Chocolate Avocado Bliss

This is a recipe my kids ask for a lot and although it has quite a bit of Organic Maple Syrup, I feel that everything else in the recipe evens it out with healthy fats, antioxidants, iron and many more nutritional benefits.
Normally when cooking I fly by the seat of my pants and just taste and add as I go along. What I find with this snack with my kids and myself is that a little goes a long way and we all stay full for a while as well which is a rare occasion for my kids.

3    Large  Organic Avocadoes
2    Tbsp  Vanilla Extract (homemade is the best)
1/2 Cup  Organic Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Raw Cacao Powder
1    Tsp Sea Salt

Put all the ingredients in the food processor or high power blender until smooth. Taste it just incase you need to add a little something more to suit your palate. Tonight the kids wanted frozen blueberries on top, but when it's raspberry season that will be perfect!

Homemade Non-fried refried beans!

It does NOT get any easier and more yummy then THIS! I Soaked pinto beans overnight then drained them and rinsed them and put them in the crock-pot with enough water to cover them and about 1.5 inches over them and let them sit. Sit. Sit......... All day pretty much until the texture I wanted which was soft so I could smash them. Drain out most of the liquid, but not all since they will get dry quickly and I dont like my refried beans too dry. Smashed them with a potato masher and added Cumin, Salt and garlic powder. Let me just say they were YUMMY! AND to top it off if you cant finish them over the next few days, they freeze really well!

Brussel Sprouts re-vamped!

Today I decided to try something new and since I have only discovered Brussel Sprouts in the past year, I wanted to experiment. Normally I just halv them toss them in olive oil and garlic powder and roast them, but not today. Today I tried Brussel Sprout hash! Sounds funny, but it works!
1/2 Pound of Brussel Sprouts (remove outer layer, halv them and THINLY slice them)
Halv a sweet onion, slice however you like your onion
4 slices of Un-cured Bacon (dice into small pieces)
First cook the bacon so it's nice a crispy, take it out. Saute' the onions and sprouts in the bacon juice, but you might need to add some more like a splash of EVOO or butter and cook until tender. Then add Bacon back in to mixture and season with S+P to your liking and EAT!

Food on my SKIN! Oh yeah baby!

A fellow blogger friend,   Autumn wrote about making your own body scrub, and I just tried it and loved it!  1 CupBrown sugar, 1/4 C meled Coconut oil, lemon zest, 3 tblsp of boiling water,  a few drops of lavendar, but make sure the oil cools or else the sugar will just dissolve and my skin feels like a baby's bum! Exfoliated and healthy! I could even use it to shave cause it's so soft, but not greasy. Scott will try it in a little bit and I know he is going to love it!

Frittata

Today for lunch was a vegetarian Fritata. Sauteed onions, leeks, bell peppers and broccoli and roasted fingerling potatoes and fennel in olive oil. Whisked up some eggs and poured them on top of the veggies. Last but not least, sprinkled shredded Parmesan on top (created a nice salty crust with out the cheesiness)  and bada-bing-bada-boom!

Ginga!

The spicey sweet smells of Ginger are oozing throughout my house as the carrot, coconut, cashew and ginger soup simmers on my stove. For as long as I can remember this has been my fave soup for any time of year. Creamy soups without the cream are my faves in general, but I can pretty much do anything with my blendtec. I will also be mixing in some quinoa with the soup to make it a bit thicker and more stew like and to make the soup go farther.

Chili with a Twist!

In my oven right now and for the next few hours sits a Turkey Chili, with Sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic and a whole bunch of other goodies. I LOVE slow cook food, it brings out the best in every flavor, plus I had the time today to do that since my dad came over to play with the boys while I prepped.