least temporarily. Mozzarella cheese, yogurt (especially Greek), and sour cream among a few other things (Ghee and ricotta---which I haven’t tried yet) are allowed for the blood type diet and she suggested I try eating them now that I know it’s probably gluten that was really bothering me. I’m still debating if I totally feel good with them or not but for the most part I seem ok with them. I love Greek yogurt having never had it before now too.

As for sugar? The blood type diet suggests you use it as a condiment. Ouch. I try to limit my sugar already (and use just unrefined) but this is pretty strong. So, I am working on that now too. And, actually I’ve been doing this for the last few weeks because I am trying to lose my sugar cravings by going sugar-free until Easter.  This doesn’t mean that I’m not going to use a little sweetener in my muffins or anything now and again. It just means I’m not going to make dessert, cookies, treats, cake, etc (even sugar-free) till then so I can hopefully control my sugar addiction.

Oh and one more thing: I’m supposed to progress eventually to vegetarianism. About the only meat allowed is turkey or chicken. And some fish. And eventually most vegetarianism is supposed to be really good for me.

So how am I feeling? So much better. Almost immediately I started to feel better. My stomach liked me again and I just felt better. I think the blood type diet has helped too…that’s not to say on occasion I don’t have a little vinegar in something or don’t make anything with potato starch…I just try not too if I can avoid it.

I am still having a lot of fatigue and a few other issues so I’m not all the way there yet, but I am getting there. I will be back at my natropath soon to see what else I can do to get well.

So for the most part, I’m on my way back to health. I am feeling better thanks to lots of prayers and help from God. I’m so thankful that through His help I’ve found some answers and am on my road to recovery.

How did you find out you had allergies or celiac?

Stay tuned for some delicious recipes and an update on McKenna!

Shirley's Giveaway!

http://glutenfreeeasily.com/suite-of-sweets-final-giveaway
Check it out! Shirley's doing an awesome giveway!

For your Valentine: Refined Sugar-Free Nutella and Chocolate Frosting on Cupcakes

       I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been very busy! Besides working and taking a class for school online, I’ve been busy in the kitchen!

         I’ve been testing recipes for Ricki of Diet, Dessert, and Dogs. She is creating a breakfast e-book: Top of the Morning: Breakfasts without Sugar, Gluten, Eggs or Dairy! Most of my pictures don’t turn out too great…so I only have one here that came out halfway decent! But that doesn’t mean her recipes are that way! No way! Some of my favorites have been the whole grain waffles (scroll down to see a picture with ice-cream a- top them!) I actually did try and make the ice-cream too but something went wrong in my freezer…and my ice-cream came out with a burnt-freezer taste! Definitely was my freezer and not the recipe though because I tasted it before and it tasted rich and creamy!

Ricki’s Fluffy Pancakes from her upcoming cookbook

Here are the fluffy pancakes from her e-book that I tried! And seriously, they were very fluffy! You can’t tell a whole lot from my poor photo, but they were. In fact, these are probably the best gluten-free pancakes I’ve ever had! (And not only that but they were sugar-free, dairy-free, and egg-free!…you couldn’t even tell!) I highly suggest her book! It’s got so many great breakfast recipes that are anti-candidia and just allergy in general friendly! (Disclosure: I do not have to recommend her book because I am testing recipes. I choose too because it is such a great book!)

      Amy’s Perfect Bread…it rises high, looks beautiful, slices thin, tastes good, what more could you want?

   Also, I made Amy’s Perfect Bread. And she’s right. It’s pretty close to perfect! It was probably the best gluten-free bread that I have made. I still haven’t found anything that I like as well as my store-bought Udi’s but if you’re going to make bread, this one would be a great one to try. I shared this with my friend who has celiac and her whole family enjoyed it (and they do not eat like us). Great work Amy!

The inside view of Amy’s Perfect Bread

   Bird’s eye view close up of Kelly’s lasagna

I also made Kelly’s lasagna. Gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. Say what? Yes, dairy-free lasagna. And that’s with no processed fake cheese, either. The cheese even had the right texture! It was so good, I think it is better than regular lasagna! Thanks Kelly!

 

Kelly’s lasagna—a slice for you!

Kelly’s Chocolate Cupcakes with her frosting turned mine

And finally, I made Kelly’s Mini Chocolate Cupcakes Kabobs only I made them over to be regular cupcakes and no kabobs. And I started with her frosting as a base from my frosting and added and added until I was happy with it.

I think that these would make a sweet Valentine’s treat! And what Valentine’s Day be without chocolate! Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Doesn’t that frosting just look “real?”

Chocolate Protein-Rich Frosting or Hazelnut-Free Nutella

Based on this recipe by Kelly, with lots of my own changes

This frosting is very good. It’s smooth and delicious just like frosting is supposed to be. And there is no “floury/starchy” taste that you find in lots of sugar-free frostings. This is good right after being made but seems to even improve it’s texture and spreadability once it has been in the fridge overnight. You can change up the butters to fit your tastes/allergies/what’s in your pantry. This has a slight “peanut-like” taste even though it doesn’t contain peanuts… I find that that happens with cashew butter. It can also be used like Nutella and I love to spread it on rice cakes!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cashew butter

1/4 c. almond butter

1/4 c. agave

pinch of salt

1 t. coconut flour (optional, I will probably omit next time as it gives it a texture—texture is gone though after being refrigerated for several hours)

1/4 c. + 2T almond milk

1/4 c. + 1 T. cocoa

1 t. vanilla

Directions: Mix the “butters’ together. Add salt and coconut flour and mix again. Add almond milk and cocoa and mix again. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes or other desserts or if using for Nutella, keep in a container in the fridge until needed.

Makes 1-1/4 c. which is way more than I needed for my cupcakes. Hence, the use on rice cakes!

*Note: For those who also would like to make Kelly’s mini cupcakes, I have two things to mention:

1. To make them into normal size cupcakes you need to bake them for about 30 minutes rather than 12. And you can use muffin liners since you’re not putting them on kabobs.

2. I loved these fresh or frozen. If frozen they are a little more like a brownie and fudgy in texture.

Please Help McKenna!

McKenna

(portrait provided by her family)

 

Dear Readers,

   I’m interrupting my normal posting of recipes to share with you this story that is very true and very serious. This story is dear to my heart because I know her and her family personally and I know personally how hard health problems can be!  McKenna and her family are dear friends of ours. She is only 12 years old and she and her family have been dealing with her health problems for years. It has gotten so bad lately that she has had three near-fatal seizures in the last 6 months! McKenna and her families only hope is to get a medical dog that would help her prevent these seizures. The dog is ready and trained for McKenna, the only thing that they are waiting on, is the money. It cost $10,000 (US) to get this dog. If there is any way that you can help, even donating a couple of dollars, please do so here under McKenna Vogt. If you let me know (in a comment or email), I will do my best to come up with something for you in return. I am thinking of making an e-book with recipes or something, but if you have better ideas, let me know. This is not a hoax. This is a true life story. Usually you hear these stories but do not know whether they are of actual people in need and you don’t know where your money goes to. You would know in this case.  Please read the full story in McKenna’s mother’s exact words below:

Dear Friends and Family:

McKenna was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes on October 15, 2007.  After a stressful year of trying to regulate her blood sugars through a constant carb diet, and insulin shots, we were able to put her on a Diabetic Insulin Pump.  We had great hopes that this would "normalize" her life somewhat and regulate her sugars.  Since then we have found out that McKenna is very sensitive to insulin which makes it very difficult to regulate her blood sugars.  We have watched her struggle through school work, spending mass amounts of time in the nurses office and trying to keep up with her sugars that make her so ill.

One year ago, McKenna was watching tv with her grandmother and her mother, when she fell over, unable to move.  Her blood sugars had fallen so low that she was paralyzed.  We had no idea that is was a type of seizure, nor the damage that those cause.  We made adjustments worked closely with her doctor and did all that we could.

Recently, McKenna's diabetes have caused some serious medical issues.   With her insulin sensitivity, we have found that it is an exhausting process.  We test her through the night, every two hours and then make adjustments.  This past July while at Girls' Camp, McKenna's blood sugar fell too low, she had a horrible seizure and she couldn't breathe.   We were able to get her the help she needed and then we carried on with camp.  We had no idea, she should go to the hospital.  When we returned we went to the doctor and did all the necessary medical tests.  In October, she had another seizure and was placed in the hospital.  This time her blood sugars were too high and she went back into DKA (diabeticketoacidosis).  She was very ill.  They released her from the hospital, however we were not able to get her blood sugars down to the appropriate range and it took months to remove the ketones from her body.  She missed 31 days of school.  We then, under the direction of her Doctor, went through a battery of tests to try to figure out what is wrong with McKenna.  So far, we still have no answers.

Three weeks ago, we woke McKenna up to get ready for school.  We left the room and carried on about our business of getting ready.  We felt very uncomfortable, anxious, like something was wrong.  Tanya went in to check on McKenna who by then was completely paralyzed, lying on the floor, appearing as if she had had a stroke making a horrible sound because her mouth was paralyzed also.  She couldn't respond and we knew she was having a horrible seizure.  We called 911, we gave her glucose and we waited for help, all the while holding our baby as she appeared to be slipping away from us.  Her blood sugar had fallen dangerously low again causing another seizure that was almost fatal.  They told us that once she was given the sugar, it would take 15 minutes to an hour and she would regain her memory and functions.  The clocked ticked by and that just didn't happen.  She couldn't remember her name, she didn't know who we were, she didn't know where she was, nor the date or time.  Her brain was functioning right with her body.  It was painful to watch.  There was a communication error between her body and the messages being sent from her brain.  We watched and waited. Then they ran a CAT Scan, a CSPINE and we waited.  She was later admitted to the PICU at Cedar Crest.  It took over 12 hours for all of her functions to come back and longer than that for her memory retention to work. Three major seizures in 6 months is a lot.  We also are fully aware of the repercussions these episodes will have if we cannot get them to stop.

We know that it was a miracle that McKenna didn't suffer brain damage.  We know the doctors were surprised that she is functioning normally now.  We know that her life was spared once again.  We know that the Lord has a plan for her and already knows when she will return to Him.  We know that she was His first and in the end if we have done our job right, she will be His again and only He gets to decide when that is.  It is very humbling.  In the meantime, we feel we need to do everything possible to help McKenna and to try to improve her quality of life.

They currently have Diabetic Service Dogs that can be trained to help people with uncontrolled diabetes.  The dogs are trained specifically for the person that they will work for, so in this instance for McKenna.  They take samples of her saliva when she is high and when she is low.  They train the dog to recognize those scents.  The dog will then wake McKenna up, or warn her when she is too low and when she is too high.  The dog will go with her wherever she goes.  Studies have shown that these dogs can detect blood sugar changes 1 hour before a continual glucose monitoring system can.  The can detect the blood sugar change even if she is swimming in a pool and the dog is waiting by the side of the pool.  The night time is what scares us the most.  We sleep pretty light trying to listen for her, but we don't always hear her.  McKenna is afraid of the night times now.  We are hoping the dog will help us during that time.  We want to get her this dog.  It is very expensive and so we need help raising the money to get the dog.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  If you would like to donate money for the dog please click on the following link and then click on the donate button, next to McKenna's name.

http://www.pawsibilitiesunleashed.org/home/donations

We appreciate any sacrifice that can be made whether it is monetary or if you can include her in your prayers, or if you would be willing to forward this email on to your family and friends.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Love,

The Vogts

McKenna in the hospital, where she has been way to much in her short life!

(Photo provided by her parents.)

       Please help McKenna. She needs all the help we can give her. I would give this girl everything I had if I could. She is one super strong girl and calm and peaceful about this whole situation. She has much to teach us all still in her life.  She is a wonderful girl and has made a great impact on my life and many others already. If there is any amount, a dollar even, that you can donate, she and I would really appreciate it. Her family doesn’t have the finances to pay for this dog either and that is why we need your help. The dog is ready, we just need donations. Please share what you can and SPREAD the word with EVERYONE you know!

 

Again, the link for the donations is: http://www.pawsibilitiesunleashed.org/home/donations

Click on the link and then click “Donate’” next to McKenna Vogt’s name…it is at the bottom.

 

And again, I will come up with something in exchange for your donation if you like. I am hoping to figure out how to make an e-book or something like that. If you have any ideas, let me know.

 

Help McKenna!

 

With love, Ari

Funnel cake topped with powdered coconut sugar.

           Funnel Cake! When was the last time you had some of that? Or have you have you ever had it? It is very good. What is it? Similar to a doughnut, funnel cake is a batter that is “funneled” or poured through a funnel into hot oil. Once cooked, it is most often served with powdered sugar. (Although I have also seen it served with other toppings and even seen it served with ice cream on top!)  I grew up loving this Pennsylvania Dutch food. We would only get it at the local fairs or amusement parks. Trust me, the picture, especially mine, doesn’t do them justice! You just have to try!

          The other night my family made a bunch of these for them, homemade. I wanted one too since I haven’t had one in years but didn’t want to make too many! They taste best fresh. Besides, I didn’t need loads of funnel cakes leftover for me to eat.

          Since I was making them for me, I wanted to make them as healthy as possible (if that’s even possible!). So, I used whole grain flours and fried them in the healthiest oil around! Coconut oil! Coconut oil is so good for you and added a great flavor to them. I found them to be savory if eaten plain and sweet if topped with powdered coconut sugar. I enjoyed them both ways.

         Since I used so much healthy coconut oil in this recipe (and you can make this either sweet or savory, I decided to submit it to the SOS Kitchen Challenge for this month. Check it out and learn why coconut oil is so good for you!

          PS. Please forgive my photography. My camera was on it’s last final breath and is now dead. Camera shopping (hopefully for a DSLR!) is on the list of things to do! Any suggestions?

 

 

Funnel Cakes (Single Serving)

Yields: One large or two small (Double, triple, etc. as needed)

 

Ingredients:

**2 T. egg (to do this whisk an egg together, measure out 2T, which is 1/2 egg) 

5 T. almond milk (or other dairy or non-dairy milk)

7 T. flour (for GF, do as I did, 1/4 c. sorghum + 3 T. tapioca starch)

1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. agave nectar

pinch salt

1/8 t. xanthan gum

coconut oil—3/4 c. or enough to fill up at least an inch in your pan

Directions:

Whisk together the egg, almond milk, and agave. Add flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Mix. Scoop out coconut oil and start heating it in a skillet or deep fryer to about 375*F. Place thumb over bottom opening of funnel. Pour your batter in.  (It helps to have some one help you do this.) Remove thumb and drop into hot oil using a circular motion to form spirals for each cake.  Remove when golden brown (mine where a little over done, but still tasty.) While cake is still warm, sprinkle with ***powdered coconut sugar, serve plain, or top with ice-cream for a very decadent dessert.

**To make vegan, use 1 T. ground flaxseed mixed with 3 T. warm water. Measure out two tablespoons for use in the recipe and save other two for another use. Also, increase total baking powder to 1/2 t.

***I made mine by just whirling coconut sugar in my Blend-tec blender. For a little more detailed instructions, see Lexie's post here.

 

Notes for mostly Ari: When I make this again, I want to increase the baking powder and see if it gets a little puffier! If you try this, let me know how it works. I’d start with 1/4 t. or less.

Blend-tec!

I just bought a new blend-tec blender! I've been wanting a professional blender (ie. Vita-mix or blend-tec for years...I've bought so many blenders that have died on me in the mean time, I've probably spent almost as much on them together as on this one.)

And it just arrived in the mail today! Isn't it pretty?! So excited! I can't wait to make tons of "green" smoothies and other things with it!

What are/What is your favorite recipe(s) using a Blend-tec or Vita-mix? To celebrate, link them up here! This is my first linkys so bear with  me!

PS. Thank you for all the nice comments you sent in response to my last post. I'm still thinking about the name and such, but for now it's just going to stay the way it is. Except, I did change the background/template. What do you think? I may still fool around with it some more, but I think it's better than before.

 

Anyway, celebrate with me and post your favorite Vita-mix or Blend-tec recipes here! :)

<img border="0" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/graphic.php?owner=kangachick&postid=24Jan2011">

Questions for YOU my readers

Hello there---
I'm thinking of making some changes to my blog and I wanted to know what you, my readers, would think.

I am wondering if I should change the name of my blog. This would be the third time for me, as before, as some of you might remember, I had named it "Food Intolerances Cook" which is actually closer to the direction I think this blog has been going. I changed it to the Frugally Rich Life because that is how I love to live...and though I'm still learning, I do my best to live that way. But, I found that I don't have a ton to share about this and I also find that writing about it bores me. What I love sharing is the recipes on this site and my love of cooking and occasionally my crafting too.

So, I have thought about changing the name and possibly the blog address of this blog to fit more of what I aim to share on this site. (Again, mainly recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free although I may in the future if my diet changes, so will my recipes. But, just between you and me, I don't think much will change. :))
I am passionate about cooking this way and I love to share what I learn and the recipes I create or modify.
My dilemma though is that most of you know me by "The Frugally Rich Life" and I don't want to lose all of you either....but I don't feel like the title for my blog or the blog address, fits either. I want you to know by looking at the title more of what I focus on.
I'm not sure what my new title should be (which would be the new blog address to most likely) but if you have any ideas, be sure to let me know.

I am also wanting to create more of professional atmosphere with this change. I'm always changing the blog theme and things around because I am never satisfied with how it looks. I am hoping to learn how to make things look more professional like some of my favorite friends in the blog-o-sphere's sites such as Diet, Dessert, and Dogs, Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free, The Spunky Coconut, Lexie's Kitchen, Z's Cup of Tea, Delectably Free, and Elana's Pantry, just to name a few. (Note: They are all linked to a recipe of theirs I am dying to try. :) So, if you have tips for helping me in that area, or know how to make a header (like I attempted...but got two..the boring text one and the one I created), let me know.

Phew! That was a lot longer post than I intended. Anyways, here's a recap of what I want to know:

1. Should I change the blog name and or address? Why?

2. Tips for helping to make the switch

3. Tips for making my blog more professional looking.

4. Thanks so much!

 

Ari

2010 in review...a little late, but why not?

Sine cool facts from my favorite monkey's from Wordpress:

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:



The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 4 fully loaded ships.

 

In 2010, there were 103 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 171 posts. There were 343 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 59mb. That's about 7 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 22nd with 292 views. The most popular post that day was Sweet Potato (or Pumpkin) Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were simplysugarandglutenfree.com, thenourishinggourmet.com, facebook.com, foodintolerancescook.blogspot.com, and digg.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for healthy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, homemade peanut butter chips, homemade cheetos, freegf, and homemade cheetos recipe.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Sweet Potato (or Pumpkin) Chocolate Chip Muffins November 2010
5 comments

2

Homemade Reese's (Peanut Butter Cups)! :) (refined sugar-free) March 2010
16 comments

3

GF (Gluten-Free) , dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free, vegan, homemade frugal chocolate chips! March 2010
26 comments

4

Homemade Cheetos/ Cheese puff's/ Cheese balls March 2010
4 comments

5

Mini Grain-Free, GF, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan Chocolate Brownie Bites April 2010
11 comments

I’m back. I’ve been taking a little hiatus from blogging if you haven’t noticed. It’s been nice to have sometime to have sometime to think and spend time with family and decide what really matters and what I really want in life. As a result, I can’t promise I will blog as often as I used to, but I will try to post more than I have been of late.  

Anyway, to kick this off and celebrate my return to blogging (because if no one else is celebrating, I am), I would post the recipe for these delicious cookies I made tonight. I’ve been trying to find something to do with my cashew butter and I also have been craving peanut butter cookies…but peanut butter hasn’t been agreeing with me. Thus, these cookies were born! They even taste very similar to peanut butter!

Don’t they look good?   I promise they are even 100x better than they look!

Maple Cashew Cookies

from Ari’s kitchen

Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks- Peanut Butter Cookies 

Flour idea from: The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen’s Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 c. sorghum flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 + 1/8 t. sea salt
• 1/4 t. xanthun gum
• 1/2 c. cashew butter
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 2 T + 2 t. melted (measure before melting) earth balance or butter or oil
• 1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven for 350. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients. Mix again. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Roll into balls and flatten carefully with your hand and then even more carefully with a fork to make the fork prints. To make this easier and to give it a contrast in flavors (think sweet and salty), dip your fork in salt between cookies. (If you can’t get the salt to stick, just try flatting the cookies without salt…the greasiness will help the salt stick to the other cookies.)

Bake for 10-11 minutes but no longer, as they will get too hard. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to a cooling rack.

Enjoy with a nice cold glass of your favorite milk! (My current favorite: almond!)  

I got 14 pretty large/ decent size cookies out of this recipe. Double if desired.  

The leaning tower of cashew butter cookies?

This post is linked to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday’s.

         

I recently came upon a dilemma. Not a large on of sorts, but a tiny small one…. Mom was making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins tonight. A favorite in our family, if you remember from this post. But here was my dilemma, I haven’t tested chocolate or pumpkin yet! How was I going to be able to test them both? I just finished day three of my latest “food” (maple syrup—yum!), so I could introduce one but not both.

       After thinking about it for a while, I finally came up with a solution! I would try chocolate and use sweet potatoes as a substitute for pumpkin since I have read a lot about using them instead of pumpkin…Sno White uses them a lot in her baking (due to Frog Prince’s allergy?? I think), like with this recipe for Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread…which looks amazing.

     Anyway, I gave it a shot, and used my mom’s recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins which I thought I had used for my original recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins….but I realized that I hadn’t. So, I decided to see if I could get closer to mom’s recipe.  

   As I was making these, I realized that I could submit them for this months SOS challenge! Hooray! I had wanted to participate, especially since I love sweet potatoes and eat them a lot, but I wasn’t sure what to make, and was happy that I came across something without even trying! I’m also submitting these to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Anyway, all in all, they came out great! I made notes though for you, and me, so that you can make changes as needed to fit your diet and to make the recipe more suitable for you!

 

Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins

by Ariana Anderson, based of mom’s recipe

Sweet potato love! And look at all those chocolate chips! Mmm! And they’re homemade too!  

Ingredients:

• 1 c. brown rice flour (I find I need less flour if just using brown rice flour, it seems to be very thickening) OR 1 to 1-2/3 c. GF flour blend OR 1-2/3 c.“regular” flour---whole wheat or spelt would be great!
• 2.5 t. liquid vanilla stevia (next time, I would decrease or omit this as I found it a little to much overbearing, but not too noticeable since I had chocolate chips in it too) OR 1 c. sugar (I would suggest Sucanat OR palm/coconut sugar) if tolerated
• 1 T. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 large eggs (I suggest free-range)
• 1 c. sweet potato (blend mashed sweet potato with a little water until it is more of a “canned pumpkin” consistency---ie. you want it smooth and thinner than just mashed up sweet potatoes with nothing else….I used my food processor) OR 1 c. plain pumpkin (which is 1/2 of a 1/2 lb can)
• 1/2 c. melted butter or oil or applesauce (I used applesauce)
• 1 c. chocolate chips (I used my own recipe—free of sugar, gluten, and dairy)
• 1/2 t. almond extract (I omitted because I haven’t tried almonds yet)

 

Directions: Heat oven to 350*. Grease muffin cups or use papers. Thoroughly mix flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Break eggs into another bowl. Add pumpkin/sweet potato and oil. Whisk until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and almond extract. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened. Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes until puffed and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cook. Makes 12 (1 dozen)

Notes: Next time, I think 1/2-3/4 c. chocolate chips would be plenty. Also, while the brown rice flour and stevia worked fine, I would like to try it with a GF flour blend (at least of brown rice and tapioca flour) and less or no stevia and some agave or honey instead.

 

Swirls of sweet potato….and spice!

"Kitchen Scraps and Food Storage"

I found this article on another site and I wanted to quote and post it here because I thought it was so good and useful!

"Kitchen Scraps and Food Storage...
Here is a wonderful way to save money, have gourmet items in your pantry and enjoy great tastes!

Dehydrate!
You will need a food dehydrator or an oven and a way to grind the dried material into a powder. Spice grinders, coffee grinders, food processors are all good. Work with what you have or are comfortable with. Once ground into powder, store the powders in baby food jars, spice jars or whatever tightly lidded jars you have handy. Sterilize and COMPLETELY DRY jars before putting powder in. Also, put an O2 absorber in each jar.

TOMATO PEELS
Those tomato peels that are usually flung in the trash when you can tomatoes? Dry them out, nice and VERY dry, grind them into powder. Tomato powder sells for big bucks in gourmet shops, but essentially, it is made from peels that would otherwise be discarded.

Use the powder to boost the flavor in soups, stews and sauces, add some to your tortilla recipe to make those gourmet *tomato wraps* most people pay a premium price for. Make your own pasta? Add tomato powder! Add to softened butter for tomato butter (great on steaks and fish!) Combined with dry milk and a few spices, you can have a quick and easy instant tomato soup! Toss tomato powder into your favorite breading recipe to add a little sparkle to the flavor of fried chicken or fried fish. Add a teaspoon to your salad dressing and shake!

ORANGE PEELS
Grate orange peels or toss in a blender or chopper to have your own orange zest without paying those high supermarket prices. Orange zest can also be used in home made soap recipes. I have even dried out orange peels, ground them up and added a teaspoon or two to a regular bottle of shampoo for a citrus-wake-me-up scent. Orange powder can also be used in sachets and pomanders to repel insects and freshen closets.
Orange peels (powdered) can have a *bitter* taste to them if you get too much of the inner white peel in the powder, so be careful of that! You can also add orange powder to salad dressings, breading, butter, ginger ale (orange ginger ale is pretty good). Use your imagination!

APPLE PEELS
Dry those apple peels out nice and very dry and grind into powder as with tomato peels.
Apple peel powder is great to add to oatmeal and other cooked cereals. A teaspoon in a glass of ginger ale is lovely on a hot day, or add a teaspoon to a hot mug of tea on a cold winter night. Toss some apple powder into your body wash for a wonderful scent, or add to unscented talcum powder and dust some on! Apple powder can also be used as a sachet scent or in a pomander.

BROCCOLI STEMS
Slice up your leftover raw broccoli very thin and dry it completely. Grind into powder. Mix with cream cheese and sour cream and a smidge of tomato powder for a great dip. Broccoli powder + dried milk + water = cream of broccoli soup. (I always scatter some grated cheese on top) Again, use your imagination!

SPINACH STEMS AND PIECES
Dry out completely. Grind into powder. Spinach powder + sour cream + cream cheese + spices = terrific dip or spread for crackers! Cream of spinach soup when mixed with dry milk and water.
Add to pasta dough when making pasta. Add to flour tortilla recipe. Good to add to salad dressings or mayonnaise.

CUCUMBER PEELS
You have to be careful with this. If you grow your own or buy locally, you should be okay. You cannot dry out most store bought cuke skins as they are wax coated! That being said--dry out totally and grind into powder. Add to cream cheese or sour cream (or both-mixed) for a nice dip or flavorful spread. Cucumber is a pretty popular additive to bath salts, soaps, shampoos, etc. Add to alcohol and water (half and half) in the summer and put in a spritz bottle. Spray yourself to stay *cool as a...* you know the rest! A teaspoon added to a bottle of salad dressing is great for cool summer salads. Add to mayonnaise.

CELERY BITS AND PIECES
Slice thin and dry completely before grinding into powder. Use in place of celery seed in soups and stews. Add to salad dressings, dips, spreads or mayonnaise. I like to sprinkle it on deviled eggs (VERY lightly!).

CANTELOUPE RINDS (ALSO WATERMELON OR ANY MELON)
This one always gets me weird looks, lol! Okay, there is ALWAYS some leftover *meat* in that rind. Dig it out, slice it into thin slices and dry it out. (NOW you can toss those rinds in the compost heap!) Once dry, grind into powder.
A teaspoon in a glass of ginger ale is absolute heaven on a hot day in July! Adding watermelon powder to hot tea sounds weird, but is actually pretty good! Add some to unscented bath salts.
I have used watermelon powder in a white cake batter to make a watermelon cake. (It was terrific! Just add 3 to 5 teaspoons (depends on your tastes) to batter and mix in well. Add to softened cream cheese, sour cream and add a bit of honey and mix well to make a dip for fruits."

"I highly recommend the dried watermelon powder...watermelon cake is really good. I have also made watermelon ice cream by mixing the powder into a basic ice cream recipe.
I recently watched a show on the Food Network and a chef was just going nuts over a tomato ice cream he had tried somewhere...I thought "Gee, that's easy to make", lol!..have also made peach, nectarine and apricot powders. Strawberry powder, too. Basically, anything you can dry out thoroughly and grind into a powder--fruit or veggie. The only limits are your imagination and your taste buds!"

So, there you go...eat your garbage!."

My gluten-free version (also sans raisins)

What do you eat on a cold, fall morning? Muffins! What do you eat on a chilly night?

I served this warming turkey noodle soup last night with these applesauce muffins.

Soup and muffins!  Muffins are great anytime of day.

One of my absolute favorite muffins that my mom makes are applesauce muffins! They are so good….especially with mom’s homemade macoun applesauce! I decided to make them for my family one night and one morning for me. So, I’ve tested this recipe both as my mom originally wrote it (with wheat flour and all) and gluten-free. Both are great!  

Mom's Applesauce Muffins

Mom’s original recipe: made with whole wheat flour and raisins

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. brown rice flour*

1/4. c. tapioca flour/starch*

*If you can have gluten, sub 1-3/4 c. whole wheat flour (as originally stated in my mom's recipe) or spelt flour

1 t. baking soda OR 2 t. baking powder (original recipe)  

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ginger

1/3 c. oil or applesauce or half oil/applesauce (I used applesauce, although I think it would work the best with at least 1/2 oil)

1/4 c. apple juice

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c. honey (original recipe) or agave (I used agave)

3/4 c. applesauce (yes, in addition to using it as a sub for oil if you used that)

1/2 c. raisins (optional, but my favorite! I didn't add them this time, because I haven't "tested" them yet)

1/2 c. chopped pecans (or other nuts, also optional; I don't remember my mom ever using these, but it's on the recipe, so I'm sure it's good!)

Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger. Combine egg, applesauce, honey, oil, and apple juice. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until flour is moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Fold in pecans and raisins (if using...dried cranberries might be good here too!) Fill 12 greased or papered muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 400* F for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Ari

Home...A time to heal!

I'm home! I just returned tonight. As of tonight, I have had my last bite of gluten, dairy, and sugar (and other such nasty things like hydrogenated oils and such). No more for me. I'm sad that I ever got off the bandwagon, but hope I can get back on and remain free of those things....They don't make me feel well...they only feed my emotions and keep me binging. Never mind the fact that they cause me terrible fibromyalgia pain, heartburn, headaches, stomach discomfort, and weight gain. Today, from this minute on, I promise myself and you that I will be gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. I will eat mindfully. I will learn to listen to my body and heal. I will do all I need to do to heal. I will go back to the basics...go back to adding one new food in at a time...and waiting three days before I try another one. I will start exercising again...and much more....here's to hoping that I'll be able to do this all...

Any suggestions would be great. Anyone know how long it takes to get the gluten, dairy, and sugar out of your system??

Thanks.

Thanks for all your support!

~Ari

Personal Health Update...Sadly, It's Not Better..

Remember this post? I talked a lot about how I wasn't handling school and things and just overeating and bingeing a ton even on gluten and sugar? I want to be honest with you, and appreciate your help and support. Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse and those things have continued...Besides having bingeing issues, I have also had a lot of stomach problems like normal and my old friend fibromyalgia and such...and some other personal health problems as well. Suffice it to say, I have been in and out of the doctor's office more frequently in a shorter span of time than I care to count! I have been so sick in so many ways, and have missed zillions of classes and assignments. On Friday, I went into my doctor again.  He suggested that I withdraw from school and go home and get some help there and not have the stress of school to make matters worse and to focus on healing. I prayed about it and I know this is what I am supposed to do. It's not easy...and it still won't be an easy road even at home, but what I need to do now is focus on getting better. If you want, I'd appreciate prayers in my behalf as I am going through this tough time in my life and especially for the next few days as I try to rush through cleaning my apt and packing and moving and doing this all while I am not feeling well.

The stress of dealing with all of this has not made the bingeing easier either...in fact, I've been terrible lately...binging on gluten and sugar too. And a lot. I've gained some weight and that just makes me feel worse. Plus, I worry about going home...because my family still eats gluten and sugar and having that around is going to be even more of a temptation...especially since Halloween is almost here and around the same time, my brother's birthday...

Anyway, just wanted to let you know the big news and see if you have any suggestions...

Are you addicted to food? Especially sugar? How did you beat it? (Feel free to send me a personal email too if you want....thefrugallyrichlife AT gmail DOT com).

Giveaway and Natural Deodorant

Nourishing Days is having a giveaway for a gift certificate for natural personal care or beauty products. This would be a great opportunity to switch to natural products. I'd love to win some myself! :) The natural makeup looks awesome too.

Want to begin using natural products, but have a hard time spending that kind of mulah ($)? Me too. You can start here though by making your own frugal and very natural deodorant! It's so cheap to make, lasts forever, works great, and is so much better for you then commercial deodorant. Check it out! You'll be glad you did...I'll never go back to regular deodorant!

Oh my. These are so good. I’ve eaten way too many. Best of all? These are free from any grains at all….gluten-free or otherwise. And? They involved very little work, contain only one flour, and taste just like “whole-wheat” or regular muffins. :) Tested by my room mates even, and they approve!

This recipe came to be because I’ve been testing coconut flour and trying agave. :) Mmmm….good!

Best Banana Muffins

by Ariana Anderson, adapted from this recipe by Tasty Eats At Home

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas (mine were just ripe-no brown spots—but I’m sure these would be even more delicious with riper bananas)


• 4 eggs


• 1/2 c. agave


• 4 T. oil (I used sunflower seed oil)


• 15 drops stevia (I used vanilla stevia)***


• 3/4 c. coconut flour


• 1 t. baking soda


• 1/2 t. salt


• 1.5 t. cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease well. Mash bananas with a fork, or with my prefered method, a potato masher. Crack eggs and stir  them in. Add agave. Stir. Add oil. Mix. Add stevia. Mix. Add coconut flour, salt, and cinnamon. Stir. Add in baking soda. Stir again. Using an ice-cream scoop (or spoon---the scoop just tends to be able give out the right amount of batter per muffin tin), pour batter into individual cups. Smooth tops of muffins with slightly wet fingers, if desired. Slide muffin tins in the oven. Let cook for 20 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean. Mine were perfect right at 20, but every oven is different.

Yields: 12 beautiful, soft, super moist, just sweet enough, perfectly satisfying tasty muffins great warm or cold

Enjoy! Let me know how you like them! :)

***Update: I made them again. They were so good. I used speckled bananas this time...they yielded an even more moist sweet muffin. I think in this case you could use less or no stevia and be fine...especially if you are weary of the stevia after taste you sometimes get. I've never eaten a more moist muffin!!! It's almost like a cupcake or something of a dessert it feels like because it is so moist, you would think there would be cups and cups of oil in it--but it's so healthy and yummy! :) I want to try these next time with half oil and have applesauce. If you try that or any other variations, let me know.

This is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays!