Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Need a new recipe for all those sweet potatoes?  Looking for something that is rich and nutritious and won’t spike your blood sugar?  Try this lovely little pound cake.  I think you will like it!

Ingredients

  • Pre-heat oven to 350
  • Using a mixer:
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
  • 4 eggs
  • Then add:
  • 2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3 ¼ cup freshly ground wheat, spelt or kamut flour
  • If desired, glaze with:
  • 1 cup organic confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. grated orange zest
  • 5 tsp. orange juice

Instructions

  1. Pour batter into a 10-inch, greased and floured bundt pan or cake pan.
  2. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour, 20 minutes.  Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert on serving plate.
  3. To make it extra special, serve with real whipped cream.

Sweet Potato Hashbrowns

Sweet potato hash browns are secretly amazing.  We always eat every bit and there are never leftovers.  Really!  If you are looking for something fun and different and at the same time a nutritional home run you have found it!  This is one of those recipes money can’t buy, it’s something you make yourself and can only be found at home sweet home.

Ingredients

  • 5 medium size sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 t of garlic powder
  • 1/2 t of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup of olive or coconut oil
  • 1/2 pound block of raw mild cheddar cheese (we enjoy Organic Valley)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven at 350
  2. First I cut potatoes in a food processor, hashbrown size.
  3. Then cook in a double broiler pan for 10 minutes on Medium low.
  4. Place partially cook potatoes in a large bowl, carefull they are hot.
  5. Pour 1/4 cup of olive or coconut oil over the potatoes
  6. Add garlic powder and sea salt
  7. Mix together making sure all the potatoes are coated with oil.
  8. Place mixture on a large cookie sheet.
  9. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 350
  10. Then pull out of oven and sprinkle cheese over the top of potatoes and place back in oven and change oven to broil for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to turn brown.
  11. Take out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
  12. Serve and enjoy.
  13. Adding a small amount of cayenne pepper will add a new flavor.

Raw Oatmeal

We discovered this fast oatmeal based breakfast from our neighbors who feed their 8 children this particular breakfast almost every day!  It’s THE fastest breakfast you will ever make and it’s fun and refreshing.  You can prepare everything the night before. In the morning just add milk.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cups raw oatmeal per person – put directly into the serving bowl
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon
  • Sprinkle of sea salt (we omit this from time to time)
  • Generous squirt of raw local honey
  • 2 tsp of golden or brown flaxseed (we prefer golden because it rarely tastes old)  You could grind the flaxseed or leave it whole.  
  • Cover with your favorite milk.

Instructions

  1. Eat this breakfast as is or add any of the following:
  2. Raw pecans or walnuts
  3. Organic raisins, dates or cranberries
  4. Shredded organic coconut
  5. Grated apple

How do you enjoy your oatmeal?

Gluten Free Pancakes

Gluten free is such a hot topic.  While we are not gluten free in our home, we like to give gluten free meals a try from time to time.  These pancakes taste great and are adapted from the Trim Healthy Mama recipe book.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup oats blended into a fine powder
  • 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1 cup of eggs whites (could be the carton kind)
  • 4 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 2-3 tsp stevia or truvia
  • dash of vanilla

Instructions

  1. after grinding the oats in the blender – add all other ingredients. ..
  2. I suggest you add the baking powder last, when you know you are finished with mixing, this way your baking powder will not over mix and your pancakes will be extra fluffy!
  3. Heat a non stick griddle and cook until you see bubbles, flip and cook some more and you have Trim Healthy  Pancakes.  We cook on stainless steel sometimes and when it’s nice and hot, the pancakes won’t stick.

Organic German Pancakes from Freshly Milled Flour

Want to try something fun and different?  Organic German pancakes made from scratch with freshly milled pastry wheat.  These German pancakes are golden, fluffy and high in protein.

Serve with a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice along with your favorite natural sugar and a touch of 100% maple syrup.  (organic powdered sugar, local raw honey or 100% pure maple syrup)  Tip:  if you don’t keep powdered sugar on hand, just put sucanat into your dry blender and you will have powdered sugar.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of flour (we use freshly milled pastry wheat flour)
  • 1 cup of organic milk (try almond or coconut milk too)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 6 eggs, pastured eggs
  • warm muffin tins, in oven heated to 380-400 degrees
  • 1/2 stick organic butter

Instructions

  1. Cut butter into thin pieces and put into each muffin hole.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together, then pour into prepared muffin tins. Fill each muffin tin 1/2 way
  3. Bake at least 15 minutes – up to 19 minutes for browner cakes.
  4. serve with powdered organic sugar, fresh squeezed lemon juice and 100% maple syrup
  5. another variation: peanut butter and maple syrup or fruit spread

German Pancakes – Pan Style and Gluten Free

Beautiful, protein rich and gluten free German Pancakes.  Make these in a jelly roll pan or a glass cake pan if you are feeding a crowd.  Don’t need them to be gluten free?  Then just sub in freshly milled pastry flour and you are good to go!

Simply cook and then cut into 6 servings.  Top with your favorite healthy toppings and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 6 pastured eggs
  • 1 cup flour (your choice, gluten free flour)
  • 1 cup organic milk
  • Dash of sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 TBL (melted in pan)

Instructions

  1. Everything but butter goes in the blender then you bake 425 for 20 min
  2. Use an alll purpose gluten free flour for the flour and leave out the salt if the flour mix has salt already.

Blueberry Coconut Baked Oatmeal

This recipe comes from the home of a super sweet Southern friend who knows how to entertain!  I have enjoyed beautiful healthy meals in her home.

Great for breakfast or dessert.  Try this one and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

  • 2 TBS ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons warm water
  • 2 cups whole rolled oats
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • ½ cup hemp seeds
  • ⅔ cup coconut flakes
  • ¼ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk, at room temp
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 3 TBS melted coconut oil
  • 1 banana, chopped
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  • ½ cup blueberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8×8-inch (or similar) baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed and warm water and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes.
  3. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the almonds, hemp seeds and coconut flakes and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl combine the oats, the remaining almonds, hemp seeds and coconut flakes, and the baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt.
  5. In a medium bowl, combine the almond milk, maple syrup and coconut oil and whisk to combine. Stir in the flaxseed mixture and blend until smooth.
  6. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine.
  7. Layer the bananas and strawberries in the baking dish and spread the oat mixture on top. Sprinkle with the blueberries and the reserved almonds, hemp seeds and coconut flakes.
  8. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is crisp and the middle is set. I find it easiest to wedge a knife in and make sure the middle has thickened nicely. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
  9. **If you’d like to reduce the sugar in this recipe, omit the brown sugar and use ⅓ cup maple syrup.

Notes

Crowd Pleaser – Quadruple the recipe and it will fill 2 – 9X13 pans. Easily fed 9 adults/5 kids with some leftover.

Date Cake

Ingredients 

1 to 2 pounds organic Medjool dates (go organic here as dates are highly sprayed)

½ cup to 1 cup of chopped cashews

 1 cup of shredded organic coconut

Instructions 

  1. sliced open dates and remove seats. Mash by hand or use a food processor or blender. You will need to just 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 mash dates into a bowl or on a cutting board and add in the cashews mix in coconut if you wish. Finally, shape, sprinkle with shredded coconut, chill and enjoy! 
  3. Dark chocolate chips are good addition or carob chips.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Slow cooker apple butter will make your entire home smell like autumn. It also makes a great gift for the holidays, or a hostess gifts at Thanksgiving. YUMMO!

Prep time.                Cook time

30 minutes                12 hours.      

6 ½ pounds apples – peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 

Instructions 

  1. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves,salt.
  2. Cook in slow cooker for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
  3. Uncover, then stir in the vanilla and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 hours.
  4. Use an immersion blender to purée the apple butter until smooth

Honey Nut Granola


Granola
 

Ingredients 

1 cup butter/oil

1 cup honey/maple syrup/molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla

11 cups oats 

1 cup nuts (optional can also use seeds)

1 cup coconut (optional)

1 cup dried fruit (optional) 

2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions 

  1. Heat oil or butter, sweetener, and vanilla in Dutch oven or on top of stove until warm and thinned, stirring to mix well.

 2. Stir in oats. Add optional nuts, coconut, and cinnamon gradually, stirring to mix well.

 3. Bake at 250° for about two hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Watch carefully until done to your family’s taste (remembering that granola becomes crispier as it cools)

  1. Cool granola after pulling out of the oven.

Add dried fruit if desired and enjoy!