Author Archives: Monica Brown

Cream of Wheat

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Ingredients

  • 8-9 cups of water
  • 2 cups of wheat flour (approx. 1.5 cups of wheat berries- freshly milled)
  • 2 TBSP butter (optional, could use coconut oil)
  • Sweetener to taste (we used about 1/4 cup grade B natural maple syrup)

How many servings do you want to make? Figure 1/4 cup of flour for every serving and 1 cup of water

Instructions

  1. Bring the water to almost a boil in a 5 qt pan. While the water is heating grind the wheat berries on coarse in your mill. (Some blenders will grind wheat into a fairly fine powder as well.)
  2. Just before your water is boiling, stir in the ground wheat with a whisk until thoroughly mixed. Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes, then turn off the heat and add sweetener. Serve hot and enjoy!

Oatmeal Coconut Granola

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
  • 2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (could reduce this)
  • 1 cup SunSpire All Natural Vegan Carob Chips OR dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 tsp vanillla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix all ingredients and pour into lightly oiled 9 inch baking dish.
  3. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown

Oat Treats

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups organic oats (dry oatmeal)
  • 1/2 cup local raw honey
  • 3/4 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup golden flaxseed
  • 1/2 cup shredded organic coconut

Instructions

  1. Mix well, form into 1 inch balls
  2. Roll in shredded coconut
  3. Chill and serve

Lovely Lentils

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups lentils
  • 1 chopped onion sautéed with 3 cloves of garlic (chopped or pressed)
  • 1 8 oz jar of tomato paste
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 TBSP sea salt
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1 TBSP cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients and bring to a light boil. Turn heat down and lentils are ready when tender. Should be about 20 minutes.

Outrageous Brownies

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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Grease an 8×8 inch brownie pan
  3. Melt butter and chocolate chips in a pan on stove
  4. Stir sugar, vanilla, and salt into chocolate/butter mixture
  5. Beat in flour, mix until blended
  6. Pour into pan
  7. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake. Allow to cool completely.

*Can substitute flour for GF flour “Extra White Gold brand”

Golden Beet Salad

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Need to add some color?  Try golden beet salad!   Make this dish early in the week and enjoy it 3-4 days.

Ingredients

  • Steam or boil beets at least 1 bunch of beets (I slice mine before steaming/boiling into halves or large chunks) When they cool you can slip the skin off by pressing your fingers against the skin. The only draw back to beets is that they can be very messy. Work quickly – if they are thoroughly cooked, the skins will slip off easily. Cut into bite size pieces.
  • 1 bunch of beets (prepped as instructed above)
  • Slice or finely chop red 1/4 onion
  • In a bowl add 1/4 cup organic lemon juice,
  • ¼ cup or less extra virgin organic olive oil
  • 2 pressed cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp of sea salt

Instructions

  1. Mix well and pour over beets. chill. Serve cold.
  2. My friend Christine gave me this recipe and she uses red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice and she also adds feta cheese at the very end.

Borscht

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Borscht – from my friend, Kim C.There are a million different versions of borscht on the internet, but this is how I made mine.

I put two potatoes, beet tops, one chopped onion, a few carrots, one bulb celeriac root, 1tsp vinegar, and 3 Bok  Choy in with a roast in a crock pot on low. Let cook for 10 hours. Then throw out beet tops. Bake 3 beets in oven until fork tender and peel. After everything is cooked and cooled down a bit, put the beef broth, potatoes, celeriac root, peeled beets, carrots, into blender a little at a time until everything is smooth. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill. Salt and pepper to taste. Put a tsp of lime or lemon juice if you would like.

Serve the roast at a different meal. 🙂

Healthy Popcorn – Really?

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Friends, if you don’t make your own healthy popcorn, you have NO IDEA what you are missing!  No “off” flavors from packaged popcorn mixes.  No chemicals and no need for a microwave!  Healthy popcorn to live for!  (really!!!)

Go by feel, but the way we make healthy popcorn is with yummy coconut oil.

Ingredients

  • 1 5 quart soup or stock pot
  • 1 TBL of coconut oil
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup popping corn
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Nutritional Yeast (super delicious, B-12 boost, CHEESY flavor)

Instructions

  1. Just put enough in the pan (5 quart soup pan/stock pot works great) to make sure the bottom is covered with oil – 1/2 cup corn kernels and 1- 2 generous TBL of coconut oil.  Heat on the stove (with the lid on the pan).  When you begin to hear the kernels popping, gently shake the pan to keep any popped corn from burning.  When the kernel popping slows down, you know you have popped most of the corn.
  2. Dump the contents of your hot pan into a large bowl – add in sea salt and nutritional yeast (super yummy stuff)!  Nutritional yeast is the secret ingredient.  Try some and let us know what you think!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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We were told once that you can’t make healthy cookies or cakes with natural ingredients.  It was too late . . .we took recipes from our past and just exchanged the white flour for whole wheat, the salt for sea salt, the butter substitute with REAL butter and we reduced the sugar and subbed in a natural, mineral rich sugar.  We also use farm fresh eggs and dark cacao chips and the result is delicious and definitely a better for you option than anything we made before.

Yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup Organic sugar  (sucanat)
  • 2 organic pastured eggs
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
  • 3 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1—9oz pkg organic Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup organic chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. combine flour, baking soda, sea salt and set aside
  3. cream together sugars and butter until smooth
  4. beat in eggs
  5. add vanilla
  6. blend in flour mixture 
  7. fold in chocolate chips and nuts
  8. drop rounded spoonfuls of batter on prepared baking sheets
  9. bake 9-12 minute or until edges are nicely golden brown (err on the side of undercooking as they will cook a bit more after coming out of the oven)
  10. cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
  11. best with a glass of fresh cold milk (straight from a farm!)

Date Nut Cake

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Need a little lovely cake that won’t make you feel guilty?  This one rocks and is made without flour or oil.  All you need are fresh medjool dates and a few other simple ingredients.  Add some creative flair and you have something beautiful in less than 30 minutes!

This date log has only 3 ingredients – chopped cashews, mashed dates, and organic shredded coconut.  You can roll it into a log or shape it into any shape you like.  Hearts at Valentines and candy canes for Christmas.  If it is for someone special, you could shape it with their first initial.  Use your imagination and share your ideas please!

Date Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 -2 lbs organic medjool dates (go organic here as dates are HIGHLY sprayed)
  • 1/2 cup – 1 cup chopped cashews
  • 1 cup of shredded organic coconut

Instructions

  1. Slice open dates and remove seeds.  Mash by hand or use a food processor or blender.  You will need to add a little water and mash in small amounts if you use a machine. If you mash by hand just imagine working into a dough, much like play dough.
  2. Put the mashed dates into a bowl or on a cutting board and add in the chopped cashews.  Mix in coconut if you wish.  Finally, shape, sprinkle with shredded coconut, chill and enjoy!
  3. Dark chocolate chips are a good addition or carob chips.